The Shut-in Heroine and a Suspicious Playdate

Saint Lily’s departure wasn’t formally announced, but the news of the captain’s replacement certainly made it to the homepage of the ‘Lucky Garden’ forum.

A video clip accompanied the announcement.

It depicted the moment White Rose unleashed her Flower Domain, delivering a fierce ice spear attack.

From a third-person perspective, the scene was truly stunning. In contrast, Bai Ruoli, who was frozen solid and instantly defeated by Dandelion Baby’s attack, appeared, well, rather frail.

Lost in these thoughts, Bai Ruoli couldn’t help but sigh.

The entire video lasted only a little over thirty seconds.

Nevertheless, it provided all the explanation needed for the captain’s change to be readily accepted.

The comments below further confirmed this sentiment.

Messages like ‘Sister is so domineering!’, ‘White Rose finally takes her rightful place!’, and ‘Congratulations to the new captain!’ filled the feed, mostly expressing celebration.

It was perfectly understandable; for a supernatural squad, strength was always the primary consideration. Being protected by someone powerful naturally offered a greater sense of security.

“Eh~”

No sooner had she removed her hand from her mouth than another sigh involuntarily escaped her lips.

Bai Ruoli couldn’t quite articulate the tangle of emotions within her as she quietly closed the webpage.

“Sister, I’m going out to play~”

“Eh? Oh!” Hearing Ruoruo’s voice from the living room, Bai Ruoli paused for a moment, then realized. That child, Ruoruo, was probably off to play with the kind Mr. Su downstairs again.

“Don’t take advantage of his kindness and bully him now~”

“Got it~”

Receiving the reply, Bai Ruoli nodded and turned back to her computer, opening a Word document. ‘Hmm, I’ll go downstairs to pick her up once I finish writing.’

Constantly bothering him for help with childcare, over time, her initial shyness around Mr. Su had gradually faded into a comfortable familiarity.

Now, she could even bring him fruit without Ruoruo as an intermediary, and if they met by chance on the street, they could exchange greetings and chat about the weather.

He truly was an excellent neighbor.

He was kind-hearted and looked after Ruoruo so well.

‘Alright, alright, focus, get back to work.’

‘Bai Ruoli, you need to understand that now that you’ve left ‘Lucky Garden,’ you have no other skills. Your novel is your sole means of livelihood.’

‘Push yourself!’

‘Work hard!’

‘Strive!’

‘You must ensure Ruoruo has a good life! Even though you’ve amassed a decent sum, you can’t get complacent! Money is needed for so many aspects of life!’

“Oh!” Bai Ruoli cheered herself on. Her novel was essentially a depiction of a magical girl’s daily life, with herself as the inspiration.

The plot wasn’t thrilling enough to be exhilarating, nor was it excessively dark or brutal. Was it perhaps too bland, too much like plain water?

‘How could I take a genre ripe for fantasy and write it like an ordinary slice of life?’

She couldn’t help it; after all, she truly *was* a magical girl.

Moreover, many readers disliked the protagonist’s personality, often describing her as too weak, frustrating to watch, and even suffering from a ‘saintly mother’ complex.

Her abilities weren’t particularly strong, and she defeated monsters mostly through attrition.

This, too, couldn’t be helped, as the character’s prototype was herself.

Funnily enough, some readers had actually recognized her.

[Could the author be a fan of Saint Lily?]

[Now that you mention it, there’s a slight resemblance in her abilities and actions. But the protagonist’s inner thoughts are a bit too gloomy, like something a shut-in would imagine. Doesn’t really fit Saint Lily, does it?]

[True, Saint Lily doesn’t seem like a shut-in at all. While she might be a bit of a saint, she comes across as a cheerful, outgoing big sister.]

[Always asking ‘Why must I do this?’ and ‘Why must *I* be the one to do it?’ It’s annoying, so much dawdling, only to save people in the end. With all that hesitation, Saint Lily would have saved them ten times over. If the author really tried to copy Saint Lily’s template, I doubt they’d even get the plagiarism right.]

‘I’m truly sorry to disappoint you all. I *am* Saint Lily, and I’m also a shut-in.’

‘Those gloomy inner thoughts are real.’

‘Shy, lazy, indecisive, fearful of disasters, and always wanting to avoid them. Initially, my only salvation as a magical girl was money and my sister’s smile.’

‘I constantly wished that disaster wouldn’t strike me, my loved ones, or my friends, and that I wouldn’t have to face it.’

‘But when disaster truly struck…’

‘Why must I do this?’

‘Why must *I* be the one to do it?’

‘Why do I always ask?’

‘It’s just that I don’t understand! Yet, the moment I realize it, my body already moves on its own.’

Naturally, she stopped asking those questions later on.

The reader who posted that comment must have only read the earlier sections.

In truth, when the protagonist rescued her younger sister from the disaster beast, all those questions found their answers.

The moment she embraced her sister, her heart was filled only with gratitude, a lingering sense of terrified relief, and overwhelmingly, the joy and emotion of a lost treasure found again. Tears streamed down her face.

The little girl gently wiped away the protagonist’s tears, comforting her that it didn’t hurt and that her magical girl sister shouldn’t cry.

Her heart completely melted, and in that moment, she fully grasped how precious and invaluable a saved life truly was.

Later, the story described the girl viewing the protagonist as an idol, aspiring to become a hero just like her.

The protagonist officially embarked on her path of ‘heroism.’

Along the way, she gained companions and formed a team.

Her growth was now firmly on track.

“Would writing about failing a challenge and leaving the team seem like I’m just chasing trends?” Bai Ruoli mused, propping her chin on her hand. “I really don’t want to exploit that kind of buzz. Oh, right, the new character modeled after Red Spider Lily seems incredibly popular. Perhaps I should describe her more!”

She was a powerful, mysterious magical girl, burdened by an unknown past, yet exceptionally doting on the protagonist.

[She’s so gentle, I’m going to cry!]

[So, after reading over five hundred chapters, is the useless daughter’s romance finally happening?]

[Magical girls being affectionate, a fine civilization!]

Feeling her cheeks warm, Bai Ruoli shook her head, then picked up her phone and blinked. “Hmm, I’m doing this to gather material for my novel!”

“This is something I *have* to do!”

She tapped on Red Spider Lily’s contact, took a few deep breaths, finally finished editing, and sent her message.

[Are you there?]

“Ding~”

[I am.]

‘Wow! She’s so fast!’

****

Rewinding to a little earlier,

Hearing a knock, Su Mu opened his door.

“Big Blockhead!” Bai Ruoruo, standing at the entrance, greeted him with a smile.

“Ruoruo, you’re here. Come in quickly.” Su Mu chuckled. He was accustomed to Bai Ruoruo always running to his place whenever Bai Ruoli was writing her novel. However, this time, when he tried to invite her inside, she refused with an outstretched hand.

“?”

“Big Blockhead, I just came to say hello, and then I’m going out to play with other people!” The little girl’s words were quite unexpected.

“???” Su Mu suspected he had misheard something. “Eh? Ah… what?”

“It means I’m going out to play now! If Sister comes down, can you cover for me? Sister usually takes about two hours to finish her novel! I’ll be back after two hours~”

“That’s all, bye-bye~” Little Ruoruo, with her small backpack, turned and scampered away, leaving Su Mu looking utterly bewildered.

“Eh?” He closed the door.

“Host…” Su Xiaoqian stroked her chin. “Based on my observation, there’s definitely something fishy going on here! Little Ruoruo is acting strangely today. Given her fervent admiration for Miss Lily, she should have noticed Miss Lily being replaced as captain! Yet, she seems completely unaware of it now~”

“Hmm… indeed!” Su Mu nodded.

“Could it be…”

“Could it be what?” Su Mu looked at her.

“Has she gotten a boyfriend? So her attention has shifted, and now she wants the Host to cover for her? She’s gone bad!”

“Uh… she’s only a middle schooler, it can’t be that serious…”

“Tsk tsk, Host, kids nowadays are very precocious!~”

Su Mu fell silent.

“Host, what if Miss Lily finds out later? You’ll be an accomplice! We can’t just sit back and do nothing!”

He rubbed his face, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

“Host, it’s Miss Lily.”

“!!!”

Su Mu jumped, guiltily fumbling for his phone. He opened it, and there, written in two large characters, was the message:

[Are you there?]