End of Summer, Xia Liang (4k5)

More than a month ago, during the stalking mix-up at the shopping mall, Xia Liang discovered some clues by dialing "Larkspur's phone" on Lin Yun.

To avoid embarrassment and cover up the truth, Lin Yun explained that he knew Larkspur and that she had left her phone at his house.

There are actually many contradictions behind this statement, but he had very little time to think at the time, and in the emergency, he could not provide a better explanation.

Now, when Xia Liang used almost the same method again and asked the same question, Larkspur knew there was no room for explanation.

Even if she used the same excuse to deceive him again, saying that "Lin Yun left her phone at Larkspur's house," she couldn't explain the logic behind it: why would she have someone else's phone with her?

To cover up one lie, you need to use more lies to cover up the oversight; to conceal something, you will distort your own behavior.

Larkspur wasn't a professional orator or a con artist; she didn't want to, and was unwilling to, waste too much energy on endlessly fabricating lies. So, she narrowed her eyes and slowly sighed:

"Pursuing these things relentlessly is just being too willful."

She chose to completely abandon any attempt to argue.

"About what?"

Xia Liang tilted her head, holding her phone, and said innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about, senior."

No sooner had she finished speaking than she received a sharp rap on the forehead from the Larkspur.

"Ouch!" Xia Liang immediately covered her head.

"You've already guessed it, so why pretend?"

Larkspur withdrew her hand somewhat helplessly, looking at Xia Liang with drooping eyelids. "Child, when exactly did you start noticing this?"

"Junior, are you admitting it?" Xia Liang asked in surprise, pressing his forehead.

"Now that things have come to this, why won't you admit it?" Taking a few steps back, Larkspur leaned against the balcony railing. "Although it's a rather embarrassing thing to talk about, I wouldn't stoop so low as to lie to a child."

"Hehe, that's good." Releasing her hand from her head, Xia Liang chuckled mischievously and took two steps forward. Lowering her voice again, she asked Larkspur, "So, the 'Uncle Lin' I saw really is the same person as the young senior?"

The Larkspur did not reply.

She just stared at Xia Liang expressionlessly, then turned her head towards the balcony door.

The meaning of this action was quite clear: to make Xia Liang close the door before continuing the conversation, so that Lin Xiaolu in the room wouldn't overhear it.

Xia Liang quickly understood. She turned around, ran to close the balcony door with great enthusiasm, and then looked at Larkspur again with eyes full of curiosity and inquiry.

"... Tell me how you discovered it first," said the Larkspur, her eyes lowered.

"Is this supposed to be my acceptance speech?"

"You can think that way, because I also want to understand your thought process," Larkspur said bluntly.

"Hmm... if I had to pinpoint when, it would be after that last phone call?"

Xia Liang touched her chin, pondering slightly, and said, "At first, I didn't think about it that way. I just thought you and Uncle Lin knew each other. After all, you said it yourself, young senior: you and Xiao Lu's mother used to be teammates, so it's normal for you to know her father."

"But last time, when that magical girl with the Claw Mark attacked, you were the first one to appear at Uncle Lin's workplace, right?"

"Then I remembered what happened before, which Xiao Lu told me: the day Uncle Lin went to her parent-teacher conference, the light rail encountered Aberrant Beast on the road. Wasn't it the young senior who dealt with that Aberrant Beast?"

Larkspur paused slightly, then nodded. "That's right, but that still doesn't seem to be enough evidence. If it's only this much, it can still be explained away as 'a close relationship between him and me'."

"But this is the second time already, cell phone."

Upon hearing Larkspur's question, Xia Liang pointed to the other person's pocket. "If you and 'Uncle Lin' are really two different people, and have such a close relationship that you can arrive at the scene of Aberrant Beast in the shortest time... then there's no reason to leave the other person's phone here, causing you to lose contact with each other, right?"

"Just like how you, senior, were worried about our safety and asked Xiao Lu to notify you if she found Aberrant Beast, if you and 'Uncle Lin' also had some kind of close relationship, even if you lost your phone with him, you would definitely retrieve it immediately."

"There are many other suspicious points, such as the fact that you and 'Uncle Lin' seem to have a close relationship but their actions overlap; Hong Siyu and her sister also seem to have some feelings for 'Uncle Lin', but they don't seem to have any objections to your relationship..."

As he explained each sentence, the Larkspur's expression changed from helplessness to contemplation, and finally to calmness.

Her expression was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger, nor a trace of personal emotion. This made Xia Liang, who had initially been somewhat eager to take credit, gradually become hesitant, and even a little guilty.

"I know that even at this point, it's still not enough to be certain. And my guess is really too strange; it's very likely just my own delusion. That's why I took this opportunity to play a prank, hoping to get the real answer from you, senior."

After explaining her thought process, seeing that Larkspur remained silent, she could only bite the bullet and ask, "Did I do something that made you angry?"

--Are you angry?

The Larkspur couldn't help but ask itself a question.

Logically speaking, when someone tries to hide something and it is exposed by others, they will feel ashamed and annoyed, feeling that their privacy has been Peering Stage and that it is an offense.

However, she doesn't feel that way at all now. More than the shame of having her secret exposed, she feels a sense of relief after a heavy burden has been lifted.

After all, her original intention, what she truly wanted to do, was never to deceive.

Thinking of this, the Larkspur's gaze finally softened, and in the end, she closed her eyes.

The little things that happen when you spend every day together will eventually reveal some clues, and Xia Liang is indeed sensitive enough to extract the correct answer from a pile of clues.

"... Sometimes overly smart kids can be annoying."

She commented softly.

"Hehe, thanks for the compliment."

Seeing that Larkspur had finally responded, Xia Liang smiled again, "But I don't want to be disliked by my junior. I'll start acting like a silly kid now, so please don't dislike me, okay?"

"It's enough that you don't hate me. In fact, I thought you would be very angry."

Opening her eyes again, Larkspur's gaze was clear. "After all, I actually lied to you too. I concealed it from you simply because I couldn't be honest about my relationship with Xiao Lu."

"Besides, isn't it strange that a man in his thirties is a magical girl in private? And then this man casually criticizes your magical girl activities in front of your seniors. Don't you find that disgusting?"

--"Huh?"

Hearing Larkspur's words, Xia Liang was a little stunned, then shook her head hesitantly and said, "No way?"

"I have no right to find someone disgusting, do I? Especially since that person is a junior colleague. You are the person I respect and rely on most right now."

She walked to the balcony railing and stood beside Larkspur: "I am well aware of my wicked nature. When I was little, I failed to speak up to stop my parents' conflicts because of my simple self-gratification; and because of these things, I gave up on myself and became what most people call a 'bad kid'; now that I have finally found my place in the Magical Girl Squad, I am still immersed in such desires, craving more care and love."

"Someone as ugly as me has no right to despise others for being disgusting."

She spoke as if sighing over something.

As Larkspur turned her gaze towards him, the two stared at each other for a moment, and then Xia Liang suddenly opened his arms.

"What?" Larkspur, somewhat puzzled.

"I want a hug," Xia Liang said, opening her arms.

"Why?"

"Young senior, if you don't believe me, let me hug you to prove that I don't dislike you."

"I already believe you, don't do something so shameful," Larkspur said, turning her face away.

"If you don't want to, I'll go tell Xiao Lu." Xia Liang pouted, sounding a bit sulky.

The Larkspur remained silent.

She looked up at Xia Liang, then couldn't help but glance towards her room, where she saw the light still on in the window, casting the shadow of Lin Xiaolu bent over her desk.

"...Okay." She couldn't help but sigh again, and stiffly opened her arms.

Xia Liang smiled with a hint of smug satisfaction.

She took two steps forward, bent down slightly, and then hugged the Larkspur.

As summer draws to a close and the heat of autumn arrives, the dryness in the air is lifted by gusts of cool breeze. The nights are slightly chilly, and a gentle breeze drifts through the buildings, brushing against the small, low balconies.

The cicadas downstairs chirped hoarsely and deeply, while the cicadas in the trees strained to make their final calls, as if bidding farewell to the last summer of their lives.

"... How about that? Can you feel it? I don't dislike you, junior."

On the balcony, Xia Liang gently hugged Larkspur, her voice humming, "Even if 'Uncle Lin' were standing here now, this pure feeling would be the same. Although, in that case, I probably wouldn't dare to hug you."

"Actually, you didn't need to hug me." The Larkspur stood motionless, her body slightly stiff. "I told you, I believe you."

Xia Liang didn't respond to those words, as if she hadn't heard them, or rather, she pretended not to hear them, and quietly held Larkspur for a while.

"Sure enough, holding the little senior makes me feel very safe; it's cool, soft, and smells nice."

After a while, she suddenly said, "Actually, I wanted to ask you last time, what shampoo do you use for your hair, young senior?"

"... I can send you the brand of shampoo if you need it."

The Larkspur's expression was blank. "You've held me long enough, so can you let go now?"

"Can't."

Xia Liang remained motionless, and said softly, "In fact, I'm currently filled with a rather ugly joy: because I feel like I've found the secret that my junior was too ashamed to mention. We now have something in common, a shared secret, and now we finally have a different kind of relationship."

"I want to emphasize this many times: I don't dislike you, senior. After all, you pulled me back from the brink of disaster. I just want to know more about you and understand you better."

"I've said it before, I'm a child who lacks love, so please don't blame me for holding on so tightly."

"After all, if I don't do this, all I'll ever get is the leftover care from Xiao Lu, the scraps."

"Although this is my ugly, insatiable greed, what I want is not scraps, but my share. Even if it doesn't change in size, as long as it belongs to me, that's enough."

This time, Larkspur truly didn't know how to respond.

Although Xia Liang's expression was quite subtle, she could understand what Xia Liang meant.

The same things as Xiao Lu, not scraps, even if there aren't that many. Larkspur can give Lin Xiaolu her whole heart, but it's hard for her to share with Xia Liang. Naturally, there's only one thing she can give wholeheartedly—family affection.

Xia Liang's request was tantamount to saying that she wanted to be treated like a parent and hoped that she could treat her like a child.

But precisely because she understood, she couldn't speak. Rather, for the first time, she felt lost regarding Xia Liang's somewhat overstepping and even stubborn ideas.

This request is too abrupt and casual; it should be a very serious matter.

She could understand Xia Liang's longing for family affection after losing her father and being coldly abandoned by her mother, but she never expected that she would make such a request at this time.

If Larkspur were a very casual person, completely unconcerned about the various responsibilities and ethical issues behind this request, then she could naturally agree to it at will, saying that Xia Liang would be her goddaughter from now on, and that the two would consider themselves as biological children.

However, she is not that kind of person. She fully understands and values the importance of family and kinship.

From being a senior magical girl to being a parent and child, the span of this relationship is too great, and the responsibility behind it is too heavy, so heavy that Larkspur is speechless.

Even with Lin Xiaolu's only daughter, they've had so many problems together. Can she really shoulder this responsibility?

After a long period of thought, Larkspur pushed Xia Liang's shoulder, and the two separated from their embrace.

"Let me think about it some more. I need to think about it too."

She tried to keep her voice down so as not to upset Xia Liang: "You're a very good and excellent child, and I'm glad you're willing to acknowledge me like this. However, I don't want you to regret this later, and I hope we can both be responsible for your future, so let's not make such a hasty decision."

"I have already..." Xia Liang wanted to say something, but saw Larkspur make a shushing gesture and then shake her head.

"Your time to be willful is over for today. You should remember that willfulness should be 'in moderation'," said Larkspur.

Xia Liang stood there stunned for a moment, then shook her head and smiled helplessly, "Alright, we'll talk about these things later."

"However, I have one more request."

She patted her face, composed herself, and looked earnestly at Larkspur: "As a last act of defiance from a bad girl, although I didn't originally intend to tell Xiao Lu, I need hush money."

"What exactly?" Larkspur raised her head, crossing her arms.

"Specifically, we just need to schedule any day, and then—"

"Ah, you're all here!"

Xia Liang's words were cut short. She had barely begun when a voice from the living room on the other side of the balcony interrupted her.

Lin Xiaolu, holding an exam paper and shuffling in her slippers, stormed into the living room, then flung open the balcony door. "You all left me here, secretly talking behind my back! I want to hear too!"

Xia Liang had no choice but to stop talking, because this was not something that should be mentioned in front of Lin Xiaolu, so she chose to remain silent and smiled at Larkspur.

Larkspur understood what the other person meant. In just one night, this was already the umpteenth time she had felt the urge to sigh.

But right now, she wasn't ready to reveal the truth to Lin Xiaolu, so she could only lower her eyelids and say in unison with Xia Liang:

"Nothing, we were just discussing the questions."

This was yesterday's update, but I still got stuck and only just finished writing it now. There's another chapter tonight, that's today's update, I'll try to write as much as possible.