Milk Tea

In a restaurant near the school.

Su Mian found the meal entirely tasteless—not because her appetite was gone like before, but because she was constantly worried about being “found out.”

Fortunately, the effects of the Stone of the Lost were very reliable. By the time they finished eating, her best friend’s behavior remained essentially the same as always.

“Heading back to the library later?”

As they walked out of the restaurant together, the handsome youth’s face immediately crumpled upon hearing her question. Qi Chuan nodded listlessly. “Where else? These past few days, I’ve practically wanted to move in there!”

“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

Honestly, Su Mian felt that with Qi Chuan’s ability, passing the exam wouldn’t be a problem at all; he was simply far too insecure. But thinking about it, that was just how her friend was—the closer he got to a crucial moment, the more nervous he became. Because he was afraid of making a mistake, he always made a habit of making exhaustive preparations before doing anything.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with this personality—better safe than sorry—but Su Mian just felt that he was putting too much pressure on himself.

“You need to prepare for exams, but don’t wind yourself too tight. A balance between work and rest is the way to go.”

The girl offered her advice, but Qi Chuan only gave a noncommittal nod; it was unclear if he actually took it to heart.

The two walked along the road for a while. Just as they were about to part ways, they suddenly noticed a long queue snaking around a corner up ahead. Dozens of people were gathered in front of a small shop, surrounding it so tightly that not even water could leak through. Even from a distance, a clamor of noise hit them.

“So many people… what’s going on?”

Humans are naturally curious, so seeing a line that nearly blocked the road, Su Mian instinctively stopped to take a few looks.

Qi Chuan’s attention was also drawn. Since he was taller, he could naturally see more. After observing for a few seconds, he discovered something and exclaimed: “Ice-Fire Milk Tea!”

“What?”

“You don’t know Ice-Fire Milk Tea?” Seeing Su Mian’s blank expression, the youth was surprised. “This stuff is incredibly popular in Yujing lately! I heard they were preparing to open branch stores, but I didn’t expect one to open near our school so soon!”

“Never heard of it…”

Su Mian had spent most of her mental energy on herself lately, so she had neither the mood nor the energy to pay much attention to other things. Moreover, she wasn’t particularly fond of milk tea.

Well, she didn’t hate it either. Seeing this so-called “Ice-Fire Milk Tea” so crowded right at its opening, she couldn’t help but feel curious.

“With this many people… is it really that good?”

“Well, the internet says the taste is decent.” Qi Chuan shook his head slightly, then explained further: “But what really made this thing go viral is that the ‘Ice-Fire’ part is literal. If you sip it slowly, it’s ice-cold, but if you take a massive gulp all at once, it turns hot!”

“…”

The girl scratched her head. What kind of nonsense was that?

She felt a bit baffled, so she couldn’t resist pulling out her phone to search online. It turned out to be true. This shop called Ice-Fire Milk Tea hadn’t been around long—less than two months—but through its unique “hot and cold” texture, it had exploded in popularity online, becoming a phenomenal “influencer” brand offline.

Recently, word was that they had received investment from a major corporation, so various branches were popping up all over Yujing like bamboo shoots after rain. Their next goal was likely every major city in the country.

Overall, it was incredibly hot. Even Su Mian, who didn’t care much for milk tea, felt a slight urge to try it after seeing the promotional photos and netizen comments.

However, she had some doubts. “How do they achieve both hot and cold? And drinking one cold mouthful and one hot mouthful—won’t that cause an upset stomach?”

Qi Chuan couldn’t answer that question either. They stood at a distance and observed for a while before quickly leaving.

Why didn’t they buy one to taste?

Because there were too many people, obviously. The queue was long enough to block the street, and more people were constantly joining. In this situation, they would likely have to wait for several hours. Qi Chuan didn’t have the time, and Su Mian’s current condition dictated that she couldn’t embed herself in a crowd like that. Despite wanting a taste, they both decisively gave up.

Besides, the shop wasn’t only going to be open for one day. They could come back once the hype died down and the queue shortened.

Neither Qi Chuan nor Su Mian took this small matter to heart. After parting, one returned to the library for self-study while the other, having nothing left to do, chose to head home.

Su Mian’s main goal for going out today was to test the effectiveness of the Stone of the Lost. Since it met her expectations and her goal was achieved, there was no point in wandering around outside. Furthermore, while the power of the stone was useful, it had negative effects; using it for too long would not only harm her but might also affect ordinary people.

Under the current circumstances, it was better to stay indoors as much as possible to save herself from trouble.

Worried that using it for too long on the way might affect passers-by, the girl found a secluded spot to deactivate the disguise before heading home. She put on her newly bought baseball cap and a mask before walking leisurely toward her residence.

Not long after, she began to feel glad about this choice.

Shortly after she had shed the disguise of the Stone of the Lost, she suddenly saw two people walking toward her from a street corner.

They were two women, one tall and one short. Both looked to be in their early twenties, beautiful in their own distinct ways. They weren’t acquaintances but complete strangers. Normally, encountering them wouldn’t require any tension, but Su Mian immediately detected an unusual aura from the shorter girl.

It was the same feeling she got from that Officer Jiang!

“Another one with special powers?”

Su Mian frowned slightly. Hadn’t she been running into too many strange things and people with special powers lately? For almost twenty years, she had suspected she was the only special one, yet in this past week, she had encountered three or four abnormal existences in a row.

First there was Officer Jiang, then the monster in the alley last night, followed by the Eye Hunter—and now, not even twenty-four hours later, she had run into another one on the street!

Could her previous guesses have been wrong? Were people like this actually very common, just rare in the area where she used to live?

Su Mian began to doubt her worldview, but she showed no abnormality on the surface. Her gaze naturally swept over the two women and naturally moved away.

The tall and short girls approached while chatting. They naturally noticed Su Mian coming toward them, but they only took a subconscious glance before brushing past each other.

Su Mian breathed a slight sigh of relief that they hadn’t noticed anything. But suddenly, she heard the two girls stop in their tracks!