“Guu…” Lu Yuan looked at the three people surrounding her and felt like she was being treated like a doll.
By now, Chen Lianxue had already changed into her pink poufy dress and timidly asked, “I-Is this weird on me?”
Sunlight streamed through the window, shining on her, and at this moment, Chen Lianxue looked exactly like a fairy who had stepped out of a fairy tale — like Alice from Wonderland!
“Super cute!” Lin Wan gave a thumbs-up. “It matches perfectly with my outfit!”
Lin Wan twirled in place, the blue hem of her dress swirling over a pair of sleek boots, a decorative longsword hanging at her waist.
“Wait a minute.” Lu Yuan squinted. “Cute style — check. Cool style — check. So why is mine the sexy style?”
“We held an online poll,” Su Li said calmly, scrolling on her phone. “The fans seem to love seeing you in that set — the ‘Dark Style Sexy Magical Girl’ look… it’s the top in popularity by far.”
“Who the hell voted for that?!”
“Me.” Lin Wan proudly raised her hand. “I used ten accounts and cast five thousand votes.”
That’s rigging! There’s definitely rigging here!!
“Alright, alright.” Su Li covered her mouth and laughed. “Tomorrow’s the debut performance, so you guys should get some rest. We won’t keep you any longer.”
“Oh, by the way! Lianxue, you don’t need to stay at Lu Yuan’s house anymore. I’ve arranged a place for you right next door. That way, you two can keep an eye on each other.” Su Li added to Chen Lianxue.
“Next door again?” Lu Yuan grumbled. Her teammates had practically sandwiched her house from both sides. It wasn’t exactly awkward, but still, she wasn’t used to it.
“If Sister Lu Yuan doesn’t like it, I can move,” Chen Lianxue said softly.
“Hmm…”
There’s nothing a little girl’s words can’t fix. The moment Chen Lianxue spoke, Lu Yuan’s heart melted.
“Of course I don’t mind! It’s nothing!”
Lu Yuan hurriedly added, afraid Chen Lianxue might overthink and think she was disliked. After all, a nine-year-old’s heart is sensitive, and Lianxue was so well-behaved.
“When I first moved next door to you, you weren’t like this.” Lin Wan said indignantly.
“Lianxue wouldn’t install surveillance cameras in my house like I did!”
“Guu…” Lin Wan looked defeated.
Su Li scratched her head, feeling like she’d just been hit by an AOE.
***
The sound of a key turning echoed sharply through the empty entrance hall.
Lu Yuan kicked off her high heels, her stockings brushing against the cold floor.
At this time yesterday, not only was Chen Lianxue following behind her, but Lin Wan was also sneaking around in her house, secretly stealing her intimate clothes.
Now, the entire house held only her shadow, slanting across the wooden floor in the fading light of sunset.
“I’m home…”
The moment Lu Yuan said this to the empty room, she suddenly froze.
Just half an hour ago, she had been trying on the clothes for tomorrow’s performance with everyone, so why did she suddenly feel so lonely?
Lu Yuan remembered seeing this phenomenon while scrolling videos before — something called withdrawal reaction?
***
Clatter.
Rain began falling outside the window, the time unknown.
Raindrops meandered down the glass like little snakes.
Lu Yuan didn’t bother turning on the lights; she curled up in the corner of the sofa, scrolling on her phone.
Her social feed was mostly posts from university classmates she knew before becoming a Magical Girl.
Another trip today, the boss yelling again… Lu Yuan hugged her pillow, only her eyes visible as she peeked into their lives through her feed.
Her thumb hovered over the like button but didn’t press it. She thought, whether she liked it or not, it wouldn’t make a difference.
Back then, she was just a nobody. Now, she still was.
Only, back then, Lu Qian was still alive.
***
When she got up, her knee hit the coffee table, and with a clatter, a photo frame slipped out from the drawer.
In the picture, a blue-haired little girl smiled brightly, holding a dirty soccer ball.
Lu Yuan gently traced the glass of the frame, her fingers pausing on Lu Qian’s face.
Suddenly, she felt the urge to visit Lu Qian.
***
The rain grew louder and more intense, and when Lu Yuan snapped back to reality, she was already rushing into the downpour, umbrella in hand.
The night lights of the graveyard blurred warm yellow halos in the rain. Lu Qian’s gravestone was spotless, with nothing on it.
Lu Yuan knelt down, her soaked skirt spreading across the bluestone.
“Qianqian…”
The umbrella slipped from her hand. Rainwater immediately ran down her hair into her collar. Strangely, Lu Yuan didn’t feel cold; instead, it was as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted, and she let out a long breath.
“I’m a Magical Girl now, you know. You have to call me ‘Sister’.” Lu Yuan wiped water droplets off the gravestone. “Even if I’m an unreliable sister…”
Raindrops slid down her cheeks, indistinguishable from tears. She pressed her forehead gently against the cold gravestone, just like when she was little and had played until exhausted with her sister.
***
“You know? I have friends now. A blue-haired fool who’s always noisy, a particularly well-behaved junior, and a very reliable senior…” Her voice grew softer. “If you were here, you’d definitely like them.”
The night wind swept through the rain and the graveyard. Lu Yuan tucked her rain-soaked bangs behind her ear. “I’ve been thinking lately, if only I could have been faster back then, stronger…”
“But it’s useless to say that now, right?”
Rainwater pooled at the base of the gravestone, reflecting the streetlight’s glow. Raindrops fell into it, sending up small ripples and splashes — beautiful enough to leave one speechless.
There was a saying: rain is God’s fireworks. Such a beautiful phrase.
“It’s funny, really. I even mistook that blue-haired fool for you.” Lu Yuan said lightly. “How does it go again?”
“In life, what stays deep in memory are always some intangible things. Honestly, Qianqian, I’m almost starting to forget what you look like. Maybe Lin Wan really looks like you. Or maybe it’s just that she also has blue hair. I just want her to be you.”
Lu Yuan suddenly laughed. “But she also slapped me awake — after all, she’s herself, and you’re you. It wouldn’t be good to mix that up. And now, I can finally protect others too. Though I still mess up and get scared, I can stand on my own.”
She paused, took a fruit candy from her pocket, and gently placed it at the gravestone’s base. “This is your favorite — orange flavor. I always carry one with me. You used to snatch mine all the time, but now big sister is giving it to you.”
The rain lessened, but Lu Yuan didn’t get up right away. She sat quietly, listening to raindrops pattering on leaves, as if waiting for an answer that would never come.
***
“I should go now.” Finally, Lu Yuan stood and brushed off her soaked skirt. “Next time… next time I’ll bring them with me to visit you. You’ll definitely laugh at how silly Lin Wan is.”
As she turned, Lu Yuan took a deep breath. She could feel herself slowly stepping out of that day’s shadow. The past was something to be let go.
Lu Yuan opened her umbrella again, ready to leave.
***
“Sister.”
A voice, so familiar it could not be mistaken, rang out.
Lu Yuan’s foot froze mid-step, her pupils shrinking sharply. She whipped her head around, looking toward Lu Qian’s gravestone.
The umbrella fell to the ground.
“Sister.”
Next to the gravestone stood a person she would never forget in her life.
The blue-haired girl smiled gently at Lu Yuan.
She repeated the word.
“Sister.”
Lu Yuan was completely stunned. There was no way she was wrong. Her mind kept confirming, repeatedly overlapping the figure before her with the memory of Lu Qian, then telling herself over and over again.
That was her.
“Lu Qian…?” Lu Yuan was dumbfounded. “You’re alive?”
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