Chapter 25: Caught

Feng Ling was awakened by the sunlight.

Groggy, she got out of bed, fumbled for her phone, and opened the banking app’s balance page by muscle memory, squinting one eye at the screen.

Today was the Magical Girl payday.

As soon as she woke up, Feng Ling couldn’t help checking her balance.

The five-thousand-yuan remainder of the Magical Girl Subsidy had come through, filling in the last small gap, and the number in her bank account had finally turned into a nice six-figure sum.

Over the past few months, through selling merchandise, delivering food, live streaming, and even collaborating with Chi Yun for a while, her income had steadily increased, reaching the small goal she’d set for herself.

Feng Ling could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Plus, she’d already built up a fan base and found a way to monetize it, so making money going forward would only get easier.

“It’s been ages since I changed back. I’ll take a little break today.”

She muttered to herself as she slid out of bed, her feet landing on the cold floor.

She’d been so busy lately, rushing around nonstop—fighting for quests with Chi Yun during the day and hosting live streams at night.

Most of the time, she was too lazy to even take off her Magical Girl outfit before collapsing into bed, let alone cancel her transformation.

Come to think of it, she’d been maintaining her Feng Ling form for nearly a week without switching back.

Sure, she didn’t mind it for the sake of making money, but after a while, she still felt the urge to change back and get some air.

Still, this place was technically “Magical Girl Feng Ling’s” room.

If Lian Ge happened to be nearby and saw him walking out, it wouldn’t look too good.

Better to stick to the usual routine—find a secluded corner to cancel the transformation, that was safer.

Feng Ling picked up the phone that belonged to Jiang Zhu from the nightstand, slipped it into her pocket, and was about to head out.

But just then, the phone rang.

The caller was his little sister, Jiang He.

“Why’d she suddenly call…”

Feng Ling glanced around, making sure the window was shut and the curtains were drawn tight.

Then, with a flash of cyan light, she canceled her transformation.

The azure-colored hair and the Western-style dress faded away in the glow, and what remained standing in the room was Jiang Zhu in casual clothes.

He gripped the phone, cleared his throat a few times to adjust the voice he’d been using for a week (pitched higher, like he was pinching it), and answered in the most normal tone he could muster.

“Hey, sis, what’s up calling me?”

“Bro, bro, I just realized something super coincidental! Magical Girl Feng Ling has the exact same name as you. The registration info on her streaming platform says your name, no lie.”

Probably meant she’d reached the follower count where she had to display real-name info.

Jiang Zhu kept a straight face and said, “Oh? That is pretty coincidental. I had no idea…”

Jiang Zhu figured if he could keep it vague, he would.

Just go along with her logic and play dumb.

But the moment he agreed with her, Jiang He’s tone flipped:

“Coincidence my ass. I already heard from Sister Xiao Lin—Feng Ling registered her account using your info. Explain. Why did you lie to me?”

Jiang Zhu scrambled to come up with a script:

“Here’s the thing—Feng Ling’s identity is pretty special; she doesn’t want to reveal her real name. So she first went to Xiao Lin, and then it got passed to me, and she asked me to help with the registration.”

“The reason I kept it from you is mainly because Feng Ling and I aren’t that close. I was just doing her a favor… If people around me found out I had that kind of connection to a Magical Girl, they’d be begging me for autographs and photos all the time. I’d be stuck in an awkward position either way.”

Jiang He went silent.

Jiang Zhu wasn’t sure if that meant she’d accepted his explanation.

He was about to ask what was going on on her end when Jiang He suddenly said:

“You’re not wrong, but it doesn’t seem like that’s all there is to it.”

When she said this, her voice was already gritting through her teeth.

He could hear her shifting in her wheelchair.

“I’m telling the truth, alright? What else could it be? What do you want me to say?”

Jiang Zhu kept playing dumb, already running through possible cards Jiang He might have up her sleeve.

But before he could figure out her hand, Jiang He pressed further:

“Not admitting it, huh… Bro, I just happen to be right outside the door.”

Jiang He’s voice grew louder.

It came through the phone, and at almost the same time, it came from outside the door as well.

“Bro, open up!”

“Damn it…”

Jiang Zhu walked to the door and pulled it open.

In front of him was Jiang He, seated sideways in her wheelchair.

She must have had her ear pressed right against the door just now.

She was rubbing her ear and looking up at the same time.

Her ink-black hair slid off her shoulder, and her face was set in a stern expression:

“Bro, can you explain why you’re inside Feng Ling’s room?”

The atmosphere instantly became incredibly awkward.

Jiang Zhu had no idea how much his little sister knew, and he hadn’t figured out a good story yet.

So he decided to first step out of Feng Ling’s room, push Jiang He along, and stall for time with a delaying tactic.

“Uh… I was just helping Feng Ling tune her streaming equipment. Nothing else.”

Jiang He wasn’t about to let him push her away that easily.

She jerked her head back, keeping it tilted to glare at Jiang Zhu, her tone turning quite unfriendly:

“Bro, don’t go. Why not show me around your new flame’s room?”

On Jiang He’s side, it was purely an accident.

She’d spotted that Feng Ling’s account happened to have her brother’s name, so she’d asked Lin Ciwei.

From Lin Ciwei, she learned that Lin had introduced Jiang Zhu to Feng Ling.

At that point, she still thought it was just a normal relationship.

But then Jiang He, using her disability as leverage, managed to wheedle Feng Ling’s address out of Lin.

She went to Jiang Zhu’s old place to check if he was there, found no one, and dropped by here instead.

That’s when things went sideways.

Jiang He had only wanted to meet Magical Girl Feng Ling, get an autograph and a photo.

But afraid that Feng Ling might find her annoying, she first called to confirm the relationship between her brother and Feng Ling, hoping to get on her good side.

Then, faintly, she caught a familiar voice…

She quickly wheeled herself closer, and that familiar voice became clearer…

Damn it.

Sister Xiao Lin had guarded against fire, guarded against thieves, and guarded against demon beasts, but she’d never guarded against her best friend.

Jiang He had basically stumbled onto a cheating scene.

There was no way she’d trust Jiang Zhu now.

She continued:

“You think I’ll believe that? Who comes over to fix streaming equipment at this hour? You practically spent the night here, didn’t you?”

Jiang Zhu felt like he had no real evidence left to offer.

He could only try to vouch for himself with his character: “I’m not a lolicon, there’s no way I’d do something like that.”

But Jiang He was already burning with anger, completely deaf to his words:

“Bro, oh bro. I was wondering why you showed zero enthusiasm when you met Sister Xiao Lin last time. Turns out you’ve already got a new girl! Have you forgotten the vows you made to Sister Xiao Lin? Have you forgotten everything from the past?”