Half an hour later, Ling Xiaoxiao brought them to the secret base of the Special Powers Unit. Dropping all pretense, she acted very familiarly, greeting the unit members who passed by right in front of Xue Ji.
For everyone in the unit, this was as strange as the sun rising from the west. Since Ling Xiaoxiao had returned, she had left everyone with an incredibly aloof and cold impression.
But today, the legendary “Zhongming Bird” was actually greeting them? The people coming and going felt overwhelmingly flattered.
After the trio walked away, those who had been greeted couldn’t help but gather together.
“Wow, that Zhongming Bird actually greeted me with a smile!” The young man’s mouth curled up uncontrollably.
“Her smile is so beautiful…” A bespectacled girl clutched her heart.
Ling Xiaoxiao’s slight smile had shot an arrow straight through the girl’s heart, leaving her standing there in a dazed mess.
“Why do you think she suddenly changed like this today?” a tall woman nearby asked, squinting her eyes, having already detected something unusual.
“Isn’t it obvious? This kind of reaction definitely means she’s been won over!” The bespectacled girl, snapping out of her confusion, let her thoughts run wild, already imagining many possible outcomes.
But the possibility that Ling Xiaoxiao had been ‘won over’ was the one that made everyone most apprehensive.
“It must be that white-haired guy who won over Senior Xiaoxiao, boo hoo~” the bespectacled girl lamented with grief and indignation, choosing the most unlikely outcome to deceive herself with.
Her words sounded a bit absurd at first. But upon second thought, everyone around figured that compared to being swept off her feet by some unknown delinquent, it was better for that little white-haired guy to be the one.
People are always willing to compromise. If from the start they were told Xue Ji had ‘won over’ Ling Xiaoxiao, they might have had some objections. But after first imagining a hypothetical ‘delinquent’, Xue Ji’s presence seemed undeniably perfect.
‘Go for it, little white-haired guy!’ they all silently chanted in their hearts.
The news about Ling Xiaoxiao spread like wildfire, gradually morphing into a story where she had been deceived by a scumbag, with Xue Ji becoming her new flame.
Xue Ji inexplicably gained favorability points within the base, while Ling Xiaoxiao found herself on the receiving end of sympathetic looks from those around her.
Consequently, everyone was distracted today, and work efficiency noticeably slowed down quite a bit.
…
Their arrival had caused quite a stir, though the trio themselves were unaware of it.
Inside Ling Xiaoxiao’s office, Xue Ji found herself inexplicably entrusted with the important task of explaining the “Contract of Sha Ya’s Voluntary Service as a Maid to Repay the Great Debt Owed to Heroine Ling” to Sha Ya.
Seeing the contract’s title, Xue Ji laughed unkindly, while also feeling immense sympathy for Sha Ya.
As expected, Sha Ya, who had been lying listlessly on the desk with a look of utter despair, immediately jumped up upon hearing the name. She vaulted over the desk, aiming to grab Ling Xiaoxiao by the collar.
Of course, her resistance was futile. Ling Xiaoxiao simply pressed a hand against Sha Ya’s head, letting the girl flail her short arms wildly while casually ruffling Sha Ya’s furry head.
Ling Xiaoxiao threatened, “What are you doing, what are you doing?! Do you think ten million is too little? Or perhaps you don’t want to stay out of confinement anymore?”
Hearing this, Sha Ya gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and forced herself to calm down. She looked at Xue Ji, seemingly seeing pity in the other’s eyes…
This sight deeply stung Sha Ya. She still retained her pride, even after being constantly suppressed by Ling Xiaoxiao lately.
Ever since leaving the forest, she had been relying on Xue Ji. How could someone like her ever compete with Ling Xiaoxiao for Xue Ji? How could she face everyone from the Ancient Forest?
With these thoughts, a determined look flashed in Sha Ya’s eyes, as if she had made some resolution. “A-Ji, keep reading,” she said coldly. Having said that, she puffed out her cheeks, drooped her ears, did a backward hop, and sat on the desk with her back to the two of them.
Still furious, Sha Ya swished her fluffy tail across the desk surface, sweeping everything on Ling Xiaoxiao’s desk onto the floor.
The water cup, knick-knacks, a sealed bag of photos, various random documents, and office supplies all scattered across the floor.
“That’s more like it,” Ling Xiaoxiao nodded, her mouth quirking into a wild, arrogant smile.
“Keep reading, keep reading,” Ling Xiaoxiao urged, pounding the desk.
The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. Xue Ji gulped, stepped forward, and positioned herself between the two.
“Whereas the liable party, Sha Ya, suffering a mental breakdown, is now to perform duties as Ling Xiaoxiao’s serv…” Xue Ji felt the wording of this contract was overly vindictive and was about to rephrase it herself.
But Ling Xiaoxiao tapped the desk with a slender finger and said coldly, “Xiao Ji, read it exactly as written!” It was the first time Ling Xiaoxiao had used this tone with Xue Ji while in a sound state of mind, and she regretted it almost immediately.
Seeing Xue Ji’s frown and the glare she shot her way, Xue Ji said angrily, “What is this attitude? Why are you talking so loudly?!” Xue Ji slammed the contract onto the desk, turned around, and made to leave with Sha Ya.
“Sha Ya, let’s go!”
“G-go where?” Sha Ya was flustered by this unexpected favor. She felt Xue Ji’s outburst was on her behalf.
“Home, back to my place!” Xue Ji grabbed one of Sha Ya’s hands and acted as if to leave.
“This is too much!”
Xue Ji had barely taken a step when Ling Xiaoxiao immediately showed her true colors, rushing forward to stop them.
“No, no, no, I was wrong, Xiao Ji, please don’t go,” Ling Xiaoxiao pleaded, moving closer and very熟练ly trying to hug her.
“Do you think I’m your body pillow, that you hug me whenever you feel like it?” Xue Ji turned away, dodging Ling Xiaoxiao’s embrace.
As luck would have it, Ling Xiaoxiao’s hug missed its target, and she ended up embracing Sha Ya instead.
‘Oh dear…’ Xue Ji saw this and instinctively held her breath.
Ling Xiaoxiao felt the sensation in her arms was wrong… and besides, Xiao Ji tended to bite.
She opened her eyes to see Sha Ya’s ferocious face, her eyes savage, like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.
“Grrr-ow!” Sha Ya chomped down on Ling Xiaoxiao’s face, wishing she could tear off a chunk of flesh.
The two of them inevitably started fighting.
Even though Ling Xiaoxiao’s strength far surpassed Sha Ya’s, with her face caught in Sha Ya’s bite, she was afraid Sha Ya might break the skin. Hampered by this fear, she found herself locked in a stalemate with Sha Ya.
“Stop fighting, you two, stop it right now!” Xue Ji hurriedly stepped in to separate the two who were now wrestling.
“Hey, hey, hey, stop pulling my clothes!” Xue Ji got caught in the middle of their struggle, suffering collateral damage and enduring the most harm.
…
After the farce subsided, Ling Xiaoxiao, using a mix of coaxing and pleading, managed to get Xue Ji to sit back down. Ling Xiaoxiao herself stood obediently to the side and read out the contract as revised by Xue Ji.
“Whereas the liable party, Sha Ya, due to a sudden onset of erratic behavior, seized the steering wheel, resulting in the destruction of a sports car-type artifact valued at ten million, the following terms are hereby set forth:”
Sha Ya sat in the spot originally occupied by the desk, head drooping, looking as if she was ready to accept whatever judgment Xue Ji decreed.
“In consideration of Sha Ya’s special circumstances, and with the permission of the creditor, Ling Xiaoxiao, she is permitted to work as a maid to repay the debt through service.”
“Completion of basic daily duties will offset twenty thousand yuan of the debt. Additional rewards may be granted for satisfactory work.”
“During the effective period of this contract, Xue Ji shall supervise its implementation. Both parties are strictly prohibited from any acts that insult personal dignity.”
Noticing Sha Ya’s inattentiveness, Xue Ji suddenly roared, “Sha Ya, did you hear that clearly? Any objections?!” She didn’t know why, but she felt incredibly irritable, almost like she wanted to grab both of them and give them a thorough scolding.
“H-heard you! Understood!” Sha Ya was so startled her hair stood on end, and she hurriedly responded.
Within the mental space, the woman in the ruqun dress observed Xue Ji’s state, and her mischievous streak surfaced once again.
“My, my, little sister was originally male, so she probably hasn’t experienced this kind of thing before. I wonder how she’ll react when the time comes. How interesting~”
Lily, noticing her new roommate was lost in thought, secretly moved the four game pieces from the Ludo board that hadn’t yet left ‘home’ completely off the board. For some reason, her luck was terrible today.
‘Luckily this lowly Immortal is a bit dumb. I can cheat easily, hehe~’
After moving the pieces, Lily this time interrupted the lowly Immortal’s daze.
“Lowly Immortal, what are you smiling about?”
“Nothing, let’s keep playing.”