After Cain’s death, the so-called Blood Clan’s divine kingdom quickly dissipated. The distribution of spoils after the battle was no longer Xue Ji’s concern. After all, this time, Huaxia had contributed the most, and even the Pope of the Holy See’s Judgment Court was on their side.
Just as she was thinking of heading to another secret realm to look for a Boundary Stone fragment, the Sovereign Deer advised her to wait a little longer, as the time wasn’t right yet.
And so, Xue Ji found herself with a very rare vacation. She could even prepare for the college entrance exams if she wanted to.
Xue Ji, Shen Dai, and Zhao Cheng arranged to study together at Xue Ji’s place.
For Xue Ji now, high school knowledge was basically remembered perfectly after one glance; there was absolutely no need to review.
Xue Ji’s main role was just to keep them company, because those two couldn’t study when they were together; they always ended up wanting to chat about other things.
While they reviewed, Xue Ji played games nearby, specifically The Witcher 3. She was controlling the grizzled witcher with the fragile knees, challenging everyone he met to a game of Gwent.
However, when break time came, the two chatterboxes couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Xue Ji, Xue Ji! We haven’t seen each other for ages, aren’t you going to tell us about your experiences lately?” Shen Dai had been looking forward to this opportunity ever since Xue Ji started beating up those connected kids in the superpowered forces.
“Seeing that Uncle and Auntie are both ordinary people, how come you have higher clearance than the instructors, Xue Ji?” Zhao Cheng was also very curious, though he hadn’t felt comfortable asking before.
Xue Ji puffed herself up with a cocky air, picked up the juice on the table, took a sip, and swayed her head like she was savoring fine tea.
A strand of hair on top of her head stuck up, bobbing like an antenna, just begging for someone to tease her.
If it were anyone else, keeping them in suspense like that might have worn their patience thin, but with Xue Ji, it was different. Shen Dai was rendered defenseless by her cuteness, while Zhao Cheng, remembering that Xue Ji used to be a guy, found the whole scene a bit hard to process.
Xue Ji had always been this cocky with people she knew, a stark contrast to her socially anxious image where she could barely string two words together in public.
“Well, that’s because I’m strong, terrifyingly strong,” Xue Ji declared, downing the last of her orange juice in one gulp.
She glanced at the two of them. Shen Dai’s reaction was surprisingly calm, while Zhao Cheng just nodded as if it were only to be expected.
“Hey, what kind of reaction is that? Shouldn’t you be, like, shocked when I say something like that?”
Shen Dai’s calm expression held a hint of disappointment as she propped her cheek on her hand and murmured, “No, it’s just… I think the truth is really just that simple, isn’t it?”
Zhao Cheng was simply happy for Xue Ji; after the spiritual energy recovery, it was definitely more reassuring to have some power.
“By the way, Xue Ji, do you know about our school anniversary plans?”
“School anniversary? The school doesn’t even really exist anymore, and you still want to hold an anniversary?” Xue Ji was surprised by Shen Dai’s persistence.
“Oh, come on, it’s the principal’s insistence. He said it’ll be hard for us to get together in the future, so we absolutely can’t skip this anniversary.”
That was true. Graduation would scatter everyone in different directions, and many who had awakened their abilities were joining the military anyway. It really would be difficult for this year’s students to gather again.
The door opened softly, and in walked the Animal ears maid, Shaya. She’d actually been working lately, serving as a maid at Ling Xiaoxiao’s place. Not only could she pay off her debts, but she even got a salary.
Money really does make the world go round, huh? Xue Ji looked at Shaya, who was now quite the maid, and was really curious about what exactly happened in Ling Xiaoxiao’s villa.
Shaya carried in some snacks, and it was obvious she’d snuck a few on the way over.
“Hey, two egg tarts are missing. Little maid, did you eat them?” Xue Ji deliberately called her out, wanting to see her reaction.
“No… no, I didn’t.” Shaya had pastry crumbs still on her lips, looking a bit guilty.
“Come here, little cutie, you can have my share too~” Shen Dai opened her arms and beckoned her over.
Haiya! Shaya didn’t hesitate and let Shen Dai coax her into her arms. Shen Dai’s repeatedly feeding had made Shaya no longer averse to her touch.
“Little cutie, wanna come to our school anniversary?”
“What’s a school anni-versary? Can you eat it?” Shaya asked, her little face puffed out as she chewed on an egg tart.
“A school anniversary is where all the yummy food, fun games, and cool stuff get together.”
Shen Dai completely understood Shaya’s psychology, easily piquing her curiosity.
“Wanna go!”
Hearing that answer, Shen Dai’s beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed. Her goal was clear.
Stare～
“Hey, Zhao Cheng, why are you getting in on this?”
Under the gaze of three people, Xue Ji quickly surrendered.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going,” Xue Ji said, her mouth twitching. In the past, she’d find trouble too annoying and just go out to play, never really paying attention to school anniversary events.
“I suddenly had an idea, and I need your cooperation.” Shen Dai finally revealed her whole plan.
After hearing it, Xue Ji nearly jumped out of her skin.
“What? No way! Why do I have to wear a maid outfit too?!”
“Because I want to see it. Uh, I mean, because our whole class, actually the whole school, wants to see it.” Shen Dai suddenly found her confidence, as if that would make Xue Ji overlook the completely illogical reason.
“That’s basically the same thing!” Xue Ji didn’t even know where to start complaining. “And how do you know everyone wants to see it?”
“They don’t know yet, but they will once you wear it,” Zhao Cheng chimed in unexpectedly.
“Dude, come on, man!” Xue Ji looked incredulously at her formerly honest buddy, now turned into this.
“I’d rather jump out of this building than wear that!”
…
That evening, chatting with Ling Xiaoxiao on WeChat, Xue Ji brought it up.
“Eh, a maid outfit? I’d like to see that too.”
“Wear it, I’d really love to see you in that, bringing me coffee and calling me ‘Master.'”
Xue Ji looked at this utterly unabashed conversation, momentarily unsure where to begin.
“No way! I’m just not wearing it!”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I was about to go into seclusion. Who knows when I’ll see you next time. (crying cat face)”
“What do you mean? Seclusion? Why?”
“It means I won’t be able to move around for a long time. I need to go to Mount Tai to calm my mind and repair the damage to my soul.”
Ling Xiaoxiao had refused to meet Xue Ji in person since that day, but they still chatted a lot on WeChat. In her words, meeting in person might cause issues with the karma from the Demon God seed, so it was best to avoid it for now.
This was the solution Ling Xiaoxiao came up with after consulting some reclusive experts. Her originally doomed fate had changed after that crazy night, which meant Xue Ji truly had the power to fight against destiny—only she didn’t know it herself.
Thinking about how she didn’t know when she’d be able to see Ling Xiaoxiao again, Xue Ji’s heart softened.
“If I wear it, will you come back to see?”
“I will, I will! I’ll send the outfit over with the butler.”
The butler? In all the time she’d known Ling Xiaoxiao, Xue Ji had never seen anyone stay with her long-term. Where did a butler come from? She hadn’t seen anyone at the villa before, either.