“Ugh, I’m stuffed.” Little Loli patted her tiny belly like drumming a soft rice cake, satisfied. Across from her, Joanna stared, wide-eyed, at a battlefield of empty plates.
“Xiaoxue, I didn’t peg you as a foodie,” Joanna said, each word a dry poke.
“I wasn’t planning to eat this much. But the food here tastes great, so I… couldn’t help a little more,” Little Loli explained, eyes shining like a cat after cream.
“A little…” Joanna scanned the wiped-clean table again and sighed, a breeze through wind chimes. She tapped the bell.
“Do the two beautiful ladies need anything else?” The waiter shot over like an arrow.
“Nope, check please,” Joanna said, nibbling at dessert like a sparrow pecking sugar.
“Alright, that’s four thousand three hundred. Card?” At the number, Joanna rolled her eyes like marbles, then flicked a platinum card from her wallet, a silver flash across the table.
“Right away,” the waiter said, posture snapping straight like a blade. “I’ll be right back. Please enjoy.”
They settled the bill and stepped out of the Western-style restaurant. “Report. The targets have left the restaurant,” a voice whispered from the corner, thin as smoke.
“Good. Keep on them. We’re moving.”
“Copy.” The shadows paid up and slipped out, water folding into water.
“Xiaoxue, we’ve seen this stretch. How about another street?” Joanna tugged Little Loli’s hand, a kite pulling its string.
“Sure. It’s only afternoon. We can roam a bit more.” Freshly fed, Little Loli crackled with energy like a lit sparkler.
Hand in hand, they drifted into the next street. This one was a regular folks’ shopping lane, a tide of people shoulder to shoulder. Two little girls appeared, and eyes turned like sunflowers to the sun.
“Wow, what adorable girls! Especially the one in gothic—cosplay?”
“Didn’t expect to see top-tier lolis while out shopping.”
“My god, I’m drooling.”
A few girls even tried to crowd in with phones raised. “Hey sweetie, come take a picture with big sis?” They pressed closer, petals closing in on dew.
“Ugh, such a hassle.” Little Loli sighed, a tiny storm cloud. Red light flickered in her eyes, and a force surged from her like a silent thunderclap. The onlookers’ minds rang as if someone had dropped a hammer on the heart.
“Now.” Little Loli grabbed still-dazed Joanna and threaded the crowd like a fish through reeds, ducking into a side alley. “Whew, safe at last.” Her breath came light, a leaf on a pond.
Joanna still looked muddled, eyes fogged like glass after rain. “Maybe she stood too close and took the brunt,” Little Loli pouted, then squeezed Joanna’s cheeks and called softly, “Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” No response. A wicked glint bloomed, then she settled for a tickle attack at Joanna’s side, fingers skimming fabric like dragonflies on water. Soft. Warm. She almost went for another poke.
“Yo, little miss, picking up bad habits, hmm?” The voice came right by her ear, low and amused.
Little Loli’s head rose like a creaky hinge. Joanna stared straight at her, a strange curve tugging at her lips.
“It’s not—actually—I just wanted to wake you. Nothing else.” Heat surged up Little Loli’s face like a sunset. She looked down and mumbled, hands flying back and fidgeting at her front like guilty sparrows.
Right then, Little Loli looked so adorably flustered it made your arms ache to scoop her up. “Forget it. We’re outside. I’ll deal with you later. Heh heh…” Joanna pinched her soft cheek, two clouds pressed together. “Why did I black out and end up here?”
“No idea. Maybe heatstroke?” Little Loli tried to wave it off, words light as drifting dandelions. That’s when several thug-looking men slid into the alley like oil.
“You the granddaughter of that old man at the military command?” the leader asked, voice rough as gravel.
“Damn,” Joanna muttered, then grabbed Xiao Qianxue’s hand to bolt for the mouth of the alley.
“Where you going, little princess?” Two, three more blocked the exit, stones dropped into a stream.
“What do you want?” With escape sealed, Joanna stalled for time, voice calm over a racing heart.
“I signaled the driver. Help’s coming,” she whispered to Little Loli, words feather-soft but taut as wire.
“Want? If that old man hadn’t been restless lately, we wouldn’t be hired to find you. Ask your grandpa, eh?” the leader drawled, a lazy knife. “Yo, the little chick beside her is a real gem.” One thug reached for Little Loli’s face, but she slipped away, quick as a swallow.
“Sorry, but you’re coming with us. Maybe the old man will sit still then.” He waved. Two, three thugs closed in, a net drawing tight.
“Tsk… Looks like there’s no choice. I won’t let them hurt Nana.” Little Loli’s voice went cold, a blade under silk. Her golden pupils bled toward red, like dawn catching fire.
“Ah! Ah!” Two screams knifed in from the alley mouth. Little Loli froze the shift, then looked up.
“Your knight has arrived. Villains, begone!” A loud, slightly show-offy shout echoed like a tin trumpet.
“What the—” Little Loli muttered, eyes widening. There stood Cai Wenbin at the alley’s lip, yelling his head off. Two thugs lay out cold at his feet like dropped sacks.
Joanna glanced back, then leaned toward Little Loli. “Isn’t that the guy who tried to have lunch with you that day?”
“Looks like it… Didn’t think he was this goofy,” Little Loli said, exasperation sketching black lines over her head.
After a few scrappy exchanges, Cai Wenbin caught an opening and put one thug down. Now only the leader remained at the front, with two hemming in the girls and one lurking behind him.
“‘Knight in shining armor,’ you? Don’t make me laugh. You, go handle that brat.” The leader jerked his chin. Cai Wenbin was tall for a first-year at one-seventy-eight, but still a sapling among trees.
“Kid, heroes pay a price.” Two thugs slid toward him, grinning like wolves. One swung a fist for his face. Cai Wenbin’s hand shot up and caught it, then snapped into a joint lock, clean as a trap springing.
“Aiiyo, my arm!” The thug hit the ground, rolling like a landed fish. The other kicked high. Cai Wenbin seized the ankle and twisted, another joint screaming.
“Got some skills, kid. I’ll play with you.” The leader stepped forward, shoulders rolling like a storm about to break. That’s when backup arrived.
“Miss! Miss! Where are you? We’re here!” Little Loli recognized the driver’s voice, steady as a horn.
“Not good, more people. We’re out!” The leader bolted deeper into the alley, and the wounded scrambled after, propping each other like broken puppets. Cai Wenbin didn’t chase.
“As if I’d let you leave that easy.” Little Loli turned her back to the light. Her small tiger fangs gleamed in the shadow like chips of ice.
The system’s cold voice chimed in, a bell in winter air. “Emotion detected. Passive skill ‘Blood Mark’ activated. Function: mark up to five enemies. Effective radius: fifteen kilometers.”
“Right on time.” Little Loli’s tongue traced a sharp fang, a red petal on snow.
“Skill deployed. Targets marked,” the system replied. With a thought, she could feel their positions, beads strung on a line in her mind.
“I will… come harvest you…” Her eyes, now a deep, shimmering crimson, flickered as she watched the silhouettes at the alley’s end fade into dusk.
