Si Xuanyang’s heart was so soft that even the odd-looking people around him seemed more pleasant.

They entered a convenience store on the street. There were many brightly colored apple candies on a small cart at the entrance, and a machine was popping popcorn with a sizzling sound, releasing steam. There were also plump roasted chestnuts, filling the air with a sweet, warm aroma.

Yu Sen lifted his dress and stepped over the threshold, and the bell by the door jingled. The shopkeeper, who had a full beard and was dressed in a funny Super Mario costume, stood up from behind the counter, leaning on the glass counter and looking over leisurely.

Upon seeing Yu Sen at the door, his eyes lit up, and he immediately displayed a cordial smile. “Princess, welcome! What would you like to buy?”

As soon as he spoke, a figure in a black robe with an aura of hostility and demonic energy appeared beside the beautiful princess. With a strong, cold gaze, the person’s powerful arms were possessively wrapped around the princess’s slender waist.

Jackson immediately became aware and closed his mouth, his expression becoming very respectful.

This person looked like he would beat him easily, so it’s better not to get into trouble for the sake of a beauty.

Si Xuanyang calmly asked, “How much is the apple candy?”

Jackson gathered himself and began conducting business seriously, giving a steady “OK” hand gesture. “One apple candy requires three Halloween candies to exchange.”

“Halloween candy?” Si Xuanyang frowned slightly.

The town seemed to have many candies at every household, with some scattered on lawns, looking quite worthless.

Yu Sen tugged at his black robe and pointed at the black bag hanging from the demon’s waist.

It contained some candies that had fallen from the clock last night. He and Si Nan had divided them up and kept a few on them for emergencies.

Si Xuanyang understood immediately. Ordinary candies were naturally worthless, but these “prop candies” they had might be the real “Halloween candies” needed in this town.

He took out a candy wrapped in rainbow paper and placed it in front of Jackson. “Is this what you mean?”

“Yes! That’s it!” Jackson closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet smell of the candy, looking at them with bright eyes. “Three of these can be exchanged, isn’t it a good deal?”

Yu Sen pouted and shook his head. “Hmm…”

Not quite a good deal.

Seeing his disdainful expression, Jackson’s mouth twitched in frustration. “This beautiful princess, I’ve been doing business in this town for many years! I’ve never scammed anyone. This is the best price, okay?!”

Have some common sense!

Such a beautiful person, doesn’t even manage their expressions! Look at those lips turned up to the sky, that wrinkled brow, and that skeptical look!

He’s completely losing face! It’s a blatant slap in the face!

Yu Sen grunted and tugged at Si Xuanyang’s robe, pointing towards the shelves.

Si Xuanyang understood immediately. Holding the robe’s hand warmly, he turned to Jackson and asked, “Boss, do you sell any cookies or snacks that can produce a pass?”

Jackson was stunned for a second and then said in surprise, “You already know about that?”

He hesitated for a moment and said, “Yes, we have them, but they also cost three candies. And I don’t know which package contains them. Whether you get a card depends on your luck.”

What if they run out of candies without getting a card due to bad luck?

Si Xuanyang thought about Si Nan’s terrible luck and felt a headache coming on. He pondered seriously and asked with a serious tone, “Can I rob you?”

Anyway, his abilities seemed pretty strong this time, might as well use them.

Hearing this, Yu Sen immediately leaned closer, holding onto the demon’s arm tightly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Robbing! So exciting!

Afterward, he could run through the street holding his dress, letting the wind lift it up, playing the runaway princess, just like in the movies. Even thinking about it was thrilling!

He looked eagerly at the nearly crying shopkeeper. “Whimper!”

— Hurry up and say ‘yes’!

Jackson wanted to cry but had no tears. “No way! Of course not! What are you thinking? If the order breaks down, the enforcers will directly wipe out our town. Even you won’t have a good time! Robbing? Just because you have magic doesn’t mean you’re invincible!”

“Tsk…”

With his wish unfulfilled, Yu Sen sighed, feeling disappointed but understanding. If it were that simple and crude, what would be the point?

“Ah!” Jackson sighed deeply, looking at the dejected beauty in front of him. He felt increasingly frustrated; even though it was the two of them acting like bandits, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had done something wrong.

He almost wanted to chain up this willful and naive princess in a secret room and give her a good beating to calm the mixed feelings of love and hate raging inside him.

But he didn’t dare.

He was cowardly.

Jackson slumped in defeat, waving his hand dismissively. “Forget it! You can pick a pack of snacks, and you’ll get a lollipop as a bonus. Use three candies for the exchange, no less.”

Yu Sen: “Yuck~~”

—It seemed a bit stingy.

Jackson’s face turned pale. “…I don’t understand. Just stop talking.”

Si Xuanyang’s lips curled into a helpless smile, and he nodded. “Alright, it’s a deal!”

He took out two more candies from his pocket and handed them to Jackson along with the one from earlier.

Yu Sen also threw him a flirtatious glance, shaking his head and taking an apple-flavored lollipop from the cart at the door. He took a small bite.

Ugh—so sweet!

Indeed, some things are better to look at than to eat…

He calmly held the item, waiting for the sweetness in his mouth to fade while watching Si Xuanyang pick and choose from the shelves.

First, he shook an inflated packaging bag by his ear to listen to the sound, then tossed it in the air a couple of times, comparing them one by one.

Jackson’s expression was so complicated it was hard to describe. “Is it necessary? You’ve already shaken the whole shelf of cookies apart.”

Yu Sen: “Whimper!” — It’s a matter of life and death, of course it’s necessary! Shut up!

Jackson’s complex gaze turned back to him. “Such a beautiful person, yet you only have a mouth that makes whiny noises like a little fool. I really want to mess with you…”

“…Hmph!”

Yu Sen sneered, cursing the annoying clock in his mind for the eight thousand and first time, and comforting himself not to argue with something that was either a ghost or just a bunch of data.

Mess with me? In your dreams!

He calmed himself and walked over to the demon who had been standing still for a while, tugging at his robe.

Si Xuanyang turned and smiled at him. “I’ve decided. It’s this one; I have a feeling about it.”

Yu Sen tilted his head in confusion: So confident?

Si Xuanyang smiled mysteriously and whispered in his ear, “It’s the demon’s intuition.”

“Heh.” — Bragging.

The mocking expression was quite pleasing. Si Xuanyang couldn’t resist and pinched Yu Sen’s face, which had become rosy from the store’s heating.

It was like pinching a peeled egg; he didn’t want to let go.

“Whimper!”

Yu Sen’s fingers trembled like they were sifting grain, full of accusatory looks, and the feeling of wanting to speak but being unable to was really suffocating!

—The demon is getting more and more hands-on with him!

Too much!

Yu Sen was so angry he was almost out of breath and coughed twice unexpectedly, which made the big demon quickly hold him tight to help him breathe. “Why are you getting so worked up? Can’t you be a calm little princess?”

Yu Sen shot him a glare, choosing not to argue with this increasingly thick-skinned person. He was just whining and mumbling now; he knew he couldn’t win by arguing.

…

After leaving Jackson’s store, Si Xuanyang tore open the cookie bag, pouring out the crumbs. Sure enough, he found a gold foil piece about the size of a fingernail.

After picking it up with his thumb, the gold foil gradually became the same size as their pass card, revealing Si Xuanyang’s name.

“Whimper!”

Yu Sen silently cursed; he thought the pass in the bag would be the same size, but it turned out to be so small that it was almost impossible to find without relying entirely on luck.

“See, I told you it was this one,” Si Xuanyang said smugly, raising an eyebrow. “But I guess this store is the only one with a card in it. Other stores probably have fewer, so people might have to find other ways later.”

Staring at Yu Sen’s inquisitive eyes, like black jade, the big demon smirked. “Want to ask how I figured it out?”

“Yes!”

“I already said it’s the demon’s intuition! Why are you getting dumber?”

“…”

Yu Sen stared at the smirking demon for a while, then expressionlessly walked around him and continued forward.

“Upset?” Si Xuanyang hurried to catch up. “Don’t be mad. It’s already noon. Are you hungry, baby? Let’s go back and eat. The breakfast here was pretty good; the lunch should be fine too…”

“Whimper…” — Damn!

He thought, another name for a straight guy among gays might be ‘Si Xuanyang’!

…

Just as they reached the outside of the villa, they heard exclamations coming from inside the house.

It was exactly noon, and everyone who had gone out should have returned for lunch.

Taking a few steps onto the lawn, they saw Si Nan hopping and running like a rabbit, his face still showing signs of lingering fear.

Behind him were Luo Yu… and a few others with pale faces.

“What happened?” Si Xuanyang asked, approaching the group that seemed to be fleeing from danger.

“Yu Ge, don’t go in!” Si Nan grabbed him. “You’ll definitely feel dizzy and vomit if you go in.”

“Huh?”

“Someone was burned to death inside. It was the big man in a Wonder Woman costume from this morning!”

“Burned to death? Who did it?” Si Xuanyang asked.

“His Wonder Woman costume!”