Chapter 44: Christmas in tokusatsu dramas always involves someone dying

The night felt exceptionally desolate.

Whether in the vast rural fields or the neon-lit city, whenever night falls and humans look up at the sky, an inexplicable loneliness and expansiveness stirs in their hearts.

Perhaps that’s the romance of the night.

Of course, in Nantong City, stars are usually invisible at night.

Only on rare occasions do a couple rebelliously peek through.

Tonight, though, there were quite a few.

After finishing his call with the fox monster, Fang Wei stood outside the crowded shopping mall.

From a distance, he spotted Xia Yuanhua’s tall figure.

Her long hair cascaded down her back.

She wore a white sweater underneath and a loose gray women’s overcoat on top, looking every bit like a poised model straight out of a fashion magazine.

What delivered the strongest visual impact was the pair of long, slender legs wrapped in black stockings beneath the coat, paired with high heels.

She leaned against the wall, one hand in her pocket, the other idly scrolling on her phone.

Her expression was cold and distant, as though nothing in the world interested her.

That style naturally drew frequent glances from both men and women.

Some guys who wanted to approach her casually turned their wrists, flashing expensive vintage watches.

But just like Xia Yuanhua’s outfit today—cool, aloof—she met those would-be suitors with an icy glare, not bothering to hide the contempt in her eyes.

It left the men slinking away awkwardly.

She seemed to harbor strong hostility toward strangers—or perhaps it was extreme.

That made sense.

After all, Xia Yuanhua was the kind of person capable of attempting suicide just to get one last fling.

Maybe the high-pressure environment of her family had shaped such an extreme personality.

Yet when he thought of how gentle and attentive she became around him…

Fang Wei raised his phone and quietly snapped a photo of Xia Yuanhua in full aloof big-sister mode.

Then, with a mischievous grin, he sent it to his older sister.

A passing guy nearby saw the move and froze.

Holy crap, bro, that’s so messed up.

In this day and age you still dare to secretly take photos?

Even non-creeps can get ruined with one accusation these days, and a sleaze like you would definitely get nailed for “indecent behavior” and hauled off to be shot.

The passerby wore an expression that screamed “don’t splash your blood on me,” and hurried away, terrified of being implicated as an accomplice when the “indecent behavior” charges came down.

Fang Wei ignored the disdainful stares.

A few seconds after sending the message, Xia Yuanhua—earbuds in—stiffened slightly in the distance.

She looked up in confusion.

The icy indifference on her face melted away like snow in spring.

The aloof big-sister vibe instantly regressed into that of a girl seeing something she adored.

She hurried over in her high heels—clack, clack, clack—then lovingly pulled Fang Wei’s head into her embrace.

Fang Wei wasn’t sure whether Xia Yuanhua was the strongest of Nantong City’s three magical girls, but she was definitely the biggest.

She possessed the broad-mindedness of a true powerhouse.

He had intended to pull away, but ended up accidentally burying his face in Xia Yuanhua’s chest for quite a while before she finally let go.

From far off, the guys who had tried to hit on her earlier—and the passersby—stared in disbelief.

Wait, you’re telling me the gorgeous big sister you were creepily photographing just ran straight into your arms the moment she noticed, flashing a heart-fluttering little-girl smile?

Goblin stroking chin.jpg

“Mmm… little Fang Wei’s scent…”

After treating him to a full-on chest-bump performance, Xia Yuanhua returned the favor by burying her nose against his collarbone, greedily inhaling some fragrance.

She didn’t care about the surrounding stares at all.

After several deep breaths, she wore an expression of blissful intoxication.

Because they were pressed so close, only Fang Wei could see that addicted, dreamy look on her face.

Wait…

Xia Yuanhua’s actions startled Fang Wei into sniffing himself, but all he could smell was her own body fragrance.

He didn’t have any particular scent?

“Sis, what’s wrong? You’re acting like you’re totally hooked.”

No, Xia Yuanhua was absolutely hooked.

As though she had tasted some forbidden delicacy, it took her a while to recover and realize she had lost composure.

Mainly because she missed their little Fang Wei so much—so terribly much.

She thought of him during the day, in her dreams, while talking on the phone at night…

Even her students had commented that Teacher Xia seemed much more spirited lately.

The main reason was their little Fang Wei, of course.

The secondary reason was that the school’s troublesome matters had finally been resolved.

“I just wanted to smell the scent on my little brother…”

Xia Yuanhua said something easily misinterpreted, then proudly lifted her head.

At five feet seven, she was already fairly tall among women, but still shorter than Fang Wei.

She cupped his face and made him look down at her.

“Because big sister has been very good lately and quit smoking. Smell me—there’s no more of that gross smoky smell anymore. Here, and here too!”

She pressed his face toward the full, uplifted curves beneath her sweater.

Fang Wei absolutely wasn’t going to perform a public “face-washing” routine, much less sniff more private areas.

He realized that after two weeks apart, Xia Yuanhua’s current level of pent-up desire was extreme.

But looking on the bright side, her mental state had improved a great deal.

She was genuinely trying hard to become the warm, dependable big sister her little brother deserved.

Perhaps a partner and someone to rely on really could change a person.

Or perhaps…

[Corruption Value: 62%]

The pressure stemming from her family still existed.

It was just that, in front of him, she wanted to become an even better, more perfect, and more dependable sister.

Maybe this also had something to do with Xia Yuanhua’s older sister, Xia Yuanjie.

He took the initiative to hold Xia Yuanhua’s hand and walk into the mall.

More and more passersby were looking their way.

Humans really were like that—either rubberneckers chasing drama, or bloodthirsty drama-chasers.

They were everywhere.

Over there, two college students also wanted in on the entertainment, curious which couple was drawing so much attention.

The guy was pretty decent—tall, handsome features—but looked very young, maybe eighteen… Damn normie!

As for the girl…

The moment they saw Xia Yuanhua, both students’ eyes widened.

They happened to meet her gaze and were immediately glared back into submission.

Te-te-te-teacher?!!

They exchanged incredulous looks, feeling as though the sky had suddenly collapsed.

Teacher, are we ever going to pass your class in this lifetime?

The college guy snapped to attention, declaring that he had seen nothing—nothing about Teacher Xia keeping a pretty boy, nothing about Teacher Xia publicly being all lovey-dovey with a pretty boy.

Pretty boy? That’s “Mistress” to you!

“Sis, don’t you feel like some of those stares just now were really weird?”

Fang Wei asked, puzzled.

Being this conspicuous wasn’t good; it would mess up his plan for tonight.

Xia Yuanhua smiled sweetly, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, laced their fingers together, and secretly tickled his palm.

“Oh, that? Just a few students from my class. They’re already a little scared of me during lessons. It’s a shame little Fang Wei isn’t my student—then you could call me ‘Teacher’ too.”

“No problem. Maybe next semester you really could become my teacher.”

Fang Wei replied casually, but the teacher-student romance topic seemed to pique Xia Yuanhua’s interest.

And her playstyle was even more perverse.

She leaned closer, the softness pressing against him making his heart race.

“A teacher is supposed to impart knowledge, instruct, and resolve doubts. During this time, little Fang Wei has taught big sister many things too. So little Fang Wei can be big sister’s teacher as well.”

Fang Wei bent slightly. “R-really? I don’t feel like I’ve done that much…”

“Of course. It’s precisely because of little Fang Wei that big sister has the strength to keep going.”

Xia Yuanhua’s lips parted slightly.

A warm, moist breath escaped with a soft “ha,” threading gently into Fang Wei’s ear.

She spoke with a girlish teasing tone, yet used that seductive big-sister voice to whisper against his ear.

“Isn’t that right… Tea~cher~?”

Fang Wei shivered, a pleasant numbness spreading through his body.

He hadn’t fought an all-out battle in a long time!

You have to understand—I can’t simultaneously be your enemy, your psychological healer, your student, your teacher, and the object of your sexual fantasies.

One thing was certain: Xia Yuanhua definitely had a bit of a sadistic streak.

She always called him “little brother” so sweetly and tenderly, as if she wanted to pamper him into a baby, but deep down she was full of mischief.

That puff of breath against his ear nearly made the pure-hearted boy lose control on the spot.

He could only cry internally: Guan Yu, don’t stir up trouble!

Fortunately, Fang Wei quickly shifted his focus, allowing his invincible second brother—Guan Yu—to sheath the Crescent Blade and avoid drawing too much attention.

But when he bent down, Xia Yuanhua definitely stole a glance.

She’s laughing.

This woman is definitely laughing to herself.

Sure enough, every woman has her own little schemes.

Don’t expect the world to contain any truly innocent, clueless girls who fall for you.

In reality, the vast majority of girls have at least a touch of little-green-tea energy.

But look at her—she wears black stockings, dresses up beautifully, speaks softly and clingily.

Acting this way in public is just so you can feel that masculine satisfaction, right?

Isn’t she just trying to hook you completely?

Scheming green tea?

All I see is a good big sister who understands my dark inner thoughts.

Fortunately, after the initial teasing, the good big sister didn’t do anything too outrageous.

She reined in her playful side and simply held Fang Wei’s hand as they walked through the mall.

With Christmas approaching, the mall was properly decorated.

Some stores had already hung colored string lights and placed decorative Christmas trees at their entrances, starting early discount promotions.

As a cadre of a villainous organization, Fang Wei had always felt a bit of PTSD toward Christmas.

Mainly because during this season every year, merchants were busy with promotions, student party members got demerits for holiday activities, and his favorite tokusatsu hero shows were busy killing people off.

Either a main-team member died, or a major-event villain died.

To tokusatsu fans it might be a joke, but as the second-in-command of the organization, Lao Wei genuinely found it terrifying!

How many Christmas tragedies have you seen?

Including but not limited to “the date that can never be reached,” “the Christmas gift dropped on the ground,” “the companion who passed away unnoticed,” “a victory party on one side while rivers of blood flow on the other,” and so on.

Why has our Christmas turned into this (sobs)…

Play is play, jokes are jokes.

As long as I set up a reverse flag in advance, I can outpace tragedy by one step.

Speaking of which, something big really was happening tonight—just orchestrated personally by Fang Wei.

After strolling through the clothing area with Xia Yuanhua, they wandered around the food court and the model-car section for a while.

Xia Yuanhua’s mom casually asked if he wanted to buy a car to play with, nearly causing the great son Fang Wei to pass out.

He had only earned five hundred thousand by throwing himself into the arms of a landmine girl, and he still had to split profits with Lao Chen.

Now Xia Yuanhua was opening her mouth to gift him a new car.

What else could he say?

The money from the hypnosis app hadn’t even matched what he earned as a kept boy.

He might as well marry Xia Yuanhua’s mom and bring this novel to a glorious conclusion.

“I haven’t even gotten my driver’s license yet. Let’s wait until I graduate college.”

He politely declined the rich big sister’s kindness.

Xia Yuanhua responded softly, “Okay then. Once little Fang Wei gets his license, big sister will gift you a new car you like.”

Fang Wei figured he probably wouldn’t be taking the test before he finished healing Xia Yuanhua.

As they left the model-car area, he kept glancing around.

The Christmas Operation to Heal Xia Yuanhua had still not begun.

Fang Wei wondered whether the fox monster had passed out from playing too hard.

Where was the promised magical beast?

He and Xia Yuanhua had been strolling for nearly two hours.

Forget about a magical beast—he hadn’t even caught a whiff of magical energy.

The crowd bustled around them.

People moved in their own circles with their own goals, creating a lively holiday atmosphere.

Of course, some were drawn by the handsome guy and beautiful girl pairing, but when they met Fang Wei’s wandering gaze, they quickly looked away.

He still hadn’t spotted that girl, Satsuki Sake.

Just as Fang Wei began to think the plan tonight probably couldn’t be carried out and considered alternative ways to heal Xia Yuanhua—

A gust of陰 wind carrying magical energy blew in from the mall’s emergency stairwell.

Out of the pitch-black stairwell darted a small white ferret.

It ran on all fours, frantically rushing toward them.

[Corruption Value: 0%]

It was the little spirit that stayed by Zhuge Yu’s side.

But a magical girl’s familiar shouldn’t carry such a thick aura of magical energy.

Fang Wei glanced at it from the corner of his eye.

It looked at Xia Yuanhua, then turned to Fang Wei in clear surprise, probably wondering why this guy was always around all three of their magical girls.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

The ferret leaped onto Xia Yuanhua’s shoulder and shook her vigorously.

“It’s bad, little Yuanhua! Outside—quick, look outside!”

Hearing the little spirit’s panicked voice, Fang Wei gradually relaxed.

At least the fox monster was somewhat reliable.

As the rotting, mental-toxin-like magical energy drew closer, Fang Wei turned his gaze toward the emergency stairwell.

He wanted to see exactly what kind of magical beast the fox monster had—

Huh?

[Corruption Value: 100%]

[Familiar Rank: Lv4]

A red corruption value, so deep it looked like congealed black blood.

“Ha!!!”

A wolf-like creature reeking of stench—as though its outer skin had been peeled off—suddenly strode into the mall.

It sniffed the air, and finally those scarlet pupils locked onto Fang Wei.

Fang Wei’s eyes widened.

This definitely wasn’t one of the organization’s beasts.

And wasn’t this a familiar?

An Lv4 familiar…

Judging by its posture and eyes, it was staring at him the way a predator fixes on prey.

Jackpot!

Fang Wei suddenly recognized it—this was the familiar of the Bloodline Lord, leader of the Second Kashu Empire.

A familiar belonging to an Lv5 magical beast.

In the instant his mind made the connection, right in front of everyone, the wolf familiar’s back tore open.

Jagged blades of flesh hacked wildly outward.

The sight sent people screaming and running.

No time for jokes or photos—in front of such a grotesque creature, even the drama-chasers didn’t want to become the drama.

Holy crap, aren’t we in a magical girl show? Where did Parasyte come from?!

That was the only thought in Fang Wei’s head.

He grabbed Xia Yuanhua and prepared to flee—only to be tackled to the ground by her instead.

“Watch out!”

Screech—

A blade slashed through the spot they had just occupied, leaving a deep gouge in the wall after the violent friction.

“That thing is… Run! Hurry to a safe place!”

Without another word, Xia Yuanhua shielded Fang Wei, a cut on her cheek from the fall dripping blood.

The wildly dancing blades shredded the mall ceiling.

Lights flickered on and off.

The wolf familiar’s eyes glowed with scarlet bloodlust.

It advanced step by step, its gaze never leaving Fang Wei.

Xia Yuanhua noticed this too.

The target of this familiar… seemed to be only little Fang Wei?