It was late afternoon, overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low.
A biting wind, laden with fine snow, swept past, bringing a sharp drop in temperature.
Acacia Plaza.
Xincheng parked her car in a designated spot. The moment the door opened, a wave of cold air, swirling with snow, rushed into the cabin.
Yet, for them, shielded by their magic, such a chill was inconsequential.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been dressed with such youthful vibrancy.
****
Silvia had barely stepped out of the car before Xincheng and Weizhan, approaching from either side, linked their arms through hers.
Qiye, meanwhile, walked beside them, navigating the maze of towering commercial buildings.
The streets teemed with women, filled with pedestrians wrapped in heavy woolen coats and adorned with fur scarves.
They ranged from the elderly to the very young, though blooming maidens comprised the vast majority.
This was a common sight in the Irisfeather Kingdom, for it was, after all, a realm solely inhabited by women.
As the four of them entered the bustling pedestrian street…
…Silvia was immediately drawn to a warmly lit beverage shop, which specialized in papaya milk, known for its breast-enhancing properties.
In the display window, ice crystals condensed on the glass reflected her slightly flushed cheeks.
A short while later.
“It’s cold tonight, so let’s have something warm first to whet our appetites.”
Silvia, carrying a six-pack of papaya milk, paused her action of biting the straw.
Noticing this, Weizhan raised an eyebrow, then covered Silvia’s hand with her own.
Her gaze lingered particularly on Silvia’s ample bosom, which was already so perfectly full.
****
Next, the four women headed directly to ‘Shuijiaojiao,’ a newly opened dumpling restaurant.
The place was still bustling with people, but fortunately, Xincheng had booked a private room in advance, sparing them the wait.
Inside, the air was thick with steaming mist and boisterous chatter.
A female server, clad in an embroidered kapok qipao, led the four of them to a private room on the second floor.
The moment the door swung open—
—the fragrant scent of sandalwood, mingled with the wheaty aroma of dumpling wrappers, wafted towards them.
“Over here~”
Weizhan’s backless knitted dress rustled as she slid into the seat, quickly claiming the spot to Silvia’s left.
Xincheng, seizing the opportunity, squeezed in on the right, her fingertips tracing the hem of Silvia’s pleated skirt, then daring to brush against her leg.
‘But why does her stocking feel a little sticky?’
Qiye, still a few beats behind, stood frozen for a moment before softly uttering, ‘Oh, you two…’
She finally took a seat diagonally across from them.
Observing Qiye’s unusual behavior, Silvia found it rather strange.
In the past, Qiye had always been so clingy; why had she become so distant after only a few hours apart?
Before long.
A server entered, pushing a dining cart laden with carved porcelain plates, each bearing dumplings of various colors and shapes.
The emerald steamed dumplings, shaped like miniature ingots, boasted thin skins and generous fillings.
The crab roe soup dumplings, nestled in silver spoons, featured golden broth enveloping delicate flakes of crab meat.
The three-delicacy dumplings were plump and round, filled with tender pink shrimp, dark brown mushrooms, and glistening white pork.
****
No sooner had the emerald steamed dumplings been placed on the table…
…than Weizhan scooped up a spoonful of crab roe soup with a silver spoon and brought it to Silvia’s lips.
“Open wide, Senior Via, be a good girl~”
“Ah~”
Silvia complied.
She took the silver spoon into her mouth, but Weizhan seized the chance to brush her fingertips across Silvia’s lips.
Withdrawing the spoon, Weizhan then put it into her own mouth, making it an indirect kiss.
Seeing this, Xincheng picked up a three-delicacy dumpling with her chopsticks, joining the feeding ritual.
“The shrimp filling is so fresh; you should try mine~”
“Mhm.”
****
However.
Qiye, however, was merely poking at the dumplings in her bowl, her gaze fixed on the wall clock.
It was less than four hours until nine o’clock.
Her heart was filled with turmoil.
‘What should I do? Should I really go through with it?’
‘If anything were to happen to Senior Via, I would regret it for the rest of my life…’
The filling oozed from the pierced dumpling skin, yet she remained completely oblivious.
Just then.
Silvia set down her chopsticks, noticing that Qiye seemed somewhat downcast.
‘She’s even spacing out during dinner.’
“Qiye? Are you feeling unwell?”
She leaned forward, her voice imbued with concern.
Hearing this.
Qiye looked up, her gaze meeting Silvia’s gentle purple eyes.
Her entire body stiffened; she found herself subtly shrinking from Silvia’s presence.
After a long moment, she managed to force out a few words:
“I… I’m fine. It’s just, erm… I used too much magic today, so I’m a bit low on energy.”
“Oh, come on~ Qiye, could it be that you’re unhappy because you haven’t had a chance to hug Senior?”
Weizhan teased.
Weizhan wrapped an arm around Silvia’s waist, yet still leaned sideways to press Qiye’s hand into Silvia’s palm.
“Senior’s healing magic is the most effective; a little touch makes the pain go away~”
She winked, smiling softly at Qiye.
After all, Weizhan had already sensed that Qiye’s state was somewhat off during lunchtime.
This woman, usually so lively and optimistic, had returned from escorting the little witch to prison noticeably… less prone to smiling.
“How about you sit on Senior’s lap, Qiye? That way, the three of us can share her equally.”
Xincheng suggested then.
At this, Silvia gently took Qiye’s cold hand.
“Don’t keep everything bottled up; if something’s bothering you, you can talk to me…”
She surmised that Qiye was under psychological pressure because she had secretly released the little witch.
She feared they would demand an explanation and accountability for why the witch hadn’t been sent to prison.
Furthermore, Qiye was likely too embarrassed to explain herself.
“Senior Via… I…”
Qiye’s gaze darted away.
‘Is it about letting the little witch go?’
Silvia transmitted her thoughts using magic, mindful of Qiye’s feelings, while her thumb gently stroked Qiye’s wrist.
Hearing this.
Qiye froze in surprise, swallowed hard, and then finally stopped averting her gaze.
‘Could Senior Via know everything?!’
‘No… Qiye believed Senior Via only knew part of it.’
‘Letting the little witch escape was nothing compared to the Grand Witch He’s scheme…’
Observing Qiye’s reaction.
Silvia breathed a sigh of relief, feeling even more certain that Xia Naxin hadn’t lied to her.
‘Just as expected~ A young girl like her, how could she so easily bear the guilt of letting an enemy little witch escape?’
So, she continued to transmit her thoughts with magic:
‘You have always been soft-hearted and sentimental; how could I ever bear to blame you?’
‘Don’t keep things bottled up alone in the future. Some matters aren’t so simple to handle… The forces behind the little witch run too deep. This isn’t your fault.’
‘To be honest, it’s more my fault~ If I hadn’t been lazy and had escorted her myself, perhaps no incident would have occurred…’
Hearing these unspoken words.
Qiye parted her lips slightly, wanting to speak, but ultimately held back.
She forced a smile.
“Yes, I… I’ve been too troubled.”
****
After some time, the four women stepped out of the dumpling restaurant.
At that moment, Xincheng suggested they go shopping, enjoy a proper date, and then catch a movie.
A new yuri romance film had recently premiered, its theme being her favorite: youth campus.
Under the streetlamp, Xincheng, with her hands clasped behind her back, smiled softly at Silvia, exuding a distinctly girlish charm.
Weizhan, of course, agreed, already busy booking tickets on her phone.
Qiye, however, did not respond immediately; she hesitated.
After a moment of contemplation, Qiye uttered a rather ‘discordant’ remark:
“I… I’m not feeling very well. I’d like to go back and rest first.”
“Huh?”
Xincheng’s smile froze, her eyes widening in surprise as she took a half-step forward, questioning Qiye.
“You were fine just now… Hey, Qiye, it’s just one time you didn’t get to sit next to Senior Via… Is there any need to be such a spoilsport?”
Weizhan’s brow furrowed in deep confusion; what exactly was wrong with Qiye?
“Qiye, are you perhaps…”
“Alright, that’s enough. Qiye genuinely isn’t feeling well…”
Silvia raised a hand in a calming gesture, her long hair lifting with the wind as she stepped forward and pulled Qiye into her embrace.
Then, Silvia pressed a soft kiss to Qiye’s cheek, cradling her face in her hands.
She then transmitted her thoughts with magic:
‘Get some good rest; it’ll be alright… You’re Magical Girl Crimson Star; how can you let worries trouble you?’
Immediately after.
Xincheng tossed the car keys to Qiye.
“Then you can take the car. Weizhan and I will take a taxi back later… Drive safely on your way! Captain Qiye…”
Qiye took the keys, mumbled ‘Bye-bye,’ and turned to leave.
But after a few steps, Qiye unexpectedly turned back and threw her arms around Silvia.
She sobbed a few times, her voice hoarse:
“Senior, please be careful during your night patrol, promise me…”
“Don’t worry, good girl~ You’re a grown woman; don’t cry.”
Silvia thought, of course, she knew full well that the arrogant and vengeful little witch would surely seek revenge on her.
After all, she had humiliated her so thoroughly that morning.
****
A moment later.
Qiye settled into the driver’s seat, closed the door, but didn’t start the ignition.
All her feigned strength crumbled abruptly.
Inside the car, darkness enveloped her.
She slumped over the steering wheel, her long-suppressed sobs mingling with the howling wind and snow outside.
“Wuwuwu…”
Unheard by anyone…
In the distance.
The figures of Silvia, Weizhan, and Xincheng gradually merged into the neon-lit street.
Beginning their night out.
****
Suddenly, a burning sensation erupted in Qiye’s lower abdomen, beneath her cropped top.
It felt as if a searing hot iron were pressed against her skin.
There, visible.
Beneath her smooth skin, a sword-shaped mark, as dark as ink, was slowly emerging.
Sixteen pitch-black wings unfurled along her waistline.
“Ah, ugh~”
Qiye had not expected this to happen now. Writhing in pain, she arched her back, her trembling hand rubbing her lower abdomen.
The black sword mark began to be visibly stained crimson, spreading with alarming speed.
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a blood-red sword, signaling that the demonic eye was about to open again.
Sure enough.
At the hilt of the sword, a dark green demonic eye… opened slightly, its pupil cloudy and murky.
Qiye was filled with utter revulsion, yet tormented by the intense pain.
Trembling, she reached out to claw at the demonic eye ‘on her skin,’ desperate to rip it out.
But her fingertips couldn’t grasp it; she could only feel her own skin.
This sensation had become increasingly frequent of late.
Qiye understood that she had expended too much magic today, especially after the whipping she received from the little witch.
Immediately.
She removed the butterfly bow from her head and saw that this oath-bound item was flickering with a red light.
It was a warning!
But then it faded, becoming a dull red glow… her magic was being corrupted again.
The more Qiye looked, the angrier she became, and in her rage…
…she mobilized the magic circuits within her body, directing them to converge in her lower abdomen.
She deliberately disrupted her magic, forcibly severing the demonic eye’s corrupting influence.
If she had to suffer, then that damned demonic eye wouldn’t have an easy time either!
Her lower abdomen became engorged with blood, turning bright red.
The dark green of the demonic eye was gradually consumed by blood vessels, turning it crimson, while its pupil darted erratically.
Yet, this self-destructive defiance also caused Qiye even greater agony.
She clutched her lower abdomen, curling into a ball, her internal organs feeling as if they were tearing, swelling to the point of almost suffocating her.
Qiye bit her lower lip, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, blooming into crimson stains on her cropped top.
Under her relentless torment, the demonic eye finally became a grotesque, terrifying blood-red!
“Hehehe~”
Qiye laughed through her pain; it was effective after all, as long as she tormented herself with magic.
Thus, she pitted herself against the demonic eye, neither yielding to the other.
As long as the demonic eye remained open, she would continue her ‘self-mutilation.’
Several minutes passed.
Just as Qiye’s consciousness was about to be consumed by the demonic eye and the agony, the driver’s side door was abruptly pulled open—
—and an unexpected figure appeared.
Ling Cheyin clambered into the car, her voluminous skirt brushing against Qiye’s feverish thighs.
“Idiot!”
The little witch straddled Qiye’s lap, her voice trembling with lingering fear.
She cupped Qiye’s bleeding cheeks, and before the other could react, her soft lips pressed against Qiye’s.
Ling Cheyin’s magic, flowing through their touching skin, seeped into Qiye’s turbulent magic circuits.
Ling Cheyin’s magic attribute was ‘dispelling.’
Through this kiss, Ling Cheyin indirectly dispersed the chaotic magic within Qiye’s body.
At this.
Qiye’s pupils constricted, and her struggling movements gradually stiffened.
Their lips and tongues met… a passionate kiss.
With each intertwining, the burning sensation within Qiye’s body receded a little.
On her lower abdomen, the engorged demonic eye continued to twitch restlessly—until, finally, it closed.
As the mark faded—
Qiye completely lost her strength, collapsing limply into Ling Cheyin’s arms.
The little witch, breathless, released Qiye’s lips and hugged her tightly, complaining into her ear:
“Idiot, idiot, big idiot! If you dare to act recklessly again, next time… I’ll have my sister deal with you!”
“Wuwu~ Why are you so foolish…”
****
A moment later.
The engine hummed to life. Ling Cheyin took over Qiye’s driver’s seat, but didn’t move the car, not even fastening her seatbelt.
Qiye, meanwhile, sat in the passenger seat, resting for a while, feeling much recovered.
“Why are you here?”
Qiye asked, turning her head to look at this woman… who had repeatedly made her feel ‘humiliated.’
Yet, this time, it was indeed the little witch who had appeared in time to save her, otherwise, she might very well have… self-destructed.
Hearing this.
Ling Cheyin glared at her, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
Clearly, she was still upset about Qiye’s recent ‘self-mutilation.’
“Of course, it was to ensure this operation went off without a hitch, so… I came.”
She leaned closer, pulling a pack of tissues, and began to wipe away Qiye’s tears.
Seeing Qiye’s worried expression, the little witch decided not to scold her further.
So.
She reached out to Qiye—
Qiye watched as the hand was about to touch her body, especially her chest.
She squinted, not resisting.
‘If it’s in the car… it might not be so bad.’
However.
To her surprise, Ling Cheyin’s hand reached past her shoulder, helping her fasten her seatbelt.
Ling Cheyin wasn’t in the mood for that right now.
She also feared Qiye might act rashly again; what if she started ‘self-mutilating’ in private?
Although she hadn’t experienced ‘vibrating’ in a car yet, now was truly not the right time.
“Don’t worry, my sister has everything arranged. We can start working soon.”
‘Start working?’
Qiye didn’t immediately grasp it. She opened her phone screen, and the cold light revealed the time—
7:11.
“Didn’t we agree on nine o’clock?”
Her voice trembled.
However.
Ling Cheyin shook her head, retreating to the driver’s seat to adjust it.
“Nine o’clock… you actually believed that? Well, you shouldn’t *not* believe it, but… do you understand ‘adapt as you go’?”
She said, fastening her seatbelt as she spoke.
“Besides, haven’t you already found an opportunity to separate from Zhennu Yibai? This is a golden opportunity, you know~”
“Wait…”
Qiye had barely voiced a faint protest when the little witch tilted her head, staring at the pedals.
“Huh, why are there two brakes? What brand of car is this? Does it have front brakes and rear brakes…?”
She looked at the clutch pedal, then confusedly at the brake pedal.
Hearing this.
Qiye froze, using her remaining strength to press a hand to her forehead.
“Uh… it’s a manual transmission…”
She unbuckled her own seatbelt and pushed herself up.
“I’ll drive.”
“Alright then… Sister Qiye, please drive fast! My sister is waiting for us~”
With that, the little witch told Qiye the location.