Once the affection level is maxed out, the rivalry begins!

Why is that creature here?

"They've actually expelled me from the human race!"

The above conversation took place between Lin Tingwan, who maintained a cold expression while pointing at the other person, and Lu Xingyao, who circled around her like an annoying cat.

"Hey, I just happened to see some familiar friends when I came to enjoy the fireworks festival all by myself, so of course I couldn't resist the urge to say hello."

Lu Xingyao leaned closer and reached out her claws toward the bag of snacks.

Lin Tingwan made a threatening "Ha!" and hid the plastic bag behind her back.

"It's not good to be possessive of your food."

She stopped regretfully and turned to bother Bai Ze, "Senior, can I have half of the chocolate bar?"

But halfway there, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind and forced me to turn around.

"for you."

Lin Tingwan, looking displeased, stuffed a bundle of Pocky sticks she had just taken out into her mouth.

Then she made a sound like a sunfish about to choke on its feed.

After struggling to swallow the food, Lu Xingyao patted her chest and spoke with lingering fear.

"I almost thought I was going to be assassinated here by my senior."

"Didn't it work..." Lin Tingwan clicked her tongue.

"Don't react like you've been given a real 'thank you've escaped death' attitude, that's terrifying!"

She retreated a step as if using Bai Ze as cover, and raised her hands in surrender.

"I just witnessed the two of them holding hands intimately, and I was wondering if it would be too insensitive of me to comment."

"If you're so self-aware, then don't do it."

Lin Tingwan swung the loose plastic bag, which swept across her face like a meteor hammer, almost hitting her on the head.

"But a voice inside me tells me that the senior will definitely forgive the junior who bothered me out of fear of loneliness!"

"It seems you have a hearing impairment—I won't forgive you, get out."

They chased each other in circles, like Jing Ke and the King of Qin.

By the way, Bai Ze played the role of the bronze pillar.

He then grabbed the two men, one in each hand, preventing the assassination attempt from taking place.

"Since we've already run into each other, watching the fireworks together as a group of three will be even more fun, right?"

He comforted Lin Tingwan while giving Lu Xingyao a wink.

The latter became serious: "Excuse me for disturbing you, but please let me join you. Please take in this junior who is wandering alone in the world!"

Lin Tingwan reluctantly broke free: "I can't help it—it's because you came with me to buy clothes."

"Okay, let's treat it as the broadcasting department's first team-building trip!"

Lu Xingyao quickly found a perfectly legitimate excuse, "I saw a really lively food street where we came from earlier. How about we go there for a stroll before we start?"

Lin Tingwan was drawn to the term "bustling food street" and nodded in agreement without thinking.

He's such a frank person.

So, the group of three left the terrace and moved toward the location Lu Xingyao had mentioned.

She deliberately lagged behind a little, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bai Ze who was following behind, and took out her phone to point at the screen.

Bai Ze glanced at the chat messages knowingly.

[Lu Xingyao: I saw people from the Spirit Disaster Bureau.]

She had previously undergone memory erasure as one of the victimized students after the ghost story incident, but it clearly did not have any effect on the witch.

That's why they were able to recognize the members of the Bureau of Spirit Disasters.

So it seems they do intend to carry out some kind of activity here.

[Lu Xingyao: The trains seem to be coming and going too frequently.]

She also noticed the problems with train traffic.

Could this anomaly be related to the railway? Is it Kisaragi Station? Is it the Iron-Blooded Train Hero invasion? Is it the spell card: Abandoned Station Disembarkation Journey?

Although a lot of strange subculture options popped into my head, none of them really felt right.

"Hurry up, you two."

Unconsciously, Lin Tingwan, who had walked to the front, turned around, put her hands on her hips, and complained.

"Are they having a pleasant chat behind my back?"

"Not at all, look, neither my senior nor I said a word."

Lu Xingyao waved her hand, "We have nothing left to say to each other."

She glanced at the two faces suspiciously, then finally turned her attention back to the sides of the street.

The snack street that Lu Xingyao mentioned is actually a commercial street located near the beach, which usually serves tourists who come to swim and sightsee.

Now, as night deepens and the city lights begin to twinkle, the aroma of food fills the air, weaving together a hazy, misty scene.

"Give."

Bai Ze handed the girls two ice creams he bought from a street-side beverage stall.

He himself disliked sweets, so he accepted the skewer of grilled squid that Lin Tingwan had bought.

Surprisingly, she also bought crepes for Lu Xingyao, and instead of forcibly stuffing them into her mouth, she fed her in a normal way.

"I've heard that for wild animals in nature, sharing food is a way to express friendliness."

Bai Ze patted Lu Xingyao's shoulder with great satisfaction, "She has accepted you!"

"Who's the wild animal?!"

This time, it was his and Lin Tingwan's turn to put on a show of circling around the pillar with their junior.

Why is it always the same person playing Jing Ke? Isn't it about time she got nerfed?

"Wow!"

As a result, the ice cream melted while they were chasing and playing around.

Lin Tingwan's sleeve got a little bit of white cream on it, and Lu Xingyao, who was surrounded by them, was even more unlucky and suffered from the splash damage.

Fortunately, she was wearing a gray hoodie and sweatpants that were easy to move in, so even when the melted ice cream was spilled on her, it didn't leave any obvious marks.

"Are you elementary school students on a spring outing?"

Lu Xingyao was furious!

"Even I get angry..."

"Shut up, you hitched a ride here."

Lin Tingwan extinguished her anger with her icy voice.

"Waaah... I need to go to the restroom to wipe off the white marks my senior left on my body..."

"That's just cream."

Bai Ze extended his hand, "You're all going, right? Here, take these things."

Two girls went to clean up the traces of the ice cream accident, while he, carrying the extra luggage, sat down at a round table set up at the street corner for people to rest.

Because the table was full, he had to share a table with someone. Opposite him was a strangely dressed man who, despite the festive atmosphere, was dressed in a suit and tie, was thin, wore black leather gloves, and had his face covered by a fox mask.

This appearance seems familiar, but strangely, the memory is blurred, making it difficult to retrieve any related fragments.

Just as he was recalling, the other person took off the fox mask, revealing golden hair flowing like a waterfall and vertical pupils slightly dilated.

"Bai Ze—what are you doing here?"

He wanted to ask that question too.

That mask probably had some kind of unusual properties. The moment the other person revealed their true face, he immediately recognized that it was the dream demon Rhea, who worked for the Spirit Disaster Bureau.

Have you run into more and more acquaintances today?