Chapter 79: Only Little Ai
A Softened Tension
Though Ai Xinglan appeared exasperated, the air between them had noticeably softened.
At least she didn’t seem as angry anymore.
Yu Li gave a bittersweet smile, tightening her hold around Ai Xinglan and nuzzling her face gently into her back.
“Stupid Yu Li, you…” Ai Xinglan trailed off, hesitating.
“Little Ai…” Yu Li mirrored her pause, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
She tried to stay calm, but her racing heartbeat betrayed her. She desperately wanted to ask.
If… I stripped away this mask of pretense, Little Ai, would you still care for me?
Ai Xinglan could feel the girl on her back clinging tighter, pressing close as if seeking comfort.
Unsure of what to do, Ai Xinglan supported Yu Li with one hand while grasping her hand with the other.
Feeling the warmth of her touch, Yu Li mustered the courage to speak. “Little Ai… no matter what my true nature is, would you… still choose me?”
“…Huh?”
Ai Xinglan froze, her face a mix of disbelief, as if saying, That’s what you wanted to ask?
“I’m… kind of a bad woman, you know?” Yu Li explained softly.
“Hmph… that much I already know.”
“Not that kind of bad with you…” Yu Li sighed helplessly. “I’ve… deceived a lot of people to get what I want. I’ve made them invest their emotions in me…”
“And even so, I won’t stop. I’ll keep doing it… always.”
“Would you still choose me, Little Ai?”
A Surge of Frustration
Yu Li’s words reignited Ai Xinglan’s anger.
“You didn’t avoid coming home just because of this, did you?”
“Huh?”
“Do you know… how worried I was?!” Ai Xinglan pinched Yu Li’s thigh in frustration.
“You’re such an idiot!”
“No, no, that’s not it, Little Ai…” Yu Li instinctively tried to explain. She wasn’t avoiding home out of guilt.
It was just…
“What then?!”
Seeing Ai Xinglan’s expression, Yu Li realized that admitting she was avoiding her because she couldn’t control her emotions would only make her angrier.
So, she opted for honesty. “I’m sorry… I won’t do it again.”
“Hmph… you better remember. You’re just an idiot… my idiot, the one I’m looking after.”
“So…”
“Don’t ever leave me like you did today.”
Ai Xinglan’s voice grew quieter, but Yu Li heard every word clearly.
A sense of security flooded Yu Li’s heart. She finally smiled genuinely.
“I understand, Little Ai… only you… I’d never…”
Murmuring, Yu Li rested against Ai Xinglan’s back, savoring her warmth. Ahead, a figure rapidly approached them.
It was Feng, who had prepared a car to take them home.
A Shadow in the Ruins
Clack, clack.
A hunched figure emerged in the nearly ruined room. His cold gaze swept over the scene, lingering briefly on the shattered syringe and the vanished blood without a trace of disappointment.
Instead, his eyes gleamed faintly when they landed on the puppets’ corpses.
“What a monster…”
Moving slowly, he found an intact wall and pressed a container against it.
A purple light flickered in his eyes. Strange patterns appeared on the wall.
Tiny black flames emerged from the surface. Prepared, he swiftly captured them in the container.
“Finally… it’s mine.”
He shook the container holding the flames with satisfaction. The kidnapping, the blood—it was all a ruse.
From the moment he witnessed flames capable of influencing the will of calamity, Fu Tian had wanted to collect them for research.
This was an unexpected boon. For his experiments, he had even joined the Calamity Cult. With these flames, his research’s success rate would soar.
Success would elevate both the Fu family and himself. His transformation into this hunched old man would be worth it.
Originally, he had infiltrated the school to perfect his experiments while keeping an eye on his wayward niece, who had left the Fu family.
Now, compared to those flames, nothing else mattered.
“Heh… I should thank you, little pawn of the Calamity Cult.” Glancing at the crater where Fu Qingyue had smashed Wang Si, he offered a distant word of thanks.
He had no interest in inspecting the corpse of someone so insignificant.
With that, Fu Tian vanished into the darkness, leaving no trace.
Returning Home
Shortly after, the area was cordoned off. The security personnel Ai Xinglan had notified arrived.
Meanwhile, Yu Li and Ai Xinglan returned home. For some reason, Feng kept casting odd glances at Yu Li.
The looks left Yu Li puzzled… Feng was, after all, hard to read.
But Yu Li didn’t ask directly. Feng clearly had no intention of explaining, as if expecting Yu Li to figure it out herself.
Yu Li didn’t dwell on it. Once home, she pulled out her phone and plugged it into the charger. It had long since died.
When it powered on, her messaging app exploded with notifications, most from Ai Xinglan.
A few missed calls and messages from Lan Yi were there too.
Yu Li sent her a message confirming she was safe. She didn’t hide the kidnapping—it would likely be common knowledge at school by tomorrow.
It involved a teacher, after all.
After handling the messages, Yu Li should have put her phone away to act on… her thoughts.
But…
Seeing the little bear avatar flashing on her screen, she felt a headache coming on.
Fu Qingyue… why?
Opening their chat, Yu Li realized Fu Qingyue had only sent her an emoji.
It seemed she didn’t know about the kidnapping, but…
The moment Yu Li opened the chat, Fu Qingyue’s status switched to typing.
Fu Qingyue: “Tomorrow, after school… meet me.”
It was as if she’d been waiting for Yu Li to read her message. The brief text came instantly.
Yu Li frowned instinctively. Fu Qingyue’s reaction was nothing like she’d expected.
A girl like her… how could she recover so quickly after being betrayed?
She still remembered Fu Qingyue’s devastated expression on the arena stage yesterday.
Yu Li had assumed they’d never cross paths again. But now… it seemed Fu Qingyue wasn’t letting go so easily.
For some reason, a faint smile curved Yu Li’s lips.