After yesterday's incident, I was in a somewhat poor mood, and suddenly thought of the petty thieves.
The outer disciples had been much quieter these past few months.
It was as if someone had put them in order. No more petty thieves had come out to cause trouble.
My fingers curled slightly.
I didn't tell Qing Ye about my suspicions regarding Zhuge Yun.
I had no evidence, and there were other reasons, too.
At a long-term workstation, I activated the formation in the main hall and decided I might as well live here from now on, so I wouldn't have to go back to my little nest and stay on edge.
"Junior Sister Xiao Yao, why aren't you in your cave abode?"
An outer disciple who'd come to deliver a message hurried over, panting.
"Senior Sister Qingxian asked me to tell you to attend the flower viewing banquet."
"Senior Sister Qingxian also said there'd be delicious food, and Spirit Rice."
How did she already know what I liked? I might as well eat if it was free.
Another flower viewing banquet?
I didn't understand why the fairies of the Cultivation World were always so fond of admiring flowers and boating on lakes.
Before I'd even entered the banquet, I could hear people talking.
Ye Qingxian was still seated at the highest spot.
Before Ye Qingxian could speak, Shuang Yue jumped in. "Junior Sister Xiaoyao."
Then she stared at me with an expectant look.
"Come here," Ye Qingxian said.
I didn't say a word. I walked over and sat beside Ye Qingxian, two seats away from Shuang Yue.
Shuang Yue kept watching me eagerly.
For once, I didn't snap at Ye Qingxian. I was doing a pretty good impression of a quail.
Ever since I'd seen Ye Qingxian's second status panel last time, it had shaken my young heart so badly I'd tossed and turned all night.
The moment I'd been running my mouth about the little loli, I'd become as meek as a lamb.
Ye Qingxian glanced at me and asked with a smile, "Why aren't you scolding me today?"
"..."
What did she mean, why wasn't I scolding her? Was she already so used to it that she missed it when I didn't?
What a weird kink. She was nuts. I pretended not to hear, determined to play blind and deaf. I forcibly turned my head, slumped over my table, and pretended I was starving.
Ye Qingxian chuckled. Her suddenly well-behaved junior sister was adorable, too.
Shuang Yue kept staring at Cat Princess, and Yue Wuhua was up to no good again. Beneath the table, she lightly hooked her little finger around Shuang Yue's. Annoyed by Yue Wuhua's little tricks, Shuang Yue simply reached out and smacked her hand away. The sharp slap rang out with considerable force. Even I, waiting for the dishes, heard it. Since I was sitting close to them, I caught a glimpse of their long fingers tangling together.
I froze, almost instinctively looked up, and stared at Yue Wuhua in front of me, my eyes wide.
Then I abruptly lowered my gaze, hiding the deep shock in my eyes.
How could this be?
Wasn't Yue Wuhua a supporting female character in the story?
Later, she'd fall for the Male Lead and begin a centuries-long rivalry with the Female Protagonist. Though she'd lose in the end, she wouldn't meet her doom.
She was practically a celebrated success story in the plot.
The Male Lead hadn't even appeared yet.
How could she already be entangled with her junior sister?
What had gone off course...
I gulped down deep breaths of fresh air.
I didn't doubt that the plot was real. My head just hurt a little, and I couldn't think straight no matter how hard I tried.
Since entering the late stages of pregnancy, the frequent physical exhaustion had left my brain temporarily running at a much lower capacity. A lot of the time, I just wasn't as sharp.
Ye Qingxian had been discreetly observing her junior sister. How could she have missed that brief flash of shock and disorientation in her eyes?
Interesting.
Was that... shock?
At the flirtation between Yue Wuhua and Shuang Yue.
So Junior Sister Xiaoyao also knew Yue Wuhua's future.
Only, that future had gone off course, too.
And the future Junior Sister Xiaoyao knew included Yue Wuhua's romantic life.
Didn't that mean this "future" wasn't set in stone?
It seemed Junior Sister Xiaoyao had only just found out.
If so, how could she be certain Ye Qingxian would hurt her?
Ye Qingxian calmly sipped her tea, already resolved to question her directly next time.
From just one look, she could piece together a mountain of information.
No wonder Junior Sister Xiaoyao was always complaining that Ye Qingxian could even guess the color of her panties. Her intelligence was practically unrivaled under heaven.
The secret entanglement between Yue Wuhua and Shuang Yue continued.
Shuang Yue seemed angry and refused to let Yue Wuhua hold her hand.
Yue Wuhua didn't care. She simply picked up Shuang Yue's legs and laid them across her own lap.
With everyone watching, Yue Wuhua's bold move made Shuang Yue's face turn bright red. She looked ready to bury her head under the table at any moment.
She did like her senior sister, but, but...
Ye Qingxian's lips twitched. She was about to say that this was such an unreliable tactic—how could it possibly make her disobedient junior sister shut up? But the previously unruly Shuang Yue instantly became as docile as could be, as if afraid anyone would discover what she was doing under the table. She didn't dare make a sound.
Ye Qingxian was completely dumbfounded.
Wait, that trick really worked?
But...
It seemed a little too flirtatious.
I hadn't even recovered from my shock when I saw the two of them's private little game.
Hey, you're in public!
What are you two even doing???
Couldn't you be a little more discreet!!!
If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author. Maybe it was just renamed!
Am I, Ye Xiaoyao, part of your play, too?
Ever since I'd been rattled by the Female Protagonist's status panel, I'd been on my best behavior these past few days. I could only pretend I hadn't seen anything, then immediately pick up the juice on the table and take a sip to calm my nerves.
But Shuang Yue looked at me with a face so red it was practically burning.
"Junior Sister Xiaoyao... It's not what you think."
Clang—
The juice in my hand hit the table.
She was explaining herself to me.
Everyone's attention was drawn over.
I completely panicked.
Wait, could somebody tell me why I was involved in this?
D-don't say anything weird!
"Y-you have to let me explain." Shuang Yue was already very young—otherwise, she wouldn't be Bright Moon Peak's junior sister. She was only a little older than me. Now she was so flustered she could barely get her words out. "I didn't start dating someone else without your permission. She—Senior Sister—insisted on putting my legs..."
It would've been better if she hadn't tried to explain. The more she said, the more tangled it got.
A few nearby fairies with names of their own had also noticed Yue Wuhua's behavior. They'd merely pretended not to see it.
Now, they were all stunned.
Wait, the implications of that statement were a little shocking.
She needed someone else's permission to date.
Then what was the relationship between Ye Xiaoyao and Shuang Yue?
One fashionable young fairy imagined the sort of role-playing young people liked to do, with Yue Wuhua as the unfortunate one who could only be allowed to date when someone gave her permission.
That theory was absurd, but it seemed to be the only explanation for the third party who apparently held a more important position in the relationship.
Everyone was as shocked as if a thunderclap had split the sky.
Yue Wuhua's face grew darker and darker.
Some fairies had already covered their ears. They couldn't bear to hear this.
They really couldn't. They'd definitely be murdered to keep them quiet afterward, right?
Aww, Shuang Yue had stopped talking, too. She simply lay facedown on the table and played dead.
This was bad.
She'd accidentally blurted out what she was thinking. Junior Sister Xiaoyao wasn't Cat Princess yet, so she definitely wouldn't understand what Shuang Yue was talking about. Would she think she was a lunatic?
How could they be family after this?
Cat. Cat Princess again. Yue Wuhua gritted her teeth and glared at the pink-and-white-haired little loli in front of her, nearly crushing the table.
No matter how she looked at her, she had absolutely nothing in common with the creature Shuang Yue had described.
She was obviously a human!
A bold idea suddenly crossed Yue Wuhua's mind. She, too, thought of the kind of play the other fairies might be imagining.
The fairy who'd just fallen in love was struck by lightning in an instant.
The turn of events had come too suddenly. I was dumbfounded, my mouth opening and closing several times without managing to say anything in protest.
Hey, hey, hey, what are you all doing?
Senior Sister Shuangyue, you're a good person, but you can't go around making things up like this.
I'm still an unmarried maiden, you know.
What you're saying is so weird. How am I supposed to hold my head up in front of the other fairies from now on?
Ye Qingxian was just as stunned. She stared at her junior sister, trying to read the truth in the little loli's face.
Those words were like thunder on a clear day, setting off all kinds of wild speculation. What kind of relationship did you have to be in for someone to need the permission of a fellow sect junior sister before dating?
Only Yue Wuhua knew the truth—she knew exactly what her junior sister meant. Ye Xiaoyao was her family, and of course she needed her family's permission to date.
But even Yue Wuhua had started thinking along the wrong lines. How much more so would those who knew nothing?
The main problem was that the theory behind it was so absurd that no one could believe it right away.
Why did it suddenly feel so cold?
Ye Qingxian, why were you looking at me?
I shrank back even more and simply lay facedown on the table beside Shuang Yue, playing dead.
How was I supposed to answer that?
If I denied it outright, wouldn't that hurt Shuang Yue's pride even more with so many people listening?
I decided not to say a word.
Whatever. I wasn't a good person, anyway.
Besides, if it was Senior Sister Shuangyue, she must have her reasons for saying that. It should be fine if I went along with it, right?
I was already a single mother, with a baby in my belly. What was one more role-playing scenario?
Ye Qingxian gazed at the two little girls on the table, one on either side, mirroring each other's poses.
The strange understanding they shared without a word only exposed the fact that they had clearly known each other for a long time.
More clues were gradually falling into place. Otherwise, Yue Wuhua wouldn't have come to Heavenly Sword Peak for revenge last time without a word of warning.
That uncanny understanding, one they could share and maintain without needing to say anything, was what made Yue Wuhua feel a little defeated.
Where her gaze fell, Ye Qingxian's mood was also a little complicated.
In the banquet hall, inside Shuang Yue's world...
It seemed as if only Cat Princess—the one she talked about all day—remained. Yue Wuhua, her theoretical love interest, and Ye Qingxian, her nominal senior sister, had both been shut out of that world.
And in that world, it seemed only Ye Xiaoyao could come and go freely.
Yue Wuhua's expression grew uglier, like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
Ye Qingxian looked up, her gaze falling over almost by accident.
Yue Wuhua looked absolutely miserable, her face already black as the bottom of a pot.
Maybe it was because they were in the same boat.
Maybe it was for some other, deeper reason.
At that moment, Ye Qingxian also felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
What Shuang Yue had just said to her junior sister...
Ye Qingxian's gaze settled on the pink-and-white-haired little loli in front of her, pretending to be dead, as if she hadn't heard a thing or been involved at all.
She could feel a little uncomfortable, too.
Ye Xiaoyao was her junior sister as well.
Whether it was family, friendship, or even the bond between fellow disciples, all of them could give rise to a trace of possessiveness. Who was she supposed to tell about it?
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