Living with a Magical Girl, but I'm a Monster Executive

Even if he had the intention, he didn't have the money...

The shop owner he saved must have tracked him down and stuffed a cake into his hands... and Cong Yu must have accepted it without even trying to refuse.

That was what Yaochuan Guang thought, but what she didn't know was that her guess wasn't merely close—it was completely accurate.

The sequence of events was exactly as she had imagined.

"Don't eat too much, dinner's coming up soon."

As Yaochuan Guang said that, she hung her apron on the hook by the kitchen door, only to see Cong Yu and Lantian Zhu both looking at her.

Their gazes were fixed squarely on her, making her feel a little uneasy. She couldn't help asking, "W-What is it?"

Very quickly, though, she saw the two of them look away at the same time.

Between bites of cake, Lantian Zhu simply voiced what they were both thinking. "That sounded a lot like something a housewife would say... what you just said."

What did she mean by housewife?

Did she mean, "Don't eat too much, dinner's coming up soon"?

Yaochuan Guang thought about it, and somehow, she really could feel a faint sense of familiarity from those words... Her mother used to say similar things.

Back then, carrying her backpack, she would happily return home every day and tell her mother about what had happened at elementary school.

Her mother would smile and respond while busying herself, then wait for her father to come home. They would have dinner together before she went off to do her homework.

Those were such nostalgic days...

Lost in those memories, she wore a wistful expression.

"..." Lantian Zhu watched everything without saying anything further. She realized that Yaochuan Guang had thought of the past... and felt a little sorry for bringing it up.

"Don't be sad, Yaochuan Guang."

Cong Yu simply patted her shoulder and comforted her. "If your parents knew you had such a great roommate as me, then their spirits in heaven would probably be comforted, right?"

Not paying much attention to what exactly Cong Yu was saying, only feeling that he was trying to comfort her, Yaochuan Guang nodded gratefully. "Mm, thank you."

But immediately afterward, she felt that something was off.

"..." Lantian Zhu: "?"

Yaochuan Guang: "What kind of bullshit are you even talking about?!"

Cong Yu: "Ehehe—"

Magical Girl Horseplay

"I'm done washing up. Your turn—the water's still warm."

As Lantian Zhu said that, she walked out of the bathroom wearing only a bath towel, then sat down on the sofa without a care in the world.

She paid absolutely no attention to Yaochuan Guang's stare.

Cong Yu simply nodded as well, carrying a change of clothes into the bathroom... also paying absolutely no attention to Yaochuan Guang's stare.

Just like yesterday, since the whole house only had one bathroom, the bathing order was—Yaochuan Guang → Lantian Zhu → Cong Yu.

Previously, the two girls would come out after bathing with only towels wrapped around them, then change into pajamas after returning to their own rooms.

After Cong Yu moved in, Yaochuan Guang started changing clothes in the bathroom before coming out, but Lantian Zhu apparently had no intention of changing her habits.

"Little Lan, why do you come out wearing only a towel?"

In response to Yaochuan Guang's question, Lantian Zhu put a lollipop in her mouth and answered simply, "Because it's hot in the bathroom."

Though her words were slightly slurred from the candy, she still made her meaning perfectly clear.

Yaochuan Guang twitched the corner of her mouth. "No, that's not what I mean. We live with a man now..."

Lantian Zhu: "So?"

"So..."

Yaochuan Guang repeated herself, but she had no idea what she was supposed to say after that "so"... After all, Cong Yu had already proven through his actions that he was a polite person.

He didn't say "I'm home," "Thanks for the meal," or "I'm full," and he often didn't greet them either.

But whenever the two of them accidentally exposed a little too much in daily life or anything like that, Cong Yu truly never took a single extra look.

He had even proactively helped pull up her blanket before.

To sum it up, he was very easy to live with.

"Uh, but no matter what... um..."

Yaochuan Guang stammered, yet still couldn't come up with any reason.

At that, Lantian Zhu smiled.

"Hmph, Little Lan, you're even laughing."

Yaochuan Guang puffed out her cheeks angrily like a pufferfish and immediately reached out to tickle Lantian Zhu. "You think you can just come out in a towel? Tickle tickle—"

Caught off guard, Lantian Zhu was suddenly tickled under her arms and on her thighs. Even she couldn't keep a calm expression.

"Hahaha... That tickles! Little Guang, don't mess around, hahaha..."

Lantian Zhu laughed aloud, trying hard to evade Yaochuan Guang's devilish hands, but it was of little use.

"I'll tickle you some more—"

"Haha... Don't, no!"

"Saying no won't help. Even if you scream your throat raw, no one's coming to save you."

As Yaochuan Guang said that, she pinned Lantian Zhu down with one hand during their scuffle and kept tickling her with the other.

During the struggle, the towel around Lantian Zhu's body slipped loose to some extent. But there was nobody else here, so it was probably fine, right?

Creak...

With the sound of the bathroom door opening, Yaochuan Guang froze instantly... and she wasn't the only one. Cong Yu, freshly bathed and stepping out, froze too.

What entered Cong Yu's sight was Yaochuan Guang, sticking out her butt with the rear beneath her nightgown pointed directly at him.

This time, she was wearing the little crocodile pair.

Apparently, Yaochuan Guang had a whole collection of little animal underwear... Perhaps they were her animal friends?

Pinned beneath Yaochuan Guang was Lantian Zhu, whose body showed a broad expanse of snowy-white skin, as smooth as white jade... Truly worthy of a magical girl.

Maybe because she didn't go out much, she looked much fairer and softer than Yaochuan Guang. Her chest, however, seemed somewhat more unfortunate.

Cong Yu was silent for a moment, then decided it would be better not to disturb their good time. He gave a small bow. "Sorry for interrupting."

Then he silently retreated into the bathroom and slowly began pulling the door shut.

"No need to apologize! Don't apologize! Little Lan and I are completely innocent—it's just friends playing around!"

Yaochuan Guang protested, quickly helping Lantian Zhu straighten her clothes. "Cong Yu, listen to my explanation!"

Honestly, Yaochuan Guang felt that things were going very badly. She felt that Cong Yu would sooner or later firmly conclude that she was a lesbian.

Though her behavior really was easy to misunderstand.

But heaven and earth could bear witness—she was really just playing around!

At Yaochuan Guang's call, Cong Yu opened the bathroom door again, his face full of suspicion toward her words.

Still, being willing to hear her out was a good thing!

Yaochuan Guang felt she could still be saved, so she shook the expressionless Lantian Zhu by the shoulders. "Little Lan, help explain it to him!"

As long as Lantian Zhu was willing to help explain, everything would be fine!

"Boo hoo hoo."

However, Lantian Zhu covered her face and fake-cried without the slightest emotion, making the suspicion on Cong Yu's face deepen.

"Hey, hey, hey! Anyone can tell that's fake crying! It's fake crying! Little Lan is deliberately trying to frame me!"

As Yaochuan Guang anxiously pounded the sofa, Cong Yu looked at the battered sofa with feeling and nodded. "Mm, I believe you... Look at the trust in my eyes."

After Cong Yu said that, Yaochuan Guang let out a sigh of relief, then looked into his eyes...

He was glancing at her sideways, not even making eye contact with her!

"You don't believe me at all, do you?!"

Lantian Zhu: "Boo hoo hoo."

"Little Lan, stop fooling around too! That's such a flat reading! Rather than crying, you sound more like you're imitating Thomas the Tank Engine!"

"..."

"Huff... huff..."

Yaochuan Guang lay there panting, her face flushed cherry-red. After being pranked in turns by Cong Yu and Lantian Zhu, she looked more like the one who had been done to.

After catching her breath, she realized that Cong Yu and Lantian Zhu had teamed up to mess with her again. She had never actually been mistaken for a lesbian.

"Haah... Hah... Seriously... huff, I can't believe you two."

Still breathing hard, Yaochuan Guang steadied herself and asked, "By the way, Cong Yu-chan, why did you wash up so fast?"

"You're responsible for today's accident too, Cong Yu-chan. I didn't expect you to bathe so quickly, so you saw us playing around."

In response to Yaochuan Guang's unreasonable accusation, Cong Yu answered simply, "Guys shower quickly."

That was one reason.

The main reason was that Cong Yu had no interest in soaking in the bath.

To save water, families in Japan took turns soaking in the bath. In other words, after cleaning themselves under the shower, they would get into the tub to soak.

Yaochuan Guang went first, then Lantian Zhu...

By the time it was Cong Yu's turn, even though the bathwater was still clean enough...

Cong Yu wasn't particularly attached to baths, nor was he very interested in beautiful girls' bathwater, so he simply drained it.

But thinking of what Yaochuan Guang had said earlier, Cong Yu grinned. "You just said, 'Because I didn't expect you to wash up so fast,' right?"

At Cong Yu's words, Yaochuan Guang blankly nodded. Lantian Zhu had already guessed what he was about to say and gave an interested chuckle.

Just as she had guessed, Cong Yu teased, "So... when I'm not around, do you often 'play around' like that?"

Often like that?

Often...

"Ah! That's not what I meant! Aahhh—"

Watching Yaochuan Guang lose her mind, Cong Yu turned around with a grin and headed back to his room. "Hahaha, I'm dying... Good night—"

Following Cong Yu's words, Lantian Zhu put on a worried expression and raised a hand protectively over her chest. "Little Guang, scary."

"..."

"Aaaah... Ugh!"

Yaochuan Guang could not get up again.

Deadline?

"Ring ring ring..."

Today, Cong Yu was woken by the sound of a phone call... For some reason, he hadn't been able to sleep until he woke naturally at all lately.

School was about to start soon. There were hardly any good days left.

Yet he still had to be woken up every day...

Feeling a little helpless, Cong Yu picked up his phone and looked at the incoming caller ID: "Editor."

"Ah, right... the manuscript."

Muttering to himself, Cong Yu hung up without hesitation, then checked the time... exactly eight in the morning.

So diligent. Calling as soon as work started.