Ye Ning sat on the sofa, her hands stiffly placed on her knees, her fingertips tightly clutching the hem of her clothes.
Xu Zhihe sat in her wheelchair opposite her, not speaking, just gazing calmly at her.
The gaze wasn’t sharp; it was a slow, unhurried appraisal, as if trying to see right through her, inside and out.
Seeming to see through her unease, Xu Zhihe finally slowly withdrew her gaze.
Her tone was still flat, but it had lost some of its usual distance, gaining a trace of imperceptible softness.
She reached out and picked up the stick of sugar-coated hawthorn fruit placed beside the tea table—the bright red hawthorn berries coated in crystal-clear sugar glaze, still perfectly intact.
She had saved it on purpose.
She gently offered the treat to Ye Ning.
Her fingertips inadvertently brushed the back of Ye Ning’s hand, bringing a slightly cool sensation.
She said softly, “Please, eat it. No need to worry about your identity being exposed now.”
Ye Ning sniffled, reached out to take the sugar-coated hawthorn, grabbed it, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Things have come to this point. Might as well eat first.
Only after Ye Ning had devoured half the stick, her mouth corners smeared with sugar crumbs, and gradually slowed her chewing, did Xu Zhihe slowly speak.
“So, Lark Sister didn’t die, right?”
“Mmph…”
Ye Ning’s mouth was still full of unchewed hawthorn, her cheeks puffed out.
Hearing this, she buried her head even lower.
The embarrassment of having her identity exposed, coupled with the helplessness of being unable to speak her secret, made her respond only with silence. Her throat felt choked up.
Xu Zhihe maneuvered her wheelchair, slowly approaching the sofa.
She reached out and gently patted Ye Ning’s head.
Her fingertips were gentle, without any force.
“Lark Sister must have her own difficulties. I won’t force you to say anything. Just knowing Lark Sister is still alive makes me very happy.”
She leaned forward slightly and gently extended her arms, hugging Ye Ning.
“Welcome back, Lark Sister.”
Xu Zhihe’s embrace was light, carrying a trace of warm body heat and a faint scent of pastries.
“When I heard the news about Lark Sister’s accident, I was very sad, and also very scared.”
Her voice was very soft, carrying a hint of suppressed grievance, like emotions that had been pent up for a long time finally finding an outlet.
“I asked many people, but Sister kept avoiding me, refusing to tell me what really happened. I thought… I’d never see you again.”
Held in her embrace, Ye Ning’s body gradually relaxed, but her eyes grew redder and redder.
Her nose tingled, and she almost cried.
An S-Rank Magical Girl falling and becoming a Witch—this was the Magical Girl Association’s highest-level secret.
It concerned the entire Association’s reputation and also her own life.
Even to Xu Zhihe, she couldn’t say it.
She couldn’t drag her into this dangerous conflict.
Ye Ning took a deep breath.
“Lark is in the past. Those bad things, I don’t want to mention them anymore, nor do I want to remember them. Now, I’m just Ye Ning, an ordinary high school student, not the S-Rank Magical Girl Lark.”
“So, I hope… from now on, you can call me Classmate Ye Ning, or Sister Ye Ning. Please don’t call me Lark anymore, okay?”
By the end, her tone was full of pleading.
Her eyes were fixed tightly on Xu Zhihe, afraid of getting a negative answer.
“And, Xiao He, I beg you, you must keep this secret for me. Don’t tell anyone that I’m still alive, especially anyone from the Magical Girl Association. Please.”
Looking at Ye Ning’s earnest and anxious appearance, the tenderness in Xu Zhihe’s eyes deepened a little more.
She remained silent for a moment, not answering immediately, just quietly looking at Ye Ning as if pondering something.
The living room fell into brief silence again.
After a while, she nodded gently.
Her tone was still flat but carried a trace of undeniable certainty.
“Alright, Classmate Ye Ning.”
This was the first time she had called her Classmate Ye Ning.
The tone was natural, without any hint of affectation, as if she had long been accustomed to addressing her that way.
“I won’t press you about what exactly happened,” Xu Zhihe continued, her gaze calm and sincere.
“Everyone has their own secrets, a past they don’t want to bring up. I respect your thoughts and your choices.”
Her tone was very matter-of-fact, yet it exuded a reassuring strength that allowed Ye Ning’s hanging heart to settle down slightly.
Just as Ye Ning breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the matter was over, Xu Zhihe suddenly leaned forward slightly, approaching her ear.
Her voice was very low, her tone suppressing an extremely faint trace of amusement.
That amusement was light, fleeting, but enough to make Ye Ning’s heart tighten.
“However… if you don’t want me to spill the secret, Classmate Ye Ning, you’ll have to pay me some compensation~”
“Co-compensation?”
Ye Ning was instantly stunned, her eyes wide and round.
She subconsciously covered her chest and shrank back slightly.
“Wh-what kind of compensation?”
The amusement in Xu Zhihe’s eyes deepened a little more, but she still didn’t show it too obviously.
She just reached out, her fingertips lightly tracing Ye Ning’s cheek.
The movement was gentle, carrying a slightly cool touch.
Her tone remained flat but held a trace of barely perceptible teasing.
“Classmate Ye Ning is working so hard to hide her identity. She definitely doesn’t want to be discovered by others, right?”
She paused, her fingertip stopping at the corner of Ye Ning’s mouth, gently wiping away the sugar crumb there.
The temperature of her fingertip transmitted through the skin, making Ye Ning’s body tremble slightly.
Xu Zhihe’s voice was still very soft, but carried a hint of veiled reminder.
“So, Classmate Ye Ning, you also don’t want your identity to be exposed by Sister and the others, right?”
Watching Ye Ning’s panicked, flustered appearance, Xu Zhihe gently withdrew her hand.
Her tone returned to its usual flatness, but the amusement in her eyes still hadn’t faded.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. As long as Classmate Ye Ning pays the compensation properly.”
—
The night grew deeper. Moonlight from outside the window filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting faint light and shadow in the room, gentle and quiet.
Ye Ning, freshly washed and clean, wearing the loose home clothes lent to her by Xu Zhihe, looked especially cute.
The oversized clothes hung on her frame.
Her fair, tender skin showed a faint blush.
Like a soft little rabbit, she dawdled her way onto the bed.
After hesitating for a moment, she quietly took out her phone and dialed Hua Niao’s number.
Ye Ning’s tone was soft and fuzzy, trying to muddle through.
“Um, hey, Hua Niao, sorry, I won’t be coming back today!”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller as she carefully explained.
“It’s just… Xiao He is too lonely home alone, and her sister isn’t home. I’ll keep her company for one night and go back first thing tomorrow morning, okay? Ah, never mind, never mind, I’m hanging up now… What do you mean the punishment will be increased?! Hey! Don’t hang up!”
The receiver only had the “beep beep beep” of the dial tone left.
Ye Ning held the phone, collapsed on the bed, wanting to cry but having no tears.
The bedroom door was gently pushed open.
Xu Zhihe, sitting in her wheelchair, slowly entered.
The automation level in this home was very high.
Doors, windows, lights, and curtains were all smart-controlled.
The bathroom also had specially designed assistive facilities for her.
So, Xu Zhihe could easily handle bathing and washing up by herself without troubling anyone.
She wore a set of light-colored home clothes.
Her hair was damp, still carrying a faint mist of water vapor, the ends dripping.
Her cheeks, fresh from the bath, had a faint blush.
Shedding her usual aloofness and distance, she seemed softer, more approachable, looking especially gentle.
Xu Zhihe maneuvered her wheelchair slowly to the bedside.
She skillfully pressed the button by the bed, raising the assistive handrails.
She carefully climbed onto the bed, her movements deft but unhurried, then gently lay down beside Ye Ning.
The faint scent of her body wash lingered around Ye Ning’s nose.
Feeling the warm presence beside her, Ye Ning instinctively shifted towards the edge of the bed.
But she had only moved a tiny bit when she was gently embraced by a warm body.
Xu Zhihe extended her arm, tightly hugging her waist, pulling her whole person into her embrace.
The strength wasn’t too heavy, but it was enough to prevent her from breaking free.
“Wah!”
Ye Ning cried out in fright, her body instantly tensing.
“Quiet, Classmate Ye Ning.”
Xu Zhihe rested her chin on Ye Ning’s shoulder.
She let out a soft chuckle by her ear.
The sound was light, carrying a trace of warm breath.
A tingling sensation spread from her earlobe throughout her body.
Ye Ning didn’t dare move.
This kid… how is she so well-developed already?
You really can’t judge by appearances.
Right then, Xu Zhihe spoke again softly by her ear.
Her voice was soft and fuzzy, carrying a hint of a coquettish tone, completely unlike her usual aloofness.
The tingling breath brushed her earlobe, making Ye Ning’s body tremble again.
“Sister Ye Ning~”
This “Sister Ye Ning” was called out softly and sweetly, with a touch of dependence.
Ye Ning felt her head go dizzy.
“Sister Ye Ning really lives with Classmate Hua Niao?”
Ye Ning was caught off guard by the question and answered instinctively.
“Huh? Yeah… we’ve lived together for a long time.”
After saying it, she reacted and asked curiously, “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
“It’s nothing.”
Xu Zhihe gently shook her head.
Her tone was still flat, offering no further explanation.
She just hugged Ye Ning a little tighter, her cheek pressed against her back, feeling her warm body heat.
Her voice was light.
“Just asking casually. I think you two have a good relationship.”
After a moment of silence, Xu Zhihe spoke again.
“So, Sister Ye Ning, do you like Classmate Hua Niao?”
“Li-li-li-like?”
Ye Ning was instantly dumbfounded by the question.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she struggled violently but was held even tighter by Xu Zhihe, unable to break free at all.
She shook her head frantically, her hair flying.
Her tone was flustered and incoherent, her face flushed bright red.
“N-no! I don’t! Classmate Hua Niao is the worst! I don’t like her at all! Not one bit!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she subconsciously added, her voice growing smaller and smaller, carrying a trace of awkwardness and insincerity she herself hadn’t noticed.
“Although… although she’s very beautiful, and she cares about me a lot, and… and she’s helped me many times… Wah wah wah wah what am I saying?! Anyway! Classmate Hua Niao is the worst!”
“I see… so that’s how it is.”
Xu Zhihe seemed to understand something.
In the darkness, Ye Ning couldn’t see her eyes, only hearing the girl’s murmur.
“If that’s the case… that’s fine too.”