Night lay heavy, but no matter how Jiang Lingwei tossed and turned, sleep refused to come.
She skipped past the dresses and those inexplicable clothes in the wardrobe, picking out a suitable set of pajamas before slipping under the covers.
Actually, she never had the habit of wearing pajamas before—she was used to sleeping naked.
But in this environment, wearing an extra layer gave her a semblance of safety.
After rushing back ahead of schedule, she had heated up the two cold takeout boxes left by the door, waiting for Jiang Yao to come home so they could eat together. Then she “explored” the entire third and fourth floors of the villa.
The fourth floor was mainly for entertainment—game rooms and the like. She didn’t go up to the attic, just opened the door to glance inside; there wasn’t much there, so she returned.
During this time, she found some photographs—the person in them was a twenty-one-year-old version of herself.
There were also pictures of her holding a little girl, presumably Jiang Yao when she was young. One photo even showed her smiling at the camera during pregnancy, sending a chill down her spine.
(How could this have happened… What came after the final battle?)
These photos proved Jiang Yao was indeed her daughter, and the glimpses of daily life brought Jiang Lingwei a slight sense of comfort.
Yet, in every one of these photos, someone was missing.
Her husband—the father of her child.
A little trivia: humans can’t have children alone; it takes two.
In the albums Jiang Lingwei found, there were some group photos of three people together, but the spot where the father should have been was always blank.
(Magic.)
The word appeared in Jiang Lingwei’s mind.
No normal scientific worldview could explain this. Visibly, the child’s father had taken many photos with her.
But he disappeared.
The only explanation was magic.
Only unreasonable, irrational magic could erase a person’s existence from the world like this.
Jiang Yao was still too weak to do something like this. Even among the magical girls she knew—her comrades at their peak, and herself—no one had that kind of power.
But Jiang Yao must know something.
She could feel her own body was unnaturally young, and Jiang Yao probably noticed that her mother was far too youthful as well.
Yet, so far, Jiang Yao had never mentioned it, nor did she seem surprised.
(But… better not ask if I can avoid it.)
No matter what had happened, something had clearly caused great trauma to her daughter.
Besides, even the brief time they spent together made Jiang Lingwei see just how deeply Jiang Yao yearned for familial love.
If there was a way, Jiang Yao would be more anxious than herself. That she maintained the status quo showed that even as an active magical girl, she had no clue about some things.
“Tch.”
Irritated, Jiang Lingwei ran her hands through her hair and turned over on the bed.
Today’s discoveries only complicated matters.
She didn’t care who that man was—their only connection was through this daughter.
But now, with memory gaps and this strange situation, her mind spun with dark possibilities.
After all, he was a man; she had occasionally read those little books labeled “hypnosis,” “control,” and the like. Not to mention, as a righteous magical girl herself, she had the ability to casually erase ordinary people’s memories.
Still, Jiang Lingwei refused to let her imagination run in that direction.
The thought of herself becoming some sort of heroine in this mess made her feel like the sky was falling.
“Fine! The ‘Find the Man’ plan is indefinitely postponed. First, find everyone else!”
No hesitation—she made the decision outright.
Escaping is shameful, but escaping feels really good.
Jiang Yao had spoken about the “First Generation” magical girls.
But Jiang Lingwei clearly knew that they were the true first generation, or rather, the “Zero Generation.”
They had simply erased almost everyone’s memories about themselves.
It wasn’t about caring for fame—heroes’ titles were never their goal.
But… where had all her old comrades gone?
“Sigh…”
She sighed, lying on the soft, comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling.
She couldn’t fall asleep.
The bed was comfortable, but it never made her feel at ease.
If she could, she’d go back to the old days—sleeping on a hard plank bed in the cramped apartment building, attending school with friends during the day, and gathering to fight darkness at night.
Not like now, exiled alone into the future’s endless river of time.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Just as she closed her eyes and tried once more to drift off, three knocks came from outside the door.
“Who is it?”
Jiang Lingwei almost sprang up, sitting upright with eyes blazing toward the door, fingers already clutching her transformation device, pressing on the gem.
“It’s me… Mom…”
Jiang Yao’s voice came from outside.
“Ah.”
Jiang Lingwei relaxed, removing her hand: “Come in, what’s up?”
Jiang Yao opened the door, sticking in a little head to peek and said, “Mom, were you having a nightmare just now?”
She must have sensed something off in her tone.
“No, no.”
Jiang Lingwei ruffled her slightly messy hair with a smile: “I haven’t fallen asleep yet. After all, I slept in that sanatorium for so long.”
She made a fingertip universe gesture between her thumb and index finger and asked, “Why are you here?”
Jiang Yao responded with a shy smile.
“Well… um…”
“Basically… I can’t fall asleep. Can I sleep with you?”
“Sure.”
Jiang Lingwei scooted over and lifted the covers to invite her in. This wasn’t a single bed, and there was plenty of room for two more Jiang Yaos.
“Mm hm.”
Permission granted, Jiang Yao, dressed in a little shark pajamas, cautiously stepped inside.
“Mom…”
She lay down under the covers, turned over, and spoke softly: “Can you… stroke my head?”
Jiang Lingwei: “?”
What was this?!
The lights were off in the room, and the tranquil darkness masked the blush on the girl’s face.
“Stroke my head… Mom.”
Jiang Yao lay on her side with her back to Jiang Lingwei, breathing in her mother’s scent as she spoke quietly.
“…”
Jiang Lingwei said nothing, simply raising a hand to touch her head.
“Mm…”
Feeling a sense of security blooming from deep inside, Jiang Yao closed her eyes.
The events of the day still lingered in her mind, and that pink-haired magical girl had given her the same comfort.
But that was forbidden! Only Mom was allowed to do that!
Jiang Yao wanted to deny it, but her feelings couldn’t lie to her.
Especially in her magical girl form, her spiritual senses were even more acute.
It gave her a shameful, guilty feeling—as if a cheating husband returning home to his wife.
Though she desperately hoped for Mom’s awakening, after Mom woke, she found herself lost in the touch of another… Wasn’t that a betrayal?
Now that she thought about it, Mom’s head strokes were truly comforting. That feeling of security even made her magic flow inside her body more smoothly and harmoniously.
(Yeah… Mom is Mom… Not some pink-haired magical girl…)
Jiang Yao’s gaze grew hazy as comfort and drowsiness swept over her.
(Not as gentle as my Mom…)
She fell asleep.
“Good night.”
Jiang Lingwei whispered softly to the girl, withdrawing her hand as the pink gem in her other hand ceased to glow.
Staring out at the moon that didn’t belong to her era, Jiang Lingwei leaned against the bedside, lost in thought for a long time.