"I Became a Witch, but Now Everyone's in Love with Me!"

Chapter 85: Can You Withstand Annie’s Attack?
 

“Do you have any orders?”
The girl hummed a pleasant tune, took down the sign at the door that read Owner will be away for three days, and walked into her shop with joy.
Because there were no other employees, when Jiang Cha—the boss, hostess, and employee—was away, her witch shop would enter a semi–self-service mode.

If a customer saw the notice and felt their commission was not urgent, they could take a blank form, write down their name, address, contact information, and request, then wait until Jiang Cha returned to process it.
This type of “temporary order” did not require a deposit in advance, so there was no cost involved. The order would be confirmed later, once Jiang Cha contacted the customers one by one to confirm the details.
It was also common for customers to leave orders with multiple small shops at the same time—it all depended on luck and speed. More often than not, the shop owner who contacted the customer first would secure the commission.

However, compared to other small shops in the same situation, Jiang Cha had one advantage: Annie from next door occasionally came to help look after the shop. This greatly increased the chance of winning commissions.
“No…”
“No, didn’t Senior Mephisto place an order?”
Jiang Cha rubbed her wrist, a magical question mark appearing above her head, which quickly turned into an exclamation mark. She roughly understood what this “commission” was about.

“Annie, I missed you so much~”
The girl nimbly walked into the maid shop next door, cutely gesturing for silence to the maid who noticed her. Standing on tiptoe, she hugged the shortest red-haired maid in the store from behind.
“Ah… I missed you too.”

Anne’s body trembled at the sudden embrace. For a moment, she thought it was another rogue customer and subconsciously gathered her magic, almost unleashing a fiery explosion. Only when she heard Jiang Cha’s voice did she relax, soft as a kitten meeting its owner.
“Annie is so soft and cute~”
“The store manager almost cast Explosion of Fire just now, didn’t she?”

On the side, one maid winked at another, exchanging a covert magical message.
“As expected of Miss Jiang Cha—she calmed down the frightened store manager so easily.”
The other maid shrugged helplessly.

“I heard that, you know?”
Jiang Cha’s sharp information-gathering ability allowed her to crack the encrypted conversation instantly, interjecting with a teasing remark. She turned quietly and winked at them, though outwardly she continued chatting with the soft red-haired loli.
“You’ve only been away for three days, and you say you missed me?”

Though it was a question, her gentle ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ tone made everyone who heard it think it was a girlfriend being coy.
——Even though Jiang Cha and Annie were only friends.
“Annie, do you know?”
Instead of answering directly, the girl spoke of something that seemed unrelated:

“The meeting between people is like the beginning of a life, and every day spent together becomes part of that life.”
“The concept of time’s length is relative.”
“When you’re young, even a few hours feel long; when you’re old, a year feels short.”

“And our lives together have only just begun, so even three days apart feels especially long for this ‘life’ we’ve started.”
The black-haired, red-eyed girl hugged Anne’s neck, gazing at her profile tenderly. The breath she exhaled carried the faint scent of green oranges, brushing against Anne’s cheek and making her feel shy.
But Annie’s intuition allowed her to notice the flaw in Jiang Cha’s words. Raising her head, she asked curiously:
“Then after we’ve known each other a long time, won’t Jiang Cha miss me if we don’t meet for three days?”

Unfortunately, the flaw she pointed out was exactly the trap Jiang Cha had prepared, waiting for her to step in.
“Because Annie is so cute, no matter how long we spend together, our lives will always feel as passionate as when we first met.”
“I will miss you forever, until the end of truth.”

“Wow!”
It was probably the most romantic and veiled confession between witches—so romantic that even the younger maids eavesdropping couldn’t help but cover their mouths and exclaim.
Anne blushed so hard she couldn’t even speak.

Only the two third-year seniors who had just secretly communicated with magic placed their hands on the plates, exchanging helpless looks.
“Take notes. If you had Jiang Cha’s skills, you wouldn’t be single.”
“No, I think Jiang Cha’s fate will be getting chopped into pieces. I don’t want to be hunted by jealous witches.”

“I heard that!”
They thought they were safe, but Jiang Cha clearly caught their complaints. Luckily, while they saw through her little tricks, they had no intention of exposing them. After all, the store manager had already fallen—there was no point in persuasion.
And besides…

Would Annie, who could glimpse fragments of the future, really not know Jiang Cha’s character?
“Jiang Cha is the best at deceiving people.”
Annie’s gentle words confirmed the suspicion.

Her lips curved in a faint smile as she bent down, slipping from Jiang Cha’s arms. Turning around, her face showed a happiness and helplessness Jiang Cha couldn’t quite understand.
“But I like it, so…”
The red-haired witch stood on tiptoe, leaning in until her nose nearly brushed Jiang Cha’s, her soft pink lips almost touching the other girl’s slightly red ones.

She whispered, dazed eyes trembling:
“Can you keep lying to me from now on?”
“!!!”

The tea girl froze, completely unprepared for Annie’s sudden counterattack.
She nearly stepped back to escape, but barely held her ground, her voice still flustered.
“Ah… this is okay?”

“Come to think of it, Lina mentioned a commission for me, right? Annie, do you know what it’s about?”
She hurriedly changed the subject. She couldn’t handle it anymore.
The red-haired little witch was lively, cute, gentle, considerate—a perfect sunshine girl who sometimes revealed an endearingly ordinary side.

And when such a girl suddenly leaned close, hands behind her back, asking, Can you lie to me forever?
Even Jiang Cha’s heart skipped a beat.
Thankfully, her inherent magic steadied her quickly, and Annie didn’t push further. The charged atmosphere faded, and the two returned to business.

“Yes, but it’s not a request for your shop. It’s for the maid shop.”
“Jiang Cha, do you want to accept it? If not, I can help you decline.”
Though Annie asked for her opinion, her tone and expression revealed she didn’t want Jiang Cha to take it.

“What an annoying little devil. I guess I still don’t know her well enough.”
The tea girl, who had nearly fallen apart, silently reflected to herself.