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In early December, the weather turned cold, and a light snow fell with the bleak wind, making the streets of Fangting City appear much paler in winter.

The pale sky was high and vast, and although the sun shone, it brought no warmth. When the cold wind blew, it carried a faint whistling sound, as if it were the roar of nature.

It was the weekend, yet there were few pedestrians on the streets. A chill permeated the air, and the few who ventured out were bundled up in heavy winter coats, enduring the biting cold on their faces as they walked across the gray and white pavement. The city's hustle and bustle had been swept away by the cold wind, leaving only silence and desolation.

In this cold season, most people would rather spend their precious weekend indoors with the heating on full blast.

The streets outside were chilly, making the indoor heating all the more precious. A pane of glass separated the two worlds of cold and warmth, and the lingering condensation on the windowpanes seemed to whisper tales of the resentment of the cold outside.

With a soft "ha," Lin Xiaolu exhaled her breath onto the glass, watching the mist slowly shrink. Somewhat bored, she drew a simple smiley face on it. Peering through the gaps in the smiley face at the desolate scenery outside, she still didn't see the person she was waiting for. Turning back to look at Xia Liang, who was lying on the sofa playing on her phone, she couldn't help but sigh.

Why hasn't Larkspur returned yet?

"I had a feeling you were asking about the Larkspur, but there was something else hidden in your words."

Xia Liang stared at her phone screen, not turning her head, and said in a lazy voice, "Does being alone with me make you feel that bored?"

"Who's alone with you? They just happen to be in the same living room."

Lin Xiaolu looked at the smiling face she had just drawn. In just two sentences, her "masterpiece" had become mottled and worn. She subconsciously narrowed her eyes and said, "Don't flatter yourself. I was really just asking about Larkspur."

Even if there's no other meaning behind it, you've asked this question at least three times already.

As Xia Liang typed on her phone, she muttered to herself, "If he's not back, he's not back. There's no use in worrying. Don't you have anything else to do?"

"No."

Lin Xiaolu wiped away the smiley face she had just drawn and muttered, "My magic cultivation has hit a bottleneck, I've finished all my schoolwork, there's nothing interesting on TV, I have absolutely nothing to do."

"Where's the game? Where's your Magical Girl Squad?"

"I'm done playing. I've completed all the levels."

Turning away from the window and walking back to the center of the living room, Lin Xiaolu sat back down on the sofa with a sullen expression. "Mom... I've also switched to the Dawn Grass character and leveled it up to the highest level. I have no interest in continuing to play."

"Isn't there a new event? And a brand new character, named Morning Glory... or something like that?"

"No interest. A shady character isn't my type. Magical girls are much more appealing when they're sparkly and radiant."

Upon hearing the name "Morning Glory," Lin Xiaolu subconsciously pursed her lips, her evaluation utterly unforgiving. "As for the new event, it seems rather uninteresting. Isn't it just the most clichéd villain's first appearance? It's been overdone in animation."

"Then go find other players to battle against. I remember that game has player-versus-player combat, right?"

"Huh? You want my carefully nurtured magical girl to compete with others? There's no benefit in winning, and losing will only bring humiliation. Are you a devil?" Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened.

"Isn't the game operation the devil? I'm just stating the facts."

Xia Liang put down her phone with a hint of helplessness. "This won't work, that won't work either, why don't you go downstairs and train with Xiao Xuan?"

"She's already awakened her Magic Armament, what's the point of me going?"

Lin Xiaolu pouted. "Besides, I always feel like that kid has suddenly become a lot stronger lately. I can't gain any advantage when I spar with her now."

"If you really think that way, then that's true."

Xia Liang nodded in deep agreement. "It's understandable that you can't win against her in a sparring match, but I'm almost at the Leaf Rank, and I still don't feel like I have any advantage against her. The junior senior has also been spending more time giving her special training alone, and I feel like something has happened to that kid that we don't know about."

Will it happen?

Lin Xiaolu rested her elbows on her knees, blinked in confusion, and said, "I don't feel anything."

"Have you noticed? That child has recently completely abandoned the title 'teacher' and started calling his juniors 'Mom' instead."

Xia Liang tilted her head slightly back, meeting Lin Xiaolu's gaze. "Don't you have any thoughts on this?"

"What's wrong? After all, I was the one who told her."

Looking at Xia Liang with a bewildered expression, Lin Xiaolu tilted her head and said, "Elementary school students are so straightforward. Is it okay for them to express intimacy like this?"

"Then why haven't you been calling out these past few days?"

"I'm not a primary school student! Besides, Larkspur seems to be quite bothered by this nickname!"

Lin Xiaolu vehemently pointed out the errors in Xia Liang's words, then crossed her arms and leaned back, adopting a thoughtful posture. "Although if things continue like this, perhaps that day really will come... but after all, their relationship hasn't really reached that point yet. Wouldn't it be a bit selfish of me to rush into this?"

"... Whatever makes you happy."

Xia Liang gave a strange smile that Lin Xiaolu couldn't understand at all, and put down her phone. She sprang up from the sofa back, changing the subject. "Alright, let's do some housework together then?"

"Huh? No."

Lin Xiaolu immediately retorted with disdain, "I just did it yesterday, so it's your turn today, right? Don't try to drag me into this."

"You've got nothing else to do, right?"

Xia Liang smiled slyly, "Let's just consider it as deepening our team spirit."

Who cares?

Lin Xiaolu rolled her eyes at her, then slumped back in her chair, raising her heels to show her refusal to put her feet down. "Rather than repeating meaningless chores, I'd rather have an Aberrant Beast appear and let me fight it."

"To Aberrant Beast?"

Xia Liang seemed to have heard something amusing, and revealed a cheerful yet innocent smile, "If you can't use White Magic Power, you wouldn't be able to beat a slightly stronger caterpillar, right? After all, it's a species-level one."

"I... you!" Lin Xiaolu's heel, which she had just lifted, slammed back to the ground.

Just as their daily bickering was escalating into a pointless argument, a sound coming from the entryway interrupted their conversation.

Bang!

The crisp sound of the door closing seemed to be a signal, causing both of them to turn their gazes toward the entrance.

If human ears could react to sounds, Lin Xiaolu's ears would probably be perked up by now. After all, she knew all too well what the sound of a door closing at a time like this meant.

"Larkspur, go back..."

Amidst Xia Liang's helpless gaze, Lin Xiaolu jumped up abruptly and shuffled to the door, intending to give the other person a proper welcome. However, upon seeing the scene at the door, she subtly shut her mouth.

Because standing there wasn't just Larkspur; there was another figure as well.

She was a magical girl dressed in a purplish-red outfit who looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place where. If she had to pinpoint where she'd seen a magical girl like this before, it seemed like only in the mobile game she'd been playing recently.

But calling someone you've just met by the name of a mobile game character sounds a bit like a naive child who can't distinguish between reality and fantasy, so Lin Xiaolu wisely chose to keep quiet.

The girl's expression, a mixture of doubt and aloofness, was noticed by Larkspur. She glanced at the magical girl, her lips parted slightly, but she hesitated, then closed her eyes slightly, as if making a decision, and spoke:

"Call Bo Xue, Little Brocade, and Moko over as well. I want to introduce you to the new members."

"... A new member?"

Lin Xiaolu glanced at the girl in the red dress, swallowing back the thought that "she looks older than all of us." In the end, she simply let out a soft sigh and left, filled with surprise and confusion.

Before long, all the members of the Secret Base had gathered together.

"Let me introduce you all. This is a magical girl who recently arrived in Fangting City. She will be joining our team as a non-resident member and will be fighting alongside us in some battles."

Larkspur extended one hand to the girl beside her, her face serious, and said, "Compared to you, she is considered a senior, so you can ask her if you have any questions."

After speaking, seeing that no one responded, she looked around at the girls' reactions, paused, and then spoke again, "Does anyone have any questions?"

After asking the question, she saw that Xia Liang was the first to raise her hand, so she nodded to signal her to ask the question.

"I don't understand! What does 'non-resident member' mean?"

After receiving Larkspur's signal, Xia Liang withdrew her hand, her expression serious, and asked like a good student, "Does that mean this senior won't be staying in Fangting City permanently?"

"No, she will be in Fangting City, but she won't stay at the Secret Base for long, nor will she participate in regular patrols."

Larkspur then explained just as earnestly, "Generally speaking, after she joined our team, she only helps out during important battles and training sessions; the rest of the time she has other tasks."

"Is this senior from the Kingdom?"

Bai Jingxuan also asked, "She doesn't seem like a magical girl who originally lived in Fangting City."

Larkspur carefully chose her words, responding with a hint of thought, "This question... well, it's not entirely true. She's actually quite similar to me; we were originally from Fangting City, but then some things happened..."

"Mom's friend?"

It seemed to take Bai Jingxuan a moment to understand the concept, then she nodded obediently. "Then I have nothing more to ask."

"I have a problem! As the Seeder, I have a problem!"

However, Moko spoke up at this moment, "Although this is the Inspector's intention, it is my duty to replace the magical girl in a city! I never knew that there was such a magical girl in Fangting City, and I had never sensed her before! Suddenly someone appears and claims to join our team, and I just learned about this kind of thing. This is not in accordance with the rules!"

"I know this is sudden, but we can discuss the formalities later."

Larkspur crossed his arms with a hint of helplessness. "Anyway, today is just to introduce everyone. We'll discuss the specific activities later."

"Surely we should know her background, right?"

Lin Xiaolu was the last to speak, but her attitude was the most sharp and direct. "Even if Larkspur introduced them, even if they're a senior, a stranger suddenly joining the team..."

Her voice trailed off towards the end, but everyone understood what she was trying to say.

In fact, the previous issues between Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan also subtly revealed this meaning.

Having realized this, even Larkspur could no longer maintain her stern expression, revealing a helpless look that said, "I knew this would happen," and she glanced at the girl beside her.

Their eyes met, seemingly exchanging a kind of communication that girls couldn't understand. After a moment, the unfamiliar girl spoke, slightly embarrassed:

"Well, because I was originally a magical girl from Fangting City... but I only recently returned, no, I should say I rejoined my post?"

"You were originally in Fangting City?" Xia Liang seemed to understand slightly. "Are you a senior who left Fangting City two years ago?"

"No, it's not..."

"When was that senior from? Even earlier? Does that mean they've already retired?"

Xia Liang tilted her head. "So, you're like the young senior, originally from Fangting City, but joined the Magic Kingdom and only recently returned for a mission?"

"I didn't join the Magic Kingdom either."

Despite being questioned by a girl who looked younger than herself, the young woman didn't show any airs of superiority. "I actually retired before..."

"Retire!"

This time, everyone except the Larkspur and the Fairy gasped in surprise.

Because everyone, even the Fairy, knows that retired magical girls lose their powers and can no longer transform. The girl's statement was undoubtedly challenging their common sense and understanding.

"You mean, you retired before, but you can come back to be a magical girl?"

Even the most rational Xia Liang was momentarily dumbfounded. "How did they do that? Are there some rules or regulations we haven't learned yet? Or does the Magic Kingdom also have special privileges? Wait, why does this sound so familiar..."

"Stop guessing."

Finally, it was Larkspur who interrupted the girls' commotion, saying somewhat helplessly, "Actually, you all know her. She's my junior, and her magical girl codename is Morning Glory."

These words immediately ended the noise in the living room and completely dispelled the girls' doubts.

Then, once this doubt was dispelled, an even more intense series of gasps of surprise erupted.

"Is it Aunt Hong?" Bai Jingxuan's voice was the most direct.

"Ah, it's actually Hong... Sister." Xia Liang covered her mouth slightly, still making sure to use the correct form of address.

"It's actually that strange woman?" Moko said, at this moment, the most impolite of all.

The shouts of the girls and Fairy mingled together, and everyone expressed their surprise. However, one person remained silent.

That was Lin Xiaolu.

It wasn't that she was too surprised, or that she had some kind of precognitive understanding of the truth, but rather that her attention had already drifted in a strange direction just moments before.

She saw the restrained yet affectionate smile that Hong Siyu gave Larkspur, and she also saw Larkspur's helpless yet gentle gaze in response.

What's their relationship?

Compared to Hong Siyu's true identity, this question had been firmly entrenched in Lin Xiaolu's mind from the moment it arose, and then it triggered an alarm in Lin Xiaolu's mind.