Lin Yun lingered at the jewelry store counter.
The sales clerk enthusiastically pitched the store’s merchandise, occasionally probing with questions to gauge his interest, but Lin Yun tuned it all out.
His attention was entirely fixed on Mo Ke nearby.
At that moment, Mo Ke was sprawled boldly across the counter in front of him, its eyes gleaming with excitement at the dazzling jewelry. Every so often, it glanced back at Lin Yun before diving back into its own little world.
In its mind, the ordinary people around—including Lin Yun—couldn’t see it.
This belief wasn’t unfounded. After all, neither Lin Xiaolu nor Mo Ke had ever suspected Lin Yun’s true identity. Mo Ke often roamed freely in his presence, and Lin Yun, with the steady composure of an adult, never batted an eye no matter what it did.
As a result, even now, while “tracking” him, Mo Ke didn’t bother hiding itself.
If Lin Yun recalled correctly, just half a month ago, he’d tasked Mo Ke with overseeing the two newcomers’ magic training, and it had been brimming with enthusiasm and resolve. Yet here it was, conspiring with them instead.
Oh well, I shouldn’t have expected much from it.
With an inward sigh, Lin Yun considered ignoring Mo Ke as usual. But sprawled right in his line of sight, it completely blocked the items the clerk was showcasing, forcing his focus onto it.
What to do?
He had to think about this.
After a brief pause, he decided that letting Mo Ke carry on so brazenly wouldn’t do. It needed a little jolt to curb its boldness. So, he stretched out a finger and poked toward where Mo Ke sat.
“Meow!”
Startled by Lin Yun’s sudden move, Mo Ke let out an odd yelp and scrambled aside, its face tight with nerves and eyes flickering with suspicion as it stared at him.
“Could you show me this one, please?”
Lin Yun paid it no mind, pointing instead at a crystal pendant in the display case. “It’s hard to see clearly through the glass.”
He hadn’t even known what he was pointing at—he just wanted to spook Mo Ke. He had no real interest in the pendant, but since he’d started the act, he figured he’d play it through.
His actions flowed naturally, and from a logical standpoint, there were no cracks in his pretense. It genuinely seemed like he just wanted a closer look at the jewelry. Watching from a distance, Mo Ke relaxed, its earlier tension melting away.
It convinced itself again that it was invisible.
Shuffling back into Lin Yun’s view, it settled in a new spot, resuming its close-range “tracking.”
“Ah, excuse me—”
Lin Yun reached toward it again. “Could you also show me this one? Thank you.”
“Wah!”
This time, he didn’t mean to poke Mo Ke, just to gesture. But after the last scare, Mo Ke’s heart leapt, and it sprang up instinctively.
Only when it saw Lin Yun’s hand hadn’t actually come near did it realize it was a false alarm.
But Lin Yun wasn’t done with it yet.
Over the next few moments, he toyed with Mo Ke half-seriously, tossing in feints to keep it guessing, leaving it unable to predict his moves. It clung to the idea that Lin Yun couldn’t see it, yet his sudden gestures kept throwing it off. Eventually, it began doubting its own luck and learned its lesson, retreating to a safe distance rather than hovering too close.
That distance suited Lin Yun just fine, so he let it be.
The man and the fairy continued their odd dance through the mall until, at one point, Mo Ke idly picked up the phone dangling around its neck. After a theatrical bout of talking and listening, it seemed to receive new orders. It glanced at Lin Yun twice more, then flapped its wings and took off.
Lin Yun caught on quickly: This is my chance.
He didn’t know who’d sent Mo Ke to tail him, but that didn’t stop him from turning the tables to track Mo Ke and uncover their plan.
So, he gave the merchandise a cursory glance, bid the clerk a polite farewell, and followed Mo Ke’s path.
The shopping plaza buzzed with Saturday crowds, thick with people even in the luxury goods section. Lin Yun didn’t need to hide much—just trailed Mo Ke at a slight distance, ducking subtly whenever it looked back.
He shadowed it up the escalator to the third floor, then watched it dart to the central atrium, where it met two girls waiting there.
As expected, they were exactly who he’d anticipated.
He recognized them instantly: the one with a simple ponytail, dressed in a short-sleeve shirt, shorts, and sandals, was Lin Xiaolu; the other, with hair falling naturally over her shoulders and wearing a T-shirt under overall shorts, was Xia Liang. Both leaned against the atrium railing, peering downward.
As Mo Ke flew up, perhaps due to a prior phone spat, Lin Xiaolu wasted no time bickering with it:
—“What? You’re worried about getting too close and being touched? Then stay farther away.”
“Too far and you might lose him? How do you lose a big, living person?”
“How am I supposed to track him? Watching from the atrium is safest. What if I go down there and he spots me?”
From where he stood, Lin Yun faintly caught their exchange—Lin Xiaolu wasn’t exactly whispering.
Curious, he peered over the atrium’s edge and realized this angle gave a perfect view of the luxury goods section below. It clicked: he knew what the girls were up to.
“Xiaolu.”
Xia Liang spoke up then, a trace of worry in her voice. “Can you see your dad from there?”
“Do I need to? He’s been wandering those same spots for over an hour, still alone.”
Lin Xiaolu drawled, arms propped on the railing, head tilted back. “I’m starting to think he got stood up.”
“But I can’t see him anymore,” Xia Liang said with an awkward smile. “Can you spot him?”
“Huh?”
Spurred by Xia Liang’s words, Lin Xiaolu hurriedly looked down, scanning left and right, but her father was nowhere in sight. She froze, stunned. “No way, did we actually lose him?”
Just two minutes ago, she’d smugly declared, “How do you lose a big, living person?” Now, reality had slapped her back fast, leaving her flustered and red-eared with embarrassment.
She fumbled for her phone, hoping to pinpoint him, only to realize Mo Ke—their tracker—had returned, leaving her with no way to locate Lin Yun.
So, Lin Xiaolu stood there, clutching her phone, at a loss.
The two girls lingered by the atrium, stumped, while Mo Ke, the root of it all, acted oblivious. The scene was painfully awkward.
From afar, Lin Yun let out a long sigh.
With things escalating this far, he had no choice but to get answers.
Stepping forward, he approached Lin Xiaolu from behind and lightly tapped her shoulder.
“What are you up to?”
“Eek!” Lin Xiaolu nearly leapt out of her skin.
(End of Chapter)
