After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the three tactfully refrained from lingering, laughing and chatting as they returned to their seats.
However, the latter half of this hotpot meal clearly turned into a gathering between the two tables, each side casually putting dishes from the other’s selection into their own pot, or boldly picking food out from the opposite side’s pot.
Although this seemed a bit chaotic for a proper date, the lively atmosphere had its own charm.
“About time to go, right? Since we all go to the same school, let’s head back together?”
Yu Hua was just about to agree and leave with them, when he suddenly remembered that his bag still had his Magical Girl Magic Costume inside—he absolutely couldn’t just bring that straight back to the Dormitory.
“You guys go on ahead, I’m going to hang out with Peilin for a bit longer.”
Yu Hua hurriedly changed his words, waving to the three who were already standing up.
“Tut tut.”
Wang Zeqi shot him a knowing look, clicking his tongue with exaggerated understanding.
“The ugly side of those in a relationship.”
Liu Shixing also cast a harmlessly disdainful glance.
The two of them bickered and roasted Yu Hua as single dogs, and then left the restaurant together with Lin Ling.
Watching them go, Yu Hua finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.
“Yu Hua, where do you want to go tonight?”
Anpelin tilted her head, asking with curiosity.
“Not that I really want to go anywhere…”
Yu Hua awkwardly lifted the bag by his feet and lowered his voice, “I still need to find somewhere to put my clothes. I can’t just take them back to the Dormitory, right?”
“If you’re not taking them to the Dormitory, where will you put them?”
“For something I’ll probably have to wash and wear often… I’ll keep them at my Sister’s place.”
“How about this…”
Anpelin’s eyes lit up and she reached out her hand, “Just leave them at my place! That way, it’ll be convenient for you to change later, no need to run around.”
Yu Hua paused in surprise.
“That… actually makes sense… but for some reason, it feels kind of weird…”
“But before that,” he lifted the bag, “I need to Transform and find somewhere to change into the Magic Costume inside.”
So, Yu Hua took the bag and went into the men’s restroom again.
After making sure the stall was secure, he quickly murmured the word “Transformation.”
With a flash of light, Shui Hua appeared once more.
She let out a gentle breath and began to change clothes.
Shui Hua carefully took off her plain white T-shirt and black skinny pants, folding them neatly and placing them on the toilet lid.
Then, she reached for the bag containing the complex Magic Costume of a Magical Girl.
She first pulled out the main piece—a blue-and-gold dress—and put it on, pulling up the zipper on the back.
Next came the white over-the-knee socks and decorative leg bands for her legs, the water-blue ribbons on her wrists, and the star-shaped hair clip…
These accessories weren’t just for show, but part of the Magical Power Circulation System of a Magical Girl.
While they were troublesome to put on, not wearing them would severely affect her already insufficient combat power.
Last was the blue butterfly ribbon for tying up her hair.
Shui Hua skillfully gathered one side of her long hair, tying it into a side ponytail with the ribbon.
When she reached into the bag again, searching for the other ribbon, her hand found nothing.
“Where’s my hair ribbon?”
Shui Hua’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately replayed every step of packing her clothes in her mind.
She thought back carefully, but had no recollection related to the ribbon.
“Did I forget to pack it while changing… or…”
Shui Hua traced the bag’s whole journey in her mind.
She had always kept the bag in her hands or by her feet. If she hadn’t forgotten to pack it, then…
“No, no.”
Shui Hua shook her head, quickly pushing away that frightening thought.
After all, Lin Ling hadn’t come to question her, so it shouldn’t be that he’d stolen it—she probably just forgot to put it in.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Even if he took it, I could just say it was a special gift for my girlfriend. Yeah, I’ll just say that…”
Shui Hua wiped the sweat from her brow, preparing her excuse in advance.
With no better option, Shui Hua had to summon her magic power and carefully weave a temporary hair ribbon out of magic, tying up the other side of her long hair as well.
Once she was fully dressed, she released the Transformation, returning to Yu Hua’s appearance and carrying the bag with her regular clothes outside.
“Putting on the Magic Costume is a bit of a hassle. Sorry for making you wait.”
He spoke a little apologetically to Anpelin, who was waiting outside.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Imagining you clumsily changing clothes in a bathroom stall is part of my fun.”
Anpelin cradled her face, hiding her smile behind her hands.
Yu Hua, helpless, handed her the bag with his regular clothes, which she accepted with pleasure.
“It’s still early. If we go back now, it feels too soon. Want to walk around for a bit?”
“Sure, where to?”
“No need to pick a special place—let’s just wander around and chat.”
Hand in hand, Anpelin and Yu Hua walked out.
There happened to be a secluded Park nearby, and the two strolled along the tree-lined path.
“By the way,” Anpelin swung their joined hands, “don’t you already have Liu Shixing as a precedent among your roommates? She changed and everyone accepted her. If you just confessed to being a Magical Girl, it probably wouldn’t be so bad, right? At least you wouldn’t have to keep running around like this.”
“It’s not the same…”
Yu Hua sighed.
“Liu Shixing’s case was an accident. But for me… I’ve been hiding this for nearly three years. I always planned to take this secret to my grave. And besides, there’s a roommate who’s always had ulterior motives toward my Shui Hua identity…”
“Who?”
Anpelin instantly became interested and scooted closer.
“Is it that Lin Ling guy? The one who seems all gloomy?”
“How’d you guess so accurately?”
“One in three chance, even a random guess could be right.”
Anpelin giggled.
“But now that you’ve got me as your official girlfriend, it’s not like they can keep plotting against you, right?”
“That’s not the same thing…”
Yu Hua rubbed his temples.
“Mainly… it would just be way too awkward. Extremely awkward.”
He hesitated, but remembering Anpelin’s Soul Insight ability, and knowing that Lin Ling’s Liu Jin identity probably couldn’t be kept from her anyway, he simply confessed a bit more.
“Actually… Lin Ling is also a Magical Girl.”
“Huh?”
“He’s the other S-Class Hero Magical Girl in Shui Cheng, Liu Jin. I even blackmailed him once after accidentally discovering his secret…”
“Later, as Shui Hua, I ended up saving her by chance. After that, she… she fell in love with Shui Hua at first sight and even formally pursued me. I turned her down…”
“In short, it’s a big mess that’s impossible to straighten out. How am I supposed to come clean? Should I say, ‘Hey everyone, actually Lin Ling and I are both Magical Girls, and the bedsheet he sleeps on every night has my face on it’? That Dormitory would explode.”
“Pfft—”
Anpelin, far from being sympathetic, covered her mouth and shook with laughter, fanning the flames gleefully.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Just go for mutual destruction and mutual confession. Everyone can bare it all together! I can already imagine how exciting your Dormitory would be at that moment.”