What a terrifying man!
How dare he try to force her hand like that?
She almost fell for it!
Ashes stumbled into the fire escape, her face flushed bright red, heart pounding.
‘This body’s reaction is way too exaggerated. And using it for so long… I’m actually starting to get used to it.’
‘Is it scary? Yes, very much so!’
‘And saying he could definitely help me? What arrogance, that brat!’
After making sure there were no cameras nearby, Ashes immediately transformed back into that unkempt, scrawny middle-aged man.
He felt the magic slowly draining from his body, a heavy wave of fatigue washing over him, along with an aching lower back and stiff neck.
Ye Qianqiu placed a hand over his chest.
His heartbeat had gradually returned to normal.
He touched his rough, stubbled cheek.
The temperature was normal.
‘So it really was a problem with the body…’
‘But it doesn’t matter. That problem has been solved now.’
He climbed several more floors before leaving the fire escape, exiting the building, and heading toward his own apartment block.
From today onward, the magical girl Ashes would cease to exist.
He only needed to focus on investigating the livestream incident.
He took the elevator.
When he reached his floor and stepped out, he saw two people emerging from the other elevator.
Two young girls.
One was Ye Xiao Chi.
The other had long, pink-and-white hair and wore a dress that looked like a mix between a Lolita outfit and a Japanese miko’s robe.
They seemed to be in the middle of a lively conversation.
“I checked—this serial number can sell for 120,000 on Xianyu!”
“Really? Let me see, let me see…”
Ye Xiao Chi turned her head and happened to catch sight of the middle-aged man stepping out of the elevator.
The smile on her lips vanished instantly, her words dying in her throat as she quickly averted her gaze.
Sakura Blizzard noticed Ye Xiao Chi’s change in expression and looked over at him as well.
She blinked her cherry-pink eyes, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the two.
Then she wore a knowing expression and pointed at Ye Qianqiu.
“Your dad?”
“Yeah.”
Ye Xiao Chi turned her entire body away.
“I’m heading back. Thank you for seeing me here, Senpai Sakura Blizzard. Goodbye.”
With that, she walked into the hallway.
Soon came the sound of an electronic lock clicking, followed by the heavy thud of a door closing, echoing through the corridor.
The two—one adult, one child—stared at each other for a moment.
Ye Qianqiu forced the corners of his mouth upward, barely managing a smile that didn’t even look like one.
“…You’re Xiao Chi’s friend?”
“Mm-hmm, hello, Uncle! Nice to meet you—I’m Sakura Blizzard. Ye Xiao Chi’s classmate.”
After introducing herself, the girl cupped her hand by her mouth as if to whisper.
“…Uncle, it doesn’t seem like you and Xiao Chi get along very well?”
Ye Qianqiu nodded indifferently.
“Yeah. My fault.”
“Ehh~ is that so…”
Sakura Blizzard’s eyes flickered.
Suddenly, she spread her palm in front of her chest.
A pink ball of magical energy burst forth from her hand, and within a few breaths, it transformed into a lively but translucent little fox.
The fox let out a big yawn, then curled its tail and dozed off in the girl’s palm.
The sudden appearance of such a thing naturally caught Ye Qianqiu’s attention.
But he quickly realized something was off and snapped his gaze toward Sakura Blizzard, meeting the girl’s mischievous eyes.
“Hmm~? Uncle, you wouldn’t happen to be able to see it, would you?”
The girl smiled slyly, like a fox who had gotten away with a trick.
A flicker of bewilderment passed through Ye Qianqiu’s eyes, then he shook his head expressionlessly.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. You just suddenly raised your hand—I thought you were going to show me something.”
“I see… Okay then!”
Sakura Blizzard withdrew her hand and stepped into the elevator.
“Then I won’t bother you anymore, Uncle. See you~!”
“Mm. Take care.”
The girl in the elevator waved at Ye Qianqiu, and the doors closed completely.
Ye Qianqiu watched the floor number drop from 13 to 1 before finally letting out a breath.
He unlocked the door and went home.
The house was silent.
Ye Xiao Chi’s bedroom door was tightly shut.
He quickly washed up, then dragged his exhausted body onto the empty double bed.
‘Has the Special Operations Bureau already traced me here…’
Ye Qianqiu covered his eyes with his arm, plunging his vision into complete darkness.
An Wan’s illusion.
The resurgence of PTSD.
Uncontrollable emotions…
Every event of the day replayed in front of his eyes like a slideshow.
Finally, it stopped at the park.
The cold moonlight spilled over the boy’s handsome face, his determined gaze, and the words he spoke…
As if branded into his brain, they lingered, impossible to shake off.
‘Stop thinking about it.’
Ye Qianqiu said to himself, ‘No one can help you. No one can save you. This is your fate.’
‘Ashes no longer exists. You’re Ye Qianqiu now.’
‘Just an ordinary office worker. One day, you’ll finally crack under the pressure of reality and kill yourself.’
He repeated that thought over and over, until drowsiness crept in and he sank into a deep sleep.
“Hey, did you guys watch the final episode of Magical Girl ZZZ last night?”
Magical Girl Xiao Meng gave it her all but still couldn’t defeat the monster.
She could only watch helplessly as the monster’s claws reached for her best friend.
But right at that critical moment, the male lead’s kiss gave Xiao Meng power!
“Xiao Meng awakened her Ascended Form and defeated the monster in one blow. From then on, peace was restored to the world!”
During the big break between classes, Lu Lulu pulled up a chair and sat beside Ye Xiao Chi’s desk, chattering nonstop.
The girl had a high ponytail, her school uniform tied around her waist, and she wore a pair of blue contact lenses.
Star-shaped stickers were stuck at the corners of her eyes—a proper gyaru look.
Hugging her phone, she rubbed her cheek against a still of the male lead.
“Ahh, that’s so nice… If I could get a kiss from Ning Meng, I’d even be willing to become Magical Girl Xiao Meng!”
“I think you already are a magical girl, Lu Lu—the dreaming kind!”
Ye Xiao Chi mercilessly teased.
“Mmph, what!”
Lu Lu puffed out her cheeks like a little hamster, then appealed for help to Xia Che, who was sitting in the front row with headphones on, reading a book.
“Xia Che! Xia Che! Tell your Xiao Chi to stop picking on me!”
Xia Che took off his headphones and shrugged, showing he could do nothing.
“I can’t control her. I’m the one she bullies.”
Lu Lu covered her mouth, looking like she had just shipped something.
“Oh my god… So that’s how your domestic dynamic works?! Then when you two do it, don’t you… aah, aah…!”
“I already told you, Xiao Chi and I aren’t in that kind of relationship.”
Xia Che turned around helplessly and looked at Xiao Chi.
“Xiao Chi, why don’t you say something to your best friend…”
But his childhood friend was just lowering her head, biting her lip, her face bright red.
Only when Xia Che called her did she snap out of it, stammering.
“Th-that’s right! Lu Lu, what are you saying… Me and Xia Che? We’re n-not in that kind of relationship at all! Hehe…”
Xia Che held his forehead and sighed.
But Lu Lu’s excitement only grew.
She pulled her chair closer to Xia Che, elbowed him in the ribs, and whispered.
“Hey, Xia Che, what would you do if Xiao Chi ever ended up in a situation like in Magical Girl ZZZ? Would you kiss her or not?”
Xia Che wasn’t interested in such hypotheticals.
He reopened his book, his eyes scanning the lines of text.
“For that to happen, Xiao Chi would have to be a magical girl first, right?”
Even though Xiao Chi wanted the whole world to know she was a magical girl, Xia Che had insisted she keep it a secret to protect her.
The girl had complained to him about it for a long time.
“Oh, just suppose, okay? Suppose Xiao Chi is a magical girl. Would you kiss her or not? Only Yes or No allowed! Answer fast!”
Xia Che just wanted to end this topic as quickly as possible, so he answered casually.
“No.”