As night deepened.
Everyone had already drifted off to sleep.
But... in an overlooked corner, the player in Su Bai's pocket, which he had left on the bedside table, was glowing faintly.
The next morning.
Su Bai rubbed his still-sleepy eyes as he woke up. Today was Qilin's day off, so she didn't have to go to work.
He got up, washed up, and walked out of his room. Qilin was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.
For some reason, Su Bai felt that Qilin seemed a little different from yesterday.
But he couldn't say exactly what had changed.
In the kitchen, Qilin wore an apron tied around her waist. Her long hair was loosely pinned up, revealing the faint Sound Mark on her forehead.
She hummed softly as she skillfully flipped the food in the pan with a spatula.
Seeing this, Su Bai helped set out the bowls and chopsticks, then quietly waited for Qilin to bring the dishes to the table.
After setting down the plates, Qilin naturally pulled out the chair beside Su Bai and sat down, looking at him with a smile in her eyes.
Su Bai didn't notice this "abnormality." If he were at full strength, he would have realized right away:
Yesterday, Qilin had still seemed a little reserved, sitting across from him. How had she gone from that to sitting beside him today...?
Unfortunately, Su Bai's soul hadn't fully recovered yet, so he naturally failed to pick up on such subtle changes.
He picked up a piece of greens and put it in his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up.
"Mmm, delicious!"
Qilin smiled and put another serving into his bowl.
"If it's good, eat lots, Xiaobai~"
"Mm!"
Su Bai nodded enthusiastically and buried himself in his food.
"Xiaobai~" Qilin called softly.
Su Bai stopped eating and looked up at her.
"What is it, Qilin?"
Qilin smiled faintly. As Su Bai watched in confusion, she reached out and gently wiped a grain of rice from the corner of his mouth.
"You should call me... Sister Qilin~"
As she spoke, she casually put the grain of rice on her fingertip into her mouth. She even closed her eyes and gave a slight nod, as if savoring some delicacy.
Su Bai felt that Qilin seemed a little different today, but he still couldn't say what was off.
"Sister Qilin."
Still, he obediently changed how he addressed her.
When she heard him call her that, Qilin couldn't help narrowing her eyes—
As if she'd just heard an especially lovely melody.
Breakfast ended in a subtly charged atmosphere.
Although Su Bai thought Qilin was a little "strange" today, the delicious food and her gentle manner soon made him forget that odd feeling.
"Xiaobai~"
"Mm?"
"After breakfast... would you come shopping with me?"
Su Bai thought it over. He didn't have anything else to do anyway, so he nodded.
"Sure."
Qilin's smile deepened when he agreed.
"Then, as a reward for agreeing to go shopping with your big sister..."
At the word "reward," Su Bai's eyes lit up, and he opened his mouth to suggest going to Snack Street again—
But Qilin seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.
Before he could say a word, she leaned gently toward him and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
The touch was warm, slightly moist, and carried a faint fragrance.
Su Bai froze completely.
If you're enjoying this book and want to find it again, remember to add it to your bookshelf.
In response to readers' requests, VIP members can now enjoy an ad-free experience.
Click to view.
The kiss was over in an instant. Qilin didn't linger.
Seeing Su Bai's dazed expression, she couldn't help letting a small, triumphant smile curl her lips.
"Did you like it?"
She asked with a beaming smile.
Su Bai didn't answer right away.
He raised a hand and touched the spot on his forehead that still felt a little damp.
"I don't know..." He blinked in confusion. "It feels... strange. I... can't explain it."
Watching Su Bai's adorable, "CPU-overloaded" expression, Qilin couldn't help laughing.
"All right, I won't tease you anymore." She reached out and ruffled his hair. "Go get changed. We're heading out."
Su Bai obediently nodded and went back to his room to change. Halfway there, he turned around and asked quietly:
"Sister Qilin... was that just now a kind of 'reward' too?"
Qilin's face flushed slightly, and a flicker of shyness passed through her heart, but she kept her expression composed.
"Mm. Why?"
For some reason, a faint blush spread across Su Bai's face too—even he didn't understand why.
"Then..." he asked quietly, a hint of anticipation and confusion in his eyes, "can I ask Sister Qilin for that kind of reward again sometime?"
The question made Qilin's heart skip a beat.
She looked at Su Bai's clear eyes.
There was no hint of flirtation or anything suggestive in them, only pure, straightforward anticipation.
"...You can." She heard herself answer softly, her voice gentler than she'd expected. "But only when I think you've done well."
"Mm!" Su Bai nodded eagerly, as if he'd just received some incredible promise. "I'll do my best!"
Qilin smiled and ruffled his hair. "All right, go get changed."
Su Bai happily ran back to his room, while Qilin leaned against the wall and gently pressed a hand to her chest.
While Su Bai was changing—
At the exit of the Styx Great Wormhole Bridge.
A figure shot out of a distorted spatial passage.
Her flowing golden hair stood out beneath the starlight, and the pair of pure white wings on her back made her identity unmistakable—an angel.
After flying out of the Great Wormhole Bridge, Angel Yan touched a finger to her ear.
"Azhui."
"Sister Yan!" Azhui's voice came through at once, unmistakably delighted.
"What's our 'little clever one' up to now?" A playful smile tugged at Yan's lips.
At this, Azhui seemed to recall some less-than-pleasant memories, and her tone turned reproachful.
"Sister Yan~"
"Hehe~ All right, all right, I won't bring it up." Yan chuckled. "I've reached Pluto. I'll be at Earth soon."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they ended the call.
After hanging up, Yan flew straight toward the asteroid belt near Pluto.
When she saw the section that was conspicuously "missing," she couldn't help exclaiming under her breath:
"Whew... Seeing it in person really is more shocking than watching the livestream.
Even after a whole night, just looking at this section of the asteroid belt, wiped clean, is enough to feel how terrifying that move was."
Her gaze turned toward Earth, a profound look passing through her eyes.
"The future of the angels... or the angels' doom..."
"Let me take a good look."
Yan didn't head straight for Earth. Instead, she flew slowly along the edge of the asteroid belt erased by the "Eternal Silence Wheel Yu."
Her eyes turned silver-white as she activated the Eye of Insight.
Countless streams of data swept across her vision, attempting to analyze the traces left behind in this region of space.
And the result...
Needless to say.
She didn't manage to analyze a single useful thing.
If she forced the analysis, with Angel Yan's current processing power... she might end up crashing in no time.
In response to readers' requests, VIP members can now enjoy an ad-free experience.
Click to view.
Before you continue