A Stranger's Confession

"Lin Xiaolu! I like you! Will you be my girlfriend?"

Sunset Middle School, outside the playground, next to the stands.

In mid-November, the weather gradually cools down, and even at midday when the sun is shining brightly, it doesn't feel too hot.

Because it was lunch break, there weren't many students on the playground; only a few energetic students were playing football on the grass. But their attention was focused on the fun in front of them, and no one noticed the corner of the stands.

It was in this very place that Lin Xiaolu received a confession from a boy in her class.

This was the first time she had received a confession from a member of the opposite sex since entering middle school.

She was wondering why this boy had suddenly called her to the playground, but after meeting him and taking only a couple of steps, she heard such a bombshell statement.

The other party's incredibly direct and explicit expression made Lin Xiaolu's heart race involuntarily.

It wasn't out of shyness, but out of shock.

"What are you saying! What do you mean by 'you girl girl girl'... Aren't you ashamed to say such things?!"

She took two steps back in a panic, initially questioning loudly, but then realizing that this wasn't something she should say aloud, she lowered her voice slightly. "This is puppy love! This is unacceptable!"

"... puppy love?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Xiaolu's answer was this. The boy, who had been quite nervous, asked in bewilderment, "But we're both in middle school now!"

"Our teacher said it's too early for us to start dating at this age!"

Lin Xiaolu shook her head repeatedly. "No! I can't have a relationship so early!"

"Ah, this..."

Before confessing his feelings, the guy had already considered what to do if he was rejected, but he never imagined he would be rejected for this reason. After some thought, he decided to stick to his original plan and said, "Well, instead of being boyfriend and girlfriend, how about we get to know each other first, go on dates, and hang out together?"

"A date?" Lin Xiaolu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I know a few really fun shopping streets, I can take you there."

The boy hesitated and said, "How about a time when you're free? I can treat you."

"Um... you're treating."

Lin Xiaolu crossed her arms, thought for a moment, but ultimately shook her head. "No, I don't have the time."

As an active magical girl, Lin Xiaolu has to attend school and also patrol the city, leaving her with very little free time compared to her peers.

She preferred to spend her free time with her friends at the Secret Base rather than going out with relatively unfamiliar boys.

However, she couldn't possibly reveal these considerations; her identity as a magical girl remained a secret. This made the boy in front of her particularly frustrated.

"You can't even go out... Do you hate me?" he asked anxiously.

"I wouldn't say I hate it, but I certainly don't like it either."

Lin Xiaolu lowered her eyelids slightly and waved her hand at the other person. "In short, I'm against early dating, so it's not allowed!"

After saying that, she turned around without hesitation, ignoring the boy's calls behind her, and quickly walked back to the classroom.

The classroom was relatively quiet during lunch break, as many students were resting with their heads on their desks or leaning back in their chairs. Only a very few students were whispering among themselves, creating a muffled buzzing sound.

Returning to her seat, Lin Xiaolu pulled out the chair and had just sat down when she noticed the girl in front of her suddenly turn around and look at her.

"So? Did you accept the confession?"

The girl sitting in front of her was named Jiang Yuan. She was a slightly chubby, introverted girl who wore glasses.

If we were to choose the least sociable girl in Grade Two Class Three, Lin Xiaolu; and if we were to choose the second least sociable girl, Jiang Yuan would undoubtedly be the one.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the two girls were isolated by their classmates. In fact, most of the girls in Class 3 were quite friendly, and many even treated Lin Xiaolu like a younger sister because of her relatively petite and cute appearance. It's fair to say that if Lin Xiaolu were willing to open up and make friends, she wouldn't have much difficulty.

The reason why Lin Xiaolu is often alone is simply because she is used to being alone.

This is also why Lin Xiaolu only received her first confession of love today: she never gave anyone a chance to understand her.

Although a few boys noticed Lin Xiaolu because of her appearance, most boys her age are quite shy. Since Lin Xiaolu is so solitary, the boys naturally didn't have the opportunity to approach her and start a conversation.

Lin Xiaolu's unsociability can be attributed to her somewhat awkward personality; Jiang Yuan's unsociability stems simply from the difficulty others find in communicating with her. Everyone who tries to chat with Jiang Yuan immediately finds themselves unable to get a response: in Jiang Yuan's own words, she simply cannot speak when facing unfamiliar people.

However, these two unsociable individuals, after becoming seatmates, actually became able to communicate with each other.

I don't know who started it, but the two of them struck up a conversation during a break between classes one day, and their conversations gradually increased from then on, eventually developing into what we are today.

"I didn't accept it. Why should I accept a confession from someone I barely know?"

Lin Xiaolu opened her schoolbag and said irritably, "Besides, we shouldn't be dating at all at this age. That's puppy love, which is even more unacceptable!"

"You refused? Good job! That's how it should be!"

Jiang Yuan nodded. "What's so great about dating! Just give those guys a firm rejection!"

"I feel like you care about this more than I do."

Lin Xiaolu pulled out the books she needed for the afternoon classes from her bag and looked at her suspiciously. "What's wrong? Do you like that boy?"

"Ha?"

Jiang Yuan's voice immediately rose by half an octave, but realizing she might be disturbing others, she lowered her voice again. "How could that be? If I wanted to date, wouldn't that be betraying our Outcast Alliance?"

"What is this Outcast Alliance's thing...?"

Lin Xiaolu slightly lowered her eyelids. "I don't remember ever joining such an organization."

"In short, if you fall in love, our alliance will be broken! Don't become that kind of frivolous woman!"

Jiang Yuan concluded the topic, then took out her phone from the side. "Since you refused, it means we're still friends. Did you play that mobile game I recommended to you yesterday?"

"Game?"

Lin Xiaolu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and after a long while, she suddenly remembered what the other person was talking about: Jiang Yuan did seem to have recommended a mobile game to her after school yesterday.

At that time, Lin Xiaolu was preoccupied with patrolling and her mind was not on her conversation with Jiang Yuan at all; she didn't even remember the name of the game.

"What was it called again?"

So she could only bite the bullet and say, "I couldn't find it after I went back yesterday, so I haven't played it yet..."

"Seriously, how could it not be found? This is the hottest mobile game right now!"

Jiang Yuan spoke with some dissatisfaction, showing her phone screen. "Look, it's called this name. Search it again and see."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Lin Xiaolu, even though she wasn't very interested, had no choice but to focus her attention on the phone in Jiang Yuan's hand, trying to figure out what game the other person was talking about.

Then she saw a somewhat flashy icon: at the top were two crossed magic wands, one white and one black, and below the wands was a simple cartoon girl drawing made of lines, which looked very cute at first glance. Below the icon was the game's name:

Magical Girl Squad.

2k touched the cat, thanks for the tip, cat.