Thoughts on the Stage

The high-ponytailed girl did not take the little incident just now to heart.

But Bai Yi had already seen everything in the classroom.

"So you're the new member. Hello, I'm Zhao Leying."

The high-ponytailed girl stood up, gave Zhou Mo a slight nod, and said evenly,

"Sorry for causing you trouble just now."

"No, no, I was the rude one."

Zhou Mo waved her hands repeatedly, replying somewhat embarrassedly.

Beside them, Mo Li curiously leaned over.

"What, what? Did something happen just now?"

Zhao Leying sat back down, glanced at her, and answered bluntly, "Nothing happened."

"Huh? Don't be like that, Xiao Leling~ Tell me, okay?"

"Who is Xiao Leling?"

Zhao Leying crossed her arms and huffed unhappily.

"Xiao Leling is Xiao Leling, right, Xiao Baiyi?"

Mo Li grinned as she spoke to Bai Yi.

Bai Yi looked at her without any expression on her face.

Ignoring Mo Li's clowning around, Bai Yi rested her elbows on the table, clasped her hands beneath her nose, and put on an imposing air.

"Everyone, report your progress."

"You mean one of Magical Girl Xia Ya's hobbies is bitter melon milk tea?"

"Mm-hmm."

An Xia pressed her legs together and nodded with certainty. She was wearing black-rimmed glasses at the moment, making her look well-behaved and quiet.

Bai Yi blinked, then asked,

"How did you find that out?"

"Ah, um..."

An Xia froze at Bai Yi's follow-up question before hurriedly explaining,

"I saw her post something on her account praising bitter melon milk tea, so I made that guess."

"I see."

Bai Yi nodded in understanding, then shifted her gaze to Zhou Mo.

"Then, Molis?"

Hearing that, Zhou Mo rubbed her chin in thought for a moment and frowned.

"I think she neither dislikes it nor likes it very much."

Bai Yi blinked again at Zhou Mo's answer.

"What are you talking about?"

"Bitter melon milk tea, of course." Zhou Mo spread her hands, replying as if it were obvious.

So I was talking about bitter melon milk tea?

Bai Yi sighed. Fine, she would write it down for now.

Then, with her last shred of hope, she looked at Zhao Leying beside her.

Zhao Leying understood at once. She handed Bai Yi an A4 sheet from the bag beside her, then said calmly,

"Regarding Magical Girl Aivi, who has recently been targeted online, her real identity was doxxed by criminals."

Bai Yi took the A4 sheet. It detailed information on a certain Magical Girl, along with her real identity.

Looking at the intelligence in her hand, Bai Yi's brow twitched.

"Tch. A Magical Girl with over a million followers got doxxed? Are everyone at Zohar dead?"

She ruthlessly criticized the people at the company.

"Um... Actually, an online witch kept shouting that she wanted to confront her in person. Aivi got mad and went to meet her for an offline PK. Although she won in the end, she was beaten hard enough to lose her transformation, exposing her true form."

Zhao Leying paused before explaining.

"..."

Everyone fell silent.

Sure enough, Magical Girls were all a bunch of unconventional people. Zhou Mo's stereotype of Magical Girls deepened once more.

After a moment of silence, Bai Yi waved the paper in her hand and decided not to look at it anymore.

Then, propping her chin up with one hand, she started chatting with the others.

"By the way, the Magical Idol Rising Star Contest is about to begin. Do you have any contestants you like?"

After chatting for quite a while, Zhou Mo left the clubroom, stretched, and prepared to head home.

"Ding!"

While walking home, Zhou Mo's phone suddenly chimed.

She took it out and saw that Xia Ya had sent her a message.

"Xia Ya: Are you coming to train today too?"

Well, it looked like she would not get a moment of rest.

Zhou Mo replied with an OK hand gesture and decided to eat dinner first.

She bought some vegetables and meat at the supermarket, then returned home and started cooking.

Although she had earned quite a bit recently from streaming and fighting monsters, enough that daily life was no longer a concern for an ordinary high school student like her, she still decided it was better to cook for herself.

After dinner, Zhou Mo took a walk along the streets to digest her food.

She strolled down the road, leisurely taking in the surroundings.

The same familiar streets, familiar Magical Girl billboards, familiar monster attacks, familiar crowds crying and fleeing.

"..."

Seeing the monster yelling nonstop in the distance, Zhou Mo turned around and left without hesitation.

Damn it, even taking a walk had to be this exciting. Were people supposed to live like this?

She had not gone far when a familiar girl's voice suddenly sounded behind her. Zhou Mo turned around.

"I-I am Magical Girl Shan Que. Monster, please don't cause any damage, okay?"

A blonde Magical Girl stood before the monster, saying words that carried no threat whatsoever.

Zhou Mo glanced over, her brow lifting slightly. What a coincidence.

Or perhaps this was simply an area where the other girl often operated.

Now that the Magical Girl had appeared, Zhou Mo was no longer in a hurry to leave. She squatted by the roadside and watched the battle ahead.

Although the girl still looked nervous, and fought the monster rather awkwardly, Zhou Mo could tell that she had indeed improved. At the very least, she was several steps stronger than the monster before her.

After a grueling battle, the girl finally defeated the monster.

Once the monster disappeared, the girl dropped into a duck-sitting position on the ground, wiped her forehead, and let out a heavy breath. She looked thoroughly drained.

But before she could rest for more than a few moments, a burst of light erupted around her, startling her into a flinch.

The next moment, a small Victory Stage appeared in the street. Witnessed by enough passersby around them, the girl stood on a Victory Stage for the first time.

"Huh? A-a stage?"

The girl was still completely confused. Only when she saw the gathering bystanders did she suddenly realize what was happening.

"Right, I-I need to perform."

And so, encouraged by the passersby, the girl began her performance somewhat clumsily.

At that moment, Zhou Mo stood behind the crowd, having watched the entire process of the stage appearing.

In normal vision, it was still only a flash of light, followed by the stage appearing.

But she had secretly mobilized the magic power within her and carefully sensed the emotions of the surrounding bystanders.

Then, at a certain moment, she vaguely felt everyone's emotions surge at the exact same instant. That emotional fluctuation was all directed toward the Magical Girl ahead.

Like streams gathering together and flowing toward low ground.

Then, the stage appeared.

"So this is what they call 'collection'?"

She stood outside the crowd and murmured softly.

Monster attacks caused panic among the crowd. Magical Girls offered support. Negative emotions transformed into positive emotions. The Victory Stage appeared. The transformed emotions were collected...

"Hiss, something feels off."

They strengthened themselves by collecting emotions, but what came after that?

She thought for a long time, yet still could not figure out where that sudden sense of wrongness had come from.

No longer dwelling on it, Zhou Mo prepared to leave after the performance ended.

Standing on the Victory Stage, Shan Que spotted the familiar girl behind the crowd with her sharp eyes.

Her eyes immediately lit up. Once the performance ended, she quickly shed her combat attire and switched back into her usual Magical Girl outfit.

Then, she weaved through the crowd and eventually came up behind Zhou Mo.

"Um, um!"

Shan Que called out from behind Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo paused, then turned around in confusion.

She saw Shan Que standing behind her, fidgeting awkwardly.

"Hello. We meet again."

Zhou Mo looked at her and greeted her first.

"Ah, h-hello."

Shan Que came back to her senses and returned the greeting just as haltingly.

"Is there something you need?" Zhou Mo asked calmly.

"Not really. It's just... thank you so much for last time."

The girl gave a slight bow, expressing her gratitude again.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Mo could not help shaking her head with a smile.

"Didn't you already thank me before? Besides, you saved me too, didn't you?"

"Ahaha, that's true."

Hearing that, Shan Que scratched her head awkwardly. Then she tried to speak again. "Oh, right. I still don't know your name."

"My name is Zhou Mo. Shall we walk?"

Zhou Mo gave her name, then turned slightly and started walking forward. Seeing that, the other girl hurried over in a few quick steps and walked beside Zhou Mo along the street.

The blonde girl kept her head slightly lowered, looking a little shy.

She secretly glanced at Zhou Mo's school uniform. Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Is Zhou Mo also from Thousand Feathers High School?"

"Also?"

Zhou Mo's body stiffened instantly as she looked at the girl beside her in surprise.

Come on, girl, you really don't treat anyone like an outsider, do you?

"Ah, um..."

Shan Que realized that she had misspoken and immediately covered her mouth, hurriedly explaining,

"I-I mean, I have a younger brother who also goes to Thousand Feathers High School. That's why I asked. Don't read too much into it."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Zhou Mo widened her eyes, wearing an expression of sudden realization.

I believe you. Look into my sincere eyes. I really believe you.

She glanced at the girl and noticed that her cheeks were growing redder by the second, so she hurriedly changed the subject.

"Oh, right. I'm a member of the Omniscient Wish Society, our school's Magical Girl club. We collect information related to Magical Girls everywhere. May I interview you briefly?"

She suddenly remembered that, since they had happened to meet, she could interview the person An Xia had failed to interview before.

"Huh? Sure."

After hearing that, the girl nodded blankly.