In the afternoon, Shui Hua pushed open the door of the Magical Girl Department office, only to find that Xing Li and Fei Xing, who should have been in class at this time, were both already here on leave and ready.
It seemed that the task of assisting Liu Jin’s investigation was of rather high priority.
“Shui Hua, did you see the messages in the group?”
Xing Li shook her phone, for once looking like she was actually ready to do something serious.
“I did, I did,” Shui Hua nodded and walked to his own workstation.
“Suspend all regular tasks and prioritize assisting the Liu Jin Squad in investigating holders of the Vampire Meme, right?”
“We’ve been assigned to visit six today… The three of us can split it up, two each. Since we can fly, it should be pretty efficient—maybe we’ll even finish early.”
“It’s better if you and Fei Xing are one group, and I’ll go alone.”
Shui Hua thought it was too difficult to let Fei Xing, a middle schooler, do visits by herself, so he took the initiative to handle half the team’s tasks.
“Our Shui Hua is as reliable as ever.”
Xing Li pulled Fei Xing next to her; she wasn’t too comfortable letting Fei Xing act alone either, even though Fei Xing’s rating was higher than Shui Hua’s.
“Alright then, it’s settled. I’ll go with Little Fei Xing, Shui Hua, you go alone—stay safe.”
The three of them then set out separately.
Shui Hua browsed the Ability Bureau’s map of Vampire Meme holders, and when his eyes swept over the Shuicheng University of Technology area, he unexpectedly noticed there was someone there.
That must be Anpelin.
“Hey, maybe I can interview Peilin?”
With that in mind, Shui Hua sent her a message:
“Peilin, are you there? I have some work-related matters—need to ask you about something.”
Anpelin replied almost instantly, “Of course! Where are you? Come wait for me downstairs at my Dormitory Building, I’ll be right down.”
Shui Hua’s appearance was still too conspicuous at the university.
He quickly found an empty rooftop, skillfully deactivated his Transformation, and returned to the form of Yu Hua before heading towards the girls’ Dormitory Building.
Arriving downstairs, he spotted Anpelin waiting in the shadow of the building from a distance.
She was still wearing that black Gothic dress, holding a black Sunshade Umbrella in her hand.
“I just found a place to switch back. I didn’t keep you waiting, did I?”
“Not at all…”
Peilin’s voice was weaker than usual.
Today’s sunlight was especially intense; even hiding in the shade and under the umbrella, she seemed a bit listless.
But as soon as she thought about teasing Yu Hua, her spirits perked up.
“So today it’s Senior Yu Hua form, huh? But if you were in your other form, I could’ve taken you up to my dorm. My roommates are all in class, so no one would disturb us~”
“I only changed back so I wouldn’t stand out too much.”
“Let’s hurry, let’s hurry, find a shady spot… I’m going to melt under this sun.”
Anpelin complained softly, tugging at Yu Hua’s sleeve.
“Then let’s not go too far, let’s just head to the Library.”
“Mmhm, let’s go there.”
Anpelin naturally moved closer to Yu Hua, raising her Sunshade Umbrella higher so that he could fit into this little patch of shadow as well.
“Why are you sharing your umbrella with me?”
Yu Hua instinctively tried to dodge, worried about taking up her shade.
“I’m not a vampire; the sun won’t melt me.”
“It’s fine, you’re my Sunshade Umbrella too.”
As she spoke, she had already wrapped an arm around Yu Hua’s waist, leaning half her body on him, as if making him her own personal sunshade.
The two walked to the Library in this unusually intimate manner, drawing scornful and envious looks from passersby.
At first, Yu Hua felt awkward under these stares, but after a while, he actually started to enjoy it.
You had to stay quiet in the Library, not a good place for conversation.
Luckily, the Library’s café wasn’t busy in the afternoon, so the two of them found a quiet spot by the window and sat down.
“So, what did you need from me? Is there some secret mission you want to assign to your girlfriend?”
Yu Hua remembered that Anpelin was also a Hero, and at the same time a potential Disseminator target, so he didn’t hide anything.
He told her everything about the Disseminator incident, the Ability Bureau’s investigation, and the situation where he needed her help, while also reminding her to be careful about her own safety.
“Oh, so that’s what it is. Sounds pretty scary,” Anpelin nodded seriously.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Also, do you have any impression of this blonde woman in the photo?”
Yu Hua sent her a screenshot from the surveillance footage.
Anpelin stared at the blonde woman in the photo, tilting her head and thinking for a while, but came up with nothing.
“No… I really don’t remember seeing someone like this. She’s pretty distinctive—if I’d met her, I think I’d remember.”
“Then do you remember exactly when and how you got infected with the Vampire Meme?”
Yu Hua asked another question.
“I think it was back in my second year of high school… I’m not sure of the exact day, but I remember I took a photo and posted it to my Friend Circle that day. If I check, I could probably find the date. Anyway, it was around June…”
“That morning, I got up like usual and walked to the window to open the curtains for some fresh air… but as soon as sunlight hit me, I was scorched. Luckily, my parents heard the commotion and quickly dragged me out of the sunlight. Afterwards, we went to the hospital, then the Ability Bureau, but they couldn’t find any cause and called it ‘Spontaneous Meme Alteration.’ It’s been so long now, I can’t recall the details anymore.”
So it seemed Anpelin wasn’t “seeded” by a Disseminator, which made Yu Hua feel a little more at ease.
“That’s really bizarre—it must’ve been tough to deal with, right?”
“Even though it was scary, and it made my life a hassle, at least I became a Hero. All in all, it was probably a good thing.”
Now that she’d shared her story, Anpelin naturally wanted to ask Yu Hua about his, so she leaned over and whispered, “By the way, Yu Hua, how did you become a Magical Girl?”
“I was conscripted by the Ability Bureau during the Meme Infection Wave and induced to undergo Transformation… But since my abilities were so weak, I wasn’t qualified to fight on the front lines. Most of the time, I just did patrols and handled publicity and other odd jobs.”
“And your daily life? I bet it must be really fun?”
Anpelin looked at him with a bright smile.
“What’s fun about it? I have to worry about my cover getting blown at any time, and because of my identity, I have to act cute and play dumb. I always run into situations where I run out of Magic Power and can’t transform back. But the good news is, I’ve developed an extremely thick skin, and now nothing I do bothers me anymore.”
There was a time when Yu Hua was always desperate to escape that kind of life.
But now, when he talked about it, he felt rather at ease.
Back then, he could have chosen to leave that identity behind, but instead, he hesitated.
And now, with a junior who liked him as well as a fellow in the business, it seemed there was no escaping this world anymore.