In the evening, the office door of the Magical Girl Department was pushed open, and Xing Li and Fei Xing entered one after the other.
Xing Li’s eyes quickly darted over to Shui Hua at his workstation, her brows arching slightly, as if she had just discovered a new continent.
“Yo, did something good happen to you today?”
Xing Li moved in a little closer, tilting her head as she sized up Shui Hua.
“You look like you’re in a really good mood.”
“No way, am I being that obvious?”
Shui Hua reflexively touched his own face—cool to the touch, and his lips weren’t even curled up.
“Of course you are,” Xing Li nodded vigorously, ruthlessly exposing him.
“Usually you come to work looking like you’re on your way to an execution, but today you don’t have that dead look at all.”
Called out like this, Shui Hua decided to snap back, rolling his eyes at her, “Well, I’m not like you. For you, coming to work is just changing where you sleep, and your sleep quality is ridiculously good.”
“You got that right…”
Xing Li shamelessly admitted, but her curiosity only grew stronger as she almost pressed her face right up to Shui Hua.
“So, spill it! What good thing happened? Did you find some money? Or finally break through to C-Rank?”
Pestered by her, Shui Hua had no choice, and with a little smugness, he announced without hiding anything, “It’s nothing much, just… I’m not single anymore.”
“What?”
Xing Li’s voice shot up several notches, her face full of disbelief.
“Shui Hua, you… you finally bowed to reality and surrendered to Senior Liu Jin?”
“Obviously not,” Shui Hua denied immediately, a hint of pride in his voice.
“It’s a junior from our school, she’s also a trainee Hero, code name is ‘Red Moon’. Do you know her?”
“Red Moon… rings a bell, isn’t her Meme Vampire Meme? But I don’t remember too well, since she’s not one of us in the Magical Girl system anyway.”
She paused, a sour smile creeping across her face as she nudged Fei Xing, who was eavesdropping with her ears perked up.
“Did you hear that, Fei Xing? Shui Hua is off the market now…”
She shook her head in mock sorrow as she took Fei Xing’s arm, forming the single-people’s united front.
Waving at Shui Hua, she said, “Go on, go on, hurry up and get off work to spend time with your girlfriend. Leave these reports and tasks to us two lonely folks, me and Fei Xing.”
Shui Hua watched the department head, unsure if she was just putting on a show or being genuine, and couldn’t help but smile wryly before pushing open the door to leave.
But unlike usual, he didn’t fly out through the window, instead taking the elevator down to the lobby of the Ability Bureau headquarters.
The golden light of the setting sun stained the building’s glass façade, as the stream of people getting off work bustled about.
In the shadow beside the entrance, Anpelin was quietly waiting for him.
“Shui Hua, over here!”
Anpelin spotted Shui Hua and waved right away, her face lighting up with a smile.
She was obviously dressed up today, wearing a delicate black gothic long dress with fine lace at the hem.
Her silver-white hair was no longer left loose, but elegantly tied up with a black ribbon, a world apart from her casual, homebody look from the day before.
This outfit was also her attire as the Hero “Red Moon”, adding to her air of vampiric mystery and elegance.
“Peilin, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Shui Hua waved back, quickly walking over.
The two naturally came together, fingers intertwining tightly.
Anpelin’s hand had that signature coolness unique to vampires, while Shui Hua tried his best to warm it with his own small, warm hand.
Anpelin had deliberately asked about Shui Hua’s clock-out time and waited here in advance.
As a vampire, even though she had strong regeneration, sunlight was still her nemesis.
Her Hero work was mainly scheduled at night.
Shui Hua finished work at six on weekdays, while Anpelin started her night shift at eight.
Those two hours became their exclusive date time.
Though the Ability Bureau headquarters was on the outskirts of the city, over the years, a bustling commercial district had sprung up nearby, filled with restaurants and little shops, full of life.
Shui Hua originally wanted to take her to a barbecue place for a more formal date, but Anpelin shook her head with a smile.
“We’ll be going on dates like this from now on, right? Better to take it slow and steady.”
In the end, the two chose an affordable noodle shop and sat by the window.
As Shui Hua looked at Anpelin across from him, a question popped into his mind.
“By the way, since you’re a vampire, eating regular food like this… is that okay?”
As soon as she finished asking, she remembered that just yesterday the two of them had eaten together in the cafeteria, so obviously there was no problem.
Asking this now seemed a bit redundant.
“It’s fine. I just need to supplement with a little blood regularly, otherwise my diet is exactly the same as a normal person, and my taste buds work just the same.”
“But still, needing blood regularly… isn’t that a hassle? After all, blood isn’t easy to come by.”
“Actually, it doesn’t affect my life much.”
Anpelin took a sip of soda and continued, “With certification from the Ability Bureau, I can easily buy special blood packs at the hospital, just like buying drinks for ordinary people. The main hassle is really just the sunlight.”
She sighed, pursing her lips in grievance.
“Even with a specially made sunshade umbrella, going out during the day still feels uncomfortable. I’m totally drained. I haven’t basked comfortably in the sun for ages… In summer, if I want to play in the water, I can only go to the night pools. There’s no atmosphere at all.”
Hearing this, Shui Hua couldn’t help but sigh.
“Thinking about it that way, becoming a Magical Girl isn’t so bad? At least when I’m not transformed, my daily life isn’t affected at all… though, being a guy and all, there’s a risk of social death.”
“Being a Magical Girl comes with plenty of perks,” Anpelin immediately began ticking them off on her fingers.
“For example, you eat less, so you save on food. You can shamelessly pretend to be a kid and buy half-price tickets at certain places…”
“And,” she reached out and gently poked Shui Hua’s cheek, puffed out slightly from eating, her tone full of affection, “you’re really cute too. I just want to kiss you right here.”
Shui Hua’s face flushed red all of a sudden, nearly choking on his noodles.
He hurriedly waved his hands, his voice stuttering, “No, no… Not in a public place like this…”
Anpelin instantly caught the loophole in his words, grinning mischievously as she pressed on, “Oh? So you mean… it’s okay in other places?”
Shui Hua’s face turned even redder.
She never imagined she’d be the one getting teased.
Still as stubborn as ever, she said, “If it’s just the two of us, kiss me all you want, it’s not like I’ll lose a chunk of flesh.”
She immediately buried her head in her noodles, trying to hide her reddening cheeks.
Anpelin rested her chin in both hands, smiling as she watched Shui Hua eat, chattering away about all sorts of interesting and whimsical things.
“Shui Hua, do you think the two of us could apply for that ‘Couple Heroes’ thing?” she suddenly asked, excitement in her voice.
“Couple Heroes? What’s that?”
Shui Hua looked up from his bowl, utterly lost.
“It’s an official thing. Couples or heroes whose powers complement each other can apply to be a team. If we get combat assignments in the future, we could work together as a pair, maybe even get extra allowances and resources.”
Anpelin’s eyes sparkled, as if she could already see the two of them fighting side by side.
Shui Hua imagined the scene and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Let’s not. The two of us spinning around like tops—are we supposed to combine into Hurricane War Spirits or something? I bet we’d just get clobbered. Better to stick to finding a big shot to rely on.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Anpelin pouted in protest.
“I’ve only just started as a Hero! You can call me a spinning top for now, I won’t argue. But once I level up my Ling Neng and become a powerhouse, I’ll be able to carry you. I’ll be the Main C, and you just have to cheer for me on the sidelines.”
“Alright, it’s a deal. I’ll just wait for the day I get to cling to our Peilin the Boss’s leg.”