Then let the witch offer her loyalty

Next, Wang Hui launched into a tirade against Chen Moxin, accusing him of being undisciplined, always abusing his power, and being untrustworthy and fond of playing tricks on people. He criticized everything about Chen Moxin, from his work to his personal life.

Wang Hui was halfway through sending the message when Luo Lingyou sent a message:

I'm warning you, stay away from Chen Moxin from now on.

Upon seeing this reply, Wang Hui felt a weight lifted from his heart, and was so happy that tears welled up in his eyes.

It's confirmed! Luo Lingyou likes him!

He had just been saying how awful Chen Moxin was, so Luo Lingyou immediately told him to stay away from Chen Moxin...

What does it mean?

This is because they are worried about him!

I'm worried that he'll be bullied by Chen Moxin in the future!

If this doesn't count as liking, then what does?

Wang Hui held his phone, grinning foolishly, and replied in a clownish manner:

【Your Majesty, Mio, I obey your command】

Luo Lingyou replied:

【Hahaha】

Wang Hui nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

The phrase "hahaha" also has a story behind it.

If it's just a "haha," it's often a perfunctory response.

If it's a lot of "hahahahahahaha" like that, most of the time it's just that the other person doesn't want the sentence to seem too short, so they just typed it out randomly.

The three-word phrase "hahaha" falls somewhere in between, neither too long nor too short, and is just right for a girl to truly express joy.

If a man doesn't even understand this, then he deserves to be single forever.

Wang Hui lay down on his side, feeling blissful. The sudden happiness emboldened him, and he decided to strike while the iron was hot and intensify his offensive.

Mio, to be honest, I'm actually a very possessive person.

I feel very uncomfortable if someone I care about interacts with other people of the opposite sex.

This time, Luo Lingyou replied instantly:

Oh? We're quite similar in that respect.

Wang Hui was overjoyed.

Since that's the case, how about this?

How about we delete all the random people of the opposite sex from our phones and only keep the people we care about?

Luo Lingyou replied:

【OK】

Wang Hui acted immediately, opening his chat list and sending a message to every member of the opposite sex (excluding colleagues): "Sorry, I'm about to start a relationship, and my girlfriend is a bit uncomfortable with me chatting with other women, so we've deleted each other."

Then delete all those girls.

After deleting his contacts, he couldn't wait to send a message to Luo Lingyou:

[I've deleted them all! What about you? Have you deleted Chen Moxin yet?]

As soon as he sent the message, he saw a red exclamation mark.

System notification: [Luo Lingyou has enabled friend verification. You are not yet his/her friend. Please send a friend request first. You can chat after the other party accepts the request.]

Wang Hui's smile froze, and he stood there like a statue.

"Brother." At that moment, a childish voice called out.

Wang Hui twisted his stiff neck to look over.

Just then, a little girl pushing a handicraft cart passed by. She picked up a clown mask from the cart and waved it at him.

"Brother, want to buy a mask? I'm clearing out the stall today, so I'll sell it to you cheap."

...

Looking up from the teahouse terrace, the full moon tonight is exceptionally bright. The silvery moonlight, like a veil, quietly spills onto the carved wooden railings and bluestone floor tiles, outlining a circle of cool light.

The city traffic continued to flow in the distance, neon lights flashing, as if separated from this quiet corner by a whole world of human activity, with only the soft sound of the evening breeze.

Chen Moxin had already drunk quite a bit of tea, eaten several plates of pastries, and tried all sorts of dried fruits and plums.

Across from him, Luo Lingyou barely ate or drank anything, nor did he look up at the moon. He simply sat there with his head down, holding his phone, his slender fingers tapping away incessantly, seemingly fiddling with something.

"Hey." Chen Moxin reached out and pinched the tender flesh on both sides of her cheeks.

It's soft and bouncy, like a warm mochi ball.

Luo Lingyou let Chen Moxin pinch her face into all sorts of strange shapes, and asked without looking up, "What's wrong?"

Chen Moxin seemed addicted to the soft and bouncy feel of the hand, squeezing it repeatedly, and asked with a smile, "Is the moon not pretty, or am I not pretty? Why are you always looking at your phone?"

Luo Lingyou chuckled and said lazily, "I'm sending messages one by one and deleting friends."

"I created a new work account specifically to add colleagues."

"As for my personal account, besides my mom, I only kept you on it. I deleted everyone else's."

Chen Moxin asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why did you delete all your friends out of the blue?"

Luo Lingyou leaned forward slightly, tilting her head like a spoiled kitten, pressing her cheek against Chen Moxin's palm, her rosy red eyes full of playful laughter: "Having you is enough for me~"

Chen Moxin looked into Luo Lingyou's eyes without saying a word, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

The two then continued to enjoy tea and admire the moon.

But somehow, the situation reversed.

Previously, Chen Moxin was focused on appreciating the moon, while Luo Miaoyou was distracted and doing other things.

Now, Luo Lingyou is looking up at the moon, while Chen Moxin is aimlessly looking to the side, as if she has something on her mind.

It was almost 11 p.m., time to go home.

Luo Lingyou's home is relatively close by, and she expressed that she wanted to spend more time with Chen Moxin, suggesting that the two of them walk back.

Chen Moxin had no objection to this and walked with her, one in front and one behind.

The streetlights were soft in the dead of night, there were few people and cars, and the moon hung high between the buildings.

Along the way, Luo Lingyou kept pestering Chen Moxin with all sorts of coquettish behavior:

"Brother Chen, I had so much fun playing with you today!"

"In all my years, I've never seen the moon with anyone other than my mother."

"Brother, brother, why aren't you saying anything?"

As they walked, the two arrived at Luo Lingyou's residential area. There were sentries here to keep outsiders out. Chen Moxin used to take her home here as well.

"Mio." Just as they were about to part, Chen Moxin suddenly called out to her.

Luo Lingyou stopped and turned around, her face bearing her usual soft and cute smile. Her round eyes glistened with moisture under the dim light, making her look just like a harmless little animal from a comic book.

"Aren't you tired of this 'pretend to be a cute girl' game yet?" Chen Moxin suddenly asked, her tone casual but with a meaningful smile hidden in it.

Luo Lingyou blinked, her expression utterly innocent, her voice as sweet and gentle as ever: "What game? Brother Chen, I don't understand~"

Chen Moxin raised the corner of her mouth, as if she had expected this reaction, and smiled in line with her tone: "If you think this is fun, then I have no objection, and I will continue to play with you in the future."

He took two steps closer, leaned forward slightly, and leaned down to Luo Lingyou's ear, his voice suddenly becoming low and deep.

"But... I prefer you the most authentic way you are."

After saying that, he raised his hands, gently pressed his index fingers against the corners of Luo Lingyou's mouth, and then lifted them slightly upwards.

"Good night, see you tomorrow." After making this inexplicable gesture, Chen Moxin said goodbye and left.

Luo Lingyou stood there watching Chen Moxin's back, his expression still a well-behaved smile, but that smile froze the moment he turned around.

Luo Lingyou entered the residential area and returned home. Without turning on the lights, she went straight into the bedroom.

The city lights flowed past the window, and occasionally a faint moonlight pierced through the clouds, casting pale shadows.

Luo Lingyou sat in front of the dressing table, gazing quietly at his reflection in the mirror, shrouded in shadow, using the sliver of light streaming in from the window.

"My most authentic self?"

She softly repeated the words Chen Moxin had left behind, her tone calm, yet it seemed to awaken something deep within her heart.

In the mirror, that delicate and lovely face remained harmless, with curled eyelashes and the same obedient smile on her lips.

She gently cupped her cheeks with both hands, tilted her head, and smiled innocently, like a naive little girl.

"Is that so?"

Then, she slowly leaned back, crossed her arms, and adopted an arrogant posture, like a superior who was surveying the world, with a cold and contemptuous look in her eyes.

"Is that so?"

She straightened her back, touched her lips with one hand, and her gaze, like flowing smoke, carried a fox-like allure. Even her breath seemed to be imbued with a seductive charm.

"Or perhaps—like this?"

With each change in tone, Luo Lingyou in the mirror seemed like a different person. Her appearance shifted constantly in the darkness, from weak to proud, from aloof to alluring.

The transitions between each appearance and expression were seamless, as if she were not imitating, but choosing from multiple selves.

Gradually, the clouds outside the window swallowed the moonlight, and the world in front of the mirror grew darker and darker.

Luo Lingyou sat in the darkness, her gaze darkening. She lowered her head and chuckled softly, not with her usual sweet and gentle laugh, but with a low, husky, and magnetic sneer, as if something long suppressed had finally found an outlet.

"Do not."

She slowly raised her hand, picked up a dark red lipstick from the dressing table, and paused for a moment at the corner of her lips.

Then slash upwards sharply.

The eerie scarlet line meandered up from the corner of his mouth, across his cheek, and down to his ear.

It was like a ripped gash, splitting that gentle and harmless face in two. One half was still a charming young girl, while the other half had split open into a monster's gaping maw, as if it were grinning maliciously.

"That's it."

Chapter 174 Where to go?

With the autumnal equinox over, the chill in the air gradually deepens, signifying that the Twin Cities have officially transitioned from summer to autumn.

As soon as they arrived at work that day, the Ninth Division of Demon Hunting received good news from the Technical Department.

After more than half a month of all-night research by the future chief engineer, the core technology obtained from the previous cube resonance has been mastered and successfully produced a technological product.

That morning, all the witch hunters went to the main laboratory of the Technology Department.

However, the so-called "technological product" in front of them was somewhat unexpected.

"...Is this a stone?"

In the future, sitting on a work chair, he tossed a crystal up and down. It was a pale azure blue, and if it hadn't been processed into a very regular shape, it would have looked no different from the pebbles that could be found anywhere on the beach.

“Yes, a stone.” Future casually asked, toying with the crystal in her hand, “What, you look down on stones?”

Yang Jie was a little confused: "It's not a matter of looking down on you, it's just that the cube technology we obtained this time can only make this kind of thing?"

"The cube technology that the Demon Alliance obtained can be used to create those incredibly powerful calamity weapons, and we only have stone? That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Future chuckled, her eyes like a teacher caring for a mentally challenged student in her class. She casually tossed the crystal in her hand to Yang Jie: "Take a closer look yourself."

Yang Jie had no idea how valuable this thing was. Fearing he might drop it, he quickly activated his spiritual energy to use a wind field to hold the crystal steady in his hand. Everyone else gathered around in small groups.

Now that we're closer, we can definitely see some differences.

This crystal has a hexagonal shape and a smooth, glass-like surface with a deep blue color. However, it lacks the coldness of glass and has a slightly soft texture. It feels warm to the touch, like a piece of metal with a temperature.

When light shines on it, it refracts and creates a sense of flow, sometimes like ripples on water, sometimes like currents flowing. Its interior is not a transparent structure, but rather a distribution of many tiny filaments interwoven with light paths.

Yang Jie stared at the crystal for a while, still puzzled: "It's pretty, but what's it for?"

Future snapped his fingers: "Perfect timing to demonstrate with real people, let's use guinea pigs."