The night was deep and quiet, the moonlight gradually climbing onto the windowsill.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
In a daze, I heard a rustling sound by my bedside, like some small animal moving.
“Xiao Yao…”
In the darkness, Tang Xiaolu’s voice reached my ears.
“Are you asleep?”
“Mm…”
I shook my head and said softly, “No, I can’t sleep.”
As if I could sleep.
No matter how you looked at it, what happened today was far too bizarre for me.
From the moment I finished my bath, got into bed, and played on my phone waiting for lights-out, to when the dorm manager finished her rounds and the whole dorm fell silent, to an hour-plus of lying with my eyes closed letting my thoughts run wild before Tang Xiaolu called out to me—my mind had been replaying the scene of me becoming a Magical Girl after school.
What is the causality related to girls that I possess?
Who made a wish to Qiu Bi for me?
Is it really possible that I know a girl like that?
I don’t know.
I finished middle school at the only school in my small town, always ranking first in my class.
Because of that, I was often isolated and bullied by my classmates.
Those classmates, when they learned that my mother was seriously ill, would often use that to scold me, saying my family deserved this “retribution,” and sarcastically remarking, “You study so hard just to develop in a big city, right? Betraying the land that raised you, it serves your family right.”
In that place with backward infrastructure and outdated thinking, the townspeople prided themselves on “I’m bad at studying,” “I have low quality,” “I’m good at cursing.”
Whether they were girls in my class or from other classes, the vast majority did not have a good relationship with me.
We weren’t even friends.
So theoretically, someone who would “make a wish for me” couldn’t possibly be a middle school classmate from my town.
Then a high school classmate?
That’s also unlikely.
Over the years, my mother had been hospitalized many times.
When her condition worsened, she was put in the ICU.
The hospital issued several critical illness notices.
Every time my father thought “Mom won’t make it,” he would make me take leave from school and wait outside her hospital room.
Since I was admitted to Heijiang No. 3 Middle School, the number of days I actually spent at school could be counted on one hand.
I couldn’t even name all the boys in my class, let alone have a close relationship with any girl.
So, with no leads at all, I lay in my small bed, repeatedly pondering this question, unable to fall asleep for a long time while covered by my thin blanket.
“Do you still want to come out with me, Xiao Yao?”
Perhaps hearing my voice, which was groggy like a kitten that had just woken up, Tang Xiaolu’s voice from the bedside carried a clear tone of affection.
“If you’re too sleepy, maybe we should just sleep tonight?”
“I’m not sleepy.”
I quietly sat up.
“What time is it?”
“11:40.”
Tang Xiaolu also sat up.
“I used my Magic to briefly probe, and everyone’s already asleep. We can go out anytime.”
I was surprised.
“Magic can do that?”
“Mm, once you’re familiar with it, you’ll be able to do it too. It’s very simple. You release your Magic Power like ultrasound and then pull it back, checking everyone’s breathing rate and heartbeat and other vital signs…”
In the darkness, the girl in front of me reached out and poked my face.
“Ready to go now?”
“Let’s go.”
I nodded, crawled out of the mosquito net, climbed down the small ladder, and put on my cute rabbit slippers.
“Should we transform here?”
Quietly walking to the balcony, I looked at the basketball court bathed in moonlight beyond the railing.
“We don’t need to change clothes or anything, right?”
“No, no matter what we’re wearing, it doesn’t affect our transformation. After we cancel the transformation, our clothes will automatically change back.”
Standing by the railing, Tang Xiaolu pointed to the sports equipment area at the edge of the playground.
“For a while, just follow me. We’ll stick close to that wall over there and avoid being caught by the school’s cameras.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Xiaolu took out her Soul Gem and held it to her chest.
A light appeared, visible only to me.
Tang Xiaolu’s clothes quickly disappeared, and the Soul Gem transformed into magical energy, generating a lolita-style Magical Girl uniform that enveloped her.
An ethereal, holy white lolita dress, white stockings with bow ribbons, cute little round-toe shoes, and a magic staff shaped like a royal scepter—Tang Xiaolu’s outfit seemed themed around “chess pieces,” predominantly white, making her look like a pure, flawless “White Queen.”
“Come on.”
After transforming, Tang Xiaolu lightly leaped onto the balcony railing.
“With a Magical Girl’s physical strength, jumping from this height won’t be a problem.”
“Okay.”
I also raised my black Soul Gem to my chest.
Transform.
Just like Tang Xiaolu, the moment I silently chanted “transform,” a powerful force enveloped my body.
In the transformation vision, the world was still the silent, cold hospital interior.
In the empty ward stood a strange mirror.
Jumping into the mirror, it was as if I had reclaimed the power that rightfully belonged to me.
My pajamas quickly disappeared and transformed into a Magical Girl uniform.
‘Big sister, why did you…’
Although the entire transformation process felt very long to me, to the outside world it seemed like only an instant.
When I came to, I had already become a Magical Girl.
Soft, tight black tights that wrapped every inch of skin below my neck, a hood and black cape that completely covered my long hair, a cute little uniform skirt, and round-toe long boots—compared to the “White Queen” Tang Xiaolu, my all-black Magical Girl form gave the impression more of an “Assassin Pawn that could be discarded at any time.”
“Follow me.”
Seeing that I had also completed the transformation, Tang Xiaolu jumped directly from the third-floor balcony.
I followed closely, leaping over the railing, and landed with her on the soft grass outside the girls’ dormitory.
“The school’s cameras are mainly concentrated around the basketball court, badminton court, and table tennis court over there. There are few near the sports equipment area, and that’s where the most blind spots are.”
Leading me along the grass at the base of the girls’ dormitory to the sports equipment area, Tang Xiaolu gestured at the wall not far ahead.
“I usually climb out from there.”
With that, the girl extended her hand to me.
“Your Magical Girl form probably isn’t the frail type, right? Do you need my help?”
“Mm…”
Even though I knew my current physical state could easily leap over a three- or four-meter-high wall, I still took Tang Xiaolu’s hand.
“Then hold on tight.”
Seeming to like my response, Tang Xiaolu smiled slightly and pulled me directly into her arms.
Then, skillfully lifting me in a princess carry, she forcefully bent her legs and leaped over the school’s tall wall with me.
“Xiao Yao, you remind me of a little girlfriend.”