Back at school, Yang Mo once said that she was a little strange, different from others in some ways.
In fact, Qianling felt she was probably that kind of strange kid too.
When was the last time she went to the supermarket with others?
Pushing the shopping cart, she tried to recall in her mind.
It felt like so many things had happened such a long, long time ago.
While she was lost in thought, the shopping cart had already grown heavy without her realizing it.
“This one, this one, and this one too!”
Yang Mo kept tossing all sorts of things inside, and besides fruits and vegetables, there were also snacks that had nothing to do with making dinner.
Clearly, this wasn’t part of Yang Xia’s plan.
“Hey! What are you doing? Aren’t we here to get stuff for dinner?”
She shouted, but Yang Mo had no intention of stopping.
“Let’s just treat it as celebrating Qianling moving in with me.”
“Then go easy, especially on things that spoil easily—don’t waste them!”
“Okay, okay, I get it.”
Yang Mo gave a perfunctory reply and immediately darted off to another aisle to pick out something else. Who knew if she’d actually listened?
“Qianling, let’s go!” She walked ahead, her voice brimming with energy as she urged Qianling to keep pushing the cart.
Only then did Qianling’s thoughts finally snap back, and she hurried to respond, “Coming, coming.”
Halfway through, Yang Mo suddenly doubled back to Qianling’s side and raised her hand to whisper in her ear.
“Oh, and Qianling, you don’t have to worry about what big sister said. If there are snacks you want, I’ll pay for them.”
Right after she said that, Yang Xia’s voice came from behind.
“I can hear what you’re saying, you know…”
Qianling turned to see her standing there, one hand pressed to her forehead and the other on her hip, looking completely exasperated.
Noticing Qianling’s gaze, Yang Xia gave her a helpless smile and waved her hand, saying, “Go on. Today’s special—cutting loose a bit isn’t the end of the world.”
Qianling hesitated at their offer.
After all, eating wasn’t really a necessity for her.
But just as Yang Xia said, days like this weren’t something she remembered often from her past.
If it were the old me, I’d have treasured these moments spent with people around me too.
So, instead of thinking about boring things, maybe it’s better to just accept a bit of goodwill here.
She smiled at Yang Xia and said, “Then I won’t hold back.”
“I won’t hold back either,” Yang Mo chimed in right away.
With that, the two of them immediately teamed up, tossing everything they found interesting into the cart.
“Hey, hold it right there!”
Yang Xia dashed up from behind, grabbing each of their shoulders. “That’s not what I meant! At least check the product info carefully before buying, okay?”
But even so, by the time they reached the register, they’d still filled a large shopping bag to the brim, plus two smaller plastic bags for things that would get squished easily.
Naturally, those included freshly made cakes, rice balls, and yogurt—all things that spoil quickly.
All Yang Xia could do was sigh.
If we try hard, we should be able to finish all this… hopefully.
On the way home, the three walked side by side as before.
Qianling and Yang Mo each carried a small bag, while Yang Xia took the biggest, heaviest one.
There was so much in that big bag that Yang Xia had to tug it with both hands, clearly struggling.
Now’s my time to shine.
With that thought, Qianling suggested to Yang Xia, “Why don’t I take the biggest one?”
“You? Are you serious?”
Yang Xia looked her up and down suspiciously, clearly doubting that Qianling’s small frame could handle something so heavy.
Yang Mo, squeezed in the middle, also said, “Isn’t that a bit much for you?”
“You two are forgetting what I’m actually for.”
Qianling stretched out her free hand, clenching and unclenching her fist to show the sisters what she looked like without her disguise magic.
“I’m a humanoid weapon who can fight magical girls. This much weight is nothing.”
“Fair enough… Okay, here you go.”
Yang Xia admitted she had a point and set the big bag down for a moment.
Qianling handed her own small bag to Yang Xia, completing the swap, then went to try picking up the big bag from the ground.
Just as she’d expected, lifting it with both hands was no trouble at all; this weight really was nothing to her.
But she quickly discovered a new problem.
If her hands dropped even a little, the bottom of the big shopping bag would scrape against the ground.
“Hm…?”
Qianling looked down in confusion, then tried changing where she gripped the bag.
But no matter how she tried, the shopping bag would inevitably drag against the ground.
“How about this!”
She set the bag down again and tried putting both hands underneath, attempting to hug it directly.
But this time, it failed in a different way.
Stuffed to the brim, the bag was taller than she was; as long as she hugged it to her chest, she couldn’t see anything besides the bag itself.
“Pfft! Hahahaha!”
“Qi—Qianling, you…”
Seeing Qianling like this, both Yang Xia and Yang Mo couldn’t stop laughing.
After laughing, Yang Xia came over, patted her shoulder, and said, “Alright, little one, better let me handle it.”
Ignoring Qianling’s wishes, Yang Xia took the bag from her hands.
With the bag gone, Qianling’s dejected face was revealed to the other two.
The light in her eyes had vanished, her head drooped to the side, and she looked as if her soul had left her body—a real, lifeless doll.
Only one phrase echoed in her empty shell, over and over:
This body… Only in this respect… Only in this respect, I absolutely cannot accept it!
“Hey… are you okay?” Yang Xia waved her hand in front of her face, but got no response.
Seeing this, Yang Mo panicked too. She grabbed Qianling’s shoulders, shaking her with teary eyes, and cried out, “Qianling, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have laughed at you… Please come back to us!”
After shaking her for a while, Qianling’s head suddenly jerked, and the light returned to her eyes.
“Stop shaking me, stop shaking me, I’m fine now.”
Having snapped out of it, Qianling took Yang Mo’s hand and put it back down.
Yang Mo asked, “Really?”
She answered the same way, “Really.”
“That’s great…” With that, Yang Mo wiped the corner of her eyes.
But faced with Yang Mo like this, Qianling couldn’t feel touched at all.
Because during that unresponsive moment, she was actually fully conscious and remembered every bit of what just happened.
You two… daring to laugh like that, just you wait.
With that in mind, she slowly turned her head toward Yang Xia.
Yang Xia instantly sensed a sharp gaze boring into her back.
A chill ran up her spine.
As much as she hated to admit it, looking at the still-bickering Qianling and Yang Mo, Yang Xia suddenly felt as if she’d really gained another little sister.
And the troublesome kind, at that…
Just what will our family become from now on?
Yang Xia felt another headache coming on.