Big Brother

"It's okay. There'll be replays online."

Black Rabbit Youyou comforted her.

There were two kinds of online replays. One involved directly recording the Sky Screen.

Of course, that kind of recording was basically a bootleg, and the audio was nearly impossible to make out. The Sky Screen's nature was such that only those who watched it attentively could hear its sound. If one did not pay attention to it, one would hear nothing at all.

Recordings, meanwhile, were inanimate things. They could record the Sky Screen itself, but asking them to capture sounds that could only be heard through subjective awareness was impossible.

Thus, the second kind of replay was born.

Animated adaptations.

They created nearly one-to-one 3D models of the Sky Screen above, then used animation production to faithfully recreate everything that happened.

The government handled this, and because it had official backing, it had gathered quite a few animation companies and studios. Production was also remarkably fast. Often, something aired in the morning, and a new episode would be available by evening.

The voice actors for the main characters were chosen from professional voice actors with similar voices.

The government had considered having Yu Muqiu and the others voice themselves, but they were students as well as Magical Girls. On top of that, they had never received voice-acting training. Even if they voiced themselves, there would still be differences in emotional delivery.

So most characters were voiced by professional actors.

Even so, Yu Muqiu and the others could still receive various profits after the animation aired.

This included, but was not limited to, royalties from anime merchandise, toys and clothes made using their likenesses and magic...

Wait, how were Xiao Bai's royalties supposed to be calculated?

Fang Ming suddenly realized this. After struggling with it for a long time, he could only regretfully give up.

Forget it. It was not like he lacked money.

He did not care about such trifling amounts!

Right, he did not care!

"...I can only watch the replay."

Song Niandong could only accept reality and nod.

Normally, she would not have gotten up this late.

Back when she was at home, she set alarms. Even though things at school had not been going well for her, she still went to school on time every day.

Because Song Niandong's grandmother wanted her to go to school.

Song Niandong had always remembered that.

But... now that she had run away from home, Song Niandong had to leave her phone behind and hide it at home to prevent anyone from tracking her through its signal. She had wandered around alone with Youyou.

Her living expenses were still in her bank account, and she had not had time to withdraw cash. Song Niandong did not even have money to buy food.

Under Youyou's "guidance," she had nearly embarked on a life of crime...

Well, come to think of it, locking tens of thousands of people inside a lantern festival in a Magic Barrier as hostages counted as a crime too, right...?

But judging by Song Niandong's expression, she did not seem to care much about that. Was it because no one had been hurt?

Fang Ming pondered this as he looked at the still somewhat dazed Song Niandong. In the end, he decided to ignore the matter for now and asked her instead,

"This episode is over too. Do you want something to eat?"

"Mmm..."

Song Niandong touched her stomach and shook her head. "...I'm not hungry."

Just after waking up, unless one was starving, one really would not feel hungry.

Fang Ming smiled at Song Niandong. "You can think about what you want first. By the time we get to breakfast... no, by the time we get to lunch, you'll probably be hungry."

"Then..." Song Niandong hesitated for a moment before looking up and asking, "...Noodles?"

"That works. But before we leave..." Fang Ming pointed at Song Niandong's messy hair and told her,

"Go wash up first. And change your clothes while you're at it."

"...Clothes?"

Song Niandong stared blankly at Fang Ming, as though she did not understand what he meant.

Fang Ming pointed to the oversized shirt and long skirt on the bedside table and told Song Niandong,

"Youyou and I went out to buy them for you this morning. I didn't know your measurements, so I bought them a little big, but they should fit."

Fang Ming was a "hostage," but he was an exceptionally free one.

As long as he did not leave Youyou's designated range or notify the authorities so they could arrest Song Niandong, Fang Ming could go wherever he wanted.

It was under those conditions that Fang Ming had found the time to buy Song Niandong clothes.

After all, Song Niandong's clothes were filthy beyond words and even carried a faint, rotten sour odor.

She was such a cute girl. What kind of sense did it make for her to wear clothes like that? He did not expect her to dress beautifully, but she should at least be clean.

What Fang Ming had not expected was that after seeing the clothes he had bought for her, Song Niandong stood there blankly for a long time. Finally, she said in a voice that faintly trembled,

"...Thank you."

After saying that, she hugged the clothes and ran into the nearby bathroom.

Watching Song Niandong's retreating figure and recalling her reaction just now, Fang Ming was silent for a long while before asking Black Rabbit,

"...I didn't really do anything just now, did I?"

He had only bought her some clothes.

"Dongdong probably hasn't received a gift from anyone in a long time... Still, I didn't expect her reaction to be so strong."

Youyou found it strange too.

She did not think a set of clothes was something worth being moved by. When Fang Ming had bought them, she had not given it much thought.

But seeing Song Niandong's reaction now, Youyou finally realized it after the fact.

This guy Fang Ming had apparently touched Dongdong's heart with just a few dozen yuan and a few pieces of clothing?

This man... truly was worthy of being the Magical Girls' cousin.

Terrifying!

Brother

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The sound of a hair dryer filled the room.

Fang Ming stood behind Song Niandong, holding the hair dryer in one hand while using the other to arrange her slightly long hair.

Unlike the Magical Girls with their colorful hair, Song Niandong's hair was simply black with a brownish tint.

Or rather, dark brown.

Its quality was fairly good. Even after being a mess all day, a wash and a blow-dry made it much smoother.

There were just some dry, yellowish patches from malnutrition that looked... unpleasant.

Fang Ming gently dried Song Niandong's hair while she merely sat there and played with the long sleeves of her shirt.

After a while, she suddenly looked up and asked,

"...Can I call you big brother?"

"Lower your head. I'm drying your hair."

Fang Ming pressed Song Niandong's little head back down before saying, "You can call me whatever you want. It's up to you."

"Then... Big Brother?"

"Mm."

"Big Brother..."

"Mm."

"Hehe, Big Brother..."

"..." Fang Ming helplessly met Song Niandong's eyes in the mirror and complained, "You don't need to say it that many times, do you?"

Song Niandong looked away from Fang Ming and refused to speak.

Fang Ming changed the subject and asked,

"Why do you suddenly want to call me big brother?"

"Because... you're just like the big brother I imagined."

Song Niandong spoke softly.

Honestly, her voice was so quiet, and the hair dryer was so loud, that Fang Ming had nearly failed to hear her. If he were still an ordinary person, his body not strengthened by magic, he probably really would not have heard her.

After drying the last damp patch of Song Niandong's hair, Fang Ming continued asking,

"'Imagined'? Why did you have that idea?"

"Because..."

Song Niandong did not continue. She merely raised a finger and pointed outside the window.

Fang Ming immediately understood.

It was because of the Sky Screen.

Because the Sky Screen showed Yu Muqiu and the others' experiences, Song Niandong had imagined herself being like Yu Muqiu—having close friends she could confide in and family who cared about her.

And having a "big brother" who would protect them no matter where they were.

So if it had not been Fang Ming who came here, but a girl Song Niandong's age, or perhaps an older adult from her uncle's generation,

then Song Niandong's request might have been, "Can you be my friend?" or "Can you be my family?"

In the end, this was the behavior of a child lacking "love."

What Yu Muqiu had possessed from birth was Song Niandong's wish and "dream."

"Are you two done yet? I'm starving to death here."

Black Rabbit Youyou suddenly spoke to them.

The Sky Screen's video had started at ten and ended close to ten-thirty. After Song Niandong finished getting ready, it was already past eleven.

Besides the few pieces of bread Fang Ming had fed her that morning, Youyou had not eaten anything else. Her stomach had long been growling with hunger.

Seeing that Fang Ming had finished drying Song Niandong's hair, Youyou finally could not help urging them.

Fang Ming ignored Youyou. After combing Song Niandong's hair and rubbing her little head, he put on the improved Magic Glasses Black Rabbit Youyou had made before telling them,

"Let's go eat."

The place where they ate was not far from here.

Though it was an "unlicensed motel" that did not require identification, it was still a motel, so naturally there was no shortage of food nearby.

The prices might have been a little high, but to Fang Ming, who always carried cash, that amount of money was nothing.

Unlike Fang Ming's previous life, although many aspects of the Federation were similar to China from his previous life, many things were also different.

For example, mobile payments existed, but they were relatively more troublesome.

That was why Fang Ming usually kept cash on him.

It was precisely this habit that kept Fang Ming from truly having to live on nothing but air.

Otherwise, the moment he casually scanned a code with his phone, the authorities could precisely track his location, exposing Song Niandong along with him.

Another difference between the Federation and his previous life was that even though mobile payments had become widespread, green phone booths could still be seen throughout the streets and alleys.

Right now, Fang Ming was making a call in the phone booth beside the noodle shop, while Black Rabbit Youyou watched him like a prison guard, waiting for him to finish "keeping watch."

"...I'm just calling my friend and asking him to bring me what I need." Fang Ming looked at Youyou speechlessly.

Youyou sat on the platform beside the phone booth and snorted. "Who knows if you're trying to tip someone off? Make the call already. I'm listening."

"You're tiny, but sure are suspicious."

"...Watch it, or I'll turn you into a frog with magic!"