Seeing Xu Wenxing’s panicked expression, Blazing Flame let out a light laugh and teased him.
“How’s that impossible? You really think I’m being kept by some rich woman? No way, right? Hmm?”
“Screw you, Brother Ren! You actually kept this from me for so long! I seriously thought you had some sugar mama on the side!”
After learning Blazing Flame’s identity, Xu Wenxing instantly dropped all his previous restraint and gave her the middle finger, venting his frustration.
“Don’t even think about it. There’s no rich woman who’d be interested in a nobody pretty boy like me. I was just messing with you before.”
“Ah, that’s so sad. I actually thought Brother Ren was being kept, and that he’d bring me along to rake in the easy money.” Xu Wenxing pretended to wipe nonexistent tears from the corner of his eyes.
“What’s there to be sad about? Do you know rich women scrub those private parts with steel wool, causing tissue necrosis?” Blazing Flame smiled, “Would you be willing to sacrifice your health just for money? Hmm?”
“Ah, stop it, Brother Ren! I’m scared!”
At Blazing Flame’s hint, Xu Wenxing instinctively looked down at himself, imagining a rich woman wielding steel wool nearby. His skin broke out in goosebumps, and he frantically waved his hands in refusal.
“Now you’re scared, huh? Weren’t you telling me you wanted some cold, ice-cold Female CEO? Not anymore?” Blazing Flame asked with a smile.
“No more! I was young and foolish back then, just saying stuff. Brother Ren, you’re such a big-hearted man, please spare me!” Xu Wenxing clasped his hands together in a solemn plea.
“Spare you? That’s not impossible.” Blazing Flame gave Xu Wenxing an assessing look. “Just remember to keep this secret. Don’t tell anyone. Or I’ll punch you so hard you’ll stick to the wall and never come off.”
“Ah… okay, no problem, Brother Ren. I swear I won’t say a word.”
Xu Wenxing stared at Blazing Flame’s request for a moment, then looked at her seriously and made a promise.
“Alright, I trust you.” Blazing Flame looked at Xu Wenxing’s earnest expression, propping her chin on one hand as she asked, “Aren’t you going to eat? Did you order takeout?”
“Not yet. My heart’s broken, I don’t want to order.” Xu Wenxing looked up at the sky and said slowly.
Blazing Flame, sensing his tone wasn’t fake and that he was genuinely sad, asked, “Heartbroken? Why?”
Curious, she wanted to know what could make such a carefree guy so down.
Xu Wenxing sighed first, then, using a bubbly voice he seemed to have learned somewhere, carefully pronounced each word to Blazing Flame.
“Brother Ren, after seeing you, my illusions about Magical Girls were shattered.”
“Hm? Go on.”
Blazing Flame prompted.
“After seeing you, I instantly understood… the perfect world where the Magical Girl is also a beautiful girl no longer exists! This world is hopeless! Destroy it!”
Xu Wenxing paused for a moment, then poured out his sincere and intense feelings of injustice toward the world.
Watching Xu Wenxing suddenly lose it, Blazing Flame twitched the corner of her mouth and shook her head helplessly, using examples to refute his delusional thinking.
“Objection! Didn’t you forget the Virtual Streamer Incident? The skin of the virtual streamer was a beautiful girl, but that doesn’t mean the person playing the streamer was a beautiful girl! The same applies to Magical Girls!”
“Please stop! If the Magical Girl herself isn’t beautiful, then there’s no more Buy-One-Get-One! That can’t happen!”
“…Huh?” Blazing Flame was momentarily stunned, never expecting to hear such a strange argument from him. “What’s Buy-One-Get-One?”
“The so-called Buy-One-Get-One means dating the Magical Girl is like dating both the Magical Girl and her true self at the same time! One relationship, two rewards! You don’t even know this? Your level is too low! I’m disappointed in you, Brother Ren!”
“What kind of twisted logic is that? Aren’t they the same person?” Blazing Flame asked, half laughing and half crying.
“That’s why I said your level is too low, Brother Ren.” Xu Wenxing said seriously. “Clearly you don’t understand the charm of an ice-cold beauty or Shizun of Pure Chill. I can’t talk to you about this.”
“…Heh.”
Blazing Flame only chuckled without offering any rebuttal.
She’d thought Xu Wenxing might have some profound insight worth listening to.
But judging by his reaction, it turned out he just liked contrasts.
Only someone like him wasn’t worth her full effort to argue with!
“Ah, Brother Ren, my heart hurts so much. It’s all your fault for ruining my illusions about Magical Girls.” Xu Wenxing pretended to be sad, lowering his head and sniffing. “Tell me, how are you going to make it up to me?”
“What? You still dare to ask for compensation? You’ve got guts.” Blazing Flame crossed her arms. “Then you fight the next High-Difficulty Event yourself. Don’t bother me. We’re no longer friends.”
“Brother Ren! No! I was wrong! I’ll treat you to Chicken Hot Pot! Please help me with the High-Difficulty Event next time, okay?”
Hearing Blazing Flame’s reply, Xu Wenxing immediately backed down and tried to tempt her with food.
Blazing Flame said nothing, just squinting at him as if weighing whether this culinary bribe was worth accepting his surrender.
The atmosphere instantly grew cold.
After several seconds, Blazing Flame looked at Xu Wenxing, who kept sneaking glances at her expression, and said,
“Let’s eat tonight. It’ll be a few more hours before I can cancel the transformation.”
“Ah… fine, then we’ll eat tonight.” Xu Wenxing looked away. “But Brother Ren, why does it take you a few hours to return to normal? I thought Magical Girls could transform back anytime.”
“Something a little unexpected happened today. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have seen me like this.” Blazing Flame shrugged, not going into details.
“Unexpected? Did something go wrong fighting a Monster?”
Xu Wenxing frowned, suddenly recalling urban legends about Magical Girls paying a price for gaining new powers, and looked at the girl before him with concern.
“No, fighting Monsters is always easy for me. There’s no way something bad happened.” Blazing Flame waved her hand, reassuring him. “Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.”
“A good thing, that’s good. Um…”
Hearing this, Xu Wenxing relaxed, then awkwardly scratched his head, eyes darting around as if wanting to say something but hesitating.
“Say it straight. Stop beating around the bush.” Blazing Flame urged.
“Alright, I’ll say it!” Xu Wenxing gritted his teeth and mustered great courage. “Brother Ren! After you transformed into a Magical Girl, is your body completely feminized?”
“…So what if it is? You’re not thinking of something inappropriate, are you? Like waking up as a woman and deciding to let your roommate enjoy themselves—some Rainy Day Story? Let me tell you, that’s impossible. Stop dreaming.”
Blazing Flame raised an eyebrow, watching Xu Wenxing cautiously.
“Ahem, I’m not that kind of person. You know me—I only like perfect-bodied beautiful girls, not flat ones.” Xu Wenxing cleared his throat, explaining.
“So?” Blazing Flame didn’t believe a word.
“So, uh, the white stockings—is that real? It’s my first time seeing someone wearing white stockings in real life. Can I take a photo?”
After all the back-and-forth, Xu Wenxing finally asked the question he’d been most curious about.
Though he was a busty-lover, most well-proportioned game characters wore black stockings; white stockings were rare. This was the first time he’d seen them in reality, and his interest peaked.
Meanwhile,
Blazing Flame was speechless, falling into silence as her eyes fixed hard on the man in front of her.
Then she slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and ignore Xu Wenxing’s provocation.
But the more she tried to stay rational, the angrier she got at his questions.
Finally, Blazing Flame flushed red, glared fiercely at Xu Wenxing, and bluntly told him the truth.
“…Get lost!”