Having chatted casually over a midnight snack, the two simultaneously cleared away their plates and headed back to their respective rooms to sleep.
It was a little past three in the morning.
Lin Xiu had never seen the metropolis at three in the morning, let alone experienced falling asleep in an unfamiliar Ancient Mansion.
"I'm really looking forward to going out tomorrow..."
Just thinking of her face and figure filled him with the courage to face Magicians without fear.
Was this thing called "like"?
He wasn't sure, and he didn't dare to be sure.
The boy lay quietly in bed, trying to relax his body.
The moment Lin Xiu closed his eyes, scenes from the nightmare rushed back. Curiously, what came to mind now was precisely the dream he had forgotten upon waking.
"Huh? That white-haired figure... blue eyes... wearing a grey robe covering half their face..."
The boy, who had just been trying to relax, felt his heart tighten.
There was no way he could mistake them—he would never mistake the person who appeared in his dream!
That was Li Wei!
But why did she appear in this terrifying nightmare, and why did she fake killing him, leaving him a glimmer of hope?
Why was she wearing a mask, and why was she dressed like a Magician?
Frightened by his own thoughts, Lin Xiu could only dismiss the nonsensical illusion as a product of his sleep issues. After all, the medical adage of "what you think about by day, you dream about by night" had been proven.
Psychoanalysis also touched upon the hidden meanings of dreams.
Could it be that deep down in his subconscious, he still viewed Li Wei as too dangerous...?
The boy began to reproach himself.
It was the first time he had blamed himself over an unfamiliar girl, and the reason for the self-blame was so hard to put into words.
"I'm getting strange..."
Amidst such mental struggle, exhaustion finally overcame his remaining sliver of reason, and soft snoring announced the beginning of rest.
————————
Li Wei pulled the bedroom curtains shut, extended her left and right hands, and held them in a delicate, overlapping gesture in the empty air.
Muttering a casual spell under her breath, a crystal-clear, multi-faceted mirror materialized before her eyes.
This was the "Illusion Condensing Mirror," a camera-like magic used for remote surveillance.
It was a piece of magic combining ancient methods with modern technology, far more terrifying than surveillance cameras. It could sense magical fluctuations within its field of view and even transmit specific magic coordinates remotely.
Moreover, if discovered by an enemy, it would shatter via Space magic feedback, inflicting massive physical and magical damage to the intruder.
Through the mirror, the young girl quietly watched the sleeping boy.
"That way, it's easier to protect your own prey." — A joke her father had taught her unintentionally, yet she remembered it very clearly.
————The phone rang.
Startled, she gave a jolt, subconsciously thinking her operation had been discovered by Lin Xiu. Only when she saw that the person in the mirror was still asleep did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Hello? Mom? Why are you calling at this hour?"
Li Wei asked, lowering her voice.
"Still awake at three in the morning, just as I imagined you would be..."
"I just used Slumber-Evasion Magic (magic that shortens the sleep time required by the brain), so I don't need to rest for now."
"You should have found your target by now. John told me you've already let him move into the Ancient Mansion."
"Yeah, so what? Besides, his Pupil Master abilities are pretty impressive, and he put up a fine fight against the people from Yuyu Yiyi. And isn't his original surname—"
The moment Li Wei brought him up, she grew animated. The things about him that came to mind could probably fill ten minutes of uninterrupted speech, but she was interrupted by her mother on the other end of the line.
"Alright, alright, I know my precious darling has completed your father's mission brilliantly, but you must also be careful not to run into any accidents. You still don't fully understand how dangerous a Pupil Master can be..."
"No, Mom... um..."
"What is it? Speak your mind." Aiminh replied, the oppressive aura of an elder Witch unmistakable in her tone.
"I'm not going to bring him back to Father."
To Li Wei, this went without saying.
Yet to Aiminh, who wanted to pass the position of Witch down to her daughter in perfection, it was an unthinkable statement.
"You don't want to listen to your father? This is crucial for our family to develop the second Magic Formula (Magic, surpassing the pinnacle of magic)! At a time like this... be a good girl, won't you?"
She had tried her best to speak to her daughter in the gentlest tone possible, acting more as a mother than a Witch, in what was perhaps her most human moment ever.
However, Li Wei did not like the feeling of being controlled by others.
Anything she had set her mind on, no power in the world had the right to take away—not even her Magician father or Witch mother possessed such a qualification.
"Perhaps in the past I would have compromised and made concessions, but as I am about to come of age, I must make a choice of my own. I am not giving him to Father!"
The aloof, white-haired Witch rarely spoke with such agitation to anyone, let alone her parents.
"Have you fallen in love with him?"
Aiminh hit the nail on the head.
Li Wei, who had still been pouring out her emotions, instantly fell speechless, and the call remained silent for over a minute.
"How could that be... He's my prey. Father treats him as a research specimen, so why can't I?"
Li Wei stubbornly retorted, even though she knew how feeble and hollow the excuse sounded coming from her own mouth.
"Oh? But you've disliked magic experiments ever since you were a child, preferring only to freely apply magic, haven't you? To cover up your feelings, you don't even hesitate to lie to your family... You really are a spitting image of your dad back then."
"I..."
For the first time, Li Wei found herself trapped on the path of pursuing her "true self."
Why... it should have been a happy thing, after all...
Yet why did her heart ache as if it were dripping with blood?
"As expected... what cannot be kept, still cannot be kept after all... I don't want to do anything to you, because I am your mother. But your father is a Magician—how will he view you for growing attached to your prey...?"
Aiminh sighed and hung up the phone.
Li Wei knew her father's temperament. To a certain extent, she and he were both alike and opposite.
Both would pursue their true selves, fall in love, and lie; both would disregard the consequences to escape constraints.
Yet while her father was obsessed only with magic power and techniques, she was obsessed with "people"—people forged of courage and belief.
"It looks like... Father is determined to take Lin Xiu away."
Li Wei wanted to stop thinking about these troublesome matters, and simply hugged her stuffed toy in bed, lying on her side.
"Do I... really like him?"
For the white-haired Witch, this was the most fatal question of all.
————————
Because of the effects of Slumber-Evasion Magic, four hours of rest gave Li Wei the restorative equivalent of eight hours for a normal person.
Even such a basic, universal utility magic was something not all Magicians could master.
"Universal utility magic depends heavily on innate talent, though it's somewhat better than non-universal domain magic."
Amidst a hazy mist, dawn broke.
The clock on the first floor had turned to the "9" position.
Li Wei's heart was still far from completely at peace, feeling uncharacteristically at a loss due to her uncertainty regarding her own feelings.
She prepared breakfast, then quietly sat on the sofa with a classic novel in her lap, acting well-behaved.
Waiting for that person to come downstairs.
Yet half an hour passed without any movement. She couldn't get into the novel in her hands at all, and she didn't even want to flip through the ancient magic grimoires her father had left her.
"Why isn't he coming down yet..."
Judging by the normal eight hours of sleep required, sleeping until ten-thirty wasn't even enough.
Yet the biological clock still had its margins of error; after sleeping past nine o'clock, one would enter light sleep. Though continuing to sleep wasn't impossible, it invariably grew uncomfortable.
Could something have happened?
And yet my "Illusion Condensing Mirror" didn't react at all...
Honestly... couldn't you wake up a little earlier for my sake!
Puffing out her cheeks, Li Wei covered her face with the book, not wanting negative energy to flood her brain.
Thud... thud... thud. The crisp sound of footsteps coming down the wooden stairs echoed through the room.
"Sorry, Li Wei, it was already nine o'clock when I woke up."
The boy yawned, rubbed his eyes, and pointed toward the nearby bathroom, clearly intending to freshen up and tidy his morning appearance.
"You slept late last night, so it's my fault. Once you finish breakfast, accompany me out for a bit."
"Huh? Where to?"
Lin Xiu had just gotten his toothbrush—complete with squeezed-on toothpaste—ready to shove into his mouth when he heard Li Wei's words.
"Didn't you want to get your revenge? Don't underestimate my intelligence network. I happen to know the lair of Yuyu Yiyi."
The boy almost choked on his mouthwash, but shock was the greater reaction.
"Huh? You found that too? The President's reach is a bit too omnipotent."