Miss L opened the nearby filing cabinet, rifling through the documents as she spoke to Xiaoxi.
“By the way, why were you carrying two bags of groceries back then? Have you settled down with a house over on South Main Street now?”
Xiaoxi didn’t respond, sitting perfectly still in the wide office chair.
“Work? Where are you working now? Since you’re such an excellent Magical Girl, other jobs must be a piece of cake for you, right?”
Xiaoxi remained silent, instinctively straightening her back, feeling a prickling sensation on her skin.
“I’m not trying to interrogate you, A Xing,” Miss L said helplessly. “We’re just old friends catching up casually. Do you have to hide your personal info so deeply?”
Miss L had her back to Xiaoxi, so she didn’t see the proud and powerful Eternal Star—who usually stood unshaken before monsters—now clutching the hem of her skirt tightly, like a kid being questioned by relatives during Lunar New Year about salary and marriage prospects.
I’m not avoiding talking to you! I’m just too embarrassed to say it!
How could I possibly tell you that I’m unemployed, living off the generosity of the young lady, and secretly writing about my former teammate, Little Emperor Wen, who’s become a useless layabout!
Fortunately, Miss L didn’t press further and turned around, pushing a file toward Xiaoxi.
Xiaoxi looked at the three-inch ID photo—a gray-haired, blue-eyed girl with a cute short haircut, innocent and pure—and the last shred of hope she had was completely shattered.
Still, she pretended to scrutinize the file for a long time before handing it back.
“I thought this kid had some remarkable talent, but apparently, there’s nothing special about her.”
Xiaoxi added this to cover her true intentions, but Miss L didn’t take the file.
Instead, she crossed her arms and quietly watched her.
“Seriously, A Xing, are you really not going to be a Magical Girl anymore? Everyone misses you, Xingge included.”
Xiaoxi sighed. She had prepared herself mentally, but when Miss L asked out loud, she didn’t know how to answer.
“This city needs you too. Have you read the incident report? Something’s off about it. I suspect there’s a bigger conspiracy behind it.”
Only then did Xiaoxi understand why Miss L was willing to show an outsider the Association’s incident report—she was waiting here for her.
“What if another incident like today happens? Next time, you might not be there. Then there could be casualties among the Magical Girls… maybe even that kid in the file you just looked at.”
That woman… Xiaoxi froze.
Miss L was as sharp as ever, obviously guessing something and deliberately saying this.
“I’m leaving now.”
Xiaoxi knew Miss L was trying to provoke her.
As head of the Magical Girl Division, she trusted Miss L wouldn’t let any of her subordinates get hurt.
At worst, she’d just keep a closer eye on that Xiaokeke girl. Want her to make a comeback? Impossible.
But just as Xiaoxi opened the window to leave, Miss L added casually:
“Oh, A Xing, one more thing—the Blood Moon Witch escaped from prison three months ago.”
That statement finally had an effect, freezing Xiaoxi in place.
“How come I’ve never heard of this?”
“Of course, the Association concealed the news,” Miss L shrugged. “They didn’t want to cause social panic over a ticking time bomb like that. They’re investigating in secret, but no progress yet.”
“Impossible. How could she have escaped alone from a place like the Ossuary?”
“Sorry, that I really can’t tell you. That info is Association classified and can’t be shared with outsiders.”
“You…”
Xiaoxi clenched her teeth and shot Miss L a glare.
After all these years, this wicked woman still knew how to tease.
But she knew how serious this was—too serious to just ignore.
“Alright, alright, I promise you, okay?”
Miss L immediately smiled. “I’ll go tell Xingge the good news right away…”
“Wait, I only promised to join the Magical Girl Association. I didn’t say I’d make a comeback as [Eternal Star].”
Miss L was momentarily confused, not quite understanding Xiaoxi’s meaning.
Xiaoxi sighed as a dazzling light glowed around her.
When it faded, the Eternal Star who once had flowing long hair like starlight had completely changed appearance.
Before them stood a girl with short black wolf-tail hair, her hair tied back simply, the tips dyed navy blue.
She wore a sleek outfit resembling a boxer’s uniform, exuding a heroic aura, utterly different from the [Morning Star] form of Eternal Star.
“What… what form is this? I’ve never seen it before.”
Miss L’s eyes widened.
Eternal Star was known as the “Strongest Magical Girl” partly because she had multiple transformation forms.
For example, the form Xiaoxi used at noon was the common [Morning Star] form, the most balanced one.
“At first, I wanted to keep this as a secret trump card, but it never came in handy until now,” Xiaoxi said helplessly.
The [Morning Star] form, simply put, was high offense and defense with many skills—like a wheelchair gun in a shooting game or a Protoss unit in a MOBA, so she usually fought in that form.
Compared to that, the [Sirius] form was pretty underwhelming, but in a situation like this, this form she’d never revealed to outsiders finally found its use.
“I’ll help you out for a while, and in return, you’ll give me intelligence on the Blood Moon Witch. After this is over, we’re square. Deal?”
“And I have one more request.” Xiaoxi pointed to Xiaokeke’s file on the desk. “I want to be on the same team as that kid.”
….
By the time Xiaoxi got home, it was completely dark.
The moment she stepped into the living room, Night Xinglan, who was eating, suddenly pointed a chopstick at her and spoke seriously.
“Magical Girl!”
“…What?”
Xiaoxi was startled, her heart skipping a beat.
“I said, do you still have that Magical Girl novel you wrote before? I want to read it again.”
“No!”
Xiaoxi rolled her eyes, thinking there was no way she’d show it to her again even if she did.
After changing clothes, Xiaoxi noticed Night Xinglan eating Japanese food. Next to her, a trash can held discarded delivery wrappers. Xiaoxi caught a glimpse of the receipt price.
Over a hundred yuan for just one delivery?!
“I ordered your share too. Come eat together.”
Xiaoxi responded with an “Oh” and felt a pang of humiliation at being supported by a little rich lady.
The orange warm light cast a cozy atmosphere of “home” over the dining table.
As Xiaoxi sat down, she saw Night Xinglan pick up a piece of sushi, then purse her lips.
“Not as good as your cooking. So, what were you doing out so late today?”
“Um… job hunting. Sorry, Miss Night Xinglan, next time I’ll try to come back before mealtime to cook.”
Night Xinglan shook her head, clearly displeased. “You called out naturally enough when Keke was here, but now you’re back to old habits when you’re alone?”
“You’ll slip up in front of outsiders like this, you know? Just call me Xinglan from now on. Got it? Say it once for me.”
“…Xinglan.”
“Eh, that’s better.”
Unlike the satisfied Night Xinglan, Xiaoxi said nothing and just kept her head down, eating.
It looked like the wasabi had stung her because her cheeks flushed slightly.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.