“Mm~!~
Sitting on the bed and stretching lazily, Jiang Lingwei’s graceful figure couldn’t be concealed even beneath the newly bought little dinosaur pajamas.
Jiang Cheng, who had just come out of the bathroom, found his eyes almost glued to her.
“What are you looking at me for?”
Jiang Lingwei yawned.
After a long day, she was feeling a bit tired as well.
As for Jiang Cheng’s gaze? She didn’t really think much of it. After all, she was wearing pajamas—what could he possibly see through them?
However, our little Wei seemed to have forgotten that her figure was no longer the youthful girl’s shape she had when transformed; whether it was her chest or her backside, there was quite a bit more “extra” than before. Even the pajamas couldn’t hide it all, no matter how hard they tried.
Such trivial matters, of course, didn’t bother the great Magical Girl Aurora. She simply patted the bed and pointed to the other side of the room, saying:
“Come on, bed or tatami, you choose one.”
“Huh?”
“Huh what?”
Seeing the disappointed look on Jiang Cheng’s face, Jiang Lingwei smiled triumphantly and said:
“What’s with that expression? Sleeping together doesn’t mean anything special—we’re just simply sharing a bed, that’s all.”
Rather than fussing over some grand presidential suite or other fancy things, Jiang Lingwei had simply booked two high-end double rooms at a decent pet-friendly hotel in the city.
By the window, there was a big bed that could fit two people, and on the other side was a tatami, already set up with bedding by the staff. In theory, the three of them plus Xiao Bai could all fit.
Originally, Jiang Lingwei had thought to be considerate of Jiang Cheng and so booked two rooms.
“Now that we’re here and you actually get to choose, you still want to climb onto my bed.” Jiang Lingwei held up two fingers and, lifting her eyelids, made an X before saying:
“So, what, you and our daughter are plotting together against me, and you still want more benefits?”
“Hey~ That’s not fair.”
Noticing Jiang Lingwei wasn’t angry, Jiang Cheng grew bolder and said:
“I was just worried you’d be cold.”
“Get outta here! Quick, bed or tatami?”
“Tatami.”
Jiang Cheng answered honestly.
It didn’t make much difference to him. Neither Jiang Cheng nor Jiang Lingwei were picky about beds—they could sleep on something hard or soft, didn’t matter. Since Jiang Lingwei was already lying on the bed, there was no need to make her move.
“Alright.”
Jiang Lingwei nodded crisply and reached toward her chest, digging around inside.
The sudden move left Jiang Cheng momentarily flustered. He hurriedly averted his gaze, unsure if he should look or not.
Jiang Lingwei wasn’t usually that guarded, but she’d never been so open in front of him either. At most, she’d sneak up and cuddle him in her sleep—especially after she’d tried a few times to restrain herself, only to mysteriously end up clinging to him every night anyway. Both of them were used to it by now.
As friends who ate, slept, and lived together, sharing a bed and cuddling at night wasn’t a big deal—perfectly normal, really.
But, to just blatantly dig for her “chestnuts” like this…
(This is a bit much!)
Internally, Jiang Cheng was torn between wanting to look and not daring to.
“What’s the matter?”
After some rummaging, Jiang Lingwei pulled out her magic core necklace and, noticing Jiang Cheng’s guilty look, asked in confusion.
“Don’t turn your head away. Come take a look at this.”
She handed the still-warm magic core to Jiang Cheng and said:
“Look, I transformed again yesterday, and afterward, the power core showed up.”
“So it’s just your magic core…”
“What are you disappointed about now?!”
Without wasting words, Jiang Cheng took the pink gemstone necklace. It was still warm from Jiang Lingwei’s body, giving him a cozy feeling.
Fine, he had to admit, when he touched Jiang Lingwei’s magic core, he naturally absorbed a small amount of magic, which made him feel that way.
But, why was it here?
Sitting at the edge of the bed, Jiang Cheng examined the warm pink gem under the light, hesitating as he said:
“I remember you put this at home, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
Jiang Lingwei piled up her pillows and leaned back:
“Back then, I used a partner spell, and after I de-transformed, it returned to me.”
Shaking her head, she continued:
“I think I finally get why Grandpa said the magic core isn’t important. No matter where I leave it, it always comes back.”
Pointing at the magic core, Jiang Lingwei said:
“I mainly want you to see if there are fewer cracks on it. I can’t be imagining it, right?”
“Are there…”
Jiang Cheng peered at it closely.
The heart-shaped pink gem glowed faintly as Jiang Cheng held it in his palm.
Under the gentle light, he could clearly see the web of cracks across the gem.
Sure enough, even he could tell that there were definitely fewer cracks now. While it still wasn’t a dramatic change compared to before, with all those cracks, it was definitely noticeable.
As Jiang Cheng kept looking and was about to speak, suddenly, the gem flared up with a dazzling light. Before he could react, he was engulfed by it.
“?!”
“Come on, let me get you out.”
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Cheng’s world turned pitch-black, and a familiar voice sounded above him.
Then, he heard the sound of bricks overhead being moved bit by bit, and thin rays of light began to shine down from above.
“Huh?”
Jiang Cheng realized he was making a confused noise, and at the same time, a probing tendril of darkness quickly retracted back into his body.
“Ha—yah!”
That girl’s gasping breaths sounded as she strained, and her mouth kept muttering:
“Five hundred and twenty… whew….”
Her voice kept coming, broken but determined:
“Don’t worry!”
“I’m Magical Girl [Aurora].”
“I will save you—all of you.” “Trust me!”
She sounded exhausted. Jiang Cheng could sense that, though she was a magical girl, she wasn’t using much magic right now—just struggling to move stones with the most basic methods, using a tiny bit of magic.
“Not enough magic…damn it, magic! I…huff… I order you! Move! At least let me…save a few more…”
“Clatter.”
After a lot of effort, the stones were shifted aside, but it wasn’t her weak magic that did it—it was Jiang Cheng underneath, raising an arm and giving a gentle push.
“Ha, so that’s it.”
Finally, light streamed down from above, revealing the source of the voice.
It was a pink-haired girl, drenched in sweat and covered in dust. Even her little skirt was smudged, glowing faintly but listlessly.
At that moment, the tired girl showed a genuine smile, her eyes shining brightly as she said with a laugh:
“Hmph, see? As long as I command magic, everything turns out fine.”
Light shone behind her, cutting through the darkness. Even covered in dust, in Jiang Cheng’s eyes, she was just so… beautiful.
Such a beautiful light.
Jiang Cheng stared, transfixed.
“Ah! You’re awake? That’s great.”
The pink-haired magical girl started, then smiled and reached a hand down to Jiang Cheng: “Come on, number 520, you’re safe now. By the way, you seem pretty good—not unconscious at least.”
“I’ll pull you up.”
In truth, Jiang Cheng had known who she was from the start.
(Little Wei!)
Trapped inside his own body, he shouted as loudly as he could, but not a sound came out. He couldn’t control his body at all—he could only “watch” as he grasped that warm little hand and was pulled up with effort by the exhausted magical girl.
(What emotional intelligence is this?!)
Within his body, Jiang Cheng lamented, clutching his chest:
(Didn’t you see how tired she was?! Don’t you know how to be considerate? Couldn’t you push with your feet and help her pull you up? Did you really have to make her do all the work? My past self!)
(I’m gonna die of frustration!!!)