Chapter 90: Elbow

Xiao Yu skipped farther and farther away from her, then whoosh—she turned the corner and vanished.

Bai Li stretched out a trembling hand, her fingertips reaching toward Xiao Yu’s retreating figure.

“Don’t leave me behind…”

Her hand lingered in the air for a moment before she withdrew it, deflated.

She turned around.

Lin Du was staring straight at her, giving her the creeps.

“Um…”

Bai Li tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“I was just kidding, haha.

Don’t give me that deadpan face—it’s freaky.”

She scratched the back of her head.

Seeing no reaction from Lin Du, she quietly edged in the other direction, like a mouse trying to slip away under a cat’s nose.

Suddenly, an arm shot out and blocked her path, stopping a finger’s width from the tip of her nose.

Bai Li could even see the lines on his palm and a thin old scar on his tiger’s mouth.

She reached out and tentatively pressed against that arm.

It didn’t budge.

“Let’s go back,” Lin Du said.

“Back… back where?”

Bai Li’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s whine.

“My place,” he replied.

“Huh?”

The tips of Bai Li’s ears flushed red.

‘Dude, don’t you know you can’t just say stuff like that?

Even if we’re bros, there’s such a thing as male and female differences!

How can you stop a girl and tell her to come home with you?’

Bai Li shook her head, tossing those thoughts aside, and quickly glanced around.

Several gossipy girls had already stopped in their tracks, covering their mouths and whispering.

Someone pointed in their direction.

Another person pulled out a phone, the screen tilted slightly toward them.

Bai Li could even hear what they were saying.

“Isn’t that Lin Du from Class Four?

Who’s that next to him?”

“Her name’s Bai Li… she’s pretty cute.”

“Oh my god, keep your voice down!”

She couldn’t stay here.

If she did, tomorrow’s school gossip headline would be “Lin Du from Class Four Cornered Someone at the School Gate.”

Bai Li bit her lip and forced out a single word through clenched teeth.

“Fine.”

“Let’s go.”

Lin Du lowered his arm, turned, and headed in the direction of home.

Bai Li reluctantly lowered her head and followed.

The tip of her shoe kicked a small stone on the ground, and every step she took dragged as if she were stomping through mud.

They didn’t speak on the way.

Lin Du walked ahead; Bai Li silently trailed behind, staring at his back.

‘Strange.

Wasn’t he taken away?

Why was he released in the afternoon?’

A sudden chill ran down Bai Li’s spine.

‘Has he already reported me?

Right now, the Bureau of Anomalies Containment Team is probably squatting at his place.

The moment he opens the door and I step in, I’ll be taken away.’

She recalled the harsh white light of the shelter, and a cold shiver ran down her back.

No, she had to test the waters.

“Ahem—”

Bai Li cleared her throat.

“Early this morning… when they grabbed you, what was that about?”

“I messed some things up,” he said.

“I probably can’t work there anymore.”

Lin Du tilted his head and glanced at her.

“You mean… you got fired??”

Bai Li’s eyes went wide, her face full of disbelief.

Thoughts raced through her mind.

‘Fired?

Does that mean he’s no longer with the Bureau of Anomalies?

So… he’s not under Shijo Shiori’s jurisdiction anymore?

And he doesn’t have to follow those rules?’

No, no, that wasn’t the point.

“You could say that.”

Lin Du’s gaze shifted to the side.

“Are you going to report me?”

Bai Li shrank her shoulders, her hands instinctively gripping her backpack straps.

“Or call someone to take me in?”

Lin Du stopped walking and turned to face her.

“Don’t be scared.”

His voice softened.

“As long as you don’t hurt anyone, I won’t expose you.

Is that okay?”

He paused, his eyes falling on her darting gaze.

“Just think of it as a secret between us.”

“A secret… between us.”

Bai Li repeated the words, as if chewing on a weird-tasting candy.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly, then quickly flattened.

“So, at the Bureau of Anomalies… what did you do before?”

She looked up, her eyes sparkling.

“I was basically an errand boy.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“Classified.”

“Tch—stingy.”

Bai Li puffed out her cheeks.

“You got fired anyway, right?

Looking at you, you probably don’t even have an N1 clearance anymore.

What’s there to hide?”

“Would you tell me what you were doing before?

You kept it secret from me too, didn’t you?”

Lin Du blurted out.

Bai Li choked on her words, opening her mouth but saying nothing.

On that front, it was true—they both had their secrets.

But she had a way to argue; she wasn’t about to back down easily.

“Everyone has their own secrets!”

Bai Li put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin slightly.

“And setting the facts aside, haven’t you done enough to me?”

Now it was Lin Du’s turn to be at a loss for words.

He really had gone too far.

If she were a normal girl, he’d probably have been locked up by now.

“And—”

Bai Li pressed on when she saw he wasn’t responding.

“You want to take me to your place at the drop of a hat?

Are you planning to do something to me again?

Maybe I should just go somewhere else.

The mountains and rivers will meet again—so long.”

Having said that, Bai Li was about to bolt, but her collar tightened, and her whole body was lifted off the ground.

“Hey!”

Bai Li flailed in midair, like a little wildcat—no, a little fox—kicking her legs frantically while being held by the scruff.

She grabbed at the edge of her collar, trying to free herself from that hand.

“Put me down!

We’re in the middle of the street!!

Have some decency, okay!”

Lin Du looked at Bai Li flailing in the air, one thought running through his mind.

If he let her go back to the Strange Person’s lair, who knew when he’d see her again?

And he still didn’t know what the Strange Person was planning.

If he let Bai Li go back, she might start causing trouble again.

Even if he was no longer the Blazing Knight, he still had to protect this city.

If necessary, even if he had to tie her up, he’d drag her back and keep her under his watch.

Should he confess?

Or make up an excuse?

But when the words reached his lips, Lin Du didn’t know how to say them.

Neither option seemed right.

The words circled in his throat several times before condensing into two syllables.

“Don’t go.”

He said softly.

Bai Li stopped thrashing, her legs still dangling in the air.

She tilted her head and looked at Lin Du’s face.

Something in her heart softened.

The two of them held that ridiculous pose for a moment, until distant whispers snapped Bai Li back to reality.

“…Put me down first.

I’ll walk on my own.”

Lin Du hesitated, then let go.

Bai Li’s toes touched the ground.

She lowered her head and straightened her wrinkled clothes.

“Look at you.

Getting fired must feel awful.”

She looked up at his expressionless face, then suddenly reached out, made a fist, and punched his shoulder.

“Fine, I guess I can’t help it,” she snorted, crossing her arms.

“But… you’re not allowed to leave your room at night.”

“Mm…”

Lin Du nodded.