After muttering a quick complaint, the girl let out a soft whoosh of air.
Her small face, far from showing any nervousness about her first haircut, now beamed with utter satisfaction, tinged with a hint of smugness. She playfully flicked a strand of bangs across her forehead with her index finger.
"My first haircut... doesn't seem that hard after all," she murmured to her "new self" in the mirror, her tone utterly casual, as if she'd merely completed a trivial craft project.
Her extraordinary observational skills, near-perfect memory, and terrifyingly precise dexterity were on full display.
She glanced again at "Aya" on the screen, then back at her reflection in the mirror, her smile widening:
"Looking at it this way, I really do look like Sister Aya... Hehe, interesting."
Just then, the live stream on her tablet flickered, and an extremely brief, untraceable message abruptly popped up, directly obscuring Aya's face:
[Time for a little punishment! A 24-hour silence package~ (Includes a pixel-art cat avatar tilting its head with a mischievous grin)]
"Huh?" The girl blinked in surprise.
Suddenly, the live stream app's interface went black! A cold system notification popped up:
[Account logged out.]
The girl immediately tried to log back in, but twice in a row, a red "Incorrect Password" error flashed across the screen.
Her movements froze.
Her intelligent emerald eyes narrowed instantly, the fleeting moment of smugness instantly replaced by a sharp, calculating gaze.
There was no need to try a third time.
"Cife—ra!"
The girl practically spat the name out, her voice dripping with venom. Yet her small face showed no anger; instead, a radiant, exhilarating smile slowly bloomed, brimming with excitement and a competitive spirit.
"Ha! So it was you all along, you mischievous cat!"
She sprang excitedly from the carpet, twirling barefoot in place, the tail of her black cat-themed pajamas swishing behind her.
Clearly, this young woman was the mysterious "Big Shot" Little Ya, whom the live stream viewers had been talking about.
In Little Ya's eyes, this was Cifera's way of retaliating for the hints she had given the Production Team earlier.
Seeing how utterly inept the Pursuit Team was—being toyed with by Cifera—she couldn't resist adding a bit more challenge for the "cat."
Cifera had her fun, and Little Ya enjoyed watching—a win-win situation, after all.
As expected, Cifera managed to evade the Production Team's surveillance again in a spectacular and unexpected manner, much to Little Ya's delight.
When Little Ya saw the trending topics about her being the Mysterious Expert on domestic social media platforms, she knew Cifera would inevitably find out.
Based on Cifera's personality as observed during the show, it was only a matter of time before she came knocking.
"I knew you'd retaliate, but I didn't expect you to come so soon... and so... childishly!"
Little Ya planted her hands on her hips, tilting her chin triumphantly as if Cifera were standing right in front of her.
"Hacking my account? Changing my password? A 24-hour ban?
You think that's going to stop me?
I'm just getting started!
"Hmph! Stingy cat! This feud has been declared!"
Her eyes sparkled with the thrill of facing a worthy opponent, but her thoughts soon drifted to the live stream footage of the valiant yet slightly disheveled "Lu Yue" and the moment "Aya" introduced herself, causing Lu Yue's expression to crumble as if the sky were about to fall.
Pfft...
Little Ya couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"That idiot Little Yue Yue must think Sister Aya is some relative of mine, and that I leaked his crossdressing secret!
"Judging by his reaction, he's probably already drawing circles in his mind, cursing me... Sigh, I'll have to explain it to that blockhead when I get back. What a pain!"
She shook her head, but the radiant smile on her face remained undimmed.
However, when her gaze swept across the scattered documents and case files related to the World Junior Detective Championship strewn across the room, Little Ya's smile faded slightly, replaced by a flicker of impatience and disdain.
"What a pointless competition... All my opponents are just a bunch of clueless fools!"
She pursed her lips and muttered under her breath:
"The culprit is practically screaming their guilt! The clues are plastered all over their faces, and these people are still pretending to debate 'possibilities'? What a waste of time!"
Earlier, she had planned to heed her family's advice and take it easy, spending a few extra days at the World Junior Detective Championship—a gathering of the world's most brilliant young detectives—while scouting for promising talents.
To accommodate this, she couldn't join the Pursuit Team as an expert from the start. Instead, her family negotiated with the Production Team for her to join later as a Mysterious Expert after the initial rounds.
The Production Team only knew that a genius young woman who loved cats would participate, but they didn't know her name.
That's why she had been commenting freely in the live stream under the alias "Little Ya."
But now...
"Who wants to play pretend with you amateurs! If you can't see something this obvious, you shouldn't even call yourselves detectives. Go home and grow sweet potatoes instead!"
With a decisive wave of her hand, as if sweeping away the tedious competition materials scattered on the floor, she declared:
"This young lady is done playing along!"
She swiftly bent down to pick up the Ragdoll cat plushie from the floor, then, her short legs clad in kitten-patterned pajamas, pounded toward the massive suitcase. With a single motion, she shoved the plushie inside.
Next, she began packing with practiced efficiency—passport, identification, chargers, and a few simple cat-themed outfits were tossed in at lightning speed.
Once the suitcase was zipped shut, she made a decisive phone call. When the line connected, her voice carried an unmistakable tone of command:
"Sister Jingjing, prepare immediately. Book the fastest flight back to China! We're ending the competition here tonight!"
A moment of silence hung in the air before a deep, resonant, yet distinctly female voice responded, respectful and concise:
"Yes, Miss Ya."
Almost the instant Little Ya hung up, the heavy, solid wood door of the suite silently swung open a crack.
A massive, fortress-like figure, radiating raw power, nearly filled the entire doorway!
The newcomer was a woman.
She stood well over 1.9 meters tall, her broad frame and corded muscles stretching her custom-tailored dark gray women's suit taut, radiating explosive power.
Her features were sharp and resolute, her gaze piercing yet steady, and her short red hair was slicked back, conveying both a crisp efficiency and an imposing dignity.
Despite the formal attire, the sheer physical presence of her body—comparable to that of a top-tier bodybuilder—exuded an intimidating aura rivaling that of any burly man.
This was Sister Jingjing, the bodyguard and housekeeper the family had assigned to protect Little Ya—a woman whose gentle name belied her strikingly imposing physique.
Sister Jingjing's gaze immediately locked onto Little Ya's abruptly different, golden, shoulder-length hair.
For a fleeting moment, the muscles in her hardened face twitched almost imperceptibly, her brow furrowed, and a flicker of pity and disapproval flashed in her eyes, as if witnessing a cherished flower she had painstakingly cultivated being cruelly ravaged.
But her unwavering professionalism allowed her to instantly suppress her emotions, though the unspoken disapproval remained evident in the depths of her gaze.
Her gaze swept swiftly across the floor, taking in the precious long hair scattered like golden silk and the "weapon"—a pair of paper scissors—before finally lowering respectfully. In a deep voice, she said, "Miss Ya, your hair..." A hint of barely perceptible pity tinged her tone.
"Don't worry about it~" Little Ya interrupted briskly, settling back onto the bed and pointing to the neatly packed suitcase on the floor. "I'm all done here. You should go pack too. Once we're ready, we'll head straight to the competition judges to submit our results."
Sister Jingjing glanced briefly at the suitcase before her eyes were drawn back to Little Ya's freshly chopped, unevenly short hair. Her lips twitched uncontrollably again.
What Little Ya clearly considered a decent haircut was, in Sister Jingjing's strongly biased opinion, a disaster!
"Miss Ya, I must remind you that even though the competition ends today, the awards ceremony won't be until tomorrow at the earliest. We can't go home tonight."
Hearing Sister Jingjing's words, Little Ya let out a scoff and said nonchalantly,
"I don't care about any of that. Cifera's waiting for me to come back and play with her~"
"If the organizers have a problem, they can just suck it up! Or not, I guess. They can just declare me the loser."
Taking a deep breath, Sister Jingjing's granite-like face snapped back into absolute obedience. Her massive frame bowed slightly, moving with a lightness and agility that belied her size:
"Understood, Miss Ya. Please wait a moment."
With that, Sister Jingjing retreated silently and swiftly, closing the door behind her without making a sound.
After Sister Jingjing left, Little Ya pulled out her phone and opened her photo album.
There were countless pictures of Cifera—cute, cool, daring... all meticulously downloaded from the internet.
Gazing at Cifera's signature mischievous smile in the photos, a complex light flickered in Little Ya's eyes—a mix of competitive spirit and affection.
It was the same feeling a cat owner gets when their feline teases them: wanting to give it a memorable lesson while simultaneously finding its antics utterly endearing.
"Cifera, I'm coming for you!"
-
"Achoo~"
Cifera, who was chatting with Night Shadow, disguised as Lu Yue, suddenly sneezed.
"Sister Aya, are you catching a cold?" Lu Yue asked with genuine concern, having grown somewhat familiar with her.
Cifera shook her head and smiled. "Of course not. It seems someone's thinking about me~"
I bet it's Little Ya. She probably realized I muted her, right?
"Ha, a beautiful woman like you, Sister Aya, must have plenty of men thinking about her."
Just then, a female employee in the Starry Jewels uniform rushed over, breathless. "Miss Lu Yue! I've finally found you! Weren't we supposed to meet at the building entrance? Why are you here? Time's getting tight—we need to go upstairs for the fitting and rehearsal immediately!"
The employee's gaze instinctively swept across the table, landing on the elegant, golden-haired, blue-green-eyed beauty sitting across from "Lu Yue."
Her eyes widened instantly!
Oh—my—god!
This golden-haired beauty... her aura... she looks like she stepped straight out of an oil painting!
While Lu Yue was undoubtedly beautiful, this woman's aura seemed far more fitting to embody the "Starry Light"!
In an instant, a bold idea flashed through her mind.