After Azhui finished speaking, she noticed Su Bai staring at her as if she were some kind of strange creature.
The people in the livestream had noticed Su Bai's expression too, and couldn't help wondering—
Hadn't Azhui said anything wrong? Why was Su Bai looking at her like that?
Under Su Bai's unblinking stare, Azhui began to feel inexplicably nervous.
Had she said something wrong?
She quickly went over everything she'd said:
Whether she'd asked if he was capable of space combat or confirmed his stance on the Taotie's actions—
Those were all perfectly normal questions, weren't they? They were entirely in line with standard procedure.
Just as Azhui began to doubt herself and everyone in the livestream racked their brains trying to figure out what was going on, Su Bai suddenly leaned toward Xiao Xue.
He even covered his mouth with one hand, putting on the air of someone sharing a secret.
But since Xiao Xue herself served as the livestream's "camera," from the viewers' perspective—
Su Bai's face suddenly filled the screen. Then he lowered his voice, but spoke clearly enough for everyone to hear:
"Xiao Xue, are you sure this 'External Brain' you found for me is reliable?"
"Why do I get the feeling she's not very smart?"
Though Su Bai thought he was speaking quietly, he was leaning right up beside Xiao Xue, so everyone in the livestream heard him loud and clear.
As for Azhui...
As a Third Generation Angel, how could she possibly miss something said at that volume from so close by?
Besides, Su Bai wasn't actually trying to hide anything.
Maybe, in his mind, all you had to do was cover your mouth with your hand to be "whispering."
When Azhui heard that Su Bai not only doubted her reliability, but had openly said she was "not very smart"—
She froze in place as if struck by lightning.
She, the most perfect life-form in the Known Universe, a Third Generation High-Level Guardian Angel under Holy Keisha...
Had just had her intelligence questioned by a "little dummy" with a damaged soul and the mind of a child.
And what's more!
That "little dummy" had actually said she was "not very smart"!!!
Azhui's cheeks visibly flushed red.
As the saying went, a young woman's blush was worth more than a thousand words.
Though Azhui was no longer a young woman, and the flush on her face wasn't from shyness at all. She was simply getting "heated."
But that was all right. The process might have gone a little differently, but the result was exactly the same.
The livestream chat was in stitches:
["The Fox Yan Who Knows How to Flirt": Pfft—sorry, Azhui! You know we're besties~]
["The Fox Yan Who Knows How to Flirt": Under normal circumstances, I would never laugh.]
["Thirty-Thousand-Year-Old Aunt": But clearly, this is not a "normal circumstance."]
["Seeking Sponsorship": Pfft... Sorry, but I just can't help it when a "little dummy" questions someone's intelligence...]
"Not... very... smart?"
Azhui repeated the words one at a time, her voice calm in the way that came just before an explosion.
Su Bai was startled by her sudden intensity. He instinctively shrank behind Xiao Xue, though he still muttered under his breath:
"But the questions you asked... really were strange..."
"What was strange about them?!" Azhui finally couldn't hold back. Her voice rose by an octave.
"Asking about combat capabilities, confirming tactical objectives, and assessing adaptability to the environment—that's all standard procedure!"
Su Bai poked half his head out from behind Xiao Xue.
From Azhui's point of view, he was just hiding behind empty air.
"Don't you have to wipe out your enemies completely?"
He spoke with utter conviction, his eyes clear and guileless, as if he were stating a basic truth like "if you're hungry, you should eat."
Azhui was momentarily at a loss for words.
Logically speaking, he... wasn't wrong, was he?
The livestream chat was howling with laughter:
["The One Who Exploded Morgana's Head": I mean, he's got a point!]
["Seeking Sponsorship": Simple and straightforward, right to the heart of it!]
["Thirty-Thousand-Year-Old Aunt": Little Azhui, sometimes procedure is one thing and actual combat is another~]
["The Fox Yan Who Knows How to Flirt": Don't be mad, Azhui. It just means the kid's thinking clearly. That's a good thing!]
Angel Yan (thinking): The way Azhui's getting stumped... This is just wonderful.
Azhui took a deep breath, doing her best to remain patient:
"Su Bai, not every 'enemy' has to remain an enemy forever."
She tried to explain it in simpler terms.
"Sometimes, you only end up on opposite sides because of a few temporary issues or conflicting positions. That doesn't mean things can't change in the future."
"In some cases, when a third party appears and you share a common foe, 'the enemy of your enemy' might even become a temporary ally."
"So you shouldn't think about things in such a simplistic, straightforward way."
Azhui explained earnestly, and Su Bai listened attentively.
Then he asked just one question:
"Then will the Taotie become our friends?"
Azhui: "..."
The scene fell completely silent.
The Taotie... Those lunatics who existed only to offer death and war to Death God Karl...
Could they possibly become friends with the angels, who upheld the Justice Order, or with the simple-minded little Su Bai standing before her?
No matter how she looked at it, that seemed impossible.
Azhui opened her mouth and closed it again several times. In the end, all she could manage was a dry:
"...No."
Su Bai said nothing more. He only blinked.
But his eyes made his meaning perfectly clear:
See? I told you she wasn't very smart.
["The One Who Exploded Morgana's Head": Um... Miss Angel, it seems like little brother Su Bai isn't wrong, is he?]
Qilin couldn't help defending Su Bai in the livestream.
Of course, she genuinely thought so, too.
If someone's already your enemy, why the hell should you be polite to them?
["Seeking Sponsorship": Hmm, I feel like compared to Su Bai, this angel lady's kind of "simple-minded" too?]
["The Fox Yan Who Knows How to Flirt": Ahem. I hereby solemnly declare that Azhui is the one who's simple-minded. It has absolutely nothing to do with the angel race!]
Azhui: ...Something's off. This isn't my character at all!
Azhui: Zhixin, did you log into my account just now?!
Zhixin: ???
Azhui's face flickered with embarrassment.
Well, now that she thought about it, she really had made a simple issue more complicated than it needed to be.
"Sorry. I was overthinking it," she admitted frankly.
She wasn't the sort of masochist Sister Yan was, needing to be criticized—or even hit a couple of times—before she would admit she was wrong.
If you made a mistake, you owned up to it. If you were going to take a beating, you stood up straight.
Hearing this, Su Bai finally moved out from behind Xiao Xue.
"Mm, it's okay," he said, nodding earnestly. "Mom said you shouldn't argue with idiots... I mean, you shouldn't hold it against your friends."
The corner of Azhui's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
You were definitely about to say "idiots," weren't you!
Before you continue