Chapter 73: Received an Invitation

Not long after Bai Xihan set off, Ji Chong also picked up his handbag, elegantly bid farewell to Kexin, and left together with Maoqi.

At this moment, the vast apartment suite was left with only Kexin, accompanied solely by the faint hum of the city outside the window.

Kexin stood alone in the center of the living room. The sudden quiet made her feel momentarily uneasy. She stood there blankly for a few seconds before gently sitting back on the sofa.

The soft cushions made a slight sound, which now seemed unusually clear.

Fortunately, she had lived alone for a whole year at Muzhou No. 1 High School, so she was already accustomed to solitude. Lately, having always been with others, suddenly having a space and time entirely her own felt somewhat unfamiliar.

What should she do now?

Kexin muttered to herself and, thinking about today’s plan, unconsciously picked up her phone, sliding her fingers across the screen to open a messaging app.

The class group chat for Grade 2, Class A at New Moon Academy had little activity during the vacation, with the last message posted three days ago. That made sense; everyone was probably enjoying their long break immersed in their own worlds.

She then opened a few newly joined anime and game-related groups, which always had 99+ unread messages. Because of this, Kexin had long set them to “Do Not Disturb,” since important information would be posted in the group announcements, and she wouldn’t miss news about conventions or other events.

A quick scan of the announcements revealed nothing particularly interesting.

Kexin’s contact list was short. Legally speaking, the high school student formerly known as Xia Ke was already dead. Now, the account she used and her profile were all part of a new identity prepared by the Special Investigation Bureau.

Ruo Lin and others had added Kexin to a group chat for their club. Kexin opened the chat and slowly scrolled through the messages from a few days ago. These people were worth paying close attention to.

After browsing for a while, Kexin learned that after the vacation began, Yumeng went to help out at a relative’s shop, occasionally complaining about odd customers or sharing amusing incidents.

The other three, as they had said before the break, had contacted an expert in paranormal investigations. The expert gathered a few others who also believed in the existence of anomalies, forming a team to explore places rumored to be haunted.

Ruo Lin uploaded numerous videos and photos taken on their phones, documenting the group’s experience under the expert’s guidance at an abandoned factory site.

The videos were taken in the evening under cloudy skies, making the footage especially eerie and frightening.

Crumbling factory buildings, shattered glass windows, abandoned machinery casting strange shadows on the ground… it was like the opening of a horror movie. Kexin held her breath and continued watching while scrolling through more recent chat records.

However, after going through all this, there was no substantial content. The paranormal investigation team, aside from being startled by a stray cat, encountered nothing else.

Even so, someone tripped on some rubble and fractured an arm.

After a few hours, the group returned to the hotel they had booked to rest. The next day, Ruo Lin and the other two returned to Muzhou separately from the expert and were now at home.

The expert, however, continued to lead others to explore more locations. Seeing this, Kexin couldn’t help but relax, leaning back on the sofa.

If they had actually encountered something dangerous, it would have been a disaster.

Despite the failed investigation, the team’s enthusiasm remained undiminished. Judging by their chat tone, they would not hesitate to explore again if given the chance.

Thinking of this, Kexin felt she had made the right choice in keeping close contact with them; otherwise, one day, these guys might encounter a real anomaly and—well, there would be no “after” then.

Just as she was about to exit the chat, Kexin noticed a message from Ruo Lin tagging her:

[Kexin, you said you were going back home earlier. How’s it going?]

Going home?

Kexin was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t been back for a long time.

But she quickly remembered that when Ruo Lin had invited her to join their paranormal investigation, she had declined, saying she needed to go home for Special Investigation Bureau matters.

As Kexin thought of a suitable reply, Ruo Lin sent another message:

Ruo Lin: Have you seen the news about Yunxi Village?

Seeing “Yunxi Village,” Kexin immediately became alert, her fingers tensing involuntarily around the phone—no, the Bureau would have controlled the information immediately; how could they know this?

She quickly calmed herself, deciding to pretend ignorance and probe Ruo Lin’s source.

Kexin: Yes, I just saw it on TV.

This was true; the TV was still on.

Ruo Lin: Your hometown is in the mountains too, right? Be careful of landslides.

…So that’s what she meant. Kexin exhaled in relief, her body relaxing as she realized she had been holding her breath unconsciously.

She had worried that something catastrophic had happened in Yunxi Village, requiring memory alteration for them—a scenario Kexin wanted to avoid.

At that moment, Kexin’s phone beeped. It was a message from Luo Anying: [Are you free now?]

Kexin paused, thinking fast. From what she knew, Luo Anying rarely contacted others first. Even Bai Xihan had never gone out alone with her.

Feeling slightly surprised, she replied briefly:

[I’m free. What’s up?]

Almost immediately after sending, her phone vibrated—an incoming call from Luo Anying.

Startled, Kexin almost dropped her phone. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she answered:

“Hello?” she said softly.

On the other end came Luo Anying’s unique, slightly lazy and weary voice, as if she had just woken up—or perhaps had never slept.

“Um… if you’re free… can you come out?”

“Sure,” Kexin replied almost immediately, then added, “Where?”

“Central Park… East Gate… I’ll be there… in about twenty-five minutes.”

“No problem. See you then, senior.”

After hanging up, Kexin realized—was this… a date?

Regardless of Luo Anying’s intention, she had been invited, so she needed to take it seriously.

She quickly went back to her room, opened her wardrobe, and stared at the clothes her mother had sent, most of which she had never worn, deep in thought.

“Which one should I wear?” she muttered, scanning the outfits before finally picking one she felt comfortable with.

As the name suggests, Central Park was in the heart of Muzhou City, close to several landmark buildings.

Kexin took a taxi. The city’s overpasses were unusually clear today, and she quickly arrived.

At the park’s east gate, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

She chose a spot with a good view and some shade, constantly scanning the surroundings.

About five minutes later, a familiar figure appeared at the bus stop outside the park.

Luo Anying got off the bus and immediately spotted Kexin’s pink hair in the crowd, strolling leisurely towards her.

Today, she wore a simple white T-shirt and black pants. Her hair was loosely draped over her back, with a few strands falling on her face, and her eyes half-closed, showing noticeable dark circles.

“Have you been waiting long?” Luo Anying asked softly, almost like she was speaking to herself.

“No, I just got here,” Kexin quickly waved her hands. “By the way, senior, you look really tired.”

“Do I?” Luo Anying yawned slightly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, brushing them away with her fingertips. “I’m used to it.”

A brief, awkward silence followed.

Kexin instinctively looked down at her shoes, unconsciously fidgeting with her skirt, wishing she had just worn her school uniform.

Luo Anying noticed and silently appraised Kexin from head to toe. Most of the time, Kexin wore either her school uniform or Special Investigation Bureau outfit. Today, in private clothes, she wore a plain white dress.

Time passed quietly as Luo Anying continued observing her.

This was awkward—what should she say?

Kexin couldn’t think of a topic; she wished she could just draw a circle on the ground and crawl inside.

“The weather’s really nice today,” she finally managed to say.

“Yes… much better than yesterday,” Luo Anying responded slowly.

Another silence followed.

Luo Anying fiddled with her shirt, clearly also uncomfortable in such a situation.

Their eyes met; Kexin immediately looked away, unsure where to focus.

“Um, what do you usually do in your free time?” Kexin tried to start a conversation again, walking towards the park’s deeper areas to break the awkwardness.

Luo Anying followed, her pace still slow: “Mostly… sleep. Sometimes read.”

“Read books…” Kexin realized she knew almost nothing about the senior in front of her, who was also a magical girl mentor.

The Luo Anying she knew was the calm and collected sniper in battle. Talking about anomalies now was out of the question.

As expected, their conversation stalled again.

Kexin’s eyes roamed around, looking for a topic.

Just as she considered suggesting buying a drink first, Luo Anying suddenly said softly, “Actually… the book I reserved is ready for pickup… Will you come with me to the library?”

“The library?”

Kexin looked in the direction Luo Anying was pointing. Across the road stood the grand city library.

No wonder she had chosen this meeting spot.

“It’s a novel… published long ago… I’m really interested.” Luo Anying nodded and added quietly.

“Shall we go now?”

Having a clear destination, Kexin felt relieved and spoke more cheerfully. She was also interested in reading the novel.

They walked side by side toward the library.

Kexin occasionally glanced around, seemingly observing her surroundings, but when she turned right, Luo Anying’s profile appeared in her vision. Her gaze lingered longer than intended before quickly shifting away.

Luo Anying looked straight at the ground, maintaining her slow pace, expression unreadable.

But… why did she call me along to pick up a book? Kexin couldn’t help but wonder.