Magic Girls are drawn to each other.
For some reason, Su Tianqing suddenly recalled this line, though she couldn't remember where she'd heard it.
As a villainous Magic Girl, Su Tianqing felt she had recently fully embodied her self-worth as a villain—not only did she pick fights with the legitimate Magic Girl, but she also filled in as HR when the heroes were short-staffed, truly a model villain.
But the epic dilemma she faced today would make anyone flustered.
—The Magic Girl Hyacinth, whom she had relentlessly picked on, was right in front of her.
"Jiayu Jie, is medical school fun?" Nan Xiaofeng asked curiously.
"Hmm... not really fun, the classes are hard, but there's a lot of free time, which you can arrange yourself," Nan Jiayu replied, twitching her cat ears.
"Eh! Isn't that pretty good then!"
"You'll know when you come to study medicine later, Xiaofeng."
"Uncle—, aren't you coming to eat yet?" Nan Jiayu called out towards the kitchen.
"There's one more plate of shredded potatoes, you all eat first," a concise reply came from the kitchen.
Su Tianqing listened silently to the family's interaction, her chopsticks darting out like lightning and retracting just as quickly, always managing to snatch a piece of meat from the plate.
She had to admit, Nan Jiayu's uncle's cooking was truly excellent.
The braised pork was fatty but not greasy, the boiled fish was fragrant and flavorful, and these two main dishes alone, once placed on the table, fully demonstrated his culinary skill, not to mention the side dishes around them, each a heavyweight.
When she had secretly pinched the flesh on Hyacinth's lower back while measuring her, seeing the high-quality, almost overflowing food standards before her, Su Tianqing suddenly understood.
Who wouldn't gain weight eating this!
.
The sumptuous dinner completely dispelled that hint of unease in Su Tianqing's heart.
It seemed the cognitive shielding after a Magic Girl's transformation was truly powerful.
Not only was she completely unable to connect Nan Xiaofeng with Hyacinth, but even the heroic Hyacinth herself didn't seem to recognize her, treating her entirely as a friend her sister had brought home for the first time.
After dinner, the four sat on the living room sofa, chatting for a while.
The girls' post-dinner topics were utterly devoid of substance.
They talked about dresses, socks, small accessories, and then interesting things that had happened a few days ago, as well as recent Monsters and strange occurrences.
And the hottest topic in Rong City recently was undoubtedly only one:
"Magic Girl Xin Yuehu."
When Nan Jiayu spoke this name, Fox Fox's two ears suddenly perked up, her attention immediately shifting from the news program on the TV.
"Xiaofeng, do you know her? She's quite famous lately."
..."Nan Xiaofeng's smile stiffened.
"Hmm? Xiaofeng, aren't you very fond of Magic Girls? I remember you even collected several Hyacinth merchandise items and figures," Nan Jiayu asked, puzzled.
"Hyacinth and Xin Yuehu have nothing to do with each other! And she, she calls herself a villainous Magic Girl, and she's causing destruction at my school!"
Nan Xiaofeng said angrily,
"Besides, she bullies Hyacinth! I really dislike her!"
"That's true... but Xin Yuehu didn't actually harm Hyacinth, did she? It felt more like a prank," Nan Jiayu thought for a moment before replying.
There was no helping it, because Xin Yuehu was simply too adorable. She had even tipped generously in her live stream. As a Fox fan, she absolutely had to maintain her image in front of her sister!
The Nan Xiaofeng sisters began discussing the definitions of heroes and villains among Magic Girls.
Su Tianqing sat obediently nearby, nibbling on snacks.
The variety of snacks on the coffee table was as abundant as the dishes on the dining table, and a casual grab would reveal a well-known brand, allowing the recently financially strapped little Fox to experience the feeling of snack freedom.
Rich people really are different!
The heated discussion between the two sisters next to her gradually cooled down; it seemed neither had convinced the other, but from the content of their discussion, a consensus seemed to have been reached:
"That Xin Yuehu... she is indeed quite cute," Nan Xiaofeng had to admit this fact.
"See? She's super cute," Nan Jiayu chuckled.
"But she always bullies Hyacinth! And she causes destruction in the city! No matter how cute she is, it's not okay!" Nan Xiaofeng retorted.
"After all, she defines herself as a villain, and she hasn't harmed any innocent bystanders," Nan Jiayu argued logically.
Su Tianqing listened silently.
Suddenly, a delicate, soft voice came from beside her, drawing the attention of Fox Fox's other ear.
"Tianqing... Tianqing Jie?"
With a soft call, Golden Fox turned her head and met the gaze of the timid girl sitting beside her.
Hearing the unfamiliar address of "Jie" from a girl who was almost a head taller than her, Su Tianqing was quite unaccustomed to it.
However, girls nowadays were all quite well-nourished; their future prospects were immeasurable.
"Hmm, hello there."
Golden Fox replied amiably, smiling gently.
Su Tianqing felt this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Task: Expansion · Phase One"
"A Magic Girl needs to gain the guardian star's approval to transform. Find opportunities to approach and understand the suitable candidate."
She still remembered this task that had refreshed in the secret codex.
Originally, Su Tianqing had given up hope on this task. Her original plan was to find an opportunity to stake out the suitable candidate, complete the task, and then slip away. She never expected to encounter this suitable candidate in such a place.
Hua Ling, she remembered her name.
"Hua Ling, right?" Su Tianqing said with a smile, "It's nice to meet you~"
To her, it was just an ordinary polite smile, but in Hua Ling's eyes, the petite Fox Girl beside her was perhaps a little too cute, and that bright, sunny smile was even more dazzling.
"I, I'm... also very happy to meet you..." The girl was nervous.
Hua Ling felt quite lucky.
Although she had encountered some danger, she had made a friend in Nan Xiaofeng, and today she even saw Su Tianqing, the adorable Golden Fox. It felt like a dream.
"Speaking of which, Hua Ling, are you here to visit today, or do you live nearby?"
"Um... not nearby... it's just that..."
Perhaps unaccustomed to Su Tianqing's enthusiastic approach, Hua Ling timidly shrank into the corner of the sofa and explained why she was temporarily staying in the house.
"I see... you sprained your ankle and were a step too slow, so you got caught in the battle between Xin Yuehu and Hyacinth, then you were rescued by the quickly returning teachers, and Xiaofeng took you to the hospital for treatment..."
"That's about it," Hua Ling nodded softly.
Nan Xiaofeng beside her breathed a sigh of relief.
What Hua Ling said was half-true—because she herself was the Magic Girl Hyacinth, and it was she who had protected Hua Ling from Xin Yuehu's barrage of attacks at the time.
But anyway, at that time, only she and Hua Ling were present, so she could just make something up to get by.
Only Su Tianqing listened from the side, secretly chuckling.
Rescued by teachers? Caught in a battle?
It was clearly this girl who had inexplicably let out a loud yell at the time, interfering with her judgment!
If she hadn't pulled back in time, and if it weren't for Hyacinth's transformation defense, Hua Ling wouldn't be sitting here chatting like this!
"I see... I didn't realize you cared so much about your classmates, Xiaofeng?"
Nan Jiayu looked surprised, her eyes wide with astonishment as she looked at her sister.
Nan Xiaofeng rolled her eyes at her sister.
"What kind of image do you have of me, Jiayu Jie! I'm clearly very helpful, okay!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Then what about the summer homework I assigned you, Xiaofeng? Have you finished it all?"
"..."
Silence.
Su Tianqing and Hua Ling, who had been discussing skirt and sock pairings, tacitly stopped talking and simultaneously turned to look at Nan Xiaofeng.
Nan Xiaofeng's face turned beet red, and she mumbled for a long time without being able to say anything.
"Th-th-th-this has nothing to do with being helpful, Jiayu Jie!"
..."Jiayu Jie?"
Nan Jiayu smiled, but her cat eyes glowed with a ferocious beast-like glint as she reached out and pinched her sister's ear.
"Ow ow ow?! It hurts! Jiayu Jie, I was wrong! It hurts!"
"You're not going anywhere for the next two days! Stay home and honestly catch up on your homework!"
Fox Fox sat obediently on the sofa, watching Nan Jiayu escort the wailing Nan Xiaofeng into the bedroom.
Su Tianqing and Hua Ling exchanged glances, then both burst into laughter.