Chapter 78: I Like Little Ai
The Collapse of Control
Boom!
As the crashing sounds persisted, cracks began to spread across the wall.
Wang Si collapsed to his knees, broken. The three remaining puppets, without their master’s control, could only roar aimlessly.
“No… I can’t… I have to survive…”
Muttering to himself, Wang Si’s gaze darted to Yu Li. His eyes suddenly lit up.
“Right… I still have a hostage.” Grasping at a last hope, he moved to command the puppets to seize her.
But it was too late.
Boom!
The entire wall shattered, debris flying everywhere, revealing the scene outside. The source of the relentless crashing… was the corpses of the thirty puppets.
Not one was intact. Each had been smashed into pieces by some immense force.
The fragments of the puppets, along with the broken wall, were pressed against a distant barrier, wild spiritual energy saturating every inch of the air.
The Golden-Haired Savior
A golden-haired girl stood, hand outstretched, orchestrating the chaos. Her cherry-red eyes burned with cold killing intent. In her grip was a gem-encrusted scepter, radiating spiritual energy far beyond mid-tier.
The three puppets poised to attack Yu Li were instantly pinned, unable to move under crushing gravity.
The ground cracked under the pressure, and the puppets were slowly compressed, their monstrous forms reduced to mangled clumps of flesh.
“You…”
Wang Si tried to speak, but Ai Xinglan didn’t spare him a glance. With a casual wave of her scepter, he was sent flying.
He soared dozens of meters, crashing into a distant building with a dull thud, leaving a small crater. His fate was uncertain.
Turning her back on the fallen Wang Si, Ai Xinglan stowed her scepter and quietly approached Yu Li, her gaze fixed in silence.
Her cherry-red eyes no longer held the icy edge from moments before. Instead, they brimmed with complex emotions.
Joy, anger, anxiety, fear… and an overwhelming urge to protect.
Yu Li had never seen Ai Xinglan display such intense feelings. In a way, if you ignored the danger, she felt she’d come out ahead.
“Little Ai…” Yu Li softly called her name, watching her stand there, dazed.
“I’m sorry. I came too late.”
Ai Xinglan quickly reined in her emotions. She cared deeply about Yu Li’s feelings, even if it meant suppressing her own.
“Little Ai… I always believed you’d find me.”
Yu Li smiled. She could sense Ai Xinglan’s unchanged turmoil, but she chose not to call it out.
The night was still young, after all.
A Tender Reunion
Faced with Yu Li’s smile, Ai Xinglan couldn’t quite muster one of her own. She gently extended a hand, asking softly,
“Are you okay?”
Yu Li tried to take her hand and stand, but her body refused to cooperate.
“Sorry, looks like I can’t move.” She stuck out her tongue, attempting to play it off with charm.
Seeing her like this, Ai Xinglan paused, then sighed helplessly.
“Ugh… such an idiot…”
Crouching down, Ai Xinglan gestured for Yu Li to climb onto her back.
“Come… let’s go home.”
Yu Li obediently leaned onto her back. Despite her petite frame, Yu Li’s softness was undeniable in all the right places.
She pressed herself tightly against Ai Xinglan, leaving no gap, as if savoring the closeness. A gentle smile tugged at her lips.
Feeling the warmth behind her, Ai Xinglan’s cheeks flushed slightly.
But she held Yu Li steady, refusing to let her slip.
“Little Ai, hold on… go over there first.”
Yu Li pointed in a direction. Without questioning, Ai Xinglan headed that way.
“Here?”
“Yeah… there’s a box down there. Destroy it.”
Ai Xinglan reached down and found it. Inside was a syringe filled with blood.
“This is…?”
“My blood. They probably wanted it for research. Destroy it.”
“…Okay.”
Ai Xinglan crushed the syringe, letting the blood spill into the sewer. The Calamity Cult would never get their hands on it.
“Good. Now we can leave.”
Yu Li smiled with relief, blowing a soft breath against Ai Xinglan’s pale, jade-like neck.
Ai Xinglan said nothing, but a faint blush spread across her skin.
A Quiet Walk Home
The two walked home, Ai Xinglan carrying Yu Li on her back, the night breeze gently brushing past.
Her expression remained serious throughout.
“Little Ai, don’t you have anything to say?” Yu Li broke the silence.
“No.” Ai Xinglan’s reply was curt, leaving Yu Li dissatisfied.
“Hm~ Really nothing?”
“…”
Ai Xinglan fell silent. It wasn’t that she had nothing to say—far from it. She had so much to ask, so much she wanted to pin Yu Li down and demand answers for.
“If I ask, will you explain?”
“Maybe… I will.”
“As if!” Ai Xinglan blurted out.
She knew Yu Li too well. That girl was always like this—always!
Beyond her playful teasing, she never shared anything real.
The thought made Ai Xinglan feel a pang of grievance. She wanted Yu Li to trust her, to rely on her, but Yu Li just wouldn’t.
“I’ll tell you…” Yu Li whispered softly in her ear. “Anything Little Ai wants to know.”
…
Ai Xinglan paused for a long moment before speaking.
“Hmph… forget it.”
She turned her head away. Though she was the one who wanted answers, she was also the one refusing now.
A Sudden Confession
“Little Ai, do you like me?” Yu Li asked out of the blue.
“Huh?!”
Ai Xinglan’s body jolted, nearly dropping Yu Li. She hadn’t expected such a bombshell from her.
Barely steadying herself, she was hit with something even more shocking.
“I, you know, like Little Ai.”
“What?!” Ai Xinglan’s pupils trembled, her cheeks flushing red, her heart thrown into chaos by the sudden confession.
“I like the Little Ai who worries about me, the Little Ai whose eyes are full of me. But…” Yu Li leaned closer.
“Little Ai… you look like a perfectly cooked lobster right now~”
She teased in a whisper by Ai Xinglan’s ear.
“Looks like… I’ll need to give you some desensitization training. You’ll have a hard time otherwise.”
“What?! It’s because you said that out of nowhere!” Ai Xinglan stammered, her earlier grievances forgotten in her fluster.
“Pfft.” Yu Li burst into laughter from her perch on Ai Xinglan’s back.
“You jerk, you’re doing this on purpose… ugh!”
Ai Xinglan was annoyed, but she didn’t forget Yu Li’s condition. She was injured and needed care.
Steadying herself again, Ai Xinglan muttered with a pout.
“Idiot… once you’re healed, I won’t let you off, hmph.”