“Wang Zeqi, grab lunch for me.”
Liu Shixing, now transformed into a pink-haired loli, lounged on his recliner, eyes glued to his phone without so much as a glance up.
“Why should I?”
“How do you expect me to show my face in the cafeteria looking like this at noon?”
Liu Shixing finally lifted his small face, righteously pointing at himself.
“You guys don’t want rumors spreading across the campus that we’re hiding a loli in our dorm, do you?”
“That’s true.”
Wang Zeqi had no way to refute that, then turned to Yu Hua, who was just about to head out.
“Yu Hua, then help bring back lunch for me and Xiao Liu.”
“Why me?”
“I’m an invalid.”
Wang Zeqi pointed at the gauze still stuck to his neck, absolutely justified.
“Alright, alright, I’ll get food for you guys.”
Yu Hua also tugged at Lin Ling, who was quietly reading beside him.
“Brother Lin, come on, let’s head to the cafeteria together.”
Yu Hua pulled Lin Ling along to the cafeteria, and they started chatting on the way.
“Brother Lin, why didn’t you head out early today for your investigation?”
“Because the investigation into the Spreaders has become a long-term operation. Only a handful of people are following up, so I’m on standby until there’s some real progress before I join in again.”
“But Xiao Liu’s situation is obviously the work of a Spreader, isn’t it? Shouldn’t the investigation be ramping up?”
“Exactly because, even with a new case like Liu Shixing’s, we’ve found no effective leads at all. That’s why the higher-ups decided to reduce manpower, to avoid pointless resource drain.”
Lin Ling’s tone carried a hint of helplessness.
“For now, all we can do is wait for the other side to make another move and slip up.”
“Yeah, that’s true… Pushing on like this would just waste your strength.”
Yu Hua nodded as well.
It seemed that the problem with the Spreader would just be left unsettled for now.
***
In the afternoon, Shui Hua returned to the Magical Girl Club.
Xing Li and Fei Xing had also arrived early to help with the investigation.
With the investigation wrapped up, the tasks for the Magical Girl Club had all been assigned, and soon the club became a hive of activity.
“Shui Hua, didn’t you deal with an orange cat Anomalous Entity on campus before? The follow-up Xuanchuan Huodong is scheduled for this afternoon, you haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“So it got pushed to today? I thought the investigation with Liu Jin had squeezed this out.”
“Yeah right, as if. Of course, it just got postponed. You know, our Magical Girl Club is all about publicity. Even if we’re not sent out on combat missions, there’s no way they’d miss out on such a good chance for promotion.”
“Seriously…”
Shui Hua was too tired to retort.
This time, the Xuanchuan Huodong was held at the university square.
The staff had already set up a stage, and had even blown up a gigantic Juchuang Qi Qiqiu Wanou in the shape of Shui Hua, gently swaying at the side of the stage in the breeze.
When the time came, Shui Hua, Xing Li, and Fei Xing—all three Magical Girls—descended gracefully onto the center of the stage.
Shui Hua in water blue, Xing Li in bamboo green, and Fei Xing in fiery red lined up in a row, instantly igniting the students’ excitement below. Cheers rose in waves.
As always, Shui Hua put on her business smile.
She was the one to give the speech this time as well:
“Hello, everyone! I’m your Magical Girl Shui Hua. A few days ago, I was honored to help deal with that mischievous little cat Anomalous Entity. Thanks to Shuicheng University of Technology for inviting us. I’m really happy to meet you all here today. And I’d like to take this opportunity to share some knowledge about Anomalous Entities.”
The next lines were already etched in Shui Hua’s memory; she was practically reciting them:
“As you all know, Anomalous Entities come in both broad and narrow definitions. Broadly speaking, they refer to people or objects who have lost control of their Meme, usually transforming entirely into the description of their Meme and losing all self-awareness and subjective will, displaying only the characteristics of their Meme. However, because some Memes are rather mild, a small number may even be considered by the Ability Bureau as Heroes.”
“In the narrow sense, Anomalous Entities specifically refer to those with extremely strong aggression—these are the ones our Ability Bureau targets most.”
“…”
After the speech, Shui Hua, so used to this by now, didn’t even feel out of breath.
She unconsciously swept her gaze over the enthusiastic students below, only to unexpectedly spot a few familiar faces in the crowd.
Wang Zeqi, neck wrapped in gauze but craning to see; Lin Ling, who somehow found time to attend; and Liu Shixing, the pink-haired loli, who, because of his height, was sitting on Lin Ling’s shoulders like a child, holding up a black umbrella.
Of course, there was also her girlfriend, Anpelin, trembling beneath her parasol in the dazzling sunlight.
When Shui Hua looked her way, Anpelin immediately sent a burst of excited eye contact.
Why did they all have to come…
Shui Hua grumbled inwardly, but thankfully, among the whole crowd, only Anpelin knew that Shui Hua was Yu Hua.
Thick-skinned, Shui Hua joined Xing Li and Fei Xing, forming a heart gesture with their hands toward the audience.
Anpelin, even more excited after seeing this, wedged her umbrella between her shoulder and head, freeing up a hand to make a heart back at Shui Hua.
“Don’t get sunburned,” Shui Hua communicated with her eyes.
“Then I’ll make half a heart?”
Anpelin understood, immediately switching to hold her umbrella securely with one hand, and keeping the heart gesture with the other.
“Okay.”
Shui Hua instantly got her meaning, smiling as she extended her hand, joining hers with Anpelin’s from afar to form a complete heart.
This action caused a stir among the other students, who thought it was an interactive activity for everyone.
They excitedly stretched out their arms, making half a heart to connect with Shui Hua’s gesture.
Next up was the autograph session.
Shui Hua had painstakingly practiced her elegant signature for this, a stark contrast to Xing Li and Fei Xing, who just drew a few circles and made a line for show.
Naturally, most of the line gathered in front of Shui Hua.
Anpelin was one of the first.
When her turn came, she hadn’t brought anything with her, just beamed and held out her pale hand.
“On your hand?”
Shui Hua asked tentatively.
“Yup.”
Anpelin’s gaze seemed to say, ‘I can find you whenever I want, so where you sign doesn’t matter, right?’
Then came her roommates.
Although Liu Shixing was a shut-in-turned-loli, he was unexpectedly proper at this moment, taking out a brand new notebook for Shui Hua to sign.
Wang Zeqi went for the abstract, directly handing over his advanced mathematics textbook.
Lin Ling was last among the three.
Shui Hua squinted at him warily, unsure what trick he was up to.
Lin Ling did not disappoint, pulling a mouse pad from his backpack.
Shui Hua could already guess who was on the mouse pad… but, unexpectedly, it wasn’t her, but Magical Girl Liu Jin—Lin Ling himself—in an official swimsuit-limited promotional image.
As unorthodox as it was, at least it wasn’t asking Shui Hua to sign on herself…
Shui Hua was thinking this when Lin Ling hit her with a bombshell:
“Excuse me, could you sign Liu Jin’s leg for me?”