Lolita

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Chen Miemie soon found himself face-to-face with the green-haired little loli, Chenpi, once again.

The family at No. 1 Fairytale Road had already negotiated and moved out. The original shop sign had been taken down and replaced with a new one:

Fairytale Road Housing Acquisition Management Office

The door was wide open, with a simple desk inside and a few chairs scattered around.

The green-haired loli sat behind the desk, exuding authority, her feet dangling and swinging back and forth because they couldn’t reach the ground—her legs were too short.

Flanking her left and right sat two burly men in black suits.

Chen Miemie stormed up to the desk and slammed his hand on it:

“You little— Chenpi! How dare you tear down my house!”

Chenpi furrowed her brow and glared at Chen Miemie. “Which household are you from? Do we know each other?”

Only then did Chen Miemie remember that the one who had dealt with Chenpi before was Huangyi, not him.

He decided to bluff, fabricating out of thin air: “You don’t even remember me? Hah! Looks like I made the right choice not joining your research group.”

Chenpi, taken in by the ruse, immediately started to pitch her project: “Don’t say that! Think it over again. My project has a huge future. After all, who in this world doesn’t want to live forever?”

“Huh?” Chen Miemie’s heart skipped a beat.

Chenpi’s secret project was actually about immortality!

No matter what world you lived in, immortality was a golden goose for those in power. Such top-secret information, and Chenpi was just shouting it out here on the street?

Chen Miemie glanced at the two men in black behind her.

Hearing the words “live forever,” their faces showed not a flicker of emotion. No reaction at all.

“If your research project is so advanced, why are you out here playing demolition man?”

“Hmph! Those scholars from the Academy said no one wanted to join my project team, and they cut my funding.

I had nothing better to do, and since Cicada is sick, I stepped up and took on this responsibility, contributing to the city’s development.”

That’s what Chenpi said, but in his heart, he was thinking:

Heh heh, coming to the demolition project to skim a little profit while claiming I’m making a contribution—killing two birds with one stone. Then I’ll go back to those guys and demand my researchers. Let’s see who dares to make excuses then!

“Can we make a deal? Don’t tear down this street, or postpone it for three months, and I’ll agree to join your research group.”

“Really?” Chenpi’s face lit up with joy.

“Really.”

“Just a delay? No problem at all. It’s a deal! By the way, what level scholar are you? What’s your main field?”

“I’m not a scholar. I can’t do research.”

The smile on Chenpi’s face instantly vanished. “Are you messing with me? No one in the whole Sealed Library dares to play me for a fool.”

“I’m not messing with you. I can handle logistics. You’ve got to eat, right? I can make you some delicious roast chicken.”

“Get out, get out! I only want the top-level researchers. No skills, no entry into my group. Dream on~”

And just like that, the negotiation fell apart.

With too many eyes and ears around, Chen Miemie decided to leave for now and come back under cover of darkness to take other measures.

“Hold on. Don’t go yet,” Chenpi called out.

“What?”

“Since you’re here, let me register you. Which house are you from?”

“19 Fairytale Road.”

“Kid, you’re asking for it!” One of the men in black behind him roared. “You’ve already been disrespectful to Lord Chenpi, and he let it slide. And now you dare give a fake address? There’s no No. 19 on this street!”

Frustrated by the lack of common ground, Chen Miemie couldn’t be bothered to argue and got up to leave.

He had taken only two steps.

From behind him came an extremely low, mature feminine voice: “That shop has started doing business again?”

Chen Miemie turned around.

Chenpi was bowed, her bangs covering her eyes, her face in shadow, making it impossible to read her expression.

“It will be open for three months. During that time, I hope there will be no interference.”

“I understand. It shall be as you wish.” The voice was still that of a mature, commanding woman.

Chen Miemie found it remarkable—this loli actually had two different voices.

After Chen Miemie left, Chenpi remained motionless for a long time, even her previously swinging feet frozen still.

She said nothing, and the two men in black behind her stood like statues.

No one knew how much time passed.

Finally, Chenpi spoke: “Issue the order. Cancel the demolition arrangements here.”

The man in black who had shouted earlier hesitated:

“My Lord, the great scholar Cicada was thwarted before because he tried to stop the project and had to take a leave of absence to avoid trouble. There are too many interest groups backing this area.”

Chenpi tilted her head slightly and glanced at the man in black.

At that moment, there was not a trace of childishness on her loli face.

“I am not Cicada. Tell them: whoever opposes me, I will kill.”

The moment Chenpi’s cold, emotionless gaze swept over him, the man in black broke out in a cold sweat.

“My—my Lord, I will deliver the message immediately.”

The other man in black also felt a chill down his spine.

They both knew that this Lord Chenpi was a true “big shot” of the Sealed Library. Anyone she decided to kill would die, even if they fled into the Academy.

Chen Miemie grabbed something to eat and returned to the shop.

The Forbidden Fruit Bestiary was still reading in the study.

Chen Miemie was already strong enough now and generally didn’t bother the book that loved to read.

It seemed especially fond of the bookshelf in the study and the spot it had chosen for itself.

Pure Water floated out from Chen Miemie’s body. “That little girl just now was no ordinary person.”

“Why? Is she that strong?”

“From what I can sense, she herself isn’t strong, but those two men in black behind her are even stronger than Knot. For such experts to serve as her personal bodyguards…”

“And she seemed to know about our shop.”

Pure Water was cautious. “I noticed that too. She gave me a very strange feeling. If you want to knock her out, you’d better wait until the Eternal Moon, or I fear something might go wrong.”

“Alright. Let’s hold off for now.” Chen Miemie knew to take good advice.

The rest of the afternoon, Chen Miemie spent with a group of oddballs studying the recipe for “Smoked Chili Spare Ribs.”

For once, Bobo took center stage, acting as the head chef.

Loop acted as the chopping assistant, cutting the ribs into even pieces.

Soon, both the plum-flavored ribs and the lychee-flavored ribs were ready.

Taste-tester Chen Miemie took a bite and frowned slightly.

It wasn’t that it was bad—the flavour was actually decent— but it was completely different from the braised spare ribs he remembered.

If it couldn’t even pass his test, there was no way it would move Yi Zhu.

“The sweetness is too weak,” He put down his chopsticks.

“But the recipe doesn’t mention any sugar. We’ve already brought out as much of the lychee’s natural sweetness as possible.”

“No. There’s an ingredient missing. We have to figure out what it is, or all this trial and error is pointless.”

Loop wasn’t optimistic about this line of investigation:

“This recipe was left behind by the bedridden woman. She was probably Yi Zhu’s biological mother, but she’s already passed away. Where can we go to complete the recipe?”

In an instant, it seemed they had hit a dead end.

Before they knew it, night had fallen.

“Hmm? Another Eternal Moon tonight. I hope a guest will show up so I can test my theory from last time,” Huangyi said, coming online.

At 19:00, business hours began.

Loop smiled slightly as he saw her arrive and said, "Welcome back, Ms. Du Juan. This way, please."

Loop led Dujuan to the reception area, where she took a seat and tea was served.

Dujun looked at the figure completely concealed by the yellow hood and asked a question:

"It's been nearly two years since we last parted. Has the shop changed owners?"