Ha, Karma! – Chapter 52

It seems a demon came by quietly.

After Fu Lianxue finished work in the evening, she had dinner with her team before heading home to cuddle her cat and take a bath.

When she came out after bathing, she comfortably sprawled on the sofa.

Baobao hopped onto the sofa after her, stepping on her belly and flopping down, demanding pets.

The soft, furry little cat nestled down, acting spoiled. Fu Lianxue’s heart melted instantly, and she raised a hand to stroke its little head. “Baobao missed Mommy, huh?”

The cat purred contentedly under her palm.

Fu Lianxue shifted her position a little, leaning against the sofa as she petted the cat with one hand while scrolling through her phone with the other.

Once again, she saw the message Chu Zhaoqui had sent her:

[Don’t say things like that to the child.]

Chu Zhaoqui had sent that message in the morning after taking Ye Linlin home. The meaning behind it was pretty obvious.

She’d replied with a playful tongue-out emoji at the time.

Calling someone else a child — Chu Zhaoqui herself was only twenty-three this year; she was still a kid too!

Besides, Fu Lianxue would say whatever she wanted. Who was Chu Zhaoqui to tell her what to do?

As she thought about it, her mind gradually drifted to that kid, Ye Linlin.

Ye Linlin, the young lady of a demon-hunting family, with quite a sense of justice.

The second time they met, she was already shouting about exorcising Fu Lianxue, trying to take her down, all while saying she needed to protect Zhaoqui-jie.

And when Chu Zhaoqui arrived, Ye Linlin had immediately run to her side, clinging tightly to her arm and refusing to let go. That look on her face was just…

Fu Lianxue narrowed her eyes in thought, then slowly opened them, a realization dawning on her.

Could it be that Ye Linlin liked Chu Zhaoqui?

The next day at noon, Ye Linlin came downstairs for lunch.

After eating, she planned to go out with Chu Sining — just to have fun this time, not to cause trouble for Fu Lianxue.

Chu Zhaoqui was there too.

Fu Lianxue had work again today, and she didn’t need to bring lunch for Chu Zhaoqui, so she ate at home. Afterward, she’d head over to take care of the flowers and check on Baobao.

Since Mommy was off to work, Baobao would be all alone at home with nothing to do. It’d be nice to keep the little one company for a bit.

Ye Linlin bounced over and plopped herself down across from Chu Zhaoqui.

Yesterday, Chu Zhaoqui had patiently explained everything to her, repeatedly insisting that Fu Lianxue was only joking and telling her not to take it seriously.

Between Fu Lianxue and Chu Zhaoqui, of course, she chose to believe the latter. Her mood instantly brightened, and now she was back to being Chu Zhaoqui’s sweet little sister again.

Her Zhaoqui-jie, so gentle and elegant, would never do anything so outrageous.

It was all that rotten demon Fu Lianxue spouting nonsense — Fu Lianxue was the worst!

Ye Linlin picked up her chopsticks and stole a glance at Chu Zhaoqui across the table.

Chu Zhaoqui’s expression remained calm. She ate quietly, with graceful manners, showing no intention of speaking the entire time.

Ye Linlin’s eyes darted around before she took the initiative to say, “Zhaoqui-jie, are you heading out after lunch?”

Chu Zhaoqui lifted her gaze slightly.

“Mm.”

The response was calm.

“Oh…”

Ye Linlin fell silent.

As she lowered her gaze, a hint of gloom flickered in her eyes.

She knew exactly what Chu Zhaoqui was going to do.

Chu Zhaoqui had given Fu Lianxue a Blue Star Flower and was heading over to take care of it for her.

Chu Zhaoqui clearly still liked Fu Lianxue — liked her a lot.

Ye Linlin poked at the rice in her bowl, feeling downcast.

But what about Fu Lianxue?

Did Fu Lianxue like Zhaoqui-jie?

Yet just yesterday, Fu Lianxue had badmouthed Chu Zhaoqui right in front of her, even spreading rumors about her. That couldn’t possibly mean she liked her… right?

Ye Linlin froze for a moment.

So… they weren’t mutually in love?

If they weren’t mutually in love, then didn’t that mean other people still had a chance?!

As this thought crossed her mind, Ye Linlin’s eyes instantly lit up. Her mood shifted from cloudy to sunny, and she brightened up once more.

Chu Sining, sitting nearby, found the whole thing utterly baffling.

Why was she sulking one moment and beaming the next? So weird.

At nine in the evening, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.

A beautiful demon lightly landed on the window of the demon hunter’s room, peeking inside.

No one was there.

Even the phone was gone, as if the owner wasn’t home.

Climbing through windows without sending a message first could occasionally lead to awkward situations like this.

Fu Lianxue hopped down from the window and plopped herself right onto a chair, acting as if she were in her own home.

She pulled out her phone, ready to call Chu Zhaoqui and ask where she was. Her finger hovered over the screen but hesitated to press down.

After a moment, she put her phone away without making the call.

She had only dropped by on a whim. There was no real reason to seek out Chu Zhaoqui — if she wasn’t home, then so be it.

Since no one was here, there wasn’t much point in staying.

But leaving just like that without leaving something behind felt equally pointless.

As she pondered, she stood up and walked over to Chu Zhaoqui’s desk. Pulling out a pen, she tore off a sticky note and scribbled on the paper with carefree strokes.

At the end, she signed it with her signature — an artistic flourish unique to Fu Lianxue.

Once finished, she capped the pen and put it back in its place, then picked up the sticky note, admiring her handiwork with satisfaction.

Just then, she noticed someone standing at the door.

— Ye Linlin.

“You’re sneaking into Zhaoqui-jie’s room again.” Ye Linlin glanced at the paper in Fu Lianxue’s hand. “And you’re touching her stuff without permission. Don’t you know that’s really rude?!”

Fu Lianxue, upon seeing her, no longer hurried to leave. Instead, she leisurely perched herself on the desk, speaking with deliberate slowness:

“Not only do I touch Zhaoqui-jie’s things whenever I please, I even sit on her desk.”

With that, she crossed her arms and shot Ye Linlin a provocative glance.

“You!”

“Where’s Chu Zhaoqui?” Fu Lianxue suddenly asked.

Ye Linlin puffed up with righteous defiance. “Why should I tell you?”

Fu Lianxue didn’t seem to care. “Alright, I wasn’t that interested anyway.”

Ye Linlin: “?”

She’s already said everything herself — what a sly demon!

“Fu Lianxue, I’m warning you! I won’t let you lay a single finger on Zhaoqui-jie!” She declared with unwavering determination. “I’ll protect her no matter what!”

Fu Lianxue let out a soft laugh. “You?”

She raised her hand and gestured casually. “Didn’t your dear Zhaoqui-jie flick you awake yesterday?”

Ye Linlin instinctively covered her forehead, taking a small step back, only to realize how embarrassing that looked. She quickly straightened up, puffing out her chest. “I’m not afraid of you! My parents are powerful demon hunters too!”

Fu Lianxue scoffed, turning her head away in utter indifference.

If Fu Lianxue ever uttered the word “fear,” it would disgrace the thousands of years she had spent cultivating!

“Little one, didn’t your Zhaoqui-jie ever tell you not to provoke me?”

“Judging by this… I guess she did. You’re just a bad listener.”

“W-Why do you care?! Good and evil have never coexisted!”

Fu Lianxue let out another soft laugh, her gaze like that of an adult humoring a kindergartener. She even nodded along, playing along with the act:

“That’s right — good and evil have never coexisted.”

Ye Linlin: “?”

Being agreed with so suddenly felt a bit strange.

The room fell into silence.

After a moment, Ye Linlin took the initiative to break the quiet.

“Hey, stinky demon, do you like Zhaoqui-jie?”

Fu Lianxue was caught off guard by the unexpected question. She turned to look at Ye Linlin, her gaze playful.

Under her stare, Ye Linlin suddenly felt uneasy — like a prey locked in the eyes of a serpent.

She quickly steadied herself, finding confidence in her heart.

— What’s there to be afraid of? This is the Chu household, the domain of demon hunters. What could Fu Lianxue possibly do to me?

With that thought, she straightened up and boldly met Fu Lianxue’s gaze, finally voicing the question weighing on her mind:

“You and Zhaoqui-jie… are you two truly in love with each other?”

She longed for an answer that matched her hopes, but Fu Lianxue didn’t give her what she wanted.

Instead of answering, Fu Lianxue raised an eyebrow and asked in return:

“Say, little one… you don’t happen to like Zhaoqui, do you?”

If she didn’t like her, why was she so determined to protect Chu Zhaoqui?

And if she didn’t like her, why would she care whether they were in love or not?

The thoughts of the little one before her… weren’t that hard to guess.

Ye Linlin’s heart suddenly tightened, her face revealing traces of panic at having her secret exposed.

She did like Chu Zhaoqui.

Secretly, uncontrollably, she liked this elder sister from the Chu family.

Zhaoqui-jie was outstanding and beautiful, like the moon amidst a crowd. Who wouldn’t like her?

Every time she came home for the holidays, the person she looked forward to seeing most was her Chu family sister — and at the same time, she was a little afraid to see her.

She feared her feelings would be exposed, feared that Chu Zhaoqui wouldn’t accept same-sex love, feared they wouldn’t even be able to stay friends.

So she never dared to confess. She only followed silently behind Chu Zhaoqui, watching her back.

But now, everything was spiraling out of her expectations.

Chu Zhaoqui didn’t reject same-sex relationships at all. Not only that — she’d fallen for a female demon!

And what she never expected was that the first one to see through her feelings… was also this female demon!

— Why the hell did the heavens arrange things this way?!

Ye Linlin cursed silently, stumbled over her words a couple of times, then tried to puff herself up again:

“I asked you first!”

“So what?” Fu Lianxue smiled nonchalantly. “I’m a big bad villain. Why would a big bad villain follow your rules and order?”

Ye Linlin: “……”

No way to argue with that.

Seeing her fall silent, Fu Lianxue added with glee, “What a shame, though. Zhaoqui-jie already belongs to someone else~”

The smug look on Fu Lianxue’s face made Ye Linlin’s blood boil.

“But you don’t even like her!” Ye Linlin said. “As long as you two aren’t together, other people will always have a chance!”

Fu Lianxue raised an interested eyebrow. “Really?”

Ye Linlin was certain. “Of course it’s true!”

Who would be willing to let their feelings hang in the air, unnoticed, forever?

Besides, with Fu Lianxue’s nasty personality — always slandering others — she wasn’t worth liking at all.

Chu Zhaoqui was rational and intelligent. Ye Linlin believed that one day, Chu Zhaoqui would come to her senses, free herself from this sea of bitterness, and grow old with the person who truly loved her!

“Then give it a try.”

She suddenly heard Fu Lianxue say this.

Fu Lianxue leaned back lazily. “Since you think Chu Zhaoqui is someone who can be easily swayed by another’s affection, go ahead and give it a try.”

“Some walls, you’ll never turn back from unless you crash into them yourself. You won’t know pain until you hit them head-on.”

She looked at Ye Linlin with a face full of encouragement. “Good luck, little one~”

Ye Linlin looked completely stunned. She hadn’t expected Fu Lianxue to be so confident — or rather, so utterly unconcerned.

Her eyes were filled with confusion. She couldn’t see through this demon at all.

“But that’s Zhaoqui-jie! She’s such a wonderful person. How can you act like you don’t care at all?”

“Care?” Fu Lianxue scoffed, as if she’d just heard the funniest joke. “I don’t even like her. Why would I care?”

“Honestly, you must be bored out of your mind to worry about this kind of stuff.”

She hopped off the desk, slapped the note in her hand onto the bookshelf, and turned to leave without a care in the world.

Ye Linlin watched Fu Lianxue leave. Unable to resist her curiosity, she stepped forward to take a look at the sticky note…

On her way back, Fu Lianxue recalled Ye Linlin’s determined expression and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

She’d like to see if Ye Linlin could really make Chu Zhaoqui, that emotional blockhead in full bloom, fall for someone else.

22:03. Chu Zhaoqui had just arrived home.

Before she entered her room, Ye Linlin specially ran over to tell her there was something unpleasant on the bookshelf and not to take it to heart.

Puzzled, Chu Zhaoqui walked straight to the bookshelf, curiosity welling inside her.

As she got closer, she noticed a sticky note stuck to it.

The style and color of the note were identical to the ones on her desk.

Even the handwriting was all too familiar.

There was a signature, a simple doodle of a little pig, and three words:

“You are a pig.”

Chu Zhaoqui stared at those three words. She didn’t know what came to mind, but the corners of her lips gently lifted.

Smiling, she plucked the sticky note off and turned to gaze at the window, where the night breeze drifted softly through.

It seemed a certain little demon had quietly paid a visit.

---

---