Chapter 34: Merely Xia An
Lu Zheng and Yi Ning both looked toward the flashing signal light beside the television.
The TV turned on automatically, revealing a young girl sitting in a chair filing her nails, and a man sitting on the table.
It was Xia An and Ji Ping.
Damn it!
Yi Ning’s lips twitched slightly.
She reached out, shoved Lu Zheng toward the wall, then braced one hand against it and used her body to pin him into the corner near the window.
“You stay right here in this corner and don’t move. And don’t make a sound!”
Yi Ning pointed at Lu Zheng’s nose and whispered threateningly in his ear.
Lu Zheng instinctively curled his lips.
With the window open, Yi Ning’s soft hair brushed his ear in the breeze. Her breath also lightly tickled his face, making him feel itchy.
On top of that, the fragrance—whether from body wash or shampoo—kept wafting into his nose.
Recalling the scenery he saw when entering, Lu Zheng somehow felt the mood was getting a bit suggestive.
He nodded, raised both hands, and leaned his head back as far as possible.
Seeing Lu Zheng behave, Yi Ning nodded with satisfaction and stepped back a little.
“How odd. Where’s Yi Ning?”
“Who knows? Maybe still tangled up with her archenemy. Speaking of which, this is the first time she’s been late after work. Is that so-called archenemy of hers really that great? She’s still with him even now. Do you think they might be—”
“When did you get so gossipy?”
“I do intelligence work—gossip is part of the job.”
Unable to reach Yi Ning, the two on the screen simply started chatting with each other.
Hearing his name come up from the TV, Lu Zheng peeked his head out in that direction, only for Yi Ning to instantly press him back again.
“Behave! Don’t move, don’t speak! Best if you stop breathing too!”
“Holding my breath might be asking too much,” Lu Zheng muttered, keeping his voice low.
“Just don’t let them notice you, or I’ll march into the Hero Association with a bomb and blow up with you!”
Worried they’d grow suspicious if she didn’t appear soon, Yi Ning had no choice but to threaten him while quietly heading over to the TV.
As she walked, she kept signaling for Lu Zheng to stay still.
Just as the two on screen were about to discuss how many kids Yi Ning would have, she finally sat down in front of the TV.
“Yo!”
Xia An waved at Yi Ning, then resumed polishing her nails.
“Why are you so late today?”
Ji Ping, at least, retained some camaraderie and showed concern.
“After being so punctual for so long, can’t I slack off a little?”
Naturally, Yi Ning wasn’t about to tell the truth.
Unfortunately, her excuse didn’t hold up and was easily called out by the two.
“That might work for being late to work, but being late getting off? That’s definitely suspicious.”
Xia An gave her a look of disdain.
Did she really think they were fools to accept such a half-baked excuse?
Yi Ning simply ignored the question and smoothly changed the subject.
“Speaking of which, I thought you’d be crying in front of the camera, begging me to change you back. Didn’t expect you to stay so composed. Trying to get my attention with this act?”
She deliberately lowered her voice and pointed at Xia An with a dramatic flourish.
“Well, you’ve succeeded. Woman, you’ve caught my eye.”
While just a diversion tactic, Yi Ning was indeed curious about how Xia An had been doing.
The girl wasn’t just wearing a cute dress—she had on light makeup, and her hair had clearly been done at a professional salon.
The tactic worked; Xia An’s attention was successfully diverted.
Xia An raised her head arrogantly and looked at Yi Ning.
“So I turned into a woman—did you think that would ruin things with my lovely girlfriends?”
She set down her nail file, extended her groomed hand, inspected it, and blew off a bit of dust.
“Just missing a few ounces of meat—I have plenty of ways to satisfy my girlfriends.”
Xia An flipped some hair near her ear, cupped her newly acquired assets with both hands, leaned forward, and revealed a deep cleavage.
“And a girl’s body is super convenient. If you’re willing to show a little skin, the perks just keep rolling in.”
She deliberately glanced at Ji Ping sitting on the table and lounged comfortably in his chair.
Yi Ning stared at her in disbelief.
To think she had once prided herself on being adaptable—and here she was still hung up over what kind of underwear to wear, while Xia An had already begun enjoying the benefits of being a girl.
Merely Xia An, and yet so bold!
A subtle wave of annoyance welled up from within Yi Ning.
Her gaze grew more dangerous, and she instinctively reached for her pocket.
But it was empty.
Only then did she remember—she hadn’t carried out any evil plans today, so she didn’t bring anything to deal with Xia An.
Her gaze turned even more lethal.
In her mental notebook, she made a firm mark next to Xia An’s name.
Thankfully, Xia An’s danger perception remained as dull as ever, allowing her to keep spouting suicidal lines.
“But you, Yi Ning—it’s rare enough to turn into a girl, so why are you dressed so plainly?”
She glanced over Yi Ning’s outfit and squinted, oozing judgment.
“A plain white T-shirt and solid-colored lounge pants—what a waste of that body.”
Propping her chin with one hand, Xia An gave her a thorough once-over.
“If you ask me, your current look would suit something more girly. Like a blouse with a Peter Pan collar, or a mini-skirt.”
Seemingly inspired, she balled her right fist and smacked it into her left palm.
“Actually, you should just wear a JK uniform! With your current looks, if you dressed up properly, you’d have that so-called archenemy of yours wrapped around your finger in no time!”
As Xia An prattled on, pointing and fantasizing, Yi Ning could only sigh inwardly.
She already felt embarrassed just wearing slightly androgynous clothes—how could she possibly wear something like a JK uniform? Her head might literally explode from shame the moment she put it on.
It’d be perfect for a suicide mission to the Hero Association.
Besides...
“What do you mean, ‘have that so-called archenemy wrapped around your finger’? Don’t lump me in with people like you—I won’t stand for that insult.”
Yi Ning leaned back slightly, eyeing Xia An with disgust.
She was a proud solitary warrior, a devoted member of the FFF brigade.
And after living over twenty years as a man, even if she ever did fall in love, she’d lean toward dating a girl.
Though, she didn’t think that was very realistic.
Meanwhile, over in the window corner, Lu Zheng had somehow poked his head out.
He thought someone had just mentioned him?