Today, Ye Qianqiu insisted on driving his daughter to school, despite her strong objections.
Inside the smoothly running car, he looked at Ye Xiao Chi, who was reclining in the back seat with her eyes closed, through the rearview mirror, mentally organizing his words.
He hadn’t managed to ask during the meal earlier.
Now was his last chance.
Ye Qianqiu gave a light cough and saw the girl’s eyes open to a tiny slit.
She had clearly noticed his gaze too and pouted, saying:
“What?”
Ye Qianqiu withdrew his gaze, somewhat distractedly watching the traffic lights on the road, and asked in a tone as casual, relaxed, and leisurely as if asking “Have you eaten?”:
“Are you in a relationship?”
The air in the car suddenly went quiet.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ye Qianqiu noticed Xiao Chi’s expression shift from bored to blank, then her clear red eyes gradually widened, her expression changing from blank to shocked.
“Have you lost your mind?” she blurted out.
This sentence didn’t carry the girl’s usual sarcasm; she genuinely felt something was off, very off, about her father today!
From burning his signature fried eggs into leather shoes this morning and, for the first time in a century, apologizing to her, to stubbornly insisting on driving her to school and then suddenly asking her in the car if she was dating.
Every action was out of character for this middle-aged, somewhat disheveled yet handsome uncle!
This was too strangeโฆ
So the girl asked from the bottom of her heart, but to the old father’s ears, it sounded like a defensive reaction from a daughter whose sore spot had been poked.
He unconsciously rubbed the steering wheel with his fingers.
Could it be Xiao Chi really was dating?
โฆAsking as Ye Qianqiu, it seems I really can’t get an answer.
The man leaned his head back on the headrest, thinking involuntarily.
If it were Hui Jin asking, would Xiao Chi’s reaction be different?
“You’re late.”
The petite, gray-haired girl crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at the two figures climbing up the stairs one after the other from beneath the moss- and graffiti-covered steps, and spoke plainly.
Ye Xiao Chi clasped her hands together:
“Sorry, sorry! The teacher ran a bit late at lunch, and we also spent some time finding the entrance to this unfinished building!”
Hui Jin was about to say it was fine when she suddenly remembered something.
Her dark red eyes swept over the two of them in turn:
“Youโฆ don’t have class this afternoon?”
“Ahahaโฆ” Ye Xiao Chi guiltily averted her gaze.
Xia Che, however, answered with a straight face:
“The classes this afternoon aren’t very important. It’s fine even if we skip them.”
“So you’re playing hooky?”
Hui Jin’s gaze suddenly turned dangerous.
“You’re students. Even if the classes aren’t important, you can’t just skip school, right?”
Hui Jin said this while staring directly at Ye Xiao Chi, making the girl’s spine tingle, feeling as if her neck might be twisted off the next second.
She stammered, “Well, thisโฆ how should I put itโฆ”
Xia Che hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over:
“Don’t worry, Miss Hui Jin, it’s just one afternoon. It won’t affect our studies. As for the school, I’m ranked first in my grade, and she’s second. As long as we tell the teacher what we’re doing, the teachers usually don’t mind.”
“Oh?” Hui Jin raised an eyebrow. “What was your reason for requesting leave?”
“Is the reason important?”
Xia Che gave Hui Jin a smile that could be called a “wallfacer’s smile”:
“Anyway, we got permission. Alright, let’s get started! The afternoon isn’t that long either. We need to train Feizuan to a level where she can pass the assessment.”
Hui Jin looked suspiciously at Xia Che’s handsome face, feeling like this guy was definitely up to somethingโฆ
“Fine. Don’t do this again.”
Hui Jin withdrew her gaze, placing her hands behind her back like a little drill instructor:
“From now on, schedule meetings with me for weekends or weekday evenings. If it’s extremely urgent, noon might be okay too.”
“Could it be Miss Hui Jin is an office worker?”
Xia Che suddenly asked.
Hui Jin’s petite body stiffened slightly.
She glared at Xia Che and said:
“Don’t probe into my identity!”
Xia Che immediately raised his hands in surrender with a grin.
Hui Jin says you can’t ask? You’ll ask even if it kills you!
“Let me say this upfront. You also know my ability panel is the weakest among active magical girls, so there isn’t much I can teach you regarding magic.”
Hui Jin resumed her usual indifferent expression, looking at Ye Xiao Chi:
“What I can teach you is only the common sense of being a magical girl, and the most crucial thing in combatโcombat experience.”
“First, transform into Feizuan. This is a lesson for magical girls.”
“Okay!”
Ye Xiao Chi looked serious, grabbing the ruby pendant hanging on her chest.
A surge of bright red flames rose, instantly enveloping her and crystallizing into beautiful, clear red crystal.
After a crisp shattering sound, the magical girl Feizuan made her dazzling debut!
After transforming, Feizuan spun around exaggeratedly on the spot, then stood with her feet apart, one hand on her hip, the other forming a peace sign held horizontally in front of her eyes:
“Ciallo(โ ใปฯ< )โโ!”
“?”
This smooth little combo left Hui Jin dumbfounded:
“What is this?”
Feizuan proudly puffed out her considerable chest, looking smug:
“Don’t all famous magical girls have signature poses? As someone destined to become a great magical girl in the future, how can I not have a cute and memorable entrance moveโฆ
“So I thought hard about it all night~ How is it? Not bad, right?”
Hui Jin was silent for two seconds.
What she wanted to say turned into a sigh:
“Sighโฆ Let’s start the lesson. Firstโฆ”
“Ignored!?”
“Teacher Hui Jin, what about me? What should I do since I’m not a magical girl?”
Xia Che suddenly raised his hand to ask.
“You stay put over there and be quiet!”
Hui Jin couldn’t help but hold her forehead.
Were these two deliberately here to give her trouble?
She suppressed her somewhat fluctuating emotions, crossed her arms, and looked at Feizuan, saying:
“First, the basics. As a hero, you should know heroes are rated from E, D, C, B, A, S, to Ex. Each rating is a comprehensive assessment of the hero’s personal abilities and contributions.
“Similarly, monsters and kaiju also have corresponding seven ratings. Generally, heroes of the same rating are slightly stronger than kaiju and about equal to monsters.”
Hui Jin raised a finger, her voice soft but cool:
“So the first lesson you must learn as a hero isโฆ don’t try to be a hero and fight an enemy two or more ratings above you.”
Perhaps feeling this wasn’t warning enough, she added expressionlessly:
“Because that is certain death.”
Feizuan’s smile faded, replaced by seriousness as she asked:
“But what if a monster much stronger than me wants to hurt ordinary people? Should I just let them be and run away myself?”
Hui Jin nodded: “Exactly.”
Feizuan’s eyes widened, her tone involuntarily rising:
“But how can a hero flee from battle!”
“Magical girls can create miracles, right? Like in those videos with hundreds of millions of views!”
Hui Jin looked into her bright red eyes and calmly retorted:
“Then if you, as a hero, are easily killed by the monster, who will be left to protect the ordinary people? In such a situation, immediately retreating to seek help from other heroes is the best choice.”
Seeing Feizuan still looked unconvinced, she raised both hands to give an example:
“Suppose there are ten trapped victims. If you retreat and return with other heroes to rescue them, defeating the monster as quickly as possible, perhaps only one or two might be casualties”.
“But if you try to be a hero and fight an unbeatable monster like an idiot, then it’s highly likely all ten people will die because of your foolishness.”
Hui Jin clenched her hands into fists.
To place them in front of Feizuan’s eyes, she had to raise her arms a bit:
“It’s true, there are historical examples of awakening in desperate situations and defeating enemies thought impossible to beatโฆ”
Xia Che, standing to the side, noticed the girl’s hands were trembling slightly.
“But miracles come at a cost, and the probability is extremely small. How can you be sure you are the one to create that miracle?”
“What if you’re not?”
Hui Jin lowered her hands, staring intently at the agitated Feizuan, enunciating each word:
“Can you take responsibility for the people who died because of you, hero?”
These words seemed to hit a sore spot.
Feizuan’s slender body swayed, and she slowly lowered her head:
“Iโฆ”
The gray-haired girl stood on her tiptoes and whispered into the ear of this new magical girl, full of aspirations for her heroic career:
“Don’t die meaninglessly, Feizuan. Live meaningfully.”
“Take responsibility for your own life, and for the lives of those you want to save.”
“โฆโฆ”
After saying this, Hui Jin stepped back, intending to give Feizuan some time to digest it herself.
Her words were a bit harsh, but they were necessary.
The path of a hero is destined to be rugged.
How many aspiring new heroes fall in their debut battle?
How many popular heroes die fighting to protect others?
If she couldn’t understand this reasoning, then Hui Jin would rather expose her identity than let her daughter continue being a magical girl, because that would be seeking her own death.
Kill the monster, or be killed by the monster.
That is the brutal reality.
Xia Che listened to this heavy first lesson from the side.
Watching the shaken Feizuan, he wanted to step forward to comfort her, to tell her it’s okay to take it slow, that he was by her sideโฆ
But the moment he took a step, Hui Jin extended a hand to block him.
She stared at Xia Che, her eyes seeming to say, “You can’t help her.”
In that moment, Xia Che suddenly realized he was no longer the person that girl could rely on.
The girl had become a hero, and he was just an ordinary person.
He had known this before, but only now did he feel it so clearly.
Yes, Ye Xiao Chi could no longer rely on him, because a hero can only rely on themselves.
Xia Che clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white.
“Haaโฆ”
After a long while, Feizuan finally snapped out of her silence, softly exhaled, and then raised her head.
The girl’s eyes were so bright, her hair as vivid as flame, as if the earlier wavering had never existed.
“Made up your mind?” Hui Jin smiled at her.
“Mhm!”
Feizuan nodded vigorously, placing her clenched fist over the gem on her chest:
“I’ll cherish this life properly. After all, it’sโฆ the last thing Mom left for meโฆ”
Hui Jin was stunned for a moment.
Her icy gaze, as if colliding with a warm current, softened considerably:
“Xiao Chiโฆ”
“But!”
The girl pointed at Hui Jin with her index finger, her tone firm and cheerful, both like a declaration of war and like act coquettishly to a senior:
“I don’t agree with Senior Hui Jin’s view! I believe there’s always a better way to save everyone!”
“I’ll work hard to get stronger, and then find that method myself!”
After saying this, she maintained her pose, but the scene fell into silence.
So she added in a small voice:
“Giveโฆ give some reaction! I finally mustered the courage to say something so coolโฆ”
“Are you an idiot?” Hui Jin said with a helpless smile.
“She’s an idiot,” Xia Che chimed in.
“Huh!?? Am I stupid? Was what I just said not cool at all?!”
The girl looked utterly defeated, more dejected than before.
Hui Jin walked forward, stood on tiptoe, and patted Feizuan’s head, saying gently:
“So, you’ve made your resolve?”
“Mhm!”
Feizuan lifted her head again, her red eyes sparkling.
“Even if it will be difficult, and you’ll suffer a lot?”
“Of course! But nothing can stump this young lady, hmph!”
Feizuan lifted her chin, like a proud little cat.
“In that caseโฆ”
Hui Jin retracted her gentle smile, the corner of her mouth curling into a cold smirk:
“Don’t beg for mercy too quickly when I start beating you up later, okay? Otherwise, I’ll be very disappointed.”
“Huh?”
Feizuan froze abruptly, lowering her head with difficulty like a stiff puppet.
“Wh-what do you mean, Senior Hui Jin beating me up or somethingโฆ”
Hui Jin flicked her small hand, and the broken sword appeared in her grasp.
She walked straight towards Feizuan:
“Isn’t it easy to understand”?
After all, practical combat is the best teacher!
This is the path you chose yourself.
Even if you have to cry, you must walk it to the end, right?
Future great magical girl miss~
“โHui Jin, engaging the enemy!”
“What?! Wait, wait a second! I’m not ready yet!”
“Will the enemy give you time to prepare? Have at you!”
“Wahhhhh, where’s my wand? I can’t find itโGwaa!!!”
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