Jingliu held a small bag, lightly raising her brow, her tone casual and cheerful, "You saw wrong. This is a boy."
Zero showed an expression of sudden realization, then pulled out a warm, friendly smile, crouching down to meet Aha's gaze.
His voice was gentle, "I'm really sorry, I mistook you for a little girl. What's wrong? Got separated from your family?"
Aha, "..."
The last time, Aha had already heard that soft tone of his, even witnessed Zero deliberately pretending to be younger and calling someone "sister"… but still, he couldn't handle this kind of psychological attack.
Child-version Aha said nothing, only nodded.
At the side, Baiheng looked like she wanted to say something but didn't. She quickly grabbed Aha's arm and forced a laugh, saying she'd help him find his parents.
Zero held onto Aha's other arm, stood up, and looked down at this uninvited Star God with a faint chuckle, "No rush. Let's eat first. Don't let the kid go hungry."
Jingliu nodded, indifferent as ever, and she and Zero entered the restaurant together.
Baiheng was extremely annoyed, but could only keep smiling awkwardly and pulled Aha along behind them.
Following the waiter's lead, Zero arrived at a table by the window on the second floor.
Forced into being a third wheel, Baiheng rushed to take one side of the table, dragging the kid along to sit with her. That way, Zero and Jingliu had no choice but to sit next to each other.
Still wearing his warm, approachable smile, Zero sat facing Aha. When ordering, he was very considerate, softly asking Aha what he'd like to eat.
Aha, "..."
'My dear friend, please stop smiling. I'm scared.'
The child stayed silent for a while, and finally, with Baiheng's encouragement, ordered a few desserts.
After fussing over Aha, Zero passed the menu to Jingliu beside him, letting her and Baiheng order.
While doing so, he kept quietly studying Aha, thinking about how to mess with him mentally.
Before he could come up with anything, Baiheng, having finished ordering with Jingliu, started talking.
Fox people couldn't stand tense atmospheres, so she took the initiative to lighten the mood, chatting about how she and the child-version Aha had met.
As she talked, her strong sense of empathy kicked in. She reached out and gently patted the child's head,
"The last time I saw you, you were alone. And now, you're alone again. Whatever you want to eat, sister will buy it for you."
Aha shamelessly played along, nodding and flashing a grateful smile back at his envoy.
Zero silently cursed in his heart, Aha, have you no shame?
He gave Aha a dark look, wordlessly condemning him with his eyes.
Soon, the waiter brought the dishes, stone pot chicken soup with tofu, roasted chicken specialty, stir-fried pork, vermicelli-wrapped shrimp, and finally, the desserts Aha had ordered.
Zero picked up the communal ladle and served Jingliu a bowl of the chicken soup with tofu.
Baiheng grabbed a piece of roasted chicken and said,
"My friend ran into a huge client the other day! Just did a simple fortune match for them and got one and a half million credits!"
Zero, "..."
He said nothing, only smiled slightly, and used the shared chopsticks to serve Jingliu a piece of the stir-fried pork.
Baiheng sighed, "Unbelievable. That client was so generous, they went online and found ten people in a row for fortune matches. Who knows how many credits they ended up spending…"
As she spoke, her expression changed, and she turned to ask Zero, "Zero, you're a diviner, right? You must've met a lot of clients like that. Tell me, what are these people even thinking?"
Zero picked up a piece of roasted chicken, paused a moment, then said softly, "They're just looking for some peace of mind."
Baiheng said with emotion, "That client must've loved their sweetheart so much, went to ten different people! I heard everyone who said the two were compatible got paid one and a half million credits each…"
Jingliu set down her chopsticks, her tone hard to read, "That person must have had no sense of security."
Zero instinctively turned to glance at Jingliu, then quickly looked away.
Jingliu thought of Zero first. In her eyes, that big spender who threw around millions of credits was just like him, someone who lacked a sense of security.
Otherwise, why would one place their feelings in so-called destiny and fortune-telling?
They must have asked one diviner after another because the first few didn't say what they wanted to hear, forcing them to keep seeking reassurance, asking ten people in total.
Those ten, realizing their client was rich, would never say anything unpleasant, only praise the match to the heavens.
And after hearing those sweet lies again and again, the client finally felt at ease.
Baiheng nodded vigorously in agreement, her fox ears twitching along, "Yeah, like Zero said, it's really just spending money to hear good things, just for peace of mind."
The fox-woman couldn't help sighing inwardly.
So even the rich have their troubles.
No matter how many credits one has, they can still spiral over their loved one, overthinking, grasping at straws, even throwing money at online fortune-tellers.
As Zero ladled another spoonful of chicken soup with tofu, he kept his eyes on Aha.
To his surprise, the other didn't seem to be scheming anything at all, he was seriously eating dessert. When he noticed Zero's stare, he just grinned.
Zero found the meal tasteless. Jingliu seemed to notice something was off and kept serving him food nonstop.
As they ate, Aha suddenly stood up, saying he needed to go to the restroom.
Worried Aha would pull something, Zero immediately stood as well, saying he'd go along with the kid.
He followed quickly, and once they were out of Jingliu and Baiheng's sight, he suddenly reached out, pressing his hand against the back of Aha's neck.
Zero could clearly feel the faint pulse beneath his palm. He let out a soft, abrupt laugh, his voice low,
"No wonder you're my dearest friend. You really understand me."
Zero thought, Aha really does understand me.
He knew Zero wouldn't lay a hand on women or children, so in his past life, he used a child's form to mess with him. And now, in Luofu, he was doing the same thing.
Aha nodded, "Of course. We're best friends, after all."
Zero kept his hand there, still resting on that fragile, fatal spot at the back of Aha's neck. He stared deeply at Aha, trying to read something from that face.
But there wasn't the slightest crack.
After calculating the time in his head, Zero smoothly withdrew his hand and urged Aha to go to the restroom.
A while later, Zero returned with Aha, his expression calm and pleasant.
Seeing this, Jingliu took a napkin and wiped her mouth, then pulled out the small bag.
She handed it to Zero.
"What's this?"
Zero looked at the bag in his hand. Inside was a rectangular gift box.
He froze for a moment, turning to look at Jingliu beside him.
She seemed to turn her head away casually, avoiding his gaze. "A gift for you," she said.
Instinctively, Zero lowered his voice, "Can I open it now?"
This time, Jingliu didn't avoid him. She met his eyes and nodded.
Zero took out the box, carefully opened it.
Inside lay a pair of black gloves, the style was almost identical to the ones Jingliu wore.
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