Dark-colored Fairy Tale: Seven Magicians - Chapter 70: A Lonely Afternoon
Chapter 70: A Lonely Afternoon
Pressing the red power button, the TV flickered to life, filling the once-silent apartment with noise. Liu Menglu went into her room and emerged with a pile of snacks. She expressionlessly tore open all the bags and arranged them on the coffee table.
With everything laid out, Liu Menglu started searching for something good to watch. As she flipped through channels, a few scenes of magical girl battles flashed by, but her gaze didn’t linger. She kept searching until a melodramatic mother-in-law drama appeared. She stopped, put down the remote, and softly said, “Is this what Chloe likes to watch?” She then began to eat the snacks.
The cheesy drama wasn’t to Liu Menglu’s taste, but she didn’t change the channel. She mindlessly ate, not paying attention to the plot, just wanting to fill the emptiness of the quiet room.
…
An Unexpected Return
Click.
The sudden sound of the front door opening made Liu Menglu jump. It hadn’t even been an hour. How could Chloe already be back? Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes narrowed as she grew wary.
Just then, the door opened and Chloe walked in. Liu Menglu’s tense nerves relaxed. “You’re back?” she asked, her voice filled with surprise. She wanted Chloe to come back, but this was too soon. It hadn’t even been an hour. Was there even enough time to go to Yang Shishi’s house?
Chloe didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Is Yang Shishi the kind of person who would break a promise?”
Though confused, Liu Menglu replied, “No, Shishi never breaks a promise. Even if something comes up, she’ll always let you know beforehand.”
Liu Menglu then asked, “She didn’t show up?”
Chloe nodded, her brows furrowed. “She didn’t. And she hasn’t responded to my messages.”
“That’s not like her at all; she’s always punctual,” Liu Menglu said, a worried frown crossing her face. “Wait here, I’ll call her. Don’t worry.”
Chloe was about to say that she had already tried and failed to contact Yang Shishi, but seeing Liu Menglu rushing to get her phone, she held her tongue.
…
A Heated Accusation
Just then, Chloe’s phone rang. It was an unknown number. After a moment’s thought, she answered, assuming it might be someone from Falion since her number was private. A cold, accusatory female voice answered.
“Is Yang Shishi’s disappearance related to you?”
Chloe recognized Li Qiuyu’s voice and scoffed. “Why would you say her disappearance is related to me?”
“From what I know, you had an appointment with her before she went missing.”
“So just because we had an appointment, her disappearance is my fault? Are you crazy?” Chloe’s sarcasm was thick, and Li Qiuyu, already irrationally irritable, grew even more hostile.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You’re secretly looking for information on the demon, but you can’t find anything, so you’re trying to kidnap Yang Shishi to blackmail me into giving you more information. I’ve seen your kind of despicable tactics before.”
Chloe’s face darkened. Though she might bend the rules sometimes, she would never resort to kidnapping and blackmail. As the chief magical girl of Falion, she had too much pride for such things.
“Li Qiuyu, are you trying to start a fight?”
“Who’s really the one starting it? You know the answer. You’d better release Yang Shishi right now.”
Chloe immediately hung up. She had no desire to speak with this person any further. Li Qiuyu’s state was clearly not normal. While Chloe knew that Li Qiuyu’s words were likely not her own thoughts, she had her limits. No one could tolerate being falsely accused like that. Their unpleasant parting was sealed the moment Li Qiuyu made the call.
Pushing down her frustration, Chloe decided she was done investigating this demon. She had only started because of the demonic energy on Yang Shishi, who was Liu Menglu’s friend. She wanted to protect Liu Menglu. As for everyone else, as Li Qiuyu said, this was Huaxia, and she was an outsider.
Heh. Chloe let out a cold laugh and decided to completely abandon the matter. Let the irrational Li Qiuyu handle it.
…
A Tense Standoff
On the other end, Li Qiuyu was grinding her teeth in anger. Yang Shishi’s mother had reported her missing at 9 p.m. yesterday. Because of Yang Shishi’s background as a magical girl descendant, the case fell into Li Qiuyu’s hands. Surveillance footage showed Yang Shishi leaving the mall at 8:30 p.m. and then vanishing. Li Qiuyu also found that Chloe and Liu Menglu had been at the same mall, and Yang Shishi’s family had mentioned she was meeting a foreign classmate. This prompted the call. She didn’t expect Chloe to hang up on her.
Li Qiuyu was about to call again when her deputy, Li Shu, stopped her.
“Captain, you’re not in a good state right now.”
“I’m fine. I want you to find someone to keep a close eye on Chloe.”
Li Shu looked at the furious Li Qiuyu, baffled by their feud. She sighed, knowing she couldn’t reason with her. There was no need to monitor Chloe. From all available data, Chloe was the most well-behaved magical girl to enter the country. Besides, Li Qiuyu was Chloe’s guarantor. Li Shu couldn’t understand how their relationship could have become so hostile.
Sigh. Life was not easy.
“The number you have dialed is out of service…”
Liu Menglu listened to the continuous busy signal. Yang Shishi had been her friend for ten years. She had always been mysterious, but Liu Menglu could always reach her whenever she wanted. Why wasn’t she answering now? She dialed again and again, each ring filling her with a mix of hope and disappointment.
Holding her phone, which seemed to be permanently out of service, Liu Menglu walked out of her room, her mind in a daze. When she saw Chloe, a powerful, intense light suddenly erupted in her eyes.