The night was deep and heavy, with only the faint glow of scattered streetlights seeping into Chen Lianxue’s quiet room.
She curled up on the sofa, clutching a worn-out rabbit plush, the flickering light from the television dancing across her calm face.
The remote clicked repeatedly, switching channels one after another.
Cartoons, variety shows, dramas… none could truly capture her attention.
As for loneliness, she had long since grown accustomed to it.
Her mother was a police officer who was often away on business trips ever since Chen Lianxue could remember. Chen Xin’s energy couldn’t always be devoted to her daughter—this much Chen Lianxue had understood early on.
But ten years ago, she was just as lonely, hugging a plush toy and watching TV alone in the living room.
Ten years later… it seemed nothing had changed.
Captain Su Li had told her that her mother had gone on a long business trip far away and wouldn’t return for a while.
She believed Sister Su Li, yet the hollow feeling in her heart remained unfilled no matter what.
How long would Mother be gone this time?
***
Suddenly, a serious-faced anchor on the local news channel caught her attention, accompanied by a glaring headline:
【The Clash of Law and Emotion: Reviewing the Case of the Female Police Officer Involved in a Theft, Final Verdict Expected Next Week!】
The screen switched. Although pixelated, the familiar figure and profile made Chen Lianxue instantly recognize who was on TV.
Even after ten years, she could never forget the face etched into her memory.
It was Mother!
Chen Lianxue shot upright. The plush toy slipped from her arms to the floor, but she didn’t notice.
She saw her mother surrounded by many people, cold metal cuffs on her wrists, being shoved forward.
The anchor’s voice came clearly: “The defendant Chen Xin admits to the crime without dispute… Whether the fact that she was trying to save her daughter who suffers from a rare disease constitutes grounds for sentence reduction remains controversial… She may face long-term imprisonment…”
Each word struck like a cold hammer, shattering Chen Lianxue’s fragile world.
The business trip… was a lie.
Mother wasn’t on a business trip.
Mother was arrested…?
Chen Lianxue froze. She had always wondered why, despite not being eligible to be a Magical Girl, the Nurse had told her on the day she woke up that she had become one.
Could it be because of Mother?
Because of her… because she was sick, Mother did something wrong to save her… and got arrested…?
The crushing blow emptied Chen Lianxue’s mind, soon replaced by an overwhelming wave of suffocating emotions.
It wasn’t anger, nor resentment, but an immense guilt and self-blame.
Is it all because of me?
If I hadn’t gotten so seriously ill,
Mother wouldn’t have… wouldn’t have done something wrong.
Mother wouldn’t have been taken away.
It’s all my fault… isn’t it?
Silent tears streamed down relentlessly, large drops soaking her clothes.
She felt like a sinner.
***
She cried for an unknown length of time until her tears nearly dried up. Somehow, she wanted to leave this residence provided by the Magical Girl Headquarters and get some fresh air.
She staggered to her feet without wiping her tears or picking up the fallen plush. Guided by an instinct from childhood, she stumbled out of the house.
The cold night wind brushed against her damp face, bringing a sharp clarity.
She wandered aimlessly, her mind foggy, with only one thought growing ever clearer: It’s all my fault… I’m the reason Mother’s in this mess.
Where to go? Where could she possibly go?
She didn’t know.
But her feet seemed to remember on their own, leading her through the silent streets toward a place that had once brought her comfort and memories:
The small garden behind the old building of the City People’s Hospital.
There, her father had pushed her on the swings before. Whenever she was afraid of injections or upset, she would run there.
Now, she only wanted to hide in that corner, as if only there could she catch a breath and not be completely swallowed by guilt.
***
Time passed quickly, and Chen Lianxue soon arrived at the park.
She carefully sat on the worn blue swing, feeling the cold touch through her thin pajamas.
The swing gently swayed, emitting a faint “creak.”
She buried her face in her palms, no longer crying, simply sinking quietly into boundless sorrow.
She was completely immersed in her own world, unaware that danger had quietly descended.
“Oh? Look what we found.” A teasing female voice suddenly rang out in the silent garden. “A little lost, sad poor thing?”
Chen Lianxue jumped, raising her head sharply.
Not far away, two figures emerged from the shadows.
A woman in a black coat was watching her with amused interest from the darkness.
“She must be Chen Lianxue, right?”
The other woman, with short hair dyed red at the tips and butterflies resting on the ends, sat on a broken low wall, swinging her legs and playing with a violin bow. A mischievous smile played on her lips.
Rose nodded in confirmation.
“She looks so sad~ Shall big sisters play you a tune to take away your worries?” Si An said with a smile.
Chen Lianxue’s eyes widened in terror.
They were bad people!
She had to tell Sister Lu Yuan!
***
Instinctively, she reached for the Transformation Crystal hanging around her neck.
“Transform!”
A flash of light, and Chen Lianxue instantly became a Magical Girl in pink attire, activating her ability.
Her information-based Magical Girl ability was decent, but she also had a means of self-defense: when using her Detection Skill, she could enter Stealth.
Though her invisibility wasn’t perfect—more like an optical camouflage that couldn’t fully erase her traces—against powerful opponents, she might not always escape.
But she had one advantage: she had never used her Stealth ability in public before, so no one knew she could turn invisible.
At first sight…
She should be able to run away before these two bad women reacted!
Lianxue bolted toward home.
As long as she could see Sister Lu Yuan! She would be safe!
But Chen Lianxue overlooked one thing—or rather, she didn’t know it.
Her ability had been granted by Rose.
Rose knew her Stealth ability inside and out.
Everything was already too late.
Rose’s Tentacles shot straight toward Chen Lianxue’s ankle, wrapping tightly.
“What?!” Chen Lianxue felt her foot caught, unable to pull free no matter how she struggled.
“Zing~” Si An plucked the violin, sending a sharp note hurtling toward Chen Lianxue.
“Bang!”
The world spun around her; all her strength seemed drained. Her vision blurred and warped. Her consciousness sank like into a quagmire, quickly swallowed by darkness.
In the last moment before losing awareness, she saw the black-clothed woman smile at her with satisfaction.
Her small body slumped softly, barely touching the ground before several jet-black Tentacles extended from the shadows, gently but firmly coiling around her and dragging her into deeper darkness.
“Perfect catch,” Si An said, approaching Rose. “Like catching a little bunny.”
“Not bad. Get ready to leave,” Rose turned, pausing briefly before reminding Si An, “Remember to leave them some information.”
“I know, I know,” Si An replied.
On the ground, a strange blood-red Red Spider Lily quietly bloomed, hinting at all that had just happened to anyone who would come here next.
In the park, the lonely blue swing continued to sway gently in place.
As if nothing had happened at all.