Sharing is Caring

"We made the mistake of putting those two together in the storage room."

"Hm? Why? What happened?"

"Err, you know what happened at school with the ghosts? That was actually caused by my Yin necklace and someone else's Yang necklace. Difference is there were no ghosts in the necklace we found in the storage room."

"Wait, you mean..."

"Yep. An explosion occurred in the Ning Auction House. Most if not all of the items inside were destroyed. I had to hurry and grab Xiang and teleported out of there before we met the same fate as those."

"Then... why isn't the Ning family looking for you?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure... Maybe they're preoccupied with something else. In any case, that could've been the catalyst that made me get a crush on Xiang."

Lu Xifa sipped her water and put her glass down. She knew that whatever she was saying right now were only half-truths. She had developed an interest in Lan Xiang long before that moment.

Xie Jian fell silent. Now that the story was over, she was thrown back into reality. Another girl had fallen in love with her fiancé.

She really didn't know how to deal with this. If it was just a random girl, only looking at Lan Xiang because of his face, then she wouldn't have hesitated to drive her away.

'But this is Lu Xifa. My cousin and Xiang's friend. What's more, she seems to be genuinely taken by his personality... How can I be heartless enough...'

Xie Jian wrestled with her heart.

Lan Xiang. The most precious person to her, was someone else's precious person as well.

She thought about it and imagined Lan Xiang crossing arms with another lady. Her heart wrenched.

'But... what if...'

She put herself in the picture. Now, her and someone else were holding both Lan Xiang's hands.

This time, she didn't feel as bad. In fact, there was a sort of relief.

'This, it could work, ah.'

Meanwhile, Lu Xifa twiddled with her thumbs underneath the table. Seeing Xie Jian wrestle with her thoughts made her feel bad. Truthfully, she would have rather not imposed anything on her cousin, but she had to go and find out about her secret crush.

As she was about to talk, Xie Jian opened her mouth first.

"Ahem, Xifa. I think... we can reach an agreement here." Xie Jian felt her heart racing.

"Hm? What is it?" Lu Xifa's lipd pursed. 'Will she tell me to agree to stay away from him from now on?'

"As long as... Ahem, as long as Xiang accepts, maybe... I can, uh, kind of allow you two to... further your relationship." Xie Jian turned her eyes away. She didn't know at this time if she would regret this decision or not, but one thing was for sure: she was determined!

Lu Xifa, who was drinking more water, suddenly gulped everything inside her mouth in shock.

"What? Huh? What did you say?"

"I, I'm not gonna repeat myself. Ah, look at the time, I better go." Xie Jian took a look at her wrist without a watch and stood up, ready to run away.

Before Lu Xifa could stop her, Xie Jian had already left the vicinity.

In any case, Lu Xifa was still dazed, not in her right mind to chase after her cousin anyway.

.....

"Ah, that was refreshing!" Lan Xiang flexed his body. He hadn't gone to karaoke in a long while.

Ye Qingle had an intensely tired expression from hearing Lan Xiang's voice. At the end, he even insisted that they duet.

Nonetheless, she had fun, something that she hadn't felt in a long time. After all, despite Lan Xiang's impression of a dead cat, she felt impressed by his stubbornness.

"Let's hang out some other time." Lan Xiang waved goodbye as he departed.

"Yeah... preferably not karaoke though..." She whispered to herself.

As she had experienced Lan Xiang's audio therapy sessions, even her parents' lectures weren't enough to bring her down anymore.

"Hmm, this seems like a good spot." Ye Qingle examined the area, it was pretty suitable for her and Lu Xifa to meet up. The latter was her only way back to the capital without it taking three days.

She called up Lu Xifa.

"Beep. Beep. Heya, this is Lu Xifa~ I'm not available right now. Please leave a message, thanks!"

"Hmm? Is she sleeping? Or in the restroom? Aiya, I told her to skimp on those snacks last night!"

Ye Qingle scratched her hair. Where could she go then?

"Maybe I should stay over Jian Jian and Xiang's house. It was pretty massive. Anyway, I don't want to see my parents right now."

Ye Qingle made up her mind and chased after Lan Xiang who wasn't that far away yet.

"Xiang! Wait up!"

"Hmm? Qingle? What is it? Wanna go for another round?"

"N- no! I wanted to ask if I could stay over at your place for the night."

"I'm fine with it. But I need to ask Jian'er first."

He sent a text message to Xie Jian.

- Jian'er, Qingle wants to stay over

- K

- is that a yes or a no

- 1

- 1? the first option? yes?

- y

"She says yes."

"Ah, I'll come with you then."

Ye Qingle and Lan Xiang talked as they walked, generating a happy atmosphere.

Alas, it was interrupted by the ringing of Lan Xiang's phone.

"Hello? Hm?"

On the other side of the phone, Lu Xifa's breath was unsteady, her palms were sweaty, knees weak, and her arms were heavy.

"Um, Xiang. Could I meet you at the place we went to before when you practiced your skills?"

"Where? Your training grounds? I don't know where it is though."

"Ah, you can just teleport there."

"Xiang? Who's that?" Ye Qingle got curious.

"Ah, it's..."

Lu Xifa heard someone else's voice from the phone and panicked. "Wait, wait, wait! Xiang! Don't tell her, this is a secret meeting! Top secret!"

'Top secret? Ah, is this about the Yin necklace?' Lan Xiang formed a conclusion in his mind.

"Sorry, Qingle. I can't tell you, this is top secret."

'...It's Lu Xifa, isn't it.' Hearing the words 'top secret' instantly reminded her of Lu Xifa. Of course, she decided to keep it to herself.

'Why didn't she answer my call earlier? Or is this matter with Xiang that urgent? Whatever, none of my business.'

Lan Xiang hung up the call. "Sorry, Qingle, I need to head somewhere else. I can't tell you, it's top secret. You know the way to my house?"

Ye Qingle nodded.

"Ah, then you should head there yourself. Bye!"

Lan Xiang paced his steps with a certain urgency as he headed to wards a secluded place. Judging from the nervousness that Lu Xifa emanated through the phone, Lan Xiang determined that she was in trouble.

"I need to get there quick!"