Friends (4)

“…If you hear anything about Xiao Mian, call me right away, okay?”

“Of course, I understand.”

“Well, your aunt and uncle are going to keep searching together. What about you? Should I call a taxi to take you home?”

“No, thank you. I want to keep looking a bit longer.”

“Alright… thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing. Xiao Mian is my friend. I’m worried too.”

You Xi forced a smile for the exhausted middle-aged woman. But deep down, she knew her smile was hollow, unconvincing.

After leaving Bai Mian’s apartment, You Xi wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood.

Bai Mian was gone.

Since that night’s battle, she hadn’t returned home.

To her family and the police—who didn’t know the truth—this was just another case of a teenage girl running away.

But You Xi, who had been there that night, knew the truth.

Maybe… she decided she couldn’t go on as Bai Mian after her identity was exposed, she thought.

The sun began to set. Red twilight painted the sky in sorrowful hues—just like her heart.

Swear a noble oath. Become a magical girl.

Fight. Get injured. Gain experience. Grow stronger.

After all that… has the world truly gotten better?

“…If you ever feel lost or tired in endless battles, remember how you felt the moment you became a magical girl.”

She recalled her senior’s advice.

Those words had once guided her through confusion. But now, things were different.

After what happened that night, she questioned her very purpose.

If she became a magical girl to defeat all aberrations… then what about Bai Mian?

What did that make them? Was she supposed to fight her best friend?

…How could I ever do that?

Staring at the dim, lifeless soul gem in her palm, You Xi let out a bitter smile.

Without realizing it, she’d reached the edge of the neighborhood.

Beyond the iron security fence, a dark figure caught her eye.

In that instant, her frozen body came alive. She rushed forward, gripping the bars, calling out:

“Xiao Mian!?”

“It’s me.”

The figure slowly pulled back her hood, revealing Bai Mian’s pale face.

“Your arm…”

You Xi’s gaze fell on Bai Mian’s right arm.

The sleeve was torn, and the exposed skin was crudely wrapped in bandages—burn marks visible beneath.

…This must be from Senior Tidal’s beam the other night, You Xi remembered Bai Mian’s arm deflecting the attack.

“It’s nothing. For someone like me now, this kind of injury doesn’t matter.”

“Someone like me now…” You Xi repeated softly, her heart aching.

“Yes. This me.” Bai Mian gave a hollow smile.

“Wait—let me come over!”

You Xi frantically scanned the area, but saw no gate.

“No.” Bai Mian stopped her. “I think… this is fine.”

Separated by the fence, the two girls stared at each other.

Time seemed to freeze. Both were lost in memories.

Walking home from school. The rooftop at dusk.

The scenery was familiar—unchanged. But what had shifted between them?

The cruel answer stood like an invisible wall between them. This silence—this pause—was their shared despair at the wall’s height, its thickness.

“Ah… I never thought Xiao Xi was a magical girl…”

Suddenly, Bai Mian broke the silence.

“You must be shocked too. That I’ve become an aberration. Don’t pity me. Just say what you really think.”

“I think… Xiao Mian must have been tricked by something,” You Xi said after a long pause.

“Tricked?” Bai Mian tilted her head.

“I don’t believe you’d hurt anyone. You must have been deceived,” You Xi insisted.

“Why can’t I hurt people?”

“Because you’re kind. I know that better than anyone,” You Xi said firmly.

“Hmph. Sounds just like you.” Bai Mian let out a dry laugh, as if bored by the answer.

“At first, maybe I was tricked. But now… I’ve accepted who I am,” Bai Mian said.

“Power is wonderful, isn’t it? As a magical girl, you should understand.”

“You’re wrong, Xiao Mian.” You Xi shook her head. “Power is just power.”

“If you abuse it… there’s no difference between an aberration and a magical girl.”

At those words, Bai Mian’s face twisted. She unleashed her anger, unfiltered, at her friend.

“Of course you hate me.”

“…?”

“Strong. Confident. Clear-minded. Even as a magical girl, you haven’t changed at all. You don’t get arrogant. You don’t get addicted. How do you have such a strong heart? But even if you taught me, I could never learn it. Heh…”

“Before this… I was just a helpless worm. So when I finally get a chance to strike back, to take revenge—I have to take it. That’s all. You say I’m kind? You don’t know me at all. Just like I don’t know you. How many other things are you hiding, Xiao Xi?” Bai Mian demanded.

“…”

You Xi shook her head.

“I… I’m not hiding anything from you…”

“Liar!”

With a sob that tore from her soul, Bai Mian’s eyes filled with tears.

She glared at You Xi—accusing, furious.

The humiliation and loneliness she’d felt in that mall bathroom stall—the emotions that had fed her fall—now surged toward the one she saw as the cause.

“I know about you and Mo Li.”

“Me and… Mo Li?” You Xi asked, confused.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the police report? Why didn’t you ask for my opinion, my help? Was our promise all a lie?”

“No, it’s not like that!” You Xi pleaded. “I didn’t want you to get dragged into that again…”

“You’re weak. Unreliable. So you thought, I can handle it alone… That’s what you really believed, isn’t it?” Bai Mian smiled coldly. Her eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.

“No… Xiao Mian…”

Unable to bear the misunderstanding, You Xi finally broke down, crying.

“I never thought that… please, don’t say that…” she sobbed.

Perhaps it was You Xi’s broken, pleading form that stirred the last flicker of Bai Mian’s conscience. She sighed, speaking with unexpected tenderness:

“You really didn’t think that. I know that.”

“X-Xiao Mian?”

You Xi whispered her name, voice trembling.

“But.”

Bai Mian continued. She looked at You Xi, her eyes empty, hollow.

“—All I ever wanted… was equality and respect between friends. If that day, you had asked me—if you had needed me—I could have been freed from this endless sense of inferiority, this guilt.”

“At first, it was Mo Li who pushed me to the edge,” Bai Mian said.

“But in the end… it was you who pushed me over the cliff… my friend.”