The sky was covered in dark clouds, and a light rain fell outside the classroom window.
The world outside was gloomy, but the classroom was warm and lively.
Whenever it was like this, Xia Che felt a sense of security.
This was a Chinese class.
The elderly teacher on the podium was talking about his romantic experiences when he was young.
Across the aisle, Lulu was admiring her manicure, while behind her, Xiao Chi had her head buried in a propped-up book, fast asleep.
Everything seemed just like usual, as if Embers had never existed.
Xia Che’s eyes fell on the phone screen beside his textbook.
The messages he sent to Embers had vanished without a trace, and when he called, the system said the number was turned off.
—The magical girl Embers had been gone for two weeks.
In the first few days, he and Ye Xiao Chi tried every method to contact Embers, but all failed without exception.
Even when they asked the Special Task Force, the director said she couldn’t be tracked, as if she had “vanished from the face of the earth.”
Xia Che clenched his fist slightly.
For some reason, he felt uneasy.
Maybe it was because of Embers’s disappearance, or because the investigation into the livestream had stalled.
Everything was at a deadlock.
Buzz, buzz!
His phone vibrated.
He picked it up immediately.
The message was from Sakura Blizzard.
The message box only had one line:
[The Special Task Force is about to take action~]
…
The rain was getting heavier.
Ye Qianqiu sat at his workstation, staring blankly at the computer screen.
His last transformation into Embers felt like a long time ago.
The life that truly belonged to Ye Qianqiu was ordinary and boring—no, it should be described as “terrible.”
—He had argued with Ye Xiao Chi.
Ye Qianqiu looked at the phone message box.
It was a message from Ye Xiao Chi sent yesterday at noon:
[There’s going to be a strong wind tonight. Remember to close the windows when you get back.]
He replied:
[Okay.]
But he broke his promise.
Yesterday, the higher-ups suddenly assigned a lot of tasks.
He worked overtime until past nine, completely forgetting about what he promised his daughter at noon.
As a result, when he got home, he saw the living room window wide open.
The strong wind blew through the screen, lifted the curtains, and left the room in a mess.
On the cabinet nearby, many figurines had been knocked to the floor, including the Candy doll Embers had given to Ye Xiao Chi.
The doll lay quietly on the ground.
It had gone from Candy to Candy, the neck completely broken, the head separated from the body.
“Didn’t I tell you to close the window?!”
Ye Xiao Chi held the remains of the doll and glared at him.
“I worked very late tonight.”
Ye Qianqiu, who had worked a twelve-hour shift, sat down at the dining table and explained tiredly.
“How much was it? I’ll pay you, or I can pull another one for you later.”
After all, this doll was a gift from Embers.
He thought that if Xiao Chi liked it, he could just get another one for her.
But Xiao Chi looked even angrier. Her hands trembled.
“Is this about money?! You don’t understand anything at all! This… this was a gift from my best friend!”
She looked up.
Crimson eyes were filled with tears.
Ye Qianqiu stared blankly at his daughter.
He hadn’t expected Ye Xiao Chi to value this doll so much.
Because of Embers…
The man looked at his own bony hands.
They were completely different from Embers’s.
Her hands were soft, delicate, and fair.
The doll from her “best friend” was broken by her “worst father”…?
It was only natural for his daughter to resent him.
But he couldn’t quite understand why, after only one week together, Ye Xiao Chi had come to see Embers as her best friend, while Ye Qianqiu had spent seven years making himself the person Ye Xiao Chi hated the most.
But it didn’t matter.
Both Embers and Ye Qianqiu were insignificant people destined to leave Ye Xiao Chi’s side.
“…It’s not anything important, is it,” Ye Qianqiu said flatly.
“What… did you say?”
Ye Xiao Chi could hardly believe her ears.
She felt the blood drain from her body.
A hot tear slid down her cheek.
The girl’s face was as pale as paper.
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Are you… really human?”
“…When Mom left, you were the same!”
The girl couldn’t stop her tears.
“Seven whole years, and you haven’t changed at all!”
“You’re a heartless demon!”
With that, she turned and rushed into her room, slamming the door hard.
Bang!
The loud slam echoed through the room.
The wind pounded against the window with dull thuds, howling through the cracks like a baby crying.
In the living room, the second hand on the clock moved steadily, ticking with crisp sounds.
Ye Qianqiu wordlessly stared at the closed door of his daughter’s bedroom.
Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it on his chest.
Thump, thump, thump…
Ye Xiao Chi was right.
He had lost his heart seven years ago.
What was beating inside him now was something else, something like a heart.
But if he didn’t have a heart, then why did he feel pain?
Like now…
The man clutched the fabric over his chest and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was still at his workstation.
The time on the computer showed 5:12.
Less than twenty minutes until the workday ended.
The argument with Ye Xiao Chi was already yesterday’s news.
Today, Ye Xiao Chi seemed no different from usual—except she spoke even less and was more distant.
There was no conversation between them beyond what was necessary.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose to relieve the strain in his eyes.
There was still a while before the end of work, and he had already finished his tasks.
Out of habit, he opened S-Site to check the livestreams of heroes nearby.
On the front page, a livestream had very high viewership.
The location was the Second People’s Hospital.
The hero involved was…
“…Feizuan.”
Ye Qianqiu frowned slightly and clicked on the stream.
The monster Feizuan was facing was the [Dayun Monster].
Its appearance was a white truck cab with limbs, and it could transform into an actual truck to launch a “Dayun Impact,” which knocked people into another dimension.
The official ranking for the Dayun Monster was C++, far beyond what a quasi-D-rank magical girl like Feizuan could handle.
Unsurprisingly, Feizuan was in a tough fight.
She could barely dodge the attacks and had no ability to counterattack.
Where were the other magical girls?
Ye Qianqiu looked at the stream’s duration.
Over seven minutes had already passed.
If there was backup nearby, it should have arrived by now.
Why hadn’t a single magical girl appeared?
Had the frequency of monster appearances increased lately, overwhelming the Special Task Force?
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Feizuan lost.
Ye Qianqiu reached into his pocket and fingered the lighter with a shallow pattern on its surface.
He had already decided to retire.
He would no longer transform into the magical girl Embers.
But if he didn’t transform, could he stand by and watch Feizuan be killed by the monster?
Should he transform?
Now? Here?
Even as his mind hesitated, his body had already acted.
He left his workstation and sprinted toward the rooftop.
He could bear being hated by his daughter, but he absolutely could not bear to watch her die before his eyes.
Not because of An Wan’s last words.
But because it was a choice that came from deep inside Ye Qianqiu.
Panting as he climbed the stairs, the man placed his hand on his chest.
Thump, thump, thump…!
His false heart beat powerfully and urgently.
He finally reached the rooftop.
The torrential rain instantly soaked his clothes.
The vast sky was covered with dark clouds, but a single shaft of light fell through a gap in the clouds, like the scar of a demon.
Ye Qianqiu stood in that small patch of light.
The sunlight illuminated his rain-soaked face.
The man raised his hand and slammed the lighter hard against the ground.
“Transform!”