“Mm-hmm, good night, see you tomorrow!”
Ye Xiao Chi waved vigorously at Hui Jin, and Hui Jin walked into the night along the street.
There was a park nearby.
Once she reached there, there should be no cameras.
She would cancel her transformation there and say a final farewell to her identity as Hui Jin.
“Xiao Chi.”
Xia Che, who had been silent for a long time, came to the girl’s side and said:
“I plan to go after Miss Hui Jin. You go back first.”
“Huh? Why?” Ye Xiao Chi was somewhat surprised.
“We still have a plan to execute, don’t we? You haven’t just been having fun and forgotten, have you?”
Xia Che looked at her helplessly.
The black-haired girl was stunned for two seconds, then showed a look of realization, followed by a flustered expression as she averted her gaze.
“Ahaha… how could that be…”
While she was spacing out, Xia Che had already jogged off and waved at her.
“Anyway, I’m going. Xiao Chi, wait here. Miss Sakura Blizzard will come to take you home in a bit!”
“Okay.”
Ye Xiao Chi acknowledged, watching her childhood friend’s back gradually disappear.
Then she lowered her eyes slightly, looking at the exquisite and cute Rainbow Candy Doll in her arms, which was showing her a bright smile.
Her hand couldn’t help but tighten a bit.
“Senior Hui Jin, I’m sorry…”
Hui Jin was walking along a quiet, winding park path.
She soon heard footsteps and somewhat hurried breathing from behind.
“If you’ve also come to apologize to me, the answer is no. I will not forgive you.”
Before Xia Che could speak, Hui Jin said first.
The petite girl stood in the darkness, but her dark crimson eyes lit up faintly.
Her tone was very calm.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t I say I was leaving? Why did you chase after me? Something on your mind?”
“Miss Hui Jin, why don’t you join the Task Force?”
Xia Che asked bluntly.
Hui Jin was silent for a moment, then spread her hands and said:
“Aren’t you supposed to know that clearly? Because I don’t want to reveal my identity.”
Xia Che shook his head and said with conviction:
“No, that’s not it. That’s just a surface reason. Miss Hui Jin, there must be another reason why you don’t want to join the Task Force, right?”
“…So what if there is?”
Hui Jin turned around, no longer looking at him, and walked forward step by step.
“We’ve only known each other for less than a week. We’re just partners. It’s not like we’re close enough for me to tell you a secret like that, is it?”
Xia Che followed, hesitated for a moment, and said:
“I understand. Asking such a question suddenly is very rude, and I have no intention of prying into your identity… But I hope Miss Hui Jin can understand my stance, so that I can make a decision.”
“Decision? What decision?”
Hui Jin stopped walking.
Xia Che took a deep breath and said:
“…About whether to persuade you to join the Task Force.”
In the darkness, he seemed to hear a faint sneer from up ahead.
“The Task Force came to you?”
Xia Che could vaguely see Hui Jin turning her head, but couldn’t make out her expression.
“And you agreed to them? You’re really playing both sides, aren’t you, Partner?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Xia Che shook his head.
“The reason I agreed to them is because if I don’t act, the Task Force will act… They’ve already locked onto you. Once I fail, they will take action.”
He said sincerely:
“So I hope Miss Hui Jin can tell me the real reason you don’t want to join the Task Force. If it’s some special reason, even if the Task Force comes knocking, they can’t force you to join.”
“…….”
A long silence, then the girl let out a sigh.
She slowly spoke, but her tone was resolute.
“I don’t need it. Even if they come to me, what does that have to do with you?”
Xia Che smiled slightly.
“Just as Miss Hui Jin said, we’re partners. Since we’re partners, we can’t ignore a partner’s difficulties, right?”
“You say that so sweetly…”
Xia Che thought that if he could see her expression, the girl would probably be rolling her eyes at him right now.
“Sorry, but you don’t need to worry. I’ll handle the Task Force matters. You can go back.”
Hui Jin’s reply was still cold.
“…It’s late at night. Is it really okay to leave Ye Xiao Chi alone? Shouldn’t you, as her boyfriend, be with her?”
Xia Che said helplessly:
“I’ve told you, Xiao Chi and I are not in that kind of relationship. Besides, I asked Miss Sakura Blizzard to take care of her.”
“Sakura Blizzard? Ah… the magical girl from the Task Force, right? That’s it. If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be going now.”
Xia Che noticed a deep red flash in the darkness, a trace of magical power leaking into the air.
If he didn’t say something soon, the girl would really leave.
He called out loudly:
“Hui Jin, are you going to run away?”
Hui Jin’s magical energy circulation paused for a moment.
She frowned slightly.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
But Xia Che knew he was on the right track, so he continued:
“You’re going to leave Xiao Chi… are you going to abandon Xiao Chi?!”
Whoosh!
A sharp sound of cutting air rang out.
Xia Che felt his chest tighten.
Hui Jin had already appeared in front of him, her hand tightly gripping his collar.
“—Shut up!” the girl shouted.
At such close distance, Xia Che could hear the slight tremor in Hui Jin’s words and feel the disorder in her breathing.
‘Just as I thought…’
—Xia Che knew he had guessed correctly.
The reason he had chased after her was because, while following behind the two earlier, he had been observing Hui Jin’s expression.
Reluctance, hesitation, and then finally seeming to suddenly let out a sigh of relief…
That expression — he had seen it on his own father’s face.
That man, in order to buy precious time for his wife and child to escape, calmly said goodbye to the still-young Xia Che.
Before the farewell, his father had shown an expression very similar to Hui Jin’s:
Not wanting to show a shameful side in front of a child, in front of a junior, choosing to use composure and a smile as a disguise.
His father died, crushed into a pulp.
What about Hui Jin?
Xia Che remembered Sakura Blizzard saying to him, “That magical girl named Hui Jin looks like she’s about to die.”
And the second half of that sentence was, “Could it be that she’s about to witch out?”
Witch out.
When a magical girl’s Deviation Value reaches 100%, her Soul Gem becomes completely corrupted, turning her into a monster more terrifying than a Freak, and the culprit that caused the Great Catastrophe: a kin of the [Shadows].
He also remembered when he had just arrived at the alley entrance, the unreserved killing intent in Hui Jin’s eyes.
And during the claw machine game, the occasional weirdness she showed…
Everything started after Hui Jin suddenly spaced out at the dinner table and left the barbecue restaurant.
What exactly did she see at that time? Xia Che didn’t know.
But what he could be certain of was that this seemingly mature magical girl had definitely encountered some problem she couldn’t solve on her own.
Because she didn’t want to involve Ye Xiao Chi, she planned to distance herself from her and disappear completely.
Just like his father.
Xia Che’s concern for Hui Jin — the part about “cannot ignore a partner’s difficulties” accounted for only a small portion.
His real reason was that he didn’t want to stand by helplessly and watch someone get hurt in front of him, even if she was hurting herself.
Moreover, Xiao Chi really liked Hui Jin, so he couldn’t let Hui Jin face all this alone.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.