The distant sea breeze brushed past his cheek, carrying the scent that belonged only to the sea.
An ordinary-looking sedan advanced along the cliff road, gleaming with a hazy white metallic luster.
Xue Zhiying turned the steering wheel.
Sunlight outside the window fell on his slightly dark hand, revealing hideous scars faintly visible around his wrist.
With one hand, he skillfully lit a cheap cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thin mist.
“It’s Leonard’s confidential business again. That kid Xia Lan always makes me do this kind of thing…”
The last meeting surfaced in his mind.
Xue Zhiying complained aloud but suddenly smiled.
That kid had changed.
Once a person changed, it showed in her words, attitude, and even her aura.
When Xia Lan brought that boy to stand before him, Xue Zhiying had already sensed it.
Her smile, her movements, and especially her eyes were filled with emotions somewhat different from before.
Xue Zhiying didn’t know whether it was because of that boy or something else, but he was sincerely happy about it.
But for now, he had to think carefully about how to handle this…
Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Xue Zhiying’s expression turned serious.
He gripped the steering wheel with one hand, took out a special phone with the other, and began tapping on the screen.
Soon, a disguised electronic voice came from the other end of the call.
-“What is it this time?”
-“Do you have any new information about Leonard Company recently?”
-“What kind? If you want, I can tell you what color underwear Leonard is wearing today.”
-“Oh? So what color is he wearing?”
-“White.”
-“Hmm, so you’re wearing white underwear today. How cute.”
-“Get lost. Do you have actual business or not? I’m busy.”
The voice sounded a little irritated.
Xue Zhiying pondered for a moment, recalling what Xia Lan had described.
If Leonard Company had discovered something new or developed some new technology at this stage, it would probably be related to that place…
Based on his experience, Xue Zhiying made a rough judgment and asked, “Has anything happened at X Research Institute recently?”
-“Same as always.”
The voice paused, as if suddenly remembering something.
“But speaking of that, that old geezer of a director has been really into researching parallel worlds lately. No idea what he’s up to.”
-“Parallel worlds?”
Xue Zhiying raised an eyebrow.
“When did that start?”
-“About a week ago, I think.”
A week ago… That was too early.
It didn’t match what Xia Lan had said.
But Xue Zhiying’s intuition vaguely told him that this might not be so simple.
He decided to make a note of it for now.
-“Anyway, keep an eye on what X Research Institute is doing for me lately. I need to investigate Leonard Company again.”
-“Huh?”
The voice on the other end sounded startled.
“Are you out of your mind? Last time, you were almost discovered and put on their wanted list…”
-“Who else is going to do it? I’m just a miserable adult.”
Xue Zhiying spoke self-mockingly.
-“…Forget it. Do whatever you want.”
The voice snorted coldly, but after a long while, it spoke again in a faint tone.
-“Leonard Company has indeed tightened security a lot recently, and so has the Light Church. It seems like something big is going on… By the way, I remember you went to Sanya, China, recently?”
-“I already left.”
-“That’s for the best.”
The voice seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
“According to intelligence I got from an informant an hour ago, the Light Church is about to launch a major operation somewhere in Sanya. If you’d stayed a little longer, you might have witnessed it firsthand—the clash between the Light Church and Leonard Company…”
Xue Zhiying’s pupils froze for a moment, and his fingertips tightened around the phone.
He tried to keep his voice calm.
-“What’s going on?”
-“I don’t know. Even if you asked me to look into it now, it’d probably be too late.”
The voice sounded carefree.
“Anyway, the relationship between those two sides has been getting more and more tense recently. Something like this is only to be expected. For middlemen like us, it just means we can earn more from the price difference, right?”
Xue Zhiying’s breathing grew ragged.
He immediately thought of Xia Lan, who was still in Sanya, that boy named Luo Xiao, and the boy he had seen from afar.
‘No need to worry. They have two magical girls, so they can definitely protect themselves.’
Xue Zhiying told himself this and took a deep breath, but the worry in his heart refused to fade.
…
“Ding ding\~ Perfect hits\~”
As the last balloon on the wall popped with ease, the surrounding spectators couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration.
Xia Lan, dressed in a white dress, elegantly set down the toy air gun in her hands and gave the somewhat awkward stall owner a polite smile.
For such a quiet and beautiful girl, who seemed the very embodiment of a literary maiden, to hit every shot without missing was undoubtedly the most eye-catching sight.
“Big sister, you’re amazing!”
Beside her, a cute little boy looked up at Xia Lan with admiration, his chubby little face filled with excitement and astonishment.
“It’s nothing. I just had better luck.”
As a veteran magical girl, Xia Lan possessed enhanced precision, control, and eyesight.
This kind of little game was practically a dimensional strike for her.
Honestly, Xia Lan even felt a little sorry for the stall owner.
Accepting the Transformers toy gift pack from the somewhat gloomy stall owner, Xia Lan handed it to the little boy.
“Quick, say thank you to big sister.”
“Thank you, big sister.”
“You’re welcome.”
Listening to the little boy’s innocent voice, Xia Lan hummed happily and gently patted his head.
The little boy only reached her thigh in height, so she had to crouch slightly to pat him comfortably.
‘Gwaaah, so cute!’
Unlike her gentle outward appearance, Xia Lan was quite excited inside.
Perhaps because she had been transformed into a girl for so long, her emotions had become increasingly varied.
“All right, A-Lan, time to go.”
Luo Xiao looked at Xia Lan helplessly and smiled faintly.
“I know.”
After enjoying her time with the little boy, Xia Lan happily left the stall with Luo Xiao, humming an unknown tune along the way.
“It’s not easy for people to make a living, either.”
Luo Xiao said as he ate his white ice cream.
“Just think of it as a gift for the child.”
Xia Lan responded with a smile.
“Look at that little guy just now. He’s as cute as you were when you were little.”
“When I was little…”
Luo Xiao immediately remembered that Xia Lan had seen a photo of him as a child at the orphanage earlier.
His face reddened a little.
“I was really ugly when I was little, okay?”
“Really ugly? Then I kind of want you to turn back so I can see just how ugly you were.”
Xia Lan tapped Luo Xiao on the head.
“Ah, forget it. Anyway, let’s go meet up with Bai Jia first.”
“Yeah.”
Xia Lan nodded.
After arriving in Sanya, Xia Lan had spent time playing with Luo Xiao and the others.
During that time, she had felt an unprecedented sense of peace and calm in her heart.
Perhaps this was the life of ordinary people, the world of ordinary people.
Looking at the distant sunset, she watched as the setting sun dyed the sea red, like a bottle of expensive aged wine spilled across its surface.
“How wonderful.”
She murmured.
She hoped this trip would end smoothly.
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