“Our Shui Hua is really making a name for himself now, able to attend meetings with those bigshots.”
Xing Li lifted her eyelids lazily as she watched Shui Hua push open the Department Office door.
“But I only said a single sentence the whole time.”
Shui Hua dragged himself feebly to his workstation, slumped into his chair, and clutched his stomach.
“So hungry… We’ve been in meetings all this time and I haven’t eaten a thing. I’ll have to order takeout. And I still have to work overtime tonight…”
“Well, who told you to skip the whole day yesterday? And you even roped me into acting with you,” Xing Li yawned unsympathetically, shifting to a more comfortable position on her lounge chair.
“Just making you make up the hours tonight is already the Head being generous.”
“That’s why I say, having fixed work hours is unreasonable in itself,” Shui Hua grumbled, unable to hold back.
“For someone like me, who’s so efficient, I finish my tasks way early, but still have to clock in every hour before I can leave.”
“But isn’t our Department the kind of place where you can slack off? You should learn from me.”
Xing Li twisted and curled herself up even more on the lounge chair.
“Nap during work hours, restore your energy, then after work you can cut back on sleep and have fun as much as you want.”
“If you’re not going to sleep, then help me with my homework.”
Xing Li hadn’t forgotten about this, and it seemed she hadn’t made much progress lately.
“Think of it as payment for me helping you act yesterday.”
“I already paid for yesterday,” Shui Hua extended his index finger, putting on a serious face.
“The payment is: as the pillar of our Department, I’ll continue to toil away here.”
“We’ve got nothing to do right now anyway, just help me out~”
Xing Li started whining, rolling around with her pillow in her arms.
“You don’t want your cute Head to end up a dumbass who can’t even graduate from high school, right?”
“So if you graduate, you’re not a dumbass anymore?”
Shui Hua retorted.
“Yu Hua-ge~ come on, help me!”
Xing Li knew that if she nagged long enough, Shui Hua would eventually cave.
“Alright, alright. Let’s pick up from last time, I’ll help you review from the start of year one.”
Shui Hua finally agreed under her relentless pestering.
***
“So that’s how this formula is used… I think I sort of get it now.”
“Well, these are just the most basic things…”
“Ahh—so tired, my brain’s about to fry. Let’s continue next time…”
Xing Li wailed, collapsing onto the desk.
“Why do I feel like I’m even more exhausted…”
Shui Hua massaged his throbbing temples, feeling utterly drained.
“Thanks for your hard work!”
Xing Li instantly revived, cheerfully patting Shui Hua on the shoulder.
“As an equivalent exchange, this time let me teach you something!”
“You?”
Shui Hua shot her a skeptical look.
“What could you possibly teach me? How to sleep more comfortably in the office?”
“Even though you’re older than me, and a bit… well, just a bit smarter academically,” Xing Li put her hands on her hips, trying hard to look like a Senior, “but I’m still your superior, an actual B+ Rank Magical Girl. There’s plenty I could teach you, like… how to get stronger, for instance.”
“You’ve been hiding something that good all this time?”
Shui Hua perked up at once.
Even though she always claimed to hate being a Magical Girl, she secretly practiced magic quite a bit.
After all, who wouldn’t want to be stronger?
“Because you always look so relaxed, as if you never need any extra power,” Xing Li tilted her head.
“Every time you’re on a mission, you always finish it with some bizarre but unexpectedly effective method…”
“You think I don’t want to just use brute force to crush Anomalous Entities? I only have to rely on brains because my strength isn’t enough. Even so, you still shouldn’t have kept your methods to yourself.”
“It’s not really hiding anything,” Xing Li waved her hand, “just some personal thoughts and tricks—not guaranteed to work, but I figured… you might find them interesting.”
“Out with it already, stop being so mysterious,” Shui Hua urged.
Xing Li cleared her throat and began sharing her insights: “A Magical Girl, as the name suggests, is a fusion of magic and girl. Here’s the question: which do you think is emphasized more—magic, or girl?”
“Of course it’s magic,” Shui Hua answered without hesitation.
“I was given magic first, and then forced to become a girl.”
“And that’s exactly why you’re only C-Class. Lots of heroes have magic—Witches, Magic Men, Mages… So ‘girl’ is actually the most critical part for us Magical Girls.”
Xing Li chose to attack her rank, quickly silencing Shui Hua.
“Alright, alright, go on,” Shui Hua crossed her arms, waiting to hear what nonsense Xing Li could cook up.
“So, here’s my wild theory—Magical Girl power actually has little to do with the strength of your Meme, or even with Ability Adaptation. In reality, it depends on the purity of your ‘maiden’s heart.’”
“I don’t buy it…”
Shui Hua immediately expressed her doubts.
With Xing Li’s lazy attitude, who looked more like an old man than a young girl, how could she have a maiden’s heart?
“How could I not?”
Xing Li protested at once, making a cute face at Shui Hua.
“It’s shameless to brag, but I’m so adorable—I’m full of a maiden’s heart!”
“Then how do you explain Liu Jin? Her real self’s a male college student, just like me. Do you think she’s got a maiden’s heart? No way, right?”
“On the contrary,” Xing Li actually thought this was the perfect example.
“Senior Liu Jin is the most full of a maiden’s heart of anyone I know. To love someone so recklessly, willing to give and change for them—if that isn’t a maiden’s heart, what is?”
“Uh…”
An indescribable expression crossed Shui Hua’s face.
“Among men, we usually call that… a simp.”
“Shui—Hua—!”
Xing Li puffed out her cheeks in anger.
“You keep saying things that kill the mood—that’s why I say you don’t understand a maiden’s heart at all. According to my theory, the reason you’re stuck at C-Class is because you’re too down-to-earth.”
“Am I supposed to have a maiden’s heart?”
Shui Hua pointed to himself.
“Why not? It’s not just about getting stronger—just try it for fun. For example, try not seeing being a Magical Girl as just a job. Enjoy the process—enjoy the camaraderie when the three of us go on missions, enjoy the sense of accomplishment after helping others.”
Xing Li’s eyes gleamed with expectation.
“Or, if you’re feeling bolder, try falling for someone, savor the days spent with her, experience that heart-pounding feeling… You might discover a whole new world.”
“That’s just *degeneracy,” Shui Hua quipped.
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