After looking at Ye Lan’s drawing, Ling Miao handed her own over.

“This is mine. What do you think, meow?”

Ye Lan took Ling Miao’s drawing board and looked at what was on it.

“That’s amazing. It looks great.”

Ling Miao had drawn a little girl sitting in a chair and drawing. She’d only had about ten minutes, but she’d captured the essence of it—especially the grumpy expression on the girl’s face. It looked so lifelike!

There was just one problem: why did the little girl in the drawing look so much like her?

“Hm?”

Wait. It was her!

Had Ling Miao been drawing her this whole time?

When she realized Ye Lan had figured it out, Ling Miao smugly took the drawing board back from her.

“I like drawing, but I prefer digital art to sketching. You know, anime-style art? I’m pretty good at that.”

Ye Lan’s eyes lit up, and she blurted out, “So, can you draw really cool, embarrassing fan art?”

“Really cool, embarrassing fan art?” Ling Miao paused, then quickly caught on and fixed her gaze on Ye Lan.

Ye Lan seemed to realize what she’d just said, and her expression changed at once.

Oh no!

“Um... just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Ye Lan decided to play dumb. Maybe she could fool Ling Miao?

“Hehe~ I see~”

Ling Miao gave her a knowing smile, looking even more excited.

“So that’s how it is, meow~ Looks like Ye Lan’s a bit of a troublemaker too. You’re into embarrassing fan art and all that? That’s right up my alley!”

“Eep!”

Ling Miao pounced on her. Excitement sparkled in her teal eyes as she pinned Ye Lan to the bed.

“Ye Lan likes looking at embarrassing fan art? I can draw it, you know~ But you need a little inspiration to make it really detailed. It’d get boring if I only ever used myself as a model, meow~ So how about I make you my subject, Ye Lan?”

Ling Miao had pinned Ye Lan to the bed.

“Wah!”

This was bad. She was going to be thoroughly embarrassed.

Ye Lan’s heart thumped wildly, and a shy blush spread across her face. It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling.

She’d never experienced anything this intense before.

Getting pinned to the bed by a little girl was just too weird, wasn’t it?

Ye Lan felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest. Her cheeks were burning, and she was mortified.

“Um... um... uh...” Ye Lan couldn’t get the words out.

“Hehe~”

Ling Miao wore a mischievous but adorable smile. Even though she was the one doing something so embarrassing, she didn’t look embarrassed at all!

On top of that, her eyes were full of playful teasing. She looked like she was messing with a little kitten.

As an adult, Ye Lan felt both humiliated and furious. Her self-esteem was practically in pieces.

Maybe she wouldn’t have cared about this before.

But now they were both little girls. Why was she the one getting “bullied”?

It wasn’t as if Ling Miao was that much shorter than her!

She wasn’t some pushover!

Ye Lan turned the tables, using her strength as an adult to pin Ling Miao to the bed instead.

“M-Meow!”

The world spun around Ling Miao. When she got her bearings, she realized she was pinned to the bed.

And the one holding her down was Ye Lan, who’d had everything firmly under control a moment ago.

Ye Lan’s expression was resolute. She looked ready to get back at Ling Miao for making her feel so flustered.

Ling Miao’s mind went blank. Then she suddenly realized she had a serious problem:

Oh no. This was about to backfire!

“What are you going to do, meow?!”

“I’m going to get you back for bullying me.”

Ye Lan had made up her mind. Not even Jesus could save Ling Miao now. That was what Ye Lan said.

Just as Ye Lan was about to make her move, Ling Miao put on a pitiful expression, eyes brimming with tears as she stared up at her.

“I’m sorry. Ling Miao knows she was wrong. Can you forgive Ling Miao?”

At that moment, Ye Lan saw Ling Miao through an overwhelming cuteness filter. Her eyes went wide, and she froze.

Now that was how you acted cute.

Ye Lan had only just become a little girl. How could she compete with the experienced Ling Miao?

And since Ye Lan was a little-girl enthusiast herself, Ling Miao’s cute act hit her right in the heart.

“So cute...”

Ye Lan got off Ling Miao and covered her face, blushing. She was completely done for.

“Huh?”

Ling Miao sat up on the bed, looking puzzled.

She’d instinctively used her cute-and-contrite routine—the one she used when she’d done something wrong in front of the Night Watchers. She hadn’t thought it would work on Ye Lan, who was also a girl and a little girl.

But judging by the results, it had worked incredibly well.

So cute little Ye Lan fell for that too?!

Ling Miao had an epiphany.

And in her mind, she came up with a “cool” combo just for adorable little Ye Lan.

“Ye Lan~ Let’s go get something to eat. You still owe me a meal, remember?”

Ye Lan glanced back at Ling Miao warily. “All right, but can we not eat anywhere too expensive? I’m really short on money right now.”

“Sure, meow~ I’ll be happy just to eat with you, Ye Lan. I don’t care about anything else.”

“Ugh, stop saying things like that. It’s embarrassing.”

Ling Miao secretly snickered.

See? This little girl might be even easier to handle than the Night Watchers.

......

In a certain little house.

Yexing watched an anime, a faint blush on her face, as if she’d just seen an embarrassing scene.

The feelings Ye Lan was experiencing had been shared with Yexing, so naturally, with the same soul, Yexing felt embarrassed too.

“Honestly... No one’s ever said something like that to me before. ‘I’ll be happy just to eat with you’? What kind of classic line is that? That little girl’s definitely a troublemaker. She just likes treating people like toys. Does she really think I’d fall for that? Hmph~ But to avoid causing trouble, I’d better play along...”

Yexing muttered to herself, but her tone wasn’t convincing at all. It was like she was trying to cover up her own lack of dignity.

Plot twist: she totally fell for it.

It was the first time such an adorable little girl had acted cute toward her. She’d been completely won over.

Just then, Yexing’s stomach rumbled.

She was hungry.

Ye Lan was eating with Ling Miao right now, but Yexing was back home and hadn’t eaten.

She could share the taste of what Ye Lan ate, but not the feeling of being full.

That was why Yexing was hungry.

“Should I order delivery?”

Yexing thought it over, then decided to go out for a meal instead.

After all, eating takeout every day wasn’t good for you~

Sure, delivery was food brought in from outside too, but she should get out and move around once in a while.

Life needed a little ceremony to it. That made it more satisfying.

Just for today. Tomorrow, she’d go back to ordering delivery.

In the end, she was still a lazy bum.

“Mm~ hm~ mm~”

Yexing got dressed, straightened up her makeup a little in front of the mirror, then headed out.

But as soon as she stepped outside, Yexing spotted a furniture-moving truck not far away. It looked like someone was moving in.

“Is someone moving in?”

Yexing looked a little puzzled.

A closer look confirmed it. They seemed to be her neighbors.

A few robots were carrying furniture into the apartment next door one item at a time.

Yexing also caught a glimpse of a black-haired man standing in the distance. She couldn’t make out his face, but he seemed to be smiling. He was probably her new neighbor.

“I hope he’s a quiet, decent neighbor.”

After muttering that, Yexing left.

Filling her stomach was the most important thing right now. She could worry about everything else after she’d eaten.