Before I became a magical girl, my impression of Tang Xiaolu had always been that she was a somewhat cold, reserved honor student.
She rarely talked to anyone in class.
After lessons, she would sit at her desk in a daze.
After school, she would go out to eat alone, exuding an aura of “keep your distance.”
Of course, my own situation wasn’t much better.
The small town I grew up in was very remote.
There were only two elementary schools and one middle school in town, so there was almost no competitive pressure when it came to studying.
Since the town’s economy was bad, most families with even a little bit of savings chose to leave and develop in the big cities.
As a result, the only ones left in town were those who “couldn’t afford to leave.”
When a family’s financial situation is poor, the education they give their children becomes casual.
Either the parents are too busy working to educate them, or the parents themselves aren’t educated enough to teach.
Thus, the atmosphere in the town’s schools became “studying is useless” and “good students are weirdos, don’t hang out with them.”
Back then, I always ranked at the top of my middle school class, but because I wasn’t good at talking, I often got bullied by the “bad kids” in class.
After barely managing to get into a city high school, the different teaching methods meant my grades could only place me in the middle of the class.
Plus, since I came from a rural area and hadn’t seen much of the world, I couldn’t understand many of the topics my classmates talked about.
So from the start of the semester, I hadn’t made any real friends.
I never imagined I would one day become a magical girl, let alone that someone as ordinary as me could become friends with an honor student like Tang Xiaolu.
“Luoluo and I… are we desk mates?”
When I returned to the classroom with Tang Xiaolu, I noticed the whole layout had been disrupted.
At my original seat now sat another boy from the class.
The two of them were chatting and laughing, as if completely unaware that anything was off about their relationship.
“Weren’t you two always desk mates?”
When both Luoluo and I asked about the seating arrangement, my former desk mate looked completely confused.
He pointed to an empty seat in the middle of the classroom.
“You two beautiful ladies, your seats are over there!”
“Oh… thank you.”
Being called a “beautiful lady” for the first time made me a little dazed.
I snapped out of it only after Tang Xiaolu gently poked me in the side.
“Let’s go.”
She took my hand, and her voice appeared directly in my mind.
“Magical girls can communicate like this telepathically. If we want to chat during class without the teacher noticing, we can use this ability from now on.”
“Okay.”
I understood instinctively and “said” back to her without being taught, “Are there other magical girls at school?”
“Theoretically, there should be, but if they want to hide themselves, I can’t detect them.”
Tang Xiaolu said, “The number of witches is limited, and Grief Seeds are limited too. In a sense, magical girls are in a competitive relationship with each other. I’ve just started high school like you, so I don’t know the situation at Heijiang No. 3 very well. To be safe, I haven’t revealed my identity as a magical girl.”
I was a little surprised.
“Then why does Luoluo trust me so much?”
“Because I’m very familiar with you.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm… how should I put it?”
Tang Xiaolu seemed to hesitate for a moment.
“Actually, among all the boys in the class before, you left the deepest impression on me.”
“No way?”
I couldn’t believe it.
“I clearly… I mean, I’m not good-looking, I’m short, and my grades aren’t good…”
“That’s not what attracted me to you.”
Tang Xiaolu shook her head.
“Your desk and desktop were very tidy—tidier than any other boy’s. Your handwriting was neat, your clothes were always clean, and you didn’t talk loudly like the other boys. You were very quiet. I noticed you during military training.”
“To avoid revealing my identity as a magical girl, I always kept a low profile in class. At the same time, I started observing whether there were other girls who deliberately kept a low profile like me. Over time, I noticed you.”
“So keeping a low profile also gets noticed?”
“It’s mainly because you’re too quiet. Plus, your temperament is very gentle—you’re not like a boy at all…”
As we talked, Tang Xiaolu and I arrived at the empty seats in the middle of the classroom.
Just as my former desk mate had said, on the clean desktop lay the familiar light-colored pencil case.
I casually pulled a book out of the drawer and saw a neat handwriting on the inside cover: “Huang Yao.”
Clearly, after becoming a girl, the butterfly effect had kicked in.
Everything related to me—including this school—had been modified.
My former desk mate no longer remembered how I looked as a boy, and my seat had moved from the edge of the classroom to the very center.
Class 11, Grade 10 at Heijiang No. 3 Middle School had lost one boy and gained a girl named “Huang Yao.”
No one realized this memory was fake, and no one felt any discomfort at a new girl appearing in the class.
It was as if everything was completely natural.
“From the current situation, you’ve been assigned as my desk mate, so it’s highly likely we’re also roommates. Don’t go to the wrong dormitory when evening self-study ends.”
After sitting down, Tang Xiaolu’s voice said in my mind, “As for that Witch Barrier that disappeared, I suggest we don’t actively pursue it for now—it could be a trap. If you’re really bothered by that barrier, we can act tonight.”
“Act at night?”
I didn’t react in time.
“Can we go out at night? Won’t the dorm supervisor catch us?”
“I mean going out after lights-out. I’ve basically mapped out all the camera blind spots around the school dormitories. If you want, Xiao Yao, you can follow me out.”
Tang Xiaolu smiled.
“Of course, if Xiao Yao wants to rest properly and go out in a few days, that’s fine too.”
“I…”
I thought about it.
“Either is fine for me.”
Actually, I was still pretty confused until now.
I looked down at my seat.
My slender thighs were unconsciously positioned in an inward figure-eight under the desk.
The legs wrapped in black stockings and the short school skirt formed a perfect absolute territory.
“What? Captivated by your own girl’s body?”
Seeing me staring at my own thighs, Tang Xiaolu leaned over and teased, “Then tonight after lights-out, when everyone’s asleep, I’ll take you to see my secret base.”
I raised my head in a fluster.
“Secret base?”
“It’s a safe haven I built with a former comrade during my years as a magical girl. There’s a lot of information and data about magical girls and Heijiang City inside.”
Tang Xiaolu winked playfully.
“Incidentally, once we get there, if you want to learn more about your girl’s body, that’s okay too.”
“Ah…”
I felt the skin on my face instantly grow hot.
“This… I…”
“It’s okay. Being curious about the world and your own body is a good thing.”
For some reason, Tang Xiaolu’s tone suddenly became tinged with sadness.
“Promise me you’ll keep that curiosity.”
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