Exchanging Contact Details

Seeing this, Bai Ye, who was hiding nearby, suddenly felt that he might have taken his teasing a little too far. He had actually made the girl cry.

He could never bear to see a girl crying. With a soft sigh, he appeared before Lily in an instant.

Lily, who had been quietly sobbing with her head lowered, spotted Bai Ye's shoes and immediately looked up.

"Come on. I'll take you out of here."

Without saying anything more, Bai Ye held out his hand to Lily.

Confusion filled Lily's eyes, as though her thoughts were still a little muddled.

But after a moment's hesitation, she reached out and took his hand.

With Lily watching, Bai Ye didn't use Dual Kamui or the Flying Thunder God Technique. Instead, he led her out of the deserted outskirts on foot.

On the way, Lily used her free hand to wipe the remaining tears from her face.

She also felt rather embarrassed that Bai Ye had seen her crying.

"...Did you already realize I was following you?"

Lily suddenly asked.

After all, he wouldn't have come back to find her otherwise.

"Yes. I actually noticed a while ago."

Bai Ye nodded frankly.

"I knew it..."

Under the circumstances, Lily wasn't particularly surprised.

No wonder he had kept taking such a winding route while she was following him...

"Um...thank you..."

Lily thanked him quietly.

If he hadn't come back for her, she would have been stranded here with no way home.

"It's fine, but don't go following people so recklessly again. You could end up being sold off without even realizing it."

Bai Ye offered her some well-meaning advice.

"I don't just follow people around. You wouldn't tell me, so I had no choice but to follow you..."

Lily immediately muttered.

"No choice...? At the end of the day, I'm just a newcomer ranked fourth in Class B. I can't be that important to your Blizzard Group, can I? Why go to so much trouble?"

Bai Ye didn't quite understand.

No matter how strong he really was, hardly anyone knew his true strength.

On the surface, he was merely the fourth-ranked hero in Class B.

It was understandable that the Blizzard Group wanted to invite him, but Lily saying she had no choice but to follow him was a bit...

"..."

Hesitation showed on Lily's face. Only after a while did she speak. "That's my own problem. I wanted to take care of this for Lady Fubuki and earn her praise..."

"All right..."

Bai Ye was at a loss for words.

He remembered that she was indeed supposed to be "Fubuki's little fangirl." She idolized Fubuki and had joined the Blizzard Group of her own free will.

The lily hair ornament she wore was particularly telling, too...

"I'd advise you to give up. I'm not stupid enough to give you my home address. Wouldn't that just be inviting your Blizzard Group to come knocking and cause trouble?"

Bai Ye spoke bluntly.

"No. As long as you take the initiative to greet Lady Fubuki and accept her invitation, she won't cause you any trouble. In fact, it'll benefit you a great deal."

Lily hurriedly shook her head.

"Accept her invitation? So she really does want to talk to me about joining the Blizzard Group?"

Bai Ye asked calmly.

"Ah..."

Only then did Lily realize she had accidentally let it slip. She instinctively covered her mouth, but it was already pointless.

Since she had said it, she decided not to worry about that anymore.

"Yes. Lady Fubuki thinks you have good potential, so she intends to invite you to join the Blizzard Group. But she hasn't been able to find you yet. That's also why I came to ask about you."

"I understand, but I refuse."

Bai Ye turned her down without mincing words.

How bored would he have to be to join the Blizzard Group? Not only would it be of no help to him, but he would also have to answer to someone else, since Fubuki was the group's leader.

"Wait, don't be so quick to refuse. Don't you know how many benefits there are?"

Lily hurriedly explained, "There are quite a few factions in the hero business, too. It's hard to survive in this line of work alone. For example, if you want to improve your ranking, rivals who belong to organizations will stand in your way. Don't you know any of that?"

"I do, but I still refuse."

Bai Ye seemed completely unmoved.

That made Lily anxious. "And that's not all. As long as you join our Blizzard Group, Lady Fubuki can guarantee you a place among the top-ranked Class B heroes. Otherwise, you won't get anywhere."

For instance, the Blizzard Group monopolized the top spots in Class B. Those ranked below them could essentially never rise any higher without joining.

Because when they challenged one of those top-ranked heroes, it wouldn't be a one-on-one fight. They would face opposition from the entire Blizzard Group.

The alternative was to make an extraordinary contribution, which would allow them to become an A-Class Hero without challenging Fubuki, the top-ranked hero in Class B. But how many B-Class Heroes could make that kind of contribution? It was a dead end...

"I understand."

Bai Ye nodded slightly.

Just then, they reached a residential area. "You should be fine from here, right? I'll be going, then."

Lily thought she had finally gotten through to him and nodded with a smile. "Yes. It would be best if you came to our Blizzard Group when you have time. Or, if you don't know exactly where it is, I can take you there."

"Hold on. I only said I understood. I never said I'd join you..."

Bai Ye corrected her.

"Also...I know I was the one who offered my hand, but could you let go now? I'm heading home."

Bai Ye glanced at his hand, which Lily was still holding tightly.

Only then did Lily suddenly realize that she had been holding a man's hand for so long. She had been so focused on the Blizzard Group that she hadn't noticed.

She hurriedly let go in a fluster, a shy blush creeping onto her face.

"Sorry...no, wait! Why are you still unwilling to join?"

Coming back to her senses, Lily pressed him for an answer.

"I've explained it more than once. I just don't want the hassle, and I'm used to working alone."

Bai Ye explained casually.

"If you insist...then don't blame me for not warning you. Lady Fubuki definitely won't go easy on you. So far, everyone who's refused her invitation has deeply regretted it, without exception..."

By now, Lily had no idea how else to persuade him. All she could do was warn him upfront. "You should give it some serious thought first. Once you've made up your mind, you can contact me anytime."

As she spoke, she took her phone out of her pocket.

Seeing this, Bai Ye asked, "Are you asking to exchange contact details?"

Hearing Bai Ye put it that way, Lily immediately thought of another implication. Looking slightly embarrassed, she stressed, "Don't get the wrong idea. This is just so we can easily get in touch if something comes up. I definitely don't have any other intentions!"