Chapter 17: Sneaking a Little Toy, Meow?

A Suspicious Cover-Up

“Or… were you out doing something shady?”

Ye Xinglan’s suspicions grew. Tonight, Xiao Xi had not only brought her warm milk to help her sleep but also specifically said she was going to bed. It felt deliberate.

“I…”

Xiao Xi tried to keep her expression neutral, but inside, she was panicking.

Being a magical girl wasn’t exactly shameful, but given Ye Xinglan’s disdain for them, it was better she didn’t know.

“Can’t say? Looks like it really is something shady.”

Xiao Xi racked her brain for an excuse. Her eyes darted past Ye Xinglan to the computer desk, and inspiration struck.

“Okay, it is a bit shady. I went out to… secretly buy some late-night snacks.”

Snacks? Ye Xinglan blinked, caught off guard by the response.

“I was going to sleep, but I was too hungry to. So I went out to grab some food.”

“I was gonna ask you to join, but I thought you might be asleep, and waking you didn’t feel right, so I ate alone.”

“Didn’t expect you to come in. Eating alone’s kinda awkward, so I told a little lie. Sorry, Xinglan.”

The excuse sounded plausible, but Ye Xinglan still eyed her skeptically, unconvinced.

“Look,” Xiao Xi pointed at the desk. “If you don’t believe me, check the drawer. There’s a bag of snacks I just bought.”

Ye Xinglan opened the drawer and, sure enough, found a small bag of snacks. The fried chicken on the desk was still lukewarm, clearly fresh.

Could Xiao Xi really have just gone out for snacks? Was she overthinking?

Xiao Xi exhaled in relief. Thank goodness she hadn’t refused Miss L’s snacks. Without them, she’d have no way to explain this!

“See? I told you it’s nothing,” Xiao Xi said with a nervous laugh. “Want to grab some to take back to your room?”

But Ye Xinglan didn’t leave. Instead, she stepped back to the bedside.

A Misunderstanding Escalates

Xiao Xi’s story checked out, but Ye Xinglan grew even more suspicious that Xiao Xi had been handed something while out—something laced with negative mana.

The Divine Assembly used to pull tricks like that, slipping negative-mana items to passersby to corrupt them into villains.

“The snacks are fine—but what’s under the blanket? You wouldn’t hide food there, would you?”

Before Xiao Xi could react, Ye Xinglan took a direct approach. She lunged onto the bed, ready to yank the blanket off and see for herself!

Oh no! Xiao Xi panicked. Ye Xinglan had noticed her hiding something after all!

“W-Wait, don’t grab it! There’s nothing under the blanket…”

As Xiao Xi started to protest, a strong vibration suddenly pulsed from under the blanket.

Ye Xinglan, sprawled on the bed, felt it too. Both froze.

The black sphere had grown increasingly restless since Ye Xinglan entered the room, as if the sealed mana inside was trying to break free. Xiao Xi, caught up in the interrogation, hadn’t noticed.

Now, through the blanket, the sphere not only vibrated intensely but emitted a low humming sound.

This isn’t good. Is this thing about to cause trouble?

Xiao Xi’s expression turned serious. She moved to pull out the sphere to check it, but Ye Xinglan suddenly grabbed her arm.

“It’s fine, I believe you! You don’t need to show me!”

Xiao Xi: “?”

Ye Xinglan stared at the small patch of blanket vibrating between Xiao Xi’s legs, her cheeks faintly flushed.

When she’d lunged onto the bed, she’d brushed Xiao Xi’s hand through the blanket, feeling something small and round… and then it started vibrating.

She noticed the damp tissues Xiao Xi had used to dry her rain-soaked hair, now crumpled on the nightstand.

In the dead of night, in a room alone, her mind exploded with realization, like a little mushroom cloud going off.

When she’d jumped onto the bed… had she accidentally hit a switch?

Truth be told, Ye Xinglan knew little about such things.

As a humanoid weapon created by the Divine Assembly, she’d been the Blood Moon Witch from the moment of her “birth.” She’d never had the chance to learn about this stuff, and most of her social knowledge came from A-Lan.

So, the fearsome Blood Moon Witch was as innocent as a blank sheet in this regard. Xiao Xi watched as Ye Xinglan, who’d been interrogating her moments ago, now covered her eyes and fled in embarrassment.

“Sorry for interrupting your… rhythm! I’ll knock next time!”

No wonder Xiao Xi had looked so panicked and pulled the blanket over herself. She’d been caught mid-flight, so to speak. Panicking was only natural.

Since the thing under the blanket wasn’t anything bad, the mana must’ve been a mistake. Maybe Xiao Xi had picked up a trace of negative mana while out—normal enough, since negative mana was more prevalent at night.

A villain? Even less likely. Ye Xinglan had never heard of someone turning into a villain mid-flight.

Ye Xinglan’s logic made sense to her, but Xiao Xi was dumbfounded.

Rhythm? What kind of weird talk is that?

It was the first time Xiao Xi had seen such an expression on the cool, aloof Ye Xinglan’s face. She quickly realized what Ye Xinglan meant, which only made her more frantic.

What did you even misunderstand?!

Xiao Xi chased after her, knocking on Ye Xinglan’s door.

“No, you’ve got it wrong! Let me show you! I’ll show you what I’m holding, okay? It’s just, uh… a normal toy!”

“No need, no need! I know those things are called little toys…”

“Not that kind of toy! Just come out and look!”

Xiao Xi was beyond embarrassed. She desperately wanted Ye Xinglan to see the object, to know the vibrating thing wasn’t that kind of toy!

Ye Xinglan was an ordinary person—she probably wouldn’t even recognize a villain organization’s mana-storage Poké Ball.

As for showing a magical item to a civilian, Xiao Xi didn’t care anymore. Miss L would understand—this was about her honor!

Click. The door unlocked, and Ye Xinglan cracked it open slightly.