Guang Yu was thrilled, of course, but she had overlooked one crucial detail.
No matter how impeccable the hospitality,
you had to actually be a guest to receive it!
Evidently,
no one was buying a drink for an invisible little fox.
Guang Yu was left utterly speechless.
She watched in stunned disbelief as Ye Zhibai and Lin Zihan each cradled a cup of their beverage, sitting contentedly on the bench outside Honey Rain Ice City.
This… this wasn’t right at all, was it?
What about her?
The instant Guang Yu grasped the full gravity of the situation, she puffed out her little cheeks like an inflating balloon!
She was frantic, utterly frantic!
Her fox screech exploded inside Ye Zhibai’s mind.
“Unfair! We’re invisible specifically to avoid scaring you humans—it’s a gesture of kindness from the deity herself—and yet we end up without even the right to a drink! We demand justice! We want a beverage!”
The voice echoed directly in her head. No matter how hard Ye Zhibai clamped her hands over her ears, she couldn’t block it out.
Could this fox stop tormenting poor Zhibai for a minute?
Ye Zhibai was just about ready to snap from all the nagging. She considered docking Guang Yu’s drink entirely or simply picking one up for her once they got home.
But… things were pretty idle right now. Maybe she could sort something out for Guang Yu immediately?
They had time because Lin Zihan was currently on the phone with her mama, explaining the situation.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m just popping home to hang the laundry. Right, the stuff I washed this morning—I forgot to dry it. Can’t leave it sitting in the washer forever. No, no need! I’ll be back super soon! Don’t worry!”
Ye Zhibai didn’t have a mom of her own, but she’d heard they could be quite the nags.
Judging by that, Lin Zihan probably wouldn’t wriggle free from the call anytime soon.
That being the case, Ye Zhibai didn’t mind tossing out a suggestion to help Guang Yu score her drink.
Anything to quiet the incessant buzzing in her skull—like a bell clanging away without end.
This wasn’t ringing a bell; it was straight-up assaulting her with one.
“Stop, Guang Yu. I get that you’re desperate, but hear me out.”
“Ack? Are you giving me your drink? Thank you, Ye Zhibai—we knew you were a good person!”
“No.”
“You’re not a good person!!”
Good people were a dime a dozen anyway!
It wasn’t like Ye Zhibai was dying for the drink herself.
The problem was, Lin Zihan had just bought it for her. If it vanished in the blink of an eye, wouldn’t that look suspicious?
She could hardly claim she’d chugged the whole thing!
No drink for you.
But she could offer a strategy.
“Guang Yu, aren’t deities supposed to be all-powerful? You said you can turn invisible or visible at will, right? Here—take my phone and buy it yourself.”
“Easy for you to say! We have a tail and fox ears. We’d freak people out!”
“So… can’t you just hide the tail and ears? If you can vanish your whole body…”
“……”
“……”
Ye Zhibai’s first instinct was that her divine power wasn’t up to the task.
But then she saw Guang Yu whistling a completely tuneless whistle, awkwardly clasping her hands behind her back, averting her gaze, and reaching out for the phone all at once.
Suddenly, it clicked for Ye Zhibai.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t.
She was just a genuine stupid fox!
You really hadn’t thought of that?
!
We didn’t forget!
It’s just… deities have so many things to ponder. No mental bandwidth left for trivial little details!
We still have to calculate how many days’ worth of osmanthus cake we have left at home… That’s a major concern—naturally, it hogs a huge chunk of our brainpower!
Ye Zhibai handed over the phone, eager to see how this stupid loli would handle things.
Now that inspiration had struck, Guang Yu finally got clever.
She glanced around and zeroed in on the enormous Rain King mascot statue at the entrance to Honey Rain Ice City—carved in the shape of a giant holding up an ice cream cone!
Guang Yu scampered over in three quick steps.
Thanks to her tiny build, she squeezed into the narrow gap between the statue and the wall.
Any normal girl trying to wedge into that space would end up with her chest flattened!
Guang Yu, though? She was flat as a board to begin with.
—Piece of cake!
She hid back there mainly to avoid startling anyone during the shift from invisible to visible.
A deity’s proper etiquette, after all.
Ye Zhibai kept watch from the corner of her eye.
And then… her own eyes brightened!
When Guang Yu stepped out from behind the statue, her ears and tail were indeed concealed. She looked just like any ordinary human!
Well… not entirely.
Even if Ye Zhibai hated to admit it.
If she set aside her prejudice against Guang Yu’s personality—and the overwhelming urge to give her a good smack—Guang Yu was the picture-perfect, cuteness-overload loli.
Her long, wavy brown hair. Eyes like endless starry skies in deep blue. A soft, dewy face so tender you could poke it and watch it bounce back.
Those snow-white thigh-high socks gleamed brighter than the massive ice cream cone in the statue’s grip—like they were the real treat.
A loli who could go toe-to-toe with any beauty? That was Guang Yu!
In Ye Zhibai’s view, she was still the same old Guang Yu.
Only now, un-invisible, she could saunter right in and order her drink!
Guang Yu joined the queue politely, bouncing on her toes and craning her neck excitedly to glimpse the menu—like an elementary schooler on her very first field trip.
The double-shoulder backpack slung on her back only completed the picture.
But what Ye Zhibai really wanted to say was…
Uh, Guang Yu—look up.
There’s a big screen right overhead with the full menu.
Why did no one ever bother surveying their surroundings!
From behind the counter, the female cashier pointed at the QR code standee on the table, calling out to the customers.
“Everyone, you can scan to order! No need to queue!”
Scan…?
Guang Yu froze.
Beats her!
We’ll stick to the line!
A deity refusing to adapt to new tech was pretty lame.
Fortunately, thanks to the cashier’s heads-up, the queue ahead of Guang Yu thinned out by half.
Right about then,
Lin Zihan finally ended her status report to her mama.
She pocketed her phone with a weary sigh and flashed Ye Zhibai a rueful smile. “Sorry about that, Little Bai’er… Flower Shop’s swamped, so we ended up chatting a bit longer. Hm…? Little Bai’er, what’re you looking at?”
“Nothing. Just glancing around.”
Truly, just a casual glance.
She could hardly admit she was spectating the stupid fox’s epic ordering adventure.
Ye Zhibai had only just averted her gaze
when the cashier’s voice rang out from behind—a tone of utter shock, like she’d seen a ghost.
“Little… little sister? Did you say… wasabi in the drink? But we don’t carry that ingredient? And you’re positive… it’s wasabi?”
Guang Yu!!
Are you out of your mind?!
Don’t hassle the poor staff!
Forget being a deity—you’re barely human!
Ye Zhibai whipped her head around once more.
Lin Zihan was still blinking in confusion, so Ye Zhibai roped her in. “Something’s going down. Take a look.”
“Something? Oh… you mean that adorable little girl? Yeah, kids nowadays are so independent. Elementary schoolers handling phone orders for drinks—impressive stuff.”
Good thing Guang Yu was out of earshot.
Otherwise, she’d throw a fit.
Ye Zhibai figured she’d have to step in if the situation spiraled, to keep Guang Yu from further disrupting the shop.
But… Guang Yu was weirdly competent today.
She seemed to grasp the hardships of mortal life, including the cashier’s predicament with the wasabi.
For all her loli innocence, she let out an exaggerated sigh like a world-weary mini-adult.
“Sigh… no wasabi, huh? Fine then—add some coconut chunks instead.”
“O… okay? Alright, little sister. Scan to pay first, and I’ll give you your order number.”
“？!”
Another code?!
Does your shop breed horses or what?!
This isn’t a prairie!
Guang Yu scowled and thrust out her phone.
She recalled how Ye Zhibai had simply handed her phone over to pay.
The cashier’s scanning hand trembled.
This loli—who looked surprisingly mature—had offered up a locked screen!
What was this? Pawning her phone for a soda?!
Guang Yu had no clue why she wasn’t scanning.
“Go on, scan it. How long till the drink’s ready?”
“Er… little sister?”
“Not little sister. We’re not that young.”
“Well… not-so-little sister, I can’t scan if the phone’s locked.”
“Ohhh, right!”
The quick-witted Guang Yu unlocked it to the home screen.
Buoyed by confidence!
“Scan away.”
“……”
Ye Zhibai couldn’t bear to watch any longer!
Proceeding step by excruciating step, learning from absolute scratch—slower than grandma fumbling with her flip phone!
Ye Zhibai had a premonition: even if the payment app opened, Guang Yu wouldn’t know the password.
She couldn’t stand by anymore.
Otherwise, Guang Yu’s dimwit antics would be the death of her!
“Little Bai’er? What’re you—”
“I think I need to help that little girl out. She can’t pay—poor thing. I’ll cover it for her.”
“Little Bai’er… you’re just…”
Lin Zihan had figured a quick meetup with Little Bai’er would soothe her soul.
She hadn’t expected the healing to hit so fast!
Angelic deeds—in full swing!
Little did anyone know, Ye Zhibai simply couldn’t stand for Guang Yu’s outrageous behavior.
By the time Ye Zhibai walked over to the counter, the female clerk inside was utterly dumbfounded.
