He Actually Got to Be with Them

By the time the police and mall security rushed over, the Calamity King had already slipped away without a sound.

What a shame. Xiao Ling had wanted to treat the tokusatsu fan to a meal and properly thank him while he was at it, but he hadn't been given the chance.

Still, wasn't that a very Kamen Rider way to make an exit?

After taking away the thug and the fruit knife he had dropped on the floor, the police also intended to bring Xiao Ling back to take his statement.

But several of the cosers present stepped forward and offered to give statements in Xiao Ling's place, asking the police to let him spend the time with his family.

The officers smiled kindly. They only needed to know everything that had happened to secure a conviction against the thug, who had already passed out. They didn't care who provided the evidence.

And so Xiao Ling naturally returned to the girls.

The convention had been brought to an emergency halt because of the incident. Most of the cosers had chosen to leave, and the sets were gradually being dismantled under the direction of security and the organizers.

"Boo-hoo... sniff." Little Orange was still sniffling nonstop.

"There, there, Xixi. See? I'm perfectly fine," Dania said, gently patting her on the head to comfort her-if one ignored the tears glistening in her own eyes.

"...Sorry, Senior Dania. I should have reacted immediately." Lynae turned her face away, finding it hard to look at the peach who had just been scared out of her wits. If not for her moment of carelessness, Dania wouldn't have been put in such danger.

"It's all over now~ The thug's been subdued, and everyone's safe and sound. That's the best outcome." Dania used the facts before them to comfort the self-reproaching blonde athlete. "And just call me Dania. We're not at Star Torch Academy."

Though Dania had comforted Lynae, her self-reproach didn't disappear. Instead, it gradually turned into a determination to protect everyone.

"And Aemeath, Chisa, you two shouldn't blame yourselves so much either." Dania had also noticed how dejected Chisa and Little Ai were, and spoke calmly. "You did very well. In that situation, recording evidence and protecting the scene were both important. The evidence you kept will serve as strong grounds for a heavier conviction against that guy."

Aemeath and Chisa both froze upon hearing Dania's openhearted words of comfort, then faint smiles returned to their faces.

"Oh, and you too, Ling."

Xiao Ling, who had only just arrived and was already being called out: ?

Dania walked gracefully up to Xiao Ling and began straightening his clothes.

"Next time, remember to know when to stop. Don't act on impulse. I know you were that angry because I almost got hurt... but if you, the master of the house, get sent inside to eat prison food, I'm going to laugh at you mercilessly."

"Someone was so scared just now she couldn't move a muscle. Are you really qualified to call me impulsive?" Xiao Ling retorted, gently wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. "And you'd be more convincing if you weren't shedding little pearls."

"You'd be like this too if someone had nearly stabbed you!" Dania realized Xiao Ling had seen her in that state and immediately tugged at his thick-skinned cheek in annoyance.

What the kind peach didn't know was that this wasn't the first time Xiao Ling had been in a situation like this. He knew exactly where the limits of the law lay.

Although he had indeed looked furious, he had at least controlled his strength. He had only been venting his anger, not going so far as to take the man's life.

The mall's general manager and the event organizer rushed over after hearing about the violent incident. They immediately offered their sincere apologies to Xiao Ling and the heavenly beauties beside him, as well as their respect and thanks to Xiao Ling for stepping in.

"So I've decided to offer you and your female companions a fifty percent discount on everything you purchase at this mall today. If you continue shopping here afterward, you'll receive a twenty-five percent discount on everything."

So generous? What a good person!

Xiao Ling knew this was a win-win. An attempted stabbing this serious had taken place at the mall, and its reputation was bound to suffer, but the swift action taken by him and the Calamity King had made up for it.

He and the girls got a substantial discount, while the mall preserved its reputation and could use the incident for publicity. Why wouldn't he agree?

"Now that we've got such a big discount, do you want to start buying everything right away?" Xiao Ling suggested to the girls beside him after seeing them off.

If they refused, Xiao Ling would take them straight home. After all, most people probably wouldn't be in the mood to shop after something like that.

"Of course we're buying. Wouldn't we be losing out if we passed up a bargain? Who's going to make up for the fright I just got otherwise?" Dania said, a little exasperated.

Her fragile heart had suffered a terrible trauma, and she needed to improve her mood by buying things.

Seeing Dania suggest continuing their shopping of her own accord, the other four girls all breathed sighs of relief. Then they eagerly looked forward to the shopping ahead.

Fifty percent off! Half price! That meant they could buy even more!

"All right, let's split up here. The locations of all the different products are on the signs, so you can check for yourselves. When you're done, come back and meet here." Xiao Ling pointed to where they were standing, marking it as their meeting point.

Sigrika naturally took Dania with her, while Lynae and Chisa formed a team. Little Ai had wanted to go with Xiao Ling, but he turned her down, saying he had something important to do, so she joined Lynae's team as well.

The three groups then went their separate ways and began shopping for whatever caught their fancy.

After that considerable incident, it was finally time for Xiao Ling and the girls to carry out their shopping plans.

Sigrika took Dania to the camera section.

In the real world, she couldn't use her ability to make a camera with her bare hands. Though a phone camera was convenient, its functions simply couldn't meet the tangerine's needs.

There was a dazzling array of cameras, but Sigrika had done her research carefully before coming. She immediately took Dania to pick out several cameras of different brands and models.

"Ugh... even at half price, they still feel so expensive..." Sigrika looked a little pained at the cost.

Although Senior's family had generously given her a five-figure sum as spending money, money didn't grow on trees. If possible, she still wanted to save wherever she could.

(Sigrika's girlfriend power increased.)

"Actually, what those camera recommendations say isn't necessarily accurate. Some of them are probably exaggerated marketing from paid promotions."

That wasn't Dania's voice. Sigrika looked toward the source and saw that it was the girl who had cosplayed as her at the convention.

She had taken off her wig and colored contacts. Her silky black hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and her pearly black eyes darted about.

"Looks like you're interested in photography too." The girl wore a sweet smile, seemingly delighted to have met a fellow photography enthusiast.

"I wouldn't say I'm interested..." Sigrika said a little sheepishly. "It's just that taking pictures of birds with a phone isn't very convenient, so I wanted to buy a camera to capture those cute birds better."

"Photographing birds? That takes skill, and it really tests your patience. Sometimes you can spend a week shooting and still not get a single picture of a bird's face." The girl was quite surprised to hear why Sigrika was buying a camera.

"But since you like it, I should give you some proper help as your senior."

She moved with graceful steps and, after making a few rounds of the camera section, found a good camera at a reasonable price.

"Try this one. It's not a big brand, but it's excellent value for money. I think it should meet your needs."

Sigrika took the camera and adjusted it following an online tutorial. The coser beside her occasionally corrected her and gave her pointers.

"Oh my gosh... this is amazing... thank you! This is exactly what I wanted!" Sigrika hugged the camera and hopped twice like a rabbit.

"I'm glad you like it." The coser smiled and nodded. "I thought what happened earlier might have put you in a bad mood."

Sigrika knew what she meant, and a trace of lingering fear immediately appeared on her face.

"Honestly, if that guy hadn't stepped out and kicked him, I was planning to go up there myself and give that maniac a couple of shoulder throws." Though it wasn't obvious, Sigrika could plainly feel the anger beneath the girl's gentle exterior.

"You know Ling?"

Dania knew nothing about cameras, so she had been alternating between letting her mind wander and scrolling through her phone in boredom. Now she had finally heard something she cared about, and hurriedly asked.

"Yeah, he saved my brother's life and mine." The girl put one hand on her hip and nodded with a smile. "Back then he wasn't even that tall. He was just a little squirt a bit over 160 centimeters, carrying an iron rod taller than he was. He saved us from a group of bad guys who were quite a bit taller than him."

"He couldn't have been shorter than me, could he?" Dania asked.

"Actually, he was about your height? But he should have been just a little taller than you."

Dania pictured the scene: a little squirt a bit over 160 centimeters tall carrying an iron rod and fighting a group of guys a head taller than him, and winning in the end.

"Unbelievable..." Dania really couldn't imagine how Hajiling could have stood a chance back then.

"Mm, so of course he couldn't beat them. In the end, he held out until the police arrived, and they hauled the whole bunch of them and us away together. They originally wanted to treat Xiao Ling to a few days of government food for fighting. It was only because my brother and I testified, and bystanders provided evidence of what happened, that he didn't get locked up."

"Then what happened to Senior in the end...?" Sigrika asked worriedly.

"In the end, he turned out just as you see him. He got good grades, went to a good university, and has such a cute girlfriend." The coser tried to give Dania's nose a little stroke, but Dania stepped back and dodged as if by reflex.

"Haha, it looks like you don't really like dealing with strangers," she said with an awkward laugh.

"I think people should have a basic sense of boundaries."

"Fair enough. Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ye Xue. If you ever have questions about photography, or want to learn more about the embarrassing things that guy did, you can come to me."

After exchanging contact information, Ye Xue turned around, waved with a casual flourish, and said, "I'm off!" before heading straight out.

She remembered clearly that back then, the guy had been skinny and short and came from a single-parent family. He had given off such a gloomy air that people tended to keep their distance.

And yet, could anyone have imagined that a guy like that had wanted nothing more than to marry a two-dimensional paper character?

But now it looked as though his dream had come true. After all, these two gorgeous women really did look like they had walked out of a game, and he had actually gotten to be with them.

Still, that was nice. Good people deserved good things, didn't they?