Chapter 469

Chapter Two Hundred Fourth: Christmas

“Aaah…”

Lei raised her face, looking terrible, and yawned widely, stretching her mouth wide open.

Not only did she fail to find Ash, but she also got scolded by her mother for not getting enough sleep.

Moreover, at her age, apart from staying up all night after waiting for Lily’s return, she never had any experience with cultivating late into the night, even with a supplementary nap, her head still felt foggy and uncomfortable.

“Lei, quickly help me check if there are any dark circles under my eyes? Staying up late is a big enemy for girls!”

“It’s not that bad…” Lei rubbed her friend’s face that leaned over and, gathering some energy, raised her head to look at the colorful Christmas tree above, decorated with all sorts of ornaments, watching the elementary school kids playing below. Despite the Christmas joy, she couldn’t feel truly happy.

It was almost dusk, and yet again there was no sign of Ash today. Compared to past Christmases, Rai felt as if someone important was missing around her; it was impossible to be truly happy.

“Sigh…”

“Lei—what’s this old man’s sighing about!” Seeing her friend’s lifeless expression, Erika couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

Although understanding, due to that person, this guy… it’s intolerable! It’s not like we can’t live without him!

“If he doesn’t come, who cares, cut it out, it’s not like I need him! Let’s go, let’s find Lily and the others!”

“Hold on—don’t pull me, Erika!”

Eddie just freed himself when he saw Erika dragging Lei, whose face was twisted like a coiled mosquito coil, shouting “let’s go!” He scratched his head confusedly.

“Didn’t he go with them? That’s really odd…”

Lifting his hand to pat the key box on his waist, he closed his eyes to sense something, raising his eyebrow and looking at the sky filled with sunset light with a slightly twitching mouth.

“What’s going on here?”

It looked like his return would have to be delayed.

At that moment, Lily and Wuki were wearing Santa hats, selling Christmas cakes in Lily Mother’s convenience store. As for Shabak, who lost his family standing after returning, was now stuck in the backstage where Sand Apostle’s previously skilled hands were now struggling with the tedious task of kneading eggs and flour.

“Thank you for your purchase, hoping to see you again!” Wu Ki demonstrated the attendant skills passed down by Ash during his time working for Nasta, his every immaculate smile caused the nearby passersby to cover their hearts.

“I’ll take one too!”

“And I want five!”

“Can we get a compliment?”

“Hehe, Misses, please don’t rush, everyone will get theirs,” Wu Ki commented as he watched the crowd. “There hasn’t been such an event at Nasta before, although the taste is quite nice.”

“Oh.” Standing next to her, Lily adjusted her eye with a strange gleam. “Wu Ki, aren’t you joking? We HeartCatchPrettyCures are a scientific team.”

“Hahaha, of course, I’m just trying to liven things up since you’ve been so down lately,” Wu Ki laughed embarrassedly.

Unfortunately, even after six months, including the beloved employee Ash once was, no one has enjoyed his creations which went bad, along with Lei’s classmates, weary passersby, curious reporters, and even the taste challenger who had a particular liking for weird tastes, except for the somewhat odd-tasting Eddie. Noone else could enjoy his “tasty” dishes.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered pretending to like his coffee to make the boss happy, but even Lily couldn’t hide her true feelings after taking a sip.

Surely, he wanted to intentionally maintain this taste, and only Ash could do that.

“However, everything has changed,” Wu Ki sighed as he placed another box of Christmas cakes in the customer’s hand.

“Since we unlocked the super silhouettes, there’s been no sign of Sand Apostle…again.” Wu Ki smiled and shook his head. Maybe he, like Rai, missed those days with the three officers of PrettyCures and Sand Apostles.

“I wonder what’s going to happen in the future…if only we could keep the peace forever.”

“Forever in peace…” Lily looked further. She thought about what Ash told her at that night.

“But, Doon, the king of deserts, will eventually come to Earth. Grandma Lei even said he was a terrifying opponent. When…”

The precarious peace they fought for and maintained, could they still keep it intact?

A warm hand gently covered Lily’s hand, which was resting lightly on the table.

“Next time we’ll all work together!” Wu Ki’s sunshine-like smile not only charmed the passersby but also illuminated the gloomy heart of the moon. “Lei, Erika, you, me! And Popuri and the others! Whether it be the enemies of Sand Apostle or Timons’ mischief, weren’t we able to overcome their schemes by trusting each other?”

“When we encounter Doon, let’s show him the bond between PrettyCure sisters!”

“Mmm,” Lily smiled, feeling relieved by her friend’s surety.

As long as everyone worked hard together, would they ever lose?

“Oh, almost forgot! Next customer!”

Just as Wu Ki turned to give out the cake, his greeting froze in his throat, his smile stuck on his face when he saw how unique his new customer was.

The Dark PrettyCure standing before the convenience store wearing the same uniform as Lily. With her hair tied into two braids, she looked at Wu Ki with a mocking smile as she surveyed the cake suspended in mid-air.

“Is something wrong? Not welcome?”

“No…no, it’s not that.”

Wu Ki’s originally cheerful voice instantly became more solemn.