Internet Addiction Elf

Tang Ming was driving with great concentration. After stopping at a traffic light, he turned around and saw his senior sitting quietly to the side without saying a word. The senior noticed his gaze and tilted his head to meet his eyes.

"Senior, don't worry. I'm not actually that worried, I'm just a little troubled by the work arrangements for the future..." Tang Ming said after a moment of silence.

"Hmm, anyway, I've been following you around for work these past few days, so I can handle the magical girl tracking you... Speaking of which, we met Hoshino once before. I wonder what kind of kid is underneath that skin?"

Hua Lingyou smiled knowingly.

Tang Ming asked curiously, "Why would you think she's a little kid? Magical girls just look young; it's hard to say their actual age."

"It is said...it is said that the elves of the Demon Realm really like little girls, so they tend to choose young girls when making their selections..." Hua Lingyou chuckled maliciously, as if she had transformed into the queen in Snow White.

"How did it suddenly slid into a little girl... But I see." Tang Ming was surprised to learn that elves had this kind of fetish when choosing contractors.

"I'm not lying to you. The boss said it himself. He's seen elves before." Hua Lingyou pouted, afraid that Tang Ming would think she was making it up.

Tang Ming didn't speak, but for no reason, he thought of Lin Ruoyu's figure, then compared it to the word "little girl," and crossed it out.

It seems I was overthinking things...

"Who are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed..." Hua Lingyou received no response and turned to Tang Ming, her smile fading.

"I miss my wife."

"Heh, I didn't expect you to still be such a mushy person."

Tang Ming rolled his eyes at him, turned the car around, and drove towards the company.

-----------------

"Hi~ Xiaoyu, Xiaoshuang, we're back!"

Lin Ruoyu and Li Shuang were awakened by the lively noise. They looked groggily at the door. After the noise had been going on for a while, Yui walked into the house on Kaoru's shoulder, waving and happily greeting them.

"You must be tired from work!"

"Where did you go... Have you eaten?" Lin Ruoyu rubbed her eyes, pulled her hands away from Li Shuang's koala-like embrace, and shook them off with difficulty.

My arm is so numb...

"We'll go patrol the streets together, and grab some desserts along the way. We won't have lunch, but we brought you some food too."

Yui flew up, took the plastic bag, which was bigger than herself, from Hoshino Kaoru's hand, and placed it on the table with a pale face, indicating that she had also done some work.

"It's only a two-step distance, and you still insist on doing it..." Xun glanced at it sideways and said irritably.

"I'm so cute and petite, I can just focus on my eyebrows... That's what I saw online, and many girls say that."

Yui, no bigger than a palm, stood on the table, carefully trying to open the bag. But her fingers were too small, and she couldn't open it no matter how hard she tried. Kaoru sighed as she watched the fragile plastic bag being poked through several holes. She then gently pushed Yui's small hands aside and carefully opened the bag.

"Sisters?! What sisters did you get?" A loud voice suddenly rang out, startling Hoshino and Yui, who both trembled.

Li Shuang lost "Koala's Tree" and fell headfirst to the spot where Xing Yu had just been. When she came to her senses, she immediately responded very supportively to Yui's words.

"We met online. People on the app all like to call each other 'sisters'..." Yui patted her chest to calm herself down, as if she really had a heart.

"Um, Yui, you should spend less time on your phone. Don't waste your time searching for talent instead of doing something productive." Li Shuang adopted a patriarchal tone, pointing at Yui with her finger.

"Wait, where did you get your phone? Were you secretly playing with mine?" Li Shuang suddenly realized this and asked suspiciously.

"No way!" Yui crossed her arms in front of her. "I play with Hachi..."

"Doesn't she have to go to class every day?" Lin Ruoyu interjected.

"So I go to her dorm every day to play on her new tablet. Hehe! The people in her dorm can't see me, or they're all fast asleep in bed, which is so comfortable for me!"

Yui happily rubbed her face, and Hoshino thought of the hamster that washed her face.

"..."

The three of them frowned and looked at it with strange eyes, as if they had a lot to say but didn't know where to start.

Xun thought for a moment and spoke first: "Does Xiao Ba know that you went to her dorm and played on her tablet?"

"Uh..." Yui's eyes darted around.

"You go out every day just to visit Xiao Ba's dorm?! I remember Xiao Ba was bought a month ago... You haven't been doing this every day for a month, have you?!" Even someone as unserious as Li Shuang found it unbelievable.

"It's not every day... I've gone out with you guys before." Yui's voice trailed off.

Li Shuang felt that this "child" was ruined; he had become addicted!

Aside from the weekends when she goes to the suburbs with them for training, Yui doesn't need to think about what she'll do on the other five days.

Lin Ruoyu's usually composed face cracked slightly: "Yui, the mission to find a suitable magical girl... you didn't basically do any of it, did you?"

Although the sentence ended in a question, Lin Ruoyu's expression was that of a definitive statement.

"No! There really isn't one..." Yui lightly leaped and pounced on Lin Ruoyu's chest.

"Hello!"

"I've already found two promising talents, and they've shown promise... Although we're still observing and waiting to see what happens, I've done my best to fulfill what you asked me to do."

Yui pulled at her clothes, which fell onto Lin Ruoyu's lap. Yui sniffed them and said with an unbearable expression, "It still has a strange smell. It's so uncomfortable."

But fearing that Lin Ruoyu would be angry because of her dereliction of duty, she still endured the discomfort deep in her soul and sat on Lin Ruoyu's lap.

"Never mind... just don't try to brush me off. The current defense system of the Magic Department has big problems. This morning, Li Shuang and I talked to the minister and will select a new magical girl as soon as possible."

After exchanging glances with Li Shuang, she nodded helplessly, then picked up the little elf and placed it on the table. She could tell that Yui was not feeling well; the foreign substance in her original body had not yet been completely purified, so she didn't want to make things difficult for Yui.

Li Shuang was already sitting at the table, rummaging through the food in the bag. She said leisurely:

"Don't lie to us, okay? How about we go check out the candidates tonight?"

"Hmph! I didn't lie to you," Yui said angrily.

"You lied to Xiaoba and secretly played with her things..." Xun exposed him directly.

Hoshino looked at Kaoru with amusement, and surprisingly saw a hint of malice on Kaoru's usually serious and quiet face.

"This...this doesn't count. Anyway, finding a suitable contractor is my job. I'm a model elf, and I can definitely complete my job perfectly."

"Aren't you the ones I found?" Yui had a sudden inspiration and came up with this righteous argument, instantly regaining her usual composure after being "suppressed" by the three girls.

"Okay, but you have to be honest with Hachi about it, and then never look at electronic devices again. What's the point of an elf playing with human stuff?"

Li Shuang pouted, snatched the box that Yui had opened, swallowed the tiramisu inside, and while making an expression of indulging in the delicious food, she mocked her in annoyance.