Ch. 21Magical Girl Forum
1. Key Plot Points & Events
- Ye Qing arrives at the office, exchanges perfunctory greetings with his subordinates, then shuts himself in his private office.
- He begins his usual routine of slacking: stealing electricity to charge his phone, eating breakfast at his desk, playing a farm game, and browsing forums.
- He checks the Magical Girl forum to see if anyone is discussing “Qingyin,” his magical-girl alter ego.
- He finds a low-traffic post asking about a “cold-faced magical girl” and a much more popular one titled “Bailan City has produced the strongest new-generation magical girl!” — both contain pictures/video of his magical-girl self.
- The second thread has 99+ replies at first glance and eventually grows to over 800 comments, full of memes, off-topic jokes, bait arguments, and unrelated apologies.
- Ye Qing briefly panics about becoming famous, then reassures himself that the discussion is mostly meme-driven and that “Qingyin” and “Ye Qing” seem completely disconnected.
- He closes the thread and catches up on other magical girl news: demotions, leaked stage plays, idol performances, reality show recruitment, identity exposures, etc.
- Lunch break arrives; he feels satisfied that half the workday passed quickly while doing almost nothing.
2. Character Developments
- Ye Qing is portrayed as a habitual slacker who takes pride in doing as little real work as possible: “anything except work” is his unspoken motto.
- He is moderately anxious about his magical-girl identity being exposed, but he quickly rationalizes the situation and moves on.
- He believes his two identities are parallel lines that can never intersect, giving him a false sense of security.
- He prefers being ordinary and unnoticeable, explicitly fearing popularity: “People fear fame as pigs fear getting fat.”
3. Significant Themes
- Workplace laziness and getting paid to do nothing.
- Internet virality and how online threads derail into memes and nonsense.
- Double identity and the tension of keeping a secret.
- Reluctance toward fame and the desire to remain unremarkable.
- The absurdity of online forum culture.
4. Character Interactions
- Ye Qing & subordinates: A brief, formulaic exchange — they praise the organization, he gives a canned response, then he retreats to his office.
- Ye Qing & netizens: Indirect interaction only; he reads comments but does not participate. The netizens debate, meme, and argue about his alter ego without ever learning her name.
- Ye Qing & magical-girl community: Entirely observational; he reads news about Feiyan, the Magical Girl Detective Squad, and other magical girls, but has no direct contact in this chapter.