Such a ridiculous blunder was certainly a headache, but fortunately, the whole process hadn’t taken much time.
After Shui Hua and Liu Jin finished dealing with the mission, it was only around four o’clock.
According to the rule that you can go straight home after finishing a field assignment, it was actually a pretty good deal.
But Shui Hua hadn’t yet passed the eight-hour limit and still couldn’t change back.
Forced to work overtime, he chose to return to the Magical Girl Department and handle some of the backlog in advance.
“You’re going back to the Magical Girl Department? Then I’ll go back too.”
Liu Jin could have gotten off work early, but instead chose to stick to Shui Hua like a shadow.
Shui Hua couldn’t find a suitable reason to send her away, and could only tacitly accept her company with a helpless sigh.
The two returned together to the Magical Girl Department’s office.
Pushing open the door, they unexpectedly found a pink figure inside.
Shui Hua’s first reaction was—could that Liu guy have come to join the Magical Girls too?
But on closer inspection, the figure was taller and gave off a more mature air—it was the Liu Jin Squad’s support, A-Class Hero Yao Ying.
“Senior, I finally caught you.”
As soon as she saw Liu Jin, Yao Ying’s eyes turned red, and she pounced like an abandoned little animal, hugging Liu Jin’s waist and burying her face in her chest.
“You went missing before, and now you’re quitting… Senior, have you abandoned me?”
Liu Jin was knocked back half a step, but still reached up and gently patted her on the back, her tone soft as she explained, “It’s not your fault. I just can’t keep up with the S-rank anymore. That’s why I want to come here… well, to rest for a while and get a change of environment.”
“But how are you supposed to do well as a Magical Girl with all these small fries?”
Yao Ying lifted her head, her gaze clearly aimed at Shui Hua.
Shui Hua truly had no way to refute that.
Even if Yao Ying was only support, she was still A-Class, and the three people in the Magical Girl Department together probably couldn’t take her.
“If I stay at Headquarters, I’m just a figurehead. It’s better to experience life over here—who knows, maybe I’ll have a breakthrough in my mindset.”
Lin Ling continued to gently advise.
“Then I want to join the Magical Girl Department too! I want to be with you, Senior!”
With that, she turned her gaze to Shui Hua, who was watching the drama on the side.
In an instant, her expression shifted from pitiful to superior.
She crossed her arms and announced, “Shui Hua, I want to join your Magical Girl Department too. At my level, I’m definitely qualified, aren’t I?”
“It’s not up to me—you’ll have to wait for the Head to come back at six o’clock.”
Although Shui Hua did hope Yao Ying would come and keep Liu Jin in check so she’d be less annoying, this really wasn’t his decision.
“Alright, then I’ll just wait for your Head to come back.”
Yao Ying seemed to have made up her mind, plopping down into a vacant seat, looking determined not to leave until she got what she wanted.
“Yao Ying, don’t throw a tantrum. You’re an A-Class Hero and an important force in our squad. While I’m gone, you should be stepping up to lead everyone forward, not sulking here. You wouldn’t ignore my words, would you?”
Liu Jin sighed, sounding a little more serious.
“Well… fine, then…”
Yao Ying pouted, obviously unwilling but finally giving in.
She looked at Shui Hua sharply, as if she still considered him a rival in love.
Faced with this disaster out of nowhere, Shui Hua had no choice but to reply with an awkward smile.
Maybe she realized sticking to Shui Hua all the time was a bit much, so by the regular end of the workday at six, Liu Jin sensibly left first.
Since Shui Hua had only transformed after one, he had to wait until nine at night before he could change back, and once again found himself with nothing to do.
“Eh? Shui Hua, why aren’t you with your little girlfriend today? Still hanging around here?”
Xing Li noticed that Shui Hua, who was usually the most eager to clock out, was still at his desk—not really working, but still lingering.
She couldn’t help but be curious.
“Because I’m waiting for the time when I can change back.”
Shui Hua explained weakly.
Now, if he wanted to meet Anpelin, he had to go as Yu Hua.
Otherwise, if he appeared as Shui Hua, there was a high chance the mentally muddled Anpelin would treat him as “Mother Superior” again…
“Didn’t you used to always see her as Shui Hua? You even came to me for quite a few outfits.”
“That’s not true! I only needed the outfit for one date… The rest were all for missions!”
Shui Hua immediately retorted.
“So, why not just go as Shui Hua?”
It was embarrassing to say, but thinking that Xing Li might have a good solution, Shui Hua told her the whole story about Anpelin.
“Pfft—cough cough…”
Instead of sympathizing, Xing Li laughed so hard she started choking, and had to slap her chest a few times before she recovered.
“Don’t just laugh—do you have any ideas?”
Shui Hua snapped in frustration.
“Cough… Well, there is a way… After all, alienation is essentially a reflection of Meme Pollution in reality. As long as you avoid realizing you have that Meme, you’re fine.”
“Of course, there’s an even higher-level but harder way: deconstructing your own Meme. For example, our Vice Director—he started out as ‘Magneto’s’ Meme, but through self-enlightenment, he managed to optimize and elevate his Meme to the more general ‘Telekinetic Manipulation’. So it’s possible to deconstruct the Bloodline Meme into other Memes… like, um… well, I can’t think of any for now.”
“But these all rely on self-awareness, right? With Anpelin in that state… it’s probably hard for her to fix it on her own.”
Shui Hua shook his head—none of Xing Li’s suggestions were of any use.
“Well, then there’s nothing I can do… But you could use my methods to treat your own alienation side effects.”
“But I have to become a Magical Girl every day to go to work… And even if I didn’t, because of the debuff, I turn into Shui Hua every time I sleep. How am I supposed to avoid realizing that? As for changing my own Meme—forget it, I’m just a lowly C-Class Hero, that’s way out of my league.”
“Then there’s nothing to be done… Just accept your debuff.”
Xing Li shrugged, looking helpless.
She seemed to think Shui Hua was just whining, and quickly added, “Besides, I don’t even think this counts as a debuff. Someone’s always saying ‘I don’t want to be a Magical Girl’, but I bet when you’re old and dying, you’ll have to rely on transforming into a Magical Girl to extend your life. Sooner or later you’ll become a full-time Magical Girl anyway—might as well get used to it now, right?”
“My life motto is that it’s enough just to make a trip through the world. No need to cling to life.”
Shui Hua insisted stubbornly.