“Yuhua, it’s rare to see you going to bed this early.”
Seeing Yuhua had already finished his shower and climbed into bed, Wang Zeqi couldn’t help but tease.
“I’ve been so busy lately I could puke. What’s wrong with sleeping early… Besides, tomorrow I have to go with Lin to sort out the Death Certificate, help her with her Identity.”
Yuhua said this, but in fact he had other plans in mind.
Last time he’d forcibly activated Transformation and initiated his own metamorphosis, it hadn’t come without consequences.
Now, whenever he fell asleep, he’d unknowingly turn into Shui Hua, and each time, the Transformation had to last at least eight hours before he could return.
The only good news was that this passive transformation didn’t require going through the transformation animation anymore.
Otherwise, if he had to get up and do that dance every time he was about to fall asleep, that would be pure torture.
But then again, thinking about how Lin Ling couldn’t transform back even if he wanted to, Yuhua didn’t really mind his own Identity being exposed anymore.
He’d just go through the motions, and if Lin Ling ever found out, he’d just make a token attempt to deny it. That’d be enough.
To make sure he could turn back before eight in the morning, Yuhua forced himself not to touch his phone.
Instead, he reviewed the content from his Functional Analysis class in his head, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
***
When Shui Hua woke up, it was exactly eight o’clock.
Looking down at himself, he saw that he was still dressed in the blue and gold Magical Girl outfit—it was no surprise that he’d become Shui Hua again today.
He’d gone to bed earlier last night, so he could revert right after waking up.
Shui Hua pulled the covers up to hide his entire body, to keep the light from the Transformation from being noticed, and then guided his Magic Power to cancel the Transformation.
Climbing out of bed and quickly washing up, he walked over to Lin Ling’s bedside and tapped lightly with a finger:
“Time to get up.”
“Mmm…”
Lin Ling rubbed her eyes, still in the loose pajamas she wore back when she was a guy, and slowly climbed down the bed ladder.
The too-long sleeves covered half her hands, the collar slipped to one side revealing her collarbone, and the curve of her chest was also on display.
She stood there, drowsy, her golden hair a mess draped over her shoulders.
Yuhua looked at her, so defenseless and relaxed, and thought that mixed-gender dorms really had their perks.
But after so long, he’d become numb to this kind of benefit, and no longer felt any of those worldly desires.
After Lin Ling finished washing up, she put on her Magical Girl undergarments, then pulled on the T-shirt and shorts she used to wear as a boy.
This way, it had a kind of youthful vibe.
“By the way, can you carry me and fly over?”
Yuhua said half-jokingly, “That way we don’t have to squeeze onto the subway during rush hour.”
“Sure, come on.”
Lin Ling didn’t hesitate, and immediately crouched down in front of him, ready to give him a piggyback ride.
“Wait, I was just kidding, are you really going to carry me?”
Yuhua hadn’t expected her to agree so readily.
“Get on, it’ll save us a lot of time.”
Lin Ling’s tone was calm. She waved her hand lightly, and Presence Reduction Magic enveloped the two of them.
“This way, no one else will notice.”
“Well… alright.”
Even though as a Magical Girl, Shui Hua had flown through the sky plenty of times, being carried while flying was a first for Yuhua.
He clumsily climbed onto Lin Ling’s slender back, carefully wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
Lin Ling stood up steadily, adjusted her stance, and then smoothly rose into the air.
The familiar campus buildings grew smaller underfoot, her golden hair fluttering in the wind and brushing lightly against Yuhua’s cheek, bringing with it a uniquely Magical Girl fragrance.
“Are you planning to keep that hairstyle?”
To keep himself from daydreaming, Yuhua looked for a topic to talk about.
“I’ll change it when I get tired of it.”
***
The two quickly landed at the entrance of the District Police Station Household Registration Hall.
They took a number from the Waiting Number Machine inside, then sat on the cold metal chairs to wait.
“Number A114, please proceed to Window 5.”
They got up at the announcement and went to Window 5 as instructed.
Behind the glass partition sat a woman about forty years old, with a standard civil servant’s calm expression.
“What business do you need to process?”
Yuhua slid the prepared documents through the slot under the window.
Though what they were doing was rather awkward, he still tried to be polite.
“Hello, we’d like to apply to revoke a Death Certificate.”
The Staff Member’s hand paused for a moment.
She looked up, her eyes glancing over Yuhua and the obviously nervous Lin Ling next to him.
“You want to revoke a Death Certificate? What’s the reason?”
“Because she isn’t dead,” Yuhua turned sideways, pointing at Lin Ling beside him, and explained, “Earlier… there were some special circumstances, a misunderstanding. Anyway, she’s alive now.”
The Staff Member’s frown deepened.
She picked up the hospital-issued, red-stamped Death Certificate and the ID Card with Lin Ling’s original male photo, then looked at the beautiful girl with golden hair standing before her, her gaze full of “Are you messing with me?” vibes.
“She’s a Transformation-type Ability user,” Yuhua continued, “The original body isn’t around anymore, but she survived by transforming, so we want to revoke the Death Certificate.”
“Has this lady ever gotten an ID Card under this appearance?”
The Staff Member returned to her professional expression, beginning a different procedure.
“No… But she works at the Ability Bureau, that should count as proof, right?”
“She works at the Ability Bureau? Do you have a proof of employment? If she’s a Transformation-type Hero, there should be an identity link between the original and Hero ID in the system.”
“She joined a long time ago, back before the Ability Bureau even existed.”
“Well… at least there’s the current Hero License, right? Let me see that.”
“Here.”
Lin Ling silently handed over her license.
The Staff Member visibly froze when she saw the words “Liu Jin,” and her tone changed instantly.
“She’s Liu Jin? Wait, she actually… How come there wasn’t any news?”
“Well, this one’s a veteran. She doesn’t even need to clock in at the Ability Bureau. If she died in some backwater corner, probably no one would mark her as absent… And she’s not dead anyway, see, alive and well…”
“In that case, since it’s Miss Liu Jin,” the Staff Member’s attitude softened obviously, “though it’s a bit unorthodox, right now the rules for these situations are pretty flexible, so we can make an exception.”
She efficiently printed out the Confirmation of Status Change Form and handed it over.
“Aside from the Death Certificate, if you want to change your ID Card or Household Register in the future, you’ll need this form. Please keep it safe and handle any changes promptly.”
“Alright, let’s go get the new ID Card, and then head back to school to update Academic Registration… Tsk, what a hassle.”
“Yuhua, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know when I’d get all this done.”
Lin Ling took the documents from Yuhua’s hand, looking at the papers and smiling.
“No problem, no problem, we’re brothers after all.”