Since childhood, Xia Yuanhua had longed for the existence of being a magical girl.
She imagined wearing a magnificent dance dress, adorned with sparkling accessories, and defeating terrifying villains alongside her companions amidst laughter and joy.
Watching those cool magical girls on the screen — who were only slightly older than her, yet could host tea parties with friends all day and defeat villains with a smile — the girl’s eyes would sparkle.
Calling it a longing was an understatement; it was more like envy.
She envied the cool, unconstrained figures of the magical girls and their glamorous daily lives.
She was nothing like them.
Aside from the time she spent studying, her life was packed with all sorts of messy extracurricular classes.
If her overall scores fell below the top ten in her grade, she would be beaten and scolded by her father.
Every morning and evening after school, she had to go to interest classes to study music and dance.
On Saturdays and Sundays, she was forced to stay at the Children’s Palace, her hands stained black by sketching pencils.
Because of this, she had very little to talk about with her peers.
She didn’t understand the Korean or domestic boy groups that other girls frequently discussed at all.
Even as she grew a little older and wiser, her hobbies remained the things she had seen on her older sister’s computer: Sailor Moon, Saint Tail, and Cardcaptor Sakura.
But these interests were not something she could show off in her family or social circles.
In her household, her father was a so-called high-level intellectual who took the education of his two children very seriously.
Because he was often busy with work, he rarely came home.
Her mother, on the other hand, would buy various statues of Bodhisattvas and constantly mutter about spirits and gods, filling the living room with the scent of incense.
Her father often said, “Our family has already produced one star athlete; we must also produce a student of the arts.”
But she had no “artistic cells.”
She had to practice for a long time just to warm up her voice, her waist hurt from being poked by the teacher, and her ligaments were less flexible than everyone else’s.
She would cry every time.
She understood nothing about composition or color.
The sentence she heard most often was, “You’re a far cry from your sister!”
Such belittlement accompanied Xia Yuanhua throughout her childhood, but she did not hate her sister.
In a family where the parents were not harmonious, the relationship between the two sisters was actually very good.
In fact, not long ago, her sister — who was in high school — had even asked her if she wanted to escape their parents together.
It was a sincere invitation, an entreaty even.
Xia Yuanhua had refused.
Even though she had known from a young age that this was a broken home, to an immature child, it was still her only safe harbor.
The event that completely shattered this safe harbor occurred on her 13th birthday.
In her memory, she had recited the “gratitude letter” her parents demanded in front of their relatives, made the wish they required for her to “get into a Double First-Class university,” played the violin, and eaten the cake.
Afterward, she returned to her room alone, preparing to work on today’s tutoring worksheets.
On her desk sat a mug printed with a beautiful pattern.
It was a birthday gift from her sister, merchandise from the anime Mirmo de Pon!.
Her sister had pressed it into her hands on the day she asked if Xia Yuanhua would leave with her.
After that day, her sister never came back.
‘Was it really right for me to leave her all alone?’
Xia Yuanhua wondered blankly.
The sound of her pen scrawled “scratch, scratch” across the worksheet.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but as expected, the sound of glass shattering and a man’s roar erupted from the living room.
“This family should just break up! If no one wants to admit they’re wrong, then it’s all my fault, okay!”
“I’ve had eight lifetimes of bad luck following you! Look at those relatives of yours…”
“If you can’t stand it, then get out! Did you buy this house? Did your family contribute a single cent when I bought the car?”
“My mother said when we got married that you’d never amount to anything. Look at Secretary Wei from your school — AHHH!”
A heavy slapping sound rang out, followed by the chaotic crashing of falling objects that made the room tremble.
It started again.
It seemed even worse than last time.
She remembered that last time, her mother had believed the words of some “master” and bought a five-figure walnut bracelet.
Her father had smashed a bowl against her head, leaving her face covered in blood, and her father’s neck had been shredded by her mother’s nails.
After her father left, her mother had hugged her tightly and said earnestly, “Little Yuanhua, you see that? Your father is a loser. He can’t earn any money. Before, he insisted on having your sister learn diving. What use is that? You must never live a worthless life like your father and your sister.”
“Little Yuanhua, Mama only has you left. Do you know how hard it was for Mama to give birth to you? Mama prays to the gods and Buddha hoping you’ll be happy in the future. Mama can only be happy if you are happy…”
Xia Yuanhua’s gaze was dull.
The sound of things being smashed outside gradually died down, and someone slammed the door and left.
She buried her head in her worksheets as usual, pretending nothing had happened.
But for a 13-year-old child, how could there be no turmoil?
Tears mixed with snot dripped onto the worksheet.
She buried her head in her arms and fell into a groggy sleep.
In her dream, she saw her sister.
By the time she woke up, the night was very deep, and the house was deathly silent.
She was used to being alone anyway.
Xia Yuanhua wiped the tear stains from her face.
It was a bit cold.
She was about to go back to bed when she suddenly heard a “thump” followed by “Found you.”
A grey-furred ferret with a slender body, a small pink nose, and red eyes crawled out of the mug.
Under her shocked gaze, the ferret didn’t ask her for a favor, but instead spoke that classic line: “Will you sign a contract with this ferret and become a magical girl?”
Eh?
Xia Yuanhua stared incredulously at this ferret that could actually talk.
For an ordinary girl, this was far too magical and surreal.
‘Am I still dreaming?’
It didn’t feel like a dream.
Whether it was the luster of the ferret’s fur or the sound of its voice, everything was crystal clear.
At this moment, the girl realized that her childhood dream had come true.
Magical girls really existed in this world, and she was the chosen one.
This joy allowed her to temporarily forget her sorrow.
She clutched her chest, feeling her heart race.
‘Can I really become a magical girl?’
“Then… is there anything I need to do?”
“You just need to nod. Sign a contract with this ferret to become a magical girl, and you’ll even have the chance to grant any wish.”
To become a magical girl and have a wish granted?
Was there really such a “buy one, get one free” deal in this world?
Xia Yuanhua felt her head spinning.
She completely forgot how to think; she only remembered the sparkling heroines in the anime.
In anime, no matter how many difficulties and sorrows they faced, the cool and flashy protagonists could overcome them all.
Then, could Mom and Dad make up? Could her sister also…
“I want —”
Xia Yuanhua opened her mouth impatiently.
But as the words reached her lips, she reined in her thoughts that had drifted to the heavens.
As if making a final decision, she said, “I wish for my father, mother, and sister to all find happiness!”
This was the wish most craved by a child who grew up in this rotten family.
“That’s possible. After all, magic and miracles do exist in this world.”
In the room that had been turned into a ruin by her parents’ quarreling, light blossomed, and a golden Soul Gem emerged.
It was shaped like a circular yellow gemstone pierced by a silver hairpin.
A cage-like pattern surrounded the gem, and inside, there was a black silhouette of a girl kneeling in prayer.
The magical girl’s contract was established.
That night was the happiest night of Xia Yuanhua’s life.
The next day, it felt as if all her fatigue had vanished.
Her originally slow brain became sharp, and her whole body was filled with motivation.
School was no longer depressing, she could hit the rhythm on the piano perfectly, and she could even do the splits in dance class.
Most importantly, that ferret told her that her wish would soon come true!
The girl was just like the silhouette in her gem, praying and waiting.
She spent a week full of anticipation.
During her piano class, she suddenly received a message.
It wasn’t the long-awaited wish coming true, but a shadow that she would never be able to escape for the rest of her life.
Half an hour ago, her sister’s body had been discovered on the riverbank.
The noisy sound of the piano mixed with her mother’s crying on the other end of the phone.
Xia Yuanhua’s gaze was hollow.
Shock and fear overwhelmed all her expectations.
Her limbs were numb, and it felt as if cement had been poured into her nose and throat, completely suffocating her.
The only thing left in her ears was white noise and the panicky explanation of that damn rodent.