A Fleeting Farewell and Lingering Doubts

Fortunately, Amber refrained from uttering any more words that rendered Bai Muxue speechless, nor did she bring up the Bai family again. The two simply sat in silence on a park bench, lost in thought. This tranquility persisted until countless car lights and shouts echoed through the amusement park, shattering the peace—the Bai family, accompanied by members of the Anomaly Investigation Department, had arrived to pick up Bai Muxue.

“Ah, regardless, though there are certainly many lingering questions surrounding it, this matter has, for the most part, been resolved.”

Amber lazily rose to her feet. As she stretched languidly, her graceful curves were showcased.

“It seems your family has come to pick you up? Well then, this young lady should also be on her way.”

“Oh dear… I haven’t slept a wink all night; I’m utterly exhausted.”

Amber elegantly covered her mouth as she yawned, then gave Bai Muxue a playful wink.

“Amber…”

Bai Muxue instinctively wanted to speak, yet found herself at a loss for words.

For some reason, a faint sense of reluctance arose within her, and the moment Amber turned away, that feeling of melancholy intensified within her.

She had no idea what Amber was thinking at that moment. Yet, even if fate were to intervene, it seemed unlikely the two of them would ever cross paths again.

“What’s wrong? Still reluctant to part, are we~”

Amber seemed to have instantly seen through Bai Muxue’s inner thoughts, breaking into a smile as she said, “Ah, actually, Xiaoxue is truly quite adorable… If we ever meet again, this young lady might, perhaps, consider going on a date with you?”

‘Heh… this little girl is talking big again, isn’t she! Quality education these days really needs to be strengthened!’

Hearing this, Bai Muxue’s eyes widened in annoyance as she retorted indignantly, “A date? Do I really need Amber to go on a date with me? Don’t make it sound like you’re doing me a favor!”

“Oh~ Is that so~”

Amber pushed her long hair back, crossing her arms over her chest, which only enhanced her elegant allure as she said, “That’s truly a pity then. This young lady is incredibly popular, you know.”

“Just a casual mention, but you wouldn’t believe how many beautiful girls are waiting for me. Anyone who wants to contact this young lady has to queue up through my agent, hmph hmph.”

‘Hmph, just keep bragging, and “beautiful girls”…’

A strong sense of disdain rose in her heart as Bai Muxue turned her head away, secretly pouting.

But then, a pair of fair, delicate hands reached out from her peripheral vision, forcibly turning the young girl’s head back.

****

Before she knew it, Amber, who had already risen, had brought her face unsettlingly close to Bai Muxue’s.

The golden-haired girl’s charming face was mere inches away, her golden eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint as she gazed at Bai Muxue with a radiant smile.

Inhaling the lingering fragrance, accompanied by the warmth of Amber’s breath, Bai Muxue felt a ticklish sensation and instinctively recoiled, stuttering, “Wha- what are you doing…”

“Xiaoxue, you really shouldn’t frown all the time. A smile looks so much better… Just like this.”

Amber extended two slender fingers, pressed them against the corners of her mouth, pulling them upwards, revealing a somewhat comical smile.

“Cough, cough… What is this?”

Gazing at the indescribably strange smile before her, Bai Muxue ultimately couldn’t hold back, bursting into a chuckle.

“See, see? You smiled, didn’t you? A smile makes you look much prettier.”

Amber tilted her head, scrutinizing her for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.

“Cough, cough, I…”

Feeling somewhat discomposed, Bai Muxue quickly suppressed her smile and turned her head away. “I didn’t…”

The young girl’s words remained unfinished when the mischievous gaze that had rested on her cheek quietly vanished. Noticing the anomaly, Bai Muxue tentatively turned her head… Sure enough, the golden-haired girl who had just been standing before her had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Just like the bright moon disappearing into dark clouds, only a profound emptiness remained in the silent sky.

“What the… she left so quickly… didn’t even say goodbye.”

Watching the Bai family members and Anomaly Investigation Department personnel rushing towards her from a distance, a strange sensation welled up in Bai Muxue’s heart.

‘—It just… ended like this?’

Upon reflection, their time together had been incredibly brief. Yet, as this sudden departure and reluctance to part permeated her heart, perhaps it was destined that this feeling would not easily dissipate, but would linger in some corner of her memory.

‘…However, if Amber truly intends to investigate the Bai family, then she and I are bound to meet again, aren’t we?’

“But if that’s the case, it would probably be better if we didn’t meet again.”

Gazing blankly at the distant starry sky, Bai Muxue suddenly felt an inexplicable pain in her chest. She coughed several times in a row, as if even her breathing had become labored.

‘Damn it… I hope I’m not catching a cold…’

‘I need to go back, change my clothes, and take a shower…’

Bai Muxue rubbed her aching head and slowly walked towards the main gate.

****

The next day, Shen Jingyi, who had gone to work at the convenience store early in the morning, watched the news playing on the television hanging in the convenience store. A hint of surprise flickered across her usually serene and pretty face.

“In the early hours of yesterday morning, the child disappearance case, which had garnered significant attention from Wangdu citizens, was successfully solved. According to relevant personnel from the Anomaly Investigation Department, the disappearance was once again attributed to a Calamity Beast. Currently, the Calamity Beast has been successfully defeated, and the missing children have returned home to reunite with their families…”

‘A Calamity Beast? Last night?’

Gazing at the abandoned amusement park shown in the news footage, Shen Jingyi paused for a moment in surprise. She had indeed been following this child disappearance case, suspecting a Calamity Beast or a strange individual was behind it, but had yet to achieve any results.

‘And yet, while she was sleeping last night, the incident had already been resolved?’

The young girl’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Based on her consistently keen intuition, Shen Jingyi began to form some unusual conjectures.

‘—Although the news stated the incident was resolved and the Calamity Beast defeated… then who defeated the Calamity Beast?’

‘The Anomaly Investigation Department? Unlikely… If they had been the ones to deal with this Calamity Beast, the various media outlets would have already reported it extensively. How could they possibly pass up such an excellent opportunity for publicity?’

‘Since the news deliberately avoided mentioning details… could it be that they themselves don’t know who defeated the Calamity Beast, and merely received a notification to clean up the aftermath?’

‘If that’s the case, it would certainly make sense…’

‘So, who could it be? Someone in Wangdu, acting mysteriously without being discovered, yet capable of resolving this incident…’

Shen Jingyi’s eyes lowered slightly. Although there was no concrete evidence, her mind had already linked this incident to a certain elusive, ill-tempered rich young lady.

“…”

Biting her lip, she hesitated for a moment, yet Shen Jingyi still took out her phone and opened the chat application.

Since she had returned home last night, Bai Muxue hadn’t sent her a single message. Originally, Shen Jingyi hadn’t paid it any mind. After all, Young Miss Bai always did as she pleased, probably off playing somewhere with friends again. She was merely a toy for Bai Muxue to amuse herself with; could she really expect a goodnight message from her?

However… even though she repeatedly told herself this, the faint sweetness of the lollipop she had held in her mouth last night still reappeared in her mind from time to time, leaving her tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Her slender, jade-like fingertips hovered over the screen for a long time, before slowly typing a line of text into the chat box.

‘Last night, did you sleep well?’

‘…No, that feels strange. I’m not anyone to her, it makes it seem like I care about her a lot.’

Delete.

‘Did you defeat that Calamity Beast last night?’

‘…That looks even stranger. What is this, a magical girl colleague meeting?’

Delete.

The young girl’s eyes flickered with an unusual light, and her brows furrowed involuntarily from tension.

‘I saw the news, the news about the amusement park last night.’

Send.