"I don't know; let's wait until tonight to discuss the specifics." Melanie shook her head, refusing Kira's request. She was willing to ask for the truth here, but once she did, she would have to hand over the book.
She couldn't exactly have Kira tell her the truth first and then wait until tonight to give Kira the book, could she?
Melanie believed that, given Kira's personality, she would absolutely never agree to such a thing.
"We're so familiar with each other, wouldn't it be better to do it a bit earlier? Why must it be tonight?" Kira pursed her lips unhappily. If she could complete the trade here, that would be for the best.
But judging from Melanie's behavior, this plan was probably going to fall through.
"The book isn't in my hands right now." Melanie indicated it wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she currently lacked the item for the trade.
"Eh? I thought Sister Melanie came here to scout the place out. Was that not it?"
"No, I have an appointment." Melanie's gaze flickered toward the billboard where Leticia was hiding.
Kira nodded thoughtfully. Since there was an appointment, she could probably guess who Melanie was meeting.
After all, Yori had often nagged in Kira's ear about her sister's relationship issues. One of the female leads—that tsundere girl living downstairs from the York family—should be the person Melanie was meeting this time.
"Is it Miss Qianqian?"
"...Yes." Melanie nodded, feeling that Leticia might not be able to stay hidden much longer.
Kira's sudden appearance had truly caught them both off guard. If Kira caught Leticia here, Melanie didn't even dare imagine how 'beautiful' that scene would be.
"I've always heard Leticia mention her Quinn. I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to meet her today?" Kira asked with a smile.
If her guess was correct, this Quinn should be the Person in White from the Black and White Duo.
Of course, this was just a guess, but it was a fairly reliable one.
"No," Melanie said with a cold face. Although it didn't show on the outside, she was trying very hard to make her expression look more fierce.
And this expression of hers caused Kira to break out in a cold sweat. She felt like the young girl in front of her seemed very angry.
Why was she angry? Didn't she just want to meet that Quinn?
Was there something wrong with that? Melanie surely wouldn't be so stingy as to not even let people look, right?
"She is shy around strangers; Miss Sukina should not force her." Melanie maintained her expression as best as she could, telling a blatant lie with her eyes wide open. "If there's nothing else, could you please leave quickly?"
The corners of Kira's mouth twitched involuntarily. The current Melanie looked like she was protecting her little wife; it really felt quite strange.
"Sigh, alright then." Seeing Melanie issue such an impolite eviction notice, Kira sighed and stood up from her chair with utter helplessness. "I'm going, I'm going."
Holding her untouched milk tea, Kira took a deep look at the billboard. She naturally knew someone was hiding behind it, and presumably, it was that shy Miss Quinn Sukina.
She had intended to meet Melanie's partner in white, but now it seemed her plan had failed.
Melanie was probably just a role like a hired thug for the person behind the scenes; she likely didn't know much.
However, her strength was indeed somewhat ridiculous.
Thinking this, Kira walked toward the main entrance, looking back with every step. Anyone who didn't know better would think she had fallen for Melanie.
After seeing Kira off with an extremely 'kind' gaze, Melanie said to Leticia, "You can come out now. Kira has left."
About a minute passed before Leticia nervously poked her head out. "Is she really gone?"
"She's really gone. You should be able to sense it, right?"
"I was worried she'd pull a feint and come back. You have no idea how difficult that girl is to deal with." Leticia breathed a sigh of relief and plopped back onto the chair Kira had just occupied.
After calming her slightly racing heart, Leticia looked at Melanie with a searching gaze and asked the question she had wanted to ask just now: "You've known Kira for a long time?"
Kira's repeated calls of'Sister Melanie' were so sweet that even Leticia, the original sister, felt a hint of jealousy.
"Don't explain yet, let me guess." Leticia indicated she had already guessed everything. Connecting it to what happened a few days ago, she felt she had been severely betrayed by Melanie.
"Kira is that good friend named Luca that Leticia made, right? After you borrowed the glasses from me, you must have realized Luca was my sister Kira, yet you lied to me and said you didn't know Luca."
"And here I was, trusting you so much, only for you to keep me in the dark about such a major matter. Melanie, you've disappointed me too much!"
Facing this groundless accusation from Leticia, Melanie raised her hand and pressed down on Leticia's slightly agitated shoulder. "You never placed any hope in me to begin with."
Hadn't Leticia always said they were enemies and their relationship was terrible?
So, as an enemy, was there a problem with Melanie lying to Leticia? No, right?
Who told Leticia to be such a naive 'white-sweet-silly' girl, actually believing Melanie wouldn't lie.
"I misjudged you." Leticia was choked up by Melanie's words. After thinking for a long time, she could only squeeze out such a limp sentence dryly.
She was clearly the one who kept emphasizing they were enemies, yet when Melanie deceived her, she got angry. What kind of logic was that?
Leticia didn't want to be an unreasonable girl, even though she had the status and strength to be one.
"People change. But why are you so afraid of meeting Kira? She is your biological sister."
"It's precisely because she's my biological sister that I don't dare see her." Leticia covered her face, not wanting Melanie to see her expression. "I really don't know how to face Kira. How could a derelict sister like me have the face to see her?"
"And yet you're going to set her up tonight?"
"Tonight I am Haruno, not Leticia." Mentioning the events for tonight, Leticia immediately stated she was very good at roleplay. "I just don't want Kira to know Quinn Sukina is Leticia. As for Haruno? I certainly won't admit that I am Haruno."
Haruno and Leticia were different people. Hiding herself under a large white robe, Leticia believed she could speak to Kira without any psychological burden and coax the information she wanted out of her.
"If you feel it's too much, I can help." However, Melanie was still a bit worried about Leticia's state of mind.
Her performance just now, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, was truly not convincing at all.