Despicable Old Qian (3)

Why is Chen Xi here too? Is this another “coincidence”? Or…

Tidal looked at You Xi with suspicion. The girl quickly averted her gaze, clearly guilty.

…So that’s how it is.

Tidal quickly pieced together what had happened.

This morning, You Xi’s two messages had felt oddly manipulative—like she was forcing Tidal’s hand, as if saying, If you don’t come, I’ll suffer so much you won’t be able to ignore me.

That was strange. Normally, You Xi could just casually ask to meet for “training purposes.” Why send such awkward, emotionally charged messages?

She must have been pressured.

“You bring Tidal, or else…”

Tidal turned to Chen Xi, who was still standing there, giggling like a love-struck schoolgirl.

Clearly, it wasn’t You Xi who had summoned her—it was her.

Chen Xi had seen them together before. She must have figured out that Raging Flame—the magical girl always with Tidal—was actually You Xi. Now, she was using that knowledge to blackmail You Xi into bringing her along.

“Chen Chen… you’re really low for dragging my niece into this…”

Tidal was furious at her ex-girlfriend for involving You Xi. But then she remembered her own actions—how he had hurt Chen Xi—and his anger faded. This was probably karma.

“…Ah! I just remembered, I have to go home for something. I-I’ll go first!”

You Xi suddenly said, turning to leave in a panic.

“Running away?”

Tidal grabbed the back of her collar. You Xi turned, meeting Tidal’s irritated gaze.

“Ha… Senior, I remembered wrong. I, I actually don’t have anything to do.”

You Xi, realizing escape was impossible, gave an awkward laugh.

“You called me here. What do you want?” Tidal asked in her usual cold tone.

“Ah? N-nothing.”

You Xi answered, shooting anxious glances at Chen Xi—Hurry up and say it! What do you want?!

“Nothing? But you were the one who said you wanted to see me.”

“I’ve seen you now, so it’s fine. Hehe…”

“…”

Tidal gave her a flat look, then said calmly, “Then I’ll be going.”

“W-wait! Wait!”

Chen Xi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

“Sorry, Miss Tidal! Actually… I asked Xiao Xi to bring you here!”

“…What about?”

“Hehe. Well, you see…”

Chen Xi giggled, her face turning red.

When their eyes met, the sparkle in Chen Xi’s gaze instantly brought back memories for Tidal.

Three years ago, when they first got together, Chen Xi had looked at him with the same shy, bright eyes.

“Actually… I’m your fan. I want to take a photo with you… Is that okay?”

“Just a photo? Fine.” Tidal didn’t resist, accepting gracefully.

“Yay!”

Chen Xi clenched her fist in excitement. She stepped close to Tidal, crouched slightly, and raised her phone.

“Yeeeah~”

“…”

Chen Xi made a “yeah” pose for the camera. Tidal remained expressionless.

The photo showed one girl beaming, the other completely blank—creating a comically awkward contrast.

“This… I’ll keep forever.”

Chen Xi treasured the photo, immediately setting it as her wallpaper, her face glowing with satisfaction.

At that moment, Tidal felt the cruel twist of fate.

Back when they were dating, Chen Xi’s wallpaper had been a photo of the two of them.

If she ever found out Tidal’s true identity… what a ridiculous, melodramatic mess that would be. Tidal didn’t even want to imagine it.

“By the way, your clothes…”

“My clothes? What about them?”

Tidal looked down, seeing nothing wrong.

“They’re cute, sure, but don’t they look a little… off? Like the size is wrong?” Chen Xi asked.

“Yeah, actually, the sleeves are a bit long,” You Xi added.

“I rarely wear anything but combat gear, so I just bought random stuff. I don’t care much about fashion,” Tidal said.

“Perfect!”

Hearing that, Chen Xi suddenly lit up.

“Perfect?” Tidal asked, confused.

“Miss Tidal, as a thank-you for the photo, please let me take you shopping for some clothes that actually fit!”

“Huh?”

Tidal froze. Women’s logic was so strange—why did everything always end up with shopping?

While she was stunned, You Xi chimed in:

“Yay! Xianjie has such great taste, she’ll make Senior look super cute!”

“Huh?”

“Please! Let me fulfill my… Ah, sorry, I slipped. Anyway! Please!”

With a clap, Chen Xi clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

“I wanna see too! I wanna see!” You Xi cheered.

“…”

The two of them were so loud that people around began to notice. Feeling the weight of their stares, Tidal felt a wave of embarrassment.

“Alright, stop making noise.”

“Senior, does that mean you agree?” You Xi asked.

“…As long as you two stop bothering me,” Tidal sighed.

Hearing that, the two girls grinned and high-fived in excitement.

Two hours later.

“Xianjie, I think this one’s super cute. With this ribbon color…”

“Let me see… Hmm… I think cooler tones suit Miss Tidal better.”

“Really? I think Senior looks cute in anything.”

.****.

Tidal sat silently on the sofa in the changing room, already half-dazed from exhaustion.

In the past two hours, she’d lost count of how many outfits she’d tried on. Chen Xi’s arm was now draped with countless shopping bags.

Turns out, “just one more” for women was the same as “one more game” for men.

“…Isn’t this enough? Can I go home now?” she protested to the two still browsing.

“No! I swear on my 24 years of life—I will find the perfect look for Miss Tidal today!”

“Senior, don’t rush! If you quit now, all our effort is wasted!”

Oh no… did these two turn me into a life-sized doll?

Tidal realized the danger. Just then, Chen Xi approached, holding a light green ruffled blouse and denim overalls.

“Try this one. It’ll be so cute… hehehe…”

Chen Xi’s eyes gleamed with pure greed. She licked her lips, slowly advancing toward Tidal.

…Don’t come any closer!