Chapter 7: Can we leave this place here forever?

Lin Xibai’s heart skipped a beat. A thin layer of cold sweat seeped into her palms.

The intensity of the girl’s emotional fluctuations had completely exceeded the scope of normal reminiscing.

What flickered in those pale pink eyes was not the joy of reunion, but a near-pathological obsession.

Stay calm, Lin Xibai.

You are not only a magical girl right now, but also a teacher with over ten years of teaching experience.

Fortunately, in order to get along better with her child, she had privately sought advice from her colleague Ye Zhining, who was a psychology teacher.

When facing someone with extremely unstable emotions, the first step is to build trust, give them a sense of security, and use gentle words and actions to reduce their aggression.

Enduring the prickling gaze on her back, Lin Xibai gently pushed the brewed black tea toward the girl, then gracefully sat down on the sofa opposite her.

She gave a slight nod and forced a smile at the corners of her mouth.

“Mhm. My name is Lin Xibai. If you prefer to call me Xier, that’s fine too.”

She deliberately slowed her speech, as if coaxing a child.

At the same time, her gaze discreetly scanned the girl, searching her memories.

Pink hair, pink eyes, a doll-like princess appearance, and an extremely enthusiastic child…

She had never seen her before.

She was very certain that in her long but not particularly colorful combat career and social memories, she had absolutely no direct interaction or encounter with the girl before her.

Whether as a comrade, an opponent, or even just a passing acquaintance.

But the other party clearly did not think so.

“Xier, we’ve finally met again…”

The girl didn’t touch the cup of tea at all. She suddenly leaned forward from the sofa.

Her shadow instantly fell over Lin Xibai, completely enveloping the petite figure.

“Where have you been all these years?! I missed you so much… I thought about you every minute, every second. Do you remember? The days we dated together on the bustling commercial street and by the seaside under the moonlight?”

The girl’s breathing grew rapid. Her pale pink eyes suddenly brightened, swirling with emotions too intense for Lin Xibai to understand.

“After that, why did Xier suddenly disappear?! You clearly promised me you would stay by my side forever… But after that day, there were no more reports about you on TV, and I couldn’t find any news about you. I searched the entire continent, begged those lowly humans, and killed those damned monsters, but no one had ever seen…”

“Seen…”

The girl trembled as she reached out, gently cupping a lock of Lin Xibai’s pure white hair that hung over her shoulder, bringing it to her lips and inhaling it with infatuation.

Then she raised her eyes. Those pale pink pupils stared straight into the depths of Lin Xibai’s clear ruby eyes.

“Such pure white hair, such clear red eyes… It really is you. Only my Xier would have eyes like these.”

“I suffered so much. These years have been truly painful… But, but it’s okay now. Xier has come back. As long as you’re back, it’s good.”

Her tone suddenly brightened again as she clutched the lock of hair tightly. “Can you… stay in the Flower Tower forever? Never leave again, okay? We can be like we were before…”

“Uh—”

Lin Xibai instantly felt an overwhelming pressure.

She had considered that the other party might be a problem girl with a perverse personality and had preset various possible difficulties, indifference, or strange demands.

But she never expected that the root of the problem would somehow inexplicably lie with herself.

But why?!

Her brain rapidly searched through the past.

The magical girls who had fought alongside her were few in number. Luo Xingli was one of them. The others had either long lost contact or…

There was absolutely no way it could be the girl in front of her.

This was strangely ridiculous.

Doubts tangled like hemp ropes, but Lin Xibai knew this was not the time to investigate the truth.

No matter how this misunderstanding had arisen, the urgent task was to complete the real purpose of this trip.

She smiled awkwardly and subtly shifted her body backward, trying to create a bit more social distance.

“Cough, haha… We can talk about these things slowly later. Actually, the reason I came to visit so abruptly today is that there is a very important matter I would like to ask for your help with.”

Lin Xibai tried to make her tone sound as businesslike as possible, attempting to use the mission to pull the other party’s runaway rationality back.

However, she did not realize that for a yandere, so-called help and requests were often just another form of deeper entanglement.

Hearing the word “help,” the girl’s originally sorrowful expression changed slightly. The corners of her mouth curved into a gentle smile that made one’s heart tremble with fear.

“Help? As long as it’s something Xier wants, I will help you with anything~ Even if you want this entire layer of the Flower Tower, or the heads of those who have upset you…”

She gripped Lin Xibai’s hand tightly, her nails digging deep into the delicate skin.

“But, in exchange… what does Xier plan to give me?”

Lin Xibai was not slow-witted either. Years of life experience had given her basic judgment of people’s emotions.

The unrestrained longing and even somewhat paranoid possessiveness this pink-haired girl showed toward her had far exceeded the scope of normal social interaction or ordinary friendship.

Even Luo Xingli’s closeness and dependence, which carried old bonds, seemed much more normal by comparison.

She was clearly someone who had lived in long-term isolation, lacking proper emotional care, which had caused psychological distortion.

This realization made Lin Xibai’s tense nerves relax slightly, and even gave rise to a trace of pity.

As long as she applied the right medicine, gave enough correct attention and guidance, perhaps she could calm the girl down and return to normal communication.

Lin Xibai sighed inwardly and brought out the patience and gentleness she used when facing problem students.

She slightly lowered her eyes, allowing the other party to hold her hand, and offered what she considered the safest compensation plan.

“After that, I can spare an entire day to accompany you. We can do whatever you want—whether it’s shopping, watching movies, or meeting new friends, anything is fine. As long as you’re willing to help this time.”

“Eh?”

Gu Ranying’s movements suddenly froze. The gloom on her face vanished instantly, replaced by overflowing joy.

“A date?! It’s a date, right! Okay, okay~ I agree!”

She clapped her hands happily, leaned forward, and asked impatiently, “Why don’t… we go right now?”

“Uh…”

Lin Xibai was instantly at a loss for words. Her body straightened even more involuntarily as she sat properly.

She hadn’t expected things to progress so quickly, nor had she expected the other party to directly interpret “accompanying” as a date.

But looking at the girl’s jubilant appearance, Lin Xibai could only smile bitterly and take a sip of the slightly cooled black tea.

Forget it.

As long as she could get the medicine and save Lin Yuan… spending a day playing with this child was still a worthwhile deal.

“Alright. In that case, how should I address you?”

Lin Xibai asked tentatively.

The moment she asked, the air instantly froze.