Chapter 4: The Tsundere Little Girlfriend

While Xinghui was busy cleaning the house, Lingling Lan secretly pulled out the communication crystal her dear Mama-sama had once given her.
This kind of crystal was formed entirely from pure void energy.
It didn’t belong to the Keha Universe’s magical or technological systems, so it allowed her to talk with family without anyone else ever noticing.

Of course, only with family.
In Lingling Lan’s contact list, there were only her four sisters and Mama-sama.

With hesitation in her heart, she dialed Nyara’s address.
It didn’t even take long before that lively, cheerful voice burst into her ears.
As expected, her entrance was always accompanied by outrageous, maniacal laughter.

“Ahahahahaha! My dear Ling’er, at last you remembered to call the evil god whose beauty rivals the most bewitching of flowers, whose brilliance makes even the sun and moon squint just to look at her—guess who you’ve dialed?”

“Mama-sama, I’m calling because…”

“Correct! It’s your ever-kind and approachable Mama-sama! Ahahahaha! So, my precious little daughter, what made you think of me today?”

Nyara’s laughter was healthy—healthier than a mental patient’s, and even more deranged.
Lingling Lan just hoped she hadn’t lost her sanity yet, so that maybe, just maybe, they could talk this tiny, insignificant matter over.

“Um, about the crystallization sickness… I mean, how to undo the effect of that amethyst toy—do you know, Mama-sama?”

She asked in a nervous whisper, fully aware that whether Nyara answered or not depended entirely on her mood.
If she wasn’t in the mood, she might just drop a “Greek yogurt”¹ and go back to messing around with whoever else she’d found for amusement.

“I do know, Ling’er. Why do you ask?”

Nyara was a god of chaos.
If she realized the cure was meant for something legitimate, the most likely outcome would be her handing over a bottle of “accelerated-death elixir.”
Then Xinghui would probably turn into an immortal crystal statue in seconds.

“Well… it’s… this…”
Lingling Lan thought for a moment, then blurted it all out in one breath:

“Ling’er accidentally broke a girl while playing. She’s about to die, and Ling’er doesn’t want such a fun toy to be ruined, that’s all.”

Because that was, in Mama-sama’s eyes, the correct way to use an “amethyst toy.”
Lingling Lan figured Nyara just wanted her to stir up trouble everywhere, spread despair and shadows, and offer chaos as a dance to her mother—everyone else’s life or death was just part of the stage performance.

Lingling Lan could never do something so terrible.
She was still a good person.
If not for Xinghui, she would never have spun such a huge lie.
Hopefully Mama-sama wouldn’t see through it…

“Ahaha! Ling’er, at last you’ve become exactly what Mama hoped for!” Nyara’s voice was filled with delight.
“Mama-sama is so proud! My little daughter has finally found her way!”

That phrase “found her way” made Lingling Lan shudder.
It was all a lie—who knew what butterfly effect this might set off later?
If Mama-sama discovered she was still so soft-hearted, Lingling Lan dreaded she’d end up in that dreaded Mother-Daughter Playroom her sisters always complained about…

“Since Ling’er worked so hard to make Mama happy, how about it—any antidote lying around?”

“Of course, Ling’er. I still have a little special medicine.”

And it was indeed a little.
No more, no less—exactly three pills.

“That’s it? So few… Are you sure this works?”
Lingling Lan couldn’t help worrying—what if the moment Xinghui swallowed it, her death just accelerated?

“It works. How could it not? Ling’er, are you doubting Mama-sama would deceive you?
Just one pill, and your silly, naïve little girlfriend won’t—for the time being—turn into one of those immortal, sealed-away, living statues created by my super fun crystal toys!”

“Thank you, Mama-sama… Eh? L–Little girlfriend?!!”

Lingling Lan whipped around in panic, eyes darting to Xinghui, who was still struggling against the crystals spreading across her table.
A bead of cold sweat slipped down Lingling Lan’s brow.
Could it be—Mama-sama knew everything from the start, and just wanted to see how Lingling Lan would cover her lie?

The air instantly grew tense.
Lingling Lan knew Xinghui’s fate was entirely in Nyara’s hands.
And Nyara was the last person in the cosmos who should be entrusted with a doomsday button.
Who knew what insanity she might unleash?

“Relax. I think this makes things more… fun.
Mama-sama isn’t a big bad villain, honestly. Why are you so afraid of me?”

Just then, Xinghui dragged a chair over and handed Lingling Lan a cup of hot tea.
Sweat covered her face, she was obviously exhausted, yet she still wore her trademark gentle smile.
Such a sweet smile—how could anyone destroy it?

“In short, you and your little girlfriend had better get along!
Your eldest sister Gela has a wonderful girlfriend too. I’ll introduce you sometime—she’s so full of humanity!
Anyway, goodbye! Ling’er, take good care of yourself out there! Mama-sama has other matters to attend to!”

Nyara cut the call abruptly.
Mama-sama was truly an unfathomable god.

At least, based on what Lingling Lan knew, the medicine probably wasn’t fake.
If it were, Xinghui would already have become a statue before her eyes.
Which could only mean Mama-sama had this planned all along.
Xinghui’s crystallization disease was two hundred percent her doing.

But Lingling Lan had no choice.
She couldn’t possibly oppose her Mama-sama, who surpassed her in both power and cunning.
For now, the only thing to do was find a way to help Xinghui.

“Ahem. This illness, according to the ancestral formula of the Penglai Immortals…”

“Could you not mention fake formulas?” Xinghui tried hard not to laugh at the sight of Lingling Lan’s straight-faced nonsense.

“In short, taking this pill will temporarily ease your crystallization.”

“Temporarily? Don’t tell me… I have an incurable disease?!!”

Well, in a way, yes.
But better not tell her the truth.
If Mama-sama changed her mind and refused further medicine later, at least Xinghui could go in peace, without total despair.

“If it were truly incurable, I wouldn’t bother. No way I’ll let people say my healing skills are so bad they killed someone. Just take it already.”

“Ahhh~~~”

“You really want me to feed you? Are we that close?” Lingling Lan snapped in mock annoyance.
Even Mama-sama had called Xinghui her “little girlfriend”?
Why did it feel like everyone had already arranged her life for her?

“Not that I’d mind,” Xinghui murmured as she rested her head in Lingling Lan’s lap.
Her long gray hair spilled down like a waterfall, and a look of utter contentment filled her face.
“I’m so tired. My arms are sore… I can’t move.”

Xinghui didn’t blush.
Lingling Lan, however, felt her own face burn scarlet.
This intimate posture… things were definitely heading in the wrong direction!

“I never agreed to this!… Sigh, I can’t deal with you. Just this once!”

What a tsundere little evil god loli… too cute.

Xinghui opened her pink, cherry-like lips, thinking this as a dreamy feeling swept over her, as if her whole body were floating among clouds.

“The taste… it’s sweet?”

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¹ Greek yogurt – A running gag; Nyara sometimes says absurd nonsense words instead of giving real answers.