For a moment, the air fell into a strange silence. There were too many people around, so Zhezhi didn't dare speak. Being stared at by three pairs of eyes, Zane didn't dare speak either.
In the end, it was Rover's cool voice, carrying a faint trace of aloofness, that finally hit the play button on this movie scene.
"You're standing awfully close... you two seem pretty familiar with each other."
"N-No... it's not like that... I..."
The moment a stranger approached, panic rose in Zhezhi's heart. Instinctively, she took two small steps toward Zane, stammering so badly she couldn't even finish a full sentence.
A hint of surprise flashed through Rover's golden eyes before she turned toward Zane with a questioning look.
After seeing him nod, Rover let out a helpless sigh. The frost on her face melted away as she gave Zhezhi a friendly smile.
"Hello, I'm Rover."
As she spoke, she didn't forget to shoot Zane a vicious glare, as if saying, 'Just wait until we get home.'
Not far away, Jue immediately wiped cold sweat from her forehead. "I thought the Magistrate was about to explode."
"Haha." The Doctor chuckled and rubbed Jue's head. Out of everyone she had met so far, Jue was the only dragon she'd ever head-patted.
"You still haven't figured it out? The two of them are just flirting. You think Rover could really bear to hit Zane? Even if she did, she'd probably be fussing over him and applying medicine right after."
Hearing the Doctor's explanation didn't reassure Jue at all. Instead, she shivered.
"Isn't that even scarier?"
Naturally, Rover had no idea that the girl and dragon behind her were gossiping about her. At that moment, she was carefully studying the suddenly appeared young woman before her.
If she had to compare this bespectacled girl to some kind of food, Rover felt she'd probably be a snow skin mochi.
"H-Hello... my name is Zhezhi..."
The girl's soft, sticky-sweet voice drifted into Rover's ears, and half her heart instantly melted.
At that moment, she suddenly understood why Zane knew her. If it were her, she'd also find this sort of soft, squishy girl unbearably cute, the kind that made people want to take a bite... ahem, what she meant was, it naturally stirred up a protective instinct.
"Zhezhi" was originally a painting technique from Huanglong. It referred to painting only flower branches without the trunk, capturing only form rather than the entire plant.
On either side of Zhezhi's body hung a paintbrush and a paperweight. As her sleeves and skirt fluttered gently in the evening breeze, the landscape paintings embroidered across them added an elegant scholarly charm to the shy girl.
Of course, as a fellow woman, Rover naturally paid absolutely no attention whatsoever to that pair of long, fair, creamy-soft ice cream cones...
"Rover, wipe your drool."
Hearing Zane's reminder, Rover subconsciously raised a hand and wiped at the corner of her mouth.
"?"
There was no moisture there at all. Only then did she realize she'd been tricked, and she immediately glared fiercely at Zane.
"Oh, so now you dare trick me!?"
"Hehe, whose fault is it for getting completely mesmerized staring at little sister Zhezhi?"
Rover had no intention of indulging him. She immediately flicked a hard knuckle against his forehead.
After all that fooling around, Zhezhi's nervousness eased a little as well. She realized the beautiful black-haired girl in front of her wasn't a bad person.
With that thought, Zhezhi walked over to Rover and lightly placed her right hand against her chest, as if trying to encourage herself.
"I-I'm very happy to meet you...?"
Standing behind her, Zane couldn't help covering his forehead with a sigh. He then patted her smooth shoulder.
"This isn't the kind of moment where you use a questioning tone. Seriously, can't you be a little more confident?"
"Ah!" Zhezhi's pretty pink-blue eyes trembled. "Chest out, head up, chest out, head up... whew..."
Watching the girl quietly muttering encouragement to herself, Rover tilted her head in confusion. The ribbon butterfly on top of her head bounced along with the movement.
"What are you doing here?"
"Me?" Zhezhi glanced back at Zane behind her. Seeing the encouraging smile on his face, she gathered her courage.
"I was looking for inspiration for my next painting. I kept walking without paying attention and somehow ended up in Taoyuan Township."
Hearing that, Rover's eyes lit up.
"You're a painter?"
"Ah? A painter... n-no, not really, I just draw a little..." Zhezhi hurriedly waved her hands, then helplessly looked toward Zane for support.
Aside from customers buying her paintings, this was the first time she'd ever talked this much with a stranger. Even though the older sister across from her looked incredibly cool and beautiful...
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Zhezhi's face turned even redder.
Looking at the two girls practically overflowing with mutual affection, Zane slapped a hand onto his forehead in distress.
'This is bad. There's actually an insider in the house!?'
Besides that, Zane also couldn't help thinking about how marital assets should be divided in the future. Who belonged to Rover's faction, who belonged to Zane's faction, or perhaps...
'Both sides?'
Zane checked the time, then proposed to Rover and the others, "How about we stay in Taoyuan Township for the night? Tomorrow morning we can head back to Jinzhou City and go find people at the research institute."
After speaking, he turned toward Zhezhi as well.
"You should stay here tonight too. I've got a house in Taoyuan Township. That way you won't have to travel overnight. It'll be safer."
Although Zhezhi was a Resonator and could use her Resonance Ability to "animate" the images she painted... those images only affected onlookers visually, interfering with their judgment.
In reality, Zhezhi herself was extremely poor at combat. If she encountered a Tacet Discord alone, her reactions might not even compare to an ordinary TD.
"Okay." Since it was big brother's suggestion, Zhezhi naturally had no reason to refuse.
Only at that moment, she failed to notice the slightly surprised look in Rover's eyes.
Now that the decision had been made, Zane waved toward the Doctor and Jue nearby, signaling for them to follow.
Following the mountain path, they soon arrived at a small wooden house.
Zane skillfully took out a key and opened the door. Although nobody had lived there for a long time, everything inside was complete, spotless, and tidy.
"So this is the house where Brother Zane and Magistrate Jinhsi used to live?"
Before Rover and the others could even ask about the origin of the house, Zhezhi hurriedly spoke up. Her large eyes darted around restlessly before finally settling on a closed window.
Filled with curiosity, Zhezhi pushed the window open.
In an instant, a beam of moonlight poured into the room alongside the evening breeze, spreading the fragrance of peach blossoms throughout the house.
The rustling shadows of the trees swayed softly, smoothing away the irritation everyone had built up after a full day of travel.
Looking into the distance, the Moon Tree House they had been at earlier stood not far away. By the glow of scattered lanterns, she could clearly see everything happening over there.
"Brother Zane, could it be that you..."
Before Zhezhi could finish speaking, Zane had already stepped out of the house. He now stood outside waving toward them.
"It's very safe here. Zhezhi, you can rely on them as much as you want. They're all trustworthy. I need to head to the Moon Tree House for something. You all get some sleep first."