A wondrous epilogue amidst a stormy night

The park late at night possessed a unique beauty.

Its tranquil elegance, combined with the radiant moonlight and the gentle glow of streetlights, wove an atmosphere of ambiguous romance.

In this era, not everyone adhered to a rigid nine-to-five schedule.

Couples with a penchant for passion would often steal into the park, seeking a thrill of primal wildness.

“Oh~ you little rascal, are you that eager?”

“You’re the one~ dragging me into the small woods in the middle of the night, claiming you just wanted to relax.

What exactly do you mean by that?”

Her provocative gestures spurred the man’s impatience.

With a guttural ‘Heh!’, he abruptly pushed her against a tree.

His ragged breaths exhaled visible vapor as he ravenously inhaled the mingled scents of perfume and sweat from her skin, his hand instinctively reaching for the strap of her dress.

“He… help…”

A hoarse voice suddenly echoed beside them, startling the couple.

A sudden jolt of terror seized them both, causing them to snap their heads upwards.

There, suspended upside down, was a human head, its enormous eyes staring fixedly at them.

“Ghost!!”

“Pah!”

Screaming, the woman swung her handbag, striking the face forcefully.

Though seemingly small, the bag contained numerous items, resulting in a gush of blood and a pained shriek.

Nosebleed flowing, the two quickly put a considerable distance between themselves and the figure, only then realizing that what hung from the tree was no ghost, but our protagonist, Xiaoxin.

He was entangled in leaves, his feet perfectly wedged by a thick branch and vines, making escape impossible.

How had a hero, one who should have been safeguarding the city’s peace, fallen to such a plight?

He couldn’t help but inwardly curse the flawed mechanics of his own transformation.

Xiaoxin had used his system for ten years, yet he still couldn’t control the duration of his transformations.

Originally, after achieving a great victory by defeating Gast, he could have leveraged the arriving news reporters to create buzz, expand his fame, and find a way to earn a hefty sum!

Unexpectedly, his body’s consciousness immediately warned him that his magic was dwindling, necessitating a de-transformation.

Forgetting about the potential earnings, and knowing that any further delay would lead to social death, he activated his magic wand and fled without a word, leaving countless onlookers with nothing but a fleeting glimpse of his retreating form.

Perhaps they would simply assume Magical Girl Xiaoxin was an urban sprite, performing good deeds without seeking reward.

This explained why, despite having no team for publicity or personal social media accounts, she had mysteriously amassed a legion of fervent fans, with some companies even capitalizing on her fame to release a plethora of unauthorized merchandise.

Yet, this very hero, while running at full speed towards home, experienced an abrupt dissipation of her magic.

She plummeted from mid-air, crashing heavily into the forest.

Initially, in her magical girl form, her slender legs would not have gotten stuck.

However, the sudden reversion to his adult male physique caused him to become firmly wedged, hanging upside down and disheveled from the tree.

Not only were his cheap clothes ripped by the branches, but he had even been given a nosebleed by the young couple when he cried for help.

He was furious, but more than being angry at them, he desperately needed their help, for he certainly couldn’t spend the entire night dangling from a tree.

“Um…”

“Ew! How unlucky, what’s wrong with this guy?”

“Look at his disheveled clothes!

He’s probably just a drunkard who got wasted at a bar, then had a crazy idea to climb a tree and couldn’t get down.”

—Damn it! Even if they’re making things up, they should at least provide some proof!

Couldn’t they smell that I hadn’t been drinking?

“No wonder he stinks of a lonely single man, it’s disgusting.”

“Exactly, who could ever like such a failure of a human being?”

“Darling, you must never turn out like this~”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, for you, I’ll only become an even better person.”

“Oh~ I love you the most!”

With these words, the couple, after thoroughly scolding our protagonist Xiaoxin, flirtatiously departed, vanishing into the thicket.

Xiaoxin was utterly stunned, his mind blank.

They hadn’t even given him a chance to explain, bombarding him with insults and sickening displays of affection.

Had he not been so hungry and weak, he would have fought them to the death, even if he couldn’t get down.

“Truly… these young people today!

No restraint! No manners! At least… at least give me a tissue to wipe away the blood after hitting me!”

Though, upon reflection, he was only 26 himself.

As winter had arrived, the cold night wind was something no tree could truly block.

Fortunately, being from the north, he possessed a certain resistance to cold, otherwise, he might have suffered the indignity of sneezing upside down… Of course, currently hanging upside down with a nosebleed seemed even worse.

Yet, there was always a way out.

Less than two hours later, he spotted a faint light; it was a patrolling security guard.

Using every ounce of his strength, he called for help, and finally, the guard noticed him.

“Young man, what’s wrong with you?

Why are you hanging upside down in a tree for no reason?”

“Just assume I got drunk and climbed up.”

Unable to think of a better excuse, and unable to tell the truth, he could only offer that reply.

But the security guard was a kind man.

He took Xiaoxin to the station, where his nosebleed was cleaned and some medicine applied.

After a brief statement, the guard learned of Xiaoxin’s penniless state, his experiences of being forced to sign unjust contract terms, and his bullying at the company, which filled him with sympathy.

Hearing Xiaoxin’s stomach rumble, the guard, who didn’t earn much himself, pulled a crumpled ten-yuan note from his pocket and pressed it into Xiaoxin’s hand.

“Oh, Security Uncle, I couldn’t possibly.”

“Hey, don’t mind it.

My kid is about your age, but he’s up north.

He’ll be looking for a job right after graduation.

Seeing you is like seeing him.

There’s a chain snack shop at the end of the small path to the east; go there, order a bowl of noodles to fill your belly, then quickly take a bus home.

Don’t waste any more time, take a shower, and get a good night’s sleep.”

“Mm, th… thank you.”

He was on the verge of tears, and a sudden pang in his nose seemed to release even more blood.

Thanking and bidding farewell to the security guard, he finally got his wish, enjoying a long-awaited bowl of beef noodles.

Though there were only five small, thin slices of beef, he still savored every bite.

Such opportunities were truly rare, and if he could, he would have preferred to save the ten yuan and just eat some bread slices to fill his stomach.

However, he had promised the uncle, and he couldn’t go back on his word.

Moreover, the beef noodles were genuinely fragrant and delicious.

His ravenous eating, coupled with his tattered, seemingly exploded clothes, even made the kitchen staff wonder if their culinary skills had reached the level of a food anime protagonist.

Naturally, not a drop of soup was left.

He wasn’t completely full, but he was thoroughly satisfied.

The kitchen staff was delighted, even giving him an extra pancake to dip in the remaining soup.

“I haven’t seen a young person eat like you in a long time.

Though it’s a bit late, I look forward to your next visit; I’ll slice the meat thicker for you then.”

“Haha, thank you.”

It seemed that a change of fortune was indeed real; tonight wasn’t entirely bad.

The warmth from a stranger filled Xiaoxin with a sense of relief and joy, and a yearning for a beautiful new life welled up in his heart.

Then…

He missed the last bus.

There was no way back.

But it didn’t matter!

Tonight’s experience had filled him with courage.

—If I can’t go back, I can’t go back.

At worst, I’ll sleep on the streets!

Wait, that might cause trouble for Security Uncle, and I might actually catch a cold.

Thinking this, Xiaoxin looked around.

He returned to the park vicinity and searched again, finally finding a pile of discarded cardboard boxes near a trash can.

Assessing their size, he tore them apart with his bare hands and secured them with cheap twine and vines, fashioning a makeshift Japanese-style homeless cardboard bed.

He found a suitable tree, fixed the bed with branches, then lay down inside.

Using his already tattered jacket as a blanket and curling his body, he could fall asleep peacefully… though it seemed only someone like Xiaoxin could manage such a feat.

Humanity’s happiest moments are often found in dreams, where one’s hands and thoughts are unbound by reality, free to wander in another world of fantasy.

Driven by the lingering taste in his mouth, Xiaoxin drifted into a food-related dream.

He had become wealthy, opening a small restaurant.

Initially, it only had a dozen dishes, but customers adored them.

His clientele grew, and to earn more money, the restaurant expanded from a modest eight tables to over a dozen, even acquiring the usage rights for the second and third floors, with an increasingly rich menu.

—[Delicious means happy], a line from the heroine of a gal game that a friend who often borrowed money from me in middle school once recommended.

For Xiaoxin, who understood the eight major culinary traditions, could master foreign dishes with ease, and commanded over 300 recipes, he could present delightful cuisine to customers from any corner of the world, offering them exceptional value at the most affordable prices.

Customer reviews poured in, overwhelmingly positive.

Gradually, his restaurant blossomed into a chain, with more and more chefs seeking to learn from him.

He earned a fortune, able to afford houses and cars, and accumulated enough money to pay for a future wedding dowry.

Then, a woman in green offered to be his secretary, only to betray him the very next day.

All his restaurant’s secret recipes were stolen, and the mastermind, with one arm around the secretary, produced news reports claiming his diligently run restaurant had been exposed for using excessive and illegal additives, and expired ingredients, leading to multiple customers being hospitalized!

“No! This is impossible!” He tried to explain, but his opponents were hardly reasonable.

With a snap of fingers, three men in suits entered, their name tags identifying them all as members of the Food Safety Bureau.

“Sir, why have you summoned us, the members of the Food Safety Bureau?”

“Please uphold justice for me, esteemed official!

I have been poor my entire life!

I have always abided by the law!

I would never do anything so heinous!”

“Are you so certain your establishment is entirely clean?”

“Every word I speak is true!

If there is any falsehood, I vow to remain penniless for the rest of my life!”

“Good!” With that, a stomp of a foot resonated with a thunderous boom.

A golden light flashed from a customer’s chicken soup on a nearby table, and a tiny figure, as if imbued with spirit, flew out, landing directly in the man’s hand.

‘Red cap, white stem, next to them, customers lie flat.’

—Impossible, that was definitely not *his* chicken soup!

He glanced into the kitchen, seeing several people snickering, two or three even secretly pocketing money bags.

Reading their lips, he understood what they were saying.

“Oh, Master Yu, you can’t blame your apprentices.

You made the restaurant’s food so delicious and cheap that other establishments have been unhappy for a long time.

It’s only natural that you were forced into this situation!”

Unbeknownst to him, he had become the villain.

Yet, without evidence, he was in the wrong.

He thought of revenge, but the three men blocked his path.

Then, a stirring tune began to play.

“All evil shall be brought to justice!”

He was numb.