[Haha, your disguise is blown now, little Xia Lan~]
“Don’t laugh at me, Liu Hua Jie…”
Xia Lan revealed a slightly troubled expression:
“Then, our clever classmate Luo Xiao, is there anything you want to say to your good class monitor?”
“Actually, I was startled at first too. After all, Class Monitor Xia Lan is quite popular at school. I never expected she would become my magical girl.”
Luo Xiao smiled.
“If people at school found out, they would probably be very shocked. I bet a lot of them would come threaten me.”
“What do you mean, your magical girl? Watch your wording.”
Xia Lan tapped Luo Xiao’s head, as gently as if she were stroking a child.
“Even if someone really comes to threaten you, I will be in front of you. Do not be afraid then.”
“I know. But I am curious: why would a magical girl like you go be a student?”
“It was Liu Hua Jie’s suggestion.”
Xia Lan seemed a little uneasy.
“At first I also thought there was no need to do something that wastes time. After all, I am a magical girl, and there are so many things in the world that might need me… But Liu Hua Jie insisted that I go to school properly and experience an ordinary youthful life.”
“So, Class Monitor Xia Lan, how do you feel now?”
Luo Xiao asked with a smile.
“It feels pretty good.”
Xia Lan was silent for a moment, and a faint smile slowly appeared on her face.
“At least I have had a not-bad student experience, a life close to that of an ordinary person… And I met Brother, and you.”
“I see. That is great then.”
As he said this, Luo Xiao suddenly thought of something, and nimbly pulled a khaki sun hat out of the backpack on his shoulder, like a little snake with a bulging belly.
The brim was wide and gave off a faint fresh scent, and a cute little red flower hung on the top of the hat.
“I saw these sun hats being given out for free on my way back just now, so I picked one up along the way. Xia Lan, try it on.”
“Do you not need one yourself?”
“I got it for you.”
Luo Xiao smiled and handed the hat to Xia Lan.
Xia Lan tilted her head and took the hat.
The feeling transmitted through her hand told her the sun hat’s material was pretty good.
For a hat given away for free, it was quite generous.
Xia Lan gently put the sun hat on her head.
The sun hat was like Luo Xiao’s palm, stroking the top of her head.
The scorching sun would not affect her as a magical girl, but at this moment Xia Lan felt a sense of reassurance.
And once she put it on, it was no small matter; beside her, Luo Xiao was stunned.
At first he had only thought the sun hat might suit Xia Lan, but he never expected such a chemical reaction.
Xia Lan was still in that pure white dress.
Her smooth, delicate, fair calves moved beneath the hem like butterfly wings.
Chestnut-brown round-toed shoes gently wrapped her small feet in white socks, shimmering faintly under the summer light.
The white, cool dress highlighted her not-so-large chest, forming a perfect curve, like the most exquisite lines drawn by an art student on canvas.
And all of this, after Xia Lan put on that sun hat, made Luo Xiao’s heartbeat skip a beat completely.
A gentle breeze brushed the girl’s skirt.
A breath unique to summer rippled around her.
The sun hat covered the girl’s head, yet made her seem like a refined young lady standing in the fields.
Every glance, every look, was gentle and free.
If this scene were photographed or made into a painting, Luo Xiao did not know what kind of photographer or painter could bring out this artistic conception.
“What is wrong?”
Xia Lan’s eyes looked at the dazed Luo Xiao, puzzled.
“N-no, nothing.”
Luo Xiao came back to his senses, and a faint blush rose on his face.
Seeing Luo Xiao like this, Xia Lan tilted her head and immediately laughed in understanding.
“Do you really like me like this?”
“No.”
“Really? Good children should tell [Mom] the truth~”
“…Yes.”
Luo Xiao could not withstand Xia Lan’s gaze and said in a low, soft voice.
“It is just… it gives off a literary girl kind of feeling…”
“You like that kind of thing too?”
“Well, it is not exactly that I like this kind…”
“You clearly do. Guys always have a period when they like this kind of thing. I used to be a guy too, so I get you.”
Xia Lan covered her mouth and looked at Luo Xiao with great interest, the corners of her mouth rising uncontrollably.
“Then I will gratefully accept this thing.”
Her fingers gently stroked the brim, feeling the sun hat’s texture as if stroking a treasure, her heart extremely peaceful.
She felt very happy, a kind of steady happiness.
In more than ten years, she had never felt this way, as if both body and mind were relaxing.
At this moment Xia Lan seemed to somewhat understand why Liu Hua Jie had wanted her to come travel together.
“I will treasure it well.”
Xia Lan murmured.
Just then, a voice came from ahead and interrupted this beautiful atmosphere.
“What the heck, what are you two doing back there?”
Turning their gaze, they saw Bai Jia not far away, eyes wide open, looking at their scene in disbelief.
Xia Lan felt Bai Jia’s gaze was like that of an incompetent wife, filled with the air of a defeated dog.
This made Xia Lan feel a little pleased inside.
“We are chatting, Little Brother Bai Jia.”
Xia Lan covered her mouth and laughed softly.
“No, seriously, why are you two chatting so close together?”
“When you walk and chat at the same time, it is easy to end up close together.”
“Then why are your hands still holding each other!?”
“Oh my, Luo Xiao took the initiative to hold my hand. I am not sure either. You can ask him.”
“Huh!?”
Bai Jia looked at Luo Xiao with pleading eyes, that pitiful little gaze seeming to ask Luo Xiao whether this was true.
At this, Luo Xiao immediately let go of Xia Lan’s hand and, sweating profusely, said to Bai Jia:
“Th-that, Bai Jia, listen to my explanation… This was actually to comfort Miss Na Gou. That is right, the situation is actually very complicated…”
Hearing Luo Xiao’s words, Bai Jia’s expression instantly fell into ashen despair, and that gaze became like a salted fish, losing its luster.
‘Why, why?’
‘Did we not agree to stay single together, and whoever gets a girlfriend first is a dog? Luo Xiao, you bastard, why did you betray our brotherly oath?’
‘Oh right, we are already… no longer brothers…’
Snowflakes flutter~ The north wind whistles~
In Bai Jia’s heart, a cold June snow now drifted.
An inexplicable emotion stirred in the deepest part of her heart, churning her awkward feelings like a knotted rope.
In her mind, a voice appeared faintly, as if it were Satan’s temptation, whispering something to Bai Jia.
“Your dear brother is going to be stolen by this woman from outside~”
“After that, his care for you will diminish, and it will all go to that woman~”
That voice was like a distant bell, shallow and indistinct, yet it touched the deepest nerve in Bai Jia.
‘No, no, why would she have such a thought? She is a boy. She is Luo Xiao’s younger brother.’
Bai Jia told herself this in her heart.
‘But at this moment, could she really still be considered a boy?’