Although Su Nuannuan still felt somewhat guilty about bumping into that girl, the other party had already left, so she could only set aside her apology for now. She would find a chance to properly apologize later.
After PE class ended, the three of them returned to the classroom. There was only one more lesson before the highly anticipated club free activity time—a whole class period dedicated to it!
As soon as the bell rang, the phone magic guild group chat buzzed with new messages.
Wu Duola: “All members, assemble.”
Zhou Qianqian immediately perked up excitedly: “The president is summoning us. Maybe there’s a new mysterious story!”
Lin Wei glanced at the message… Another missing cat?
The three headed straight to the storage room again.
Upon entering, they saw Wu Duola standing in the middle with her hands behind her back, her expression both mysterious and serious. She gestured for the three to sit on the chairs arranged before her.
Once they settled down, Wu Duola cleared her throat and announced, “Comrades Zhou Qianqian and Lin Wei, although your investigation of the Midnight Piano Incident ended in failure, your courage was commendable, as was your consistent dedication to magical affairs. I hereby officially approve your membership in the Magic Club!”
Zhou Qianqian immediately cheered, “Yay! I’m a magical girl now too!”
Lin Wei crossed her arms, expressionless, feeling nothing inside: “…”
Wu Duola continued with the ceremony, “Now, please sign this magical contract to officially become members of the guild!” She pulled out two handwritten copies of the Magic Club’s code of conduct.
Su Nuannuan glanced over and thought, This isn’t just like the one I signed? I wonder if Lin Wei will think the terms are childish… She quietly lowered her head, not daring to speak.
Zhou Qianqian took the paper and carefully read through the clauses, her eyes shining brighter: “So cool! Signing this means we can transform, right? Can we summon magic wands?”
“Ma Hou Shao Jiu…”
Wu Duola covered half her face with one hand: “Of course, where the heart goes, magic follows!”
Lin Wei took the so-called contract, reading clauses like “Never betray a comrade… Those who offend us shall be eradicated,” and three dark lines slid down her forehead.
This is bad… she silently lamented. These are really a bunch of late-stage chuunibyou… Why did I even join? How am I going to face anyone after this?
She turned her head to look at Su Nuannuan’s face full of relief. Now everyone was a magical girl.
Ha Ji Nuan, why’d you have to join this kind of club and drag me into it?
Under Wu Duola’s expectant gaze and Zhou Qianqian’s excitement, Lin Wei finally braced herself and signed her name on that shameful contract.
Just… playing house with kids, then.
After both had signed, Wu Duola solemnly collected the papers, her expression serious: “Alright, back to business. Our Magic Guild’s primary task remains the Midnight Piano Incident! Since our last operation failed, does anyone have new ideas or plans?”
Zhou Qianqian immediately raised her hand, eyes sparkling: “President, how about we stake out there again tonight? We didn’t go last night; maybe the piano spirit thought we gave up and let down its guard!” Plus, it’s a perfect excuse to sleep over at Nuannuan’s place! Let’s see what excuse Lin Wei can use to shove me into the guest room this time!
At the thought of being close to Su Nuannuan’s skin, she nearly jumped up.
Su Nuannuan’s face fell immediately: “Ah? That means staying up late again.”
Lin Wei looked at Su Nuannuan, clearly unwilling to stay up late, and vetoed Zhou Qianqian’s suggestion: “We don’t have to go tonight.”
The other three all looked at her, especially Zhou Qianqian, who bit her lip fiercely. Damn it, Lin Wei—I want to see what you’re going to say now.
Wu Duola asked, “Why? Lin Wei, what’s your insight?”
Lin Wei took out her phone, tapped a few times, then turned the screen toward them. It was a screenshot of a notice from the school’s official website.
“Notice Regarding the 10th Annual Campus Star Student Talent Show, next Saturday at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium, featuring vocal, instrumental, dance, and language categories…”
“Each category will award first, second, and third prizes, with the top prize being 10,000 yuan…”
Wu Duola and Zhou Qianqian looked puzzled. Why wasn’t this announced to us?
Su Nuannuan… had never heard of it.
Lin Wei rolled her eyes at them. Nuannuan can go up there and act cute, but do you two have any talents?
Looking at the notice, they were still a bit lost. “So… what does this have to do with the piano spirit?”
Lin Wei pointed at the words “instrumental” and “prize money,” continuing her analysis: “The instrumental category specifically includes piano performance, and the first prize is 10,000 yuan. For a student, that’s not a small sum.”
Wu Duola seemed to understand: “You mean… that piano spirit has been secretly practicing to enter this competition?”
Lin Wei… There’s no such spirit. She sighed and nodded. “It was just a guess before, but seeing this notice makes it more likely.”
She paused, then added, “This talent show isn’t particularly selective or prestigious. The main draw is the prize money. Someone willing to sneak into the school’s piano room late at night to practice probably doesn’t have a piano at home or a suitable practice environment.”
“Because our interference has alerted them, they’ll definitely be more cautious in the short term and probably won’t come again soon, but…” Lin Wei’s tone turned certain, “The night before the competition—next Friday night—there’s a very high chance they’ll come for a final rehearsal! Because that night, their desire to practice will be strongest, and they’ll likely think they won’t get caught on the last night.”
“So, on that night, we’ll definitely catch them.”
Wu Duola’s eyes widened as she clapped her hands: “Impressive!”
Su Nuannuan looked at Lin Wei with admiration. Is there anything Lin Wei can’t do?
Zhou Qianqian (ヽ`Д´)ﾉ ┻━┻
Wu Duola thought for a moment and nodded firmly: “Alright, it’s decided. We’ll act again next Friday night! This time, we must uncover the truth behind the Midnight Piano.”
“Well…” Zhou Qianqian thought of another question, “What should we do before Friday? We can’t just sit around, right?”
Wu Duola gave a ‘duh’ look: “Of course, we keep collecting other mysterious incidents around campus and investigate each one thoroughly.”
She looked at the three: “So, has anyone encountered or heard anything strange or unexplainable recently?”
After Wu Duola’s question, the four fell into a brief silence.
Zhou Qianqian began scratching her head, thinking hard. Any mysterious events?
Su Nuannuan looked down, playing with her fingers, thinking about all the strange things about herself—like why she always trips when running, or why her grades are so bad.
Lin Wei still crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, uninterested in playing house with kids and eager to finish.
“Got it!” Zhou Qianqian suddenly slapped her thigh, eyes shining as she lowered her voice mysteriously, “I heard that the super strict grade director, the ‘Extinction Master Nun’… the plants in her office never die and grow really well. Some say they saw her talking to the plants! What do you think? Are those plants enchanted? Or maybe she can do magic too?”
Lin Wei closed her eyes helplessly, her mouth twitching: “…That’s just because she’s a biology teacher.” What kind of mysterious incident is that?
Hearing Lin Wei’s answer, Zhou Qianqian felt annoyed to the point of grinding her teeth…
But Wu Duola stroked her chin, looking very interested: “Hmm… Talking to plants, we should note that!” She really pulled out a small notebook to write it down.
Lin Wei: “…” Forget it.
Wu Duola and Zhou Qianqian continued their discussion until the class bell rang, marking the end of club time and then the last lesson of the day.
After returning home and finishing dinner that evening, Su Nuannuan sat in her room staring blankly at her homework book. Since Lin Wei hadn’t mentioned tutoring today, she had to study on her own.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up, and the screen displayed “Mom”!
She quickly answered, her voice a mix of surprise and hurt: “Mom!”
From the other end came Su Mom’s gentle and caring voice: “Nuannuan, have you eaten? How are you at home? Are you listening to your sister?”
Hearing her mom’s familiar voice, Su Nuannuan’s eyes immediately reddened, her voice thick with tears: “I ate… it’s pretty good at home. I…I have been listening to sister.”
“Nuannuan, what’s wrong? Are you sick? Or feeling wronged?” Su Mom asked anxiously.
“Not sick… it’s just… Mom, I miss you… when will you and Dad come back…” Su Nuannuan sniffled, her voice choked with tears.
She had many grievances she wanted to tell her mom, but she didn’t want to worry her, so she held back.
Su Mom was heartbroken on the other end and hurried to comfort her: “Good girl, Mom misses you too. Things are a bit complicated here and will take some time. You have to be good and get along well with your sister, okay? When I come back, I’ll bring you gifts…”
The mother and daughter chatted a bit longer. Su Mom kept reminding her, and Su Nuannuan kept responding with “mmhmm” and “uh-huh” until they reluctantly hung up.
After hanging up, Su Nuannuan stared at the darkened phone screen, wiped her tears, and forced herself to study again.
Not long after Su Nuannuan’s call ended, Lin Wei’s phone rang in her room, caller ID showing “Su Mom.”
Lin Wei answered and took a moment to calm herself, her tone a bit softer than usual: “Mom…” She was still not quite used to that address.
“Weiwei,” Su Mom’s voice came through, “I hope I’m not disturbing your studying. Are you getting used to living there? Is your little sister causing you trouble? If she’s being naughty, tell Mom, and I’ll scold her.”
Listening to Su Mom’s caring words, strange thoughts flashed through Lin Wei’s mind, and a strong sense of guilt welled up. She didn’t even dare to look directly at her phone screen.
She cleared her throat and tried to sound normal: “Yeah, I’m used to it. She’s… pretty well-behaved, no trouble.”
“That’s good. You two sisters have to take care of each other. With Mom and Dad not home, you’re the elder sister, so be a little more tolerant…” Su Mom went on and on with her reminders.
Lin Wei calmly replied. After hanging up, she stared out into the dark night, feeling unsettled.
She paced her room a few times, then finally left and went to Su Nuannuan’s door. She knocked.
Su Nuannuan was still immersed in her emotions. Hearing the knock, she quickly wiped her eyes and got up to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Lin Wei saw Su Nuannuan’s red, rabbit-like eyes and softened slightly. Was she crying?
Still, Lin Wei’s face remained expressionless: “Let’s go to the study room for tutoring today.”
Maybe a more serious environment like the study room would help keep herself calm and push away those messy thoughts.
Su Nuannuan was taken aback, not expecting Lin Wei to still care about tutoring. She obediently nodded: “Oh… okay, sister…”