Xiao ran far away from the place where he bought the Starberry bun, which was crowded with all kinds of people.

Xiao saw an area with almost no people around it, and there was a small alley at it, so he quickly ran inside there.

Once Xiao was inside the alley, he finally felt relieved and catch his breath by taking some deep breath.

Xiao used to be doing just fine in any crowded area, although he prefers to be in places with less density of people. Even when everyone was talking about him, he would always just chuckle embarrassingly and that's all, but ever since he was found guilty, he will always get a bunch people screaming and cursing at him almost every day during his time at the court, and every time after the court session when he came out from the courtroom, escorted by the police, the reporters would swarm in and shot a barrage of questions to Xiao, disregard his discomfort with the questions, while at the same time, he received more cursing from more people, all the people around him in his old world has these eyes that followed his every movement, as if they were watching a dangerous thing walking freely, and for that, they all wish him to be sentenced to death.

All the experience has somehow become a trauma to Xiao, which make Xiao feel a sudden pressure and difficult to breathe whatever he is in a crowded or become a topic around many people.

(It's okay, Xiao, they are not here, the screaming, the cursing, the noise, they are not here, calm down, I will be fine, I will be fine, nobody in this world knows me, so calm down, breath, breath.)

Xiao touches his heart to help him settle down, and slowly he regains back his composure.

(Alright, I think I'm okay now, let's eat this so-called Starberry bun....)

"Umm....hi there."

"WHOA! What the hell?!"

An unknown voice came behind Xiao, which made him jumped from shock, and he quickly turns his back to identify the owner of the voice.

It was the merchant looking girl that helped Xiao to translate his words just a while ago.

"So sorry that I startled you!"

Seeing at Xiao was frightened by the sudden appearance of her, the merchant girl immediately apologizes to him by bowing intensely.

"It's okay! It's okay! Stop bowing already!."

Xiao was startled by merchant looking girl's action, he quickly stopped her as it was getting a bit awkward.

Seeing the girl had stopped bowing, Xiao asked her:

"So....why did you follow me?"

Xiao was confused as to why the girl had followed him to here, and grow suspicious on the girl's intention, he stays alert while waiting for the merchant girl next action.

The merchant girl took out the Starberry bun that was given by Xiao and ask him.

"I want to ask you about this."

Xiao was getting more confused by it, and ask her:

"O...okay, that's the Starberry bun that I gave you, what about it? You don't like it?"

"No, no, no, absolutely not what you think, I am very grateful for your gift, is just that I don't understand why did you give me, even though I was a stranger to you?"

The merchant girl strongly denies Xiao's hypothesis, and tell him her true intention of following him, which further confused Xiao.

"Umm.... because you helped me? So that bun was to thank you for helping me? right?"

Xiao tried his best to construct a reason for the merchant girl as he was still confused about what kind of answer is the merchant girl expecting from him.

After listening to Xiao's reason, the merchant girl stays quiet for a while, as if she was in deep thought, which made the atmosphere quite awkward as Xiao was waiting for her next answer, with a confused expression.

(What's with this girl? Followed me just to ask me about giving her the Starberry bun, unless...Don't tell me, did she suspect that I tried to poison her with the bun? That's why she asked me why give her a bun even though we are strangers to each other? Shit! I should have considered more on my action just now.)

"I see, I think I understand now."

The merchant girl broke the silence, as she had figure out something.

"You do?"

Xiao replied in worried and was ready to run away if she starts to misunderstand something, Xiao has an experience that explaining a misunderstanding would always end up with him getting into more trouble, so he learnt that the best action to take if he is in any misunderstand situation is, run away.

"Yes, you are a very kind person."

The merchant girl gave her answer, a straightforward and honest answer.

(.....What?)

Xiao got dumbstruck by the merchant girl's answered.

"What?! No, that's no what I...."

Xiao tried to reason with her, but she made one step forward to strengthen the confirmation of her answer.

"I'm sure of it, you are a very good and kind person."

The merchant girl said it in an honest and straight forward tone, as in she had full confidence in her answer.

Xiao was shocked by the merchant girl honest attitude, he decided to give up arguing further while shaking his head and letting out a sigh.

"You know what, let's just leave it that way."

(I'm stupid to get so worked up, this girl, she's just plain weird.)

"Okay, kind person."

The merchant girl replied Xiao with earnest.

"Please, call me Xiao."

"Okay, Xiao."

Again, Xiao shakes his head and looked at the merchant girl with a faint smile expression.

(Yup, she's definitely weird.)

"So...if that settles it, then I'll be on my way."

Seeing that everything has been settled, Xiao was readying to leave and go elsewhere when the merchant girl says something that made Xiao pause his steps.

"Yes, time to forget everything about me."

"What?"

Before Xiao had the chance to ask what she meant by that, the merchant girl took off the hoody that was covering her head and face all the time.

The first thing that comes in Xiao's mind was red, scarlet red, it was the colour of her long silky hair, with braided at the sideway. Next thing that seizes Xiao's breath was her blue sapphire eyes, accompanied with long eyelashes, it was so enchanting looking that Xiao lost all senses just to admired her eyes. And finally, her fair skin and small pinkiest lips, and the result was this perfect looking girl standing in front of Xiao.

(Beautiful, no, it was beyond that, never, never in my lifetime seen such a beautiful looking girl, every part of her facial features were out of this world perfect, such fair skin and beautiful hair, and the part that attracted me the most is her eyes, those mystical eyes, it was like looking at an ultra-rare gem, I can feel such mysterious yet holy power flowing out from it...)

"CREK!"

Without a notice, Xiao felt something had cracked in his mind, he looked around his body to find anything unusual, which nothing abnormal was found.

(Huh? What was that sound? Must have misheard of something.)

"You...how is it possible? You don't feel anything? Anything at all?"

The merchant girl asked Xiao with a shocking expression, she was looking at Xiao with an intense gaze.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Xiao was confused by the merchant girl's question and asked her back, but she didn't reply Xiao's question as she was gazing at Xiao intensely which subconsciously ignored his question.

"This...this is impossible, but he is still... I found it...I think I found it."

The merchant girl was murmuring something to herself which was so quiet that Xiao barely hears anything, and after that, she continues to stare at Xiao.

Again, an awkward silence situation, the merchant girl was staring at Xiao with full focus while Xiao was getting more and more embarrassed by it as he was being looked at by such beautiful looking girl with such intense gaze.

"Umm..... Is there something on my face? Hahaha.... this is getting embarrassing."

Finally, Xiao breaks the silence by chuckle awkwardly, for his heart can't stand in this staring contest kind of situation anymore.

"XIAO!"

Without any warning, the merchant girl called Xiao with a loud and exciting tone.

"YES?!"

And Xiao replied in surprise as he wasn't' expect the merchant girl to voice out in such manner.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

The merchant girl crossed her hand while she was asking Xiao as she was praying for Xiao to say yes, with her anxious expression and puppy eye.

 

(Friend? What? Now this is getting bizarre, a while ago she was staring at me like she was going to puncture a hole through me with her gaze, and now she is asking to be her friend, oh well, no harm of being her friend, right?)

"Well, sure, why not."

Xiao looks away from the merchant girl while he was answering as her puppy eyes had proved too much for Xiao's heart to handle the cuteness.

"YES!"

As if she had just won a lottery, the merchant girl grabs Xiao hand and beaming out an innocent-looking smile while saying thank you to Xiao for agreeing to be her friend.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Her smile was so pure and genuine that made Xiao think it was the most beautiful smile he had seen in his entire life.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I get it, so calm down, okay?"

Xiao tries to calm her down while looking away from her, it was more like calming himself down from the merchant girl's action.

(Shit! So freaking cute!)

The merchant girl was looking at Xiao who's still embarrassed by her action, Xiao notice that and quickly straighten his composure and change the topic.

"Ahem! Oh yeah, I haven't got your name yet."

When Xiao asked for the merchant girl's name, she was troubled by it as she took a few secs before answering to Xiao's question.

"My name is Lili...lily, my name is Lily, yes, Lily. And I'm a...merchant, yes, I'm a good merchant!"

The merchant girl who called herself Lily stuttered her words while she introduced herself as if she had made her story up on the spot.

(Well, that sounds suspicious from the way she answers, and what's with the good merchant? Did people normally introduce themselves by saying that they are a good merchant? It just sounds stupid,)

Xiao looked at Lily, who's trying to hide her suspicious answer by nodding her head, while her body was trembling nervously.

(But whatever, I think she had her reason for hiding her details, and she looks too naive to do something bad on me, let's just play along with and see how things go first.)

"Alright, in that case, let's start over again,

With that being said, Xiao let out one of his hand to Lily to do a handshake, while also making a kind smile.

"Please to make your acquaintance, Lily, my name is Xiao."

"The same goes for you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Lily quickly respond to Xiao's handshake by holding it with both of her hand and shake it with excitement while once again, lets out a pure and honest smile, genuinely happy that Xiao has

officially become her friend.

(But darn, she is REALLY cute.)