Chapter 37: Image issues

“Thank you for coming~ I’ll still be here starting tomorrow.”

Finally, after several hours, forcing a smile to keep up appearances, Jiang Lingwei saw off the last batch of customers and immediately began scanning the room with her eyes for an escape route.

(I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die.)

“Aurora! It’s you, right? Wait!”

A voice called out from behind her.

Knowing exactly who it was without turning around, Jiang Lingwei planted her right foot firmly on the ground, leaned forward, lifted her maid skirt, and took off running.

She had no intention of meeting her daughter right now.

Back in the day, she was known in the martial world as the Runaway Prince of Cooking and Fleeing. As long as she wanted to leave, no one today could stop her!

(Hahaha, my foolish daughter… Compared to your parents, you’re still too inexperienced with this kind of thing! If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t start calling your name from a distance. Going straight in would be far more effective than all that.)

(Learn well, this is the first lesson of Magical Girl 101.)

(Haha!)

The main reason she had to run was that the current situation was completely inappropriate.

Indeed, she intended to teach her daughter some things as “Aurora”—battle techniques, how to roughly identify different enemy types and their weaknesses. But that was supposed to happen with her playing the role of a “reliable senior magical girl.”

Today’s circumstances, however, were nothing like that. If she weren’t responsible, the moment she got caught would have been the moment her shame exploded, and she’d have fled immediately.

But precisely because of her professionalism, Jiang Lingwei couldn’t accept causing any negative impact on Wen Yaqing’s shop—especially the Yao Guang Café, a place filled with their memories—due to her current mess.

So, she could only endure the next few hours, holding on purely with a business mindset, all while feeling the faint gazes of her daughter and another girl on her.

Her daughter even messaged her halfway through, saying she’d be late getting back, which made Jiang Lingwei anxious. She barely found a chance to sneak off to the restroom to reply. Then she had to come back out and pose for photos with carefully selected customers alongside the store manager.

Worse still, her tortured expression seemed to accidentally hit some kind of trigger with those anime-loving customers, making them even more excited.

Watching the staff keep handing out badges and little cards—she still didn’t know why these things were called “Guzi”—and hearing the customers say strange phrases like “Lao Si Hao Mi,” she had no idea what was going on.

Only God knew how she managed to keep going by repeating nonsense like “Good rice, good rice,” or “Everyone, mi mi du,” throughout the whole event.

It was like she’d mistakenly wandered into a foreign local town, forced to pretend to understand the customs through half-comprehended language.

In short, Jiang Lingwei was utterly exhausted, body and soul.

Pretending to be a catgirl in front of her friend Wen Yaqing was embarrassing enough. In front of her daughter… Jiang Lingwei felt like she was going to die.

Whether as “Aurora” or as “Mom,” if anyone found out she was doing this, her life would be over (tragic).

(The dependable senior image I painstakingly built—meeting again just to dress as a catgirl… That kind of thing calls for a remedy!)

(Sorry, dear daughter. As long as I don’t admit it, the person standing here today isn’t me. I’ll find another chance tomorrow to reintroduce myself.)

(I can do this! Once I turn this corner, I’ll just fly away when no one’s looking.)

Filled with hope of a smooth escape, Jiang Lingwei dashed forward.

Pfft.

—And then ran straight into Wen Yaqing, who had suddenly jumped out from the wall.

“Ouch.”

Wen Yaqing theatrically rubbed her chest where she’d been bumped and said in a low voice, “Why are you running? Luckily, you’re not tall yet, or I really couldn’t have taken that hit.”

“Sorry, Sister Yaqing, please let me—”

Trying anxiously to break free from Wen Yaqing’s embrace, Jiang Lingwei quickly spoke up, but then noticed something odd.

The girl in front of her had planted one leg in front of the other, assuming a steady stance to brace for impact.

(This isn’t right. Definitely not right.)

If it had been a sudden collision, how could Wen Yaqing—a non-combatant—have reacted so quickly, immediately setting herself up to receive Jiang Lingwei’s momentum and stopping her firmly?

This realization made Wen Yaqing’s behavior highly suspicious.

Thinking about it more carefully, her timing had been way too convenient…

Soon grasping the whole situation, Jiang Lingwei’s eyes widened as she looked up in disbelief at Wen Yaqing.

(You… Did you do this on purpose?)

“Hey.”

Lowering her head, Wen Yaqing flashed a sly smile the moment their eyes met.

Even after all these years, the two still managed to connect through their silent eye communication channel.

Wen Yaqing’s voice echoed in Jiang Lingwei’s mind:

(Haha~ You caught me. Yep, I did it on purpose (￣︶￣*).)

(Wen Yaqing! You set me up! ヽ(≧□≦)ノ)

(Hehe~)

As their silent exchange ended, Wen Yaqing took advantage of her mature figure, clasped her hands together, and hugged Jiang Lingwei’s body, feigning surprise as she shouted loudly:

“Oh! Aurora, why are you running all of a sudden? I haven’t even paid you yet!”

“That kind of thing isn’t important!” Jiang Lingwei glanced anxiously toward her daughter, who was still rushing over, and tried to grab Wen Yaqing’s arm to break free, but instead felt herself lifted lightly.

“Huh? Huh?”

She was hoisted up by Wen Yaqing’s arms and couldn’t help but protest with a few weak kicks to Wen Yaqing’s knees.

Hearing her daughter’s footsteps approach, Jiang Lingwei’s arms dropped helplessly as she bitterly realized the importance of height.

Ten minutes later.

“Ahem.”

Clearing her throat softly in a small private room, Jiang Lingwei took a small sip of black tea, then looked at the girl in front of her and said:

“Well, this is just a part-time job… I’m usually not like this.”

(There’s still a chance.)

The indomitable magical girl Jiang Lingwei cheered herself on in her mind:

(There’s still a chance to save my image! I must let my daughter know what it means to be a reliable and serious senior magical girl.)

“Understood, understood.”

Jiang Yao nodded vigorously.

She was quite surprised because the previous times she’d encountered Aurora, it had been in situations where Aurora’s fierce posture and powerful magic wiped out the enemies troubling her instantly.

The first time was understandable, but the second time, without Aurora there, not only would she have faced a terrible outcome, but the most pitiful person—her mother, an ordinary person who had perhaps changed a bit because of her father but was still basically kind—would have been hurt as well.

Just thinking about this possibility was enough to fill Jiang Yao with deep fear.

She was very grateful to Aurora, who gave off an indescribable warmth that made her want to get close.

But still, there was some distance between them.

The Aurora she was seeing now… well, although she seemed calm on the surface, her flushed cheeks completely betrayed her.

“Oh, oh, I forgot. I haven’t taken this off yet.”

Noticing Jiang Yao staring for a long time, Aurora suddenly panicked and took off the fake cat ears on her head, then placed them calmly on the table.

Then, as if realizing that wasn’t right either, she hastily stuffed them under the table.

This kind of behavior was, how to put it…

(A bit cute.)