Chapter 7 – A Liking That Transcends Friendship

As soon as Zhao Xinning stepped into the living room, she noticed the two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

“Xi, are you expecting a guest?”

Lin Xi had a sudden flash of inspiration. “These were prepared for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah, I was just about to head over and find you so you could try my sautéed pork with peppers. It’s different from before-I tried a new cooking method this time.”

“Really? Then I’ll have a taste…”

Lin Xi breathed a secret sigh of relief; she had managed to explain it away. 

She glanced toward the guest room. The door wasn’t fully closed, leaving a narrow crack. Lin Xi could almost feel Shi Yu’s simmering resentment, but all she wanted was for Shi Yu to just shut the damn door!

“Mmm!” After tasting it, Zhao Xinning was full of praise. “It really is different from before!”

“But it’s delicious either way!”

Lin Xi accepted her friend’s compliment. Of course the style of the dish would be different. After all, she wasn’t the same person she used to be…

“Xinning, sit down and eat with me. I was planning to go get you so we could have dinner together anyway.”

“Thanks, Xi,” Zhao Xinning said, placing a bag of cookies on the table. “But my family has already finished making dinner at my place.”

“I just came over to give you these cookies. Let’s have dinner together another day.”

“Okay, thanks for the cookies.” Lin Xi saw Zhao Xinning to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Zhao Xinning waved at Lin Xi and turned to head home.

That’s great, Xi seems to be doing well.

She’s definitely not sick. A sick person couldn’t make such delicious food.

Zhao Xinning’s mood brightened. She hadn’t brought the cookies just because she’d baked too many; she had wanted an excuse to check on Lin Xi.

It’s just… Xi was still a little strange today…

Back in her own room, Zhao Xinning began to reminisce about the time she spent with Lin Xi today.

Xi took the initiative to hold my hand on the way to school…

On the bus, when I told her to sit on my lap, she actually did it…

None of that has ever happened before-

Zhao Xinning stared at the photos of Lin Xi plastered all over her walls, her heart racing as her face flushed red.

She murmured to herself, “Could it be that Xi… also has a liking for me that transcends friendship?”

“That would be… absolutely wonderful!!!”

“Xinning really is an angel on earth~” Lin Xi said, eating a little bear-shaped cookie baked by the Great Angel-sama herself.

“Fragrant, crispy, and cute.”

In a word: delicious!

Bang! 

Shi Yu stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her in a huff.

“You Perverted Witch, what the hell was that?!”

“You were actually going to let her stay for dinner?”

“Then what was I supposed to eat?!”

Lin Xi shrugged. “Xinning definitely wouldn’t have stayed to mooch a meal. You think everyone is like you, with skin thicker than a city wall?”

Shi Yu: “…”

She was already famished and had no time to bicker with Lin Xi. She served herself a large bowl of rice and started devouring the food.

Seeing this, Lin Xi didn’t hesitate either. If she didn’t pick up her chopsticks now, the dishes on the table would probably be wiped clean by Shi Yu in seconds.

After finishing the meal, Shi Yu leaned back in her chair with a satisfied look and critiqued, “Your cooking isn’t bad.”

“Meeting you… I really did strike gold.”

Meeting you was my great misfortune… Lin Xi thought to herself.

She was helpless against this girl who treated her home like a free restaurant. 

Lin Xi gathered the dishes to go wash them. When Shi Yu reached for the bag of bear cookies on the table, Lin Xi was quick, snatching the bag away instantly.

“Xinning gave these to me. You want some? No way!”

“Tch-” Shi Yu said dismissively. “Who cares?”

Lin Xi stuffed the cookies into her pocket and carried the dishes toward the kitchen.

“That friend of yours-” Shi Yu began, but Lin Xi cut her off.

“Shi Yu, are you trying to pull something with Xinning? You’re really wicked, aren’t you? Let me give you two words: Dream on!”

Shi Yu burst out laughing. “No, do you really see me as a villain???”

“I treat you this way because you’re a witch, not a human. I’m very friendly to everyone else.”

Lin Xi ignored her words entirely, turned on the faucet, and began washing the dishes.

Shi Yu continued her explanation. “I just wanted to say that after observing her through the crack in the door just now, I finally remembered who your friend is.”

“She’s Zhao Xinning from Class 3.”

Lin Xi stopped what she was doing. “You know Xinning?”

“She really made a name for herself at last year’s School Sports Festival,” Shi Yu said.

Naturally, Lin Xi had no memory of last year’s School Sports Festival, but she had heard Zhao Xinning mention this morning that she was the ace of the Track and Field Club.

“I never expected such a bright, cheerful, athletic beauty to have anything to do with a witch like you.” Shi Yu looked as if she felt sorry for Zhao Xinning.

“Tch-” It was Lin Xi’s turn to be dismissive. “Is it impossible for me to have a good friend?”

“It is.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a witch,” Shi Yu said, laying out the facts and logic. “Think about it. If you ever get caught one day and are seized by the Dark Realm Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, their people will definitely investigate your social circle.”

“With even a minor investigation, they’ll find Zhao Xinning.”

“Zhao Xinning will absolutely be invited to the Countermeasures Bureau for ‘tea.’ The closer your relationship is, the longer she’ll have to stay there.”

“The Countermeasures Bureau won’t let her out until she’s confessed everything she knows.”

Lin Xi stood there blankly, weighing Shi Yu’s words.

They made a lot of sense.

If she were caught, Zhao Xinning would inevitably be implicated.

So, she had to maintain a certain distance from Zhao Xinning, just in case…

“I won’t get caught,” Lin Xi said confidently. “If I do get caught, it’ll definitely be because you sold me out.”

“You’re the only one who knows I’m a witch.”

“If I go down, I’m definitely dragging you with me!”

Shi Yu gave a calm smile. “You? You’re still too green to fight me.”

“Shi Yu! You’re literally reciting classic villain lines, and you still won’t admit you’re the antagonist?!”

“At most, I’m just a bit morally gray. You, on the other hand, are the genuine, bona-fide big villain.”

“But I haven’t done anything harmful or malicious.”

“You haven’t done anything in the past, and you haven’t done anything now, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility that you will in the future-that’s the logic those people at the Countermeasures Bureau follow. Among creatures from the Dark Realm, witches have always been classified as at least a Second-Grade Disaster.”

The Countermeasures Bureau divided Dark Realm Disasters into seven levels: Super, Special, First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade. From Fifth Grade upward, the higher the level, the greater the danger.

“Five years ago, there was a Calamity Witch who was classified as a Special-Grade Disaster. She destroyed S City all by herself.”

“Half of S City is still a wasteland of ruins to this day.”

Shi Yu looked at Lin Xi with a faint, knowing smile.

“As the Blazing Blast Witch, I wonder what grade of disaster you’ll be classified as?”

Lin Xi said solemnly, “I am not a disaster.”

“I’m going to live properly in this world as a human.”

Lin Xi was serious.

Since she had come to this world, her existence was justified. She had the right to live.

And she was working hard to do just that.

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