The heat of the arena competition had not yet fully dissipated, and in the Lin family's living room, two completely different atmospheres were clashing fiercely.
One was the residual festivity and noise from the crowd of guests.
The other was a surging undercurrent of dark history beneath the surface.
Celeste was curled up on the sofa, her fingertips lightly sliding across the virtual screen of her Light Computer, reviewing information related to the Domain competition.
The cushion on one side of the sofa suddenly sank down.
A sickeningly sweet fragrant breeze stuck to her with pinpoint accuracy.
"Sister~"
Selene's voice was soaked in honey, the end of her tone curling up like a little fox's Tail.
She squeezed aside the blocking pillow with her backside and affectionately hugged Celeste's arm, hanging onto her entirely.
"I recently discovered a su~per delicious ice cream shop!"
"Their Dreamy Galaxy series is said to be so good it makes your soul float!"
Celeste didn't even lift her eyelids, her fingers sliding on the light screen as she gave a faint "Oh" to indicate she heard.
"So," Selene began to shake her arm, revealing her true intent, "to celebrate my dear, great, history-breaking older sister's triumphant return, how about treating me to ice cream for a month?"
"No."
Celeste refused categorically.
"Your appetite for 'a month' would be enough to turn our house into a mobile cold storage. Besides, you just swore last week to watch your weight."
"Oh, indulging once in a while is just recharging my hardworking self!" Selene curled her lip indignantly, finally deciding to play her trump card.
She lowered her voice, leaning her body closer, her breath carrying a hint of mystery.
"Sister, do you know? When I got up to drink water last night, I seemed to... see light coming from a certain room."
Celeste's finger sliding on the light screen froze in mid-air.
Selene admired her sister's instantly stiffened profile with extreme satisfaction, continuing unhurriedly, even gesturing with her small hands.
"There seemed to be... the clinking sound of metal colliding?"
"There seemed to be someone talking? Saying... 'Leave it to me'?"
"Hmm... that voice was quite familiar, but the tone was so gentle it could practically drip water, incredibly reliable—completely and utterly different from a certain violent priest I usually know..."
Celeste turned her head slowly, frame by frame.
On her younger sister's pretty face, eight words were clearly written: 'I have caught you by the weakness.'
"I was careless..."
Last night she indeed couldn't resist and secretly tried out Noelle's character card again, wanting to familiarize herself with the control of Geo Elemental Power...
It was actually heard by this girl?!
"Hehe."
Selene laughed like a little fox that had just stolen an entire chicken farm, continuing to apply pressure in a whisper only the two of them could hear.
"Sister, tell me, if I accidentally let it slip to Mom and Dad, or to those classmates who are exploding with curiosity about my sister's 'Heroic Spirit Summoning'..."
"Saying that my dear sister doesn't sleep at midnight and wears... uh, armor with lace trim in her room?"
"And even says 'Leave it to me' in the tone of a virtuous wife and mother..."
"What would they think?"
With every word she spoke, Celeste's face grew a shade paler.
The lethality of this thing was a hundred times greater than that video of her pushing up her glasses!
Her behavior in the arena could still be glossed over as 'tactical necessity,' but if this was known to be a private hobby...
Wouldn't that make her a pervert!
Selene decided to strike while the iron was hot. She imitated the gentle and reliable tone she imagined, placing her right hand over her heart and nodding slightly to the air.
"Leave it to me!"
She drawled her words, summarizing with a mischievous grin: "Sister, this 'new Heroic Spirit' you practice in private sounds very virtuous~ I've caught its flaw~"
She was already prepared to enjoy her sister's panicked and humiliated expression of begging for mercy.
She had even prepared three alternative sets of ice cream flavors she wanted to order for the next month.
However, the expected scene did not appear.
After a moment of stiffness, a kind of... world-weary calm actually reappeared on Celeste's face.
She even gave a light smile, as if experiencing a sense of relief.
Selene's heart skipped a beat, feeling an ominous premonition.
Celeste just slowly, slowly lifted her head.
On that cold face, there wasn't a trace of the emotional fluctuation she had expected, only a sense of extinction that could be called total detachment.
That gaze even carried a hint of pity that saw through everything.
She extended a finger.
Pointing straight at the oversized floating light-screen TV on the living room wall.
On the TV, the official highlights of the city's Martial Arts Exam were playing on a loop.
At this moment, the official highlights of the city's Martial Arts Exam were playing on a loop.
The footage seemed precisely controlled, switching exactly to the climax of the duel between Celeste and Xu Bingbing.
The commentator's impassioned voice, which sounded like it wanted to shout through the sky, echoed throughout the living room:
"—Right here! Let's watch it again in super slow motion! A flash of light appeared on contestant Celeste, and her appearance changed abruptly! Look at this gesture of pushing up her glasses! Listen to this line full of wisdom and pressure! This is undoubtedly the first public appearance of her mysterious 'Heroic Spirit Summoning' ability! This moment will be recorded in the annals of Planet Blue's Martial Arts Exam history!"
On the huge TV screen, Celeste's socially suicidal moment was being played back and forth from three different camera angles in 4K ultra-clear slow motion.
Below the screen, a line of artistic characters Burning with flame effects slowly emerged—
[The Birth of a Tactical Master!]
Celeste withdrew her finger and looked at her sister, who had instantly petrified into a statue, with a gaze that said, "The person is dead, burn paper for me if you have business."
Her voice was flat without a single ripple, as if she were announcing a weather forecast that had nothing to do with her.
"Threats are useless, silly girl."
She pointed to her own official public execution on the TV.
"See that?"
"Panoramic high-definition, slow-motion close-up, official commentary, and bonus special effects."
"That little bit of so-called 'dark history' in your hands..."
Celeste's tone carried a calmness that had weathered many storms. "Do you think a person who has already performed 'instant costume change + roleplay' in front of the people of the whole city would still fear your verbal accusation of 'suspected private cross-dressing'?"
She pointed to the frozen close-up on the TV: "See? Officially certified 'Performance Art Master'."
"If you go post on the forums now saying 'Celeste is suspected of having a private cross-dressing hobby,' do you think everyone will believe you, or will they think—"
She paused, vividly imitating the tone of a forum gossip monger.
"Oh, that student Lin who summons Heroic Spirits? She must be developing some new ability again, right?"
"Understandable, understandable. We don't understand the world of the strong; the strong always have some cultivation methods we can't comprehend!"
Celeste even reached out and patted her sister's stiff shoulder, speaking with earnest sincerity.
"Selene, times have changed."
"When your sister's dark history has already become public property, that bit of exclusive gossip in your hands is worthless."
Selene: "..."
She looked at her sister's incredibly calm (but actually internally dead) socially suicidal face on the TV, then at her sister's even more calm "dead pig not afraid of boiling water" face now, and petrified again.
She felt like the "Royal Flush" in her hand had inexplicably turned into a "Three of Spades."
"Ah—!!"
Selene let out a second wail, throwing herself onto the sofa again and rolling in despair while clutching the pillow.
"Unfair! Sister, when did your skin get so thick! My ice cream! My Dreamy Galaxy series!!"
Watching her sister's old trick of acting out, Celeste finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, giving her a light kick with her foot.
"Alright, stop acting. Although a month of ice cream is out of the question, seeing as you provided... uh, a new idea for joy, I'll treat you to an extra-large ice cream today with double toppings."
Selene instantly stopped rolling and looked up, her expression changing faster than flipping a page: "Really? Can I add a portion of Chocolate pearls?"
"Granted." Celeste waved her hand grandly, then narrowed her eyes, releasing a hint of a "dangerous" aura, "However, regarding what happened last night..."
"I was sleepwalking! I had auditory hallucinations! I didn't see or hear anything!"
Selene immediately raised both hands to swear, springing up from the sofa with agile movements and rushing to her room to change clothes without looking back, fearing her sister would regret it the next second.
Looking at her sister's overjoyed back, Celeste shook her head with a smile.
Sure enough, as long as I am the first to give up on treatment, embarrassment can never catch up to me.
Does this count as... another form of growth?
[Ding! Host has successfully neutralized a 'potential social suicide crisis' and skillfully soothed the joy target with ice cream. joy value +55! Host, in the realm of slacking off... no, in the realm of controlling people's hearts, you have reached perfection!]
Celeste: "..."
Shut up!