Encounter

Fu You's gaze flicked toward the entrance, just in time to see the magical girls file in.

Although they were no longer in their magical girl forms, she could still easily recognize each of them from their faces.

Her previously relaxed expression became much more solemn.

Hadn't they left already?

Why were they showing up here now?

When exactly had this guy gotten behind me?

Don't tell me he was following me?

Her hearing was not bad. This brat must have crept up behind her to evade her notice.

Did he hear anything just now?

What did I even say?

Her chaotic thoughts were interrupted by the shop owner's words. "Handsome boy, your parfaits are all ready. Come take them. Little Sparrow, do you know him? He's the boy I was talking about. Don't you think he's adorable?"

The owner's voice was as warm and friendly as ever.

Fu You froze for a moment and looked Huali over.

Huali's pretty boy face did not actually make him look particularly bright.

So it was just a coincidence?

Damn it. She really should not have come here when there was no class. Usually, she skipped class to come here, which helped her avoid running into classmates.

Fu You's gaze was unfriendly, and her slightly drooping eyelids left Huali utterly confused.

Did I do something wrong? Is she upset because I came out with a group of magical girls instead of keeping her company?

"Are you two on bad terms?" Yuan Xiaofang asked curiously when she saw them both standing there blankly.

"No. We're classmates," Fu You said.

"Oh, Little Sparrow, you're just too shy around strangers. Isn't this handsome boy quite pretty? You should be happier to have a classmate like him," Yuan Xiaofang said.

"Senior, did you come to buy ice cream too?" Huali asked tentatively. "Is it for someone?"

"It's for me."

Huang Xing walked over, picked up the prepared parfaits from the counter, and curiously glanced at Fu You.

Fu You gave Huang Xing a cold look.

That gaze was far from friendly, but Huang Xing still smiled and said, "Hello, Liu Rui's classmate. Do we know each other?"

"No," Fu You said.

"Wow, two scoops of ice cream. I love both of those flavors too!" Huang Ying exclaimed from the side. "Big brother and I have the same taste!"

"..." Fu You lowered her gaze. The little magical girl stood beside her, still lively and adorable even without transforming.

Huang Xing handed the parfaits ordered by Huang Ying and Lan Xiaohuan to them respectively, and the two girls happily ran over to a nearby table with their parfaits.

Green Yi and the others also took their desserts and headed one by one toward the nearby table.

"You two talk. We'll head over first," Huang Xing said in farewell before following them over.

Huali hesitated, realizing that Huang Xing probably did not recognize Fu You before her transformation. He quickly asked the owner, "Has Senior paid for her ice cream?"

"She already paid," Yuan Xiaofang said.

"Then... would you like to sit down and eat with us?"

"Go eat with them," Fu You said coldly.

Huali still had not fully figured out the situation.

He had arranged to come out for ice cream with the magical girls. After ordering the parfaits, they had gone next door to the supermarket together to buy snacks while waiting for them to be made. When they returned just now, he found Fu You chatting with the owner at the counter.

He had not heard much of the conversation, but the owner calling her Little Sparrow, along with the girlish voice Fu You had used—a voice he had never heard before—had startled him immensely.

Although he already knew Fu You was a girl, this was still the first time he had heard her speak in that sort of voice.

Like Fu You's usual way of speaking, it was languid and unhurried. Yet with its added feminine softness and a girl's particular gentleness, it gave an entirely different impression despite coming from the same face.

He could naturally tell that Fu You was very displeased by his appearance, but he did not really understand why.

Was it because I had stumbled upon another side of her, or because I chose to be with the magical girls instead of going to find her?

He struggled with it briefly, then leaned close to Fu You's ear and whispered, "Senior, I'm not like them. I believe you. I don't think you did anything wrong. Without you, Huang Xing and I would definitely have gotten hurt."

Fu You hesitated, then retreated another step.

In public—no, more precisely, in front of Yuan Xiaofang—a boy was leaning in to speak into her ear like this...

Unfortunately, both her hands were occupied by ice cream cones. To protect them, she could not push Huali away and could only swallow her anger.

"I understand. Go play with them."

"Senior, you won't be angry, right?" Huali asked quietly.

"Why would I be angry? What would I be angry about? You don't seriously think I'd get angry seeing you play with them, do you?" Fu You said, already on the verge of exploding and exceedingly impatient.

Yuan Xiaofang giggled beside them. "Little Sparrow is always like this. She gets angry so easily."

"I'm not angry!" Fu You slipped past Huali and strode out of the ice cream shop without looking back.

Fu You was truly irritated now.

The thought that her image might have been ruined made her even more depressed.

Especially since she had looked so pathetic in front of Huali over two ice cream cones.

That Grey Magpie simply did not understand. Why were these magical girls always thinking about romance and love? She could not possibly become close to anyone.

What exactly was Huali thinking? He could not seriously think she had feelings for him, could he? Kids these days truly had no sense of boundaries. It was disgusting.

Angry or not, the scoops of ice cream in her hands were already about to melt.

She hurried over to sit by a nearby flower bed and took a huge bite from each side.

A rich chill flooded into her mouth.

She did not even care that it smeared all over her face.

Who could eat ice cream in the height of summer without looking a little messy?

Still, the milky sweetness improved her mood slightly.

Fine. Huali was only a newcomer, after all. There were still many things he did not understand.

The ice cream scoops melted quickly, and sticky liquid soon coated her hands.

Just as she was feeling a little troubled, she suddenly noticed Huali running out with napkins in hand.

Fu You did not want to see him right now, but when she saw the napkins in his hand, she merely pursed her lips and said nothing.

"Senior, the owner said you might need these." Huali handed the napkins to Fu You.

Fu You gestured with her eyes for him to put them beside her.

"Senior, I feel like you might have misunderstood me."

Fu You's head started to ache.

She hated this sort of thing most. She had no interest whatsoever in romance. At most, she and Huali were friends.

What was there to explain between friends? What needed explaining? She did not need to know what Huali had done. As long as he did not betray her or stab her in the back, she did not care about anything else.

Huali might be a boy, but there was definitely something wrong with his head. He had probably been steeped in magical girl nonsense for too long.

"Senior, I know you really care about being seen as a girl. But to me, whether you're a boy or a girl, I don't care. You're my senior, my senior as a magical girl. I want to be like you—to have endless magic and boundless strength, to protect whoever I want to protect whenever I please, and to freely deal with whichever witches I want to deal with, teaching them a ruthless lesson! That's what a magical girl is to me!"

"Senior, one day, I'll have the ability to stand on my own against witches too!"

"Senior! Let me wipe your hands."

"...I'll wipe them myself!"