After negotiating with Ms. Lin from the Support Association, Gan Ling and Yang Mo spent the next few days eagerly awaiting the results of her application. Yang Mo had used her Wishing Right for Gan Ling, a fact they shared with Yang Xia in person.
Yang Xia found out while they were at the dinner table at Yang Mo’s house on Tuesday. She was surprised at first, but she quickly expressed her understanding.
“This is indeed a serious problem. If you don’t have a formal identity, wouldn’t we have to take care of you for the rest of your life?”
Yang Mo chimed in with a flat tone, “So, Sister, are you willing to take care of Gan Ling for the rest of your life?”
“What? No… I’m not!” Realizing she had misspoken, Yang Xia’s cheeks instantly turned crimson. She hurriedly pointed at Gan Ling and continued to explain, “If we didn’t help, this girl would have turned into scrap metal in some random place a long time ago. I just don’t want to see that happen, that’s all.”
“Oh, right. You’re right,” Gan Ling replied. She didn’t argue, simply giving a perfunctory response.
After all, to some extent, Yang Xia wasn’t wrong. If Yang Mo hadn’t picked her up back then, Gan Ling might have actually been sent into a steel furnace. ‘Besides… isn’t saying things like that just making it worse?’ Gan Ling thought. Fortunately, since Yang Xia was expressing concern for her, she decided not to make things even more awkward.
Yang Xia let out a sigh and leaned her back against the chair. Once she had calmed down, she spoke to the two of them again. “I can understand both of your perspectives. But you don’t need to worry. Even if one wish has been used, I still have another one that’s unused.”
This matched Gan Ling’s knowledge of the Original Work. The reason Yang Xia became a Magical Girl was to save that opportunity “just in case.” She hadn’t expected that her decision would lead to Yang Mo becoming a Magical Girl as well, eventually leading to the ending seen in the Original Work.
But what kind of “just in case” was she trying to prepare for? Thinking of this, Gan Ling asked her, “You’ve been holding onto that opportunity for so long. Have you never considered using it for yourself?”
Hearing this, Yang Xia immediately put on a troubled face. She propped her arms on the table and rubbed her temples while answering Gan Ling, “At least that’s what I used to think. I felt like I would use this wish on my parents’ situation sooner or later.”
Yang Xia didn’t specify the exact use. Did she want to solve the troubles they encountered? Did she want them to come back? Or did she want to sever ties with them forever? Gan Ling was somewhat curious, but all of this seemed irrelevant to Yang Mo.
“That’s such a waste. It would be better to wish for two extra pieces of meat in the next bowl of noodles I eat.” After saying that, she stuffed a mouthful of food into her mouth, moving away from the unpleasant topic.
Seeing this, Gan Ling and Yang Xia stopped talking about it and, like her, began to enjoy their dinner.
They thought they would eventually receive a peaceful notification from the Support Association, but they didn’t expect Yang Mo to receive a new message from them. At this time, Gan Ling and Yang Mo were both sitting on the bed. Yang Mo casually leaned her shoulder against Gan Ling’s and leaned over to show her the content on the phone screen.
To summarize, everything was ready, but they needed to meet one more time before final confirmation. This time, it would be on Saturday afternoon, and Gan Ling had to show up alone. As soon as Gan Ling saw the designated location, she couldn’t help but complain, “Last time, they said they wouldn’t trouble us to go to the office. This time, they aren’t even being polite about it.”
This meeting was in the city center. As far as she knew, the Support Group Office was located there. Besides that, the requirement that “Gan Ling must show up alone” was also very suspicious.
Yang Mo said in an uneasy tone, “Could it be that what passed was an arrest warrant for Gan Ling… Don’t say such scary things.”
“But even if that’s the case, the worst that can happen is that I’ll just run away.” Gan Ling was quite confident in her ability to escape. Moreover, she now had her own exclusive Magic to use. At the very least, being “executed on the spot” was unlikely to happen.
But Yang Mo still seemed unable to feel completely at ease. She suggested, “How about I follow you secretly… Just in case…”
“I already told you it’s fine. If things really turn out that way, I’ll have to blame your jinxing.” After Gan Ling said that, Yang Mo muttered a soft, “Fine…”
After a while, the two of them turned off the lights and went to sleep.
Time passed, and it was soon the appointed Saturday afternoon. Without help, Gan Ling couldn’t use public transportation. Although she could move quickly with the help of Iron Thorn, it was still a bit troublesome. Perhaps she should have asked Yang Mo for help, but if she did, Yang Mo would likely use it as an excuse to follow her. She thought about it and ultimately chose to go to the city center on her own. Luckily, she had a phone now and could check her location at any time; otherwise, the trip would have been much more difficult.
Gan Ling began to move above the town while nursing her complaints against the Support Association. When the navigation on her phone led her into a shopping mall, she suddenly felt much more relieved. It clearly wasn’t a good idea to make a move against her in such a crowded place.
The specific meeting place was a dessert shop inside the mall. Since it wasn’t the designated time yet, Gan Ling didn’t see anyone who looked like they were from the Support Association. Thus, she sat in the outdoor seating area as requested and waited quietly. As she looked at the exquisite decorations inside the shop and the delicious-looking desserts, she recalled the last meeting and suddenly realized something.
Come to think of it, although the people in the Support Association were usually very stiff, did they actually use their positions for personal perks? Whether it was the cat cafe last time or this dessert shop, the meeting locations seemed to be chosen based on personal preference.
Just then, a pair of hands rested on the back of her chair. Immediately following that, a steady female voice rang out, “So you really came.”
Gan Ling felt the voice was familiar. She turned her head and found that the newcomer was a girl with burgundy eyes. Her gaze was sharp and cold, and her long chestnut hair was styled into Drill Curls.
Seeing Gan Ling turn around, she looked down at Gan Ling and continued, “It’s been a long time, Badma… Or perhaps I should call you Gan Ling now.”
Gan Ling froze for a long moment, then immediately tried to bolt. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Her collar was grabbed from behind by the tall girl. Even though her legs were spinning like wheels, the distance between the two of them didn’t change at all.
Although the girl’s features were quite different from when she was transformed, those signature Drill Curls were as prominent as ever. So… this person… this person was Magical Girl Kouga!
Gan Ling recognized the Magical Girl she shared a complicated history with. Since coming to this world, her entire experience had started with being hunted by Kouga.
At that moment, Kouga also noticed something unusual. “Oh? Can you recognize me? It seems Cognitive Interference doesn’t work on you.”
Hearing her say that, Gan Ling felt her future fate becoming increasingly uncertain.