On a sunny morning, Lin Lu was leaning by the classroom window, idly spinning a ballpoint pen in her hand and yawning while listening to the teacher’s lecture.
Chen Xingye was sleeping in class, Su Tang was bored and scrolling through her phone, while Lin Shuiyue, as always, was listening attentively.
Several months had passed, and everyone’s lives were peaceful and stable.
There was daily training, classes, occasionally going out on missions to fight Shadow Beasts, and going out to have fun during breaks.
After months of training, Lin Lu had also become a qualified young idol.
The skills needed for her debut were sufficiently polished.
“Buzz~”
Her phone vibrated slightly.
Lin Lu fished it out from the desk drawer and secretly glanced down at it.
It was a new post from the official account of the Beijiang Magical Girl Headquarters.
[Starlight Magical Girl Group × Chiyoyuki Debut Performance Officially Scheduled]
[December 20th, Beijiang Grand Theater. All members of the Starlight Magical Girl Group will be waiting for you!]
The accompanying picture was naturally of Lin Lu in her Magical Girl attire, a promotional photo the photographer had taken of her during training.
Dressed in pure white battle gear, standing in the center of the stage, one arm held level, hand lightly covering her chest, the other hand extended towards the camera in an inviting gesture.
A spotlight shone down from above, complementing those crimson eyes and flowing silver hair, perfectly showcasing Lin Lu’s heroic and dashing demeanor.
She scrolled through the comments section.
The comments had already piled up into the tens of thousands.
Even the comments from Hoshino Hikari and the others had been pinned to the top.
[Hoshino Hikari: Snow-senpai is finally debuting! All the fans, you must come and support her~]
[Lin Qingqing: Ahhhhhh it’s finally scheduled! Grandpa, the magical girl you kept clamoring to see when you were little is debuting!]
[Minazuki: Looking forward to it.]
There were also countless fan comments, densely packed and filling the screen.
[Finally waiting for senpai’s debut!]
[Starlight Girls~ We love you! We love Chiyoyuki, Hoshino Hikari, Minazuki…]
[When will ticket info come out? I want to grab front-row seats!]
Scrolling through these comments, Lin Lu’s heartbeat inexplicably sped up a bit.
Her nervousness was mixed with a hint of… anticipation.
“Ding-ding-dong-dong~”
As soon as the class bell rang, the teacher collected the teaching materials and left the classroom.
The classroom instantly became lively.
Chen Xingye lifted her head from the desk, a drool mark at the corner of her mouth, looking around with a dazed expression.
“Huh? C-class… is over?”
“You slept through the entire class again, Chen Xingye. If you keep this up and fail your final exams, don’t expect the teacher to bail you out.”
Lin Shuiyue closed her notebook, giving Chen Xingye a look that said she was a hopeless case.
“Lu-Lu, Lu-Lu, what are you looking at!” Su Tang’s face suddenly popped over.
Seeing the page on Lin Lu’s phone, she said in surprise, “Oh~ You saw Chiyoyuki’s debut promotion too?! That photo of Chiyoyuki is so cool! I’ve already set it as my wallpaper. Lu-Lu, are you planning to go see Chiyoyuki’s idol debut show? I have an inside channel to get you VIP tickets~”
“Ah… no, I just happened to scroll by and clicked on it out of curiosity. Magical girls and stuff… I’m not really interested.”
Lin Lu’s face flushed red as she hurriedly denied it.
‘How could I, being Chiyoyuki myself, be a fan of myself?! Besides, when the time comes, I’ll be transforming into Chiyoyuki to perform on stage. How could I possibly attend the debut show as Lin Lu?’
“Ah? Is that so… Well, okay. But come to think of it, December 20th isn’t that far from today, right?”
Su Tang counted the days on her fingers.
“Stop counting. It’s just next weekend,” Lin Shuiyue suddenly said.
“Oh, right, right, it’s next week!”
Lin Lu casually saved that promotional photo of herself, put away her phone, her heart beating a little fast.
‘Ahem… That photographer did a good job with me. Hmm… She just thought it would be a waste not to save a free personal photo, that’s all. It’s definitely not narcissism.’
“Lu-Lu? Why is your face so red?” Su Tang stared at Lin Lu’s face, then showed an understanding expression.
“Oh dear~ Lu-Lu, just admit you like Chiyoyuki. Liking magical girls isn’t something to be embarrassed about.”
“Stop talking nonsense! I just think the classroom is a bit hot!”
“Hot… is it hot?”
Hoshino Hikari shivered.
It was almost winter in December.
How could it possibly be hot?
Lin Lu gave a light cough and ignored Su Tang.
Luckily, the class bell rang, so she pretended to flip through her textbook, thinking about the debut show.
It wasn’t until the final school bell rang that Lin Lu snapped out of her jumbled thoughts.
Classmates in the classroom were gathering their things in twos and threes to leave.
Chen Xingye yawned, slung her bag over her shoulder, and bid farewell to Lin Lu, “We’re heading off first~ Lu-Lu, be careful on your way home.”
“Mm, see you tomorrow.”
Lin Lu nodded and also said goodbye to them outside in the hallway.
In December, the sky was already starting to get dark earlier.
It was just past five, and a faint orange-red hue had already spread across the horizon.
Walking home, a gentle breeze blew, causing large swathes of ginkgo leaves on both sides to flutter down.
Stepping on them produced a rustling sound underfoot.
Arriving home, she gently pushed the door open.
Her phone happened to vibrate.
Lin Lu looked down.
It was a message from Qin Lan.
[Qin Lan: You’ve probably already seen the news about the debut show, right? I’ll send you the detailed performance plan later. Take a look. Don’t be too nervous. Hoshino Hikari and the others will also perform with you as the main focus. Just relax.]
[Qin Lan: Also, for your personal music album, come to the company tomorrow to record it if you have time.]
Lin Lu thought about it, ‘Tomorrow’s schedule was quite flexible.’
[Okay, I’ll make time to come to the company tomorrow.]
[Qin Lan: Good. You can also arrange to meet with Hoshino Hikari and the others privately to discuss how to coordinate for the debut show. After all, the plan is just the standard procedure. If you can come up with better performance coordination, that would be even better.]
[Okay, thanks for your hard work, Sister Qin.]
[Qin Lan: No problem. Rest early.]
Putting away her phone, Lin Lu changed her shoes and walked into the living room.
Lin Xiaoxi had already gone home.
The days she had stayed at Lin Lu’s place had really worn Lin Lu out.
When leaving, she had hugged Lin Lu, crying with snot and tears, reluctant to part.
Lin Lu suspected it was more about being reluctant to part with her cooking.
During her stay, Lin Xiaoxi had eaten, slept, eaten, and slept, gaining a noticeable roundness.
Lin Lu also understood why parents treat college students like treasures for the first week they’re home, only to treat them like unwanted strays later, even finding fault with them for drinking water.
“You’re back?” Lilith said with a yawn, “Oh, right, did you see the time for your debut show?”
“I saw. It’s next week.”
Lin Lu put down her bag and sat on the sofa, nudging Lilish to the side.
“Move over a bit. You’re hogging the middle of such a big sofa; there’s no room to sit. And, eat less junk food. Look at you, you’re almost as fat as a pig. Who can tell you’re a bat anymore? If you keep eating, you won’t even be able to fly.”
“Tch~ So what if I’m fat? I can just use magic to slim down later, right?” Lilith reluctantly scooted over a bit, her wings still tightly clutching the bag of chips.
“What were you looking at on your phone at the door for so long?”
“Nothing much. Sister Qin was just telling me about the debut show.”
Lin Lu leaned back on the sofa, opened her phone’s map, and searched for a quiet, highly-rated café not far from Headquarters.
She sent the address to the group chat and asked: [Does everyone have time tomorrow? If so, can we meet at this café to discuss the debut show? My treat for whatever you want to eat or drink.]
Two seconds later, Hoshino Hikari replied instantly, with Lin Qingqing following closely behind.
[Hoshino Hikari: Received! We’re all free tomorrow! I want tiramisu!]
[Lin Qingqing: Me too, me too! And I want a caramel macchiato!]
[Minazuki: Okay, I’ll bring those two tomorrow. Also, can you two really eat that much? @Hoshino Hikari @Lin Qingqing]
Looking at the messages on the screen, the corner of Lin Lu’s mouth curved up.
[It’s fine. Eat as much as you want.]
[Hoshino Hikari, Lin Qingqing: Yay!! Long live senpai!]
[Minazuki: …]
“Lin Lu, I’m hungry~ I want to eat~”
“All you think about is eating! I know, I’ll go cook.”
Putting away her phone, Lin Lu patted Lilith, stood up, and walked into the kitchen to start making dinner…