The Restaurant and the Junior

Hong Siyu was a familiar stranger to Lin Yun.

Familiar because they had known each other for a long time—old friends, really. They had met back in middle school, and back then, they could even have been called partners.

Strange because they had drifted apart years ago, and now he simply could not understand what she was thinking.

Although she had been contacting him frequently lately, seemingly intent on rekindling their old friendship, he had not seen through her true intentions.

Or rather, he did not particularly want to know what those intentions were.

"The National Authority announced a new list of evaluated magical girl cards last month. Two new rising stars were added all at once."

For example, right now.

Amid clinking glasses, the woman holding a wineglass spoke to him with a teasing expression.

To be honest, although she was already over thirty, whether because she took good care of herself or for some other reason, the woman before him had lost none of her charm. She still looked young and radiant.

Lin Yun paused mid-motion at her words, but kept his face expressionless as he replied, "What would be the point of talking about that now?"

The woman laughed. "Is paying attention to the younger generation pointless?"

Lin Yun took a sip of lemonade and answered vaguely, "It has nothing to do with me anymore. Why should I pay attention?"

"You can't fool one of your own with a lie like that. You can't really make it have nothing to do with you, can you?"

The woman followed his lead and sipped her red wine, speaking pointedly. "After all, you were..."

"Stop."

Before she could finish, a finger tapped the center of the table.

Lin Yun extended his index finger without looking at her.

"I believe I told you that I don't want to talk about it."

For a moment, the two fell silent.

Hong Siyu stared at him for a while, then revealed an inscrutable smile.

"Fine, then we won't talk about it. How about we discuss the apartment I bought earlier?"

With that, the topic returned to everyday domestic matters.

Lin Yun absentmindedly picked at his food while the woman drank with a smile on her face.

The atmosphere in the upscale restaurant was quite elegant, and dinner progressed as the servers repeatedly changed their plates.

But just as Lin Yun felt that the meal was already more than halfway over, the woman across from him abruptly brought up a subject he had no choice but to take seriously.

"Oh, there's one more thing."

She was clearly a little tipsy when she said it, and her tone became far more unrestrained. "The new magical girls in Fangting City got in touch with us today."

Across the table, the woman's radiant smile was captivating. "So? Does this have anything to do with you?"

Sitting at opposite ends of the table, the two presented a stark contrast. The woman looked young and beautiful, while Lin Yun appeared listless and weathered.

Anyone unaware of the truth would probably think there was at least a generation, ten years or more, between them. They would never imagine that they were actually the same age.

"I've heard a little. What are you trying to say?"

Holding his glass in one hand, Lin Yun took another sip of lemonade and continued to act as though he did not care much.

"Oh, you've already heard? Your sources are better than I imagined. Even though I'm the official here, I suddenly feel like such a failure..."

At his words, the drunken woman exaggeratedly began wiping at her eyes.

"If you're aware that you're an official, then don't loudly discuss insider information in public."

Lin Yun tapped the table to stop her. "And stop making weird noises in the restaurant. Haven't you noticed the other diners giving our table strange looks?"

"I heard you say thirty-five? Are you mocking an older unmarried, lonely, progressive woman?" Hong Siyu widened her eyes.

"No one said thirty-five, and no one mentioned your age. Stop making a fuss just because you have an opening. Get to the point."

After a busy day, Lin Yun was already utterly exhausted. Listening to her racket only made his head throb faintly.

If not for her phone call, he could have been lying on the couch at home enjoying some peace and quiet by now, instead of sitting in an upscale restaurant expensive enough to make his heart ache, listening to a drunk woman make a scene.

She was not some ordinary business associate he could casually brush off at a dinner party. She was someone he genuinely needed to communicate with, making the conversation at the table impossibly difficult.

"Put aside that ill-timed sulking of yours for now. Can you tell me what exactly is going on with the new magical girls? Did they only appear recently? How long have they been active? How far has your coordination work with them progressed?"

So Lin Yun forced himself out of her conversational rhythm and took the initiative, directly seeking the information he wanted.

The "coordination" he mentioned was, in fact, the city government's stance toward magical girls.

Supernatural powers existed in this world.

Aberrant Beasts and magical girls were both beings clearly different from ordinary people.

Aberrant Beasts could appear in every corner of the world, while every city in the world had magical girls.

Therefore, every city, openly or in secret, had specialized agencies established to recruit capable individuals and handle matters related to Aberrant Beasts. At the same time, they would contact and coordinate with the city's magical girls, helping them swiftly, efficiently, and with minimal risk eliminate appearing Aberrant Beasts and protect ordinary people.

Over time, this became a tradition.

The government agencies responsible for coordinating with magical girls and handling Aberrant Beast incidents were known as the "Anomalous Attack Countermeasures Bureau," or the "Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau" for short.

The Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau contacting magical girls in the city, showing them goodwill, providing assistance, and establishing cooperation had long become standard procedure.

And Hong Siyu, sitting before him, was actually a member of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

That was why she called herself an official and revealed information related to magical girls.

"Ah-ha... what were you asking about again? Magical girls?"

Hong Siyu, whose words were growing increasingly slurred, narrowed her eyes as though searching her mind for whatever scraps of clarity remained. She stammered, "Ah, right, I remember now. Magical girls! In that case, it should be starting soon!"

"...What should be starting soon?" Lin Yun froze slightly.

"I mean, the interview report for the new magical girls. On the city channel. Tonight!"

Hong Siyu seemed to regain a brief moment of clarity and slapped her forehead. "Remember to watch it! Then all your questions will be answered!"

After saying that, she seemed to lose all strength and collapsed onto the table.

Before long, steady breathing came from across the table. Lin Yun examined her carefully and confirmed that the woman had truly fallen asleep at the dinner table.

"All my questions will be answered? Why?"

He asked again, but unfortunately, that question was destined to receive no response.

He called over a server, went to the counter to pay the bill, then returned to the table. Looking at Hong Siyu, who was sprawled there fast asleep, Lin Yun let out a helpless sigh.

After repeatedly calling to her with no result, he could only support Hong Siyu as he left the restaurant beneath the strange stares of everyone around them.

He found the car keys in her wallet, opened her car door, tossed her into the passenger seat, buckled her seat belt, then got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

The car traveled through the nighttime streets toward Hong Siyu's home.

The evening rush hour had already passed, and traffic on the streets had become smoother. Watching the nighttime cityscape, Lin Yun felt his mood improve ever so slightly.

A hand reached over and rested on his knee.

"Senior..."

Hong Siyu's hazy voice sounded beside him.

"What is it?" Lin Yun glanced at her and answered.

"Tell me... Aya's been gone for more than two years now. Why can't you consider me?"

A somewhat dejected voice came from the passenger seat.

"I'm still not married, you know. Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me to wait?"

Lin Yun fell silent for a moment.

He did not particularly want to answer that question, nor did he know how to answer it.

The car continued down the road for a while before he finally figured out how to express his feelings and spoke.

"I... still haven't been able to convince myself."

He paused, then added,

"I haven't been able to convince myself to let her go."

But the conclusion he had reached after so much thought was not heard by her. Soft breathing sounded out, and during that brief silence, Hong Siyu seemed to have fallen asleep again.

In a daze, Lin Yun thought he heard an extremely faint sob.

"I'm sorry."

The sound was so vague and hazy that it took him a long while to realize the words had been "I'm sorry."

And whether that voice had been Hong Siyu talking in her sleep or merely his own illusion was no longer possible to determine.