Just then, a girl with glasses and a low ponytail approached Qianling and Yang Mo.
The two of them were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice her arrival until she spoke up.
“Yang Mo, who’s this next to you? I’ve never seen her before.”
Qianling and Yang Mo turned their heads toward the voice at the same time.
Qianling immediately felt uneasy.
Thinking back to the scene she’d witnessed on the school rooftop earlier, this girl seemed to be one of the two walking together with Yang Mo.
Oh no, isn’t this one of Yang Mo’s classmates!
How am I supposed to explain this? I’m wearing a school uniform, so even if I say I’m from another class, I’ll get found out sooner or later…
Unlike the flustered Qianling, Yang Mo quickly put on a businesslike smile once she’d recovered from the surprise.
She stood up from her chair, spreading both hands toward Qianling as she replied, “Um… this is Qianling, she’s a distant relative of mine. She might be transferring here next semester, so I’m showing her around in advance.”
“Hello, classmate.” Qianling chimed in smoothly, waving at Yang Mo’s classmate.
The low ponytail girl was surprised by this: “You actually have a distant relative from abroad?”
“Yeah.” Yang Mo continued half-truthfully, “You know my parents are often overseas, right? They can live there because our family has relatives from other countries.”
“Your relative’s kid looks about our age, what a coincidence.”
“Yeah, yeah, she’s pretty much like my little sister.”
“Huh?”
Although Qianling voiced her protest at being called a “little sister,” the other two paid her no mind.
“Little sister? Wait…” The low ponytail girl seemed to realize something, muttering to herself or maybe to Yang Mo, “I remember you saying your parents are rarely together… could it be…?”
An image formed in her mind.
One of Yang Mo’s parents brought a strange child home, telling Yang Mo that this was the little sister born of some mistake.
And now, seeing Yang Mo’s evasive attitude, she was almost certain of it.
“?” Yang Mo had no idea what she was thinking, tilting her head and maintaining her smile.
The low ponytail girl finally sighed, “Forget it, just pretend I never said anything. The one next to you is Qianling, right?”
Noticing the gaze directed at her, Qianling nodded quietly.
“Qianling, welcome to our school. And Yang Mo, I know your family has it tough—if you need any help, just let us know.”
After hearing the low ponytail girl’s words, Yang Mo’s businesslike smile melted away and was replaced with a sincere one.
“Mm, thank you, caring Class Rep.”
The girl called Class Rep by Yang Mo gave a wry smile and finally left, reassured.
“No need to thank me. See you.”
With that, her back receded toward the classroom.
Yang Mo turned to Qianling, who was sitting behind her, and asked, “That’s my deskmate. She seems like a good person, right?”
“Yeah, though her flaw might be an overactive imagination…”
At Qianling’s words, Yang Mo only looked confused.
Qianling glanced in the direction the girl had gone, then turned her gaze back to Yang Mo.
She felt a little relieved.
So that’s it. I almost thought you weren’t getting along with your classmates.
From that exchange, Qianling realized that even though Yang Mo intentionally kept her distance from others, there were still people besides her who cared about Yang Mo.
But… judging by Yang Mo’s words earlier, did she not consider them friends…?
If she ever sneaks back into this school, maybe she should try to help mediate their relationship.
One more item added to Qianling’s mental to-do list.
Thinking it was time for her to go, she stood up from her chair and patted her skirt.
Because the maid outfit’s skirt was even fluffier than a pleated skirt, her action looked, to outsiders, like she was patting the air.
Seeing this, Yang Mo noticed the flaw in her disguise magic and reminded her:
“Qianling, don’t forget you still have the illusion from your disguise magic on. That move you just made gave it away.”
“I’ll try to avoid it from now on. I can’t stand this dumb magic.”
Qianling continued, “It’s about time for me to leave too.”
“There’s still plenty of time left for lunch. Won’t you stay a little longer?”
She shook her head at Yang Mo’s request, “You’ve got afternoon classes—make good use of your break. Besides… we’ll see each other again soon anyway.”
Hearing this, Yang Mo’s voice grew a bit more energetic.
“Mm! Then see you at home later!”
Qianling immediately deactivated the disguise magic, revealing her jointed doll body and the black maid outfit she originally wore.
Yang Mo commented, “You really do look best this way.”
Qianling responded silently with a smile, waving goodbye, and Yang Mo waved back.
Then, under Yang Mo’s gaze, Qianling leapt over obstacles using Iron Thorns and vanished beyond the school’s outer wall.
In truth, even while wandering the school with Yang Mo, she’d been keeping an eye out for any magical energy from other dolls, but still hadn’t found any clues.
After leaving, she continued her original task, moving from one suspicious place to another under the cover of Stealth Magic.
Based on her progress so far, Qianling estimated that it would take her more than three days to finish searching all of Xinghu Town.
What a tough job.
She sighed.
But there was nothing to be done. She was alone, and detecting other dolls relied on the connection only dolls shared—bringing Yang Mo, even as a Magical Girl, wouldn’t help much.
Unknowingly, it was almost time for school to end.
Qianling simply stopped working, returned to Yang Mo’s house, and waited for Yang Mo to come back while watching TV.
Before long, she heard the sound of the lock at the front door.
Qianling quickly turned off the TV and hid under the same cardboard box as yesterday.
“Qianling~ you here?”
Hearing that voice, she crawled out from under the box and went to the living room to greet Yang Mo.
“Welcome, welcome.”
Qianling said it so naturally, as if she were the host and Yang Mo the guest.
But Yang Mo didn’t comment, only replying, “I’m home.”
She stretched, tossing her schoolbag onto the sofa.
“Speaking of which…” Qianling suddenly thought of an unresolved danger and asked Yang Mo, “Is your sister coming home today?”
“Probably not.”
Yang Mo sat on the sofa as she spoke.
“My sister usually only comes every other day. She already came yesterday, so it should be safe today.”
“Then I can relax today.”
Qianling sat next to Yang Mo and reached for the remote on the low table.
But just then… a buzzing sound came from Yang Mo’s phone.
“Huh? That must be a text.” Yang Mo pulled her phone from her jacket pocket.
She was still at the lock screen when the notification dropped down from the top.
On it was written—
I’m Yang Xia, I’m at the bus stop now.
In that instant, Yang Mo’s jaw dropped. She gripped her phone tightly, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Qianling sensed something was wrong and leaned over to see what was written on the screen.
Another new message popped up at the top.
I’m Yang Xia, I’m on the main road heading home now.
“Th-this is…”
Qianling was frozen on the spot for a moment, but Yang Mo reacted first, shouting, “Quick! Qianling! Run!”
“It’s too late! We’ll get caught! Didn’t you say she wouldn’t come?!”
“I don’t know! Maybe what happened yesterday made her suspicious…”
Saying that, she anxiously looked around, searching the room for anything that might give away Qianling’s presence.
Qianling darted off, grabbing the cardboard box and dashing into the storage room.
At that moment, another message arrived on the phone.
I’m Yang Xia, I’m at the door now.
“Looks like… she’s at the door.”
Hearing Yang Mo mumble the contents of the text behind her, Qianling felt the urgency of the crisis grow even sharper.
It was just like the famous “Miss Mary” ghost story: the abandoned doll would call the protagonist at intervals, reporting its location, until finally saying, “I’m Miss Mary, and I’m right behind you.”
But wasn’t that supposed to be a doll’s role? How did I end up on the victim’s side instead!
As she screamed silently in her heart, she hid inside the cardboard box.
At the same time, the sound of a key turning in the lock came again at Yang Mo’s door.
Qianling knew—she was here.