“Ugh…”
On the bed, Lu Yuan was sleeping soundly, the exhaustion from the past few days finally easing.
Her breathing was steady, one hand resting beside her pillow. Next to her, Qing curled up, her light blue hair splayed over the pillow like some quiet little animal, sleeping just as peacefully.
This tranquility was suddenly shattered by a sharp, persistent ringing from the phone.
“Ring ring ring—ring ring ring—”
Lu Yuan’s brow furrowed, and she groaned irritably in her sleep, trying to ignore the annoying noise. But the ringing was relentless, going off again and again.
Finally, extremely reluctantly, she struggled out of her sleep and painfully opened one eye, her gaze bleary and heavy with morning grumpiness.
“Who is it…?” she mumbled, sitting up. The blanket slid off her bare shoulder, and she groped for the endlessly ringing phone on the bedside table. Without looking, she pressed the answer button and said in a sour tone, “Hello…?”
On the other end, Liu Zhe’s anxious and cautious voice came through: “Miss Lu Yuan! Sorry to bother you so early! Are you… are you alright? Is Miss Qing with you?”
The moment she heard Qing’s name, much of Lu Yuan’s drowsiness vanished instantly.
She turned instinctively and saw Qing still asleep beside her, frowning slightly from the noise and curling closer. Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Mm…” she lowered her voice to avoid waking Qing, slowing her tone, “She’s here with me, sleeping soundly. What’s going on?”
Liu Zhe clearly relaxed on the other end, as if a great weight had been lifted: “That’s good, that’s good! Since the calamity attacked the hotel, I haven’t been able to reach her at all. Luckily she’s fine, really lucky.”
“Earlier the news even said she stabbed someone, but luckily Captain Su Li came out to explain that she was controlled by the Rose, otherwise if that girl ended up in jail, her parents would have killed me.”
For a moment, Lu Yuan didn’t know what to say.
Liu Zhe still didn’t know Qing was a Calamity, nor that she had no parents.
But perhaps it was for the best—to let Qing live as a human for as long as possible.
“Anything else?” Lu Yuan asked, noticing Liu Zhe still hadn’t hung up.
Liu Zhe paused, sounding a bit helpless: “Well… Miss Lu Yuan, I know Miss Qing is probably exhausted, but there’s a previously scheduled photo shoot this afternoon. Could you… maybe remind her about it? The studio and the client are both waiting…”
Listening, Lu Yuan’s gaze fell on Qing’s peaceful sleeping face. That pitiful, disheveled image from the other night flashed through her mind, and she couldn’t bear to wake her now.
“Postpone the shoot,” Lu Yuan said softly, but with unmistakable firmness. “She needs rest. Deduct the penalty fees from my commission.”
“Uh…” Liu Zhe sounded a little troubled but dared not argue. “Alright, I’ll handle it. We’ll let Miss Qing rest properly.”
Just as Liu Zhe was about to hang up, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered something and said:
“Liu Zhe.”
“Ah? Yes! What is it?” Liu Zhe replied, sounding surprised.
“Thank you.” Lu Yuan’s voice was sincere. “That night… thank you for sending the Crystal over.”
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. Obviously, Liu Zhe hadn’t expected to receive thanks, especially for that.
He seemed a bit flattered and embarrassed: “No, no! Miss Lu Yuan, you’re too kind! I didn’t think much at the time, just figured you might need it… I’m just glad I could help! Really, it’s nothing!”
Liu Zhe considered himself just an ordinary salaryman. Magical Girls’ thanks? That was beyond him.
“What help… you saved my life.” Lu Yuan smiled wryly. “One day when you’re free, come out and I’ll treat you to a meal.”
“Eh? But you’re a Magical Girl. It’s not really appropriate for you to just go out like that.”
“You’ve seen me untransformed, haven’t you?” Lu Yuan said.
“Uh…” Liu Zhe admitted, “Yeah.”
“Then there’s nothing to say. I’m inviting you out as regular Lu Yuan. Find a time.”
“Okay…” Liu Zhe scratched his head.
“Mm.” Lu Yuan said no more. “Handle the shoot. Don’t bother Qing.”
“Got it, got it! You and Miss Qing get some good rest!”
After hanging up, silence returned to the bedroom.
Lu Yuan tossed the phone back on the bedside table, turned to look at Qing still sleeping soundly, sunlight tracing the calm outline of her face. Long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her closed eyes.
Lu Yuan reached out and very gently brushed away a stray lock of hair from Qing’s cheek, moving carefully so as not to disturb her dreams.
Liu Zhe saved both their lives. A mere verbal thank-you felt too perfunctory—she had to be sincere.
Thinking that, she closed her eyes again and, surrounded by warm morning light and the soft breathing of the person beside her, sank once more into peaceful sleep.
It had been a long time since she had enjoyed a proper nap
***
Meanwhile, next door to Lu Yuan.
Lin Wan sat cross-legged on the living room carpet, a laptop open in front of her.
The screen displayed the words: “Device Offline.”
She glared at the dark phone screen and computer interface, teeth clenched in frustration. Her blue hair was almost standing on end.
“What the hell is going on!” she hissed quietly, angry enough to pound the floor but careful not to make noise. “How could everything break?! It was fine before bed last night!”
She relentlessly hammered the keyboard, trying to reconnect remotely, but every command fell into silence—no response.
The miniature cameras she had painstakingly installed all around Lu Yuan’s house seemed to have conspired to all go offline at the same time.
“Could Lu Yuan have discovered them?” Lin Wan’s heart skipped a beat, but she immediately dismissed the thought. “No way, I hid them so well… she couldn’t have found them.”
Could it be Captain Su Li?!
Damn it! That was unfair competition! How could anyone sabotage equipment in the fight for Lu Yuan?!
But after a moment, Lin Wan calmed down. Su Li wasn’t the type to do something like this.
She irritably scratched her head, her gaze drifting involuntarily toward the shared wall next door.
A strong curiosity gnawed at her like a swarm of ants.
What exactly happened between Lu Yuan and that mysterious Qing last night?
After Captain Su left, what happened between them?
Just then, she vaguely heard the faint sound of Lu Yuan answering a phone next door. Though she couldn’t catch the exact words, she sensed Lu Yuan had been woken and sounded hoarse and annoyed.
Then the call ended, and silence returned.
Like a cat catching a whisper of the wind, Lin Wan immediately perked up, pressing herself close to the wall.
But beyond silence, there was nothing.
“Ugh!” Lin Wan puffed her cheeks in frustration.
She didn’t know the details, but a strong intuition told her this definitely had something to do with that seemingly innocent Qing.
What the heck! Having Captain Su Li was already enough trouble! Now there’s a little sister-type character too!
“Alright then…” Lin Wan narrowed her eyes, a sudden competitive spark igniting in her, “Playing dirty with me, huh? Thinking you can monopolize Lu Yuan like this? Hmph! Just you wait!”
Lin Wan remembered Lu Yuan liked sports cars. Where she had learned that, she no longer recalled—she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
She downloaded a car-buying app and swiped through the listings.
If she could win Lu Yuan’s heart by giving her a sports car, she’d get ahead of everyone else!
… Lin Wan’s finger froze on the screen.
What kind of price is this?!
She had never paid attention to sports car prices before—were they really this insane?
Did Captain Su Li have this much money?!
Gritting her teeth, Lin Wan thought:
No way. For Lu Yuan, I’m willing to take on another part-time job.
Damn it, I’m all in!