That Wonderful Relationship

Sixteen-year-old Hong Siyu is still a girl who doesn't want to believe in miracles.

She always believed in her mother's teachings, adhering to the principles that "there's no such thing as a free lunch" and "no pain, no gain," and insisted that all gains are the result of hard work and dedication.

Even though she was attacked by Aberrant Beast and encountered a magical girl in her third year of junior high school, she always felt that it was just a coincidence. She believed that her future life would not be related to these extraordinary things, and she would continue to live her ordinary life.

It was precisely because of this that, after studying diligently, she was admitted to the best high school in Fangting City with outstanding grades.

Everything seemed to be back on track, and if she continued down this path, she would likely remain a top student. She would get into a better university, obtain a better education and diploma, find a well-paying job, and become a mature member of society.

Most children her age hope their future will be extraordinary, that they will be special, and that they won't become just another ordinary member of the masses. But Hong Siyu doesn't think that way; a definite life plan gives her a sense of security and groundedness.

Little did she know that fate would play a cruel joke on her at this turning point. No matter how much she disbelieved it, something that felt like a "miracle" still happened to her.

She became a magical girl.

In her first year of high school, during another attack by Aberrant Beast, she was inexplicably chosen by a rabbit Fairy and became a magical girl.

Is this "lucky" or "unlucky"? Hong Siyu couldn't figure it out anymore.

To say she was lucky wouldn't be entirely true. She never imagined herself as a magical girl; such a scenario didn't exist in her fantasies, and that identity and responsibility weren't what she wanted.

But it wouldn't be accurate to call it unfortunate. After becoming a magical girl, she met other magical girls in the city and suddenly made many friends.

All she knew was that her ordinary life plans had become meaningless the moment she became a magical girl, because magical girls were destined to be extraordinary.

The question of whether all of this was fortunate or unfortunate came to an end on a particular afternoon.

"Speaking of which, Larkspur, you haven't shown our younger generation your true form yet, have you?"

It was an ordinary evening. After school, the five-member magical girl team from Fangting City gathered together. Suddenly, the magical girl codenamed Margaret spoke:

"The rest of us have all had affairs with her, shouldn't you show some sincerity too?"

"Hmm..."

The blue-haired girl, who had been silently sipping her drink, suddenly shrugged, then looked up at Margaret with a displeased expression. "What kind of trouble are you stirring up?"

"How can you call it stirring up trouble? This is my sincere wish."

Margaret rested her chin on her hand, a teasing smile on her face, "I've been looking forward to this scene for a long time. Anyway, I'm bored today, so let's treat it as a bit of entertainment?"

"Who would use 'being bored' as an excuse to make fun of their friend's embarrassing situation?"

Larkspur rolled her eyes at her. "Rejected, I refuse."

"That's a really harsh thing to say."

Margaret feigned displeasure, but wore a nonchalant smile and shrugged. "I don't have any sinister intentions, sister, relax."

The conversation on this side couldn't continue, but it caught the attention of Hong Siyu, who noticed that the two seemed to be talking about something else.

Should I ask further questions?

She pondered the decision in her heart, but ultimately couldn't make up her mind, so she remained silent.

However, the fact that she didn't speak didn't mean that the others present didn't have their own thoughts.

"What? What are you guys talking about?"

A gentle, light-hearted girl's voice came from the side, and a long-haired girl suddenly popped out and leaned on Larkspur's shoulder. "Shall we let Ayun show Xiaohong her true form?"

Didn't you hear that?

Larkspur glanced at her. "Also, don't call us by our real names or nicknames, call us by our magical girl code names."

"What does it matter? There's no one else here anyway."

The girl, holding onto the Larkspur's shoulder, leaned closer. "So, are you going to change or not? I want to see too! Let's do it today!"

"Constant."

"Change it."

"Constant!"

"Change!"

"What we said will remain unchanged, will remain unchanged!"

The Larkspur reached out and lifted the girl's chin, pushing her aside. "And also, stay away from me, you're too close!"

"Mmm! I want to see!"

The girl clung tightly to the Larkspur's arm like a sloth, refusing to let go. "It's been so long since I've seen you transform in front of me, A-Yun!"

"It's because you always watch like you're watching a circus performance that I'm unhappy!" Larkspur gritted her teeth.

"You guys, shouldn't you consider the wishes of the people involved in these kinds of things?"

The last to speak was the girl who had been sitting at the very edge, holding a book. She stopped the argument between Larkspur and another girl, looked up at Hong Siyu, and said, "What are you thinking? Newcomer? Do you think it's necessary to confirm everyone's true identity?"

These words seemed to remind everyone else present, whether it was the two girls who were still arguing or Margaret who had originally given up on the matter, they all turned their attention to Hong Siyu.

Suddenly, Hong Siyu became the focus of the entire team's attention, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Hong Siyu the gaze of others, especially when stared at by many people; she finds it extremely difficult to even speak.

So when everyone was watching her and waiting for her answer, she couldn't utter a single word for a while.

She could only open and close her mouth, trying to utter a few words. But even as she strained until her face turned red, she remained as silent as a fish out of water.

This calmed down the expression of the previously frowning and unwilling Larkspur.

"Don't be nervous, just say what you think."

She released her hand from the girl's face beside her, rolled her eyes at her, and turned back to Hong Siyu, "It's not actually that serious, it's just that you might find it a little hard to accept after you learn the truth."

"Difficult, hard to accept?" Hong Siyu finally caught her breath and stammered as she repeated.

"Yes, because I've been hiding something from you about this."

The Larkspur shook its head and looked at her calmly. "Actually, you should have seen my true form."

"Have you seen... have you met him?"

Hong Siyu felt a little dizzy again. "Where am I?"

A magical girl's appearance originates from her True Form, and a part of that True Form is born from her soul, so it will be quite similar to her appearance. In other words, Larkspur's true form should also be a delicate and beautiful girl, like a princess.

But no matter how hard Hong Siyu searched her memory, she couldn't find a girl who resembled Larkspur.

"That depends on whether you want to know or not."

Larkspur sighed, "If you want to know, then I have no reason to hide it from you."

Do you want to know?

Hong Siyu couldn't help but ask herself this question.

Her first encounter with Larkspur was at the school's cultural festival in her third year of junior high school, when Cui Que descended from the sky and saved her from being attacked by Aberrant Beast. Before that, Hong Siyu had never been so close to a magical girl.

She lost the boy she cared about on that day, but instead met Larkspur.

Later, through a series of coincidences, after becoming a magical girl, she met Larkspur again, but not as the one she had saved, but as a junior magical girl. This made her somewhat happy for a time.

From the first time she met Larkspur, the other girl had always presented herself as a magical girl. In her mind, Larkspur had always been that magical girl who made a dazzling entrance from outside the window and would say things like, "The magical girl has arrived."

Do I really want to, or do I really need to, confirm the true appearance of the Larkspur?

"I might..."

She hesitated before speaking, but then gradually made up her mind. "I don't need to... right?"

This answer caused the magical girls who had been watching her to widen their eyes.

Larkspur was no exception; she was clearly surprised by Hong Siyu's answer, but still asked as if to confirm, "Why?"

"Because, Senior Larkspur, being Senior Larkspur is enough."

Unable to bear the gazes, Hong Siyu and whispered, "Even if I didn't know what kind of person you were, I would always believe in you. So, I don't want you to feel embarrassed because of this."

This answer once again silenced the other team members. After a moment, they all looked at Larkspur.

A gentle smile, a teasing smile, a smile full of interest—everyone's expression is different, but the unspoken meaning they want to convey is the same.

Larkspur understood this as well. So she looked around, finally stood up from her seat, and said to Hong Siyu, "Come with me."

"Huh? What?" Hong Siyu and not understanding the situation.

"Don't ask, just come."

"Ah, oh."

Finally understanding her intention from Larkspur's inexplicably shy expression, Hong Siyu felt a sudden jolt in her heart and then stood up.

After finding a secluded corner where no one was around, and confirming that there were no surveillance cameras or similar devices nearby, Larkspur breathed a sigh of relief and forced herself to remain calm, saying, "Don't make a sound later."

"Why?"

"If you ask me again, I won't change."

"Oh."

Hong Siyu swallowed unconsciously, then closed her mouth.

But she was still puzzled; why was the atmosphere so strange?

No matter what, this was just a matter of magical girl companions confirming their true identities. She and the other seniors didn't have so many concerns, so why was it like such a private matter when it came to Larkspur? In fact, it even gave her a subtle sense of excitement?

If you don't know the inside story, it's like forcing someone to take off their clothes.

Despite these unpleasant thoughts, Hong Siyu didn't ask any more questions. She could sense that Larkspur had made a firm decision to do this, and any additional words from her might cause the other party to stop.

And so, under the watchful eyes of both of them, Larkspur reached out and touched the Heart Gem on her chest, then murmured a sentence.

Immediately afterwards, azure magical light spread out, and the Larkspur's appearance gradually became illusory in the light, revealing a brand new humanoid form.

When Hong Siyu finally saw the face in the light, she experienced a long-lost feeling of her brain going blank.

Because the person in the light was none other than Lin Yun, the boy she had been thinking about and who had mourned just a few days ago.

At Hong Siyu began to believe in miracles a little bit.

Her life has become much more colorful than before.

Becoming a magical girl not only means coming into contact with an extraordinary magical world, but also means coming into contact with people from all over the world.

Before setting foot in this world, she never imagined that the world of magic would be so vast and magnificent, with many things unknown to mortals hidden beneath the surface. Only after obtaining the power of magic could one glimpse the truth.

Time flew by. She continued her studies while working as a magical girl in her spare time. Although the process was very difficult, she persevered. As a magical girl of the Letter Card Blossom Rank, she was active in Fangting City and was accepted into a prestigious local university.

The only regret is that the person she liked stopped being a magical girl because of an injury.

Yes, the person I like.

When Hong Siyu first discovered that the boy she cared about and the girl she had a crush on were the same person, it did take her a long time to accept it.

But after that, she realized her own feelings. She felt that she did indeed like Lin Yun, or rather, Larkspur.

This affection wasn't just the kind of affection that comes from friendship; it was genuine, romantic affection. She liked Lin Yun and harbored special feelings for him.

Unfortunately, she and Lin Yun did not work together for long, because in the same year she became a magical girl, an Aberrant Beast Tide that swept the world broke out.

That year, countless Aberrant Beast appeared from nowhere, and not only were they numerous, but their individual strength was also terrifying, causing a huge catastrophe for the entire world.

That year was later known as the year of "Great Calamity".

Countless magical girls, and even Mage, sacrificed their money, power, and even lives for this catastrophe, ultimately surviving the disaster and securing a future for human civilization.

Countless magical girls and humans perished in this catastrophe.

As for Larkspur, he used power he shouldn't have used in a battle that was almost hopeless, causing irreversible damage to the Heart Gem and the Mana Source, and losing most of his strength.

This wasn't even the first time the Larkspur had done this.

Hong Siyu other seniors that a year before that, a fierce war had broken out in the Magic Kingdom. In that war, Larkspur also used methods that overexerted herself, and she already had hidden injuries at that time.

It's more accurate to say that the fact that she overexerted herself twice and still didn't die, but only suffered serious injuries, is already incredibly incredible.

Hong Siyu felt great regret about Larkspur's retirement, but there was nothing she could do. She knew that Larkspur now had almost no strength left, and forcing her to return to the battlefield would be an irresponsible act.

That's enough. He's already sacrificed so much to protect everyone; he deserves to enjoy a peaceful life.

That's what Hong Siyu thought.

After I graduate, I'll find a job and then confess my feelings to him. If he agrees to marry me, I'll retire from my magical girl role as soon as possible and enjoy the rest of my life with him.

These plans are all proceeding smoothly and without any problems. Perhaps the only issue is that I haven't yet mustered the courage to express my feelings to Lin Yun.

But it's okay. When graduation day comes, even if she has to force herself, she will take that step. Hong Siyu herself.

And so, she continued her life as a college student and a magical girl. Until one day, while chatting with her other teammates, her senior Anya said something rather surprising:

"Oh, speaking of which, we're getting engaged in a few days!"

Her words immediately silenced the previously lively atmosphere.

Hong Siyu could sense that Su Shengzi and Asō Madoka, who had been chatting enthusiastically, had suddenly fallen silent, and their expressions were anything but happy.

Is Anya getting married at such a young age?

This was her first thought.

Who is her marriage partner? Is he really that bad? Why do the other senior colleagues seem so unhappy about it?

This was her second question.

... Speaking of which, why do other people look at me with a hint of pity?

This is her third problem.

"So, An- Anya- senpai has been in a relationship all along?"

Fortunately, she was able to speak properly with her familiar companions, so she asked directly, "I didn't even know before, and how did you suddenly get engaged? To whom?"

She could sense that after she said those words, everyone else was looking at her again.

Did she say something wrong? Hong Siyu confused.

"Xiao Hong, I'm sorry!"

Anya, contrary to her usual carefree demeanor, suddenly and solemnly clasped her hands together in a crisp gesture.

Why should her senior apologize to her? Hong Siyu was still completely bewildered.

This doubt didn't last long, because Anya's words soon provided the answer:

"I'm getting engaged to Lin Yun in a few days!"