That Winter That Year~ / The Matter of Ling Wanqing...

After school at noon, Qiu Yun'er insisted on going to Ling Feng's house, so she rushed over almost the moment class ended.

Just thinking about holding hands with the boy she liked, walking along bustling streets together on the way to and from school, made her feel unbelievably happy.

The ideal was beautiful, but reality was cruel. Just as Ling Feng was still worrying about how to deal with his sister while taking Qiu Yun'er along, Lan Xinyu and the others had already surrounded him.

There were four of them this time, with Tang Xiaohua joining them. Ling Feng had not expected them to become so familiar with each other in just one morning. One look at Tang Ling's expression made it obvious that she had played matchmaker.

Ling Feng had just stood up, ready to make a run for it, when Lan Xinyu stopped him again with one hand.

To be honest, before Ling Feng had known she was a Magical Girl, he had liked her a little. Her looks were exactly his type: the classic long, straight black hair. But he could not handle her personality. She was far too overbearing.

It was Tang Xiaohua's first time seeing this scene, and she did not know what was going on. Tang Ling hurriedly explained it to her. Once she understood, Tang Xiaohua looked at Ling Feng with a hint of amusement.

The meaning was obvious. I couldn't tell, but you have quite a few admirers.

Qiu Yun'er frowned slightly. Another rival? She had not called over her best friend because she had "probably" not considered her a rival. Even now, Qiu Yun'er's arm still ached faintly. Her expression was grave, but she showed no intention of backing down.

Seemingly noticing this, Ling Feng whispered a few words into Qiu Yun'er's ear. She nodded and looked toward Lan Xinyu and the others.

"If you've got the guts, let's have a duel at South Mountain Park tonight."

Qiu Yun'er's words surprised Tang Ling and the others slightly. Tang Ling immediately agreed. Duels were her favorite, and she happened to be short on points lately.

"The loser gives up 500 points."

Before Lan Xinyu could say anything, Tang Ling had already made the decision for all of them. Qiu Yun'er gritted her teeth and agreed. She had worked so hard to save up that many points. If she lost, they would all be gone.

Qiu Yun'er looked at Ling Feng. He had told her he would find her a helper. I can only trust Ling Feng right now.

A Destiny Sign holder could claim ten points every day. Defeating one could also earn anywhere from ten points upward. If you killed the other person, you could obtain all of their points, unless they willingly gave them to you.

As for things like murder and arson, this group of Magical Girls could not bring themselves to do that. They were all classmates, after all. At most, they had a few conflicts.

In the end, everyone's eyes fell on Ling Feng. He was the only ordinary person present. He had not thought much about it just now, but Qiu Yun'er finally remembered what Ling Feng had said. What kind of helper could he possibly find for her?

"I... I didn't hear anything. You aren't going to kill me to keep me quiet, are you?"

"Hehe, you guess."

Tang Ling and Tang Xiaohua laughed almost at the same time. Only the class monitor comforted him, saying that it would not matter if one more person knew. Nearly the entire class already knew about Magical Girls anyway.

That Winter Long Ago~

With the matter settled, Ling Feng was finally able to get away.

Come to think of it, why did Magical Girls and Astral Mark Girls have to fight? Could they not just coexist peacefully? Or become friends?

Ling Feng could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Everyone was simply following the prompts on their Destiny Signs. Could someone be controlling things behind the scenes?

The possibility sent a chill down Ling Feng's spine. The sign displayed a final countdown, and there was only a limited amount of time left before it ended. What would happen once the countdown reached zero?

Ling Feng had asked other Astral Mark Girls about it before. One of them said the countdown had been there ever since she received her Destiny Sign three years ago, but few people paid attention to it. Would there be a great war?

Ling Feng shook his head and stopped thinking about it. What mattered now was handling the matter in front of him. The helper he had mentioned to Qiu Yun'er was naturally himself. Otherwise, where was a lone wolf like Ling Feng supposed to find a helper?

Ling Xiaoyu had just messaged Ling Feng, saying that his cousin Ling Wanqing was coming over and would also be spending Spring Festival here. They could hang out together then.

"I didn't expect her to come over. I just used her identity, and now she's coming here."

Ling Feng actually did not want his cousin to come, because she was the only person who knew he was an Astral Mark Girl.

As for why she knew, that was another sad story.

At the time, Ling Feng had locked himself in his room and was preparing to go to an appointment. Who knew that just after he had endured the intense shame of transforming, the wardrobe suddenly shook, and a girl fell out of it. When she pushed herself up, their eyes met.

Only then did Ling Feng understand what it meant to be consumed by shame and humiliation.

Although Ling Feng's face was flushed red at the time, he was also furious. Ling Wanqing had actually been hiding inside the wardrobe in his room!

Ling Wanqing had naturally seen everything too. She had watched Ling Feng's entire transformation through the crack in the wardrobe door! Though she was somewhat surprised, she leisurely climbed to her feet with a mischievous grin.

"I discovered a huge secret. I never thought my brother was an Astral Mark Girl too. Then from now on, let's protect world peace together!"

That's right. Ling Feng had never expected Ling Wanqing to be an Astral Mark Girl as well. Fortunately, she had not revealed his identity afterward, and before long, her family had called her back home.

Ling Feng's memories of Ling Wanqing still remained in their childhood.

Night fell, and wind and snow wandered the streets like lost lambs, unable to find the way home.

Traffic flowed, carriages and vehicles passed by, and dazzling lights reflected the city's prosperity, as if they were driving away the bitter cold of the night.

"Sir, please buy a nuclear bomb! Sir, don't go! I haven't eaten for days, sir. Please, have pity on me, sir! Sir!"

The little girl dejectedly walked back from the road, her expression miserable. She tucked her hands in and returned to the corner by the wall, curling up and shivering.

The sky seemed faintly angered, and so the snow gradually grew heavier. "Whoosh, whoosh..." The wind howled like a lone ghost, as if calling for something.

The little girl trembled in the cold wind, her lips frozen purple and her teeth chattering. She could not help thinking of her grandmother. When her grandmother had been alive, the fireplace at home burned like a flame and warmed the house like spring. There was always a juicy, delicious turkey on the table during festivals, and on Christmas, her grandmother bought her clothes more colorful than flowers... She missed her grandmother so much.

Poor little girl! Cold and hungry, she trembled as she walked forward.

Snowflakes fell onto her shit-green long hair, which was matted into Old Eight's Special Little Hamburger and draped over her shoulders. She looked beautiful, but she did not notice any of that. Every window shone with light, and the scent of Ollie-give drifted out from above. It was New Year's Eve—she could never forget that.

Suddenly, the little girl remembered what her only beloved grandmother had told her while she was alive: launch this nuclear bomb, and you can see Grandma.

That day, the entire village saw her grandmother.

—An Tusheng

"Whew, I'm done. Are you asleep?"

Beside her, a handsome little boy with a childish face wearily raised his head. He glanced at the little girl lying on the bed and spoke weakly.

"Not yet, Xiaofeng. Tell me another one."

"Damn it, I've been telling you stories since ten-thirty last night, and now it's three in the morning. Do I not need sleep!? I still have class tomorrow morning! Why are you still so... Forget it. Sleep or don't sleep, I don't care. I can't keep going anymore."

That Thing with Ling Wanqing

Ling Feng planned to ask Ling Xiaoyu for a Voice-Changing Pill during lunch.

He actually wanted to give up. If the effects lasted another two days, that would be terrible. But if he did not use it, where would he find a helper? He had personally promised Qiu Yun'er.

"A real man keeps his word. How could he take it back?"

In the end, Ling Feng still chose this path. If Ling Wanqing were here, he could simply push her out there, but she would not be able to come for several more days.

Thinking of that, Ling Feng shook his head again.

No, even if she came, what could she do? Ling Feng knew her temperament very well. With a blade in each hand, she would definitely fight those Magical Girls to the death.

Once, Ling Feng had taken Ling Wanqing to fight several Magical Girls. In the end, Ling Wanqing had forced things into a mutual defeat, then exchanged her points for a healing potion and kept fighting.

After being battered all over, Ling Wanqing stood up again through sheer willpower.

When that Magical Girl saw her take out another healing potion, she truly wanted to cry but had no tears. Who fought like that? She immediately admitted defeat.

Admitting defeat would have been fine, but Ling Wanqing would not even let her surrender! She insisted on fighting to the death and scared the poor girl into tears. She collapsed onto the ground with tears in her eyes.

In the end, Ling Feng had to pull Ling Wanqing away and compensate those Magical Girls with his own points.

Because Ling Feng felt it was his fault for bringing this lunatic along.

What had Ling Wanqing said back then?

"Come on! Today, either you die or I die!"

"Big sis, don't stop me! I can still fight!"

"Big sis, why are you giving them points? They lost, didn't they!?"

"Oh, that hurts! Big sis, why did you hit me? What did I do wrong?"

At the dining table, Ling Feng had to go through a round of sophistry—no, explanation—before he got a Voice-Changing Pill from Ling Xiaoyu.

Ling Xiaoyu wore a mischievous smile the entire time.

Had her little brother finally gotten the hang of things? Yuri was not impossible either. Should there be a sibling romance? A sister romance? Was it really true? The internet said cross-dressing only happened once or countless times.

Sitting beside her, Ling Feng looked aggrieved. What improper things was his older sister thinking about again? One look at Ling Xiaoyu's expression told him it was definitely nothing good.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Uh, no, nothing. You're overthinking it."

"."

Ling Feng ignored her and turned to leave. He planned to go upstairs and catch up on sleep first. After all, there was a big battle tonight.

As for why they were fighting, there were plenty of reasons. Ling Feng's matter was only one of them. If they really had to pick one reason, then she was an Astral Mark Girl!? She was a Magical Girl!? Was that enough?

Watching Ling Feng walk away, Ling Xiaoyu suddenly remembered that she had vowed to maintain the image of a perfect, ladylike older sister in front of him.

"Sigh, there aren't many virtuous wives and loving mothers as family-oriented as me left in this world. Xiaofeng, and you still don't know how to cherish me."

Ling Xiaoyu rarely puffed out her cheeks as she complained softly.

The afternoon did not possess dawn's rising sun and vitality, nor the grandeur and majesty of the setting sun, yet it carried a warm, jade-like radiance. It was neither noisy nor ostentatious, quietly bidding farewell to dawn and welcoming dusk.

Afternoon classes were much the same as usual, except they were far noisier, filled with chatter and discussion.

Countless posts about Magical Girls were being shared across the school forum. Nearly every student in the school now knew about Magical Girls, especially since everyone knew there was one in Class 1, Grade 11. Many students came specifically to see what a Magical Girl looked like.

As for Tang Xiaohua herself, she could not have been prouder. The class monitor and vice class monitor could barely keep order, while Ling Feng simply sat quietly in his seat, watching her show off.

President of the Linzhou City Magical Girl Association

At this time, the sun was gradually sinking westward, and the clouds beside it had been dyed red. Crimson clouds filled the sky, stirring longing in the heart.

The sun sank lower and lower, and the evening glow gradually faded. By the time Ling Feng returned home, it was already around six or seven in the evening.

Ling Feng calculated the time. Final exams were next week.

To Ling Feng, exams did not really matter. His grades were only average in class, and he would probably attend an ordinary university in the future.

It would naturally be even better if he could find a pretty girlfriend along the way.

But!

As an Astral Mark Girl, Ling Feng felt that the course of his future fate would change somewhat as well.

Inside his room, Ling Feng carefully used tweezers to remove a tiny piece from the Voice-Changing Pill.

In theory, if he ate less, the effects should be weaker too. Having made up his mind, Ling Feng got to work, just like before.

After swallowing it, he turned into that one-meter-sixty... No, why did he feel shorter? Sensing something was wrong, Ling Feng hurriedly grabbed a ruler and measured himself.

"Damn it, one meter fifty-nine!?"

Why had he gotten shorter again? Ling Feng practically wanted to cry.

She remembered that the first time she used it, only her voice changed. Then, time after time, aside from feeling weaker, her height, appearance, and voice were all changing.

"What kind of principle is this?"

Ling Feng was still troubled by it, but she needed to go downstairs now because Qiu Yun'er had messaged her that she was almost there.

When she opened the bedroom door, Ling Feng saw Ling Xiaoyu standing outside with a bright smile, and had no idea what she was planning again.

"Xiaofeng, if you're going out to meet a classmate, shouldn't you change into something prettier?" Ling Xiaoyu said seriously.

"No."

"Wear my clothes first."

"No."

"Come on."

"No... Damn it, I'm just going out for a gathering. I really don't need to!"

Seeing Ling Feng react so strongly, Ling Xiaoyu gave her no chance at all. Unless she dressed Ling Feng up beautifully, Ling Xiaoyu had no intention of letting her leave.

And so, Ling Feng was dragged straight into Ling Xiaoyu's room. It was not that Ling Feng did not want to resist—she simply could not resist at all!