### Chapter 22: White Fish
Yelan didn’t come clean about her job here.
What’s this called again?
Surprise!
Yelan thought she could keep this a secret for now and then drop the bombshell later, making the other person even happier, right?
Because, you know, she’s a Night Watcher, and she spends plenty of time here most of the time.
While she spends her days mostly catching up on the common knowledge a Night Watcher should know, other than that, she’s basically lounging around.
And there’s a medical facility nearby which means Yelan can pop in to hang out with whomever at any time.
It’s a win-win situation if you ask her.
“Mmm~”
With that in mind, Yelan hummed a cheerful tune as she headed towards the room number the other person had given her.
“Not sure what kind of person they are though? Male or female? What do they look like? Will they be shocked when they see my true self? I can’t wait.”
She muttered to herself, quickening her pace.
Finally, she came to a halt in front of a door, all kinds of nerves jangled inside her.
“How should I greet them? Should I be chipper or reserved? Aaaah… I’m so nervous.”
After squirming for a few minutes, Yelan finally mustered the courage to knock on the door.
“Come in.”
A pleasant voice responded. It sounded like a girl.
Yelan walked in, feeling quite perplexed.
“Oh? Senior White Paint, why are you here?”
White Paint blinked upon seeing the black-haired loli walk in.
“Night Lan? How did you know I’m here?”
Suddenly, both were confused.
White Paint wanted to meet White Fish’s friend, not expecting to see new Night Watcher Night Lan instead.
Meanwhile, Night Lan had been planning a face-to-face meeting with a gaming friend but ended up bumping into familiar White Paint.
Talk about coincidence.
As she glanced at the little girl sitting on the bed smiling and resembling White Paint somewhat, Yelan became more puzzled.
“I was actually here to meet a real-life gaming buddy…”
Hearing this, White Paint looked towards the bed where White Fish was sitting, and White Fish gasped softly, seemingly taken aback by her cute online friend.
“That’s right… ID ‘Storm Star,’ correct?”
“Yes-yes,” Night Lan nodded vigorously, looking at White Fish who mentioned the nickname.
“Who are—”
“Just as you imagine, I’m your gaming friend.”
“Huh?” Night Lan murmured in confusion.
Smiling, White Fish said, “Surprised, huh? But I’m surprised too, I never thought my gaming friend would be such a cute girl.”
“Pfft, I didn’t expect you to be a girl either…”
Night Lan already had a hunch about how these two were related.
Considering their resemblance and her words, White Paint had to be her older sister, right?
Emotionally warm, yet outwardly cold?
Those four words seemed tailor-made for her.
White Fish smiled at her and said, “Stop standing there, come sit down over here.”
“Okay.”
Night Lan placed some bought fruit on the table obediently and sat down next to White Paint.
“Let’s reintroduce ourselves. My name is White Fish. Just call me ‘White Fish.'”
“I’m Night Lan, pleased to meet you,” Night Lan replied immediately, still a bit stiff.
Seeing her discomfort, White Fish teased, “Do I exert too much pressure? Why are you so tense? I remember chatting with you so freely during our gaming sessions.”
“Um, no, it’s different online…”
Online, she’s a chatterbox; offline, timid as a mouse—she guessed it pretty accurately.
Noticing Night Lan’s unease, White Fish changed the subject, “Isn’t it odd? You’re so cute and have such a nice voice. Why pretend to be a boy online?”
Night Lan tilted her head, thinking before she spoke.
Not that she was pretending to be a boy; she really *was* a guy, but revealing that now wouldn’t help.
So she argued, “You’re the same! With such a nice voice, yet you hid it so well. Up until now, I didn’t know you were a girl.”
“Well, I guess we both got played,” White Paint chuckled softly.
Feeling superfluous by the side, White Paint suddenly had a realization.
Her younger sister’s online friend was the rookie Night Watcher she had picked up on the streets, right?
It couldn’t be more of a coincidence, couldn’t it?
Despite that, White Paint couldn’t help but feel genuinely happy inside.
After all, Yelan wasn’t a bad person. She could be friends with White Fish.
Having patrol duties every day meant she couldn’t spend much time with White Fish, and being a shut-in due to health reasons, White Fish didn’t have many friends. Now she had someone to hang out with, couldn’t she be happier?
For White Paint, as long as White Fish was happy, anything went.
Thinking that, a subtle smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stood up.
“Since it’s Night Lan, you have nothing to worry about. You two carry on, I’ll get back to work.”
With farewells exchanged, White Paint strolled away, feeling lighter in both body and spirit.
As White Paint left, White Fish wore a peculiar expression.
“Incredibly, Yelan, I didn’t know you knew my sister. How did you guys meet?”
Yelan nodded and said, “Sure, let me tell you. It was a significant day, the first one as a Night Watcher.”
The day she started must have been pretty significant, right?
“I was jogging on the road and fainted from running. Sister White Paint noticed me and helped bring me here for treatment. That’s when we met.”
Pondering it, White Fish nodded, imagining the cute scenario of Yelan fainting mid-run.
“Why do you call her senior?”
“We do similar work. We’re both doing internships for the moment, so we’ve got a lot of free time.”
“Got it.”
“You know what job Sister does?”
“Uh… something like a cop? Specifics are a bit fuzzy.”
Night Lan blinked, guessing already.
Looks like White Fish had no clue about what being a Night Watcher entailed.
Luckily, she hadn’t spilled any classified information.
So, Night Lan switched topics, “By the way, White Fish, is there anything you want to do?”
“There are so many things, too many to count, but now I can’t do any of them. The ideas just keep piling up, piling up…” Her voice trailed off, seemingly melancholic.
Sensing her sadness, Night Lan asked concernedly, “White Fish, are you okay?”
Pausing, White Fish regained her gentle smile.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to show my weak side. Please don’t pay any attention.”
Oddly, Night Lan felt that her sweet smile didn’t comfort her but rather… tugged a heartstring.
