Larkspur's Plan

Under the bright light, the porcelain plates glistened slightly with oil. On the wooden dining table, scattered cutlery was laid out, some neatly, some haphazardly. Larkspur leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed, her right fingers tapping slowly in the crook of her arm.

Across the dining table, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang sat upright.

On the table between them were several plates of still-warm home-cooked dishes, which looked quite appetizing. However, a significant portion of these dishes remained untouched. Everyone at the table looked tense, even Nini sat upright, while Moko eating heartily without a care in the world.

After dinner, Larkspur made the two girls recount the whole story in front of everyone. After learning that all the money she had given out for tutoring materials had been misappropriated, she pursed her lips and remained silent for a long time.

This made Lin Xiaolu was already feeling guilty, even more nervous. Although she sat upright, her eyes were fixed on her knees, as if there were some treasure on the ground. Xia Liang was not as frightened as Lin Xiaolu, but she obviously knew that she had really done something wrong. She had a fawning smile on her face and her eyes were full of pleading when she looked at Larkspur.

Larkspur's gaze swept back and forth between the two faces. After a long while, she closed her eyes and sighed helplessly, "In other words, you both spent the money I gave you for supplementary materials, but didn't buy any books."

The two girls remained motionless and silent, clearly acquiescing.

"What else can I say? You're all grown up now. You don't need me to teach you basic principles like managing money wisely."

She narrowed her eyes, her tone softening slightly. "I am your senior, not your parent. I have no obligation to lecture you on the right and wrong of this kind of thing. Although I am actually a little dissatisfied and a little disappointed, it is not enough for me to criticize and reprimand you harshly."

"I'm just a little helpless. After all, I'm practically your teacher when it comes to studying, but you've completely forgotten what I told you."

"Perhaps I've placed too much burden on you? After all, you didn't need to patrol alone before, but now you have to go to school during the day, do security patrols after school, and then I have to supervise your studies when you get home. It's too hard compared to your peers. Shouldn't I give you more personal time?"

"If you have any complaints about these things, you can speak up anytime, and I'll reduce your workload... Hmm? What's wrong, White Rose?"

Before Larkspur could finish speaking, she noticed that her daughter's expression was somewhat strange.

Lin Xiaolu's shoulders trembled slightly at first, then her eyes and nose reddened, and after a couple of sobs, tears streamed down her face.

"I... Waaah, I'm not..."

She seemed to want to explain, but the words were choked up and stuck in her throat, and she couldn't finish speaking for a long time.

This reaction also attracted the attention of several girls nearby. Xia Liang had a helpless smile that said, "I knew it," while Bai Jingxuan's expression was full of doubt and confusion.

What's going on?

This startled Larkspur, who had been serious just two seconds ago. She jumped off the chair, ran to Lin Xiaolu's side, and turned to look at Lin Xiaolu, saying, "Why are you crying? Why are you crying? Did I say something too harsh?"

"No... I, I haven't forgotten what you said, Larkspur, and I didn't intend to complain to you. How could I not care about or dislike what you said? I clearly didn't think that way, not at all..."

Lin Xiaolu covered her mouth and nose, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, and said haltingly, "I really just accidentally clicked the wrong thing, I'm sorry..."

"Really just an accident? Okay, I misunderstood you."

The Larkspur tried to soften her voice. "I understand, I know, it's okay, I was wrong. Anyway, don't cry, okay?"

"I... I didn't mean to cry..."

Lin Xiaolu tried hard to suppress her sobs. "I just... I just couldn't help it."

"It's okay, if you can't help it, just cry for a little while, it's alright."

Larkspur held out her hands and waved them slightly. "Don't hold it in, cry first, I don't mind."

"It looks awful when you cry..."

"No, magical girls are cute even when they cry."

"I don't want to do anything bad, please don't hate me." Lin Xiaolu sniffed twice.

"I don't hate you, you don't need to worry about that," Larkspur tried to make her answer sound serious enough.

With a mix of coaxing and persuasion, Lin Xiaolu finally managed to stop crying. Even after she finished crying, she still clung to Larkspur's sleeve, as if afraid that Cuique would run away.

After such a chaotic scene, the restaurant finally regained its calm. Having comforted Lin Xiaolu, Larkspur realized she hadn't finished speaking, but given the atmosphere, it was difficult to maintain a stern expression.

She could only look around wearily, her gaze finally settling on Xia Liang: "White Rose has finished explaining. Do you have anything to say?"

"I'm sorry, senior, I won't do it again." Xia Liang immediately clasped his hands together and lowered his head. "Spare my life, please."

"... Sigh, well then."

Larkspur sighed, glanced at Bai Jingxuan beside her, and pointed at Xia Liang: "See? You must never follow their example in the future."

Bai Jingxuan nodded obediently, looking as if she had been taught a lesson.

Seeing that the youngest child hadn't been negatively affected by the incident, Larkspur felt a slight sense of relief. She turned back to the girls who had made the mistake. "In short, this is a one-time exception. I'll transfer another sum of money to you for books tomorrow, and I hope you'll keep your word this time."

"I'll delete the game right away."

Lin Xiaolu frowned and wiped her eyes. "I will never spend money on games again."

"I won't spend money recklessly anymore, I promise."

Xia Liang, standing to the side, raised her hand and then looked up. "But as for Xiao Lu's game, there's really no rush to delete it, right? Mobile games usually have refund channels, and there's also the excuse of impulsive spending by minors. I think trying it might get your money back."

Lin Xiaolu nodded. "Then, let's refund the money first..."

"Stop, you all need to stop."

Larkspur tapped the table lightly twice, then waved her other hand. "I'm not so heartless as to forbid you from even playing the game. Just like Little Brocade got her hair done, I can't possibly curl the ends of your hair; it's the same with White Rose. Since you're spending money in the game, it means you want the game items you want. Since you've already spent the money, then keep playing."

"But playing games isn't good in the first place," Lin Xiaolu said in a muffled voice.

"Therefore, play games in moderation and manage your time well."

Larkspur raised a finger. "And, I have another request, which is to show me the games you're playing. I need to know exactly what games make you want to spend money; and to make sure the content is appropriate for your age."

That was actually her original purpose. Rather than criticizing her daughter for spending money on games, she wanted to know why her daughter was spending money on games in the first place.

Although Lin Yun played games when he was young, he mostly went to arcades with his team members or played cooperative party games together. He himself almost never played long-running online games.

Lin Yun also knew that in today's Material Realm, games are something that teenagers inevitably come into contact with during their growth. Although many parents regard them as a scourge, his attitude was relatively open-minded. In his opinion, it's better to guide than to block children from playing games. Rather than strictly preventing them from playing, which might lead to resentment at school or them playing secretly, it's better to understand what children actually like and then manage them openly and honestly.

Lin Xiaolu had never shown much interest in games before, mostly preferring to watch animated shows on TV. Now, discovering her daughter playing games and even spending money on them, Larkspur was quite curious about why.

"I might as well just delete the game..." Lin Xiaolu muttered to herself.

"Hmm?" the Larkspur hummed in reminder.

"Okay, I'll show you." Lin Xiaolu had no choice but to obediently take out her phone.

Taking her daughter's phone, Larkspur immediately spotted the <Magical Girl Squad> icon on the last line, which dispelled some of her doubts.

She knew about her daughter's lifelong fascination with "magical girls," and they had discussed it before when walking home together at Lin Xiaolu. If it were a game about magical girls, it could indeed appeal to her daughter.

After opening the game interface, she carefully examined the game's art style and found it to be a refreshing picture book style. The magical girls in the game also seemed to be dressed quite neatly, without any overly indecent attire, which subconsciously increased her approval rating.

As she opened the character encyclopedia and skimmed through the preview images of the magical girls in the game, her movements became slower and slower until she finally stopped looking at a few of them.

"This game..."

She raised an eyebrow slightly. "Used a real-life magical girl as a model?"

Our hypothesis is as follows.

Lin Xiaolu was unwilling to speak, so Xia Liang explained from the side, "After all, we even saw a magical girl who looks a bit like Senior Sakura."

"Which one?" Larkspur asked.

"It's called Dawn Grass," Xia Liang answered crisply.

Unaware of Lin Xiaolu's expression of wishing she could disappear into the ground, Larkspur swiped through the character encyclopedia for a moment and found the character codenamed "Dawn Grass".

When she clicked on the profile picture and heard the other person's lines and greetings, she looked slightly stunned.

"Is this the role you want...?"

She couldn't help but ask Lin Xiaolu, "Did you spend money on the game because you saw her?"

"...Hmm." Lin Xiaolu nodded.

The Larkspur's expression immediately became complicated.

It was an expression that no one could discern, a mixture of various emotions. Even Xia Liang, a child skilled at reading people, couldn't fully understand it.

"I see."

After a moment, Larkspur handed the phone back to Lin Xiaolu: "I agree. Consider this money as pocket money for you."

"Give me... pocket money?"

Lin Xiaolu looked up in surprise. "Is this really okay?"

"Just consider it a gift from the adults." Larkspur reached out and patted the back of the phone. "A gift for all the days you've been on patrol."

"So what's it like? I've never met Sakura-senpai in person, so only you, junior, know. Does it really look like her?"

Xia Liang was intrigued by their conversation and somehow found herself next to Larkspur again. "Or is it just a borrowed name?"

Bai Jingxuan, sitting on the other side of the table, also perked up her ears, probably because she had heard the code name "Sakura," so she was paying extra attention.

"... doesn't seem like it."

Under the expectant gaze of the two girls, Larkspur slowly closed her eyes. "But there are indeed many things that might evoke associations."

"It doesn't seem like it, but why does it evoke that association?" Bai Jingxuan asked immediately.

"It's not only resemblance that evokes associations."

Larkspur's expression was complicated. "If you're really familiar with someone, even just a conversation, a concept, or a preference can remind you of a specific person."

"I still don't understand..." Bai Jingxuan shook her head, but didn't ask any more questions.

Both Xia Liang and Xia Liang could tell that Larkspur and Lin Xiaolu were not very excited after the game's character named "Dawn Grass," which actually represented "Ying."

"Let's not talk about that now! I suddenly thought of something. Since so many of the characters in this game are based on real-life magical girls..."

Xia Liang raised her voice, trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject. "So, could any of the characters in it be based on the younger senior?"

Her words immediately drew the attention of everyone present.

Both Bai Jingxuan, who had been curious, and Lin Xiaolu, who was feeling down, looked up at her and then at the phone with the game on it.

"How could I not have thought of that!"

Lin Xiaolu suddenly became excited. "There might really be Larkspur in here!"

"... If the prototype is me, then it becomes meaningless, right?"

Larkspur retorted from the side, "After all, I'm right here in person, why do you have to go to the game to find another version of me?"

"That's different!"

As Lin Xiaolu spoke, she opened the encyclopedia. "I really want to see what the Larkspur looks like in the game!"

"Me too!" Bai Jingxuan quickly jumped off her seat and ran to Lin Xiaolu's side. Together with Xia Liang, who had already walked over, the three of them squeezed together.

Larkspur could only watch the three girls' behavior from the sidelines, momentarily at a loss for words.

The three little ones scanned through the encyclopedia line by line, but their initial excitement and interest slowly faded over time. After they had thoroughly looked through the encyclopedia, they all inexplicably fell silent.

"What's wrong?" Now it was Larkspur was curious.

"No..." Lin Xiaolu said somewhat unhappily, "I didn't see a magical girl who looked like Larkspur."

"There is a magical girl whose style and color are somewhat similar to that of my senior," Xia Liang said thoughtfully. "But that magical girl is not short, and her code name is 'Silver Flower Grass,' so it should refer to another magical girl, right? Could it be my senior from Heavenly City Blue Star?"

"Why isn't there a mother?" Bai Jingxuan was clearly not in high spirits either, so she didn't notice how her offhand remark drew surprised looks from those around her. "Isn't your mother a big shot in the Magic Kingdom?"

"No... um, you..."

Lin Xiaolu was clearly the one most concerned about this title. She first opened her mouth as if to ask something, but then suddenly remembered the misunderstanding from a few days ago, and swallowed the rest of her sentence:

"Never mind, just pretend I didn't say anything."

The girls continued searching around the phone screen for a while, but finding no magical girl whose prototype resembled Larkspur, they eventually gave up on the idea and dispersed.

Lin Xiaolu had originally thought the same, but when she realized that Larkspur had agreed to let her spend money, she suddenly remembered that she still had 12 more draws to go before reaching the guaranteed reward. So she pursed her lips, returned to the main menu of the game, and wanted to continue drawing cards.

However, when she returned to the main menu, a notification suddenly popped up in the game.

That was a preview of future in-game events.

[Greetings, dear Fairy! The Magical Girl Squad will be launching a new story event on November 28th, titled "Attack! Claws!" Read the event story, challenge event dungeons and bosses to earn generous rewards!]

[Synopsis: After defeating a colossal Aberrant Beast that attacked the city, the Magical Girl Squad obtained a peculiar crystal. However, they were unaware that this crystal had attracted the attention of a special organization, and a battle for it was about to unfold. And for this, a new enemy appeared before them...]

[Participation Scope: Individuals who have completed all story levels in Chapter 22 of the main storyline.]

[Event maintenance time: November 28th, 9:00~13:00]

[Event Bonus Character: [Rekindled Longing] Slot Character: [Ultra Rare] Morning Glory]

"... What the hell?"

Looking at the announcement, Lin Xiaolu suddenly felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

After a brief moment of thought, seeing that everyone else had already started clearing the table, she stopped dwelling on the matter and put it aside along with her unfinished gacha spree.

So she turned off her phone screen.