“Dee Dee Dee.”
A small electric scooter pulled up to the underground garage entrance of Magical Girl Headquarters.
Lu Yuan got off the scooter, wearing a face full of exhaustion and resignation, and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button.
She was dressed in a sleek black Combat Suit. Since Xiao Lin had mentioned it was something related to her idol work, she had changed here in the underground garage beforehand.
The elevator slowly ascended. Lu Yuan caught sight of her reflection in the elevator door—a tired, somewhat helpless expression.
Being an idol really wasn’t easy.
***
“Ding—”
The elevator doors slid open smoothly. Lu Yuan stepped into the bright but somewhat empty first-floor lobby of Magical Girl Headquarters.
Because it was the weekend, the place was much quieter than usual, with only a few administrative staff hurrying through.
“Miss Lu Yuan! Over here!”
Receptionist Xiao Lin spotted her immediately and rushed over, wearing a subtle mix of helplessness and curiosity on her face.
“Xiao Lin, what’s going on? Why all the secrecy?” Lu Yuan yawned, the lace cuff of her Combat Suit sleeve slipping down to reveal a patch of pale arm.
Xiao Lin leaned in closer, lowering her voice and pointing toward the main entrance: “Miss Lu Yuan, on your way here… did you notice anything at the entrance?”
“Entrance?” Lu Yuan blinked in confusion. “I came straight from the underground garage. I didn’t go through the front door. Why?”
“Oh, really?” Xiao Lin hesitated. “There’s a big man kneeling right there, named Liu Zhe. He says he’s a Talent Scout from the Apple Pie Modeling Agency.”
“Talent Scout?” Lu Yuan frowned in confusion.
“Yes. He’s been there since early morning, stubbornly refusing to leave until he sees you. No matter what we say, he won’t budge. He insists he has something extremely important to tell you… He’s basically been kneeling there all morning!”
“Kneeling? Begging me?” Lu Yuan was completely baffled. “A modeling agency? Talent Scout? Why would they want to see me? I don’t know him at all!”
She quickly ran through her memories, confirming she’d never had any dealings with people from that industry.
“We don’t know either,” Xiao Lin shrugged.
“The Security Guard asked him, but he couldn’t explain. All he kept repeating was: it’s absolutely necessary to see Magical Girl Lu Yuan in person, with a very important request. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy—just incredibly stubborn.”
Xiao Lin’s tone took on a gossipy vibe.
“So I was thinking… Miss Lu Yuan, maybe you should just take a look? Find out what’s going on? After all, having him block the main entrance all day doesn’t look good. Think of it as satisfying my curiosity… no, I mean, solving a potential PR problem!”
Xiao Lin clasped her hands together, giving a pleading look.
Lu Yuan’s mouth twitched.
What on earth was going on?
She had thought maybe she was called in because of some leftover business from the last performance where she left early, but she never imagined it would be because some stranger was kneeling at the door begging to see her.
She sighed and rubbed her temples. “…Alright, alright, I’ll go check. Honestly, no one ever gives me any peace…”
***
Muttering to herself, Lu Yuan resignedly walked toward the main entrance of Headquarters.
The closer she got, the clearer she could see the awkward figure outside through the glass doors.
A man dressed decently but looking utterly disheveled was kneeling rigidly on the concrete facing the door.
There was even a faint tragic dignity about it.
Lu Yuan pushed open the heavy glass door.
“Um… I heard you wanted to see me?”
Liu Zhe spun around suddenly.
The moment he saw Lu Yuan, his eyes widened, and he practically lunged forward with both hands and feet.
“Miss Lu Yuan! Magical Girl Lu Yuan! Finally… finally I’ve seen you!” he said excitedly. “Please! Please save Miss Qing!”
“Miss Qing?” Lu Yuan frowned in greater confusion, instinctively stepping back half a pace to keep her distance. “I don’t know any Miss Qing. Get up first; this isn’t a good look.”
“No! If you don’t agree, I won’t get up!” Liu Zhe shook his head stubbornly, growing more agitated. “Miss Qing… she’s… she’s so worried about you she hasn’t been eating or sleeping, she’s falling apart! The only thing she wants is to see you! Only you can save her!”
“Because of me?” Lu Yuan was completely baffled, her brows tightly furrowed. “What are you talking about? I don’t even know who you are, nor this Miss Qing! Why would she be like that because of me? This makes no sense!”
“It’s because of you! All because of you!” Liu Zhe put on a tearful expression. “She saw your photos and your battle videos and completely fell for you! She wants nothing else, doesn’t care about anything else, and just stares at your videos every day in a daze!
“Wah wah wah, if this keeps up, she’ll really collapse! She’s such a pure, fragile girl…”
He spoke passionately, painting Qing as a delicate girl suffering from severe lovesickness from idol obsession, on the verge of breaking down.
Lu Yuan listened to this absurd story and didn’t know how to respond.
She knew she had fans, but having a Talent Scout kneel at Magical Girl Headquarters begging to see her like this was definitely a first.
And besides… “Qing”? That name was completely unfamiliar to her.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Lu Yuan tried to piece things together. “So, you’re saying that one of your models is… a fan of mine? And now she’s in a bad state, wanting to meet me?”
“Yes! Exactly! That’s it!” Liu Zhe grabbed at this lifeline desperately, nodding vigorously. “Please, Miss Lu Yuan! Just one meeting!”
Lu Yuan looked at the man in front of her, who seemed ready to kowtow to the ground, and felt an instant headache. She scratched her cheek and sighed. “Look… sir, I think you’re confused. I’m a Magical Girl, not a psychologist.”
“If your model’s mental state is bad, you should take her to see a doctor, not come looking for me.”
“No! It’s different! Doctors can’t fix this!” Liu Zhe argued urgently. “Her ‘illness’ is because of you! Only you can untie this knot, Miss Lu Yuan! I know this is a sudden and unreasonable request, but I really have no other way! If you help her this once, I’ll agree to anything you want!”
***
“Stop, stop!” Lu Yuan hurried to interrupt. “I don’t want anything. I just…” She looked at Liu Zhe’s almost desperate, collapsing expression. Refusing him felt suddenly harder than it should have been. She wasn’t exactly heartless.
Besides, even if it sounded ridiculous, she wasn’t a saint, but if that girl really was falling apart because of her, she wouldn’t feel good about it.
Just a look wouldn’t cost her anything.
“Sigh…” Lu Yuan sighed again, feeling like she’d breathed more heavily today than the entire past week. “You get up first. Kneeling here looks terrible.”
“Y-You… you agree?” Liu Zhe asked cautiously, not daring to stand.
“I didn’t agree!” Lu Yuan snapped. “But I can… consider it.”
“Get up and tell me everything clearly. If you keep kneeling or get too emotional, I’m leaving immediately.”
At her words, Liu Zhe seemed to finally glimpse a ray of hope and hurriedly stood up.
His legs were weak from kneeling too long. Struggling to stand, he dusted off his pants and tried to steady his breathing.
“Good, good! I’ll speak calmly! Thank you, Miss Lu Yuan, truly thank you!”
Lu Yuan crossed her arms, eyeing the man suspiciously.
Why did she feel like this guy was putting on a show?
And a stranger girl supposedly “falling apart” because of her? What kind of story was this…
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