Chapter 55: Long-Haired Woman

“By the way, Luo Xiao, are you going to the beach to have some fun later?”

Bai Jia drank the lemonade in his hand, savoring the cool sensation as it burst across his taste buds, then raised his head to enjoy the refreshing breeze.

“Sure.”

Luo Xiao glanced around.

“By the way, where did Grandma go?”

“She seems to have gone off to fool around with that old friend she just met.”

“I see. Let the old lady enjoy herself, then… By the way, Bai Jia, why did you cancel your transformation? Are you also planning to become a beautiful girl and experience what it’s like to have everyone around you notice you?”

At that moment, Bai Jia was sitting on a park bench, having canceled his male transformation and revealed his true form as a magical girl.

Her rather cool outfit and incredibly beautiful, slightly seductive figure frequently attracted the attention of the men and women around her.

Even Luo Xiao’s gaze occasionally lingered on Bai Jia’s fair skin, his cheeks turning slightly red.

“Come on, maintaining the transformation all the time is exhausting, okay?”

Bai Jia sighed.

“I don’t know what’s going on with Shaliya, either. She never lets me cancel my transformation… When exactly will I be able to change back?”

“But I feel like you look very holy like this.”

Xia Lan, who was teasing a kitten nearby, spoke gently.

“What’s so holy about me?”

Bai Jia asked helplessly.

“Holy before Rome.”

Luo Xiao teased.

Xia Lan let out a soft laugh at Luo Xiao’s words before slowly saying, “Girls are always a little more popular than boys, especially since you, as [Se Nie], naturally possess traits that attract others. Maybe living as a magical girl from now on wouldn’t be so bad.”

“I’d rather not. Otherwise, when it’s time to date someone, am I supposed to find a boyfriend? I’ve been a guy for so long, after all…”

Bai Jia was clearly still hung up on his former gender.

“Hmm… That’s true. Your time as a magical girl is still too short. Unlike me, I started transforming into a magical girl when I was six, so my perception of gender and my experiences are very different from those of ordinary people. I’ve already gotten used to having a female body–“

“Huh? Sister Na Gou, your original body is male?”

Bai Jia suddenly realized what Xia Lan had said.

“Yes.”

Xia Lan smiled gently.

“After all these years, sometimes I can hardly tell whether I’ve spent more time as a girl or as a boy…”

“Wait, wait, wait! If that’s the case, then Luo Xiao, you…”

Bai Jia widened his eyes and immediately turned to look at Luo Xiao beside him.

Seeing no trace of surprise on Luo Xiao’s face, Bai Jia realized that something was seriously wrong.

“Luo Xiao, my old bro, don’t tell me you already knew about this?”

“Yes.”

Luo Xiao nodded and casually swatted a mosquito away from Bai Jia.

“Then… then you don’t mind?”

Bai Jia’s voice trembled slightly.

“Actually, my biggest impression of A Lan is his current appearance. I don’t really have any sense of his original male body.” Luo Xiao replied calmly. “If I told you that our dean of students, that fat old man, was actually a great beauty, you wouldn’t be able to picture it either, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

Bai Jia opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

At that moment, he felt as though he’d just heard that a bro from his dorm had found himself a gentle, virtuous girlfriend who was sweet and affectionate, making him envious, only to discover one day that this girlfriend was actually from Thailand and that his bro had known about it all along.

For Bai Jia, who had received a traditional education, the impact of this revelation was still a little too great.

After all, he subconsciously associated the situation with himself. Given his current circumstances, didn’t he also have a chance–no, wasn’t he also at risk of becoming someone’s target…

The next moment, Bai Jia’s face turned bright red. He hurriedly covered his ample, snow-white chest and shouted at Luo Xiao, “All right, Lao Luo, I never expected you to have this kind of fetish! Let me make this clear right now: there’s no way I’m submitting to you. I’ve been a guy for so long. Even if I starve to death, even if I jump down from here, I’ll never let myself be feminized…”

Luo Xiao responded with a dumbfounded stare, as though he were looking at an idiot.

“What are you talking about, you idiot? Has transforming into the magical girl [Se Nie] turned you into a weirdo?”

Luo Xiao’s mouth twitched as he flicked Bai Jia on the forehead, just as he had done since they were children.

For Bai Jia, that little flick was neither painful nor particularly irritating, yet somehow, it stirred something in his heart.

Her body softened slightly, and she hurriedly tried to change the subject.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about this… So, what’s your relationship now?”

“Relationship?”

Xia Lan asked in surprise.

“Yeah, are you two dating now?”

The moment those words left her mouth, both Xia Lan and Luo Xiao froze.

“No, no, no! Not at all. We’re just friends.”

This time, Luo Xiao was the one who blushed. He quickly waved his hands, looking flustered.

“…Sorry, I’m not planning to date anyone right now.”

Xia Lan remained silent for a while before offering a helpless smile.

“Huh?”

Bai Jia was practically speechless.

“You two, with things like this… I think you’re the real weirdos.”

“Maybe, it’s just…”

‘I just think the person who should be with him is you, dear Brother.’

‘As for me, I won’t come and take your place.’

Xia Lan whispered softly in her heart, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

The figures of Bai Jia and Luo Xiao were reflected in her eyes, like subjects in a beautifully painted oil painting.

A gentle breeze swept past, lifting Xia Lan’s skirt. She subconsciously lowered the brim of her sun hat as her hair fluttered like willow branches swaying in the wind.

[Xia Lan, something’s up.]

Liu Hua Jie’s voice rang out seriously in her mind.

Xia Lan was startled. She immediately turned around, wiped the smile from her face, and gazed into the distance.

[Eleven o’clock direction. It’s people from the Light Church. Judging by their aura… probably someone at the level of a vice bishop.]

“Can you confirm how many people there are?”

[One person. But if someone at that level has appeared, there should be others hiding nearby as well.]

“Understood.”

Xia Lan’s eyes instantly took on a faint green hue.

Her gaze swept hundreds of meters into the distance, scanning the crowds moving back and forth.

Finally, her eyes settled on a long-haired woman.

The woman wore a secretary’s outfit consisting of a white shirt, a pencil skirt, and sheer black stockings that accentuated her long legs.

Her high heels clicked crisply against the ground as she walked through the crowd.

No matter how one looked at her, she appeared to be an ordinary office secretary rather than a member of any church.

However, the faint aura of the Light Church emanating from her was unmistakable.

Years of experience had taught Xia Lan never to let her guard down.

She immediately focused on the woman and examined the surrounding area.

Sure enough, she discovered something else.

“Is that an agent from Leonard Company?”

Xia Lan frowned.

Within her field of vision, she spotted an inconspicuous man eating ice cream and silently following ten meters behind the woman.

He looked like nothing more than an ordinary tourist.

Apart from him, several other tourists nearby were behaving unnaturally.

All of them seemed focused on observing the woman at the center.

Yet this only made Xia Lan more suspicious.

So brazen, so completely unconcealed…

The woman might be bait planted by the Light Church.

Moreover, Leonard Company had sent so many people to track her, which meant a major operation was likely underway.

Could it be connected to Xia Lan’s own trip this time?

Regardless of the reason behind it, Xia Lan knew she had to take action.

Not only because of her responsibility as a magical girl, but also because she wanted her trip with Luo Xiao and the others to go perfectly.

Clarify Bai Jia’s gendered pronounsFix the confusing beach-to-park transition