“Chen Yu!”
“I’m going to kill you!”
Furious shouts echoed from a distance. Barbara, dressed in a JK uniform and drenched like a drowned rat, charged at Chen Yu with blazing eyes.
“Die!”
*Bang!*
She kicked out.
Almost by reflex, Chen Yu raised his hand and grabbed Barbara’s ankle.
“Hey, let me explain,” Chen Yu said with a sheepish grin. But Barbara’s eyes were cold. “Explain? You want me to listen to your explanations?”
Barbara was seething with rage.
She was about to explode.
Despite the heavy rain, no one had paid her any attention, not even a glance. From when it started raining until she returned, she had waited for more than ten minutes.
She hadn't seen a single soul.
“I’m telling you, I swear it wasn’t intentional to ignore you,” Chen Yu said with utmost sincerity. “I just wasn’t used to it.”
It was the truth.
Although Chen Yu liked to tease Barbara, he wouldn’t deliberately ignore her in the rain. Barbara was usually in her miniature form, perched on his shoulder and chattering. When she suddenly condensed into her true form, Chen Yu hadn’t quite reacted.
“Not used to it? So you left me to get soaked in the rain for so long?”
The demon girl glared with wide, almond-shaped eyes, gritting her teeth. “Fine, even if you weren’t used to it, tell me what you did to me just now, trapping my head between four pillars?”
“Weren’t you possessed?”
“You knew I was possessed, and you still ignored me?” the demon girl retorted. “Chen Yu, you really don’t see me as a person. You just trapped me with pillars when I was possessed and left me alone? Is that how a friend acts? Are you even human?”
“I thought you would recover faster if you were alone.”
“Nonsense!”
The demon girl glared and spat.
“You’re clearly reluctant to honor the bet. I heard you talking to Sona, and you still want to quibble with me here?”
“Mmm~”
The moment the demon girl finished speaking, Chen Yu agreed, a smile playing on his lips.
“You heard me? Hmm, that’s strange. You could still hear Sona and me even when you were possessed,” Chen Yu said with a hint of puzzlement. “Sona, is one’s consciousness clear when possessed?”
“No!”
“But I remember Barbara was already possessed at the time. She was pressing against my chest, wanting to move forward, as if she were going to hit a wall,” Chen Yu said, looking at Barbara with a half-smile. “Little demon, how did you hear it?”
“Uh…”
Barbara looked flustered.
“I suspect someone was faking possession because they didn’t want to honor the bet?” Chen Yu whispered with a smile. Barbara yelped as if her tail had been stepped on. “Are you accusing me? Are you making veiled threats?”
“Did I?”
Chen Yu feigned confusion, blinking.
“I was just saying it casually. Why are you in such a hurry? If you have nothing to hide, why the rush to refute me?”
“I…” The demon girl bit her lip and fell silent for a long time. “Hmph, I can’t be bothered to argue with you. You have no real skills, but you’re good at sophistry.”
“Alright then~”
Chen Yu smiled and didn’t press the issue further.
In fact, Chen Yu had known from the beginning that Barbara was faking it, he just hadn't called her out. At that time, he had sensed that Barbara was conscious, and her actions, though seemingly random, were not unconscious.
Especially when Chen Yu had trapped her with pillars.
She had clearly clenched her fists.
Chen Yu had seen all of this, and that was why he had deliberately left Barbara there. If Barbara had truly been possessed, he wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing.
He had expected the little demon to hold out for half an hour or an hour.
But who knew—
She was quite resilient.
“In that case, let’s honor the bet then?” Chen Yu said with a smile. Barbara, who had been so imposing when drenched by the rain, had lost all her temper. She smiled and twirled a wet strand of her hair with her finger. “Oh dear, I’m so uncomfortable. I’m all wet and need to take a bath~”
As she spoke, Barbara started to walk away, but Chen Yu grabbed her.
“Where are you going?”
“I, I’m going to take a bath?” Barbara blinked coyly. Chen Yu let out a low chuckle and his smile vanished. “The only bathrooms are in the main camp. Where else do you think you can wash up? Even if you wanted to go back to your den, wouldn’t you still have to enter my wristband?”
“I saw them in the city too when I came…”
“Is that so!”
Chen Yu feigned shock.
“The city has bathrooms, and I, as the city lord, didn’t even know. Oh dear, it seems I know very little about my city.”
“Mhm mhm~”
“No need to go then. It’s already dark outside, and it’s not safe for a girl to be wandering around alone.” Chen Yu gently pressed Barbara’s little head. “You can wash up here.”
“Ah~”
*Hiss!*
Without any warning, flames erupted from the demon girl’s body. White mist billowed from her, and in less than half a minute, there was no sign of dampness on her.
“Forget it, I’ll just steam myself dry.”
Barbara grinned, then patted her mouth and yawned.
“Oh dear, I’m feeling a bit sleepy. It’s gotten so late. The sound of the rain is making me want to sleep, so I’m going to bed now~”
Then, Barbara waved goodbye to Chen Yu and Sona, and headed towards the wristband.
“Barbara, don’t even think about it,” Chen Yu said, holding down the wristband and leaning close to Barbara’s ear. “The bet, you can’t escape it.”
“Who said I was trying to escape?”
The demon girl’s eyes widened again.
“I’m just sleepy and want to go to bed. Besides, on what grounds do you say I lost? Tell me, on what grounds?”
“Hey, are you going back on your word?” Chen Yu glared. “Kailin said it herself, and Fang Xiu’s suggestion was to dismantle. What’s the point of you acting shamelessly now?”
“I did not!”
Barbara puffed out her chest righteously.
“She said to dismantle, so you win? Your wristband can contact Kailin. Who knows if you secretly told her something?”
“You…”
“Heh, don’t think I don’t know,” the demon girl said, hands on her hips, chin held high. “You manipulated things behind the scenes, deliberately trying to harm me. Otherwise, if you hadn’t communicated with Kailin, how would she have known where you’d be?”
“She came to report to me, so shouldn’t I tell her where I am?”
“So you see,” the demon girl spread her hands. “You told her about the bet during that time. I noticed Kailin’s expression was very unnatural at the time. Now that I think about it, I strongly suspect you were the one pulling the strings. This time, the bet was my oversight. I didn’t expect you to operate behind the scenes.”
“You…”
“But, don’t shout!” the demon girl commanded, raising a hand. “Why are you in such a hurry? I haven’t finished speaking yet. While it’s true that you manipulated things, it was also my oversight. Therefore, the bet is void, and I’m willing to take half the responsibility. Here~”
As she spoke, the demon girl took out a bottle and tossed it into Chen Yu’s hand.
“Compensation!”
“Let’s put this matter to rest. Don’t bother me again, remember~” Barbara pointed at Chen Yu, her brow furrowed, and lightly wrinkled her nose. “Don’t bother me again!”
“Hmph~”