Chapter 11: An unspeakable secret.

The girl walking in front had long cherry-pink hair.

A rich wave of magic, like invisible threads, silently spread with her every step, making Lin Yuan’s skin tingle.

However, when his gaze instinctively shifted to the person behind her, a far more complicated feeling surged up.

It was… an extremely eye-catching white-haired loli.

Her pure white hair, like fresh snow, flowed with a cold silver glow under the slanting light coming through the door.

A pitch-black gothic dress wrapped around her slender body. Her features were exquisite, and her ruby pupils carried a depth of vicissitude completely at odds with her youthful face.

“What’s wrong?”

Ye Zhining sat upright, her fingertips lightly brushing the rim of her cup.

She didn’t turn around. She simply took an elegant sip of the lukewarm coffee, her tone carrying the knowing smile of an adult who saw through a teenager’s thoughts. “Cat got your tongue after seeing a pretty girl your age?”

“…They’re magical girls.”

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, forcing the words out between them.

His eyes surged with undisguised disgust and anger.

“At a time like this, those people still have the mood to dress up like dolls and come out for coffee… The missing children in Qingchuan City are probably because of the arrogance of people like them—”

His words cut off abruptly.

Because he was stunned to see that the pure-white magical girl, the moment she stepped into the shop and her eyes swept toward their corner, froze solid as if petrified.

Lin Yuan?!

Lin Xibai felt her heart stop completely at that moment.

That familiar, slightly melancholic delicate face, that messy black short hair that always looked like he had just woken up… There was no mistake. It was Lin Yuan!

Why was he here?!

At this time, he should be at school for lunch break, or at home!

Lin Xibai had never dreamed that she would run into her own child in this old place filled with countless family memories, while wearing this shameful dress and being held by a problem girl!

But then, when she saw Ye Zhining sitting across from Lin Yuan, her chaotic mind finally found a sliver of勉强 logic.

Right. Teacher Ye must have brought him out for psychological counseling.

This realization slightly eased her panic, but what followed was an even more overwhelming, drowning sense of crisis.

She was currently “Lin Xibai,” the first-generation witch who had disappeared for eighteen years.

If her son discovered that she was the same person as the father who made him burgers every day and acted subservient in front of him…

The destructive embarrassment would be enough to make her faint on the spot.

And Gu Ranying was right beside her!

The unrestrained magic power on this pink-haired girl, her terrifyingly sharp intuition, and her obsessive possessiveness and interest toward Lin Xibai in her magical girl form…

If she learned of Lin Yuan’s existence and his relationship with her…

Lin Xibai didn’t dare continue that thought.

Almost in the same second she recognized Lin Yuan, she forced herself to look away, trying to restore a calm, dead-water expression on her face. Yet her body grew even stiffer from extreme tension.

“Oh my, oh my~”

This tiny anomaly, almost imperceptible to ordinary people, did not escape Gu Ranying, who was standing right next to her.

Gu Ranying tilted her head with interest, following the direction of Lin Xibai’s fleeting gaze toward the table in the corner.

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Lin Yuan and Ye Zhining, then returned to Lin Xibai’s face, which was deathly pale despite her efforts to hide it. The corners of her lips curved into a smile.

“Xier~ What’s wrong? The way you looked at that boy just now… was very special.”

Gu Ranying extended her cool fingers and gently hooked Lin Xibai’s trembling chin, forcing her to turn her head. Her tone carried a hint of playfulness. “Could it be that you know the people at that table?”

“No, I don’t know them.”

Lin Xibai answered almost reflexively.

She kept her gaze lowered, staring at her interlaced fingers, not daring to meet Gu Ranying’s eyes.

From what she could tell, Gu Ranying only knew her as the magical girl Lin Xibai and knew nothing about her real life or family relationships.

In that case, she had to act decisively.

She absolutely, absolutely could not let her connect Lin Yuan to herself.

This person from the Flower Tower had no ordinary sense of morality.

If she sensed even the slightest hint that Lin Yuan was her weakness, even out of mere curiosity, it could bring catastrophic disaster to her peaceful life.

“Really don’t know them?”

“I don’t know them.”

“I see~”

Gu Ranying narrowed her eyes. Her gaze swept across Lin Yuan’s delicate face once more, then moved to the elegant and composed Ye Zhining. She chuckled lightly. “Xier hasn’t been back for so many years and must have been shining brightly outside. How could she know such… ordinary brats?”

Lin Xibai dug her nails hard into her palms, letting the sharp pain help her maintain rationality.

Gu Ranying intimately wrapped an arm around Lin Xibai’s shoulders. Without saying anything more, she naturally pulled her over to sit at the neighboring table.

Only a narrow aisle separated the two tables.

If Lin Xibai tilted her head even slightly, without any extra movement, her line of sight could cross that less-than-half-meter gap and clearly see her son’s profile.

Lin Xibai sat down rigidly, her hands clenched tightly on her thighs.

He had never been this nervous in his entire life. Not when facing swarms of void beasts back then, nor when giving open lectures to the entire school from the podium. None of it compared to even one ten-thousandth of the torment he felt now.

Why did Lin Yuan have to come now, of all times?

How could there be such a coincidence in this world!

Lin Xibai didn’t even dare breathe loudly.

Because her peripheral vision inevitably caught the side, she could clearly see that Lin Yuan was also staring at her.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

She comforted herself inwardly.

Right now you are Lin Xibai. Your voice, appearance, and aura are completely different from before the transformation.

No one can possibly recognize you. Not even Lin Yuan.

Lin Xibai’s emotions gradually calmed down. However, Gu Ranying had no intention of letting this peace last long.

She didn’t sit obediently across from her. Instead, she naturally squeezed onto the same side as Lin Xibai.

The already narrow space became extremely cramped with the addition of the second female body.

Their shoulders pressed tightly together. Through the thin black gauze and silk, Lin Xibai could feel the other’s warm body heat. Their knees inevitably touched as well. Gu Ranying even deliberately shifted slightly, making the friction more distinct.

“Gu… Miss Gu, it’s too crowded.”

Lin Xibai instinctively shrank toward the corner, trying to create some breathing room from the suffocating closeness.

“Call me Ranying.”

Gu Ranying pouted in dissatisfaction. As she spoke, she reached out and pinched Lin Xibai’s fair, porcelain-like cheek, gently shaking it like kneading dough.

“Isn’t it perfectly normal for girls to sit closer and be more intimate with each other?”

Gu Ranying narrowed her eyes. Deep in her pale pink pupils, possessiveness flickered. She leaned half her body over Lin Xibai, blocking the overhead light. “Or does Xier have something she’s hiding?”