Soon, under the guidance of the policewoman, Meng Xingyao arrived at a room inside the station.
The moment she stepped through the door—
A familiar voice reached her ears.
"Eh? Little Princess?"
The silver-haired Cat Girl sitting inside blinked.
Then her eyes immediately lit up.
"Why are you here? Don't tell me you got arrested too?"
Meng Xingyao (ノ_<.) "..."
The next second.
She turned around and walked toward the door.
Without the slightest hesitation.
"Wait! Little Princess! Where are you going?! Don't leave me behind!"
...
A moment later.
A vein visibly throbbed on Meng Xingyao's forehead.
Standing in the room, she stared at the Cat Girl sprawled lazily across a metal chair.
The latter sat with her legs crossed.
Her tail swayed leisurely behind her.
Her expression was completely carefree.
As though she had merely come here for afternoon tea.
Meng Xingyao suddenly felt her head begin to ache.
Honestly.
If circumstances allowed it—
She would really rather pretend she didn't know this person.
Especially while sensing the subtle gazes of the surrounding officers.
The embarrassment nearly made her wish she could disappear on the spot.
Taking a deep breath.
Meng Xingyao forced herself to calm down.
Then she looked toward the policewoman nearby.
"Um...May I ask..."
"What exactly did my friend do?"
...
However.
Before the policewoman could answer—
Cipher immediately raised both hands.
The silver bracelets around her wrists jingled softly.
Cipher (=ↀωↀ=)✧: "Little Princess!nYou finally came to rescue me! I'm so touched, meow!"
Meng Xingyao (▼皿▼#) "SHUT UP! And stop making it sound like I'm breaking someone out of prison!"
...
Several nearby officers immediately looked away.
Their shoulders trembling slightly.
It took considerable professional training to suppress their laughter.
At this point.
The remaining doubts they had regarding Cipher's identity had mostly vanished.
After all.
The nature of this incident wasn't particularly serious.
Soon.
One of the officers stepped forward.
Then he patiently explained the entire sequence of events.
...
The story began earlier that afternoon.
While Cipher was wandering around the city as usual.
Perhaps because her appearance was simply too eye-catching.
Or perhaps because fate enjoyed making trouble.
A few suspicious men soon approached her.
Claiming they wanted her contact information.
However.
The group were actually habitual thieves.
And their true objective was naturally obvious.
Unfortunately.
Things didn't proceed according to their plan.
"According to our investigation..."
The officer rubbed his forehead.
"They attempted to steal from Miss Cipher. But the attempt failed. Instead..."
The officer's expression became complicated.
"They somehow ended up being robbed by Miss Cipher."
Meng Xingyao: "..."
The officers: "..."
Cipher proudly raised her chin.
As if this were some remarkable achievement.
...
The officer coughed awkwardly.
Then continued.
"After realizing they had been robbed, those individuals attempted to use violence. However...They were subdued. By Miss Cipher."
"Alone."
At this point.
Even the officer couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for those criminals.
Meng Xingyao wasn't surprised at all.
In fact.
The result was exactly what she expected.
What left her speechless was something else.
Meng Xingyao (;一_一): 'Why did you idiots have to provoke her...?'
...
The officer continued.
"Afterward, a patrol car happened to pass nearby."
"Unfortunately..."
His expression grew even stranger.
"The moment Miss Cipher saw the police vehicle...She ran."
Meng Xingyao: "..."
The officers: "..."
Cipher: "Reflex."
"Considering there were several unconscious victims on the ground...And Miss Cipher suddenly fled the scene...We naturally pursued her."
The officer sighed.
"Afterward there were several misunderstandings. Fortunately everything was explained clearly. Still, according to procedure, we needed someone familiar with her to come and verify her identity."
After hearing the full explanation.
Meng Xingyao slowly turned her head.
Then glared at the culprit.
A terrifying glare.
Cipher immediately looked away.
Her ears twitched.
Then she raised her handcuffs and smiled innocently.
Cipher ～(∠・ω< )⌒☆: "Hehe. That really was just a reflex."
Meng Xingyao (╬ Ò‸Ó): "Reflex my foot!"
Eventually.
The procedures were completed.
Cipher was released.
The officers finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
...
Outside the police station.
The evening breeze drifted gently through the streets.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Meng."
The officer nodded politely.
Meng Xingyao hurriedly waved her hands.
"N-No, thank you for your hard work. Sorry for causing trouble."
...
The two girls gradually walked farther away.
Watching them leave.
The young policewoman who had guided Meng Xingyao earlier finally couldn't contain her curiosity.
She leaned toward the senior officer.
"Senior...You mean that young lady?"
The veteran officer immediately understood.
The policewoman nodded.
"Even considering the misunderstanding...It still shouldn't have required your direct involvement, right? And..."
She hesitated briefly.
"That Thief Girl...Who exactly is she?"
...
The veteran officer fell silent.
His gaze lingered on Cipher's departing figure.
After a long while.
He finally shook his head.
"Honestly. I don't know."
The policewoman froze.
"...What?"
The officer smiled bitterly.
"Some things aren't meant for people at our level to understand. Just do your job. As for the rest..."
He glanced toward the sky.
"Leave it to the people above."
...
After saying that.
He patted the younger officer's shoulder.
Then turned around and walked back inside.
The policewoman remained standing there.
Watching his retreating figure.
Her expression slowly shifted.
From confusion.
To contemplation.
To complexity.
Perhaps she didn't understand everything.
But she understood one thing.
That Cat Girl's identity...
Definitely wasn't simple.
...
Meanwhile.
On the road home.
Meng Xingyao puffed her cheeks angrily.
Looking exactly like an upset pufferfish.
Cipher tilted her head.
Then poked her cheek.
"Little Princess. Did you secretly eat gunpowder today? Why are you so explosive?"
...
Meng Xingyao immediately exploded.
"You still have the nerve to ask?! If it weren't for you—I wouldn't have missed Robin's livestream!"
Cipher froze.
Then suddenly remembered something.
"Oh. Ohhhhh! Robin!"
Seeing that realization dawn on her face.
Meng Xingyao became even angrier.
"Hmph! You promised you'd watch it with me! And didn't you also promise you'd keep a low profile from now on?! So how exactly did you end up in a police station?!"
Cipher awkwardly scratched her ear.
Then laughed shamelessly.
"A beautiful woman naturally attracts trouble. It's not my fault. Besides. I was already being very low-key. If I wasn't low-key, how could they have caught me so easily?"
Meng Xingyao:"..."
"IS THAT WHAT I MEANT BY LOW-KEY?!"
The furious girl immediately lunged forward.
Attempting to grab Cipher's tail.
Unfortunately.
She missed.
Which only made her angrier.
Because back at the station.
While the officers were explaining the situation—
Nobody else seemed to notice.
But she definitely had.
Hanging from the tip of Cipher's tail...
Was a ring of keys.
A very familiar ring of keys.
As for where they came from—
She didn't even need to ask.
Thinking about it made Meng Xingyao's blood pressure rise.
She immediately reached for the Cat Girl's ears instead.
Unfortunately.
Before she could succeed—
Cipher effortlessly scooped her into her arms.
The Cat Girl gently patted her head.
Then smiled mischievously.
"Little Princess~A cat's ears aren't for touching casually."
...
Meng Xingyao struggled indignantly.
"I don't care! I don't care! This was my first time entering a police station! You have to compensate me!"
...
Cipher blinked.
Then suddenly revealed a bright smile.
"What a coincidence. It was my first time too. So technically...We've already exchanged our first times. We're even now, meow~"
...
Meng Xingyao:
( ꐦ Ò ‸ Ó ) ✧
For a brief moment.
She seriously considered whether assaulting a cat counted as self-defense.