Chapter 261

Page Seventy-Seven I’ve Caught the Mysterious Old Lady!

Lǐn Huā walked in while shaking her phone and said, “So we’re going for Thai food then? No objections?”

The Thai restaurant was part of the Huángfǔ family’s business, and it was also Lǐn Huā’s favorite place to treat guests… After all, going there meant she didn’t have to spend any money, right?

“Are you just going to keep hurting the hotel’s revenue?”

“What do you mean by hurting? It’s not the weekend, so business isn’t that good anyway. Besides, having something to eat is already great, and Kǎi-Chan isn’t planning on paying.”

I indeed wasn’t planning on paying. After all, I couldn’t afford it.

Lǐn Huā kicked my calf and then squeezed herself between Xiǎo Lěi and me.

She added, “Or are you thinking about solving dinner at Xiàlù’s night market? That’s not exactly a proper place for a meeting, is it?”

Xiàlù immediately responded, “Don’t make it sound like our only option is the night market. We have hotels too! Arranging a meal for you guys wouldn’t be a big deal, would it?”

“Oh! Then should I cancel the reservation?”

Xiàlù scratched her cheek and said, “That won’t work. I’ve got plans to meet with Zi Yè for dinner tonight. Once I reach the commercial area, I’ll take my leave.”

It was half past five, and it was already time for dinner.

AJ came back from outside, her call had been quite long, and her face looked rather grim.

I asked, “Why do you look so upset… What did Tāo Jie say?”

“Tāo Mèi agreed to come, but we ran into some new trouble.”

It didn’t seem to be about Tāo Jie.

“What kind of trouble? The online舆论 has already turned against us, and the Glorious Family doesn’t stand a chance, does it?”

After all, it was a third-rate union. When the Queen joined the fight, she quickly took over the舆论 battlefield and launched a denunciation against the Glorious Family… Online, the Queen might be invincible. Later, I really need to thank her.

“The trouble comes when they get desperate. They released all the supposed clues about the Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī online, and even implicated the Long family.”

Things have finally come to this?

“The story we were told before wasn’t just to minimize losses in such situations? Doing this will only add another layer of blame to the Glorious Family. There’s no need for Sister A to worry so much.”

Although most virtual streamers keep their identities confidential, there are those who don’t mind being exposed, or even actively expose themselves. Before, Sister Yǐjī wore a mask for a selfie to prove she wasn’t an old man, though that was an irrational action, it served as a buffer for this exposure.

AJ collapsed onto the computer, scrolling through the fan group messages that were exploding.

“It’s troublesome. They posted the address here too.”

“Here? You mean the廉租公寓?” I asked.

AJ frowned and replied, “Didn’t I tell you before? The live stream room of Sister Yǐjī was registered under my information, so naturally, the address filled out was here!”

This is bad. The underground research institute can’t afford any slip-ups. If someone with malicious intent discovers the secrets of this building, it could affect Senior Sister and the others.

“Living here will bring trouble to others, so let’s move out.”

I immediately said, “You’re not short of money now. With the 100,000 yuan from Sister Yǐjī’s live stream income, you can definitely find a better and larger house to rent.”

AJ didn’t respond, dragging her chin in deep thought about this issue.

“In the future, if we want to 3Dize, such a small recording studio won’t be enough!”

Xiǎo Lěi suddenly said, her thoughts jumping around.

Although the Glorious Family’s counterattack was disgusting, there was still a chance to make amends. These leaked information wouldn’t harm the role of Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī… However, the reputation of the Long family would suffer. The online crowd was very strict, even if they didn’t understand the ins and outs, Yǐjī Jie or Tāo Jie would have to explain later.

“What’s wrong? I’m ready here.”

Sister Yǐjī came out of the recording studio again, this time even turning off the lights inside, indicating she was ready to go.

“This is what happened…”

AJ told Sister Yǐjī what had happened, and the latter’s expression became even worse, saying, “Then I should reveal my identity? I can’t let Táo Er be targeted because of me!”

“You revealing your identity won’t help. Your current identity has nothing to do with the Long family. Or do you want to reveal yourself through a live stream as the irresponsible old dad in the story?”

“If it can help Táo Er…”

She really intends to reveal herself!

“Don’t worry, Táo Jie isn’t that fragile.”

Lǐn Huā comforted her by crossing her arms and said, “And soon, people will realize that the news from the Glorious Family is fake. After all, the real Táo Jie is still in school, but the live stream of Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī has already started. We can’t claim it’s a recorded broadcast, right?”

This is a problem. It’s impossible to make Táo Jie strictly follow the schedule of Yǐjī Jie’s live streams, and exposing herself would happen sooner or later.

“Let’s not think about the Glorious Family for now. Let’s go eat first? The main event today is still the reunion of father and daughter. Since the goal has been achieved, even if we lose this live stream room and start over, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“…Starting over?”

Xiàlù, who hadn’t been able to speak up until now, said thoughtfully, “That applies to the live stream union too. Starting over with a different identity wouldn’t be hard. If they act secretly out of personal grudge, it would be even more troublesome.”

Even without the Glorious Family, those with grudges wouldn’t let Yǐjī Jie have a peaceful life.

As she gained popularity, she also brought trouble.

—

[18:21]

[Balance Commercial District]

When Xiàlù arrived at the commercial district, she prepared to find her maid fiancé.

“As for the other mother of Zi Yè, please pay more attention, Sister Língmèng.”

“I know, but we must catch her first.”

“No problem. If it’s Rú Huángzé, even if we fail this time, we will succeed next time.”

She both resents and trusts her, I really don’t understand how she views Sister Zǐ.

After sending off Xiàlù, the five of us walked into the Thai restaurant, following Lǐn Huā to the reserved private room.

By the way, Mù Xī was accompanying Dog Jie at the research institute to catch up.

Sister Zǐ and Sister Shān were already seated, the latter holding a black-and-white pet mink in her arms. In the mink’s arms was a metal box, containing the suspicious jewel.

But there was no sign of Táo Jie, probably not yet arrived.

“Oh! Commander spoke to me about the capture operation earlier. You all worked hard today! This meal is a reward for you!”

Lǐn Huā chattered as she pushed open the door, though she didn’t know about Sister Zǐ’s plan when she made the reservation. I informed her on the way over.

“We failed such an important mission. How can we have the face to eat?”

Although we ultimately failed to catch the mysterious girl A, we did manage to capture her avatar, the small animal, and also obtained a jewel… although I still don’t know what its use is.

— “You said you slipped away? That’s not entirely true.” —

A black substance flew out of Sister Shān’s pocket and merged into my clothes.

— “Here’s a hint. Actually, we caught the mysterious girl A.” —

I didn’t understand Cherry Sauce’s meaning.

— “Sister Zǐ didn’t notice because she didn’t know your situation, but why are you so slow to figure it out? Think about it, why did you return to your body before? Could it be that our mother left voluntarily?” —

Could it be… because the jewel was taken away?

— “Yòu Zi said she needs to rely on the jewel to transform. Can’t we interpret that the jewel is our mother?” —

Our mother is a jewel?

— “No, I mean she’s inside the jewel! If this is a spatial artifact, it could explain why she can frequently use powerful teleportation spells, since teleporting such a small object doesn’t require much magical energy.” —

So after she took it, she exceeded the 200-meter control range… Why can she control my body?

— “I don’t know. Maybe she used a spell I don’t know, or perhaps she did something through the restraint.” —

What a responsibility-dodging answer.

“Just a moment ago, it was inconvenient, since Táo Jie hasn’t arrived yet, let’s test my theory… Hey!”

Cherry Sauce’s ability depends on the quantity of notebook matter.

She appeared beside me in a split form and said,

“…But first, let me out. Hey, anyone lend a hand?”

I bent down to support the table, keeping Cherry Sauce balanced upright, while Xiǎo Lěi held her armpits, and Lǐn Huā helped pull out her legs. With their assistance, her sockless feet, clad in stockings, touched the floor.

“Hmm? Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”

“They’re at home. Why do you care about my shoes?”

Despite the bizarre scene of a person crawling out from behind without anyone reacting, Cherry Sauce settled next to Sister Shān, her face wearing a false smile.

“Little Yòu Zi~”

The little creature on Sister Shān’s lap looked up at her, sensing the malice in her words, its dark eyes wary.

“What do you want?” a sharp voice.

“You know what I want… Give me that box!”

“No! You can’t do that. This is mine!”

The little paws clung tightly to the metal box, but in the end, human strength prevailed, and Cherry Sauce ruthlessly snatched it away.

Xiǎo Lěi: “Oh, a talking pet mink? Impressive!”

AJ added, “Its fur is so smooth, does Sister Yǐjī want to touch it?”

Lǐn Huā was also petting Yòu Zi’s back.

Yòu Zi: “Don’t just grab me like that!!”

It drew the attention of several girls, who surrounded and petted it, but Sister Zǐ, who had already touched Yòu Zi, remained composed and asked, “What are you trying to verify? Do you know what this jewel does?”

“Hmph, you’ll see~”

A blue light barrier wrapped around the box, and an invisible force retrieved the transparent, flawless jewel inside. Then…

Inside the barrier, the jewel began to spin rapidly.

“Stop! Stop!”

A voice came from within the jewel.

Another force stopped the jewel’s rotation.