I didn’t sleep well.
Su Li stood at the door of Lu Yuan’s hospital room, rubbing her eyes.
The airplane sleep trick really worked; she fell asleep quickly after takeoff.
But what was with this soreness all over her body? It felt like someone had kneaded her like dough. She couldn’t straighten up at all, and her head was still fuzzy.
She sighed and gently pushed open the door.
There was a small bulge on the hospital bed—Lu Yuan curled up under the blanket, only a tuft of her black hair sticking out.
Su Li smiled. This kid really treated the hospital like her own home.
“Lu Yuan,” Su Li whispered softly by the bed, “It’s time to be discharged.”
Mumbled sounds came from under the blanket. The bulge twitched twice, then went still again.
Su Li sighed in resignation and reached out to gently pull back the covers.
Lu Yuan was clutching a pillow, sleeping soundly, her cheeks faintly flushed from deep sleep, with a bit of drool still at the corner of her mouth.
Her patient gown was crooked at the collar, revealing the still-healing scars on her collarbone.
So unguarded… Su Li swallowed hard.
Mm…
She shook off her wandering thoughts, pulled out a still-warm rice ball from her bag. “If you don’t get up soon, I’ll eat breakfast by myself.”
The aroma of the rice ball filled the room. Lu Yuan’s nose twitched a couple of times, her eyes still closed, but her body honestly leaned toward the source of the smell.
Then with a “thud,” her forehead bumped right into Su Li’s elbow.
“Ugh…” She covered her forehead and finally opened her eyes, looking groggily at the person in front of her. “Su Li…?”
Her sleepy voice was soft and sweet, making Su Li’s heart skip a beat. Looking at Lu Yuan’s dazed face, her hand froze mid-air, suddenly forgetting what she was about to say.
Sunlight fell perfectly on Lu Yuan’s upturned face, her sleepy eyes shimmering like scattered gold.
“Your clothes.” Su Li turned her face away and placed the bag with casual clothes on the bed. “Change and come out.”
She quickly stepped out of the room and leaned against the hallway wall to take a deep breath. Strange, the air conditioning was on full blast, so why were her ears so warm?
She thought of Lin Wan’s words again.
Is this… liking someone?
***
Ten minutes later, the hospital room door crept open just a crack.
Lu Yuan poked her head out, wearing an oversized sweatshirt that was obviously Su Li’s. The hem covered her shorts, making her look like a little black cat who’d stolen adult clothes—just wearing a top.
“Um…” She shyly tugged at the hem. “It’s kind of big… Su Li, you’re pretty tall.”
Looking down at the emptiness across her chest, Lu Yuan thought Su Li was not just tall, but also well-endowed—in every sense.
Such a sad story…
No, wait! Why am I, a guy, worrying about this?! And mine isn’t exactly small!
“It’s not too big. I quite like it.” Su Li said.
What do you mean “not too big and I quite like it”?!
Oh… the clothes. Never mind then.
“Since you’re dressed, let’s go pick up the other person for discharge.”
“Another person?” Lu Yuan followed behind Su Li, blinking curiously. Her steps were still a little unsteady, the oversized sweatshirt’s hem swinging lightly, revealing her fair thighs.
“Yeah, room 306.”
Su Li’s gaze unconsciously drifted elsewhere, deliberately avoiding looking at Lu Yuan. She was just too adorable right now; it would mess with her heart.
***
After going down a few floors and turning a corner in the hallway, the door to room 306 was ajar. Through the crack, Lu Yuan saw a frail girl sitting by the window.
She held a book in her hands, pink hair falling over her shoulders, looking so delicate—like a little bird resting by the window.
“Lian Xue.” Su Li gently knocked.
The girl turned her head. The moment she saw Su Li, her eyes lit up. “Captain Su Li!”
Her voice was as soft as a feather, but when her gaze landed on Lu Yuan, she visibly shrank back.
“And this is…?”
“This is Lu Yuan, our new Magical Girl,” Su Li introduced. “Lu Yuan, this is Chen Lianxue, Officer Chen Xin’s daughter.”
Officer Chen Xin’s… daughter?!
Lu Yuan was a bit surprised.
“H-hello, I’m Lu Yuan.” Lu Yuan extended her hand.
“Uh… hello.” Chen Lianxue shook Lu Yuan’s hand.
Something felt odd. Lu Yuan’s impression of Chen Xin was that of a decisive, no-nonsense woman. Although this “decisive” side mostly targeted Lu Yuan herself… but her daughter was so quiet, even somewhat fragile?
Lu Yuan noticed the Transformation Crystal hanging around Chen Lianxue’s neck. Looks like the gift from Rose was taking effect.
A villainess with principles, huh.
***
“Starting today, Lian Xue is under your care,” Su Li said unexpectedly.
“Oh, okay.” Lu Yuan replied indifferently, then suddenly as if she realized something, she shot Su Li a sharp look. “Wait… you mean… I’m supposed to take care of her?”
“Yeah. You’re the best among the rookie Magical Girls, and you did quite a lot in this incident. You’re an important figure. You’re the best choice to mentor another rookie.” Su Li nodded. “Besides, there are only two people in your team now. With a third, you can officially become a team.”
What do you mean “did quite a lot in this incident”?! Lu Yuan thought bitterly. Most of the time she’d spent either unconscious or being threatened. How was that contributing?
“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Captain Su Li.” Lu Yuan answered.
“About Chen Xin’s situation… I told Lian Xue that her mom went on a business trip to the big city, Yun Jing. She seemed to believe it, so don’t let it slip.” Su Li whispered to Lu Yuan.
“Got it.” Lu Yuan nodded.
“Lu Yuan-senpai… please take care of me.” Chen Lianxue bowed slightly to Lu Yuan.
“Ah, um…” Lu Yuan scratched her head awkwardly.
Rumor had it that Chen Lianxue had been in a coma for ten years. Judging by the timeline, her body was nineteen, but her mind had stopped at nine years old. So even though she was close to Lu Yuan’s age, she still called her senpai, or sister Lu Yuan.
Senpai… hehe, not bad.
Lu Yuan was about to drool.
“Slap.”
Su Li’s hand struck Lu Yuan’s head, jolting her out of her daydream.
“Hey! Su Li, what are you doing?!” Lu Yuan hugged her head. This was the second time today her head had been hit hard.
“Stop daydreaming. It’s time to get serious.” Su Li said.
Lu Yuan looked at Su Li with a wronged expression. For some reason, she thought she saw a hint of jealousy on Su Li’s face.
***
“Waaah… serious? Isn’t everything about Rose already settled?” Lu Yuan protested. “What serious stuff is left?”
After everything she’d been through—things only seen in manga and novels—she just wanted to go back to her little cat den, eat chips, watch TV, and play games.
“Of course there is. You think a job that pays a hundred thousand a month is that easy?” Su Li tapped Lu Yuan’s forehead.
“Now that Lian Xue has joined, you two need to come up with a team name and prepare for your official debut.”
“Debut?!”
Lu Yuan had been grumbling about Su Li bullying her every day, but this debut talk completely wiped away all other thoughts.
You mean I’m supposed to stand in front of a big crowd, under the spotlight, wearing a little skirt to sing, dance, rap, and… okay, no basketball?
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