THE three in the front – Luo Yan, Shen Ji Yun, and Eclipse – didn't notice the little movement of Su Yuqi and Luo Jin. The surprising thing was, even Bai Ze who was walking just beside the two didn't have much of a reaction. Well, it's kind of understandable. Since Bai Ze only had eyes on the girl with cat ears standing a few distance away.
Xia Li was wearing a simple white dress that reached an inch above her knees. The dress had cat paw prints on it which went well with her cat ears and tail. It made her looked even cuter.
Bai Ze rushed to Xia Li, stopping at just the right distance and giving the other a sunny smile. "You're also here."
Since Xia Li was looking at the NightCloud pair, she didn't notice Bai Ze walking up to her. So, when the other suddenly spoke, she was a bit startled. When she turned to Bai Ze, she was even more shocked.
Something shining seemed to appear right in front of her eyes. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was Bai Ze's muscular chest. The other's bronze colored chest was gleaming in front of her. Not only that, she could also see a portion of his abs. If that one button holding the suit jacket together became undone, she would probably even see the other's nipples.
Immediately, an idea of a fan-art starring a shirtless Bai Ze appeared in her mind.
Xia Li suddenly felt her cheeks burning. What the heck was she thinking just now? Just when did she become such a pervert? Although she loved to draw fan-arts, it's always PG-13, okay?
Besides, she was friends with this dude. Why was she suddenly fantasizing about him being shirtless and all that? Was she finally entering her 'thirsty' phase? No, her period was probably coming that's why her hormones were in haywire. Yes, that's definitely it.
"Y-yes–" Xia Li noticed that her voice was a bit shaky, so, she cleared her throat and repeated, "Yes. Haven't I already mentioned that I will go with my brother?"
Bai Ze, seeing the slight reddish tint on Xia Li's cheeks, felt very satisfied. The thing he wanted to accomplish by coming here had already been accomplished. But that didn't mean he would stop at that. It would be good if he could increase the other's awareness of him.
"Well, there's always a chance that you could change your mind," he said as a response. "That's why I'm happy that you actually came."
Xia Li felt a bit awkward and yes, just a tiny bit shy. She shook her head and forced herself not to think of anything weird. Repeatedly reminding herself that Bai Ze was her friend.
"What's there to be happy about? Even if I'm not here, I'm sure you'll be able to entertain yourself," she said in a teasing tone to lighten up the mood. Or at least what she's feeling anyway.
Bai Ze only gave a sunny smile. "Well, I'm not too sure about that."
Once again, Xia Li felt that weird shyness. But this time she managed to shake it off quite quickly. She just thought that this guy was just probably teasing her. Even though she had only known Bai Ze for a short time, she was already familiar with his playful nature.
"This is my young brother, by the way," she just said, pulling Xia Lei to her side. "His name is Xia Lei. Xia Lei, this is Bai Ze, team Yunyue's White Marsh."
Bai Ze was a bit disappointed that he no longer saw Xia Li blushing. Even so, he wasn't discouraged. The night was still long and many things could still happen. For now, he should just leave a good impression on Xia Li's brother.
So, he turned to the tall dragon beside Xia Li, smiling with all the friendliness in his body. "Nice to finally meet you, Xiao Lei. Just call me Brother Ze."
Xia Lei, who had been standing there on the side like some sort of furniture, looked back and forth between his sister who was obviously trying to hide the awkwardness she's feeling and then at the smiling Bai Ze who looked like he was ready to post the words 'I'm a good person' on his face.
Why did he suddenly think that there's something going on right now that he couldn't explain and see? But because he couldn't really understand, he could only say, "Yes, Brother Ze."
Poor Xia Lei. As a teenager who only cared about kendo and only recently, Arcadia, he didn't know much about romantic feelings. So, how could he know that this grinning lion in front of him was trying to encircle his sister?
"Brother Ze, how come you didn't tell us you know Dragnar?" said by a playful voice from behind.
Glancing back, Bai Ze saw his cousin and Shen Ji Yun, along with Eclipse, walking to their side.
"I know of him but I only got formally introduced to him today," Bai Ze said. "The one I'm friends with is actually his sister, Catnip."
He turned to Xia Lei, wanting to introduce her formally to Luo Yan and Shen Ji Yun. But he was stunned to see the other looking at the two with stars in her eyes. If she wasn't looking at both Luo Yan and Shen Ji Yun, Bai Ze might have misunderstood that she had a crush on one of the two.
But looking at her closely, he was staring at the two as if she had seen her favorite celebrities or something.
The moment Luo Yan heard the name 'Catnip', he immediately thought that it was familiar. Just where did she hear of it?
"Ah! You're that catgirl that Captain gave permission to draw fan-arts of him and Mashter!"
This sudden exclaimed of Eclipse made Luo Yan turn to Shen Ji Yun. Seeing the other with a thunderstruck expression on his face, a small smile appeared on Luo Yan's lips.
So, that's how it was.