Luo Tianyou found herself very small, cradled in a warm and familiar embrace.
She could only see her surroundings in a blur.
It seemed to be a spacious and bright room with large floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Floralan, is this your little baby? Quick, let me see!”
Sister Xiaoyuan’s gentle voice rang out, sounding crisper and more lively than it did now.
the arms holding her tightened slightly.
“Of course she’s my baby. Isn’t she cute? Doesn’t she look just like me?”
It was her mother’s voice.
“Her eyes look like yours. They’re violet — so beautiful.”
Sister Xiaoyuan leaned in close.
Luo Tianyou could see her face, her eyes curving into crescents, full of affection.
“Let me hold her?”
“No.”
Her mother dodged away, her laughter clear and bright.
Another voice chimed in, cool and aloof yet very gentle.
“Floralan, stop messing around. The child won’t be able to breathe.”
Luo Tianyou tried her best to see the speaker, but her field of vision was limited.
She could only catch a glimpse of a gray skirt and long, jet-black hair that looked like raven feathers.
Sister Xiaoyuan laughed.
“It looks like I’m not the only one who wants to hold her. Floralan, I’m afraid your daughter is going to be spoiled rotten in the future.”
“Of course! My little Tianyou deserves the best in the world.”
That cool voice seemed to carry a hint of a smile as well.
“Mhm.”
Somehow, the topic shifted to the future.
Sister Xiaoyuan said, “A child this cute will definitely be loved by many people in the future.
Floralan, shouldn’t you plan ahead and look for a few reliable children to protect her early on? We wouldn’t want some weird person eyeing our precious girl.”
In the dream, her mother fell silent for a moment.
Then, Luo Tianyou felt the arms holding her vibrate.
Her mother was laughing — a determined, eager kind of laugh.
“You’re right! You’re absolutely right! I need to think about this carefully. Who would be good? They have to be strong, beautiful, and truly good to Tianyou…”
The cool voice seemed to let out a sigh.
“Floralan, the child is still small.”
“She’s not small! Feelings should be nurtured from a young age! It’s settled then! I’ll make a list later…”
Her vision began to shake and blur.
The voices of her mother and Sister Xiaoyuan gradually drifted away.
Only the figure with black hair and a gray skirt remained, appearing to gaze at her quietly for a moment within the dissipating light and shadow.
***
Luo Tianyou opened her eyes.
The day was already bright, and sunlight cast brilliant spots across the bedsheets.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
It was just a dream.
It felt too real to be a dream, though.
It felt more like a fragment forgotten deep within her memory.
She carefully recalled every detail of the dream: her mother’s warm embrace, Sister Xiaoyuan’s young and lively voice, and that Magical Girl with black hair and a gray skirt.
‘To be strong, beautiful, and truly good to Tianyou…’
Her mother’s laughing words still echoed in her ears.
However, it was still just a dream.
After waking up, she couldn’t remember most of what had happened.
Luo Tianyou patted her cheeks and threw off the covers to get out of bed.
When she pushed open the bedroom door, the scent of fried eggs greeted her.
Li Huayu was busy in the kitchen wearing an apron.
Two bowls of hand-pulled noodles were already set on the dining table.
“Tianyou, breakfast is almost ready!”
Hearing the sound, Li Huayu turned around from the kitchen and spoke with a beaming smile.
“Morning.”
Luo Tianyou walked to the dining table and sat down, feeling a bit surprised.
“Why did you get up so early?”
Li Huayu placed the fried eggs onto a plate and brought them over.
“It’s my first day reporting to the Bureau, so I can’t be late. Besides, I wanted to make breakfast for Tianyou so you can grow up faster.”
Looking at her serious expression, Luo Tianyou felt a warmth in her heart.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Li Huayu took off her apron and sat down opposite her.
“Eat quickly. It won’t taste good once it gets cold.”
The two of them ate breakfast together.
From time to time, Li Huayu would steal a glance at Luo Tianyou, looking as if she wanted to say something but was hesitating.
Luo Tianyou probably knew what she wanted to ask — it was about the question from last night regarding whether they could kiss today.
But she didn’t plan on bringing it up herself today.
‘How can I just offer myself up to be kissed? Li Huayu definitely has to be the one to take the initiative.’
After finishing breakfast, Li Huayu took the initiative to clear the dishes.
“Tianyou, I’ll be going straight to the Bureau in a bit,” she said while washing the dishes.
“Do you need me to walk you there?”
Li Huayu shook her head.
“I’ll go by myself. This is my own business, and I want to finish it on my own.”
Luo Tianyou understood what she meant.
Surrendering, atoning, and starting over — these were the paths Li Huayu had chosen for herself.
If she followed her all the time, it would seem like she was supervising or didn’t trust her.
What Li Huayu needed was support, not a guardian.
Luo Tianyou smiled.
“Alright. Tell me how it went when you get back.”
“Mhm.”
After finishing the chores, Li Huayu changed into the clothes Officer Wang had prepared for her yesterday.
“I’m leaving!”
“Be careful on the road.”
The door closed.
Luo Tianyou was the only one left in the living room.
She walked to the window and picked up the communicator Sister Xiaoyuan had given her.
She typed out a message: ‘Sister Xiaoyuan, I’ve made up my mind. I want to become a Magical Girl.’
‘There are many things I want to do and many things I want to figure out. Things about my mother, and things about myself.’
She clicked send.
A few seconds later, the communicator vibrated. Sister Xiaoyuan’s reply arrived:
‘I’m proud of you, little Tianyou.’
‘No matter which path you choose, I will always be by your side.’
‘Go ahead and do it. Follow your heart.’
Luo Tianyou looked at those few lines of text.
It felt good to have someone supporting her.
Putting away the communicator, she walked to the desk and pulled open the bottom drawer.
Inside were the Relics her mother had left behind: that Diary, those Happy Growth Candies, a Feather Pen, and three photos.
They were all old group photos with yellowing edges.
The first was a photo with Sister Xiaoyuan.
Behind them was a building that looked like a hospital, yet also somewhat like a Research Institute.
The background of the second photo was a square.
Her mother, Floralan, stood in the very center with a brilliant smile, one hand on her hip and the other making a peace sign.
Three women stood beside her.
Two of them were dressed very plainly and wore sunglasses, making it impossible to tell if there was anything special about them.
As for the other one…
Luo Tianyou’s eyes widened slightly.
She was a girl with waist-length black hair, wearing a white top and a long gray skirt.
She stood straight with a calm expression, quietly looking at the camera.
She looked exactly like the person in her dream.
The black hair, the gray skirt, and that cool aura.
How could this be?
A character from a dream appearing in reality…
No, was it a person from her memory appearing in her dream?
Luo Tianyou clutched her forehead.
A sharp pain struck her.
The images from the dream were like torn paper, fading rapidly.
All she knew was that she had dreamed of the person in her mother’s photo.
Who was she?
Why did her head hurt whenever she thought about it?
It took a long time for Luo Tianyou to recover, and the pain in her brain finally subsided.
Rubbing her temples in pain, she studied the photo carefully.
This time, the pain did not return, and she noticed something new in the image.
On the left side of the photo, a single arm was reaching out toward her mother and the others.
It was as if… at the moment the photo was taken, someone realized they weren’t in the frame and tried to join in, but they were too late.
So, who could these three women be?
Her mother wouldn’t have left behind unimportant photos for no reason.
Sister Xiaoyuan was her good friend, so there was a photo of her.
Were these people also her mother’s friends?
As for the third photo, there were no people in it, only a landscape.
It seemed to be at the foot of a Highland Snow Mountain with a Great Grassland nearby.
There didn’t seem to be anything special about it.
Luo Tianyou thought for a moment and decided to take these three photos to Sister Xiaoyuan.
She might know something.
The only Relic left was the Feather Pen.
Luo Tianyou examined it carefully and found a few lines of small text on the barrel of the pen.
“Little Tianyou’s Pen”
“Can be used with Youyou’s Happy Growth Candy”