Flower Fairy: After transmigrating again, I became An'an's younger brother.

Just then, a low voice came from the pocket, clearly displeased:

"Aren't you hot standing so close?"

Xia Tong looked down and saw that a small corner of Shadow Camellia's card had somehow peeked out from the edge of her pocket.

The sound also drew the attention of the Shadow Red Rain.

She stared at the peek-out corner, and her expression slowly changed—

The shy satisfaction of fulfilling a friend's request and being recognized by the friend has turned into a wary scrutiny tinged with instinctive hostility.

Immediately afterwards, crimson light particles emerged and coalesced, and the figure of Shadow Camellia reappeared.

She floated on Xia Tong's other side, arms crossed, looking down at the shadowy red rain that was almost touching Xia Tong.

As Shadow Red Rain turned her head, she met Shadow Spring's deep red eyes, which were full of provocation and disdain.

"You've come out again."

Her voice lowered, no longer carrying the soft, hesitant tone she used when speaking to Xia Tong, but instead returning to a somber, offended, and cold tone.

The atmosphere in the air froze instantly, as if invisible sparks were crackling between the two Shadow Elf Kings.

On one side is the Shadow Peach Blossom Fairy King, with a gothic style and a gloomy, obsessive expression, exuding an aura of "keep away, especially you"; on the other side is the Shadow Camellia Fairy King, dressed in a deep red gown, with a face that says "you're the one who's in the way," her queenly arrogance and displeasure undisguised.

Although both belong to the "Shadow Elf King" and their auras are vaguely similar, at this moment...

"Tsubaki,"

The implication of dissuasion in Shadow Red Rain's tone was obvious: "You shouldn't..."

Her gaze quickly drifted back to Xia Tong's face. "You're interfering with my conversation with my friend."

She deliberately emphasized the words "my friend," highlighting the distinction between "we" and "you," adding, "You were not invited."

As soon as Shadow Red Rain finished speaking, Shadow Chun let out an undisguised laugh.

"invite?"

Shadow Chun slightly raised her chin, and with that rhetorical question, her eyebrows arched even higher. "Whose invitation do I need? You, on the other hand, should know your place. Don't you understand the principle of first come, first served?"

She raised her hand, her fingertips brushing against her chest, intentionally or unintentionally.

Although there were no obvious signs there, both Shadow Elf Kings could clearly feel that the ancient contract between Shadow Chun and Xia Tong was resonating faintly.

Dark Shadow Red Rain's body trembled slightly.

Shadow Chun's words precisely struck at the deepest chasm in her heart, the one she was most uneasy about and most eager to fill.

"Xia Tong and I have the same contract!"

She immediately retorted, her tone tinged with a flustered eagerness to prove herself, her fingertips unconsciously clenching the hem of her skirt, "You...you just..."

Shadow Red Rain frantically searched her mind for words to retaliate, but due to a lack of experience in arguing with others in her "memory," after a long pause, what came out was still her simple and straightforward set of judgments:

"...You're not a 'gentle friend.' You don't understand."

As she spoke, An Ying Hongyu even turned to look at Xia Tong, trying to seek approval, like a child who had been bullied and was going to an adult to complain, her tone carrying a soft yet stubborn tone.

"Look how fierce she is. A good friend wouldn't act like that."

"Heh~"

Xia Tong couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The laughter was particularly clear in the tense air, causing both Shadow Elf Kings to fix their gazes on his face.

Dark Shadow Red Rain blinked, looking bewildered like a child interrupted halfway through tattling; Dark Shadow Spring, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow, her eyes clearly saying, "You still have the nerve to laugh?"

"cough,"

Xia Tong cleared her throat and reached out to rub the head of An Ying Hong Yu, who was almost pressed against her.

An Ying Hongyu was startled by the rubbing, and the sharp hostility around her dissipated by most of it. She subconsciously narrowed her eyes and unconsciously rubbed her head against his palm.

Immediately afterwards, Xia Tong placed her other hand on the crossed arm of An Ying Chun next to her.

He gently tapped her forearm with his fingertips, a soothing gesture to calm her down, and a gentle, magical vibration.

When Xia Tong touched the arm with her fingertip, the tension in the arm of the shadow stalked away involuntarily. Although the crossed arms were not completely lowered, the momentum of the arm visibly eased.

She turned her face away and gave a soft "humph," barely accepting this small measure of reassurance.

Seeing that her attitude had softened, Xia Tong turned her gaze back to An Ying Hong Yu.

"Hongyu, actually, you can't expect your friends to always show you their best and gentlest side. Try to accept them completely. The good, the bad, the likable, or... the occasional less pleasing side."

Seeing the half-understanding look in Dark Shadow Red Rain's eyes, he decided to give a more straightforward example.

Xia Tong pointed to herself, "Like me, I seem pretty easy to talk to, right?"

An Ying Hong Yu nodded vigorously. In her heart, Xia Tong was the perfect example of a "gentle friend".

"But actually I also have a bad side. I can have a bad temper. If someone really provokes me or touches on something I care about, I will get angry."

Dark Shadow Red Rain blinked, looked down at her hands, and then looked up at Xia Tong.

She never imagined that her "gentle friend" Xia Tong would have a "bad" side.

In her mind, a "friend" should be perfect and meet all her expectations.

Xia Tong's words made her vaguely realize that... people or flower fairies are all complex?

Then, Xia Tong tagged the conversation to An Ying Chun, who was standing to the side.

"Tsubaki is the same way. Although she seems fierce and speaks with a sharp tongue, that's just one side of her. She also has her gentle moments."

The word "gentle" came from Xia Tong's mouth and was used on Shadow Chun, which made the Elf King, who was listening attentively, twitch his ear slightly.

Shadow Camellia immediately curled her lip and retorted:

"Hmph, who's being gentle? They're just those two little ones, one's a bit dim-witted and the other's a bit slow. I'm just too lazy to argue with them. Don't drag me into this."

Her voice still carried its usual aloofness and arrogance, but upon closer listening, one could detect a hint of awkwardness beneath the surface, as if she had been caught out.

"Shanmeng is too naive, Chengyi is a newborn who doesn't understand anything, and as for that wine-red one..."

Shadow Chun looked disgusted. "She just needs to be taught a lesson."

Distracted like this, the anger that Shadow Chun had felt from her earlier confrontation with Shadow Hongyu dissipated considerably.

Looking at the stubborn, somewhat single-minded, and inept "newcomer" in front of her, who couldn't even get a proper complaint out of him, Shadow Chun suddenly felt that arguing with this little brat who only had one set of simple standards in his head seemed a bit... beneath her dignity.

The displeasure on her face gradually faded, replaced by a slightly arrogant air of "I won't stoop to your level, you little kid."

Forget it, for Xiaotong's sake, and because she's practically "one of us," I won't stoop to her level... someone who's not very bright.

As An Ying Hong Yu listened to Xia Tong's words, her gaze shifted back and forth between Xia Tong and An Ying Chun.

She seemed to understand a little, but at the same time, she seemed even more confused.

So, it turns out that the "fierce" Chun can also take care of people?

It turns out that friends can have imperfections, and can even express their care in different ways?

And what about herself?

Dark Shadow Red Rain looked at Xia Tong, her eyes clear yet bewildered, and asked softly:

"Then...how should I...be friends? I...I don't think I'm very gentle, and I sometimes find others annoying. Am I...am I not good enough?"

Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a murmur, as if she were feeling uneasy about her "incompetence".

Xia Tong smiled and patted An Ying Hong Yu's head, her tone both joking and serious:

"We can learn slowly, there's still a long way to go."

Seeing that the atmosphere had finally eased, Xia Tong looked up at the sky.

"Alright, that little incident is over for now."

He clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the two Shadow Elf Kings back to himself. "Let's go find my sister now, and then we'll go home."

Shadow Tsubaki didn't react in any particular way, just nodded slightly, looking like she thought, "It should have been like this a long time ago."

She never really liked the sweet, cloying scent of peach blossoms in the park, so leaving early was exactly what she wanted.

However, the reaction of Shadow Red Rain was somewhat different.

"elder sister……?"

She repeated the word softly, and when Xia Tong said it, it carried a natural sense of intimacy.

This seemed different from the "friends" she had just struggled to understand, yet it also seemed to have some deeper connection.

An Ying Hong Yu's gaze lingered on Xia Tong's profile for a few seconds, as if carefully savoring the warmth contained in the title.

Then, a mixture of curiosity, inquiry, and some indescribable attention quietly replaced the lingering bewilderment in her eyes.

"Xia Tong's...older sister?"

The shadowy red rain seemed to be talking to itself.

A subtle comparative mentality, which she herself was not fully aware of, had quietly begun to sprout.

"Yes, my older sister, Xia An'an."

Xia Tong gave a simple reply, without going into further explanation, and simply started walking.

"She should be here too, probably still investigating nearby. Let's go check it out."