After finally getting Yang Xia to agree to go to the aquarium, Qian Ling had no reason to stay at school any longer.
Before she left, Yang Xia took her on one last walk around the campus.
“I wish I could be more like Ai Mei.”
As they approached the school’s gazebo, Yang Xia sighed with deep emotion.
Even though Qian Ling was probably more familiar with the character of Ai Mei than Yang Xia was, she still feigned ignorance and asked, “Which one was Ai Mei again?”
“The one among my friends with the black hair and twin-tails. She’s the one who found you in the classroom.”
After finishing the introduction, Yang Xia explained why she envied her.
“I feel like she doesn’t care about what others think. She just says whatever is on her mind. Um… she’s actually a bit like you.”
“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
Qian Ling keenly picked up on the hidden meaning behind those words and immediately denied the comparison. “But I’ll say it again: what you see isn’t necessarily the truth.”
As someone who had seen the original work, the image of the protagonist, Ai Mei, was naturally etched into her mind.
If anything, Ai Mei was the exact opposite of the “frank and outspoken” type.
Although *Magical Girl Viru* was a “healing” series—the kind that was actually depressing—both Qian Ling’s own impressions and the online reviews generally agreed that while it deconstructed the genre, it still possessed the core of a traditional magical girl anime.
Therefore, Ai Mei’s general personality as the protagonist was much like any other lead in such an anime: she was a kind and responsible character.
It was simply that, based on those traits, she would occasionally make some extraordinary decisions during various incidents…
Qian Ling had previously told Yang Xia that everyone knows how to put on a façade, and Ai Mei was a master of it, in both a positive and negative sense.
Yang Xia looked like she couldn’t quite accept that explanation.
“But I just can’t imagine it. At the very least, her usual comments don’t seem like something she’s put much thought into, right…? For example, today when my friends and I were praising that movie we saw earlier, she actually just straight-up said she fell asleep while watching it.”
“How would I know the answer to a question like that?”
Qian Ling didn’t rush to contradict Yang Xia. In the end, this wasn’t something she should be the one to tell her.
However, mentioning movies reminded Qian Ling of something Yang Xia had said during a conversation not too long ago.
So she asked, “Right, don’t you have movies as a topic to talk about with your friends? Why did you say back then that you didn’t have any common hobbies with them?”
“That… well…” The question immediately caused Yang Xia to lose her composure.
Qian Ling carefully recalled the information from the setting guidebook.
I remember Yang Xia’s hobby column was filled in as “likes trendy electronic devices.” That much was obvious from how frequently she changed her phone, but isn’t the phrase “electronic devices” a bit too vague?
Thinking of this, she asked again, “What exactly is your hobby? It feels like I’ve never heard you talk about it.”
This time, Yang Xia only hesitated for a moment before leaning in and whispering the answer into Qian Ling’s ear.
Qian Ling was surprised on one hand that the original work had never mentioned this, but on the other hand, she felt there was zero element of surprise to be found.
“Is that all?”
She spoke with very little interest.
Because what Yang Xia told her was simply: “I actually play games quite often. On the PC.”
That was it.
Qian Ling really wanted to say: *So a hobby like that can be lumped into the “likes trendy electronic devices” setting?*
Yang Xia was clearly displeased by her reaction and immediately snapped back, “What do you mean ‘is that all’! Not only can I not find any friends to talk to about this hobby, but I’ve also never mentioned it in front of my younger sister so I don’t set a bad example for her… so I’ve always played alone.”
“Sounds like a lot of hard work, but…”
Qian Ling suddenly changed the subject. Just as Yang Xia had done to her a moment ago, she leaned in mysteriously and whispered into her ear:
“Since you care so much about games, you haven’t been spending all your money on microtransactions, have you?”
“I have not!”
Yang Xia shoved Qian Ling away and glared at her fiercely.
“Do you think I’m frugal in my daily life because I’m blowing my money in weird places? You definitely just thought that, didn’t you!”
“Of course not.”
Qian Ling’s perfunctory excuse only served to confirm Yang Xia’s suspicion.
“You absolutely think so.”
She had zero doubt about it.
***
After circling around the school like that, the two ended up back near the back gate. It was truly time for Qian Ling to leave.
Before she left, Yang Xia warned her, “Don’t come back next time.”
Qian Ling replied, “Hard to say.”
Although Yang Xia made a pained expression at that, there was nothing Qian Ling could do about it.
After all…
How could anyone only visit the protagonist’s school once?
Whether for logic or personal reasons, there would certainly be a time when she’d have to drop by to bother her again.
While the disguise magic was still active, Qian Ling said her goodbyes to Yang Xia. She scanned the area to make sure no one was around before switching to stealth magic and leaving through the back gate.
The incident where Ai Mei had discovered her had left her with lingering fears, so she didn’t use Iron Thorns to move immediately. Instead, she decided to walk a certain distance away from the school first.
On the way, she sent a message to Yang Mo.
Though the message consisted of only two words—”Mission accomplished”—it represented a massive step forward for both Qian Ling and Yang Mo.
Naturally, not long after Qian Ling sent the message, Yang Mo replied with a string of exclamation marks and a bizarre emoji.
Qian Ling recognized it as a deep-sea fish called a gulper eel, characterized by its long, slender body and massive mouth structure.
The emoji depicted this fish with its mouth wide open at an eerie angle, perhaps intended to express shock or amazement.
Staring at the row of tiny, sharp teeth in its mouth, Qian Ling fell into deep thought.
*Didn’t you say you weren’t good at using the internet? Where on earth did you dig this thing up from…*
She was also curious about who else besides Yang Mo would use such an emoji, and frankly, she found the fish’s appearance a bit frightening.
Regardless, Yang Mo’s excitement was clearly conveyed through it.
Qian Ling also felt a surge of joy rising from the bottom of her heart.
In the original work, Yang Xia’s failure to arrive at the scene in time was one of the reasons for Yang Mo’s death. Now, because of my actions, Yang Xia has joined the aquarium trip, and the date for the trip has been moved up significantly.
And not just that. Chimeric Doll Number Zero (me) will never hurt Yang Mo, and even the potential threat, Chimeric Doll Number One, has been defeated by me in advance.
In that case, hasn’t the direction of the original plot already been changed?
Thinking this, she used Iron Thorns to pull herself into the air.
The wind blowing today felt even gentler than usual, and Qian Ling found herself looking forward to the itinerary for this weekend more and more.