Dania: The Girlfriend Who's Joined the Family~

Midnight, in the living room.

Dania was sleepy now, extremely sleepy. Even scrolling through her phone to pass the time couldn't keep her awake.

She should have gone to bed by now, but she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in her heart.

When she woke up from her afternoon nap, she had wondered where that scoundrel Xiao Ling had gone. Only after asking her best friend did she learn that he had gone out after lunch and wouldn't be back for dinner.

But it was already past midnight!

Right now, Dania was like a cute little wife waiting for her husband to come home after fooling around outside. Her little head kept nodding, making her look pitiful.

"I'm so sleepy... I should just go to bed..."

Just as Dania was about to turn off the living room light and return to her room, someone turned the door handle from outside.

Dania instantly woke up and went pattering over to the entryway, her enormous, starry eyes fixed unblinkingly on the door.

When Xiao Ling saw Dania standing behind the door, staring at him, his heart skipped a beat.

Damn! What's going on?! Peach, shouldn't you be asleep right now?!

(Someone had no idea he had indirectly brought this about...)

In any case, things were even trickier now. If Dania had been asleep, he could have quietly found a room for Cartethyia and explained everything tomorrow. Now, it was no different from coming home after fooling around, bringing his female confidante with him, and getting caught red-handed by his official girlfriend!

As luck would have it, Cartethyia poked her head out at that moment and came face-to-face with Dania.

"Righteous One, who is this...?"

I'm done for...

All Xiao Ling wanted to say was, "Just end it already." But he couldn't actually do that. If there was any chance of salvaging this, he had to try.

Lao Ling, quick, use your super brain and think of something!

Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, it was Dania who spoke up and broke it.

"I'm Dania... As for who I am, I'm this big scoundrel Ling's girlfriend~ The kind who's joined the family~" As Dania spoke, she poked Xiao Ling's cheek irritably.

A girlfriend who's joined the family...

Cartethyia had been here for almost a month and knew perfectly well what that phrase meant.

Soft, adorable Little Cart felt a little sour inside. Had she really come a step too late after all...?

"All right, Ling, don't leave her standing outside. Aren't you bothered by all the mosquitoes?"

Dania flicked Xiao Ling on the tip of his nose, then naturally took his hand and led him inside. Cartethyia followed close behind, entering Xiao Ling's home as well.

Cartethyia felt a little awkward.

For one thing, she still hadn't digested the fact that her Righteous One already had an official girlfriend. For another, she didn't know how to face the languid girl before her, who carried herself so much like the lady of the house.

"Ling, you came back so late and brought a female confidante along with you. How are you planning to explain it to the others tomorrow?" Dania asked Xiao Ling, holding out her right hand.

"I'll just tell the truth..." Xiao Ling felt rather guilty. After all, he was the one in the wrong here.

"Don't think like such a clueless guy at a time like this..." Dania said with a headache.

Dania knew Xiao Ling's personality inside and out. She knew he never did anything unnecessary. Otherwise, when he had met Lupa that day, he would have talked her into coming home with him in a few words.

Since Xiao Ling had brought the saintess of Rinascita home in the dead of night, with her luggage in her arms, her original living conditions must have been so harsh that this overly kind scoundrel had softened and decided to take her in.

And as a result, he hadn't considered how the rest of them felt at all...

"Ling, I'm hungry," Dania said in a soft, sweet voice. "I didn't eat enough tonight. Make me a snack~"

"Was Chisa's cooking not good?"

"It's still not quite as good as yours~"

"What about you, Cart?"

"I don't really want to trouble you, Righteous One, but I am a little..." Cart rubbed her tummy. She really was feeling a little hungry.

"It's no trouble to make an extra portion. Don't worry about it."

After casually tossing the shoulder bag he was carrying onto the sofa, Xiao Ling went straight to the kitchen to make noodles for the two girls.

"You don't have to be so polite with him. Since you're planning to live here from now on, being too polite would actually make things awkward," Dania said calmly.

"Mm... I understand."

Cartethyia: Tips for facing the Righteous One's official girlfriend, please! Urgent! Waiting online!

She really hadn't expected the other girl to use cooking as a pretext to cleverly create a chance to be alone with her. Now she was feeling quite a bit of pressure.

"Speaking of which, should I call you Cartethyia or Fleurdelys?"

Huh?!

Cartethyia was even more shaken. Girl, I haven't even opened my mouth yet, and you've already exposed me?

"Don't be so nervous. You can find out with a quick search online. Don't tell me you don't even have a phone?" Dania looked at Cart as though she were a country bumpkin.

In fact, Dania had paid attention to the story while clearing the map in Wuthering Waves, so of course she knew the life history of Cartethyia, a major character throughout the entire Rinascita version.

Though she had only just finished 2.4.

"I do, but I haven't used it much..."

Of course she hadn't. She attended classes during the day and worked at night, and by the time she got home, she was so tired she fell straight asleep. When would she have had time to play on her phone?

Of course, Cartethyia did find it fulfilling and enjoyed it.

"So, how exactly did you and Ling meet?" Dania asked, tapping her rosy lips as she sized her up.

"Um... here's what happened..."

Cartethyia told Dania everything about her earlier experiences with Xiao Ling, leaving out only the fact that she worked at a cake shop and was learning to make cakes.

She had a feeling that the friend Xiao Ling had mentioned was probably the girl before her, Dania.

"Ah, I see. That really is just like Ling~ Always doing unnecessary things~" Dania concluded. "But making a decision on his own was still a little too rash. He'll need a good talking-to afterward."

"Um, if you really can't accept me, I can leave right now..."

"He's already brought you home, so why would we send you back?" Resting her cheek on her hand, Dania looked at the uncomfortable blond saintess with amusement. "If he really tried to drive you back, I'd deal with him for you first."

"You're not the one who did anything wrong. If anyone's to blame, it's that scoundrel."

"But we'll need to get our stories straight first. There are several other girls in this house besides me. If they wake up in the morning and find they have another sister, they'll be demanding answers~"

Dania sighed silently to herself. Ling really was something else sometimes. From the moment he went out until he came back, he hadn't replied to a single message they sent him, and then he came home and dropped a bombshell.

She'd have to help Ling sort out this little problem first. As for payment, she could ask him for it later.

"Ah, looks like Ling's finished cooking."

Catching the aroma of noodles in the air, Dania's eyes immediately brightened.

Everything else could wait. Eating came first.

"Come on, let's go see what that guy's cooking is like."

Dania ran over to the dining table on her own and sat down obediently, ready to eat.

Cartethyia was a little stunned and still hadn't figured out what was happening.

Did this mean... she'd been accepted by the official girlfriend?