The laughter of the girls gradually subsided, and the coffee on the table had reached the bottom of the cups.
Sundae held her cup of hot latte, taking small sips with a look of contentment on her face.
“By the way, Sundae,” the twin-tailed girl suddenly remembered something, “how has your mother’s health been lately?”
Sundae set her cup down and smiled. “A lot better. She was feeling a bit under the weather a few days ago, but she’s basically fine now.”
“That’s good,” the brown-haired girl said. “Didn’t you say before that her health wasn’t great? We were all quite worried.”
“Yes, thank you for your concern,” Sundae nodded. “Actually, it’s just an old ailment. She just needs a few days of rest to be fine. But she’s the type who can’t sit still. As soon as she feels a bit better, she wants to get out of bed and cook. I can’t even stop her. 2 days ago, she even ran out to deliver lunch to me. It gave me quite a scare.”
The long-haired girl rested her chin on her hand, looking at Sundae. “Your mom is really good to you.”
“Yes,” Sundae lowered her head, her voice softening. “That’s why I have to work hard. I can’t let her worry.”
The twin-tailed girl suddenly leaned in close to Sundae and asked mysteriously, “Hey, Sundae, does your mom know about you being a Magical Girl?”
“She knows.”
“She doesn’t object?”
“She did at first, hehe…” Sundae smiled. “She said it was too dangerous and told me not to do it. Later, I told her that Magical Girls get government subsidies that can help ease the burden on the family, and she didn’t say anything else after that.”
The girls looked at each other.
“You… use your subsidy to help your family?” the girl with glasses asked cautiously.
“Yes,” Sundae nodded, her tone natural. “My mom is home alone and her health isn’t good. I have to do something.”
“But you usually have to work a part-time job too…”
“The job is the job, and the subsidy is the subsidy,” Sundae said seriously. “I send all the subsidy money to my mom and keep the money from my part-time job for myself. It works out quite well.”
The brown-haired girl looked at her. “Sundae, aren’t you tired?”
“I am,” Sundae said with a beaming smile, “but even if it’s tiring, it has to be done.”
“I see…”
Sundae seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere and quickly waved her hands. “Oh, let’s not talk about that! Anyway, have you encountered any interesting monsters lately? Aside from the ones Miss Raven snatched away?”
The twin-tailed girl burst out laughing. “You really know how to change the subject.”
“Hehe.”
The girls began chatting about other topics, and laughter rang out once more.
In a corner of the cafe, Yuan Qing, dressed in a dark gray coat, sat with a cup of lukewarm latte in front of him. He kept his head down, playing with his phone. On the screen was a report about himself.
Raven, huddled inside his coat, spoke in a voice that only he could hear. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
“What she said.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have anything to say?”
“No.”
Raven waited for a few seconds. Seeing that he had no intention of continuing, it couldn’t help but say, “You know, sometimes you’re really bad at talking.”
“…”
Yuan Qing did not argue.
Sundae’s laughter drifted over from time to time, crisp and bright.
“Hey,” Raven spoke again, “aren’t you going to go over and say hello?”
“No. If she knows I’m here, she’ll feel awkward.”
“Oh,” Raven chuckled teasingly, “you’re actually quite thoughtful.”
Yuan Qing picked up the latte and took a sip. It tasted quite good.
Over there, the girls began packing their things to leave.
“That’s about it for today,” the twin-tailed girl stood up and stretched. “I have work tomorrow.”
“Me too,” the brown-haired girl stood up as well. “If we don’t leave now, I won’t be able to get up tomorrow.”
The girl with glasses and the long-haired girl also rose one after another.
Sundae was the last to stand, picking up her bag again.
“Sundae, shall we walk together?” the twin-tailed girl invited.
“Sure.”
The girls walked toward the door, talking and laughing.
As they passed Yuan Qing’s table, Sundae’s footsteps faltered for a moment. She turned her head and looked at Yuan Qing, who was looking down at a report while drinking coffee. As he looked down, his hair covered the side of his face, making it difficult to see him clearly.
But for some reason, she felt he looked a bit familiar.
“Sundae? What’s wrong?” the twin-tailed girl called out, looking back.
“Ah, it’s nothing,” Sundae withdrew her gaze. “Let’s go.”
The girls pushed the door open and vanished into the night.
—
Yuan Qing also set down his coffee cup and stood up.
Raven poked its head out from his coat. “Gone?”
“Yes.”
He walked to the counter to pay the bill. The cashier couldn’t help but steal a few glances at Yuan Qing while processing the payment. Even with Xiao’s illusion, Yuan Qing’s features still bore a strong resemblance to “Miss Raven.”
Pushing the door open, the night wind hit his face.
The flow of people on the street had thinned out considerably. The streetlamps cast a dim, yellow light overhead as Yuan Qing walked along the sidewalk.
“Hey, seriously,” Raven poked its head out from Yuan Qing’s collar, “don’t you think your relationship with Mizuho is too… cold?”
Yuan Qing walked past a streetlamp. His shadow stretched long, then gradually shortened.
“What do you mean by cold?” he asked.
Raven thought for a moment. “It’s just… the way you two talk. It’s always so… efficient. There’s never anything extra. Don’t you think it’s strange?”
“Should I have extra emotions?” Yuan Qing questioned back.
“It’s not a matter of whether you should or shouldn’t,” Raven kicked its claws inside Yuan Qing’s clothes to scratch itself. “It’s just… you two clearly look identical, yet your personalities are complete opposites. One is desperate to fly, and the other is desperate to just lie flat. And now…”
“And now what?”
“And now you’re the one flying in her place.”
The night wind blew, picking up a few fallen leaves that swirled under the streetlamps. Yuan Qing continued forward at a steady pace, his shadow trailing long behind him.
“She wanted to be one so badly. She tried so many times and was rejected so many times, yet she never gave up,” Yuan Qing’s voice was calm. “And me? I didn’t do anything, yet I became Miss Raven.”
“That’s because — “
“I know, you picked the wrong person,” Yuan Qing interrupted. “That’s why I was wondering. If you hadn’t picked the wrong person that night, and it was really her standing there, what would she have done?”
“She would have signed the contract, just like you did.”
“And then?”
“And then…” Raven thought for a moment. “Then she would have trained desperately, fought monsters desperately, and done everything to make herself stronger. She would have become the real ‘Miss Raven’ instead of just watching you shine like she is now.”
Yuan Qing nodded. “Yes, she would have.”
Raven asked in a low voice, “So you’re feeling guilty?”
“It’s not guilt. It’s just strange. Why isn’t she sad? If it were me, and something I worked my life for was easily obtained by someone else, I would definitely be sad.”
He walked past the second streetlamp. His shadow moved from behind him to his front and gradually shortened again.
Under the streetlamp, Yuan Qing looked up at the yellow glow overhead.
Raven tilted its head. “How do you know she isn’t sad? Mizuho has been used to hiding her emotions since she was a child. She smiles in front of the camera, and she smiles behind the camera. She smiles until everyone thinks she’s actually happy. But how can a person be happy all the time?”
Yuan Qing continued forward, passing the third streetlamp, the fourth, and the fifth.
The street grew quieter, with only the occasional sound of tires rolling over the road in the distance.
“You know? She asked me earlier what I thought Sundae would feel,” Raven spoke up of its own accord. “Sundae works so hard, yet she can only fight the weakest monsters. When she meets a strong one, she needs someone to save her. When she watches you hunt more than ten a day, sees everyone talking about you, and sees you standing in the spotlight… would she be sad?”
“She wouldn’t,” Yuan Qing said with certainty.
“You’re that sure?” Raven thought for a bit. “…Then again, for a type like Sundae, it’s true, she wouldn’t.”
Yuan Qing looked toward the end of the street. “Going back. Let’s run.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Qing started to run.
Raven tucked itself back inside his clothes.
Yuan Qing ran past one streetlamp after another, over and over, his shadow stretching and shortening behind him.
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