Baiheng was utterly confused, but after leading Xianyu to his seat, she suddenly understood.
He probably thought she and Jingliu were close and spent every day together, so he had asked about Jingliu when he saw her.
The Foxian handed him the menu and answered, "She hasn't come by."
Xianyu breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought he was late.
He had been busy handing things over to the Library staff that afternoon and, for once, had worked a few minutes overtime.
"Then there's no rush. Let's wait until everyone's here. Here, I happened to buy four drinks."
Xianyu took the four drinks out of his paper bag and handed one to Baiheng.
After leaving the Divination Commission, he had been drawn to a newly opened milk tea shop.
The barbecue restaurant's drinks were all much the same, so he figured he might as well buy a few beforehand.
The new shop only had three products: All-Nighter Ginseng Tea, Slimming Poria Water, and Five-Black Fleece Lamb Milk, which promoted hair growth-a dream come true for anyone working overtime.
The shop assistant said the drinks were made with genuine ingredients and really worked. Plus, buying three drinks came with a free All-Nighter Ginseng Tea.
With the assistant's enthusiastic recommendation, he had bought three cups of Five-Black Fleece Lamb Milk, which looked the tastiest, and given Jing Yuan's cup to Baiheng.
A Foxian would surely care about keeping her fur healthy.
Jing Yuan could make do.
Baiheng thanked him readily. Her ears twitched as she heard someone approaching, and she turned to look.
When their eyes met, the Foxian stared in surprise, her eyes widening.
It was Jingliu.
Both women immediately fell silent.
Having come to the barbecue restaurant alone, Jingliu had no idea how to explain herself to Baiheng.
Baiheng looked from Jingliu to Xianyu, a jumble of emotions welling up inside her.
How could she put it? These two friends she had always looked after were no good at socializing.
Baiheng had been worried about their social lives, only to suddenly discover that they had started spending time together without her knowing a thing. She felt like an outsider fox.
The Foxian wrestled with her feelings for a moment, then quickly began feeling happy for her friends instead.
Looks like Xianyu and Jingliu get along really well.
Delighted, Baiheng beamed and urged Jingliu to take a seat.
Under the Foxian's gaze, the Sword Champion walked over somewhat stiffly and sat opposite Xianyu.
Xianyu checked off the dishes he wanted, then looked up to find only Jingliu there. He pushed the menu and milk tea toward her and asked in puzzlement, "Where's Jing Yuan?"
"General Teng Xiao needed him for something. Let's eat first."
Jingliu quickly finished choosing her dishes.
Baiheng took the menu and headed to the kitchen, thinking as she walked. Since the general had summoned Jing Yuan, she probably didn't need to call him on his Jade Abacus anymore, right?
The Foxian took out her Jade Abacus and saw messages from Jing Yuan.
[Jing Yuan: blank stare.jpg]
[Jing Yuan: crying cat face.jpg]
[Jing Yuan: shared location-Luofu General's Residence]
Baiheng understood. The general had dragged Jing Yuan away for some last-minute overtime, and he wouldn't be done anytime soon.
A pair of hands grabbed the Foxian's shoulders, startling her so badly that her tail fur puffed up.
"What are you doing?"
Baiheng turned around and found her friend, the owner of the barbecue restaurant.
Her friend looked excited, cheeks flushed, and asked, "Those two at that table aren't a couple, are they?"
At that, Baiheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She shook her head and said:
"...No, they're not a couple. What, do you fancy him?"
Seeing right through her friend, Baiheng warned her, "I'm telling you, he's only twenty."
Xianyu's face certainly drew attention, but the age gap between him and her friend was far too large.
"Twenty? He's old enough to get married!" Her friend perked up immediately, only to wilt under the Foxian's glare. "Oh, fine. I'll go with you for one last look-"
They loaded the dishes onto a small cart together. Her friend led the way, making a beeline for Xianyu to serve the food.
Xianyu thanked her instinctively and reached for the plate in her hands, but she didn't let go.
He hesitantly looked up and met a pair of burning eyes.
Without changing his expression, Xianyu looked away and continued taking the plate.
Once all the dishes were served, Baiheng's friend dragged her away at a jog.
Her friend gripped the Foxian's shoulders and shook her, declaring loudly:
"Baiheng, ask him for me! I can wait for him! It's only a hundred and eighty years!"
Baiheng bristled. "...Do you want me to call the Cloud Knights on you?!"
Unable to withstand her friend's pleading, she had no choice but to make another trip.
With tongs in one hand and scissors in the other, Xianyu watched the grilling meat without blinking. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Baiheng. "It's not too busy right now. Want to join us?"
Seeing that the meat was cooked, Xianyu swiftly snipped it into bite-sized pieces. He placed some on Jingliu's plate first, then put more on an empty plate and pushed it toward Baiheng.
"Um..." Baiheng hesitated. She sat down beside Jingliu and agonized for a while before finally asking, "Xianyu, are you planning to date anyone?"
Jingliu set down her chopsticks and slowly turned to look at Baiheng.
The Foxian's ears twitched. Lost in her own thoughts, she failed to notice the true emotions beneath her friend's cool expression.
They're both my friends. This is so hard...
I'll ask what Xianyu thinks first, then decide...
Xianyu swallowed his meat and said casually, "You're asking for your friend, aren't you?"
Jingliu, who was also Baiheng's friend, stiffly turned to look at Xianyu.
Baiheng was stunned. "Huh? How did you know?"
Xianyu picked up a lettuce leaf. "That look in her eyes was hard to miss. What do you need me to do? Giving her my contact details is out of the question, though."
Baiheng had barely begun testing the waters before Xianyu saw through her. She tried to salvage things and put in a good word for her friend. "Uh, you're turning her down already? Don't report her to the Cloud Knights, okay? My friend might be a little older, and you're from different generations, but..."
Jingliu felt as though even the barbecue had lost its flavor. She quietly set down her chopsticks.
Xianyu corrected Baiheng. "It's not about age or generations. I'm just not in the mood to meet anyone new right now."
Counting his past life, he didn't even know how old he was. Why would he care about a future partner's age...?
He still hadn't figured out what had happened in his past life. How could he be in the mood for romance?
What if he had a whole bunch of enemies from before? Wouldn't dating someone just drag them into his troubles?
Jingliu picked up her chopsticks again and asked, "Would you accept someone younger than you?"
Just hearing that question from Jingliu made Xianyu feel guilty.
Even if he wasn't very old in this life, he couldn't get past that mental hurdle. He kept feeling as though the Cloud Knights would lock him up...
He immediately shook his head and went back to eating his barbecue.
Baiheng was still trying to salvage things. "Then would you at least consider getting to know her?"
Xianyu sighed.
"Let me think."
They were both Baiheng's friends, so being caught between them put the Foxian in an awkward position. But this sort of thing... really was outside his area of expertise.
How could he turn her down gracefully?
After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "There are two options. See which one you want to use."
Baiheng looked thoroughly confused. "What options?"
"Ways to keep you out of an awkward spot. Just to be clear, I'm not giving her my contact details."
Baiheng had thought Xianyu was considering whether to get to know her friend, but he had actually been thinking of her.
With mixed feelings, the Foxian settled in to listen.
"First option: tell her I have a girlfriend, and she'd get angry if I gave someone else my contact details."
Jingliu's voice was stiff and icy. "Since when did you have a girlfriend?"
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