In a daze, Luo Xiao regained consciousness from his coma.
The smell of disinfectant rushed into his nostrils, clearing his head.
Sunlight streamed into the room, drifting gently across his face, and the tulips on the bedside table gave off a faint floral scent.
‘What am I…’
Luo Xiao instinctively tried to sit up, but found his whole body weak and sore.
He looked around;
It seemed to be a hospital room.
Soft bedding was spread over him, thick as wool.
‘Huh?’
Wasn’t he just at school a moment ago?
How was he suddenly hospitalized?
‘Is this a flash before my eyes?’
‘Oh no, my math homework!’
A rustling sound came from beside the bed.
A nurse was changing Luo Xiao’s IV drip.
“Uh… Nurse, what am I…”
Luo Xiao murmured.
Hearing his voice, the nurse turned around, a delighted expression on her face.
“You’re awake! Great, how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay, but why am I hospitalized?”
“There was a mass fainting incident at your school. The cause is still under investigation.”
‘Mass fainting incident?’
Just then, the TV in the room was playing the morning news.
“Yesterday, a major public health emergency occurred at a key high school in Lian Mountain City. All teachers and students in a teaching building fainted collectively. The cause is still under investigation, but fortunately there were no casualties. Experts say it may have been a toxic chemical leak at the local school…”
“Currently, the police are conducting an in-depth investigation, and relevant personnel are being questioned. The principal of the key high school has been suspended from duty…”
“…”
‘Everyone in the whole teaching building fainted together?’
‘A toxic chemical leak?’
‘At a key high school?’
Luo Xiao broke out in a cold sweat.
It felt like the principal’s head wasn’t quite up to the task.
😰
‘This is a damn good thing no one died, or else so many heads would roll no matter how many words were said.’
Education Bureau:
I’ve already cried.jpg
Principal:
Why is this cement floor getting closer.jpg
After a quick check on Luo Xiao’s condition, the nurse gave a few instructions and hurriedly left the ward.
There were too many hospitalized students and teachers because of this incident, keeping her incredibly busy.
Luo Xiao lay on the comfortable hospital bed.
The two other beds next to him still held sleeping students.
For a moment, he sighed helplessly.
First, he was kidnapped by a cult, then he ran into this.
He really was quite lucky…
‘What’s going to happen next? Will I turn into a Kamen Rider?’
Just as Luo Xiao was lost in thought, the door to the ward opened.
A familiar, faint fragrance drifted into his nose.
Luo Xiao froze, turned his head, and his eyes widened.
Dark green hair cascaded down like a waterfall to her waist.
Her skin, smooth as jade, gave off a faint floral scent.
Her white, slender neck was as delicate as a swan’s throat.
Brown Mary Jane shoes stepped into the ward, making a crisp, pleasant sound, like the moment a lark alights on a branch, the instant wind brushes through feathers.
Unlike their first meeting, she was now wearing a simple blue dress, with her pure white calves visible beneath the hem, like the girl next door you might often run into.
But that smile, those eyes—
No doubt about it.
“N-Na Gou… Miss?”
This sudden reunion made Luo Xiao stammer.
“Hello, Luo Xiao.”
The magical girl Na Gou sat down naturally on the edge of his bed, her gaze gentle.
“Is there any discomfort in your body? I can help adjust it.”
“No.”
“That’s good.”
The magical girl Na Gou breathed a sigh of relief.
“It seems the worst hasn’t happened.”
“The worst?”
Luo Xiao was a little puzzled, but he didn’t rush to ask.
“I think you must be very confused right now. What all of this is—those cultists, my existence, the hidden secrets of this world.”
The magical girl Na Gou spoke slowly, like a loving mother patiently addressing a curious child.
Luo Xiao nodded.
“I can tell you,” the magical girl Na Gou said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“But before that, I need to apologize to you.”
“Why?”
“Hmm.”
Na Gou gazed at Luo Xiao, hesitating for a moment.
“For certain reasons, in order to save your life, I had no choice but to elevate you to my Chosen. Your soul was completely immersed by me.”
“You can think of it as a kind of vassal. In other words, you are now my person.”
“…” Luo Xiao was silent.
“Fortunately, the elevation was successful.”
The magical girl Na Gou seemed relieved.
“After all, you know the nature of my power. If things went wrong, at best you’d have a strange odor; at worst, severe bodily mutations, rot, and distortion. Either would heavily affect normal life. But you—outwardly, at least, you look the same as before.”
“So, does that mean I’m not human anymore?”
Luo Xiao spoke up.
The magical girl Na Gou nodded.
“I’m sorry. In essence, you are no longer considered human now.”
“No, no, no need to apologize. It’s just that suddenly being told I’m no longer human takes a moment to process,” Luo Xiao quickly said.
“I see.”
The magical girl Na Gou smiled faintly, then turned serious.
“In the end, I never asked for your opinion about turning you into my Chosen. After becoming one, the cult you encountered before, as well as other forces, will likely come after you. Your life will become filled with danger.”
“None of this should have been your burden. On this matter, I believe I truly owe you an apology.”
Luo Xiao was stunned, as if he hadn’t expected it to come to this.
“But what’s done is done. Rather than leaving you to live passively in ignorance of reality, I thought maybe I could let you know the truth of this world.”
Na Gou spoke calmly and steadily.
“What will you choose?”
Na Gou’s eyes fixed on Luo Xiao, filled with endless gentleness, calming him down.
“In that basement, it was you who answered me and saved me.”
Luo Xiao spoke, slowly breaking into a smile.
“You’ve saved my life twice. So, of course, I choose to follow you, my… Magical Girl Lady.”
“Besides, with something this exciting, if I said no, twenty years from now, when I’m sitting at my desk day after day, I’d probably regret my cowardice today.”
“You really…”
The magical girl Na Gou gave a helpless smile.
“Get well soon. At 3 PM after you’re discharged, go to the milk tea shop on East Road, east of Yihe Garden. I’ll explain everything to you then.”
With that, the magical girl Na Gou stood up to leave.
“Wait!”
Luo Xiao called out to her.
“What is it?”
“Can you… tell me your real name?”
The magical girl Na Gou was silent for a long time, as if thinking deeply.
Finally, she replied playfully, “When you can stand on your own, then I’ll tell you.”
With the sound of the door closing, the ward fell silent again.
The sunlight outside the window tilted slightly, bypassing Luo Xiao’s head and falling in patches on the floor.
‘I didn’t expect something like this to happen to me.’
‘Not becoming a Kamen Rider, but it’s not that different either.’
Luo Xiao chuckled, looking at the blue sky outside the window.
Clouds drifted by, like time flowing softly.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xia Lan, having left the ward, began to ask worriedly in her mind.
“Sister Liu Hua, are you really planning to let him join us?”
[Hmm, since he became your Chosen because of you, this is also your responsibility to him.]
“But…”
Xia Lan still hesitated.
In truth, Xia Lan herself didn’t like involving innocent people.
The suggestion in the ward just now was something Sister Liu Hua had given her.
Out of a sense of apology toward Luo Xiao and trust in Liu Hua, Xia Lan agreed to the idea.
But now that it was done, she still felt worried.
What if he got hurt?
What if he actually hated her in his heart?
What if she led him down the wrong path…
One worry after another rose in Xia Lan’s heart, making her feel uncertain.
[You need to be a little more confident.]
Liu Hua sighed.
[By the way, Xia Lan, can you still not transform back?]
Hearing this, Xia Lan snapped back to reality.
“Yeah. Ever since I made Luo Xiao my Chosen yesterday, I haven’t been able to exit my magical girl form. I have to stay like this.”
“But normal life shouldn’t be affected. I can use [Na Gou]’s power to turn into a male at school.”
[It must have gone wrong during the Chosen conversion. After all, you’re not the conventionally inherited Na Gou… Luo Xiao’s high affinity with divine power also played a big part.]
Liu Hua mused.
“It’s fine, Sister Liu Hua. Before, I went from being a boy to a girl. Now I go from being a girl to a boy. Let’s just say I’ve completely become a girl.”
Although Xia Lan said this, she still felt a bit uncomfortable about her full feminization.
“Still, living in a girl’s body will take some getting used to.”
[That’s good. It’ll be easier to find a partner now. Girls chasing boys is very easy~]
“Sister Liu Hua!”
“Hehe.”