Did Jingliu Like Him?

Xianyu kept feeling that something was off about Jingliu's attitude, but he had to help Baiheng solve her problem first.

"...That was just an excuse. The second option is to tell her I didn't bring my Jade Abacus and ask her to write her contact information on a piece of paper for me."

Hearing this, Baiheng thought things had taken a promising turn. Completely ignoring what Xianyu had just said, she asked delightedly, "You agreed?"

Xianyu fell silent for a moment. He suspected Baiheng wasn't a Foxian, but a fish.

The kind of fish with a seven-second memory.

He had barely finished speaking before Baiheng forgot what he had said.

Xianyu could only add, "If she gives me her contact information, I won't have to add her as a friend, and you won't have to feel awkward."

Baiheng: Cosmic cat face.jpg

Baiheng felt as though a door to a whole new world had opened. Utterly incredulous, she asked, "You can do that?"

Xianyu decisively tossed the hot potato back to Baiheng.

"I don't know your friend, and I can't think of a better solution. You decide."

He trusted that Baiheng, a master at playing the field, would surely pick the most suitable answer.

Baiheng agonized over it for a while. "The second option does let everyone save face, but giving someone hope only to disappoint them... Never mind. I'll choose the first."

Xianyu grilled some more meat and deftly divided it between Jingliu and Baiheng.

"Eat first. We can talk once you're full. Oh, and you'd better drink something first. Eating anything too greasy on an empty stomach can upset it."

The words slipped out, and once he realized what he had said, he sank into thought.

Although he had been a general in his previous life, he had certainly been practiced at taking care of people...

"I'll ask Jing Yuan whether he's still coming."

Somewhat distracted, Xianyu alternated between sips of milk tea and bites of grilled meat as he took out his Jade Abacus to chat with Jing Yuan.

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: Coming? What do you want to eat?]

[Jing Yuan: I'll pass. Tell me, can someone really be decisive and ruthless in battle but refuse to step on an ant?]

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: What are you talking about? The protagonist of some new Storybook?]

[Jing Yuan: I'm talking about the Former Marshal.]

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: Huh?]

[Jing Yuan: After all, he was the first Emanator personally chosen by the "Reignbow Arbiter"!]

[Jing Yuan: He's an omniscient, omnipotent being in the universe who led the Xianzhou for nearly five thousand years. Even after becoming mara-struck, he could still make the decisions that benefited the Xianzhou most.]

[Jing Yuan: All he has to say is "Help me, Reignbow Arbiter," and an Aeon will descend!]

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: Huh??]

The corner of Xianyu's mouth twitched. What do you think this is, some brainless wish-fulfillment novel about a live-in son-in-law who's secretly the Dragon King?!

[Jing Yuan: Although the Former Marshal blah blah blah... he's a good boy through and through!]

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: Huh???]

The words "good boy" sent a shudder of revulsion through Xianyu.

[Jing Yuan: Kitty spinning in circles.gif]

Jing Yuan's reaction image radiated satisfaction from every pixel.

You little punk. You got traumatized by a Storybook and just had to drag someone else into it!

Xianyu didn't even need to think about it. Jing Yuan was surely feeling smug right now, scrolling through his Jade Abacus in search of his next victim.

Wait. Jing Yuan had time to read Storybooks, yet wasn't coming to meet them.

And considering Jingliu's tone earlier...

Xianyu abruptly raised his head, meeting a pair of dazzling red eyes that held a hint of amusement.

Jingliu didn't look away when their eyes met, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her face.

Xianyu blinked slowly, then lowered his head to look at his conversation with Jing Yuan. He arrived at a guess that struck him as utterly inconceivable-

Could Jing Yuan be playing wingman for him and Jingliu?

Did Jingliu like him?

Surely he was imagining it?

After all, one of life's three great illusions was thinking someone liked you.

Xianyu took a long pull of milk tea, sat up straight with his Jade Abacus in his hands, and typed a question to Jing Yuan.

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: You little punk. How dare you slack off reading Storybooks at the General's Residence.]

[Jing Yuan: Who's slacking off?! The general is making me read this Storybook!]

[No Replies Outside Work Hours: Who'd believe that?]

Jing Yuan seemed furious, sending several reaction images of cats scratching people in rapid succession.

[Jing Yuan: It's true. I'm still at the General's Residence right now... The general said this Storybook is about to go on sale, so he called me over to revise the manuscript. He wants the protagonist to be cool, flashy, outrageously badass, and kill monsters without blinking, while also being kind and having moral boundaries. And the whole story can't have any logical inconsistencies...]

Xianyu could feel Jing Yuan's resentment through the screen.

[Jing Yuan: Damn it, nothing this book's protagonist does has any logic to it! He even has a whole pile of cheats: the Tenseiga that can bring people back to life, the Mirror Flower, Water Moon that can hypnotize people, and some superweapon that can wipe out an entire star system in an instant...]

[Jing Yuan: How does any of that make sense? How is this any different from a client asking for colorful black?! Once I find out who's responsible for this overtime, I'm throwing a sack over his head and beating him up!] ```

Xianyu put down his Jade Abacus and dismissed his earlier theory.

It made sense, really. If Jingliu liked him, Baiheng would surely know.

The Foxian would only help Jingliu, who was closer to her, rather than anyone else.

This time, Jingliu had simply come to support Baiheng and invited him along for a meal.

As for romance... That really was outside his area of expertise.

Xianyu could only dig through his mind for similar incidents and compare them with what he had felt just now.

Take the Foxian Bai Zhu, for instance. He trusted Jing Yuan's judgment, and upon learning that she might like him, his first reaction had been to distance himself and make it clear there was nothing between them.

He was a shut-in. He wouldn't get along with a social butterfly like Bai Zhu. He didn't even feel as though they talked all that often, so how had she developed feelings for him?

Xianyu guessed that the wealthy Bai Zhu probably needed a live-in son-in-law, which was why she had set her sights on a shut-in like him.

In any case, her motives definitely weren't pure.

If it were Jingliu, though, he wouldn't treat the Sword Champion the way he had treated Bai Zhu.

As for being opposed to the idea, he didn't seem all that opposed.

Maybe it was because he and Jingliu were closer?

But no matter what, he wasn't going to date anyone.

After all, Xianyu had a pile of mysteries surrounding him. He had provoked Aha and Nous, and his conflicts with the Aeons were still unresolved. How could he have any inclination to date?

What if he had earned some Aeon's hatred in his previous life? One wave of that Aeon's hand, and all he could do was call GG.

Dating would only add another innocent victim. Why bother?

Then did the fact that he wasn't averse to Jingliu mean he liked her?

Xianyu had never dated in this life, and he might well have stayed single from birth to death in his previous one. He had no ability whatsoever to identify his own feelings, and after thinking about it for ages, he still couldn't figure it out.

Embracing the philosophy that "nothing in life is difficult as long as you're willing to give up," he put the matter out of his mind. He urged Jingliu and Baiheng to eat, then used a trip to the restroom as an excuse to pay at the front desk.

Xianyu passed the woman who had wanted to strike up a conversation with him. Without any change in expression, he paid and returned to his seat.

Seeing that Jingliu and Baiheng had both put down their chopsticks, Xianyu asked Jingliu, "Want to leave together?"

Jingliu met his eyes, then shook her head and said softly, "You go ahead. I'll head back with Baiheng in a bit."

Having enjoyed a meal on the clock, Baiheng was in high spirits. She cheerfully waved goodbye to Xianyu and watched him leave.

The Foxian quietly remarked to Jingliu:

"I really didn't expect Xianyu to be so popular. By the time he's two hundred, he'll probably have plenty of girls swooning over him-"

Jingliu didn't respond. Instead, she suddenly stood up.

Baiheng blinked and asked blankly, "What's wrong?"

The Foxian felt as though Jingliu wanted to say something to her.

Jingliu looked hesitant, but in the end, she said only one thing.

"I'll go pay."