Chapter 277
"Aurora," Fang Ming gently interrupted Aurora, placing his hand on Aurora shoulder and saying earnestly, "Lift your head."
"..."
Aurora shook her head. She didn't dare to look up, didn't dare to look into Fang Ming's eyes, and even less dared to let Fang Ming see her embarrassing, crying face.
But Fang Ming simply repeated, "Raise your head, Lyla."
The familiar name made Aurora shudder. Images of her loved ones flashed through her mind, and she instinctively looked up to meet Fang Ming's eyes.
Fang Ming's eyes were calm and gentle, without blame, impatience, or the anger Aurora had imagined; only sincerity and tenderness.
The boy slowly said to her:
"Do you think that if you leave, Kelly and I will be safe?"
"..."
"Do you think that after you leave, Kelly and I will completely sever ties with the world of magic, become ordinary people, and never get involved in anything related to magic again?"
She shook her head, shook her head... Aurora just shook her head.
Fang Ming continued:
"No, right? Quite the opposite. Without your strength and your help, we might face even more dangers in the future..."
"But... me on the Sky Screen-- "
"That's you from the future!" Fang Ming interrupted Aurora, saying seriously, "That's you from the future, from a parallel world. Even if she really did something wrong, you shouldn't bear the responsibility for her, because you didn't do anything like that, did you?"
"And it is precisely because you have seen everything that happened in the Sky Screen that you should work even harder, work hard to improve yourself, work hard to protect Kelly, and prevent what happened in the Sky Screen from happening to you again!"
"Besides, this is only the ninth episode."
Fang Ming suddenly laughed and said to Aurora, "You're the protagonist of the spin-off, and it's only the ninth episode. Is it possible that the protagonist has completely lost his companions?"
"You have to believe in yourself, believe in Kelly... Even if you really think you brought misfortune upon Kelly, you should at least wait until all the spin-offs have been released before saying that, right?"
Fang Ming crouched down to Aurora's gaze, who was sitting on the ground.
He held Aurora's hands tightly, making her grip the red phone firmly, and said in a low but gentle voice:
"Now, turn on your phone and listen to Kelly's opinion... don't let her worry anymore."
"..."
Aurora held her phone, remaining silent for a long time.
Her body trembled slightly, her finger hovering over the power button on her phone, but she couldn't turn it on.
At this moment, Aurora seemed to have lost all the courage she once had; she dared not turn on the computer, and dared not see Kelly.
How would Kelly feel if he just threw Kelly away without saying a word?
Will she be angry? Will she blame me?
Will... he hate me because of this, and then... then stop talking to me...?
The thought had barely crossed Aurora's mind when she bit her lip again.
What are you thinking, Aurora...? If Kelly ignores you, wouldn't that be a good thing? That way... that way you can leave without any problem, and Kelly can find someone more suitable... someone who can better protect her and the world.
After all, she had never been a qualified Magical Girls.
Even so, the thought of the scene in her imagination still made Aurora unable to muster the courage to turn on her phone.
Finally, Fang Ming's palm covered hers.
He grabbed the girl's finger and pressed the power button on the phone.
The girl did not resist.
Despite being much stronger Fang Ming, she could have easily shaken off Fang Ming hand if she had simply resisted, but she did not.
Press the power button, and after a few seconds, the phone screen lights up.
Before the startup cutscene had even finished playing, Kelly had already kicked it away, jumped to the center of the screen, and shouted at Aurora:
"Aurora!"
"!"
Kelly's voice made Aurora tremble. She instinctively closed her eyes, not daring to look at Kelly, and braced herself for Kelly's scolding.
But to Aurora's surprise, Kelly's first words were not a scolding.
"Listen to me! You are my chosen partner! You are the Magical Girls I contracted! Unless you die, or I die! I will never change my contract partner! So—don't you dare throw me away again! Do you hear me!"
Kelly's voice was loud, and there was a hint of anger in her words.
But this is not a blame for Aurora.
Aurora opened her eyes, her face streaked with tears, displaying an indescribable complexity. Her voice choked with emotion as she looked at Kelly on the screen and whispered:
"But... but you in the Sky Screen... because of me..."
"That's not your fault! Honestly, why do you take other people's mistakes for your own?"
"You did nothing wrong by saving the girl, and you did nothing wrong by wanting to save more people. The ones who are truly wrong are the bad girl who stole the phone from the Sky Screen and those bad guys who wanted to harm the Magical Girls!"
"You did nothing wrong! Aurora! It's not even your fault for not protecting me! You shouldn't blame yourself for this, and you certainly shouldn't have run away alone! And--!"
Kelly took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, and said to Aurora:
"--Running away after being wronged isn't like you. Don't you want to avenge yourself in the Sky Screen? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—that's your style!"
Because she was constantly worried that she would cause trouble for Kelly and the old man, Aurora's first thought after seeing the things she feared happen in the Sky Screen was not to find the culprit.
Instead, they harbored the thought, "Ah, I knew it," and ran away on their own.
Ultimately, it was because Aurora valued Kelly and Fang Ming too much that she chose to 'run away'.
But this is not Aurora's style at all.
What Kelly said is exactly what Aurora should have been doing.
"So, go back, Aurora." Fang Ming reached out his hand to Aurora: "Everyone is worried about you and is waiting for you to come back."
"Can... can I really... continue with Little K?"
Aurora asked, bewildered.
Kelly, seemingly getting angry, replied, "Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you before you understand! You're the Magical Girls I chose! Not me you chose! So, no matter what you think, you're not allowed to give up! I don't recognize anyone but you!"
"That's what Ms. Kelly said."
Fang Ming attacked Aurora again. "So... what's your choice?"
Fang Ming and Kelly have said everything they wanted to say. If Aurora doesn't choose to go back with Fang Ming now, then Fang Ming will respect Aurora's choice.
Although Kelly may be sad and dissatisfied, she will still respect Aurora.
Since things have been discussed to this extent, the fact that Aurora still refuses to go back proves that she truly doesn't want to become Magical Girls.
No one will force Aurora, and Fang Ming and Kelly will not force her to do anything she doesn't like.
But Fang Ming and Kelly both knew that Aurora wasn't the type to give up easily. She definitely still wanted to become Magical Girls; otherwise, she probably would have turned and run away the moment she saw Fang Ming.
Therefore, naturally, under the watchful eyes of Fang Ming and Kelly, Aurora tearfully grasped Fang Ming's hand.
She sobbed as she said:
"I'm sorry, Little K... I'm so sorry... I... I was just... so afraid of losing you, so..."
Kelly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Aurora place her hand in Fang Ming's.
She gently comforted Aurora, saying:
"It's okay, we understand. But it's best not to leave without saying goodbye next time. I was really worried and heartbroken."
"Sorry..."
Aurora had become much more docile at this moment. The fiery red pepper of the past seemed to have turned into a wilted eggplant, and her crying and whining made her look like a little girl who truly matched her appearance.
They actually look rather cute.
Fang Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Aurora take his hand. He smiled and said to Aurora:
"Alright, now that we've talked it out, let's go back. Everyone's still waiting for you..."
Fang Ming didn't finish his sentence.
Because halfway through his speech, Fang Ming felt as if his voice had been fitted with a rheostat, transforming from a fairly mature voice that barely approached that of a young man into a neutral voice of a teenager, even carrying a touch of childish naiveté.
Looking around at the seemingly larger surroundings, Fang Ming instantly understood his current predicament.
The 'growth buff' that the Aging Demon gave him... seems to have expired!!!
Volume 3 Side Story <Magical Girl Aurora>: Chapter 304 Fang Ming is definitely not the real person!
"..."
"..."
Fang Ming remained silent, and so did Aurora.
She looked at the cute little boy in front of her, then looked down at his small, childlike hands that suddenly seemed smaller than her own, and was momentarily stunned.
Of course, she couldn't react in time.
The 'uncle' who had just been gently persuading her to go back suddenly transformed into a child much younger than herself in front of her. This change was enough to make her brain shut down on the spot.
Moreover, Aurora's mood hadn't recovered yet; she was still immersed in self-blame for leaving alone, and her tears hadn't even dried. She didn't know how to react to the situation before her.
It was this momentary lapse in concentration that gave Fang Ming the opportunity to escape.
He withdrew his hand, turned around, without hesitation.
Fang Ming ran out of the alley without looking back, as if he had made up his mind.
Aurora stared blankly as Fang Ming ran away. Only after he disappeared around the corner of the alley did Kelly remember something and say to Aurora:
"Don't just stand there! Chase after them!!"
"Huh? Oh!"
Aurora then realized what was happening and quickly went forward, intending to chase after the 'child' who had just run away.
But naturally, when she ran out of the alley, the little boy Fang Ming had already disappeared.
Looking to the left, the street is empty except for the streetlights.
Looking to the right, you can see the shopping mall building that has already been closed.
There was no sign of Fang Ming anywhere, not even a footprint.
It was as if Fang Ming had flown away the moment he ran out of the alley.
"What... what's going on?"
Aurora's voice was still a little muffled, because her nose was stuffy from crying earlier.
She had been feeling quite sad, but now, Aurora's sadness vanished without a trace, just like the disappearing young boy Fang Ming.
"... Mr. Fang Ming... could it be... no, no, no, how could that be?"
Kelly seemed to have guessed something, but immediately denied it afterward.
Aurora's mind was a complete blank; she couldn't think of anything useful and could only stare blankly at Kelly, asking:
"What 'how could that be?' Little K, what are you talking about?"
"Um, thinking about it carefully, Yuan Bai seems to have become a child too, right?"
"Um."
"And then, although you didn't go today, Yuan Bai did participate in the battle against the Aging Demon. Her body was slightly hit by the Aging Demon's attack and grew a little."
"... So what?" Aurora still didn't understand.
After all, she hadn't yet shaken off the emotions from earlier, and her mind wasn't functioning properly.
But Kelly's next words were simple and easy to understand, enough for her to comprehend them.
"After the Aging Demon dies, the 'attacks' it left behind will also disappear over time. So, normally, judging by the time, Yuan Bai's magic should be wearing off right now, and she should be turning back into a child..."
"But even so, what does this have to do with Uncle... huh?" Aurora was about to ask why Kelly was bringing up Yuan Bai's affairs when it was clearly Uncle's health problem.
However, Aurora guessed the reason in the next second.