Chapter 683: Fireworks

"Sir, refusing a lady like this, don't you think that's a bit ungentlemanly?" The woman finished speaking, then gave a wink.

It was just that...

Xiao Guo's brow furrowed, "Madam, this establishment is full. I hope you will look elsewhere."

He didn't trust anyone else to handle the Main Hall, so he kept watch here himself.

"Let her come up."

Just at this moment...

A cold, clear voice drifted over from the direction of the stairs.

The woman raised an eyebrow, gave Xiao Guo a provocative look, and then swayed her way up the stairs.

Xiao Guo didn't say another word, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.

Since Nan had spoken, this person was one of their own.

If she weren't one of their own, Nan wouldn't have let her come upstairs during such a tense time.

If she was one of their own... then everything was fine.

"Why did you come?" An Yinan smiled. She had just been about to go downstairs to eat; she had been woken up by hunger, and now she felt lazy and sluggish, as if her bones had turned soft.

The woman glanced at her, completely devoid of her earlier swaying grace, and said irritably, "Sister, you haven't appeared for fifteen hours. They all thought you'd been offed!"

"So I came to see for myself. Who knew your people would be like wooden blocks—so stiff and boring!"

An Yinan smiled, "Fireworks, they aren't the type of people you can tease."

This woman had a beautiful name: Fireworks.

She had once asked for the reason, and Fireworks said that once you joined the Dragon Group, who knew when you might die? She hoped her vitality would be like fireworks, even if it only illuminated a tiny area.

"I know, you've said that many times already." Fireworks rolled her eyes, though her posture remained elegant.

"But what's going on with these fifteen hours? Don't tell me you were busy plotting against someone again!" She shuddered.

Their Dragon Group's covert protection wasn't meant to be exposed.

However...

The vicious woman before her had plotted against her.

Seeing her rather resentful expression, An Yinan couldn't help but feel her mood improve, "It's because you're too high-profile. Wearing perfume on a stealth mission? Were you trying to tell everyone that someone was there?"

"Hey! It was jasmine-scented, and I was hiding in jasmine flowers. Only a freak like you could tell the difference, right?" Fireworks widened her eyes; the charm from moments ago was replaced entirely by resentment.

"Perfume is still different from real floral scent. Do you not know how dangerous you are? A single flaw is enough to cost you your life." An Yinan spoke as if she were educating a younger sister.

Fireworks was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. Later, when she was being bullied, fire sprouted from her fingers...

Everyone treated her like a monster. As it happened, the Dean of the orphanage was the former Group Leader of the Dragon Group, who secretly sent her directly to the Dragon Group.

That was how today's Fireworks came to be.

She wanted to illuminate her surroundings, even if just a little.

This flamboyant, elegant, charming, and sexy woman had a very clean, unstained heart.

"It won't happen again." Fireworks sat on a stool and spread her hands.

"I haven't even scolded you yet—what did you do today? Don't work so hard. With your small frame, if you keep pushing yourself like this, be careful you don't live a long life." Her concern was tucked away inside her words.

If someone else heard it, they would think she was being sarcastic, but in reality, she was just unaccustomed to caring for others.

"No work, just sleeping. I've been too tired these days." An Yinan pointed to the bed she had been sitting on; the quilt was still spread out. She had just been preparing to go downstairs to eat something before returning to continue sleeping.

Fireworks was stunned, then walked to An Yinan's side, "Sleeping? You actually slept?"

For these past days, whenever she was keeping watch, this freak of a woman slept less than three hours a day, and she had kept that up for nearly two months. What had she just heard? She actually slept?

Seeing her expression, An Yinan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "I'm human too, you know. I need to rest."

"I've always felt that you weren't human!" Fireworks shook her head, denying it outright.

What kind of person could sleep for only three hours a day? Yet this one managed it.

The people in their Dragon Group were mostly ability users; their physiques were much better than ordinary people, and their mental strength was better too, yet they all rested longer than this freak.

This was also why Fireworks and An Yinan had grown close. People like them were cold-hearted and detached; they might die on a mission any day, and they didn't want others to grieve for them, nor did they want to grieve for others.

An Yinan rolled her eyes, "Special times call for special arrangements. When you're on a mission, time is tight—can you rest?"

She said this nonchalantly, her face full of relaxed smiles.

These ten-plus hours of sleep had cleared her head quite a bit. Honestly, people really did need to rest.

Fireworks suddenly remembered, "Are you hungry?"

"Don't bother going down. I'll go buy you something to eat. What do you want?"

"Anything is fine, just a large portion. I'm nearly starving to death." An Yinan clutched her stomach and lay back, not wanting to move at all.

"Got it. I'm heading out, then. Lock the door." Fireworks instructed.

She then went straight downstairs. Seeing Xiao Guo in the Main Hall, she gave a cold huff, then walked away with a thousand charms in her stride.

Xiao Guo was left feeling baffled by the huff.

But he paid it no mind...

An Yinan lay sprawled on the bed, too lazy to get up and lock the door. With Xiao Guo watching downstairs and others in the shadows, she didn't move.

The Captain waiting outside felt a toothache when he saw Xiao Si walking over.

"Can't you change those high heels?" It was as if she were afraid others wouldn't notice her.

Fireworks rolled her eyes, "An Yinan said this kind of attire is the trend here. It's your style of dress that draws attention!"

"How is she?" The Captain didn't want to argue with her; she always had a reason anyway.

Fireworks shook her head, "She's fine. She said she slept for over ten hours. When I went in, the room looked clean and normal. Only the bed was messy, and it still had warmth, so she must have just gotten up."

When she entered the room, she had lain on the bed for a moment, just to check the temperature of the bedding.

Although she hadn't been in the room for long, she had already finished observing everything. Even the water kettle on the floor and the neatly arranged books and papers on the table had been checked; there was no possibility that anyone else had entered.

"That's fine, are you taking the next shift?" the Captain asked her.

Lao Si waved his hand, "No, no, no, I have to go buy food for the little ancestor; she's been hungry for over ten hours, and if she hadn't been woken up by hunger, she'd probably still be sleeping."

"..."

The Third Captain suspected that An Yinan possessed some kind of magic, as anyone who could order Lao Si around was truly a talent.

Don't look at him as a Captain; during missions, all commands were followed, but outside of mission hours, his words held absolutely no authority.