TWO players were currently sitting on the topmast of the ship cruising around the jungle. They were on the highest point of the ship, overlooking everything. Both belonged to the beastkin race. 

One was a guy with fluffy red-orange hair and a pair of lion ears on top of his head. He had bronze skin and perfectly sculpted muscles. He had clear and bright features. But because of the mischievous smile on his lips, he looked absolutely like a bandit. 

The other was a girl with ash-brown hair cut into a short bob. Just like the guy, there's a pair of animal ears on top of her head. But hers was that of a cat. Her features might be plain and simple but her eyes were extraordinary. They were big and slanted, just like a cat. It added some kind of charm to her face, making it much more attractive.

"Hey, I think I just saw Morganite threw a guy off the ship," Xia Li said, looking at the direction of the deck.

They were at the highest point of the ship. So, they could easily see what was happening on the deck. That's why Xia Li clearly saw when one of the players surrounding the table where Morganite was sitting suddenly floated and flew out of the ship. Because it was quite obvious that he was bothering Morganite, the only culprit on why he was suddenly thrown off the ship was her.

It was quite entertaining though. Xia Li wished she had seen it up close.

"Really? I didn't see it. But that's just like her," Bai Ze commented in a wry tone. 

Xia Li glanced at the guy standing beside her. "She has a short temper?"

She remembered how Morganite reacted when White Marsh told her and the cute gnome that she would be joining them. Morganite didn't have any much of a reaction. She just looked at her, said 'oh', then moved her gaze way. The gnome who introduced himself as 'Jin' had more of a reaction than her.

Xia Li thought that the other was the extremely indifferent type based on that. But after she had thrown that guy over the ship and White Marsh not being surprised about it, it seemed like that was not the case. 

"Rather than a short temper, I'd say she's a sadist. Yes, she's a sadistic loli!" Bai Ze said with conviction.

Xia Li couldn't stop herself from laughing. "What's with that? If Morganite hears you, she'd definitely be mad."

"It's not like she doesn't know that I usually call her that," Bai Ze shrugged. "I even sometimes tell it to her face. It's better than actually acting all friendly to someone but dissing them behind their back, you know."

Xia Li looked at the big lion beastkin beside her with amusement. "You're right. It means you're a good friend."

The lion looked at her as if she just said a bad joke. "I think your standard of friendship is a bit skewed."

Xia Li looked even more amused when she heard that. "Not at all. I think honesty is one of the foundations to build a lasting friendship. If you can tell your friend that she's a 'sadistic loli' to her face, then your relationship must be really deep."

Bai Ze suddenly had goosebumps and he started rubbing his arms. "What kind of scary things are you saying? Are you cursing me?"

Xia Li couldn't help but laughed once more seeing this exaggerated action. It was really fun talking to this guy.

Bai Ze stopped rubbing his arms and looked at the cat-girl in front of him. It was something he had already noticed since they did that task together during the birthday event of the King of Arcadia. Catnip really looked beautiful whenever she smiled. Those big cat-like eyes bent into crescents, he could even see a small dimple on her left cheek. That's why every time she smiled, he had the urge to poke that cute dimple. 

He stopped. That was one weird thought. He cleared his throat and looked away. So that Catnip wouldn't be able to read anything on his face.

Xia Li indeed did not notice that small reaction of his. It's because she was already thinking of another thing. Of course, it's about his current favorite CP in the game. The NightCloud CP!

"I don't think your Captain and that pretty moon elf are here," she commented.

They've been here for almost 30 minutes now and they hadn't seen or even heard any trace of the two. Xia Li guessed that they had probably already had probably gotten off the last cruise while their group went to the next one. 

"I think so too," Bai Ze agreed. 

 Either Ji Yun lied or they were played by Su Yuqi. Whether it was one or the other, it would still be irritating. He sighed. He once again opened his private chat and saw that Shen Ji Yun still hadn't read any of his messages since earlier. This guy. Just what the heck was he doing with Luo Yan that he couldn't even be bothered to read a message?

"They probably wouldn't be on the Wild Land anymore," Catnip said. "Which area should we go next to find them?"

Bai Ze was about to answer but then stopped. Why did it feel like she was more enthusiastic in finding Shen Ji Yun and Luo Yan than them? He immediately thought of the captain of team Sirens which Catnip belonged to.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're showing quite an interest in our captain. You're not trying to spy on him for your captain, right?"

The cat-girl suddenly had a bewildered look. It's because Xia Li wasn't sure how the conversation made a sudden curve like that. Was it because of what she said about finding YUN and Noctis? But that's only because she was looking forward to gathering new materials! Did it come off as her being interested in YUN? But then how did it turn out into her spying for her captain?

"I'm not. Why would you even think that?" she asked, truly curious.

Bai Ze scoffed. "Doesn't she like our captain?"

Xia Li was a bit surprised hearing that. She didn't know that it was common knowledge now that team Siren's captain liked YUN. Remembering her captain, she couldn't help but feel a bit pitiful. Zhu Lian received quite a bit of shock after that last time she met YUN at Yuexing Pavilion. She was dejected for a couple of days before bouncing up again. 

Her sister, Zhu Jingyi, became even more pissed at YUN because of that. But in Xia Li's opinion, it's good that their captain had that encounter. Maybe it would help her realized that pining for someone who didn't share the same affection would only lead to heartache. Especially for her case since she couldn't really express her feelings properly. It might even help her grow.

"I don't want to talk about my captain's personal feelings. That's her privacy and everyone should respect it. Including you," she said in a stern tone.

Bai Ze scratched his fluffy red-orange hair. Hearing that, it seemed like Catnip really had no intention to spy on his friend. "Sorry if I overstep."

"It's good that you know how to apologize." Xia Li nodded in approval. "But why didn't you think that I was aiming for YUN? Certainly, that would be what most would think?"

Bai Ze froze. That definitely didn't cross his mind. But now that she mentioned it, there's certainly a possibility of that. For some reason, he didn't like that kind of possibility.

He looked at Catnip. "Are you interested in my captain?"

Xia Li stared at White Marsh's weird expression. It's like he had eaten something bitter that he just wanted to spit it out but he still had to swallow it down. The expression was so comical that she burst out laughing.

"Of course not," she said while still laughing. "You guys just looked like you have to find him and the moon elf as soon as possible that's why I said that."

She just made up an excuse. How could she tell him that it's because she's a fujoshi and she's been shipping his two team mates?

Bai Ze looked at the girl's unbridled laughter. He had the urge again to poke that cute dimple. He just looked away to stop that urge. He didn't doubt what she said. Because if she was really interested in Shen Ji Yun, when they partnered up with him during that birthday event task, she should have done everything to get close to him. Because that way, she would be able to interact with Shen Ji Yun through her connection to Bai Ze.

But she didn't. She didn't even mention him. In fact, she asked more about Luo Yan instead. That alone was enough to show that she's really not interested in Shen Ji Yun.

He felt relieved realizing that.

He stopped. Why was he feeling relieved because of that?

He shook his head and just said something he's been wanting to ask since earlier, "By the way, can I know your real name?"

Xia Li was slightly surprised by this sudden request. "Only if you tell me yours."

Bai Ze grinned widely when he heard that. "I'm Bai Ze."

Xia Li grinned back. "Xia Li. My name is Xia Li."

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