Lin Wan’s eyes glimmered in the darkness, her tear-filled gaze seeming truly filled with stars.
Lin Wan didn’t understand. Even after expressing her feelings so clearly, why did Lu Yuan remain so indifferent?
Did Lu Yuan genuinely not realize she liked her, or was she just pretending to be oblivious all along?
“Can you let go of me first…? Let’s talk properly?” Lu Yuan asked tentatively.
“You answer me first.” Lin Wan said softly.
But even with such gentle words, it sounded like an undeniable command to Lu Yuan—after all, she was the one being restrained, pinned beneath Lin Wan.
Moonlight illuminated Lin Wan’s profile, and Lu Yuan suddenly noticed that this usually hyperactive girl looked strangely fragile at this moment.
“I’ve always seen you as my own little sister,” Lu Yuan said quietly, “as family.”
“So… you still think of me as Lu Qian?” Lin Wan bit her lip.
“Um… a little, I guess…”
Suddenly, Lin Wan cupped Lu Yuan’s face and lightly pressed a kiss to her lips.
“!” Lu Yuan was at a loss, “Lin Wan, you…”
“Would your sister kiss you like this? No, right? So… I’m not Lu Qian.” Lin Wan’s voice trembled, “Never was, and never can be.”
Lu Yuan saw big tears fall from Lin Wan onto herself, but Lin Wan stubbornly lifted her face, refusing to wipe them away.
“I don’t even know what colors your sister likes. How could I be her? Just because I look like her?”
Lin Wan suddenly grabbed Lu Yuan’s hand and pressed it against her chest. Through the thin pajamas, Lu Yuan could feel the rapid heartbeat.
“This heartbeat belongs to Lin Wan! Not some substitute!” Lin Wan held Lu Yuan’s face, emotions overflowing from her eyes. “Please, look at me properly—as just an ordinary girl.”
Lu Yuan’s fingertips trembled.
She understood Lin Wan’s feelings, but ever since the moment she met her, she had unconsciously regarded Lin Wan as her little sister. That was why no matter how intimate Lin Wan’s actions were, Lu Yuan never thought twice.
Memories she had deliberately ignored suddenly flooded back.
The girl trapped in a cage, the girl who made her bentos, the girl who fought alongside her…
Each one was a vibrant Lin Wan—not the vague shadow of a sister in her memory.
“I’m sorry…” Lu Yuan’s voice quivered, “I just…”
“No need to apologize.” Lin Wan suddenly released her hand, took a step back, and wiped her tears. “I’m here today to declare war.”
She took a deep breath and straightened her posture under the moonlight.
“Declare war…?”
“Starting tomorrow, I’m going to officially pursue you—not as anything else, but as Lin Wan, a girl who likes you.”
“Huh?”
“But I’m not confessing right now!” Lin Wan added quickly. “A confession is the honor when a warrior sheaths her sword. This is just… a declaration of war!”
“I know you might not like me that way yet, but feelings are unpredictable. Someone you hate today might become someone you like tomorrow.”
“I will keep pursuing you until you truly like me! Then, I will confess—a confession you won’t be able to refuse!” Lin Wan said. “Until then, I’ll kneel before you on one knee and make you willingly say, ‘I do.’”
“Eh—?!”
Lu Yuan’s mind froze. The overwhelming emotional shock made her face flush as red as a boiling kettle.
Isn’t this basically a confession?!
***
“What are you two doing?”
Chen Lianxue’s voice came from the bedroom doorway. She rubbed her eyes, clutching her Rabbit Plushie, and looked at the two piled on the sofa in confusion.
This is bad!
“Not what you think!” Lu Yuan hurried to explain.
“What do you think it is?” Chen Lianxue asked, tilting her head.
“Are you stupid?” Lin Wan slapped Lu Yuan on the head with one hand. “She’s only nine years old. What would she know?”
“Ah… we’re practicing! Close combat practice!” Lu Yuan hastily lied.
Two half-dressed people tangled together in the middle of the night practicing close combat… only Lianxue would believe that lie.
“Training for a fight at midnight… Lu Yuan, you’re really hardworking.” Chen Lianxue rubbed her eyes and yawned. “But I’m a bit sleepy. I can’t practice with you guys… sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Lianxue, you should go to sleep.” Lu Yuan cooed like soothing a baby and guided Chen Lianxue back to her room.
***
“Phew…” Lin Wan, who had been perched on top of Lu Yuan, let out a sigh of relief and looked at her.
The flirtatious atmosphere from moments ago had completely vanished. The two looked at each other awkwardly.
“Alright, don’t think so much. Go to sleep!” Lu Yuan took advantage of Lin Wan’s distraction, shook off her hand, and quietly slipped away, burying herself in the blanket. “We have to prepare for the debut performance tomorrow!”
Lin Wan froze with her hand raised, then softly replied:
“Okay.”
Then she wrapped herself in the blanket and squeezed close beside Lu Yuan.
“What are you doing!”
“I want to sleep with you.”
***
The next day, the weather was clear.
In the Magical Girl Headquarters’ dressing room, Lu Yuan clung tightly to the curtain, refusing to let go.
“Lu Yuan! Come out quickly!” Su Li called from outside the dressing room.
“I! Refuse!” Lu Yuan’s muffled voice came from behind the curtain. “This isn’t a performance costume—it’s lingerie, right?! It didn’t look like this when I bought it!”
“Stop talking nonsense and come out!” Su Li pulled the curtain hard from outside. “The Headquarters’ designer stayed up for three nights modifying this for you!”
“That designer must be a pervert! How could they ruin a perfectly good outfit like this?”
Su Li crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “If you don’t come out within five seconds, I’ll rip this curtain off.”
“Su Li, you—”
“Five, four, three…”
“Wait! Isn’t it enough if I come out?”
The curtain was pulled aside in an instant, and the entire dressing room fell silent.
Lu Yuan stood with arms crossed in front of everyone. The black lace corset cinched her slim waist, and the layered tattered sheer skirt revealed glimpses of her thighs with every movement.
The most fatal part was the back: crisscrossed satin ribbons exposed large patches of pale skin to the air, with a Butterfly Skeleton Ornament resting on her chest, gently trembling with her breathing.
“…I’m going to kill that designer.” Lu Yuan’s face was flushed as she tried to pull down the skirt.
Lin Wan suddenly dashed forward, cupping Lu Yuan’s hands, her nose dripping two bright red streaks. “It’s perfect! This outfit suits you so well!”
“You’re bleeding from your nose, you pervert!”
“That’s tears of joy!”
“Get lost!”
Su Li’s fingertips gently stroked the satin ribbons on Lu Yuan’s back. “It’s really nice—worthy of the professional designer from Headquarters—but…”
“But?”
“Isn’t the fabric on your butt a bit too tight? Or are you just too… well-endowed?” Su Li suddenly tugged hard.
“Smack.” The fabric snapped tight, leaving a red mark on Lu Yuan’s butt.
“Ah!” Lu Yuan jumped up in surprise. “It hurts!”
A tear escaped from the corner of her eye from the pain as she bit her lip, blushing while holding her butt.
“Pfft!”
Lin Wan saw this and covered her nose, collapsing to the ground as if unconscious.