“Bai Yue proved to be far more troublesome than I had anticipated!” Yan Qingzhu whispered to Bai Zhiqiu after Bai Yue had left the room. “So, how does it feel to be a man again?”
“It’s alright. And Bai Yue… she didn’t say anything, did she?”
A sheepish smile touched Bai Zhiqiu’s lips as Yan Qingzhu teased him about his gender. He still couldn’t fathom why he remained in his male form.
Logically, given the energy he’d overdrawn during his battles, it wouldn’t have surprised him in the least if he’d permanently transformed right then.
“Well, you heard everything Bai Yue said yourself! We went through a lot of trouble to help conceal your identity! How do you plan to compensate me?”
With that, Yan Qingzhu playfully hooked a finger under Bai Zhiqiu’s chin.
“N-no… don’t! Men and women should keep their distance! Besides, Jasmine is still here!”
Bai Zhiqiu struggled, pulling away from Yan Qingzhu’s touch.
Observing their antics, Jasmine simply smiled. “I’ll go prepare a room for Little Devil… I mean, Zhiqiu. You two can take your time chatting!”
With a final word, Jasmine pushed open the door and stepped out, only to collide with Bai Yue, who was conspicuously eavesdropping by the entrance.
Their eyes met, and an immediate, palpable awkwardness filled the air.
It was Jasmine who broke the silence first. “Miss Bai Yue, are you truly… so worried about Little Zhiqiu’s condition?”
Bai Yue’s face flushed crimson at Jasmine’s words. She had, of course, caught the teasing undertone.
After all, she had promised to leave and give them some privacy, yet here she was, caught red-handed eavesdropping.
“O-of course! Of course I’m worried about my brother’s safety!”
Bai Yue quickly seized the excuse, doing her best to appear less flustered.
“Since you’re so worried, Bai Yue, why don’t you come with me?”
“Go where?”
“To the Nandu Magical Girl Headquarters, to see where Little Zhiqiu will be staying next!”
“What? Brother is going to live with you all?”
Jasmine’s words sent a tempest through Bai Yue’s heart. Her brother, living at the Magical Girl Headquarters… that sort of thing…
Bai Yue’s eyes narrowed slightly at Jasmine. Normally, she would have been thrilled, but learning that her brother had been injured while on an operation with the Magical Girls suddenly filled her with apprehension towards them.
“If you’re still uneasy, Bai Yue, you could even come stay with him! Little Witch has been here recently too!
“Furthermore, Little Zhiqiu’s current condition requires close observation. And didn’t you just say you were concerned about his safety? I can guarantee there isn’t a single place in all of Nandu safer than the Magical Girl Headquarters!”
“But…”
Bai Yue pursed her lips. While Jasmine’s reasoning was sound, she simply didn’t want her brother living there. For some reason… she had a terrible premonition.
“If you’re truly worried, Bai Yue, you can come with me to the Headquarters right now to see for yourself! It would also give them some much-needed privacy.”
“Alright then…”
Ultimately, Bai Yue departed with Jasmine, leaving only the two of them in the private hospital’s lounge.
****
“Boring! Little Witch is much more fun! Anyway, you don’t have many days left…”
Yan Qingzhu clicked her tongue lightly after Bai Zhiqiu pulled away, uttering a seemingly thoughtless remark.
“What do you mean, ‘not many days left’?”
Bai Zhiqiu’s heart instantly seized with panic at Yan Qingzhu’s words.
What did she mean, ‘not many days left’? He was perfectly fine! Wait! Unless…
A horrifying thought sprang into Bai Zhiqiu’s mind.
He suddenly recalled the videos his mother used to share in the ‘Loving Family’ chat group—those warnings about overexerting one’s body and shortening one’s lifespan.
Could it be that he, too, had overexerted himself to the point of having only a few days left to live? And these white hairs… were they a harbinger of his impending demise?
“Is… is there truly no other way?”
Bai Zhiqiu’s voice trembled. He certainly didn’t want to die young!
“What way? The entire process of witchification is irreversible! Didn’t Yin already tell you that?”
Yan Qingzhu shot him a bewildered glance at his words.
“Oh! So that’s what you meant!”
Bai Zhiqiu visibly relaxed at Yan Qingzhu’s explanation. While transforming into a girl wasn’t exactly easy to accept, it was infinitely better than the prospect of dying young.
“Oh? You sound quite relieved, don’t you? Could it be you’ve grown to love being a girl?”
“Absolutely not! I’m a real man! What’s the important matter, anyway? Yin told me you had something crucial to discuss!”
Noticing the conversation veering wildly off-topic, Bai Zhiqiu hastily steered it back.
“Actually, this matter is somewhat related to what we were just discussing. I want you to live at the Magical Girl Headquarters! What do you think?”
“Huh? Me, live at the Magical Girl Headquarters? Aren’t you afraid that…”
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll corrupt the other magical girls?” Yan Qingzhu finished his sentence with a smile.
“No! What do you mean, ‘corrupt’? Am I not handsome after transforming?”
Bai Zhiqiu’s face instantly burned crimson at Yan Qingzhu’s words.
‘This woman! There’s no arguing with her!’
“My main concern is… if a man frequently appears at the Magical Girl Headquarters… wouldn’t it affect its reputation?”
“Don’t worry! The Magical Girl Headquarters doesn’t care about such things!”
“I’m talking about *my* reputation, and *I* care!”
Yan Qingzhu tilted her head slightly, meeting Bai Zhiqiu’s gaze. Their eyes locked in a silent standoff.
The air between them grew taut with tension.
But then, quite abruptly, Yan Qingzhu let out a snort of laughter.
“Hahaha! Does Little Witch still care about her reputation? You certainly didn’t say that when you were ‘corrupting’ those magical girls back then… I remember Jasmine quoting your famous line… ‘Right! What’s the point of having a face? You just have to wash it anyway!'”
“Stop it! Stop it! That’s blatant slander!”
Bai Zhiqiu retorted anxiously at Yan Qingzhu’s words. What did she mean, ‘her famous line’? He hadn’t even said it that many times!
“Anyway… anyway… staying there just isn’t right!”
“But Bai Yue wants to live there! Look, she and Jasmine have already gone!”
With that, Bai Zhiqiu pulled out his phone, deftly opened the Penguin app, and found the message Jasmine had sent him.
It was a picture: Jasmine and Bai Yue stood in front of the grand building that housed the Magical Girl Headquarters!
“So, what do you say? Come on! Bai Yue likes it so much… Besides, if you stay at home, what do you plan to do about Yin? You can’t just let her sleep on the streets, can you?”
“It’s not like I don’t have beds at home!”
Bai Zhiqiu retorted decisively. Was he really the kind of person who would let Yin sleep on the streets?
After much deliberation, Bai Zhiqiu finally agreed to move into the Magical Girl Headquarters. He, too, had his own little schemes.
“Since you’ve agreed, let’s go have dinner at Headquarters, and then we can go to your place to move your things!”