Return to Electronics Street

Even today, Lin Yun can still recall her first experience of going to the Electronics Street with her team members.

That happened several months after he became a magical girl in his youth.

After choosing to fight to protect Anya and becoming a magical girl, he and Anya formed a two-person Magical Girl Squad, constantly fighting to protect the city of Fangting City.

Some time later, a magical girl from the Eastern Isles Region, codenamed Margaret, arrived in Fangting City. She met Lin Yun Anya while fighting the Aberrant Beast. The three of them got along very well and hit it off immediately, so they began to work together, and the team grew to three people.

Some time later, the Seeder of Fangting City, the rabbit Fairy Wopo, found the fourth member of their team, who was also the last member at that time—a girl of the same age named Su Shengzi, whose magical girl code name was Lanxiang.

Su Shengzi was a girl who seemed to come from a wealthy family—the reason for saying "suggested" was because she never revealed the specifics of her family background. However, the substantial wealth she occasionally displayed, along with her lack of awareness about wealth, allowed the other members of the team to somewhat sense the enormous financial resources behind her.

As a suspected heiress, Su Shengzi, aside from occasionally putting on a show of etiquette, mostly lives a self-centered life, never caring about the opinions of others.

This manifests itself in the following way: she would always throw herself into something with a short burst of enthusiasm, studying it day and night, only to forget about it again once she felt she had mastered it, and so on in a never-ending cycle.

Several months after joining the team, one day, Su Shengzi suddenly became obsessed with arcade video games.

No one knows when she came into contact with this thing, but one day after school, she suddenly announced to the rest of the group, "Let's go to the Electronics Street!"

This suggestion sparked a debate among the team members at the time.

Back then, in the Fangting City Squad, Lin Yun was a diligent and studious young man who had no liking for arcades, which his elders considered dangerous places. Anya, on the other hand, was a playful girl who was interested in everything and was happy to try any form of entertainment she had never experienced before. Margaret, as a resident of the Eastern Isles Region, the birthplace of arcade games, was extremely familiar with this form of entertainment.

The debate eventually turned into a vote, and the vote overwhelmingly passed Su Shengzi's proposal by a vote of three to one, thus setting a precedent for the Fangting City Squad to hang out in the Electronics Street after school.

Meanwhile, whenever Lin Yun, as the only member of the opposite sex in the group of four, left school surrounded by three girls and under the strange gazes of countless female classmates, she had to mourn in her heart the irreparable damage to her reputation.

At that time, his reputation among the boys and girls in the school was already ruined: the boys saw him as a role model, while the girls saw him as a scumbag. But in reality, he was just friends with the other three, because when the four of them went out together, he usually acted as a magical girl and followed the other members.

For this reason, in terms of the time spent in the Electronics Street alone, "Larkspur" spent far more time than "Lin Yun".

Looking at the Electronics Street under the gloomy rain, Larkspur seemed to see scenes from her old team's past here. Many years have passed, and her former companions are now scattered all over the world. She herself has not come here for leisure for many years.

Under the cover of rain, the Electronics Street, which is a pedestrian commercial street, was much quieter. Only a few pedestrians walked slowly along the eaves with umbrellas. However, the surrounding shops were still wide open, with bright lights inside and a lively atmosphere filled with the sounds of people and music.

Larkspur and Xia Liang, each holding an umbrella, walked across the puddles that had formed on the road and finally arrived at their first stop—the archery range.

As a popular venue that has stood firm in the Electronics Street for many years and continues to operate despite several changes in ownership, the Electronics Street Archery Hall is a well-known landmark.

Whether it was when Lin Yun was young or now, as long as you walk through the somewhat winding doorway and enter the actually spacious inner field, you can see a few young people who look like college students practicing here.

When Larkspur and Xia Liang walked in and stood in front of the counter, this somewhat strange pair quickly attracted the attention of some people.

After all, the hourly rate for archery ranges is often quite high for primary and secondary school students, and the combination of a junior high school student and a primary school student inevitably seems somewhat out of place in the crowd.

Xia Liang was alright, but Larkspur —even though she was dressed very simply today: long sleeves, long pants, and short boots, and her hair was tied into a neat single ponytail, her exotic blue hair still attracted some attention.

However, Larkspur was used to such looks; in fact, she had become accustomed to the surprised looks she received when she was doing things with this appearance.

Even when the front desk clerk comes up with a string of rude remarks like, "Little sister, are you lost?", "Little sister, are you from somewhere else?", or "Children might not be able to play this," she remains calm and composed.

After agreeing on a time and paying a deposit, Larkspur led Xia Liang to two secluded shooting routes.

Having chosen a bow of the right size, Larkspur stood before the target platform and slightly adjusted her posture under Xia Liang's watchful gaze. Then, she gripped the bow with one hand, nocked the arrow by the fletching, extended her elbow, drew the bow, aimed, and released—a series of graceful movements completed in one fluid motion.

Whoosh!

The arrow hit the bullseye.

"Wow!" Xia Liang clapped her hands in amazement. "So handsome!"

Flicking her ponytail, Larkspur glanced at Xia Liang and offered her the bow. "Want to try?"

Seeing the Larkspur's movement, Xia Liang subconsciously reached out to place her hand on the bow, then blinked in confusion, "Me? But I've never played this before..."

"You don't need to play before. I'll teach you the moves, and you just need to practice how to aim," said Larkspur indifferently.

In fact, Larkspur herself wasn't particularly skilled at archery, but she had practiced shooting postures according to the rules. Combined with her magical girl superhuman physical abilities, and using her strong eyesight and coordination as a foundation, her accuracy naturally increased.

After correcting Xia Liang's posture to ensure there were no major errors, Larkspur watched Xia Liang practice.

During this time, for reasons unknown, other customers volunteered to instruct Larkspur and Xia Liang in archery, but were coldly rejected by Larkspur.

On the other hand, Xia Liang was initially a little unfamiliar and nervous, but as she tried and failed with each arrow, her accuracy gradually improved. From missing the target to hitting the outer ring, and then from the outer ring to gradually moving inward, her progress was quite rapid.

The Larkspur watched for a while, and soon returned to its target platform.

The sight of Xia Liang practicing made her momentarily unsure whether she was in the present or the past.

In the past, the four girls from Fangting City Squad would often sneak into the archery range after school with their backpacks. To make it easier to explain and avoid others questioning why these middle school girls came to play around every day, Su Shengzi came up with a crooked idea—she told the shop owner that it was a club activity.

As magical girls, even in their original forms, their physical abilities are enhanced to a certain extent. Therefore, after practicing for a period of time, the girls all achieved a level far exceeding that of ordinary enthusiasts.

Over time, as they visited the site more frequently, a consensus even emerged within the archery enthusiast community: the girls' archery club at Lixing Middle School was of a very high standard.

This left the sports students at Lixing Middle School completely bewildered when they were later asked about the school's archery club: how come they didn't know their middle school had an archery club?

Of course, all of that is in the past.

Soon, the agreed-upon hour had passed. Xia Liang, slightly sweaty, put down his bow, looked at the target in the distance, and smiled with satisfaction.

The arrows hit the bullseye, and not just one.

"Shall we continue?" Larkspur also lowered her hand and turned her head to look at Xia Liang beside her.

"It's really fun, but I remember there's something else planned for today?" Xia Liang asked excitedly, clearly enjoying the archery.

"Of course, but if you really like it here, you can stay a little longer."

"Well... let's continue next time then."

"Are you sure you don't need it?"

"Okay, let's go to the next place!" Xia Liang smiled.

Without further hesitation, Larkspur paid the bill and left the archery range with Xia Liang, then opened their umbrellas and headed towards the second stop of their journey.

Our next destination is a bookstore.

The Electronics Street once housed the city's largest Book Wholesale City, filled with all kinds of books, and was a major gathering place for reading enthusiasts at the time.

Twenty years have passed, Book Wholesale City is still there, but it is no longer in the old form. When Larkspur and Xia Liang entered the building, they found that its interior decoration was completely new and did not look old at all, obviously having undergone a renovation.

Although the renovated bookstore retains the main structure from twenty years ago, its interior furnishings, decoration, and even business model have undergone significant changes.

Nowadays, bookstores have been integrated with tea, coffee, and other food and beverage businesses, forming a format similar to book bars or book cafes.

Customers can find a suitable place to sit down while buying or browsing books, order a drink, and then flip through the books they just bought or preview the contents of certain books. This format is very relaxing and pleasant, but it is completely different from the old Book Wholesale City.

The bookstore has five floors, but the spaces are open-plan with multiple escalators running through them, making it feel quite spacious. Larkspur and Xia Liang weren't in a hurry and leisurely started their ascent from the first floor.

After observing the bookstore's layout for a while, Larkspur turned to Xia Liang and asked, "Are there any books that interest you?"

When they asked that question, the two of them were standing in front of the comic strip section.

"No need."

Looking at the comics section not far away, where there was a relatively high concentration of young customers, Xia Liang paused for a moment, then shook her head. "But I feel like this is something Xiao Lu would like, right?"

"Really."

The Larkspur looked ahead and then nodded in confirmation.

She hadn't read comics for many years, but knowing that Lin Xiaolu was still quite enthusiastic about them, she pondered for a moment and then subconsciously began:

"If there's a next time, let's invite White Rose along too."

But just as she finished speaking, she saw Xia Liang reach out and gently grasp her hand.

"Although it's a bit unfair to Xiao Lu to say this now, if the two of you are going out together, I still hope that you can share more about me."

Xia Liang looked straight ahead, her voice somewhat unsteady. "At least that's how it is today."

"... I see."

After a moment of silence, the Larkspur slowly nodded.

"Hmph."

Xia Liang chuckled softly, "Then let's continue like this."

Her words "maintain this state" caught Larkspur off guard for a moment. After glancing at her hands, she realized what Xia Liang meant.

She said she wanted to walk hand in hand.

Such behavior carries a hint of intimacy, but considering their current appearance, it looks more like an older sister holding her younger sister's hand, which is somewhat strange.

Larkspur sighed again, "Please don't do anything strange again."

"What little tricks are you playing?"

Xia Liang blinked innocently, but then, using the same trick again, scratched Larkspur's hand with her finger. "Like this?"

Larkspur raised his hand and flicked her on the head.

"Why?!" Xia Liang screamed in despair.

"I don't want to repeat myself, just be honest."

"Um..."

After being reprimanded by Larkspur, Xia Liang stopped being deliberately mischievous. The two walked hand in hand in the bookstore for a while before leaving the renovated Book Wholesale City and heading to their third stop.

The third destination we had booked, and one of the highlights of the trip, was the arcade.

As the main reason why the Old Fangting City Squad came to the Electronics Street after school, arcade games were also an important part of the early popular culture of the commercial district.

Back in the old days of the team, one of the newest forms of entertainment for young people was going to the arcade to play games. Many people enjoyed it immensely and often lingered in the arcade as if they had forgotten about time.

Wealthy players will continuously buy arcade tokens and repeatedly play their favorite games to hone their skills so they can show off to their friends later; others without money will wander aimlessly, watching others play various games, occasionally offering pointers, or even hoping to steal some of their tokens.

Such times and culture are now gone forever.

Nowadays, arcades are no longer considered trendy entertainment, and young people are naturally less enthusiastic about them. Arcades have become just like movie theaters and ice rinks, offering ordinary experiential entertainment.

Without the allure of trendy culture, it's hard to find so many people willing to dedicate themselves to studying and waiting for the right moment.

"Wait here for a moment, I'll go buy some game tokens."

Seeing that Xia Liang's attention was drawn to the claw machine by the door, Larkspur didn't insist that she follow. Instead, she gave her a brief instruction and left alone.

She approached the cashier among the display cases and repeatedly told the staff that she was not a lost child, did not need to look for her parents, and even proved her adult status under the horrified gaze of the person opposite her. Finally, Larkspur returned to the place where she had agreed to meet Xia Liang, carrying a small basket containing game tokens.

But when her gaze fell upon the scene not far away, she couldn't help but frown.

Xia Liang had somehow become surrounded by several girls dressed in flamboyant clothes, who were probably only in junior high school age.

Judging from their mocking smiles and the way they spoke to Xia Liang as if they knew her well, and Xia Liang's silent demeanor with her head down, it seems this wasn't just a simple attempt to pick a fight.

They might know Xia Liang.