Pull the string at the end of the candy bar, take out a candy wrapped in candy paper, twist the two sides of the candy paper with your fingers, gently pull it outwards, and then open it, you can see a white star lying quietly inside.
When you hold it in your mouth, you can feel the sweetness gradually spreading in your mouth.
To be honest, it's quite ordinary, with no special taste, just a simple "sweet" taste, similar to the feeling of holding a piece of rock candy in your mouth.
But she unexpectedly thought it tasted pretty good.
"It's delicious."
She smiled slightly and responded to him.
A faint floral scent came with her words, but now it had a faint sweetness.
"nice! You love it."
"I think Ling will like it too. I'll buy some for her when I go back."
"……Um."
"........."
Nothing to say again.
The embarrassment that had just dissipated seemed to be spreading again.
Ah...it turns out to be too difficult to ask her to find topics to talk about.
"If you have anything to say, you can just say it."
Seeing that they were almost back to the hotel, the girl still had that conflicted look on her face, as if she had something to say but didn't know how to say it, he whispered.
"Have you run into any difficulties? Or is there anything you need help with?"
"Ah? Ah... No, it's just... uh..."
The girl was stunned. She didn't feel good about being seen through. After all, it made her embarrassment exposed. Finally, after hesitating for a while, she sighed, as if she had let go of her boring shame, and said.
"I just wanted to ask if you have time later..."
"Yes, is there anything I can help you with?"
When he's not on a mission, he's usually training, so in a sense he's actually very idle - she should know this.
"No, just...if you're free, can we go out together?"
After she finished speaking, she hurriedly added another sentence.
"That's what Ling said. After all, you helped us a lot. Ling said she wanted to thank you so she wanted me to take her to the amusement park with you."
She spoke quickly, as if in a hurry to explain.
"Isn't it Ling who wants to go?"
"Ah? Uh... yeah! Yes..."
Listening to her somewhat absent-minded response, he began to doubt whether she had heard what he said clearly.
So he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, "Then you two can go," and changed his words.
"I understand, when?"
"...I'll message you later."
"it is good."
He nodded and pushed open the door of the suite where they were to rest temporarily. The girl followed him into the room, locked the door, and fastened the chain hanging on the side.
"Click..."
Just as she was locking the door, she heard the sound of the door closing again. She turned around and found that he had walked into his own room, seemingly preparing to rest.
The living room seemed very quiet, as if she was the only one there.
However, this kind of environment made her feel more comfortable. She enjoyed this peaceful atmosphere and even felt happy because she had achieved her intended goal.
She walked briskly but silently towards her room, ready to rest.
The living room fell into silence, as if no one lived there.
………………And inside the room………………
"Mission accomplished? As expected, it's you two who are responsible for this... You're really quick and efficient."
The person on the other end of the communication said with a smile.
"Should we say it is worthy of our [Golden Signboard]? Wang?"
"........."
"Alright, alright. I know you don't like to talk nonsense with me. As soon as I saw it was you who called, I knew what I should do... As for the reward money, I will process it for you as soon as the client transfers the money. It's still the same account, right?"
"Ah."
"That's fine... You can also take a break after this mission. There haven't been any big targets lately, so you don't need to take action. If nothing unexpected happens, you will have a short vacation. How about it? Do you have any plans? I got a ticket for Eden's concert, so I plan to go to Mu Continent."
"you……"
"Oh, forget it... I know it must be another training session, right? And I know you don't like to hear me nagging... Can't you just chat with me like Al did? I thought we were friends."
"I……"
"Hmm? You're still here... You seem to be in a good mood today~ What's wrong? Is there anything happy? Like finding your old friend or something?"
"You talk a little too much."
Xi Wang's voice turned cold in an instant.
"Okay~ I'm sorry for touching your sore spot, sorry~"
The other party apologized casually and did not seem to be reflecting on his behavior at all.
"Tell me, do you need me for something? I'll talk to Al then."
"...Can you still get tickets for Eden's concert?"
"Oh? Why are you interested in this?"
The other party suddenly became interested and asked curiously.
"I'm going to hang out with people afterwards."
"Oh...it's Sakura, right?"
"……Um."
"That's great! I originally thought you were a dead wood, gloomy all day long, but I didn't expect you to be so smart now..."
"?"
"Don't worry about that. We can definitely get the tickets. After all, we still have some connections and can definitely help you get a good seat."
"grateful."
Xi Wang responded sincerely. After all, the other party was right about one thing—they were still “friends”.
"Also... I've run out of candy, please give me some more."
"Huh? So soon? Eat less, be careful of tooth decay... Is it the special one? You have to wait for a while for that one, you know?"
"No, just normal ones."
"Is that so...Okay, I got it. When the time comes, you can go to the safe house at this (encrypted coordinates) location to get it. It's not far from your home."
"grateful."
"It's okay, it's okay. After all, this is what I do in logistics... Oh, by the way, there will be two of you going there, right? Do you need me to arrange the hotel, transportation, and travel guide? I have some good recommendations. And you can pay with your card directly, and I will reimburse you for the expenses! By the way, remember to buy some gifts for each other..."
Without paying any more attention to the other party's nonsense, Xiwang simply hung up the phone.
"........."
He remained silent, staring blankly in the direction of the other room for a while, then looked down at the small notebook on the table - this was the hotel's own notebook, and there were some scattered things written on it, and judging from the format, it was a bit like a diary.
[■■ month 2, 36 stars, mission completed (a long summary of the mission process and some fragmentary descriptions of the scenery and buildings), finally invited to play together, have to make time to wait for Sakura's invitation...]
At this point, Xiwang paused, opened the terminal, searched for Eden's latest concert time, and then continued to write at the end.
[There is a concert on the evening of the 15th, remember to tell Ying in advance. ]
Xi Wang stopped writing here, glanced at it casually, and then tore off the paper along with the page with the words on the back, and then lit it with a lighter.
"........."
He stared blankly at the burning flames, as if he was thinking about something, or as if he was thinking about nothing, and looked dazed.
When the flames burned out, Xi Wang seemed to come to his senses. He swept the ashes into the palm of his hand, took out the candy box, poured out a candy, and then poured the candy and the ashes into his mouth.
Today it is 37.
Xi Wang slightly corrected the recorded number in his mind, then slowly walked to the bed and slowly lay down on the ground next to the bed - there was a place for rest that he had newly made.
As if he was still not used to it, he turned sideways again, curled up slightly, and stared at the candy box and the short blade wrapped in cloth placed beside him, which were shrouded by the shadow of the bed, in a daze.
Both things are very close to me and I can reach them by just moving my arms slightly, so there is no need to worry about any accidents.
I eat more and more...
Xi Wang thought so while feeling the sweetness mixed with strange taste in his mouth.
However, he didn't care.
He just felt the sweetness carefully, closed his eyes, and slowly fell asleep.
………………In another room………………
"Well... yes, mission accomplished."
The girl named Sakura said to the other end of the line.
"Well done, as fast as usual, you are worthy of it."
A familiar voice, familiar compliments, this is how every call starts.
"So...what's the status of our [Swords]?"
"very good."
"Oh? Nothing unusual? Still as stable as before?"
"Ah."
"Really? That's a pity."
The other party seemed a little disappointed, but didn't seem to care much and quickly returned to the original topic.
"The bounty will be processed and transferred to you after the customer calls. Is it still the same account? As for the next period of time, you can have a good rest. Of course, if you are short of money, I can also give you a few more tasks. After all, you still have family to take care of~"
"……No."
"Go back to see your sister? That's fine, after all, you haven't been back for a while..."
"You talk a bit too much."
"But you have to listen to me. I am your boss."
The other party said something that deserved a beating.
"And you don't have to be so vigilant. After all, we promised to protect your sister as long as you join us, and your information will be kept confidential... We keep our word, so as long as you don't defect, you and your sister will be fine."
It’s called protection, but in fact it’s just surveillance, right?
Sakura knew this very well, but she had no choice... Ling was her only family and her only weakness.
"So... do I need to give you a mission? [Forget-me-not]?"
The other party said faintly.
"...No, please invite me to go out and play later."
"Oh? You didn't tell me about this in advance?"
"I should have rested for the rest of the time."
"Haha...it seems like I'm being too nosy. Have fun. Come to me if you need help~"
The other party quickly hung up the call.
