That “heart”-troubled magical girl, [Sha Chong].
Jiang Lingwei originally thought it would be a long time before she saw her again—or perhaps she would never see her at all.
Unexpectedly, only a day had passed, and she bumped into her while eating breakfast.
She was having breakfast at this hour because she’d gotten up late. But as for [Sha Chong], what brought her here?
Jiang Lingwei just took a glance, then lowered her head slightly.
She wasn’t [Aurora] right now, and this wasn’t the right time for a greeting.
Just as she had said before, [Sha Chong]’s “heart” was the problem. Other than herself, no one could help.
Thinking about it, her magical core was covered in cracks. Jiang Lingwei had wondered whether it was related to her own psyche.
Maybe it was because of the missing memories?
But she didn’t have any proof.
Jiang Lingwei could see [Sha Chong]’s issues, but it wasn’t due to any of her own experience.
In fact, experience didn’t matter at all.
With [Sha Chong]’s lack of confidence and timid personality, anyone could see there was something wrong with her mind.
This already far surpassed the effects that magic had on a magical girl’s “personality”.
Negative traits like cowardice—light magic could strengthen or influence them, but it would usually manifest as being more shy or bashful in a harmless way.
Not simply making someone more fearful.
Otherwise, why would it be called light magic?
Somehow, Jiang Lingwei felt that what [Sha Chong] needed wasn’t the careful guidance of a magical girl senior, but a real psychological intervention.
Of course, if it were a magical girl psychologist, that’d be even better.
This influence wasn’t just present after transformation—there must be something wrong with [Sha Chong]’s daily life. After all, what normal person would dress like a cowboy in such hot weather!
It was just a regular outfit, not a spiritual garment that could automatically regulate temperature in non-extreme environments, warm in winter and cool in summer.
Next to Jiang Lingwei, Jiang Yao couldn’t keep as calm as her.
The girl couldn’t help but keep glancing over. She was also very curious about what was going on with [Sha Chong].
Even not mentioning that short time [Sha Chong] moved at noon, just before that, though she was scared, she never thought of running away—instead, she stood firmly between the monster and the ordinary people.
At that moment, [Sha Chong] certainly didn’t think she’d have two helpers, but she still chose to stand in the way.
Jiang Yao thought, this was the most important thing for a magical girl.
“What are you looking at?”
Jiang Cheng returned, carrying a plate of steamed buns, only to find both of them looking at a certain spot, not even noticing the buns.
He followed the mother and daughter’s gaze, looked back, then sat down with a strange look.
“There’s nothing over there.”
“If you look carefully, it’s that one, that one… Chengzi…”
Jiang Lingwei said in a low voice: “Look at that kid, it’s so hot, but she’s still dressed like that.”
Not forgetting she wasn’t [Aurora], the attention seemed a bit forced for no reason, so Jiang Lingwei added at the end:
“Her head’s always down. Did she get heatstroke?”
“Hm?”
Jiang Cheng turned to look again. This time, it took him a few seconds to spot [Sha Chong], who should have been obvious.
“What’s wrong?”
He still didn’t quite get it.
“Dad…” While helping move the buns from the large tray one plate at a time, Jiang Yao said softly, “Don’t you feel anything’s off?”
No.
Jiang Cheng wasn’t worried about magical matters, so his mind didn’t go there. With two magical girls—one big, one small—sitting across from him, if something was up, surely they’d know better than he did.
As for [Sha Chong]’s cowboy getup.
“Isn’t it normal…”
The old father didn’t really get the trends of the new era:
“I always see people wearing all sorts of clothes for that thing called… right, comic conventions.”
“Those people aren’t afraid of cold or heat. I even saw a video of a group of girls in winter, outdoors, in anime game swimsuit skins, skiing.” He shrugged.
“So I don’t think you two need to think she’s strange. Maybe she’s just a coser.”
“Alright.”
Jiang Lingwei lowered her head and picked up a beef and carrot bun, deciding to remember [Sha Chong]’s situation and have Wen Yaqian work something out after she arrived—to find someone to give that poor magical girl some psychological counseling.
She wondered where [Sha Chong]’s fairy had gone, and why the Bureau hadn’t intervened.
After all, it should be either the fairy’s job, or the Bureau’s job. They couldn’t just leave the kid like that.
Jiang Yao sneaked a glance at Jiang Lingwei, and, seeing she truly hadn’t said much, secretly wondered about the relationship between her mom and [Aurora], then also picked up a beef bun.
Didn’t [Aurora] also say that nobody could help with [Sha Chong]’s mental illness? Now her mom was the same—seemed she didn’t intend to step in.
“Ah-woo.”
Taking a bite of the bun—thin skin, thick filling—having made her decision, Jiang Lingwei stopped thinking about [Sha Chong].
It was only while chewing that she realized Jiang Cheng seemed to have said something just now.
She looked up, swallowed the bun, then gracefully picked up a napkin, wiped her mouth, and smiled at Jiang Cheng:
“By the way, Chengzi. About what you said, the video of female cosers in swimsuits in the snow.”
“I have a little question.”
“Were they~ pretty~?”
“!”
Jiang Cheng, just stuffing a bun in his mouth, froze, feeling cold sweat pour down his back as those smiling phoenix eyes stared at him.
“I looked.”
Jiang Cheng answered honestly and cautiously.
“But none of them were particularly pretty. I wasn’t interested. If it were you in a swimsuit, I’d definitely like and save it. For others, I just swiped past.”
“What kind of swimsuit?”
Jiang Lingwei appeared absentminded as she moved her bun.
“Didn’t see clearly.”
“Really didn’t see clearly?”
Jiang Cheng nodded confidently: “Didn’t see clearly.”
— That video was so blurry, even a sniper couldn’t see clearly.
“Heh, then today you pick one for me. I’ll put it on so you can see clearly.”
Jiang Lingwei, in a great mood, started eating buns again.
Even she herself didn’t know why, but she’d just suddenly felt a little annoyed.
So she went with it and said she’d wear one herself. (Well, they’d be going to the beach soon anyway.)
Seeing her parents act like this, their daughter quietly sipped her porridge.
She wasn’t sure if her mom forgot or did it on purpose, but they’d just bought swimsuits yesterday, and now dad had to pick one.
(Mm, some truths are better left unspoken.)
As soon as this thought appeared, Jiang Yao seemed to see a wide, open road unfold before her.
“Damn it, I’m a fairy dog! To think they just locked me up here—this is abuse! I protest!”
Xiao Bai squatted indignantly in the dog cage by the door.
This shop didn’t allow pets inside, and as a fairy disguised as a pet, it naturally couldn’t go in either.
Nor was this the first time it had complained while stuck out here.
The Jiang Lingwei family was generally reasonable, and it was familiar with two of them. Before leaving, Jiang Yao even stayed behind to apologize.
So Xiao Bai’s rage was aimed squarely at the shop owner.
If it were only that, it’d be fine—Xiao Bai’s personality was rather lazy. Its main obsession was reviving the glory of its ancestors, but it didn’t really care much about food, clothes, or daily needs.
The main issue was—the dog in the next cage was peeing everywhere!
It could accept most things, but how was it supposed to tolerate this? It wasn’t here to practice martial arts. The desperate fairy wracked its brain but couldn’t think of any magic that could withstand the pressure of the real world in such a situation.
All it could do was fantasize while praying that the other dog wouldn’t lift its leg in this direction.
“Tap… tap…”
Suddenly, the door of Cat Society Steamed Bun Shop was pushed open, and the steady, heavy sound of boots approached.
It was [Sha Chong], slouching in disappointment, intent on leaving quickly.
She happened to hear the fairy’s voice.
For a magical girl with magic, the simple barrier Xiao Bai cast—which only worked on ordinary people—was useless.
What sounded like barking to others formed words in [Sha Chong]’s ears.
She widened her eyes and hurried over.
In an instant, both magical girl and fairy recognized each other’s identities.
Xiao Bai didn’t even care about the neighboring dog, who was still marking territory in all directions with a blurred mosaic.
This was a rare encounter with another magical girl! When she’d met Ming Xin before, her rear was still covered in dust from being kicked out—she’d looked so bedraggled then. This time, she couldn’t lose face.
She quickly composed herself in the cage and said politely:
“Hello, my name is Tangula·(Omitted)·Bai·II. Please tell me your magical girl name.”
“I’m… [Sha Chong].”
[Sha Chong] said softly. “Alright, Magical Girl [Sha Chong], please say…”
“Fairy!”
Suddenly, [Sha Chong] shouted and lunged over, grabbing the cage, kneeling before Xiao Bai:
“Please, take back my magic, no, kill me, kill me!”
“Wait, wh-what!”
Xiao Bai was startled, shouting loudly, “Keep it down! Don’t draw a crowd!”
“Please! Don’t…”
[Sha Chong] ignored her, rolling on the ground, “I-I can’t do it, I failed, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault, all my fault!”
Before Xiao Bai could say anything, [Sha Chong] scrambled up in the midst of the approaching onlookers, pressed down her hat, and fled the scene at full speed.
Only Xiao Bai was left staring blankly from inside the cage.