Behind the high wall lay a brand-new world.
This was a small wooded area beneath the balcony of an apartment building in an ordinary residential complex.
The ground was piled high with fluffy fallen leaves.
After leaping over the wall while carrying me, Tang Xiaolu’s legs—clad in white thigh-high stockings and Lolita-style round-toe shoes with bows—made several consecutive big jumps through the trees, just like a magical girl saving the world in an anime, heading straight for the cobblestone path at the edge of the woods.
Perhaps because I was pressed so close against her, I could clearly feel the gentle breath from the girl’s nose and the soft, fluffy texture unique to the magical girl uniform.
It felt like taking a nap on a balcony covered in lilies in early summer as I drifted off to sleep.
Tap.
In the darkness, accompanied by the sound of round-toe Lolita heeled shoes meeting the cobblestones, Tang Xiaolu landed on the walking path at the center of the complex and set me down.
“Sorry.”
After landing, I instinctively murmured to the girl beside me.
“Huh?”
Tang Xiaolu was a bit puzzled.
Bathed in the hazy moonlight, she turned around, her face full of curiosity.
“Why are you suddenly apologizing?”
“Well… um…”
Embarrassed, I lowered my head, awkwardly grabbed my bangs with my right hand, and twisted the strand of hair a few times.
“It’s just… I used to be a guy, so being held like this… being picked up by you, I always feel…”
“Feels like you’re taking advantage of being a girl to get a free ride off me?”
Tang Xiaolu couldn’t help but snicker.
“Xiao Yao, you’re so cute, so cute I can’t help but want to eat you up.”
“Huh?”
“Look at yourself now—what part of you looks like a guy?”
Bending down slightly in front of me, Tang Xiaolu reached out a finger and gently poked just above my belly button.
“I even think you’re cuter than most girls. Look at this soft little belly, and the waistline—oh! And these full-body black stockings, so sexy!”
“Don’t… don’t say that…”
I was even more embarrassed.
My belly, tingling from the poke, instinctively shrank back.
“I didn’t expect my magical girl outfit to look like this either.”
As Tang Xiaolu had said, my magical girl uniform really was quite sexy in its transformed state.
Not to mention the full-body black stockings, the skirt was also very short, barely covering a small part of my thighs.
The top was a tank top, and over that was a hooded jacket that didn’t cover my stomach.
This outfit left my belly button, the waistline above it, and the thighs under the skirt constantly visible in a teasing way.
However, even though the outfit was a bit provocative, the important parts were actually covered securely.
Under normal circumstances, you definitely couldn’t see the tank top or what was under the skirt.
“Hey, Xiao Yao, how about being my girlfriend?”
I was still thinking about how to avoid the crowds later and go to her secret base with Tang Xiaolu when the girl beside me suddenly dropped a bombshell.
“I kind of want a cute little girlfriend. I bet it would be really fun to tease you every day.”
“Cute little girlfriend? Me?”
I was flustered and a little shy.
“But I’m… I’m a guy…”
“It’s really satisfying to bully a naturally cute guy until he turns into a soft little dumpling.”
Tang Xiaolu stretched out both hands, as if to squeeze me again.
“Come here, let big sister touch your belly again…”
I was so scared I took several steps back.
“Alright, alright, just joking.”
Seeing that I actually looked wary, Tang Xiaolu returned to her usual demeanor.
“No more messing around. Let’s go. The secret base is still a few hundred meters from here.”
“Oh…”
I followed after her.
“Is Lulu’s secret base in this complex?”
“In the complex across the street.”
Tang Xiaolu pointed ahead.
“Follow this road. At the end is a wall that ordinary people can’t get through, but we magical girls can climb right over. On the other side of the wall is a skybridge. Cross the skybridge and you’ll reach a residential area called Stargazing Garden. Under the back garden of that complex is our secret base.”
“Underground?”
“A friend of mine once had a magical ability to create space. She made the secret base back then.”
“Sorry…”
“See? You keep saying sorry and apologize all the time. Do I look that fragile to you?”
Tang Xiaolu put her hands on her hips.
“And you too, Xiao Yao. Even though you’re a girl now, you should try to be more assertive. You’re the output-type magical girl, right? How can you fight if you’re not assertive? Don’t be so soft and weak like a sticky rice ball, making me want to bully you every time.”
“Mm… okay.”
“Sigh, hopeless. I was worried that a magical girl who used to be a guy might suddenly jump me and push me down one day, but now it seems it’s a relief that I don’t push you down.”
Since most people in the complex were already asleep at this hour, the wide walking path in the garden was completely silent.
Only the occasional car horn from outside could be faintly heard.
“Oh, by the way, I don’t think I’ve confirmed your magical ability yet, Xiao Yao.”
As we walked along the cobblestone path toward the exit, Tang Xiaolu suddenly turned around.
“I remember you said it was… presence erasure?”
“Uh-huh.”
I thought for a moment.
“It’s… erasing my existence in this world, like invisibility.”
“Erasing existence and invisibility aren’t the same thing.”
Tang Xiaolu stopped walking.
“Why don’t you use that ability right here in front of me, so I can see what it does.”
“Use it right here?”
“Yes, use it now. I want to evaluate what level your ability can reach in actual combat.”
“Okay.”
I pulled the black cape from behind me to the front, covering my body.
“Three-second countdown.”
“Three, two, one.”
As I said the number “one,” I activated my special ability.
I could clearly feel a small portion of my magic power being consumed, but outwardly there didn’t seem to be any obvious change.
However, the expression on Tang Xiaolu’s face changed.
Her expression shifted from concentration to confusion and bewilderment.
Then she looked around the area, ignoring me standing right beside her.
Her gaze flickered between the school and the complex ahead for a while.
Her originally cheerful face turned somewhat lost and helpless.
After a few seconds, as if she had remembered something, the girl in front of me walked numbly toward the wall she had mentioned earlier.
“Lulu!”
I quickly deactivated my ability and ran toward Tang Xiaolu.
“Xiao… Yao?”
My voice made Tang Xiaolu turn around.
“You… just now…”
“I used my ability to erase my own presence.”
I asked curiously, “How did it feel, Lulu?”
“A bit scary.”
Tang Xiaolu looked shaken.
“I couldn’t sense you standing there at all. I didn’t remember why I had left school. I couldn’t even recall that there was a classmate named Huang Yao in our class. I thought I had come out from the dormitory to take a walk on my own.”
“After I used the ability, I just stood there without moving.”
I gestured to the spot behind me.
“And then you walked off alone, Lulu.”
“Right. Because your existence directly vanished. Not only couldn’t I see you there, I couldn’t even remember who you were…”
Tang Xiaolu ran back and took my hand.
“Does that ability consume a lot of energy?”
“A bit.”
I answered honestly.
“The longer I maintain it, the more magic power it consumes.”
“Promise me.”
Tang Xiaolu lifted my hand and examined my fair fingers and the pink nail polish on the tips, as if admiring some precious work of art.
“In the future, don’t use this ability unless it’s an extreme situation.”