Chapter 138 – Well? How’s My C Chord?

After parting ways with Xia Xun, Lin Xi stopped by the supermarket to buy some potato chips before heading home.

The supermarket was running a promotion today, and the chips were half-price.

Lin Xi bought a huge bag. Lu Yi had devoured her entire emergency snack stash.

While they were strolling along the riverbank, Xia Xun kept trying to persuade Lin Xi to come over to her house.

She claimed that Little Mi had learned how to do a backflip and insisted that Lin Xi come see it.

For Little Mi’s sake, and to spare the poor cat from being forced by Xia Xun to learn backflips, Lin Xi turned down the invitation.

Little Mi: She really does care… I’m crying.

When that plan failed, Xia Xun tried again. She said the super-cute pajamas she’d bought had arrived, and if Lin Xi stayed the night, she would wear them for her.

Compared to Little Mi doing a backflip, Lin Xi had to admit that Xia Xun’s second offer packed a serious punch.

Even so, Lin Xi remained firm in her resolve. She had to go home tonight.

Otherwise, how was she supposed to explain things to Thor?

And how would she explain herself to Xinning when she came to pick her up for school tomorrow morning?

Besides, if she couldn’t accept Xia Xun’s feelings, why were the two of them growing closer and closer-and why were things between them getting increasingly heated?

With all those reasons becoming quantum-entangled, Lin Xi ultimately chose to go home.

Just as Xia Xun would never force Lin Xi to respond to her feelings, she wouldn’t force Lin Xi to spend the night at her house either.

She respected Lin Xi’s choice and was willing to wait for her decision.

Little Mi: She really does care… I’m crying.

Carrying a huge bag of potato chips, Lin Xi opened the door and stepped into her home.

There weren’t three attendants waiting behind the door, each a beast-eared girl and a Maid, ready to chorus, “Master! Welcome home!”

It was just a perfectly ordinary homecoming…

“It feels like it’s been ages since it was this peaceful… Well, a little peace and quiet is nice.”

But a piercing shriek immediately shattered the tranquility Lin Xi had been longing for.

“Master!!!!!”

“You’re finally home!!!!!”

Thor shot forward like a gale, moving so fast that she left afterimages behind, and tackled Lin Xi straight to the floor.

Thud!!!

Pinned beneath Thor, Lin Xi sputtered, “W-What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?”

“Thor?! Why did your pupils turn into hearts?!”

“No hearts in your eyes!!!” Lin Xi screamed.

“Thor! If you don’t get off me right now, I’m kicking you out of my house for good!” Lin Xi ordered loudly. “Now get off!”

Thor had no choice but to give up. As she rose, she casually scooped Lin Xi into her arms as well.

“Wait, what? Where are you planning to carry me?”

“To the bedroom-no, I mean the bathroom.”

“The bathroom? I wasn’t planning to take a shower yet.”

“No! You have to take one now! This instant! Immediately! You just came back from that awful Magical Girl Xia Xun’s house, so you need to scrub yourself clean in a nice hot shower!”

“Thor, I’m seriously reaching the end of my patience,” Lin Xi said coldly. “What I want is a considerate Maid, not a deranged, perverted Maid who keeps causing trouble!”

A chill ran down Thor’s spine.

She knew Lin Xi was gentle, but when Lin Xi got angry, she could also be terrifying. Thor hurriedly set her down. “Master… I… I was wrong… Please don’t kick me out…”

Lin Xi wasn’t truly angry. She had Thor sit with her on the couch, where they watched TV and munched on potato chips.

“Let’s eat a few more bags while Lu Yi isn’t here. Once she shows up, they’ll definitely all disappear.”

“That’s true,” Thor agreed. “No matter how well I hide the snacks, Lu Yi always finds them. She says ‘snack hunting’ is her greatest talent.”

Lin Xi was speechless.

“How come she and Qin Ling haven’t come over?”

“Master, isn’t having me enough for you?”

“If you keep spouting nonsense, you don’t get any of the chips I bought.”

“I was wrong…” Thor munched on the chips with her head resting on Lin Xi’s shoulder, her dragon horns occasionally poking Lin Xi in the cheek. “Lu Yi and Qin Ling found out yesterday that you spent the night at Xia Xun’s house. They were deeply hurt and disappointed.”

“They’re planning to cut ties with you forever.”

“Thor, stop making things up. What really happened?”

Thor fell silent.

“They both had other things to do today. That’s why they didn’t come.”

“What? Do you like having them here that much?”

“No,” Lin Xi said. “It’s great that I don’t have to put up with all of your awful sleeping habits today.”

Lin Xi ordered Thor to be a good girl and sleep in the guest room from now on.

Thor said that was fine. She would simply sneak into Lin Xi’s room at night.

Lin Xi said she would lock the door.

Thor replied that she could take the lock apart with one hand.

Lin Xi warned that if Thor dared take the lock apart, then she would dare to “take Thor apart.”

Blushing, Thor asked Lin Xi to please be gentle when she “took her apart”…

Lin Xi was speechless.

…

Every afternoon after school, as she rehearsed in the band clubroom, Lin Xi found herself thinking the same thing over and over:

Now this was what youth was all about!

Working hard toward a shared goal with friends and cheering each other on-the process itself was enjoyable, regardless of the final result.

Not to mention, Huang Haiyao had arranged for tea and snacks to be available in the band clubroom.

Whenever they took a break midway through rehearsal, the girls naturally sat together to drink tea and chat.

Even though they were currently on break, Lin Xi still had her guitar in her arms.

The more she learned, the more addictive the guitar became. Lin Xi was beginning to understand the instrument’s charm.

She improvised a quick flourish, then asked with a grin, “Well? How was my C chord?”

Yang Shanshan was the first to hype her up. “Peerless! Unrivaled!”

Lin Xi chuckled and told Yang Shanshan she was exaggerating way too much.

“No,” Su Xiangxue said. “You’ve gotten this good in such a short time. You really are talented.”

Lin Xi wanted to tell Su Xiangxue that she wasn’t the talented one-Qin Ling was.

It was only under the guidance of that genius Fox-kin girl that Lin Xi had been able to improve so quickly.

Huang Haiyao elegantly took a sip of tea and set down her cup.

Like Su Xiangxue, she first praised the results of Lin Xi’s hard work before saying, “Lin Xi, I have time today too, you know. If you need some life advice, that’s no problem at all.”

Lin Xi thought, Sister Haiyao, aren’t you a little too eager to hear the gossip about Xia Xun and me?

Not happening!

“Thank you, Sister Haiyao,” Lin Xi said. “I can’t keep troubling you all the time. Besides, some things are better mulled over on my own.”

Huang Haiyao fell silent.

“All right, Lin Xi. If you’re ever confused about anything, make sure you come to me.”

“Please believe me. I truly want to help you. I sincerely want to help every student who’s struggling with something.”

“Mm, I understand.” Lin Xi smiled. “Sister Haiyao is the prettiest and gentlest teacher ever.”

Huang Haiyao hurriedly raised her cup to hide her faintly reddening face.

Su Xiangxue was secretly impressed. As expected of Lin Xi-she could actually say something like that so calmly?!

But… what about Zhao Xinning?

Su Xiangxue was the only person who knew that Zhao Xinning had a massive crush on Lin Xi.

What baffled her was why Lin Xi couldn’t see how Zhao Xinning felt about her.

Could this really be one of those cases where everyone could see the truth except the person involved…?