Yang Mo scrambled up from the sofa, her expression filled with confusion at Qian Ling’s suggestion.
“How do you plan to investigate?”
Qian Ling declared, “You’re familiar with the method—we’re going to sneak directly into Yang Xia’s school and take a look.”
“Huh? Just like when you went to my school?”
Yang Mo finally understood, but then she immediately posed another question to Qian Ling.
“But… Qian Ling, will that… really work?”
It was Qian Ling’s turn to be confused. She asked, “Why wouldn’t it work?”
“You remember, right? My sister is in high school…”
“So what?”
Yang Mo looked like she was hesitating to speak, but she finally opened her mouth and answered:
“How should I put this… I mean, Qian Ling, can you… really blend in with high school students?”
“…?”
At first, Qian Ling didn’t realize what she meant, but she quickly understood from the way Yang Mo was looking her up and down.
Qian Ling’s face instantly turned bright red, though even she couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or rising blood pressure.
“High schoolers vary greatly in height. It’s not strange at all; that’s just how it is.”
After she rattled off this excuse at high speed, Yang Mo could only nod repeatedly and say, “I-I see…”
Taking the opportunity to change the subject, Qian Ling faked a couple of throat clears before continuing:
“Anyway, we can at least find out if your sister actually has plans with friends.”
Hearing this practical point, Yang Mo was suddenly filled with motivation.
She pumped a fist and said to Qian Ling, “Right, I’m counting on you, Qian Ling! If my sister dares to lie to me, I don’t plan on forgiving her for a whole week!”
“A whole week?”
Qian Ling pulled out her phone and saw that today was Wednesday.
The week was already more than half over, and considering Yang Xia only came over every other day, the deadline for this “forgiveness” might arrive sooner than expected.
So, she added, “You’re quite strict…”
Yang Mo seemed to take this as a compliment, puffing out her chest proudly after hearing it.
That evening, Yang Mo gave Qian Ling a full rundown of information regarding Yang Xia’s life at school.
This included the school’s location, her classroom, which club she was in, and she even made Qian Ling memorize the names of the friends she knew.
Qian Ling couldn’t help but marvel; it seemed Yang Xia’s rejection had truly made her angry.
The next morning, just before departure.
“Good luck! Qian Ling!”
Yang Mo pumped her fist at the door to cheer her on.
“Mm.”
Qian Ling gave a brief response before Yang Mo left with a smile.
As usual, Qian Ling first stepped onto the perimeter wall and then the utility poles, nimbly jumping to high ground to begin her travel.
Even if Yang Mo hadn’t told her, she knew that Yang Xia’s school was located in the neighboring Guihe Town.
At the same time, Guihe Town was a place where several magical girls frequently appeared, though compared to the ones in the Lancuan city area, they were the type Qian Ling could more or less handle.
After leaping across roof beams for a while, Qian Ling finally arrived in an area she had never set foot in before.
While there wasn’t actually a “lake” in Xinghu Town, there was indeed a “river” in Guihe Town, which was what the town was named after.
Outside the factory where Qian Ling had first woken up, she had seen a river and a white steel bridge. That river was called the “Lian Jiang,” and the “Guihe” before her eyes would eventually flow into the Lian Jiang.
It didn’t take long for Qian Ling to find Yang Xia’s school based on the detailed address—Guihe District Second Middle School.
The teaching buildings of this school were almost all painted a milky white, and its most iconic feature was a clock tower that could be seen from a distance.
However, compared to such facilities which were only common in old schools, the buildings and various equipment inside the school didn’t look like they had weathered many years at all, showing a marked difference from Yang Mo’s school.
After all, this school was one of the primary stages for the anime [Magical Girl Viru], so it was only natural for it to look a bit more polished and bright.
This was because Yang Xia wasn’t the only magical girl in the school; besides her, there was also the legitimate protagonist from the original work.
When Qian Ling infiltrated the school, classes were still in session. Using her Iron Thorns to hook onto the roof of the teaching building, she pulled herself directly to the window outside Yang Xia’s classroom.
Shielded by Stealth Magic, she lay flat against the window and peeked inside.
Qian Ling spotted Yang Xia in the crowd at first glance. There wasn’t any particular reason; it was just that Yang Xia happened to be sitting in the very center of the row next to the hallway, and Qian Ling was currently positioned right in the middle of the window.
Judging strictly by her performance in class, Qian Ling felt that Yang Xia seemed to be a fairly serious student.
Yang Xia sat upright, her hand constantly taking notes, while her gaze shifted back and forth between her notebook and the blackboard.
Unfortunately, Qian Ling still remembered a certain plot point from the original work.
As a senior in the world of magical girls, Yang Xia had kindly received the protagonist who had just become a magical girl and taught her various precautions. However, simply because she was distracted for two days, her grades suffered a significant drop in the next exam.
You couldn’t tell much from that plot point alone, but it was different when combined with the state she displayed during class.
So, Yang Xia, do you actually have a “ditz” trait in your character profile…?
Qian Ling thought to herself.
However, after that turning point in the third episode of the original work, perhaps that trait never had a chance to show itself again.
Yang Xia—that is, Magical Girl Liuhuo—turned into the protagonist’s enemy after that.
Speaking of the protagonist, the Great Magical Girl Viru should be…
The second-to-last row by the window, which was pretty much the standard seat for protagonists in all sorts of anime.
With that thought, Qian Ling slowly turned her head, shifting her gaze to the right.
There sat a girl with straight bangs. Her pitch-black hair was tied into low twin-tails, with an extra loop coiled at the base of each tail.
A beauty mark below her left eye accentuated her clear, delicate features, and her peach-colored pupils, blooming like spring flowers, radiated a transparent luster.
And those pupils were currently staring—directly at Qian Ling.
“Huh?”
Qian Ling unconsciously hung her jaw open, letting out a stunned sound.
At the same time, a swarm of questions popped into her mind.
What’s going on?
Am I not using Stealth Magic?
Why was I spotted?
She blinked hard, but the result in her field of vision remained unchanged.
The girl rested her elbows on the desk, facing her, while simultaneously tilting her head and narrowing her eyes at her.
Qian Ling finally realized things were looking bad. She immediately retracted her Iron Thorns, pulling herself onto the roof and fleeing the scene at maximum speed.
Soon, she heard a rough roar coming from the direction of the classroom: “Ai Mei, where has your mind wandered off to again!”
Meanwhile, inside the classroom, the girl was struck by a flying piece of chalk and clutched her forehead with teary eyes.
“Ugh…”
The classroom was instantly filled with cheerful laughter.
Only she was still murmuring under her breath, “What was that just now… that child…”
The girl’s name was “Ai Mei,” the one mentioned by the teacher—the one who would transform into “Magical Girl Viru.”
Only, at this point in time, she had not yet signed the contract to become a magical girl.
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