The Schemes of Liu Li and Tang Xingwan’s Dilemma

“The Anomalous Affairs Department has legally initiated an investigation into the developers of the amusement park located in the city’s outskirts. Previously, missing children were discovered within this very park. The detailed circumstances of the case are still under further review…”

On the top floor of a certain skyscraper, a tall, slender middle-aged woman, with her hands clasped behind her back, gazed at the amusement park, now a ruin, displayed on the television screen, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

She was none other than Liu Li, the owner of the construction company that originally undertook the development of this amusement park.

Although countless business partners had already called her due to the morning’s news, Liu Li’s mood at that moment was remarkably pleasant.

Let the Anomalous Affairs Department investigate all they want.

What could that bunch of incompetent, high-ranking fools possibly uncover?

That amusement park had merely been a randomly chosen experimental site from the start.

Even if no outsiders had intervened last night, it would have been abandoned sooner or later.

With the collapse of the underwater tunnel, all those dark, unspeakable ‘little secrets’ were completely buried within the ruins.

No matter how much the Anomalous Affairs Department suspected or investigated, they would never find any clues.

The amusement park that her company had failed to complete had ‘coincidentally’ become the lair of a Calamity Beast (TL Note: A powerful, monstrous creature often associated with disasters and supernatural phenomena in this setting.), and nothing more.

While losing a rare Calamity Beast was indeed a pity, that was a problem for ‘that esteemed individual’ to worry about.

She only needed to do what was required of her and secure her own share of the benefits.

Everything else was none of her concern.

The thought of those Anomalous Affairs Department agents working overtime, conducting a carpet search, yet failing to uncover any clues, and succumbing to impotent rage, only deepened the smile on Liu Li’s face.

In her life, having navigated the currents of the business world for over thirty years, she had never savored such a delightful victory.

What a pity, though…

“That little girl from the Bai family actually managed to escape…”

Leaning back on the lounge chair and swirling the wine glass in her hand, Liu Li clicked her tongue in annoyance: “Even that couldn’t finish her off in the amusement park? Tsk, what a resilient little brat!”

If that girl had truly died in the amusement park, then sacrificing a derelict amusement park and a Calamity Beast would have been quite a worthwhile trade-off.

Once the Bai family fell into disarray, she could have seized the opportunity to make her move!

Alas…

However, according to the intelligence provided by ‘that esteemed individual’, the reason that girl managed to escape the amusement park successfully was because a magical girl was protecting her.

The Calamity Beast had also perished at the hands of that magical girl.

“Hmph… Magical girls, magical girls, where do all these magical girls keep coming from!?”

“Ruining my plans…”

Liu Li squeezed the stem of her wine glass until it creaked ominously.

If not for this meddlesome group of women interfering, she would have achieved far greater success by now…!

But since the die was cast (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘mù yǐ chéng zhōu,’ meaning what’s done is done and cannot be undone.), there was no use sighing or regretting it now.

After all, once ‘that esteemed individual’s’ plan succeeded, she would truly ascend to the upper echelons of society, standing as an equal to those influential figures only heard of in rumors, and acquiring wealth and status far beyond her current standing!

What of the Bai family? What of magical girls? What of the Anomalous Affairs Department?

By that time, with Calamity Beasts and ‘monsters’ (TL Note: Often refers to powerful, non-human entities, distinct from Calamity Beasts, sometimes called ‘괴인’ in Korean or ‘怪人’ in Chinese.) protecting her from behind the scenes, who in the entirety of Wangdu would dare oppose her?

This was something she, who had been kicked out of the Bai family like a stray dog in the past, could never have even dreamed of.

Liu Li wasn’t entirely clear on ‘that esteemed individual’s’ true identity, but their clandestine assistance had indeed helped her smoothly eliminate all her rivals in the business world.

Liu Li had initially been skeptical, but now she was completely subservient to ‘that esteemed individual’.

Calamity Beasts and monsters were dangerous, people would die; so what?

The dead were merely meaningless numbers to her, while the money flowing into her pockets was undeniably real!

She gritted her teeth, a ruthless smile appearing on her face.

Clicking open her computer, the photo ‘that esteemed individual’ had sent her yesterday, depicting Bai Muxue attending a memorial service, flashed across Liu Li’s vision.

“Strange…”

After repeatedly scrutinizing the photograph, a hint of confusion creased her brow.

She had already viewed this photo numerous times over the past two days, yet the more closely she observed it, the greater the doubt that swelled within her heart.

“I recall… the Bai family’s eldest daughter didn’t look quite like this back then, did she?”

Hmph, never mind.

Such trivial matters were inconsequential.

After all, seven years had passed since she last saw the Bai family’s eldest daughter.

Wasn’t it perfectly normal for one’s appearance to change?

As long as this girl was eliminated, the mere Bai family would be nothing more than a stepping stone for her!

In Liu Li’s mind, scenes of her ascending to the pinnacle of her life, receiving cheers and applause, already seemed to materialize.

The smile on her face grew increasingly sinister.

****

“Uwah… 39 degrees? Are you serious?”

Tang Xingwan (TL Note: A character’s name.) stared at the bright red screen of the thermometer gun, secretly clicking her tongue in dismay.

She had exerted considerable effort to carry Bai Muxue back to her own home, enduring countless astonished glances along the way.

Originally believing Bai Muxue was merely suffering from a slight cold and heatstroke, now, seeing the temperature displayed on the thermometer gun, she instantly felt a cold sweat breaking out all over her.

Surely, in this situation, calling an ambulance was necessary, right? But…

A troubled Tang Xingwan brought a glass of warm water and placed it on the bedside table, gazing worriedly at the girl on the bed, whose eyes remained tightly shut.

At that moment, Bai Muxue’s skin was tinged with a sickly pallor.

Her entire body felt like a glowing hot iron, and her lips were slightly cracked from dryness, her throat emitting hoarse moans.

“Miss Bai? Miss Bai? Can you hear me?”

“How about waking up and having some water first?”

Tang Xingwan bent down and called out softly, then gently patted Bai Muxue’s shoulder, attempting to rouse her.

However, upon hearing the call, Bai Muxue merely furrowed her brows slightly.

Her trembling eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and she restlessly shifted her delicate body a little, yet her eyes remained stubbornly closed.

‘Ugh, a reaction? So she must be able to hear me?’

‘Miss Bai looks really weak. I guess I still need to get her to drink some water first?’

‘But she can’t drink water in this state, can she!’

“Ugh, I really have no idea how to take care of a sick person!”

Tang Xingwan fretfully shook her twin ponytails, her head drooping, a hint of distress clouding her pretty face.

‘If only… Dad were still here…’

Inevitably, such a thought suddenly surfaced in the girl’s heart.

‘If Dad were still here, I wouldn’t have to worry about this at all.’

‘He alone could arrange everything perfectly and take wonderful care of Miss Bai, couldn’t he?’

‘Though I always found him nagging, always felt he meddled in everything, and during our arguments, I constantly thought, “If only I could become independent sooner.”‘

‘But now that I’m truly alone, that inexpressible sense of loneliness and sorrow almost threatens to consume me entirely.’

—With Dad around, she could completely indulge in letting her intelligence drop a level or two, and revel in being a willful girl.

But now that Dad was gone, she could only retreat into her shell, arming and numbing herself with the things she loved.

No matter what she encountered in the future, she would have to face it alone.

“Now isn’t the time to be thinking about this… Student Bai still needs my care…”

Tang Xingwan took a deep breath, quietly wiping away the dampness from the depths of her eyes.

‘Still… even if I’m unreliable, I can certainly ask someone reliable for help, can’t I?’

As Tang Xingwan pondered silently to herself, she pulled out her phone and painstakingly sent a message.

[Student Xiyao (TL Note: A character’s name.), I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, but a friend of mine has a fever. Could you please tell me how I should care for her?]