Minazuki had just arrived when she saw everyone with serious expressions, seemingly discussing something.
She asked, somewhat puzzled, “What are you all talking about?”
“Nothing much. Have you finished handling things on your end?” Hong Huang asked upon seeing Minazuki appear.
“Yes, the civilians have been safely evacuated, and we’ve contacted the hospital to treat the injured.” Minazuki nodded.
She also recognized Hong Huang’s identity and then asked, “Lady Hong Huang, did you notice anything unusual?”
Minazuki naturally understood that today’s sudden incident was no coincidence, so she inquired with the powerful Magical Girl Hong Huang to see if there were any clues.
“No.” Hong Huang glanced at Minazuki and then shook her head.
“Perhaps… it might be the work of Hui Yan.”
Lin Lu looked at Hong Huang with slight confusion.
Hui Yan?
Did she mean Changmeng?
Or some other Hui Yan she didn’t know about?
“Is that so…”
Minazuki pushed up her glasses, lost in thought.
“Alright, alright, Little Lu, you should go check on Xiaoxi. Your little sister is probably still worried about you.”
Lin Qingqing patted Lin Lu, signaling her to go accompany her sister first.
As for the mess here, specialized personnel would handle it.
Although there were some unexpected incidents during the concert, thankfully no one died, and the attack happened only after all the performances were finished.
It could still be considered a successful conclusion.
Lin Lu nodded, bid farewell to Hong Huang and the others, then dispelled her Magical Girl transformation and ran outside the venue to find Lin Xiaoxi.
After all, Hoshino Hikari and the others already knew her secret identity, so there was no harm in dispelling the transformation in front of them.
Moreover, if Lin Lu really went out looking like Chiyoyuki, she’d probably be surrounded three layers deep by fans or outside media reporters before she even found Lin Xiaoxi.
Seeing Lin Lu leave, Hong Huang asked Minazuki, “So, what about the public relations outside?”
“It’s fine. Public relations can be left to the authorities. After all, there were no fatalities, and the most serious injury was just a fracture.”
Minazuki sighed.
“Is that so… As long as you have a plan. I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first.”
“Alright.”
Hong Huang glanced at Minazuki, nodded, and then also left.
She certainly didn’t want to be entangled by the reporters and media outside.
Although she hadn’t been an idol for many years, there was no guarantee someone sharp-eyed wouldn’t recognize her.
“Then… what about us?” Hoshino Hikari and Lin Qingqing stared at each other, then both looked at Minazuki and asked.
Seeing these two looking at her like that, Minazuki twitched the corner of her mouth and said, “Go home! What else would you do?”
Then she grabbed one in each hand and flew off.
***
Stepping out of the theater’s side door, the night wind hit her face, carrying a hint of coolness.
As Lin Lu expected, there were indeed many reporters and media outside competing to cover the situation, all crowded at the main entrance waiting to interview them as they came out.
Lin Lu tightened her coat and looked around.
Outside the police cordon, Lin Lu saw Lin Xiaoxi looking anxiously toward the entrance.
Her white down jacket was stained with some dust, and a glowing sign lay crookedly on the ground by her feet.
Lin Lu walked over, her steps light, but Lin Xiaoxi still heard her.
She stopped her rush toward the theater, turned around, and upon seeing it was Lin Lu, she threw herself forward.
“Sis—!”
Lin Lu caught the lunging Lin Xiaoxi.
Xiaoxi buried her face in her shoulder and said, “You finally came out! I’ve been waiting forever.”
“Alright, alright~” She patted Xiaoxi’s back, set her down, bent over to pick up the glowing sign on the ground, and wiped off the dust.
“Do you still want this?”
Lin Xiaoxi snatched it over and hugged it to her chest.
“Of course I do! This has your signature on it!”
Lin Lu was both amused and exasperated.
Xiaoxi clearly already recognized that she was Chiyoyuki, so why was she still treasuring that thing so much?
“If you want a signature, I can sign for you privately. You can have as many as you want.”
“That won’t do! This one… is special.”
“What’s so special about it?” Lin Lu couldn’t understand Xiaoxi’s thinking, so she let her keep holding the sign.
However, she then said seriously, “Xiaoxi, about the identity issue… you have to keep it a secret for me. Don’t mention it to anyone, not even our parents, okay?”
“I know, I know! Stinky sis, keeping it from me for so long…” Lin Xiaoxi pouted with some dissatisfaction, “I’m not a kid anymore.”
Lin Lu smiled helplessly.
If it weren’t for today’s emergency revealing a flaw that let Xiaoxi recognize her, perhaps Lin Xiaoxi would never have known her Chiyoyuki identity in this lifetime.
Well, now Xiaoxi had completely stripped her bare, leaving no secrets at all.
“Sis…”
“Hmm?”
Lin Lu, holding Lin Xiaoxi’s hand, heard her call.
“Back then… why didn’t you hesitate at all and just ran straight toward me?”
Lin Xiaoxi was also curious.
Other places were clearly more critical than her location at the time, so why didn’t her sister go support those places first?
“Why so many questions?” Lin Lu reached out and flicked Lin Xiaoxi’s forehead, then smiled, “Because I’m your sister, and you’re my sister. Is that reason enough?”
“But…”
“Alright, I know what you want to say.” Lin Lu interrupted Xiaoxi and said, “Xiaoxi, you just need to know I’m your sister. That’s enough. Whenever you’re in any danger, I’ll be there to protect you first. That’s my duty.”
“Hmph!” Lin Xiaoxi snorted softly, “Sis saying that… is really unfair…”
She reached out and ruffled Lin Xiaoxi’s hair.
Lin Xiaoxi shrank her neck, displeased.
“My hair’s messed up again!”
“Messed up is messed up~ Come on! Let’s go home!”
Lin Lu took Lin Xiaoxi’s hand, and the two walked toward home.
Golden ginkgo leaves crunched underfoot, street lamps lit up one by one, stretching their shadows long and overlapping each other.
***
At this moment, Lin Lu had completely forgotten that she seemed to have left someone behind.
“Damn Shadow Beasts! I’ll kill you all one day!!”
Inside the theater ruins, Lilith pushed aside a piece of rubble above her head with force.
After choking on dust a couple of times, she finally crawled out.
“Crap… why is there no one left?”
Lilith looked around.
The theater was eerily quiet.
Forget people, there wasn’t even a rat in sight.
“Where’s Lin Lu?! Did she actually forget about me?” Lilith patted her tattered, dust-covered clothes, finding it hard to believe.
“Lin Lu! Just you wait! How dare you leave the great Lady Lilith here! I’ll make you pay when I get back!!!”
In the empty theater, Lilith’s frustrated voice echoed repeatedly as she flapped her wings and flew toward the exit.
***
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an abandoned building on the outskirts of Beijiang City.
Moonlight shone on the broken railing, stretching a person’s shadow long.
Changmeng stood at the edge of the rooftop, her silver-white hair flying in the wind as she looked at the city lights in the distance.
“Tap… tap… tap…”
Hearing footsteps approach from behind, Changmeng didn’t turn around.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
“It seems… your experiment was quite successful…”