The First Morning at the Secret Base

Ever since Xia Liang discovered the secret of Larkspur's identity, she has often deliberately made various intimate gestures.

Sometimes she would sit next to the Larkspur, pick up its long blue hair and play with it, braiding it into little braids or tying it into pigtails.

Or, it might suddenly run up behind the Larkspur, cover its eyes, and play a somewhat childish "guess who I am" game.

More often than not, like now, he would secretly do little things when Lin Xiaolu was around: such as tickling, kicking, or writing words on Larkspur's hand to pass on secret messages.

The content of these whispers was completely meaningless, consisting of things like "I don't know," "It's too difficult," and "Tell me again." It would have been fine if she had just said it directly on the table, but she chose to convey it through these subtle actions.

If it only happened once or twice, it wouldn't be so bad, but after it happened many times, Larkspur felt that she should give her a little nudge.

"Little Brocade, you've been looking at this page for ages, have you figured out how to write it yet?"

She narrowed her eyes and said in a slightly cold voice, "I was just talking to White Rose about this. Would you like to exchange some thoughts with her?"

"Um?"

Xia Liang, who had been pretending to stare intently at her textbook, paused slightly, then looked up, somewhat bewildered. "What?"

"Weren't you looking at the questions?" Larkspur took the opportunity to pull her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest, and said, "Factorization, you can discuss these different types of questions with White Rose."

"Ah, this..." Xia Liang lowered her head, looking at the contents of the book, and was speechless for a moment.

Her reaction was exactly what Larkspur had expected, because Cui Que had been so focused on making small movements that she probably had no idea which question Larkspur had just been referring to.

In this situation, even if she knew how to answer these kinds of questions, it would be difficult for her to join the conversation.

So, under Xia Liang's slightly resentful gaze, Larkspur began a righteous and stern lecture, using all sorts of common phrases such as "How can you be distracted when the exam is coming up?" and "You shouldn't be arrogant and complacent even if you've made progress." Xia Liang was speechless and could only lower her head and obediently write her questions.

Lin Xiaolu chuckled smugly to herself; Bai Jingxuan glanced at the two of them with some confusion, then continued to ponder over her book; Moko was sleeping on the bookshelf, was awakened by the noise and slowly turned over.

In this atmosphere, the last weekend before the diagnostic test came to an end.

It was Monday morning again. As the first rays of sunlight shone on her bedside, Larkspur instinctively opened her eyes. She sat up groggily, instinctively touching the empty bed beside her, before gradually becoming more alert and getting out of bed.

The magical girl's body doesn't actually secrete sweat or dirt like a normal person, so there's no need for special washing. However, Larkspur still followed her own habits and went to the washroom to wash up.

Then, taking advantage of the early morning, she began to wake the girls one by one from their rooms.

Lin Xiaolu was the easiest to wake up, probably thanks to the cold war she had with Lin Yun a couple of years ago. In order not to see her father's face before going to work in the morning, she often got up early and went to school alone.

This habit has gradually changed as the relationship between father and daughter has eased. Lin Xiaolu doesn't like to get up early as much anymore, but she still maintains a high level of sensitivity during sleep, so she can wake up immediately whenever Larkspur knocks on the door.

Bai Jingxuan doesn't need to go to school now, but she still has a lot of magical girl coursework to catch up on, so she can't relax.

Her daily routine was also very good, probably thanks to her years of experience living in the orphanage. Although she wasn't as easy to wake up Lin Xiaolu, she would slowly open her eyes as long as Larkspur tapped lightly on her bedside. After being woken up by Larkspur, she wouldn't fuss about sleeping in or linger in bed, but would sit up very actively and begin her morning routine.

Xia Liang was the hardest to wake up.

According to her, she wouldn't get up unless she slept until the very last second before being late. But the truth is, one of the main reasons Xia Liang was considered a delinquent by her classmates was that she was late every day—according to Lin Xiaolu.

Now that everyone is living under the same roof, Larkspur can no longer indulge in her bad habits.

She knocked gently on the door, but there was no response from inside. So, Larkspur turned the doorknob and went into the room, looking at the single bed placed by the window—a bulge made of a blanket was on it.

Stepping forward, the Larkspur looked at the bedside for a while, and then saw half a head peeking out from the bulge. Strands of messy black hair peeked out from the gap between the blanket and the pillow, trembling slowly with the even breathing of the person who wore the hair.

After waiting for a while with one hand on her hip, and seeing that the person in the bulge still showed no signs of waking up, Larkspur called out, "Get up, Little Brocade."

All that could be heard was the faint sound of breathing.

Raising an eyebrow, Larkspur decided to stop holding back. Sure enough, she reached out and grabbed the sheet, pulled it straight back with force, and then yanked it off.

The figure inside the blanket was also revealed.

Then they saw Xia Liang hugging a large doll, her head buried in the top of the doll's head, half of her face pressed against the fluffy surface of the toy, her eyes closed, showing no sign of waking up.

A strange smile still lingered on her face, as if she were lost in a beautiful dream.

Larkspur turned around, took a few steps to the window, drew back the curtains to let the sunlight into the room, then went to the bedside and patted Xia Liang's shoulder. "Get up, it's time for school."

The other party still did not respond.

After that, Larkspur tried various methods: patting his shoulder had no effect, pushing him had no effect, and even slapping his forehead had no effect. After repeatedly encountering obstacles, he could only choose a slightly excessive method.

Pinch your nose.

Larkspur placed her fingers on Xia Liang's nose and gently pinched it. She squatted by the bed, quietly watching Xia Liang's face while secretly counting the time to prevent her from suffocating.

And so, after about 30 seconds, just as the Larkspur was about to give up, Xia Liang finally opened her eyes.

"Ha--hoo, hoo, junior?"

She opened her mouth, still a little dazed, and after catching her breath for a moment, asked in surprise, "How did you get into my house? Am I dreaming?"

"This is our base. Your school starts in 40 minutes, so get up quickly."

After releasing Larkspur, the lark took two steps back and left the room without waiting for Xia Liang to say anything more.

She didn't notice Xia Liang's blank expression on the bed behind her, as if she were pondering something, but time was tight in the morning, and she didn't have a chance to linger there.

Walking into the kitchen, Larkspur pulled out a pair of arm sleeves from the cabinet under the stove, quickly rummaged through the refrigerator for a series of ingredients, and then began preparing breakfast.

Compared to when she used to cook at home, Larkspur now prepares breakfast for four people, but the process remains the same, only the steps have become a bit more numerous.

Heat water in a wok, then add a measured amount of noodles, chop some scallions and vegetables, and crack in a few poached eggs. Prepare the broth in four bowls, and a few simple bowls of noodles are ready.

Then Larkspur called the three little ones out of their respective washrooms, and it was breakfast time.

This was the first morning after the Fangting City Magical Girl Squad stayed overnight at the Secret Base, and also the first breakfast the four of them had together.

Larkspur carefully collected feedback from the newcomers about the taste of breakfast. Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang started their daily bickering early in the morning. Moko was talking to Bai Jingxuan to himself. Bai Jingxuan quietly slurped her noodles, but kept an eye on the conversations of the others.

A new week, a new life, begins.

Larkspur continued tutoring Bai Jingxuan alone at the Secret Base, while the other two went to school to continue their studies for the new semester.

Time flew by, and the magical girls became familiar with life together in the Secret Base. Soon, such days became the norm for them.

Lin Xiaolu would walk to and from school with Xia Liang, Larkspur would train and do housework with Bai Jingxuan, Moko still consider himself the crucial Seeder, going out every day to find new magical girl candidates.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaolu would send Lin Yun a simple text message every night, Larkspur would also use Lin Yun's phone to reply with some caring words. Bai Jingxuan would still occasionally contact the caregivers at the welfare home to report on her recent life.

During this period, an Aberrant Beast also appeared, but it was still only a rather weak Egg Rank.

For some reason, since the Claw Mark and Black Ash Dawn factions were defeated, the Aberrant Beast in Fangting City have become much weaker, and the frequency and intensity of attacks have decreased accordingly. This suggests that the surge in Aberrant Beast attacks recently was indeed related to this group.

The Larkspur didn't care about the weakening of the Aberrant Beast; in fact, she wished there were no Aberrant Beast in the world, so that people wouldn't have to live under the shadow of such a crisis.

Being able to easily resolve these attacks is actually a good thing for her, for the new members of the team, and for the ordinary citizens of Fangting City.

Everyone is adapting to a new lifestyle, and while ensuring that certain things remain unchanged, it is appropriate to make some changes to oneself.

After that, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang's junior high school placement test proceeded as scheduled.

At this point, Larkspur had exhausted all the help she could offer. She felt she had done everything she could, and now it was up to the two of them to do their part.

During the days leading up to the exams, even the atmosphere during magic training became somewhat tense. Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu both took the exams very seriously, as it was an opportunity to showcase the results of their hard work throughout the summer.

So, on the day after the exam, Larkspur specially took the whole team out for hot pot.

As summer fades into autumn, the weather turns cooler, and it's the season for hot pot. A group of girls of all ages, but all with striking looks, formed a unique scene at the hot pot restaurant.

What puzzled the staff the most was that among this group of little girls, the youngest one seemed to be the center, handling both ordering and payment, which was truly astonishing.

During the meal, diners at the next table would occasionally glance at the magical girl's table, and some even wanted to take pictures, but were politely stopped by Larkspur, and could only regretfully put their phones away.

And so, the preliminary exam that half of the team members had been preparing for so long came to a complete end, and the magical girls' pace of life slowed down once again.

Of course, I don't know what the children think, but Larkspur has a new worry: with half of September gone and many things settled down, a new trouble is approaching.

The day I promised Xia Liang we'd go on a trip together is finally here.