April 4th, Tuesday

**April 4th, Tuesday**

Su Mu yawned and glanced at the clock. 23:29.

After seeing Ruoruo off, the accumulated mental exhaustion from reverting back from Su Mo had directly knocked her into a deep sleep.

Starting from six in the afternoon, that was about five or six hours?

And why did she wake up?

Hunger. She hadn’t eaten dinner, and her stomach was aching.

With no cooking skills and feeling lazy, she could only grab a bag of chips from the snack cabinet she usually kept for little Ruoruo, crunching away.

“Mmm… Host?” Xiaoqian rubbed her eyes and floated out of the bedroom.

“Ah!”

“Gotcha! Host, I caught you sneaking snacks!” Su Xiaoqian’s eyes lit up as she pointed at Su Mu excitedly.

“I bought them, so it’s not sneaking.” Su Mu looked calm, even a little amused.

“Mmm~ Cheater, I want some too~” Su Xiaoqian flew over and landed beside Su Mu.

“Here.” Su Mu handed over the snack bag with a smile.

“Nom.” Su Xiaoqian took a chip and nibbled on it from Su Mu’s shoulder. “Delicious.”

“But if you’re hungry at night, Host, you should at least cook some instant noodles. Just eating snacks isn’t good~”

“…” Su Mu paused, glanced sideways, then looked away and scratched her face. “Yeah, you’re right~”

Instant noodles weren’t a hassle—just boil some water.

She plugged in the electric kettle, and there was nothing more to do.

“Host.”

“What?” Su Mu replied as she watched the red indicator light up on the kettle after pressing the button.

“Looking at you now, compared to the day we officially met, it feels like such a long time has passed~”

“…”

“From slacking off to being a money-grubber, and now acting out of your own will for others.”

“Mm…”

“Not long ago, you didn’t smoke often, but you drank regularly. Now that Ruoruo comes over often, you haven’t touched those in a long time.”

“Well, I can’t leave a bad impression on a child.”

“You’re even using your Virtue Points for others.”

“The wool comes from the sheep. It’s called sustainable development~”

“Host is too shy, and then becomes tsundere, saying the opposite~”

“So… what exactly are you trying to say, Xiaoqian?” Su Mu’s face flushed as she became ‘angry with embarrassment.’ Couldn’t she give her an out? She had learned bad habits~

“…” Su Xiaoqian flew in front of Su Mu, her little hands cupping Su Mu’s nose, forcing eye contact. She said, “My host is very strong, but also fragile at times. I don’t think that fragility is bad; it’s precisely your gentleness.”

“So, at least in front of me, you don’t have to pretend to be strong. You can show yourself completely and act spoiled. After all, I’ve watched you grow up. I even know a thing or two about your adolescent worries. So now, there’s no need to be shy~”

“…” The first part was really moving. But what about adolescent worries? Weren’t you in hibernation? How much did you see? What exactly did you see?

“‘When darkness falls, I walk through the abyss; the nameless horrors crawling in the night yield to me. I am the divine, the only supreme, in heaven and on earth, I alone…'”

Su Mu immediately covered Su Xiaoqian’s mouth. “Xiao… Xiaoqian…”

Her smile was ‘kind,’ but her voice trembled a bit.

“This… that thing… I remember this…”

“‘Daily Notes of the Abyss Lord’?”

“Why do you even remember the name so clearly?!” Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ

“Oh, because it was interesting, so I backed it up.” ♪(´∪`●)ゝ

“You’re the one who should be embarrassed! I want to dig a hole and bury myself! Delete it now!” Pain! Too painful!

“No, that’s an important memory of you, my treasure. Even if you ask, I won’t delete it!” Su Xiaoqian crossed her arms, paused, then blinked her big watery eyes. “And to the system, data is memory. I don’t want to lose any memory related to you.”

“Ah…” This little one knows exactly how to get to me~

Su Mu sighed in resignation. “Anyway, don’t spread it outside~”

“Understood! Boy Scout’s honor!” ∠(｀ω´*)

“So you’re a Boy Scout?”

“Nope~”

“Su~ Xiao~ Qian~”

…

Su Xiaoqian watched as Su Mu finished her instant noodles, exhausted her energy, and sank back into sleep.

She sat on the small bed, resting her chin on her hands, watching.

She sighed helplessly.

Her host was like that—layering shell after shell to cope with life, but inside, she was still pure as a child. She claimed not to believe in emotions, yet she valued them deeply. Once she opened her heart, she gave it her all.

She herself hadn’t come back for Saint Lily; she had come back for her host.

“Stupid host.”

Even she had been afraid of operating outside the rules, okay?

Luckily, everything went smoothly this time.

“…”

After watching a while longer, “Host, good night. Sweet dreams.”

…………………………..Time Dividing Line………………………

“Yay!”

Saint Lily wiped her sweat, watching her little sister run around excitedly like a happy puppy in the night.

She must have just become a ‘Flower Seed Maiden,’ or else she wouldn’t be so thrilled just by flying. She only came back when the sky was almost turning white.

During this time, Saint Lily had stayed in the shadows, carefully guarding her.

Of course, the nights in Heping City were always peaceful. No petty thefts, muggings, or harassment of women. Well, generally, there weren’t any.

“Thank you.” A voice of gratitude came from behind.

“Ah… uh, you’re welcome. It’s my duty.” Saint Lily turned and smiled at her. “Actually, there are security guards on duty near every residential area. I’ll take you there, and we’ll bring this guy along too.”

“Mm.”

“I know that encountering something like this suddenly must be terrifying.” Saint Lily’s cane transformed into a rope, binding the man tightly. “See, no one will hurt you now.”

“This world isn’t perfect, but it’s not that bad either. Every neighborhood has security guards—they’re not far away. That’s for dealing with sudden disaster beasts, but it doesn’t mean they’ll ignore wrongdoing before their eyes. There are also warm-hearted people willing to lend a hand.”

“…”

“Every family has its reasons. I won’t pry. I just hope you can understand that and find a little courage. See, I came, didn’t I?”

“Mm…”

“Of course, you have to be careful when going out. Pepper spray, stun guns, alarms—you should be able to buy those.”

The girl followed Saint Lily, step by step, listening to her chatter until they reached the security booth of the neighborhood. She watched Saint Lily hand the man over to the guard.

As Saint Lily was about to leave, she spoke again.

“Saint Lily, thank you.”

Saint Lily paused, then smiled and waved. “Remember to call for help next time~”

“Mm.”

…