Chapter 13: Probing

Cuique looked at the young girl before her, her heart stirring slightly.

It was not because of the other party's attire; she did not like to judge people by their appearance.

It was because the "kitty" the other party mentioned was clearly Moke, who had been following them all along.

Ordinary people could not see a sprite like Moke, and in most cases, they would be completely unaware of a sprite's existence; it was evident that the young girl before her was no ordinary person.

Combining her question with Lin Xiaolu's reaction behind her, it was not difficult to deduce that she was the girl with "magical talent," and also the target her group was searching for.

"You, you person, when exactly did you circle around to here!"

Not knowing when it happened, Lin Xiaolu had already hidden behind Cuique, facing the young girl and asking with a show of bravado: "I clearly saw your group walking forward!"

"Forward... ah, I just made an excuse and split off from them."

The young girl blinked and smiled: "Because I saw you following me the whole time, I wanted to come and ask what you were doing."

"Saw me? Impossible!"

Lin Xiaolu shook her head and pointed at the young girl: "There are so many people on the street, I was blending into the crowd the whole time, how could you have noticed I was following you!"

"But, you're wearing the same school uniform as me."

As the young girl said this, she tilted her head: "You're the only student from my school I can see around here, so you're very conspicuous in my eyes."

"Same school? Don't try to use that kind of excuse..."

Halfway through her sentence, as if realizing something, Lin Xiaolu carefully examined the young girl's appearance, then, as if remembering something, shouted in astonishment: "Ah, I remember! You're one of those delinquent gal groups in our grade!"

The term "delinquent gal" caught Cuique's attention, and she couldn't help but take another look at the young girl.

Makeup, dyed hair, and pierced ears—this look could indeed count as a "gal" at the middle school level, though the "delinquent" element wasn't really reflected.

"Delinquent gal group... hahaha."

The young girl showed no clear aversion to the term; she even laughed out loud as if she had heard something interesting: "That's a funny way to put it. Is that what they call us at school? Or is it your own invention?"

Lin Xiaolu did not answer, but stepped back twice and grabbed Cuique: "Cuique, this person is very dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Hearing such an assessment, the young girl looked somewhat puzzled.

Lin Xiaolu said righteously: "I've seen it before, gal groups like hers bullying other girls!"

"But I've never bullied anyone."

The young girl retorted: "That's slander!"

"Even if you haven't bullied anyone, your appearance is still indecent!"

"This is clearly just dressing myself normally."

The young girl puffed out her cheeks: "It's better for a girl to make herself look fashionable, right?"

"Because it's too shameless!"

Lin Xiaolu shook her head repeatedly: "Dressing like this is one thing, but these people are flirting with boys every day! There was even one who got suspended, they said it was in an empty classroom with a boy..."

"Doing it with a boyfriend? That wasn't me either."

The young girl raised an eyebrow and said helplessly: "And I don't flirt with boys, because I think dating is a hassle; I've properly rejected every confession I've received."

"Doing... why did you say that word directly? You, are you a hooligan?"

Lin Xiaolu's cheeks flushed, looking annoyed and embarrassed: "Even if you haven't done that kind of thing, you're still dressing like that to attract boys' attention, right!"

"Hmm, that part is true."

The young girl admitted it frankly, but the smile on her face remained calm and looked quite well-behaved: "But don't you think the boys' reactions are fun? The way they want to look but don't dare to is so interesting."

"You actually, actually..." Lin Xiaolu was truly confused.

Seeing the topic of their conversation drifting further and further away, Cuique finally had to step in, sighed, and interrupted their dialogue: "You two, could you please stop for a moment?"

She pointed to the side and signaled: "Regardless of the grievances between you, it's ultimately inappropriate to be making a scene on the street. Look, there are already people watching."

Lin Xiaolu and the young girl stopped, looked around, and found that quite a few people were indeed watching them, and some were even holding phones to take pictures.

It was not hard to understand; three girls who didn't look very old, one of them even quite young, were standing together. Each looked youthful and cute, worthy of being called idols, and they were arguing in the street; it was hard not to suspect it was some new idol group filming a variety show or an online video.

If they continued to attract attention, many topics couldn't be broached, so Cuique took the lead to suggest something, interrupting their increasingly absurd conversation, and pointed in another direction: "Have you considered changing to a place where we can talk properly?"

Upon hearing this, the young girl was stunned for a moment, then smiled in confusion: "Eh? But, I still have no idea what you're doing, why should I follow you?"

"We are following you."

Cuique said expressionlessly: "Because you are special, and we have something to discuss with you."

"Following?"

The young girl immediately covered her mouth, showing a somewhat frightened expression: "How could you, you're actually stalking me? What do you want to do? I'm very uneasy and confused; if I give you money, can you spare me?"

"Since you've already taken the initiative to come over, it means you're actually very interested, right?"

Cuique did not comment on her somewhat exaggerated performance, but continued calmly: "Even now, you are still curious about that pink cat flying in the air, aren't you?"

"Hmm... maybe?" The young girl's attitude remained ambiguous.

Moke, on the side, saw that Cuique had mentioned him, so he flapped his wings and flew over, wanting to speak up and show off, but was stopped by Cuique's gaze. Awed by her authority, he had no choice but to wait obediently and continue being a mute.

"I can tell you that those vague feelings of yours are all correct; they all truly exist."

Cuique kept Moke in check and looked at the young girl again, one hand on her hip: "Whether it's the attraction you felt from that pink cat, or the inexplicable sense of crisis you felt after seeing me, they are all real things."

"If you want to know why, then come with me."

Seeing that the young girl's expression finally revealed a hint of shock, clearly struck by these words, she felt the timing was right—it was time to perform the trick of playing hard to get. She lifted her chin, her expression becoming somewhat arrogant: "I won't force you; you can refuse and leave now, but my invitation won't be offered a second time."

After saying this, she turned and walked away, leaving the young girl behind, watching her back.

Moke and Lin Xiaolu reacted quickly; Moke immediately flapped his wings and chased after her, while Lin Xiaolu turned back to glare fiercely at the young girl before jogging to catch up with Cuique.

"...Ah, no choice, in the end, I'm the one who got hooked."

The young girl paused for a moment, finally smiled helplessly, and then followed the others ahead, taking her first steps.