As for Tails, after turning back, he did not say another word. The office, which had been quite lively before, was now left with only Bai Sheng and Huohuo.
"Asheng, could you tell me about your story?"
Huohuo asked because she wanted to learn everything about Asheng.
They had finished their work long ago. A trainee judge's workload was far lighter than a proper judge's.
"Me? Didn't I already tell you before?"
Bai Sheng was puzzled. He had clearly already told her many stories about himself.
"I mean the story about what happened after you took your revenge, Asheng. You didn't finish telling me last time."
Huohuo said that compared with her own uneventful life, Bai Sheng's experiences had completely drawn her in.
Bai Sheng smiled bitterly. That had not been a happy story.
But it did not matter. It was all in the past. Rather than letting it be sealed away by time, he might as well let it be passed down as a story.
He told her how he had recovered Pandora, then found the Emperor and discovered that the Prince had actually been Lord of Annihilation in disguise. After that came his battle with the Doomsday Beast, and finally, Beleria...
"Wow, Lord of Annihilation... Asheng, you're amazing."
Huohuo listened with complete concentration. She wanted to understand Bai Sheng more deeply. The Bai Sheng of the past had been like an onion wrapped in layer after layer. Now, she had peeled away many of those layers, and wanted to see what he was like at the very center.
"That was only a clone, but I really did use all my strength. On an average third-rate planet, that Doomsday Beast would have been enough to destroy the entire world."
"That was so dangerous. But luckily, Asheng, you're fine now."
Huohuo smiled. The most important thing was that her Asheng was safe. She did not consider herself a particularly benevolent person. As long as the people she treasured, and the people who treasured her, were safe, that was enough.
Lady Xueyi might be cold as ice, but she truly took good care of her.
Lady Hanya went without saying. She was a beautiful older sister who had shown concern for her the moment they met, and was very easy to get along with.
As for Tails, although he never said it aloud, they had been together for so many years. Huohuo believed that he still regarded her as a friend. At the very least, she regarded Tails as one.
And then there was Asheng—the most, most, most, most important Asheng! He was her benefactor, the bravest, most omnipotent, and most outstanding person she had ever seen in her life! Although he had been assigned under her, that still could not conceal his brilliance. With the judge of the "Punishment" division absent, many matters had been distributed among the other three judges.
Yet every time, Asheng completed the case files, documents, and other work related to the "Punishment" division before she could. She had looked through them, and they were excellent. Many of the new ideas currently being put into experiments had been researched by Asheng.
Sometimes, she wondered whether there was a magical little fox inside Asheng's head, helping him come up with ideas. His ingenious notions seemed to appear endlessly.
"Mm, I'm fine. But I still feel sorry for my friend."
Whenever she mentioned her, a trace of guilt inevitably appeared in Bai Sheng's eyes.
Seeing Bai Sheng looking dejected, Huohuo found courage from somewhere. Her tiny, boneless hand gently came to rest on the back of his.
"Although this might be a little presumptuous, b-but Asheng, please don't be sad anymore. If you keep blaming yourself like this, your friend will definitely feel sad too. And me..."
She said the last three words in her heart. When Huohuo came to her senses, she realized that her hand was actually resting on Bai Sheng's. In an instant, the matcha cake became a strawberry cake.
At a speed even being chased by evil creatures had never drawn out of her, she ran to the bed in her cubicle and wrapped herself up in the blankets. She even pressed down the corner of the talisman sticking up from Tails, leaving him unable to come out on his own.
Thus, she turned herself into a zongzi filled with matcha cake. Oh, right—it was even steaming.
Bai Sheng was also stunned. He had not expected the little girl to take the initiative to comfort him. Did this count as character growth?
Looking at the door to the cubicle, Bai Sheng could not help smiling. In silence, he sent Path Energy into Pandora.
He thought that the little girl must have gotten shy. What had this timid little coward's moment of bravery brought her? A zongzi filled with matcha cake!
Inside the room, Huohuo's face was still bright red. Looking at the hand that had touched Bai Sheng's, she suddenly had the strange urge not to wash it ever again.
"Huohuo, you can't keep being shy. You have to face things bravely."
"Just like this. Huohuo, Huohuo, Huohuo, Huohuo, Huohuo, Huohuo, Huohuo."
Huohuo let out a stiff laugh from beneath the blankets.
"Eek~ This is still too embarrassing..."
Huohuo worried that Bai Sheng might think she was a frivolous girl. Would he gradually drift away from her in the future?... No!!! I'm still too stupid...
Huohuo managed to convince herself, successfully putting herself into emo mode.
However, the knock at the door soon interrupted her thoughts, which were flying about chaotically like a Stingworm.
"Huohuo, I just asked Xueyi for leave. We don't have to work overtime. How about taking a stroll down Chang Le Tian together?"
The moment Huohuo heard that Bai Sheng wanted to take her out, she sprang up from the bed and said:
"Okay, I understand. Asheng, please wait for me a moment."
Huohuo escaped the prison of the blanket demon. Inside the open wardrobe were several pieces of everyday clothing.
Behind every judge's office in the Ten Lords Bureau was a cubicle—in other words, a break room. Huohuo had chosen to turn hers into a bedroom. Since she often had to work overtime, she felt it would be more convenient to stay at the Ten Lords Bureau.
In fact, most of the time, Huohuo still preferred staying here at the Ten Lords Bureau.
Without dwelling on it too long, Huohuo picked out a short shirt and black shorts. Skirts did not suit her very well, since they made her look even shorter. She also put on a white outer garment threaded with Golden Thread. It looked very fitting on her.
Still, with her naturally beautiful face, anything looked good on her. Even her dark circles could not conceal Huohuo's pure and innocent air.
"Creak..."
Pushing open the door, Huohuo saw Bai Sheng waiting nearby and asked timidly:
"A-Asheng, does this outfit look okay?"
Bai Sheng looked at the fidgeting Huohuo and replied:
"Of course it looks great. It suits you very well. I told Xueyi that I'd be bringing you along. Also, Hanya messaged me and said you should get more rest. Don't overwork yourself while you're still young. You'll be allowed to return to work once those dark circles are gone."
Bai Sheng showed Huohuo the chat history on his phone. The username was "Cold Crow," and Huohuo knew that was Hanya's online name.
Although she really wanted to explain that it was because of her own circumstances, Huohuo still succumbed to her desire to go out with Asheng.
"All right, then let's go."
"Okay. Where should we go first? How about Chang Le Tian?"
Bai Sheng said...
Before you continue