Watching Lu Yuan’s ears slowly flush red, Su Li’s inner self also turned as red as a bubble tea kettle.
Before asking Lu Yuan out, she had spent the entire night reading various books about romance.
The books all said that girls like Lu Yuan usually liked the kind of proactive personality she had just shown.
Maintaining this way of speaking was quite difficult for her because it was really awkward.
But seeing Lu Yuan’s shy expression, Su Li still forced herself to keep up the act.
Because she wanted to see Lu Yuan’s bashful and innocent side a little longer.
***
“Mm…”
At that moment, the dessert and tea were served.
Su Li naturally pushed the latte toward Lu Yuan and took the mango mousse for herself. She scooped a small spoonful but didn’t eat it right away, instead watching Lu Yuan. “Want to try? I heard that when you’re feeling down, eating sweets can cheer you up a bit.”
Following the suggestion, Lu Yuan scooped a spoonful of mousse and ate it. The sweet and sour taste did help her relax quite a bit.
“How is it?” Su Li asked expectantly.
“Very tasty.” Lu Yuan nodded honestly.
“That’s good.” Su Li also took a bite of the cake, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Sweet food really can heal the heart.”
She put down the spoon and took a sip of her black coffee, casually asking,
“By the way, Lu Yuan, have you ever thought about your future… your life beyond fighting?”
***
“Future… life?” Lu Yuan looked a little dazed. Since becoming a Magical Girl, her life had been almost entirely filled with battles, and she rarely thought about such distant things.
“Mm.” Su Li’s gaze drifted toward the pedestrians outside the window, her voice soft. “If one day the Calamity disappeared from the world, everything was over, and the world no longer needed Magical Girls, what would you want to do? Where would you want to go? Or… what kind of person would you want to be with?”
Her last question was asked lightly, but her eyes quietly returned to rest on Lu Yuan’s face.
Lu Yuan was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer.
Even Lin Wan, who liked her so much, only mentioned things like “The first kiss is mine” during dates, but Su Li went straight to talking about the future… It was as if they were barely at the matchmaking stage, yet Su Li was already talking about having kids.
Su Li didn’t pressure her, just smiled gently. “No need to rush answering. Just chatting casually. I just think that we can’t always only think about fighting—we have to have something to look forward to, right?”
“… Mm.” Lu Yuan nodded.
“I still want to be a Magical Girl,” she said.
Even if the Calamity vanished and a jerk like Rose no longer existed, she still wanted to be a Magical Girl. Even if it was just like Chen Xin being a “friendly Magical Girl in your neighborhood.”
Mainly, she didn’t want to go back to the lonely days of living alone before. That was too lonely.
Hearing this, Su Li was momentarily stunned, then smiled.
“Not bad…”
***
“Ding-ling—”
The crisp chime of the dessert shop’s wind bell interrupted Su Li’s words.
A figure timidly pushed open the door. Lu Yuan looked over and saw it was the chestnut-haired girl from the photo, Tong Feng.
She was dressed somewhat plainly, holding a folder tightly in her arms, nervously glancing around as if looking for someone.
When her gaze caught Su Li by the window, her eyes brightened.
But when she approached and saw Lu Yuan sitting opposite Su Li, her steps immediately faltered.
She clearly sensed the awkward atmosphere between Su Li and Lu Yuan, her face showing a panicked “Did I come at the wrong time?” expression.
Su Li saw her too, raised her hand, and smiled, signaling her over.
Following Su Li’s gaze, Lu Yuan turned and also saw the newcomer looking a little lost at the door.
Su Li stood up and spoke warmly to Tong Feng at the entrance, “I didn’t expect it to be eleven already, Xiao Feng. This way.”
***
Tong Feng hurried over and stood straight, giving a standard bow. “Captain Su Li! Hello! I—I’m here!”
Her voice was a little nervous, and when she spoke, she furtively glanced at Lu Yuan beside Su Li.
Lu Yuan also stood, looking at this anxious girl. She tried to soften her expression so it wouldn’t seem so cold, but the effect was minimal.
Su Li cleared her throat and formally introduced, “Xiao Feng, this is Lu Yuan, your senior from now on.”
Then she looked at Lu Yuan. “Lu Yuan, this is the Tong Feng I told you about.”
Tong Feng immediately turned to Lu Yuan and bowed deeply again. “Lu-Lu Yuan senior! Hello! I’m Tong Feng! Please, please take care of me!”
Her voice was a bit loud, drawing curious looks from the customers at nearby tables.
Lu Yuan felt a little awkward from the overly formal greeting and instinctively wanted to ask Tong Feng to lower her voice: “Hello… could you please be a bit quieter? We don’t need to be so formal.”
She really wasn’t good at handling this kind of situation.
Su Li looked at Lu Yuan’s expression—trying hard to be friendly but ending up even colder—and couldn’t help but smile.
***
She broke the tension. “Alright, alright, no need to stand. Xiao Feng, sit down too. Want something to drink?”
Tong Feng quickly waved her hand. “N-No, thank you, Captain! I’ll just report on the work and then leave! I won’t disturb you…”
Halfway through, she swallowed her words back.
Su Li naturally understood what she was thinking but didn’t call it out. Instead, she smiled and took the folder Tong Feng handed her. “Alright, then let’s get down to business. Lu Yuan, listen in and get to know Xiao Feng’s basic situation.”
Lu Yuan nodded and sat back down.
Tong Feng carefully sat on the edge of the booth, her back straight, hands neatly placed on her knees, like a schoolgirl.
***
Su Li opened the folder and began reviewing the information Tong Feng brought, occasionally asking a few questions that Tong Feng answered one by one.
Lu Yuan listened quietly, her gaze fixed on Tong Feng.
This newcomer really was as Su Li had said—solid foundations, a clear and well-organized report, and a good understanding of her abilities. It was just that her personality was far too nervous.
Lu Yuan couldn’t help but recall when she first became a Magical Girl. She didn’t seem this… timid?
After a brief summary, Su Li closed the folder.
“I’ve got a good grasp of the basics. Well done. The detailed training schedule will be communicated to you by Senior Lu Yuan.” She looked at Lu Yuan and winked. “Right, Lu Yuan?”
Lu Yuan scratched her head. She hadn’t really committed to mentoring a newcomer yet… but she didn’t mind.
“… Mm, I’ll get in touch.” Lu Yuan nodded at Tong Feng.
Tong Feng immediately stood up. “Yes! Thank you, senior! I won’t bother Captain or senior any longer!”
She bowed again and then almost dashed out of the dessert shop.
***
Watching Tong Feng disappear at the door, Su Li finally couldn’t hold back a laugh and turned to Lu Yuan. “So? How do you find your new apprentice? Pretty interesting, huh?”
Lu Yuan rubbed her forehead helplessly. “… Sister Su Li, are you sure I can handle her well?”
This kind of socially anxious kid was hard to get along with. Lu Yuan felt it would be difficult to work together with a junior like this.
“If you can’t handle her, then who else can? You’ve grown a lot—believe in yourself.” Su Li patted Lu Yuan’s shoulder. “It’s getting late; I’ll walk you home.”
“Sister Su Li, I’m not a kid anymore…” Lu Yuan said weakly. “I can go home by myself…”
Su Li’s tone was like that of a proud mother seeing her child start working in society, full of warmth and satisfaction.
But Lu Yuan really wanted to complain—
What’s with this ‘mom’ tone?!