Spatial Illness

The next morning.

The two members of the Ye family were on the high-speed rail back to their parents' home.

Ye Qing lay against the seatback with a dead-inside expression.

"Hahaha! You gave a kid a sausage, got mistaken for a criminal, and got arrested? You're way too funny."

Ye Yuyan clutched her stomach and laughed nonstop. Not wanting to be too rowdy on the train, she held it in until tears spilled from her eyes.

"Do you know how much effort I went through to get out?" Ye Qing asked miserably, accusing her, "I went crazy calling people in the middle of the night, trying to find someone to vouch for me, but you, Mom, and Dad—none of you answered."

"So how did you get out?" Ye Yuyan asked curiously.

"Thanks to my silver tongue and some painstaking persuasion..."

"That easy?"

"Then I called my buddy over to vouch for me."

"So you still couldn't get out by yourself."

"I made him come out in the middle of the night to prove my innocence, so I had to show some appreciation. I won't be able to watch BL with you next week." Ye Qing shrugged helplessly.

"Yes! Wild Boar Park!" Ye Yuyan corrected through gritted teeth.

"I promised Old Li I'd go watch Magical Girl Detectives' stage play with him. I owed him one," Ye Qing explained.

"Magical Girl Detectives?" Ye Yuyan asked in confusion.

"Yeah, that famous magical girl group. They're putting on a stage play in Bailan City's central district next week. And I heard that national magical girl idol is coming here for a concert soon too." Ye Qing spoke excitedly.

"You really do like magical girls," Ye Yuyan said with a hint of emotion.

"In this world, the people who don't like magical girls are the minority. They're the weird ones," Ye Qing replied.

From childhood, people were taught how wonderful magical girls were. In real life, they could even encounter magical girls and rely on their help.

Anyone who grew up in that sort of environment and still didn't like magical girls should probably get their mental health checked.

This world's education about magical girls was certainly up to standard.

"Then... then you," Ye Yuyan stammered.

"Have you liked any new-generation magical girls lately?"

"Of course I have," Ye Qing answered without hesitation.

"Who?" Ye Yuyan turned around and stared straight at Ye Qing with gleaming eyes.

"That loli magical girl from District 23, her name was..."

"Go die. Let those cops lock you back up," Ye Yuyan said, her voice turning icy in an instant.

"What? I'm not a lolicon. I also really like that mature magical girl from District 33..."

Before Ye Qing could finish, Ye Yuyan interrupted him again.

"Don't want to hear it, don't want to hear it! Aren't there any from District 28? What about Bailan City?"

"Uh... uh..."

Ye Qing scratched his head awkwardly. Facing Ye Yuyan's murderous glare, he honestly gave his opinion.

"Some new-generation ones have emerged recently, but they haven't gotten much exposure. I know who they are, but only to the extent of knowing their names, let alone liking them."

Magical girls were no different from regular idols—they needed exposure too.

Only by promoting their achievements, marketing their personas, acting in TV dramas, appearing on variety shows, doing advertisements, and the like could the public come to understand them.

You couldn't possibly fully understand what a magical girl had done or what kind of person she was just because she appeared out of nowhere once.

Even on magical girl forums, all you could find were occasional photos and stories of their heroics posted by passersby.

If the media didn't put in the effort, they would never enter the public eye.

In any case, magical girls didn't need to worry about their image collapsing. Their true nature was the best proof, and marketing their personas did more good than harm.

District 28's approach was far too bland. Even without a crisis, they wouldn't let magical girls appear on variety programs. That was the difference brought by different districts and different ministers.

"If I had to name one, Crimson Flame is pretty great. She's been very active lately." After giving it some thought, Ye Qing named the most active one.

"Hmph." Ye Yuyan snorted unhappily and stopped paying attention to Ye Qing.

What was that about...

She was mad again...

Girls were so hard to understand.

Completely baffled, Ye Qing lowered his head and played on his phone.

They got off the high-speed rail.

Each of them carried a bag of gifts, and they bought some fresh fruit along the way—basic gifts for going home.

There was nothing wrong with going home empty-handed and asking their parents for food, but Ye Qing and Ye Yuyan would have felt bad about it.

It wasn't as if they couldn't make it outside. Having grown up and still constantly asking for things would certainly leave a bitter feeling in their hearts.

Knock, knock...

With her free hand, Ye Yuyan knocked on the front door, while Ye Qing obediently carried both bags of gifts.

The door opened. They had expected to see their cheerful mother, with their frail and sickly father beside her, warmly welcoming the siblings inside as usual.

But the scene was vastly different from before. Father Ye no longer looked as weak as he had in the past, yet the exhaustion in his brow could not be concealed.

"Dad, what happened?" Ye Yuyan asked, her voice trembling with a faint sob.

"Come in first. We'll talk inside," Father Ye said, forcing himself to smile, though it looked rather strained.

Every month, Ye Qing and Ye Yuyan made time to visit their parents twice.

That meant this sudden change had happened within the past two weeks.

Ye Yuyan hurried after Father Ye into the room, while Ye Qing entered at an unhurried pace and familiarly placed their things on the floor where they usually went.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, Ye Qing prepared himself mentally before stepping into Father Ye and Mother Ye's room.

Mother Ye lay weakly on the bed. With Ye Yuyan supporting her, she leaned against the headboard and sat up.

"Mom, what exactly happened?" Ye Yuyan asked, holding her mother's hand.

"Spatial Illness. Your mother has Spatial Illness," Father Ye began to explain in detail. "We thought it was just a minor sickness, but the diagnosis these past two days revealed it was Spatial Illness."

"How could that be? Couldn't you buy the medicine?" Ye Yuyan asked anxiously.

Spatial Illness was a disease unique to this world.

Spatial Rifts released unique elements brought over from other worlds, which could be lethally harmful to certain groups of people.

The world outside was unimaginably vast. There would always be Spatial Rifts that brought otherworldly atmospheres which made different people feel unwell and fall sick.

In other words, it was acclimatization sickness.

Only, the price of this acclimatization sickness was a little severe.

"The medicine that suppresses Spatial Illness is temporarily out of stock in Bailan City. I heard it was sent to support other districts, and the remaining Spatial Medicine in District 28 isn't being sold to the public. They said the limited supply could only be reserved for personnel who assist magical girls, as well as magical girls themselves, just in case. We can't buy any medicine at all right now, and we don't even know whether this Spatial Illness will get worse." Father Ye truthfully described what had happened, his eyes already wet.

His wife had fallen ill, yet he could do nothing.

There was no greater helplessness or sorrow for an adult than that.

It was unfortunate—utterly unfortunate. Only the worst luck could produce such a disaster born from so many coincidences converging at once.

Ye Qing only listened silently by the doorway for a moment before leaving the room.

He took out the ingredients they had bought to bring home.

He no longer cared what they would discuss inside. He headed into the kitchen and began cooking.

In just half an hour, he filled the table with dishes.

"Dinner's ready, dinner's ready! Nothing gets solved on an empty stomach. Eat first, then we'll talk," Ye Qing called out cheerfully.

Ye Yuyan anxiously helped Mother Ye out of bed, while Father Ye followed them out of the room.

All three of their eyes were slightly red and swollen. Ye Qing took the initiative to pull out their chairs.

"Ta-da! I made Mom and Dad's favorite healthy dishes. It's been ages since I cooked. I've worked hard, and my skills haven't declined one bit."

Ye Qing presented the full table of food and slicked back his hair in an overly greasy pose.

"Pfft, you're so narcissistic, Little Qing. Don't make it too salty or too bland and turn healthy vegetables into unhealthy vegetables for Mom and Dad," Ye Yuyan said with a soft laugh.

The heavy atmosphere eased somewhat.

Everyone sat down. Ye Qing kept messing with Ye Yuyan, joking around at the table, and laughter occasionally rang out.

Dwelling in sorrow alone would not solve anything. It would only add to the sadness.

A proper change of mood was better for both body and mind.

Besides, it was not yet time to be heartbroken.

Looking at his adoptive parents' smiling faces, Ye Qing thought silently.