“Why is it me? We’ve only known each other for less than two days!”
Having felt Yan Qingzhu’s actions, Bai Zhiqiu voiced her doubts.
It was only yesterday evening, or rather, this morning? It hasn’t even been a full day…
“It’s because you’ve only known me for less than two days. In reality, I’ve been watching you for quite some time.”
Yan Qingzhu shifted her position, embracing Bai Zhiqiu and playing with her silvery hair.
“Ah?”
Upon hearing Yan Qingzhu’s words, the sympathy in Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a look of disbelief. She tilted her head to glance at Yan Qingzhu and noticed that her gaze was focused on her hair, and her hands were restless, fidgeting.
“Surprised, are you? I’ve been keeping an eye on you for the past two years!”
Yan Qingzhu explained as she toyed with Bai Zhiqiu’s hair, “It started with a picture of a magical girl being defeated by a white masked girl on the Perfume and Magic official website. I was hooked from that moment!”
As she spoke, Yan Qingzhu’s fingers brushed against Bai Zhiqiu’s earlobe while lifting her silver hair…
“That tickles…”
Bai Zhiqiu swatted Yan Qingzhu’s hand away. “Is that why? But a lot of witches do that…”
Although she had never met other witches, Bai Zhiqiu understood their ways from her mentor’s stories.
Witches were cunning, dangerous, and driven by desire. According to her mentor, witches would use love to capture and convert defeated magical girls. Bai Zhiqiu had done this too, but not to the same extremes. Her biggest misdeed was a simple kiss, a playful pat, or taking a sock as a trophy…
But those witches were far worse! Losing their purity was the mildest outcome. They often trained captured magical girls into unimaginable creatures, or even used them as incubators to breed new magical beasts…
Some witches even preyed on their own kind, with weaker, more innocent witches often becoming playthings for the stronger ones.
No wonder her mentor warned her to never reveal herself to witches…
“But you’re different! You’ve spared those magical girls and haven’t taken their purity. In the recent beast attacks in Nan City, you’ve played a crucial role!”
“Ah, that’s nothing special…”
Bai Zhiqiu nervously adjusted her bangs, remembering her own misconduct during the Blood Emperor’s invasion.
Thinking of the Blood Emperor, the dream she had at dusk seemed connected to him… What had happened that day? Why did she have such a dream…
Bai Zhiqiu felt a wave of unease, unable to shake the image of the Blood Emperor from her mind, as if it foretold an unknown danger…
“Um…”
“All done!”
Before Bai Zhiqiu could speak, Yan Qingzhu’s excited voice interrupted her, “Is there a mirror? Come see how it looks, do you like it?”
“There’s one in my mentor’s room.”
With that, Bai Zhiqiu led Yan Qingzhu into the room.
The room was simple, almost austere, hardly resembling a teenage girl’s space.
The color scheme was mostly a soft white, with bookshelves filled with volumes. Only a few small pots of plants by the window added a touch of green.
There were two wardrobes. One was stuffed with identical dresses, Qian Moyu’s everyday wear. The other held a variety of small dresses, all slightly too small, clearly intended for Bai Zhiqiu. In fact, these were all bought by Qian Moyu with great effort, though Bai Zhiqiu had never worn a single one…
Every time she saw her mentor’s hopeful expression, Bai Zhiqiu would politely accept the clothes, only to firmly refuse, crushing that hope.
The mirror was in the opposite corner of the room. Curious, Bai Zhiqiu approached it.
Reflected back was a cute, innocent-looking girl with silver hair tied into two ponytails, her surprised eyes and slightly parted lips making her appear almost comically adorable…
“How is it? Aren’t I beautiful?”
Yan Qingzhu gently picked up one of the ponytails.
“Don’t touch my hair!”
Bai Zhiqiu snatched the ponytail away from Yan Qingzhu and flicked her head, precisely hitting Yan Qingzhu’s head with her hair.
“Okay, okay! You’ve played with my hair enough, and I’m not letting you deduct my pay! I’m going out now!”
Bai Zhiqiu pushed Yan Qingzhu towards the door, trying to usher her out of the room.
“You’re kicking me out, but how am I supposed to sleep? I can’t just sleep on the floor!”
“There’s a sofa in the living room! You can sleep there!”
“But the sofa isn’t very comfortable! I see this room has a large bed. How about we share?”
“I can sleep alone, and so can you! Go sleep on the sofa! Don’t even think about sharing a bed with me, you weirdo!”
With that, Yan Qingzhu was finally pushed out of the room. Bai Zhiqiu slammed the door shut, followed by the sound of the lock engaging…
This little one…
“But there’s no blanket or pillow on the sofa! At least give me a pillow!”
Upon hearing Yan Qingzhu, there was a moment of silence from inside the room.
Then came the sound of the lock disengaging, and the door opened. A pillow and a blanket were tossed out, and the door was quickly shut and locked again.
“There! Now you have a blanket and a pillow! You can sleep now, so stop bothering me!”
Bai Zhiqiu changed into her pajamas, climbed into bed, and prepared for a good night’s sleep.
Of course, she needed to inform someone about staying out overnight.
Bai Zhiqiu picked up the new phone Yan Qingzhu had bought her, her previous one still refused by Yan Qingzhu…
Oh well, no use dwelling on it! Bai Zhiqiu opened the messaging app and sent a message to ‘Little Sister’, reporting her safe arrival.
“Little Yue! Brother is staying at the general store tonight. Aunt Qian Moyu has something to do, so I’m watching the store for her.”
Bai Zhiqiu intended to sleep, but the thrill in her heart kept her awake…
Maybe I should try again?
Two hours later, looking at the list of failed matches, Bai Zhiqiu angrily threw her phone aside.
Even the game is picking on me!
Too angry to sleep!
Gradually, her consciousness faded, and soon, Bai Zhiqiu drifted into sleep…
She found herself back in a familiar entryway…