Chapter 38: The Overly Familiar One
Thanks to Mo Tu’s introduction, Night Lan has already committed to memory the Night Watcher named Xi Xia.
Meanwhile, the Night Watchers, who were all buzzing about how to quickly capture the Audience Performer, had no idea that their target was stealthily eavesdropping on their plans from behind, already fully prepared.
Night Lan muttered to herself.
“Hmph~ Easy to say! I’m super speedy, and trying to catch me is like trying to catch a unicorn in broad daylight. Good luck with that!”
Night Lan’s speed had already surpassed most Night Watchers.
In her prepared state, if the Night Watchers couldn’t out-speed her, well, they’d be chasing shadows.
After the Night Watchers hashed out their plans for the Audience Performer, they shifted the discussion to the other members of the Tragic Shadow Theater, brainstorming countermeasures against Star Eclipses.
Night Lan didn’t pay much attention to that and started to slack off, sitting in her seat, glued to her phone, half-listening, completely zoned out.
A little while later, the meeting was declared adjourned, and everyone dispersed.
Night Lan didn’t rush to leave; instead, she hunkered down in her seat, trying to reduce her visibility, waiting for the other Night Watchers to skedaddle before she made her sly getaway.
She had no intention of being eyed by any weirdos.
She’d heard there were some seriously formidable individuals among these Night Watchers—who knew if one of them might suddenly set their sights on her adorable little self?
“Hmm~”
Though she tried her best to blend in, Night Lan still poked her head out from the corner to secretly observe the visiting Night Watchers.
Particularly, there was one “bounty hunter” who piqued her curiosity.
Before long, she finally caught a glimpse of Xi Xia in full—exactly the looks one expects of a nineteen-year-old young lady.
Familiar black hair, blue eyes.
While her features were neat, they didn’t exactly stand out as show-stopping.
Once Xi Xia vacated her seat, she casually pulled out some earbuds and popped them into her ears, as if she’d done it a thousand times before.
Night Lan contemplated.
“Honestly, it’s hard to believe that she’s the one proposing to contact the Audience Performer~ If she’s been in this city all along, I should definitely keep an eye on her movements.”
Night Lan mumbled softly, her voice barely audible—only she could hear it.
Just as Night Lan shifted her gaze, Xi Xia scanned the room and ultimately zeroed in on a certain little critter in the corner.
Night Lan happened to glance back and made direct eye contact.
“Whoa!”
In a split second, Night Lan ducked her head back, instantly pretending to be invisible.
Xi Xia tilted her head slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
“Isn’t she the one who was making all that ruckus when the meeting started? She looks so tiny.”
Then, she casually sat down in the seat next to Night Lan.
Night Lan: “?”
Oh no!
She was on the radar!
A cold sweat broke out on Night Lan’s forehead, her mind racing with question marks, completely clueless as to why she had attracted attention.
Could it have been that brief moment of eye contact?
That’s stretching it, isn’t it?
“Hello, little sister! What are you doing here?” Xi Xia said warmly, her tone surprisingly gentle.
Night Lan’s body jolted, her heart racing.
“Little sister?! Who are you calling little sister?!”
She is, like, totally legal, thank you very much!
But what came out was a barely audible, “I’m Night Lan…”
“Oh, so you’re Night Lan? I’m Xi Xia. How about we chat a bit?”
“Eh?!”
Night Lan’s eyes widened in shock.
Where did this overly familiar person come from? Things were moving way too fast!
Suddenly up close, suddenly talking to her, suddenly wanting to chat.
It was all way too sudden for Night Lan.
At least, she had no mental preparation for talking to a stranger, and she feared that if she got off on the wrong foot, she might accidentally spill some weird secrets.
“Talk about what?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Just passing by.”
“And what’s your role here?”
“Night Watcher.”
“What? Is Yun Chang City hiring child laborers now because they’re short-staffed?”
“Who knows.”
Night Lan tried to keep her answers short and simple.
This wasn’t a proper chat; it felt like an awkward Q&A session.
Xi Xia was left momentarily speechless.
She could clearly see that this little loli was pretty shy and didn’t seem to be used to random people striking up conversations with her. So maybe it was her fault for being too over-familiar?
With that thought, Xi Xia stood up, not wanting to put too much pressure on the adorable little loli.
Upon seeing this, Night Lan’s tense state began to unwind a bit.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yep! We can continue our chat when we meet again. I expect to stick around here for a while, so we’ll definitely run into each other again. How about becoming friends then?”
“Hmm~”
Xi Xia didn’t pressure Night Lan for an immediate response.
“Well then, just think about it! I quite enjoy making friends with cute little ones like you. See ya!”
With that, Xi Xia turned and gracefully exited the meeting room.
Night Lan remained in her spot, still pondering.
In the past, if a nice girl had approached her to be friends, Night Lan would’ve been super excited and probably stumbled over her words to agree.
But now, things were different.
While Xi Xia seemed like a decent big sister, that comment about “first capturing the Audience Performer” had startled Night Lan, so she needed to tread carefully.
“Forget it, I’ll just play it by ear.”
With that, Night Lan slipped out of the meeting room as well.
There were still three people left who hadn’t left—those were Yun Chang City’s three Sunlight-level Night Watchers.
Xiao Jin eyed Mo Tu, who was coming up from behind, and remarked, “Why didn’t you step up earlier?”
Mo Tu smiled faintly.
“Gotta maintain a mysterious vibe, you know me. There’s no way I’d show up in a flashy manner in front of everyone, right?”
Wang Chao chimed in with a teasing remark, “My evaluation? Not very meaningful.”
“Go on, keep whining.”
“Pfft.”
Mo Tu turned to Xiao Jin and asked, “So who else came this time?”
“Five cities sent over Night Watchers, one to two Sunlight levels from each city, plus several Bright Moons. They’re bringing a lot more firepower than Yun Chang City originally had.”
Mo Tu stroked his chin with interest.
“So, this city now has more than five Sunlight Night Watchers?”
“To be precise, if we exclude the three of us, there are seven.”
“Hmm, not bad! If Doll City had this kind of strength back in the day, we might have wrapped things up a lot faster.”
Mo Tu’s evaluation was simple, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Xiao Jin knew Mo Tu’s personality and couldn’t be bothered to argue; he directly inquired, “What’s the deal with Night Lan? How did she end up here?”
Mo Tu smiled and shrugged.
“She said she was just passing by and got curious, so she came in for a look.”
Xiao Jin raised an eyebrow.
“Did you ask her where the Puppet Master went back then and why she joined the Tragic Shadow Theater?”
“She said she didn’t know.”
“Whatever.”
Xiao Jin didn’t expect Night Lan to change anything right now.
In his mind, that little loli was just a mascot-type character.
Of course, the key was that she didn’t go around using that ridiculous Star power.
