“Well, Tunzuo is sitting cross-legged on the living room sofa, holding her grimoire, whose screen glows with a faint light”.
She glances at An Lin, who sits beside her with a pleading expression, lets out a resigned sigh, and reaches out to open the magic network chat window to message Olivia.
[Salted Fish Ghost: Pfft pfft, pervy dragon, you there?]
[Salted Fish Ghost: Sister An Lin agreed to let me go on vacation with you guys to Golden Sand Beach. But since she’s my guardian, she’s worried I can’t take care of myself on my first long trip, so she wants to come along too. That okay?]
The words “The other party is typing” immediately appear at the top of the chat box.
Just as Tunzuo finishes sending her last message, Olivia starts replying.
Tunzuo raises an eyebrow at Olivia’s overly enthusiastic response, thinking to herself, ‘Just how bored is this pervy dragon? Has she been staring at her grimoire screen ever since school ended, just waiting for my message?’
Looks like a certain witch has been camped out in front of her grimoire.
[Pervy Golden Dragon: Of course, no problem. I’m delighted that Miss An Lin can join us. If that’s settled, I’ll arrange the itinerary and accommodations now.]
So for the next half hour, Tunzuo is forced to listen to Olivia’s passionate speech about the vacation plans through text.
From the route planning for the luxury yacht to the menu customization for the underwater palace, Olivia arranges every detail down to the last grain of sand.
And on Olivia’s strong suggestion, Tunzuo reluctantly invites the other witches she knows.
At first, Lei Ruiya says, “Such a noisy occasion isn’t for me,” but when Tunzuo mentions Olivia is paying, she changes her tune, saying she’ll “go check out the folded-space summoning array environment.”
Shirley gladly accepts the invitation to Golden Sand Beach and says she’ll prepare in advance.
Hai Lanyue is thrilled that Tunzuo invited her and even brings along her mentor, Lena.
The divination school has been under a lot of pressure lately, so a break is just what they need.
Finally, the list for the Golden Sand Beach trip is set.
The attending witches:
Tunzuo, Olivia, Sally, Huli, Hai Lanyue, Shirley, Lei Ruiya, Lena, and An Lin.
After finalizing the list and saying goodbye to Olivia, Tunzuo puts down her grimoire and walks into An Lin’s bedroom.
An Lin is practicing her facial expressions in front of the mirror.
Tunzuo says:
“It’s settled, Sister An Lin. Olivia agreed to let you freeload.”
“Really?!”
An Lin’s composure shatters instantly at Tunzuo’s words.
The expression practice is forgotten.
She cheers, bouncing excitedly around the room.
“Hooray! Little Sister Tunzuo, now it’s our turn to prepare early!”
“Prepare? Prepare for what?”
Tunzuo tilts her head blankly, looking confused.
“Olivia said she’ll have servants arrange everything at Golden Sand Beach. We just need to bring a few changes of clothes and toiletries. No need to carry too much.”
“No, no, no, Little Sister Tunzuo, you’re thinking too simply.”
An Lin raises a finger, wagging it in front of Tunzuo’s face with a creepy smile that sends a chill down Tunzuo’s spine.
“For a witch, shopping before a vacation is part of the vacation! It’s called a sense of ritual! Sharpening the sword before battle! An early taste of the vacation!”
Tunzuo doesn’t understand, and she’s completely shocked.
But that’s okay.
She’ll get it soon.
Saturday morning, the sun is bright, the sky is cloudless—perfect weather for a lazy fish to flip over.
But in Tunzuo’s eyes, today’s sun is a bit too harsh.
On the bustling commercial street of Han Hai Cheng, Tunzuo leans on Huanye, following behind An Lin like a wandering spirit about to be purified by holy light.
She pants heavily, her legs as heavy as lead.
But An Lin, walking ahead of Tunzuo, is full of energy, glowing with vitality.
“Little Sister Tunzuo! Look at this! It’s the latest fishing rod made of ‘plastic steel material with high toughness and strength,’ said to be able to reel in even deep-sea magic whales!”
An Lin waves the oddly shaped fishing rod, shouting excitedly without turning around.
“Mm…”
Tunzuo replies expressionlessly.
“And this! A beach blanket imprinted with cooling runes to prevent sunburn and protect the skin!”
An Lin holds up a colorful blanket, examining it from both sides.
“Oh…”
Tunzuo replies weakly.
“Tai Mo Coral sunscreen, not only protects from the sun but also whitens the skin! Good stuff!”
“Shadow Night Dragon eye mask sunglasses that keep the light non-glaring while preserving original colors—also a must-have!”
“And some snacks: Anxi fruit jerky, mountain rock pig sausage…”
An Lin carries bags upon bags of stuff, looking like a laborer hauling bricks on a construction site.
But unlike a worker’s toil, An Lin’s face radiates a strange happiness.
As a former shut-in before her reincarnation, Tunzuo has learned today just how exhausting it is to go shopping with a girl.
The entire morning, they never stopped walking, and she had to keep answering questions.
To Tunzuo, this is nothing short of torture.
Now, every time they step into a store, Tunzuo immediately looks for a place to sit.
The soft cushions set up in shops for resting witches have become her lifeline.
“Sister An Lin…”
Tunzuo collapses onto a sofa in an accessory shop, watching An Lin excitedly pick out earrings, and asks in bewilderment:
“Why are you carrying so many things? Aren’t they heavy? Don’t we have storage rings?”
“Little Sister Tunzuo, you don’t get it.”
An Lin turns her head, looking at Tunzuo with an expression of exasperation.
“Only by holding things in our hands can we prove we’re shopping. These are the spoils of our triumphant return! If we just put them in the storage ring, what’s the difference from not buying anything?”
Tunzuo finds An Lin’s logic incomprehensible.
Maybe this is just the pre-vacation excitement unique to single witches.
“Ugh, so troublesome…”
Tunzuo lets out a weary sigh.
Fortunately, An Lin’s shopping spree is finally nearing its end.
“Alright, Little Sister Tunzuo, this is our last stop for today.”
An Lin leads Tunzuo to a shop with an elegant interior and a window display full of colorful fabrics.
The sign above the door reads in beautiful cursive:
Goddess of the Sea · Custom Swimwear.
Tunzuo stares at the shop name, an uneasy tension rising in her heart.
“Swimwear?”
As soon as they step inside, An Lin vanishes among the dazzling racks like she’s come home.
“Little Sister Tunzuo, come over here! Big Sister will help you pick a swimsuit!”
An Lin’s voice calls from a corner of the store, filled with excitement and…
A certain lecherousness that Tunzuo doesn’t want to think about.
Tunzuo shuffles reluctantly over to An Lin.
Seeing Tunzuo approach, An Lin’s eyes light up.
She holds up a swimsuit made of scant fabric, comparing it against Tunzuo’s body.
“Little Sister Tunzuo, here, try this one. It looks perfect on you!”
An Lin presents her chosen swimsuit to Tunzuo like an offering.
Tunzuo takes a closer look.
It’s a pure black bikini with white lace trim on the edges, an extremely bold design.
The amount of fabric is so little it challenges Tunzuo’s sense of public decency.
Just one glance is enough to make Tunzuo blush all the way down to her neck.
“T-too revealing! What’s the difference between this and lingerie? No way! I’m never wearing that!”
Tunzuo wraps her arms around her chest, stepping back to put distance between herself and An Lin, looking at her like she’s a pervert.
An Lin examines the swimsuit in her hand, confused.
She thinks her aesthetic is perfectly fine.
“Huh? It’s a perfectly normal style?”
And during the moment Tunzuo looks away, An Lin lowers her head and mutters under her breath, just loud enough for Tunzuo not to hear:
“If you don’t wear something sexy, how are you going to catch a rich golden dragon…”
Under Tunzuo’s strong protests, An Lin regretfully puts away the sexy swimsuit and lets Tunzuo choose for herself.
After a “careful selection”—
Well, really just looking for the one with the most fabric—Tunzuo finally picks a plain black one-piece.
It covers everything except her arms and legs, looking like something a middle schooler would wear.
On top of that, she grabs a pair of thick-soled beach sandals.
The swimsuit Tunzuo chose is so conservative it’s outrageous.
An Lin looks at the swimsuit in Tunzuo’s hand, shaking her head in pain.
“Tsk, too conservative. No killing power at all.”
When it’s An Lin’s turn to pick her own swimsuit, she unhesitatingly chooses a rather sexy sky-blue bikini.
The sky-blue design is incredibly hot; the strings are so thin they seem like they might snap at any moment.
It perfectly shows off An Lin’s fair, smooth skin.
The only pity might be that her figure isn’t very full.
During the fitting, Tunzuo comes out of the changing room wearing her swimsuit, nervously tugging at the hem.
Even though the style Tunzuo picked is very modest, her own figure can’t be hidden.
Her already impressive curves are even more pronounced under the tight swimsuit.
The conservative cut actually accentuates a kind of restrained allure.
Especially her particularly perky backside, which looks even rounder against the black fabric.
An Lin stares at Tunzuo in her swimsuit, her eyes practically glued to her.
She unconsciously glances down at her own rather flat chest, then back up at Tunzuo’s clearly D-cup bust, and clicks her tongue in dissatisfaction.
“Tsk, that pervy little Olivia is really getting a good deal.”
An Lin feels a pang of envy, bitterly wondering when she’ll ever have a sweet romance.
After buying the swimsuits, the two witches finally head back to Glowing Crystal Coral Island.
On the way home, Tunzuo fingers her storage ring, thinking about the mountain of shopping bags inside, and can’t help asking An Lin:
“Sister An Lin, did we go over budget today? Even though Olivia the pervy dragon is treating us to Golden Sand Beach, you bought so much today. Can your wallet handle it?”
“It’s fine, no big deal! This is necessary military expenditure, can’t skimp on it!”
“Military expenditure?”
Tunzuo looks baffled, not understanding what An Lin means.
An Lin waves her hand grandly, a look of capitalist shrewdness and calculation on her face.
“That’s right! Military expenditure!”
An Lin leans in close to Tunzuo’s ear, lowers her voice, and finally reveals her true motive for coming along to Golden Sand Beach.
“Little Sister Tunzuo, you need to understand: every single one of those witches going to Golden Sand Beach is rich! It’s a gathering of wealthy women and heiresses!”
“If Big Sister can land a rich woman, or even better, an heiress, heheh, then I can say goodbye to the Alchemy Workshop for good, stop the grind, and enjoy a life of lying flat!”
“Even if I don’t catch one, just feasting my eyes and enjoying the luxury life of rich witches is still great. Heheh, either way, I can’t lose.”
An image of her upcoming plan flashes in An Lin’s mind, and she can’t help wearing a lecherous grin, drool nearly dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing An Lin’s perverted expression, and thinking about An Lin’s identity as the Alchemy Witch and her obvious tendency toward being a masochist with a twisted sexuality, Tunzuo can’t hide her disgust.
She silently sidles away from An Lin.
Tunzuo vows internally that she’ll stay far away from her weird sister during the vacation.
No way she’ll let any strange witch know that An Lin is her guardian.
That would be too embarrassing.
Sunlight shines on the two witches, casting their silhouettes as they head home.
One wears a foolish grin, looking up while daydreaming about landing a rich woman.
The other holds an umbrella, utterly exhausted, praying to the heavens that the vacation comes quickly.
This is “Tunzuo’s pre-vacation prelude, filled with the stench of money and perverted fantasies.”