Oh no! My online romance partner is actually a Miao holy maiden!

East Zone, basketball court.

Zhang Wei and his two teammates were already warming up when Xu Yi pushed open the iron gate, threw his bag on a chair, and took off his jacket to put on his jersey.

"Here it comes." Zhang Wei dribbled the ball and bounced it over with a smash.

Xu Yi caught the ball, dribbled it twice, and his eyes showed a rare hint of ruthlessness. "Go, I'll crush you today."

The four people divided into teams of two against two and started playing.

Xu Yi was indeed stronger than before. He didn't directly confront the ball when he got it, and he ran faster. In the first wave of offense, he forcefully broke through Zhang Wei's defense and made a layup.

Zhang Wei chased after him, panting heavily.

Lin Xiao led Bai Ling'er over to the edge of the playground.

As soon as Bai Ling'er stepped outside the iron fence, her gaze swept around the arena before settling on Xu Yi.

Wearing a white jersey, his hair pressed down by sweat, he runs on the court, catches the ball, turns, and shoots.

Zhang Wei, chasing after him, rolled his eyes and gasped for breath, leaning on his knees: "Damn, Lao Xu, are you on steroids or something? Why are you beating me so hard?"

Xu Yi wiped the sweat from his brow with his collar, then laughed while resting his hands on his knees.

Bai Ling'er stood outside the fence without saying a word.

Lin Xiao pointed to the field from the side, "That tall one is Chen Yang, I hate him the most! The slightly chubby one next to him is..."

"I know them," Bai Ling'er said.

Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then followed Bai Ling'er's gaze to Xu Yi's side, and suddenly realized, "So your fiancé is Xu Yi?"

"Yes, he's mine. He was before, he is now, and he always will be."

"However, I don't want anyone else to know about this."

Lin Xiao swallowed the rest of her words.

Bai Ling'er moved a step to the side, hiding herself behind an unidentified tree at the edge of the playground, looking into the field with only half her face visible.

Lin Xiao: "...Aren't you going to go say hello?"

"I don't want him to see me, but I want to see him first," Bai Ling'er said softly.

Lin Xiao followed her gaze and glanced at the court again. Xu Yi was dribbling the ball and wasn't looking in their direction.

"Alright," Lin Xiao lowered her voice and moved closer to the tree, "then shall we... peek?"

Bai Ling'er did not answer; her gaze was fixed intently on Xu Yi.

Xu Yi ran on the field, caught the ball, jumped up, and the ball's trajectory was very stable; it went in.

Zhang Wei made a sound from the next room, and Liu Zheyun clapped.

The people in the room were clearly familiar with each other; some were joking, some were swearing, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

Bai Ling'er watched, scratching at the bark with her fingers, without saying a word.

This is what Yi-gege lived when she wasn't around. He was so dazzling. I wish Yi-gege belonged to her alone!

Halfway through the game, a few more people appeared next to the chairs on the sidelines.

There were about four or five girls from other departments standing outside the fence watching. Two of them were taking pictures with their phones, while the others were talking quietly and occasionally laughing.

Zhang Wei noticed it first, glanced over, looked away, and continued fighting, but suddenly his steps became noticeably unsteady.

After making two circles, the girls on the sidelines reacted.

One of them, a girl with short hair, held an unopened bottle of mineral water. She walked to the gate, peeked inside, and asked, "Excuse me, want some water?"

He was speaking in the general direction of the arena, but his gaze was clearly fixed on Xu Yi.

Zhang Wei was the first to react. He covered his mouth, took a step back, and pretended to tie his shoelaces, his shoulders shaking.

Liu Zheyun and Chen Yang also lowered their heads and picked up their water bottles to drink water.

Xu Yi sensed the ball and was about to dribble when he heard a sound. He glanced towards the gate of the fence.

The girl raised the water bottle in her hand to him and smiled.

Just as Xu Yi was about to speak, he suddenly felt a chill down his back.

He subconsciously looked to his right outside the field.

Beside the playground, there was a tree, and two people were standing next to it. One was a girl he had never seen before, and the other...?

He glanced to the side for a second.

There was only that unfamiliar girl next to the tree; there was no one else around.

Xu Yi narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, catch the ball!" Zhang Wei called out from the side.

Xu Yi snapped out of his daze, caught the ball, and started running again.

A white figure flashed by from that spot just now.

Was I really hallucinating?

No, calm down, it's definitely because of too much psychological pressure.

If Bai Ling'er were really here, given her fearless and spoiled nature...

If you see a girl bringing you water, shouldn't you immediately release a snake to scare her to death?

I must be hallucinating.

-

Behind the tree.

Bai Ling'er shrank behind the tree trunk, not daring to show her face at all.

Her breathing was rapid, and her chest heaved violently.

The little green cat on her wrist moved violently, rubbing its head against the inside of her wrist to express its dissatisfaction.

"Don't move, or I'll kill you," Bai Ling'er whispered.

Lin Xiao was pulled behind the tree and squeezed together. "Did he see you?"

"No, I dodged quickly," Bai Ling'er's voice instantly returned to normal.

She let out a long breath, slowly poked half her head out, and glanced into the arena.

Xu Yi had already started running again and was no longer looking this way.

Bai Ling'er turned her attention back to the arena.

The girl standing at the gate is still there, holding a water bottle in her hand.

Xu Yi ran over, and as he passed the gate, the girl said something again and handed the water bottle forward.

Xu Yi shook his head and said a few words. Bai Ling'er saw what he said from behind the tree. The girl withdrew her hand and took half a step back.

Bai Ling'er pulled her head back in, which had been partially exposed.

"He refused, I saw it, Ling'er, your fiancé is quite self-aware," Lin Xiao whispered from the side.

"I saw it too, but I don't know if I'll refuse next time," Bai Ling'er said.

Lin Xiao turned her head, somewhat confused by the logic. "What?"

"It's nothing."

Bai Ling'er emerged from behind the tree.

She tugged at her clothes and tidied her bangs, which had been ruffled by the tree bark.

She originally planned to take it slow, but...

The short-haired girl from earlier.

And Zhang Wei and a few others took it all for granted.

Bai Ling'er replayed the scene in her mind: the girl's laughter, Xu Yifan's actions, and the way Zhang Wei and the others deliberately looked away.

If she weren't here, she wouldn't know anything.

"No," Bai Ling'er said very softly, so softly that Lin Xiao didn't quite hear her.

She couldn't wait any longer; if she waited any longer, her brother Yi would really be snatched away by someone else!

Lin Xiao glanced at her, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

Bai Ling'er stood beside the tree, took one last look at the field, turned around, and said, "Let's go."

"That's it?" Lin Xiao chased after him.

"Aren't you going to show up? Are you two arguing again?"

Bai Ling'er gave a soft "hmm," and said, "Now is not the right time. We need to find a better opportunity."

Lin Xiao followed, thought for a long time, and then asked, "What do you mean by 'better timing'?"

Bai Ling'er did not answer immediately.

Countless dark images were flashing wildly through her mind at that moment.

Should we take Yi-gege back to the village and lock him up, so that he only has eyes for us?

Or should we use Gu magic to make him lose his memory, so that he only remembers the name Ling'er?

I went over the options in my mind and finally chose the most direct one.

"I'll go see him myself tonight."