Chương 115: The Exposed Secret and the Accepted Kindness

Faced with Liuli's question, Jiying's heart skipped a beat. She waved her hand somewhat flusteredly, her voice carrying a deliberately feigned bewilderment:

"Star Frost? Who's that? Is she—your senior? I don't know her."

However, Liuli was not swayed in the slightest by her feigned nonchalance in denial. She continued to gaze quietly at Jiying, her clear eyes seemingly able to see through all lies.

After a moment, she gently shook her head, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable certainty: No, you know her.

"If you really don't know her, then when Yinxue said that your cuteness level is comparable to that of Senior Xingshuang, you should have been curious and asked, 'Who is Xingshuang?'"

"Generally speaking, it is normal to show curiosity and ask questions when you hear an unfamiliar name that is being compared to yourself."

"But your reaction at the time—" Liuli tilted her head slightly, recalling the scene, "was more like tacit agreement, or rather, you didn't care at all, as if you already knew who Xingshuang was."

"Really?" Ji Ying tried hard to make her voice sound less guilty, forcing a defense, "Actually, I'm just not very interested in those boring comparisons. I genuinely don't know who Xing Shuang is. Using something like that as evidence that I know her is a bit far-fetched, isn't it?"

Liuli shook her head gently again: "No, Xiaoying, that was just one of the pieces of evidence that led me to my final judgment."

She took a small step forward, closing the distance between herself and Jiying: "What truly led me to that conclusion was something else entirely. Would you like to hear about it?"

Jiying fell silent.

She could clearly sense that what Liuli was about to say was probably the real "concrete evidence" that she couldn't refute.

Although Liuli has only made the judgment that she and Xingshuang "know" each other, she is still far from discovering her even more astonishing true identity.

But to be honest, from the very beginning, she didn't want these two younger people to notice any potential connection between herself and the other identity.

Once such an association is formed, the difficulty of perfectly concealing her multiple identities in front of them will undoubtedly increase significantly. This is the fundamental reason why she felt somewhat flustered when she heard Yin Xue mention "Xing Shuang" before.

The reason she didn't ask "Who is Xingshuang?" was because she subconsciously wanted to avoid them associating Xingshuang with herself. Little did she know that her actions would arouse the attention of the perceptive Liuli.

Now it seems there is no way out.

She glanced at Liuli's clear eyes that were fixed on her, and finally nodded somewhat reluctantly.

Because she knew that refusing would be tantamount to admitting that she knew Xing Shuang and had a connection with her.

Seeing Jiying nod, a hint of relief flashed in Liuli's eyes. She took a deep breath and asked, "Xiaoying, before today, you, me, and Yinxue had never truly met, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ying nodded with slight confusion.

"That's right. So what? Does this also have nothing to do with whether I know Xing Shuang or not..."

She suddenly realized what she was saying and stopped abruptly, inwardly realizing something was wrong.

Liuli didn't give her any chance to interrupt or explain, and continued, "But you have such great, even 'unreasonable,' goodwill towards us."

"Not only did you save me before, but you also didn't fight back when we surrounded you, letting us capture you."

"All of this is enough to show that you not only do not want to hurt us, but you are also not afraid of being hurt by us at all. This level of trust is obviously not something we can establish after just meeting."

"Actually, until just now, I was very puzzled by your kindness, and this selfless kindness immediately reminded me of another person - Senior Xing Shuang."

"If we have to find a reasonable explanation for all of this, then Xiaoying, your acquaintance with Senior Xingshuang is perhaps the only possibility."

"That's still just your speculation. What if I were someone who generally harbors goodwill towards you magical girls?"

Ruri shook her head gently again: "That still can't explain why you know my magical girl codename."

"Code name?!"

The moment those two words left his mouth, Ji Ying's body stiffened abruptly, a fine bead of cold sweat involuntarily seeped from his forehead, and the last vestige of hope in his heart vanished completely.

"Whether it was when you communicated with me in that dark, earth-riding form before; or now, when you speak to me in this 'Little Shadow' form—."

"I have never told you my true code name as a magical girl."

"And you just said, 'Liuli, you can also call me Xiaoying,' right?"

Ji Ying's pupils suddenly contracted, and he instinctively turned his head to Yin Xue standing to the side, wanting to argue that it was the other party who said " The code name is "Liuli".

However, as if she had completely anticipated her thoughts, Liuli continued calmly, "When Yinxue is not in battle, he calls me by my full name, 'Liuli'."

"So, if you're thinking of using 'Yinxue told you' as an excuse—forget it."

Yin Xue, who had been silently listening attentively and trying to understand their conversation, nodded at the opportune moment and added in a low voice:

"Yes, I usually call her 'Xiao Li,' but today—in front of you, Xiao Ying, I haven't called her by her magical girl codename."

Yin Xue's words, "the final blow"—uttered without any ulterior motives and purely out of the truth—were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely shattering the last line of defense in Ji Ying's heart.

She gave up all her futile struggles, pitifully lowered her head, and her side ponytail seemed to lose its vitality and drooped down, not daring to utter another word.

She lost, utterly and completely, defeated by Liuli's terrifyingly sharp observation skills and flawless logical reasoning.

She could no longer deny the connection between her identity as Jiying and Xingshuang; otherwise, would she be expected to tell them right now that she was actually Xingshuang herself?!

Liuli's keen perception exceeded her expectations, and even made her feel a little scared.

Perhaps one day in the future, his more important identity as "Starfrost" will also be ruthlessly stripped away by this terrifyingly meticulous junior in the same way. However, just as Ji Ying was already prepared to face the more pointed questions that Liu Li might ask next, and even began to think rapidly in his mind about how to deal with them— Liuli suddenly sighed softly, her voice softening.

"Xiaoying, if you deny it, I will believe you—you really have nothing to do with Senior Xingshuang."

"Qin?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ying immediately raised his head in surprise, his dark red eyes filled with disbelief.

Looking at her adorable, speechless expression of shock, Liuli couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips slightly, forming a very faint yet incredibly gentle smile.

"After all, you saved my life. I don't think I have the right to demand that you acknowledge certain things—" Things you probably don't want us to know.

"So, if Xiaoying tells me now that you and Senior Xingshuang have no connection whatsoever, I will take that as the truth until you are willing to tell me the truth on your own initiative."

She looked at Jiying, her smile softening further, her voice becoming gentler, and began to express her deepest feelings:

"Actually, I've always been very sensitive to other people's emotions—whether they're good or bad. I can clearly feel that the goodwill you have for me is the kind of pure care and protection that comes without any impurities."

"However, precisely because of this, I don't want to take this kindness for granted, so I can't help but want to explore the specific reasons behind it."

Liuli looked at Jiying with utmost seriousness: "Whether you are paying special attention to me because of Senior Xingshuang's request or not, I will be very, very happy because of it."

Her voice lowered slightly, carrying a hint of self-deprecation, but was quickly replaced by a more positive emotion.

"Because this means that there's one more person willing to reach out to me, who's covered in thorns like a hedgehog."

Hearing Liuli's heartfelt explanation and genuine expression of emotion, Jiying was momentarily stunned before smiling from the bottom of her heart.

Yes, her inner self has never changed, whether as Lin Che, as Xing Shuang, or now as Ji Ying, who makes her feel incredibly ashamed.

The ultimate goal of all her actions was the same: to do everything in her power to protect those she cared about and to safeguard this precious happiness that she had regained.

And the person she has been protecting with all her might can truly feel her protection and care, and may even be willing to open their heart to her and try to accept and get closer to her. Isn't this the result she has always hoped to see?

She should be pleased and happy about this.

Now, the only thing she needs to do, and the only thing she wants to do, is to respond to the trust and expectations of this brave, kind, and lovely junior who has opened his heart.

As for his own precarious Ma Shen, who could be stripped of his power at any moment, and the countless troubles that might arise from it, those things will happen later.