Before the Parent-Teacher Conference

At Sunset Middle School in Fangting City, on the third floor of the main teaching building, Lin Xiaolu stared blankly at the disconnected call. After pausing for several seconds, she lowered her arm and put away her phone. She looked toward the corridor window. A fine, endless rain fell outside, and beneath the boundless gray skies, even her mood had sunk somewhat.

Perhaps "sunk" was not quite right. What she felt was disappointment.

Larkspur's telling her not to come had undoubtedly been well-intentioned. She did not want Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang to be exposed to danger, nor did she want them to miss the important parent-teacher conference because of it. Who could fail to understand the care behind those words?

Still, even if Larkspur had meant nothing else by it, her words could be interpreted another way. "No need to come" also meant, "There's no point in you coming."

There was no contempt or belittlement in that. It was merely a statement of fact: in Larkspur's eyes, the two newcomers were currently fragile and needed protection, wholly incapable of serving as useful combatants.

Against a Looper Tier Aberrant Beast, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, who were only at the Seed Stage, would be of no help at all. Even after nearly a month of study and training, they would probably still only become burdens when facing a Looper.

Nominally, Larkspur, Lin Xiaolu, and Xia Liang were Magical Girl "companions," but in truth, the two newcomers could not keep pace with her at all, much less stand at her side.

Fangting City was now in crisis, yet Larkspur could still only fight alone.

Then was it really all right to just follow the usual steps like this?

Lin Xiaolu thought so.

Being protected, cared for, and taught by a senior like her did make her feel at ease. Perhaps she really could just leave all the dangerous matters to Larkspur, steadily improve her strength according to her plans, and naturally become a skilled Magical Girl in time.

There would be no risks and no obstacles. All she needed was time, effort, and talent.

Such a path of growth sounded so reasonable, safe, and rational. Just as every good teacher or elder would do, Larkspur had painstakingly arranged the most reliable road for those who came after her.

But since she understood all that, where did this feeling of disappointment in her heart come from?

She could not figure it out.

"Are you okay, Xiao Lu?"

Moko, who was lying on Lin Xiaolu's shoulder, noticed her low spirits and asked worriedly.

Lin Xiaolu merely shook her head.

As the time for the parent-teacher conference drew nearer, most classes had already ended for the day. Students emerged from their classrooms and headed along the corridors toward the school building's exit, preparing to welcome their parents.

As a result, more and more people filled the corridor, and the passing crowds grew denser. Lin Xiaolu could not talk to Moko at a time like this.

She put her phone back into her pocket and patted both cheeks, reminding herself to pull herself together and turn her attention back to the upcoming parent-teacher conference. Then she turned and walked toward the classroom.

The rain outside was growing heavier. She had to go back and get her umbrella.

Passing through the nearly empty classroom, Lin Xiaolu pulled her backpack from her desk and took out her umbrella. When she stepped out through the classroom door again, she happened to see a familiar figure.

It was Xia Liang.

"Xia Liang!"

Moko, who had just been worrying about Lin Xiaolu, immediately switched sides. She leaped off Lin Xiaolu's shoulder and threw herself into Xia Liang's arms before Lin Xiaolu could react, leaving Lin Xiaolu standing there with an unhappy expression as she watched the interaction between the girl and the Fairy.

But this was school, full of ordinary people who could not see Fairies. If Xia Liang interacted too much with Moko, the other students might mistake her for some weirdo flailing at empty air. So Xia Liang knew to keep herself in check. She only gave Moko a pat before releasing her, lest her behavior look strange.

"How is it?"

After setting Moko down, she smiled at Lin Xiaolu. "Is your dad coming soon?"

"How would I know what that man is up to?"

Lin Xiaolu looked displeased. "Maybe he won't come at all."

"Then why did you bring an umbrella?"

"...There's nothing else to do anyway. I'm just going to take a look by the school gate."

"Pfft." Xia Liang covered her mouth and snickered.

"You're so annoying!"

Lin Xiaolu said in embarrassment and irritation, "If you've got nothing else to do, go back to your own classroom!"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about that."

After soothing Lin Xiaolu as though she were comforting a child, Xia Liang's expression grew slightly more serious. "I just wanted to ask about the message you sent earlier. The Aberrant Beast that appeared on the light rail..."

"Larkspur went."

Lin Xiaolu's eyes flickered as she answered somewhat tersely, "Alone."

"...I see. So it's like this again." Xia Liang blinked blankly, then quickly understood what she meant.

Compared to Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang was more perceptive when it came to human relationships. Thus, she had noticed Larkspur's actions earlier and understood them more clearly.

She knew why Larkspur had gone alone.

After the two fell silent for a moment, Xia Liang recovered her composure and smiled reassuringly at Lin Xiaolu. "But there's nothing we can do about it. Since things are already like this, let's just face the parent-teacher conference properly."

"...Mm."

Lin Xiaolu nodded with a complicated look in her eyes. "I know. Worrying alone won't help."

After exchanging these pleasantries, Xia Liang waved goodbye to Lin Xiaolu and headed toward the other end of the teaching building, while Lin Xiaolu took her umbrella and continued toward the school gate.

With the parent-teacher conference approaching, a dense mass of people had already gathered at the school gate. Students met up with their parents here, then led them to their respective classrooms.

Lin Xiaolu opened her umbrella, avoided the puddles on the ground, and skipped over to the side of the gate in three quick hops.

She stood on tiptoe and looked around, trying to find Lin Yun among the crowd. But heads bobbed throughout the bustling throng, and at her height, it was simply too difficult to see clearly.

After wasting some effort, she realized this was accomplishing very little. She lowered her heels and stood firmly again, preparing to try another method: find a spot where the crowd was less dense and wait there.

After all, her height made it difficult for her to find someone in a crowd, but with Lin Yun's build, it would not be hard for him to spot his daughter over everyone else.

What she should do was make herself easier to find.

Holding her umbrella, Lin Xiaolu found an unoccupied corner beside the flowerbed by the school gate. After confirming that it could be seen from the entrance, she stood there and quietly began to wait.

The crowd at the gate grew ever denser as more classes finished for the day. Some students waited inside the teaching building, but even more came to the gate to welcome their parents—after all, the parent-teacher conference would also announce the final exam report cards, and when they did not know whether they had done badly, it was never wrong to act a little more obedient first.

Lin Xiaolu did not care about her report card. She had never liked studying before, and after becoming a Magical Girl, she treated it even more as a compulsory task. Though she knew her grades definitely would not be good, expecting her to curry favor with Lin Yun over something like that was pure fantasy.

She had come to the school gate simply because she wanted to take a look.