"D-Did I do something wrong?"
Ever since Jingliu arrived, Bailu had become much quieter.
It was probably because this cold-looking woman was simply too intimidating.
Even while eating, Bailu restrained herself, making sure not to make any noise.
She was afraid of drawing the strange older sister's attention.
Yet despite being so careful, the woman was still staring at her.
Now Bailu was starting to worry that she had somehow offended her.
"No..."
Seeing how her arrival had caused the atmosphere to become so subdued, Jingliu's gaze dimmed slightly.
The moment she appeared, everyone had grown noticeably quieter.
It made her seem terribly out of place.
Perhaps if she hadn't come, everyone would be enjoying themselves more comfortably.
If that was the case, why had she insisted on coming to take a look?
"B-Big Brother..."
Bailu nervously moved to Su Ran's other side.
Jingliu was sitting right beside him.
But there was something about this man that made people feel safe.
That was exactly why she moved closer to him—hoping his body could shield her from the terrifying gaze of that woman.
"Don't worry. She's not as scary as you think. She's actually quite pitiful."
The moment he said that, Su Ran felt the cold swordswoman glance at him.
The threatening look in her eyes was obvious enough that even someone as oblivious as him could tell she wanted him to shut up.
Bailu's current life was pretty good.
Jingliu likely didn't want her learning about the past.
After all, Baiheng belonged to the past.
And even if Su Ran could revive her, Jingliu still hoped there would be a clear separation between Baiheng and the current Bailu.
Rather than dragging this innocent newborn into those dark memories.
"This cold big sister here is actually my ex-girlfriend. She got dumped, so she's in a terrible mood right now. She used to be cheerful and outgoing."
Taking advantage of the fact that Jingliu wouldn't attack him in front of Bailu—and now that mara was no longer an issue—
Su Ran began shamelessly spreading nonsense.
To the point that Bailu actually started feeling sorry for Jingliu.
Wasn't this just a tragic case of running into a scumbag?
Then she glanced at Serval and the other cold-looking but much friendlier older sister.
Sure enough.
An ex-girlfriend showing up at your door was never a good thing.
After hearing all this, Bailu's courage increased considerably.
At the very least, she wasn't nearly as afraid of Jingliu as before.
"So she came here to settle accounts with you?"
Bailu glanced at Jingliu's clenched fist.
It really did look like she wanted to punch someone.
"Yep. That's why you don't need to be scared of her. She's very pitiful."
"Oh."
Bailu was no longer quite so frightened.
After all, she was still a child.
Even though spending time online taught her many things, she still hadn't experienced the true dangers of the world.
Nor could she tell that every word coming out of Su Ran's mouth was nonsense meant to fool children.
Meanwhile, both the Cryo Archon and Serval unanimously believed that Su Ran's future suffering would far exceed Jingliu's current anger.
The swordswoman's fists looked genuinely terrifying.
"Then why does she keep looking at me?"
Bailu eventually noticed the flaw.
If that were really the reason, then there was no need to keep staring at her.
The one who dumped Jingliu was Su Ran, not her!
At least Bailu's brain was still functioning somewhat.
She hadn't completely bought the story.
"She once told me she wanted to have a child with me. Your hair is light purple, while hers is white fading into blue. Maybe seeing you reminds her of the vows we once made."
Hearing Su Ran continue his outrageous fabrication, Serval glanced at the ground.
A thin layer of frost had already begun forming.
Was the boss actually trying to get himself killed?
Didn't he know slander came with consequences?
"Then you really are a huge scumbag."
Bailu immediately looked at him with disdain.
Though as she listened to the gossip, she kept happily munching on her skewers.
In fact, her opinion of Su Ran somehow improved.
After all, she was just a kid.
No matter how much of a scumbag he was, it couldn't affect her.
Besides, finding someone willing to take her out to play and buy her food was incredibly rare.
How could she possibly dislike someone like that?
"Then why isn't she staring at Clara?"
Bailu eventually noticed another issue.
If they were talking about white hair, Clara's was much more authentic than her own.
Her own hair was more purple than white.
"Because she used to be a lively person. Even if we had a child, their personality would definitely take after us. Clara is way too quiet. Besides, don't you think Clara doesn't resemble either of us at all?"
That actually made sense.
Bailu believed it.
This woman did look like a Xianzhou native.
The explanation sounded reasonable.
Seeing Bailu reminded her of old feelings.
Totally plausible.
"It's okay, Big Sister! I'll help you beat up this scumbag!"
Placing her skewers back onto the plate, Bailu threw a few playful punches at Su Ran.
"...Thank you."
Although Jingliu finally unclenched her fist.
She had carefully memorized every ridiculous rumor he had just invented.
An ex-girlfriend's revenge, was it?
Fine.
Once Bailu was gone, she would show him exactly how strong her Path of the Hunt was.
"Here! This is a Xianzhou specialty barbecue. Eat some and you won't feel so sad anymore."
Bailu handed over the two skewers she'd been holding.
"Thank you."
Compared to her earlier thanks, this one sounded much more natural.
Looking at the barbecue before her, Jingliu found herself lost in thought.
Back when she served among the Cloud Knights, she rarely ate this sort of thing.
But Baiheng used to drag them all out to eat it regularly.
Tasting it again now—
Though people and circumstances had changed, a trace of that old flavor still remained.
Perhaps it was because the person offering it was Bailu.
"Don't worry. There's plenty more."
Su Ran arrived carrying several more platters.
Herta's money wasn't on Asta's absurd level, but spending this much was hardly a problem.
"My ex-boyfriend bought it. I'm not eating it."
Jingliu merely glanced at the platters before looking away.
Her resentment was still obvious.
Even if she knew Su Ran was trying to help her fit into the group—
She was still quite annoyed.
"It's fine! I'll share mine with you!"
Bailu immediately accepted the extra platters.
Then she picked out several skewers she didn't particularly like and handed them to Jingliu.
This time—
Jingliu didn't refuse.
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