Cold Rainy Night

Meanwhile.

Rongcheng Second People's Hospital, Emergency Department.

Nan Xiaofeng helped Hua Ling out of the examination room, and the two sat side by side on the chairs outside.

"Whew... We got pretty lucky. The doctor said you're only mildly allergic to the ointment, Hua Ling. You'll feel much better after switching medicine."

"...Th-thank you..."

The bespectacled girl sat obediently in her chair, looking down at the gauze wrapped around her ankle as she answered Nan Xiaofeng.

A brief silence followed.

Nan Xiaofeng secretly glanced at Hua Ling.

At noon today, [Heartmoon Fox] had attacked her school.

To protect the girl beside her, she had transformed into Magical Girl Hyacinth right in front of her. Yet for some reason, Heartmoon Fox had suddenly retreated, leaving her standing there in a daze.

Bailing did not say much after learning about it. She only told her to keep a closer eye on Hua Ling, lest she blurt out Hyacinth's true identity on impulse.

"Bzzzt—"

Her phone vibrated. The caller ID showed her dad.

"Hello, Dad. We're pretty much done here."

"...Yeah, we'll come out and find you."

The call ended, and Nan Xiaofeng turned to the bespectacled girl beside her again.

Hua Ling happened to be looking at her too, her clear eyes filled with hesitation.

"I can take a taxi home by myself. You should go first, Xiaofeng," Hua Ling said softly.

"Absolutely not," Nan Xiaofeng refused without hesitation.

"You want to take a taxi by yourself? You can barely walk without me supporting you. I can't just leave you like that."

"But..."

"No buts. You're staying at my place tonight. I can take care of you too."

"...Thank you..."

Hua Ling froze for a moment before thanking her sincerely.

Nan Xiaofeng scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed by such an earnest expression of gratitude.

"You don't have to make it so formal... Aren't we friends? It's only natural for friends to help each other."

Hearing that, Hua Ling fell silent for a long while. She lowered her head, tucked the hair at her temple behind her ear, and an unconscious smile touched her lips.

"I see... Friends..."

After getting into the SUV, the three of them quickly returned to the residential complex where Nan Xiaofeng lived.

Nan Xiaofeng sat at her desk organizing her textbooks and homework, while Hua Ling sat obediently on the edge of the bed, her gaze wandering across the exceedingly girlish bedroom.

The sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen, the only background noise in the house.

"...Will it feel too cramped for you if I stay here tonight, Xiaofeng?"

Only after a long silence did Hua Ling finally say that.

"Hm? I think it's fine. It's just Dad and me living here anyway. You can share the bed with me, Hua Ling."

"Just the two of you..."

Hua Ling repeated it, seeming to realize something, but she did not continue.

She had wanted to ask why Xiaofeng's mother did not live at home, but just as the words reached her lips, she suddenly thought of a terrible possibility and stayed quiet.

"Yeah, just the two of us." Nan Xiaofeng nodded. "I haven't seen my mom for as long as I can remember. Dad said she went somewhere very, very far away and would never come back."

"...Sorry for bringing up something unpleasant, Xiaofeng."

"You don't need to apologize. It happened a long time ago." Nan Xiaofeng put down the book in her hand. "Besides, I don't really remember much about Mom either. I just hope she's doing better over there."

The topic became awkward for a moment, and neither of them knew how to continue it.

After hesitating for a while, Hua Ling asked the question she had held back all day.

"Xiaofeng."

"Mm?"

"When did you start... becoming a magical girl?"

"Half a year ago."

Nan Xiaofeng answered honestly without hesitation.

"Half a year? Back then, Xiaofeng, you..."

"How should I put it... It's complicated. Anyway, I met the Stargazer Spirit around then. It gave me the Guardian Star, and that's how I began fighting as a magical girl."

"Then how many monsters have you defeated, Xiaofeng?"

"More than twenty? I'm not sure. I never counted carefully, and..."

Before she could finish, there was a knock on the door, followed by a deep male voice from outside.

"Dinner's ready, Xiaofeng. Hua Ling too."

""Coming!""

The night grew deeper.

A light rain fell tonight, pattering softly as the temperature dropped quite a bit.

That was just how Rongcheng's weather was. Night rain was frequent.

It was only natural, really. Autumn had already begun, and whenever a cold front arrived, the temperature fell. Everyone was used to it.

Su Tianqing was no exception.

Only, the changing temperature did not affect her much at the moment. With temperature-control magic, even standing on a rooftop felt perfectly fine.

Because—she was on the job now.

"Villain Magical Girl Heartmoon Fox! It's time to see everyone again!~"

The lively and adorable Golden Fox pulled the camera close to her face, raised both ears, and recited today's opening line.

"Good evening, everyone~ Did anything fun happen to you today? Fox Fox is very happy today."

"So cute, streamer."

"Fox Fox!"

"Cute Fox Fox, come let Mommy hug you."

A wave of comments swept past, along with several superchats.

"Hold it! The one who said Mommy wants a hug! No male mommies!" Su Tianqing immediately spotted the most eye-catching superchat and called it out.

The chat was instantly flooded with people spamming, "We want male mommies."

"My, my... Looks like everyone's very enthusiastic."

The little fox's eyes shifted as she chuckled and pulled the camera even closer. Her jade-green fox eyes seemed to hold moonlight as she opened her arms toward the Magic Camera some distance away.

"Since everyone wants hugs so badly, Fox Fox will hug everyone then~"

"Hug hug~"

The camera moved close to the little fox's pale neck before gently drawing back. Her slender arms extended on both sides of the lens, while her silky hair fell softly around it.

From the camera's perspective, it looked as though the little fox were hugging the viewers.

"Awsl."

"I'm done."

"The best one yet."

"Clip editor, I want this. I'll do anything."

The comments became even denser, and the number of superchats increased as well.

Maintaining excellent professional standards, Su Tianqing smiled as she read out the superchats and gifts.

After all, she was living off magical girl streams through this anonymous account now!

"Thank you for the superchats, everyone~ Thank you for the gift, Tentacle-san~ Thank you for the superchat, Gentleman Has Wine~"

Wait a second, had she just seen a familiar name?

Without changing her expression, Su Tianqing opened the superchat list and fixed her eyes on the name attached to the hundred-yuan superchat.

"Fox Fox is so cute, come let Mommy hug you." ID: Gentleman Has Wine

[In the south are Jia Yu, flourishing in swarms. The gentleman has wine, and he entertains his honored guests with joy.]

She still remembered that poem quite well.

In the south are Jia Yu... Nan Jiayu...

Well, well! Little Fish, you were secretly going online to watch other foxes behind this fox's back! And you even sent them money!

Though this "other fox" was this fox herself~

At that thought, Su Tianqing revealed Villainous Fox Fox's signature wicked grin.

"That smile."

"Does Fox Fox have another evil plan?"

"I don't want to go to work tomorrow. Blow up my company, Fox Fox."

"I nominate the school." "School +1."

"Hey! The one asking me to blow up a company is going too far! Schools are out too! Fox Fox is already tired from blowing things up today!"

Cold rain fell outside the stream, while laughter filled it within.