Dad, Please Let Me Have One Bias!

Dad, Please Let Me Have One Bias!

Author: The Essence of Humanity

Synopsis:

Chu Yuanqing could swear that, as a former Savior, he had never imagined he'd one day transform into a Magical Girl and join an idol talent show—all because he wanted to leave his daughter an inheritance before he died.

But it was fine. No matter how embarrassing it was, if nobody found out, they could just pretend it never happened!

But could someone tell him why his well-behaved, sensible daughter had joined the talent show too?

Watching his daughter cling to him every day, call him her sister, and even say, "I'm your fan, you know," the middle-aged office worker was utterly devastated.

Damn it, she really didn't want to compete with her daughter for a Debut Spot!

And even though she'd been coasting the whole time, she somehow found herself facing dangerous questions like, "Who do you like better?" "I picked her last time, so this time you should pick me, right?" and even, "You're not allowed to team up with anyone else. They're all leeching off you. Can't you just shine on your own?!"

Looking at her clearly troubled teammates and her fans clamoring to get her into the Center position and make her the world's number-one idol, Chu Yuanqing just wanted to run away.

But as her popularity kept climbing, the former Savior was driven to despair.

—She might actually debut.

(Story elements: regret too late, twisted White Album-style love triangle, father-daughter conflict, idol performances, and a retired, hardcore Savior saving the world once again through song and dance.)

Volume One: The Forgotten Savior

At dawn, the electric fan turned with a creak, creak.

As usual, Chu Yuanqing relied on sheer willpower to break free from a dream of sinking endlessly into an abyss. Ignoring the tidal wave of pain crashing over his soul, he got up with an unchanged expression, turned off the fan, and went through his usual routine of washing up, getting dressed, and making breakfast.

Chu Yuanqing covered the mung bean soup and shaved ice in porcelain bowls with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. With practiced ease, he wrote a reminder on a sticky note with a pen and stuck it to the still-warm carton of milk on the dining table.

He'd had an epic, glorious past, but after seventeen years of facing the same daily grind, that grandeur had been laid to rest.

A Savior?

To a world that had been rewritten, the very idea wasn't even laughable.

Now he was just another ordinary person among the masses, an insignificant cog in the giant machinery of society, one that was about to be discarded.

"Xiao Shu, I'm heading out."

With that, Chu Yuanqing put on his shoes and picked up the trash bag. He was used to his daughter's silence and didn't look toward the bedroom door that was always closed to him. He was ready to leave the apartment.

That had been how he and his daughter got along for years.

Or perhaps it was the result of deliberately letting things go.

But the sound of the door opening was followed by a question, delivered so coldly it seemed to freeze the air, and it stopped him in his tracks.

"You're still going to work today?"

Chu Yuanqing turned around. Perhaps because of how distant they'd become, the daughter before him seemed almost like a stranger.

Her delicate, quiet features looked like those of a top student. Her soft, dark hair fell down her back, and she was tall enough to look him straight in the eye with only a slight tilt of her chin. Her gaze held confusion, disappointment, and even disgust.

That was how kids were. One blink from an adult, and they'd grown like willow shoots, no longer innocent or naïve. The softness they once had was hidden behind a hedgehog's prickly shell, making it hard to tell what they really felt.

Chu Yuanqing explained, "My manager said there's a meeting today, so I have to get to the office early."

Chu Wangshu looked at his wooden expression, and it felt as though a knife had pierced her heart. She stifled her bitterness and pressed her lips together. Then, for some reason, she found it a little funny. Her expression turned colder as she said quietly, "Even though today's Mom's death anniversary?"

Chu Yuanqing froze. He checked the date and belatedly realized that his daughter was dressed in formal clothes far too solemn for someone her age. He immediately understood why she was upset.

But before he could explain, Chu Wangshu had gone back into her room. A moment later, she emerged with a suitcase and walked up to him, coldly telling him to move aside. She looked like she was running away from home.

"Move. If you won't go, I will."

"You don't have to bring a suitcase, though."

"I'll stay at school after the memorial."

Chu Yuanqing choked on his words and sighed helplessly. "Stay at school? You've already been recommended for university. What are you going back to school for?"

"Mind your own business."

Chu Wangshu left him with those words, coldly dragging her suitcase as she brushed past her father. The sunlight outside was blinding. She paused briefly on her way out, seeming to say something, then left without looking back.

Chu Yuanqing stood silently where he was, watching her walk farther and farther away.

He'd heard what his daughter said.

—Liar.

That was... hard to argue with.

Chu Yuanqing let out a middle-aged man's sigh and stepped into the scorching, oven-hot day. He looked toward the distant, boundless white wall that stood high on the horizon like a mirage, and murmured ruefully, "That's the grave that deserves to be commemorated."

—The Wall of Sighs.

No one knew how it had come to be.

Like a miraculous reflection cast by the gods, this towering wonder seemed like a blank page that had suddenly appeared in history. It had abruptly stretched across the Donghuang Federation, the Holy Commonwealth, the various city-states and minor countries, and even the deserts and oceans, becoming a magnificent sight that all life on the planet looked up to.

Chu Yuanqing stopped looking at the sky and lowered his eyes. He calmly joined the crowd and squeezed onto a light rail packed like a can of sardines. In the transparent windows, where countless scenes flashed past, he saw himself stripped of all his former radiance—an unfamiliar, ordinary man. He tugged at the corner of his mouth and wearily closed his eyes.

The sea in the depths of his soul roared, and the sound of cracking glaciers spread.

Chu Yuanqing coughed a few times and wiped away the blood with a tissue. He endured the pain blankly. Compared with the glorious wall standing in the heavens, his life was already a candle flickering in the wind.

Soon.

Once another six months had passed and Xiao Shu turned eighteen, he'd be able to leave in peace.

Composing himself, he got off the light rail.

Chu Yuanqing did his best to pull himself together and walked into the office building.

But before long, he sensed that something was wrong from the pitying looks of his coworkers.

Soon,

"Your performance has failed to meet the target three times in a row."

"According to company policy, you're fired."

The company manager delivered the news indifferently, announcing the cruel fact that he'd lost his job in middle age.

Ten minutes later.

Holding the thousand yuan he'd received from the finance department and clutching a pile of belongings, Chu Yuanqing stood dejectedly on the street as though in a dream. Only then did he begin to wonder how he'd cover his expenses from now on.

Living in Sea Capital was expensive. Rent alone cost six or seven thousand a month. Add utilities, internet, phone bills, food, and his daughter's monthly allowance, and he'd be out on the street in two months.

It wasn't that Chu Yuanqing hadn't tried to save money. But because of his household registration, the only way to get into a good high school in Sea Capital was to attend a private one. The better private schools had prohibitively high tuition, so even now, he had only four digits in savings.

Most importantly, as a man who was going to die, he'd bought life insurance more than six months ago to save up for his daughter's university tuition. He planned to wait until he was close to death and swindle a big payout from the insurance company.

To maximize his benefits, he'd bought a policy with a very high coverage amount. Paying it off all at once wasn't realistic, so he'd chosen to pay monthly. At that rate, it would take a year to finish paying.

There were still a full three months left before he'd paid the full premium.

The closer Chu Yuanqing got to his death, the worse his condition became. His former employer had fired him because of it, and finding another job that paid anywhere near as well was practically impossible.

This sudden unemployment had thrown all his plans into disarray, and his anxiety spread like weeds.

What should he do?

The question lingered in his mind. Even when he got back to his front door, he still had no answer.

Chu Yuanqing sighed wearily and unlocked the door. After stepping inside, he happened to notice a flyer lying on the balcony railing. As if guided by fate, he picked it up. It was an advertisement recruiting contestants for a variety show talent competition.

No education requirements; room and board included.

Monthly salary of twelve thousand. Auditions held in Sea Capital.

The ad listed plenty of benefits, but the requirements were surprisingly simple: female, attractive, and a clean record.

At that moment, Chu Yuanqing thought of many things. As a Savior from the old era, he'd lost ninety-nine percent of his supernatural powers. All that remained was one ability, like a practical joke.

Because it was the Peaceful Era and the ability was no help in everyday life, he'd almost forgotten he still had it.

But with the pressure of daily life weighing on him, the flyer brought the relevant memory back to the surface.

—Unknown-rank supernatural ability: transformation.

More precisely, it changed his Life Form into that of a Magical Girl.

"If... and I mean if..."

"If I turned into a girl, wouldn't it be a lot easier to find a job than as a middle-aged man?"

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Volume One: The Magical Girl Transformation

Chu Yuanqing, thirty-six years old, retired Savior.

At that moment, the flyer looked like a demon's contract, tempting him to fall into the abyss. It gave him a dangerous idea as he faced the threat of unemployment.

He opened his palm, and a pendant took shape out of thin air before dropping into it.

Its border was carved from silver threads like moonlight, enclosing fragments of gray glass. It was designed like a delicate lantern, its intricate patterns making it a work of art worthy of a high price. But now it was dim and worn, with an air of age and decay.

This was the crystallization of his ability, much like the Transformation device used by Magical Girls in certain anime.

The difference was that after transforming with it, his Life Form would be permanently changed.

Even if he could return to his current appearance, it wouldn't be his real body anymore, but a construct woven from magic.

In other words, there was no going back.

Once he used it, he could never return to the way things were.

Chu Yuanqing was torn. The dignity of being a man, along with the shame, awkwardness, resistance, and confusion he felt at the thought, filled his chest.

But soon, his gaze settled on the photograph on the living room cabinet.

In it, a young Chu Yuanqing was holding his daughter, tiny as a snowball, in a field of blooming sunflowers. He smiled at the camera, relieved.

Chu Yuanqing stopped thinking and made up his mind.

He was an unwanted Savior. In the New Era, there was no one left who could sail on his ship.

If not for Xiao Shu, he would have let the curse of the Sea of Truth consume him and died seventeen years ago.

Now that his life was already nearing its end, why should he care about his biological sex?

Besides, if he didn't do this, he might not survive another three months.

His body was already rotting under the curse. Changing into a Magical Girl, a Life Form sustained primarily by the soul, might even extend his life.

Besides! No one knew, and no one would see him. He might as well not have changed at all. It should be fine!

Sure, turning into a beautiful girl and even singing, dancing, and rapping was embarrassing, but compared to his daughter's future, none of that mattered!

Chu Yuanqing used Self-hypnosis to reassure and persuade himself. Then he nodded firmly, as if convinced.

"That's right. Exactly."

"It's only for six months. As long as nobody finds out, it'll be fine."

As his words faded,

an unfathomable darkness surged like a tsunami, silently swallowing the entire living room.

The pendant suddenly grew larger, transforming into a delicate lantern. A faint flame flickered within.

Chu Yuanqing melted into the darkness. His soul slipped free of its shell and fell into the lantern's flame, making a rumbling sound like the beat of a newborn heart. Then a few strands of light sprouted and spread, weaving together a brand-new body, while the lantern shrank back into a pendant.