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

Darkened Ling'er: Bai Ling'er, have you thought this through? Do you want his heart, or his body? You can't have his heart now. Listen to me, use the Gu poison! Once it's planted, he'll never be able to escape you for the rest of his life, and he'll slowly fall in love with you...

But... no!

That's her brother Yi!

Bai Ling'er rubbed her temples vigorously.

The sounds were clamoring loudly in my head.

She took a deep breath and silenced both voices.

I can't stay here any longer.

She's not in a good state right now, and Xiaoqing is still restless, her tongue is sticking out rapidly, coiling around her wrist again and again, looking like it's about to explode at any moment.

Xiaoqing is affected by her emotions; what if she can't control her own emotions...?

Bai Ling'er looked down at Xiao Qing, "Xiao Qing, don't move."

"No one is allowed to hurt him!"

Xiaoqing paused for a second, but the anger subsided and didn't completely dissipate.

She stood up and put the phone back on the coffee table in its original place, her movements so light they were almost silent.

Then I walked towards the door and changed my shoes.

She stopped when her hand touched the door frame and glanced back.

The sound of water was still coming from the bathroom, gushing and splashing, but Xu Yi didn't come out.

She turned around, walked towards the door, closed it, and didn't say a word.

She did not enter the elevator.

I turned into the stairwell not far away and sat on the stairs.

Just sit here.

Xiaoqing slowly peeked half her head out from her wrist, her tongue twitched, and she sensed the scent in the air. Her emotions were a little calmer than before.

Bai Ling'er lowered her eyes and looked at her feet.

That chat log is still in my mind.

She didn't translate many, just a few lines, but every word was piercing.

Bai Ling'er always felt that Xu Yi was willing to accept her staying by his side.

Letting her act recklessly means she must like me a little bit.

Even if it's only 0.1%, she's willing to use her remaining 99.9, or even her life, to fill it up.

But he said no.

She thought she had found salvation, found the destiny her mother had spoken of, so she recklessly went down the mountain to find love.

But the reality is, Yi-gege doesn't like me at all...

Bai Ling'er pressed her fingers tightly against her heart without making a sound.

It feels suffocating and painful...

Bai Ling'er lowered her head and buried her face in it.

His voice was muffled as he spoke to himself.

"Brother Yi, Ling'er, I really, really like you..."

What's wrong with the little green thing on her wrist? It gently rubbed its head against the back of her hand, and when it spat out its tongue again, it wasn't in such a hurry anymore.

Bai Ling'er did not look up.

"But if you despise Ling'er, what will happen to Ling'er?"

"What should I do with you then? Turn you into a puppet? No... Ling'er can't bear to hurt you."

Bai Ling'er's thoughts were in turmoil.

She didn't look up, letting the darkness engulf her.

-

in the apartment.

After taking a shower, Xu Yi came out and looked around the living room; it was empty.

"Ling'er?"

no respond.

The phone is still on the coffee table, but the bowl containing the nuts has been moved into the kitchen.

The pair of shoes that belonged to Bai Ling'er on the shoe rack were also gone.

He looked out onto the balcony; it was empty.

I took two steps toward the kitchen, but there was no one there, and there was some noise next to the refrigerator.

Xu Yi stood there, feeling a strange emptiness in his heart.

She's gone?

He checked the time; it was a little past three in the afternoon. Why did she suddenly leave in broad daylight?

Wasn't everything fine just now?

Or has her third brother already arrived?

He had already prepared himself to face the Bai family; perhaps it was time to give Ling'er an explanation.

She tricked him down the mountain, so it wouldn't be right for her to abandon him now.

Moreover, Bai Ling'er is indeed a good girl.

He couldn't let her down.

He picked up his phone and dialed Bai Ling'er's number.

Busy tone, constantly busy tone.

Xu Yi looked at his phone screen, frowned, and dialed again, but still no one answered.

"No, I have to go find her!"

He threw on some clothes, grabbed his phone, and went out.

Bai Ling'er was in the hallway next to the elevator when she heard Xu Yi close the door.

She shrank back behind the stairs, hiding herself in the darkness.

Footsteps came from the door and headed towards the elevator, passing the spot where she was hiding, less than three meters away.

She lowered her head, suppressing her breath, and remained silent.

Wait for the elevator to leave.

She slowly raised her head, her mind still filled with Xu Yi's image.

Her eyes were full of reluctance.

The screen lit up again, showing Brother Yi.

She stared at those three words for two seconds, her finger hovering over the answer button, but ultimately slid to the side and hung up.

The screen went dark.

Bai Ling'er put her phone on the ground and stopped looking at it.

The hallway was quiet. She sat in the corner, leaning against the wall, her legs tucked in.

Xiaoqing poked her head out from her sleeve, sniffed it, and then withdrew.

Bai Ling'er lowered her head, her voice a little hoarse.

"Brother Yi, Ling'er will not bother you anymore."

Her nose felt a little sore, so she lowered her head and rubbed it with the back of her hand to wipe away the dampness.

"Don't despise Ling'er."

"Even if you don't like her, you don't want to hate Ling'er, okay?"

She closed her eyes, leaned against the wall, and just stayed there.

She doesn't want to cry.

Bai Ling'er was never one to shed tears easily.

Growing up in the village, she learned witchcraft and was backfired on. Dealing with those poisonous creatures, sometimes she was in so much pain that she gritted her teeth, but she never cried.

It's just that my eyes won't listen to me.

My nose feels sore and my eyelids feel a little hot.

She tilted her head back, trying to suppress the heat, but in the end, she couldn't hold it in. A few drops slid down her cheeks, onto the back of her hand, and onto the ground.

She wiped it away with her sleeve without making a sound.

Time passes slowly.

Bai Ling'er didn't know how long she had been sitting. Feeling a little sleepy, she slowly slid down the wall with her back against it, resting her head on her knees and closing her eyes.

She hadn't planned to sleep; she just wanted to close her eyes for a while and relax.

But when people are tired and uncomfortable, they are especially prone to falling asleep.

-

Outside the apartment building.

Xu Yi had already gone downstairs to look for it, but found nothing.

He asked the roadside convenience store, the milk tea shop across the street, and the delivery guy waiting downstairs for customers.

"Excuse me, have you seen a very pretty girl downstairs in this building? She had a... [something] on her wrist..."

He paused for a moment.

If he says he has a snake on his wrist, people might think he's going to call the police to catch it.

"She's very beautiful..."

He was stunned for a moment, then took out his phone and realized that he didn't even have a photo of Bai Ling'er on his phone, so he couldn't even post a missing person notice.

The delivery driver shook his head. "I didn't notice. We don't look into the building much."

The staff at the bubble tea shop didn't know either, saying, "We didn't see it."

Thanks.

Xu Yi searched downstairs again and asked around, but no one said they had seen it.

He suddenly remembered that Bai Ling'er only recognized him and Lin Xiao here. Could it be...?

He dialed Chen Yang's number.

Do you have Lin Xiao's number?

Chen Yang paused for half a second, then asked, "What do you want with her?"

"It's urgent."

I'll send it to you.

When the number arrived, he contacted Lin Xiao directly.

The bell rang twice, and someone answered it from the side, their voice a little lazy, "Who is it?"

"I am Xu Yi. Has Bai Ling'er come looking for you?" he said directly.

Lin Xiao was taken aback. "No, what's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"

"No, just let me know if she comes back to you."

"Okay, then..."

"I have to go now, something urgent has come up."

He hung up the phone and stood at the building entrance for a while; it was almost dark.

Before I knew it, I had been searching for almost two hours.

Where did she go?

Could it be that he had some urgent business to attend to and left, and may he have already returned to his apartment?

He sighed, took out his phone, and dialed Bai Ling'er's number again, but it was still busy...

He went back into the building and got into the elevator.

Let's go back and take a look.

The elevator went up and stopped on his floor; the doors opened.

He walked out, his phone still dialing, listening to the notification tone on the other end.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed a faint light in the hallway not far away.

He hung up the call, and the light dimmed.

Xu Yi walked over with some doubt.

Pushing open the door, I saw Bai Ling'er.

"Ling'er?"