"Qingli, listen to me explain!"

"Explain what?" She stood firm as a rock. "What exactly needs explaining?"

Qingli spoke in a casual tone, but her eyes had narrowed into vertical slits—clearly on the verge of snapping.

I cautiously stepped closer, forcing a bitter smile. "That person is Lanying... a visitor from our city’s noble school. The school invited her, and my teacher assigned me to host her."

"Oh," Qingli nodded flatly, retorting, "Host her with your body?"

I nearly choked. Where did that come from? But her words confirmed she was angry. I had to clear this up fast. "You’ve misunderstood. Really. It wasn’t what you saw. She leaned in like that because she had something private to tell me—something others couldn’t hear."

"Oh," Qingli’s tone stayed icy. "So you’re already close enough to whisper secrets ‘others can’t hear’?"

"..." I felt utterly helpless, like I’d dug my own grave. After a pause, I decided to be honest. "Actually, what she told me was—" I glanced around; the area was empty. I lowered my voice. "She said she’s a lily... meaning, a lesbian."

Qingli froze for a moment. I pressed on. "See? There’s nothing between us. Nothing could ever happen."

But it backfired. Her delicate eyebrows arched sharply. "Perfect. Once you turn into a girl next week, won’t you two fall in love?"

"..." She had a point. I was speechless.

Her face darkened. I sighed. "There’s truly nothing... Even if you’re right, she doesn’t know I’ll become a girl. She has no interest in me."

Qingli’s expression softened. Relief washed over me. I scrambled to change the subject. "Qingli, Qingli—have you had lunch?"

"Yes."

"...What a coincidence. I ate too. Why’d you come so early?"

"Hmm. Yesterday you said you’d be busy. I wanted to help."

I froze. Yesterday morning, while shopping, I’d casually mentioned my busy day. I never expected her to remember. Guilt twisted in my chest.

"But," she cut in just as I felt touched, "you don’t seem busy at all. Still cozying up to girls from other schools?"

"I really didn’t—" The topic shift failed instantly. Exhaustion drained me. "She’s a big deal at that noble school. Our leaders want to please her, so they pulled me off my duties to host her." To sound convincing, I added, "Her name’s Yejia Yin. I figured you’d know her—she’s famous for wild stuff. That’s why she dropped her name in the library, watching my reaction. You’re a homebody with free time; maybe you’ve heard things?"

"Wait—you said Yejia Yin?" Qingli’s face paled. "Has she done anything to you?!"

"No... nothing," I stammered, confused by her sudden seriousness. "Believe me, there’s nothing between us."

Qingli bit her lip, brows knotted tight. Her voice turned grave. "No. I’m not talking about that. I know the name Yejia Yin... but from the underworld circles."

Eh?!