The morning swiftly slipped away. In the afternoon, Lì had tasks to attend to, and Rei accompanied him to the department store behind the secondary pavilions, which housed most of the equipment and food supplies. Another smaller store is situated a few feet from the refuge's tavern, positioned in the initial outer circle of houses, with an additional room in the central pavilion.

“Did I do something wrong?”

The red demon looks at her, confused, as he lifts a box full of empty  mugs, answering, “I don’t think I understand what you’re referring to.”

Whenever Rei trains, at communal lunches, or simply around the shelter, she often feels hostile eyes following her at every step. The fubai grimaces and says, “The purple-haired chick spends her days staring at me like I’m the most annoying thing in the world.”

He smiles at the nickname and frees himself from the clutter that ends up on a shelf at the top. A thought crosses his mind—Wu probably wouldn't appreciate this. The demon scratches his head and observes her with uncertain eyes about what to say, then descends the small wooden staircase in silence and lets her continue. 

“She gets on my nerves. Damn, if you have something to say, come and speak to me, at least! Instead, she does nothing but look bad at me.”

“I don’t think you did anything to her.”

An ironic chuckle amazes him as she says, “I was kidding. I know I didn’t do a thing.”

Lì shakes his head and comments, “Even if the first thing you have done as you just got here was hurting some of ours. This doesn’t earn you friendship points.”

Rei snorts and carelessly hands him another box. “I already told A-Yin they attacked me first. Even with demons, if someone points a knife at my throat, I will return it with interest.”

As soon as she hands him the package, Lì bends under its weight: this one is filled with vegetables pressed under salt in a jar. A clumsy chuckle escapes from his lips as he straightens his back. “I understand, but some still didn’t take it too well.”

“All right!” she sighs. “I’ll try to avoid creating more problems like that.” then she gives him a curious look and asks, “Anyway, do you always do all these things? Shouldn’t someone else take care of it?”

Behind a few oil cans, six shelves away, a dark silhouette nods at her question and thinks, That’s right, shouldn’t someone else take care of it, huh, Lì? 

His icy blue eyes sparkle, amused at the scene, observing the two unaware of his presence. It's not that uncommon, to be honest. The leader frequently finds himself wandering through the shelter, observing others engrossed in their tasks or simply enjoying serene days. However, the red demon is consistently occupied with paperwork and coordinating the various activities across the living zones. After all, he’s the one who pinned the boy as the best right-hand demon in the place. That doesn’t mean that he usually does tasks like this. What are you doing here?

After a few seconds, Lì answers, “It may seem strange, but with all these extra people, we are short of personnel who know where to get their hands on without doing any damage, and the quantities of basic necessities have increased dramatically.”

A smile pops up on A-Yin’s lips. Liar, it’s no use to you doing it. All you had to do was give them a quick tour, and then they could see for themselves.

“I understand.” replies the fubai. “You’re always so busy. It must be exhausting. Why don’t you ask A-Yin to pin some subordinates so you can delegate things like this to them?”

Answer her. Let’s hear it.

Lì smiles and shakes his head. “No need, really. I can do it. I’m used to it.” After a moment of silence, he adds, “And now you’re here.”

The comment makes her laugh, as well as the leader. Funny, I didn’t expect it. 

His movements, the way he talks, and looks at her. Does he have a little crush? He crosses his arms over his chest, remaining silently hidden in the shadows. The order to monitor Rei came from him, so this is something he had to consider. After all, she is gorgeous, lovely, and ironic, as well as an outstanding fighter and a strong and captivating figure. It’s not strange that Lì likes her. Instead, what baffles him is the behavior of the fubai towards Lì, utterly different from the one she has with him.

Rei is attentive to what the red one says and responds; she considers his opinion and seems comfortable in his presence. Despite her time at the shelter and A-Yin’s attempts to get her closer, she never unbuttoned much. He has to admit that Lì used a more direct, even awkward, approach between them. He has the task of monitoring her, but the leader knows her well enough to know that the middle demon would never be able to do it stealthily. The strategy of putting him on the spot and catching her attention so that he can observe her personally from the shadows is working. All too well.

Usually, women go more for the mysterious and charismatic types, yet she preferred the little virgin this time. The thought makes him laugh as much as it leaves him stunned. He has a long experience in affairs here in Rèn. Since he left the Diyu, he has had many relationships with both demons and humans and is now considered an expert in the art of seducing. Yet she doesn’t give a shit. After their first meeting, he thought their relationship would be more intense and fiery. Still, Rei doesn't seem interested and occasionally gives him a few fascinating looks, followed by teasing words. Nothing more, but his expectations are getting higher every day as he’s too curious to solve the riddle.

The sight of the two lovebirds giggling and stacking boxes pushes him to come out into the open, not before having skillfully made the rounds to seem to have happened there by chance. Lì notices him a few moments before the leader lowers to the height of Rei’s ear and murmurs, “You seem to have fun. Can I help, too?”

She turns around calmly, not surprised by his presence, and replies, “We’re almost done. You should have come sooner, and we would have avoided the ladder.”

He shrugs and comments, “Unfortunately, I was busy checking that everything was alright in the other areas. There are too few staff in the new group, and maybe I should train more of them. What do you think about it, Lì?”

The red demon lowers his silent gaze under the amused one of the leader.

“Yeah, it would be time. And-” Rei approaches A-Yin’s face, sniffing his fresh musk smell while an ironic grin adorns her gray face “-I don’t think you tried too hard.”

“What a villain you are. You’re hurting my feelings.” his falsely displeased tone makes Lì move imperceptibly as he begins to wonder how to leave. He doesn’t have to wait long for the leader to say, “Since you’re almost done here, you don’t mind if I steal her away for a while, do you?”

The demon’s golden eyes return to observe A-Yin, and then he nods and responds with the most neutral voice he can fake. “Yes, Sir. No problem.”

Rei frowns, slightly indecisive, “Are you sure? I’ll stay until the end.”

He hurries to smile and shakes his head, “Don’t worry, there is just the last shelf to do. Go ahead.”

She doesn’t reply to these words and follows the leader with an ironic expression.