[78 Bank] Dear user, you have received a deposit…
That was the advance payment from Gu Lingyue.
The next second.
[78 Bank] Dear user, you have made a withdrawal…
That was fast.
Lu Yushan looked at the nearly simultaneous deposit and withdrawal notifications and sighed inwardly at how quickly the collection platforms moved. He then opened one of the online loan apps on his screen.
—Amount due this month: 700.64 yuan.
—Amount due this month: 1211.11 yuan.
—Amount due this month: 1987.91 yuan.
After checking several more loan apps, Lu Yushan gave up trying to figure out which one had eaten his advance.
Maybe he had already looked at the one that was paid off and simply hadn’t noticed.
Looks like I’ll need cash from now on.
Lu Yushan slipped his phone back into his pocket, his fingertips brushing over the “stone” he had pried from the monster’s body.
I should also find out where to sell this.
He wasn’t entirely sure it was what they called a core, but it was saturated with the monster’s eerie aura. Close enough.
“Mommy, there’s a really pretty big sister over there!”
A little girl passing by tugged at her mother’s sleeve, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Lu Yushan.
Lu Yushan—more precisely, Lu Yushan in magical girl form—was currently leaning against a display window on the first floor of a bustling mall.
“Tch.”
Lu Yushan clicked her tongue and pulled her hood lower, silently cursing that Young Miss Gu.
Meeting up in a place like this? And more importantly, she was already ten minutes late.
People were gathering around her like she was some kind of mascot.
Eyes kept landing on her from every direction.
Some raised their phones to take pictures, others whispered about who she might be.
Someone even came up and asked who she was. Ha?
Irritated, Lu Yushan turned around and looked at the glass display window behind her.
Beneath the black cloak, vivid red hair flowed freely.
The Western-style dress was exquisite, and the white leg sleeves wrapped around long, straight legs.
It felt uncomfortable.
She kept sensing something off.
It wasn’t embarrassment or annoyance about the outfit itself, but a strange sense of dissonance.
Her hair. She wanted to tie it up.
The urge was impossible to resist.
With a dark expression, she walked into the accessory store and asked the clerk for a pair of hair ties.
Even though it was her first time, she tied a neat set of twin tails with practiced ease.
She didn’t even realize how naturally it came to her.
She checked her reflection in the glass again.
Much better.
“Wow, that blue big sister is pretty too!”
Another soft, childish compliment drifted over from not far away.
Tap tap tap tap—
A powerful surge of magic accompanied rapid footsteps.
Lu Yushan looked toward the sound.
A beautiful girl in a blue dress was running straight toward her.
Everyone around them gasped in surprise, and the crowd instantly exploded.
“Qinghai Starlight? It’s Qinghai Starlight!”
“Oh my god, it really is her! The magical girl who can take on Gamma-class monsters all by herself!”
The people beside Lu Yushan grew eager and hurried forward.
“You…”
Lu Yushan had just opened her mouth when Qinghai Starlight showed no sign of slowing down. She grabbed Lu Yushan’s hand the moment she passed by.
Lu Yushan hadn’t been on guard and was caught off guard. Before she could react, she was pulled along.
Then Qinghai Starlight hopped lightly twice, leaped into the air, and turned into a streak of light, carrying Lu Yushan skyward.
“Hah… hah… Sorry for making you wait so long. I’m really sorry!”
High above the city, Qinghai Starlight panted as she apologized to Lu Yushan, her voice full of guilt.
“I didn’t check the time when I left. By the time I realized, I was already running late. Good thing you were already transformed—I recognized you right away.”
“Hmph! My Qinghai is a huge celebrity. Making you wait is already an honor for you! Ow, what was that for!”
A soft pink rabbit suddenly popped out and landed neatly on Qinghai Starlight’s left shoulder.
It pointed a tiny paw at Lu Yushan and had only spoken a couple of sentences before Qinghai Starlight flicked its head.
“Peachfluff! Watch your manners.”
“Got it…”
The rabbit called Peachfluff rubbed its head, ears drooping pitifully, and stayed quiet.
“By the way, thank you.”
Qinghai Starlight scratched her cheek with a fingertip, her tone sincere.
“I was too busy that day and didn’t see Lingyue’s message in time. If it hadn’t been for you, things would have gone really bad.”
Looked like the two of them were pretty close.
Lu Yushan simply gave a faint “Mm” in reply, her expression indifferent. She wasn’t good at socializing and couldn’t quite remember which incident the other girl was referring to.
Seeing her calm reaction, Qinghai Starlight could only laugh awkwardly. The conversation stalled for a moment.
After a brief pause, she tried again.
“Um… could you tell me your name?”
“Lu Yushan.”
At the name, Qinghai Starlight’s expression froze for a second, then broke into a genuine smile.
“What a neutral-sounding name. It’s really nice. So… could you tell me your title?”
For the vast majority of magical girls, a personal title was used to hide their real identity. Referring to each other by title had become common sense.
Only trusted partners would share their real names.
That was why Qinghai Starlight had smiled when Lu Yushan gave hers.
Title?
Lu Yushan briefly pictured a group of girls in frilly dresses shouting embarrassing nicknames and move names while fighting monsters.
The thought felt ridiculous.
“I don’t have one. Never thought about making one.”
She answered honestly.
She hadn’t taken the whole magical girl thing seriously before and had never considered hiding her identity.
But now she needed to start thinking about it. Clearing her debts might be easier this way.
Looked like she would have to put it on her to-do list.
“No title?”
Peachfluff looked Lu Yushan up and down with curiosity.
It was about to say something when a circular magic array suddenly appeared in front of them.
“I’m here, Yushan~ It’s so cold! Why are you up in the sky!”
Snowball crawled out of the magic array looking wilted.
The cold high-altitude wind instantly perked it up. Its fluffy coat clearly wasn’t very warm; it shivered all over and dove straight into Lu Yushan’s cloak, wriggling furiously inside to warm up.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, if it isn’t Snowball! Long time no see—how’d you get so pathetic?”
Peachfluff’s tone was teasing.
“Huh? What?”
Snowball poked its head out, caught sight of Peachfluff, and recoiled like it had seen a ghost.
It whooshed back into Lu Yushan’s clothes and only dared to shout in a muffled voice.
“Yushan, Yushan, let’s get out of here!”
“If you want to run, just run by yourself…”
Peachfluff rolled its eyes in exasperation, then turned back to Lu Yushan with a coaxing tone.
“Lu Yushan, how about you drop the contract with this guy and sign with me instead? Look how strong my Qinghai is—ow!”
Before it could finish, Qinghai Starlight flicked its head again.
“Sorry about that, Yushan. My familiar doesn’t think before it speaks. Don’t take it to heart.”
Qinghai Starlight apologized quickly.
“Hey, I was just telling the truth! Ow!”
Peachfluff tried to protest but got flicked again.
Facing Qinghai Starlight’s stern gaze, it finally shut its mouth with a wronged look.
Qinghai Starlight suddenly stopped in midair and pointed downward.
“We’re here! This is the place!”