My Girlfriend Is a Magical Girl!

Lu Ming instinctively took out his phone, then noticed Tang Zhiqing's narrowed eyes and the principal's widened eyes beside her.

You were taking out your phone right in front of the Student Council president and the principal?

Right, the president was one of us, but the principal was still an outsider!

The principal turned to look at the school's Confucius statue, as though it held some ultimate secret of life.

Sure enough, it wasn't a coincidence that the principal had become principal. It was inevitable.

Lu Ming admired him inwardly. He handed his phone to the parent, and after the other party tapped a few times, the group took a photo at the school gate before the parent left.

Lu Ming took back his phone and suddenly realized something was wrong. Why hadn't they added each other on WeChat?

And... there was an extra twenty thousand in his allowance?

Tang Zhiqing walked over and said in surprise, "That parent added you, transferred the money, then deleted you. They were afraid you'd send it back."

Good parents like that really were rare these days.

Tang Zhiqing thought for a moment. "Just accept it. It's their heartfelt gesture, as long as you don't spend it recklessly."

Lu Ming really didn't want to go through another round of the New Year red-envelope battle where every aunt and uncle kept trying to force money on each other for an entire afternoon. Besides, the parents had sincerely meant it, so... he should accept it?

He still found it a little hard to believe.

Just like that, +20,000?

The money had come so suddenly that Lu Ming immediately swelled with confidence. Even his walk had gained an air of authority.

He was adding two eggs to lunch today. Even Ran Yanyue couldn't stop him!

"Ahem, phones are good things, but don't take them out in class." The principal had finally grasped life's secret from the Confucius statue and walked over with measured steps.

Lu Ming and Tang Zhiqing naturally understood. After they left, the principal hung the banner in his office, then took a selfie that "accidentally" captured the banner behind him. The eight golden words, "Haiyang No. 2 Middle School, Outstanding in Educating Children," were particularly conspicuous.

He posted it in the Haiyang City principals' and teachers' group chat.

Haiyang No. 2 Middle School Principal: "My office seems a little damp lately. Does any teacher know how to get rid of humidity? (fists clasped) (fists clasped)"

Haiyang No. 2 Middle School Principal: "You're asking about the banner behind me? It's nothing. Just some thoughtless student risked his life to save someone, and the parent brought over a banner. That student is truly reckless. I plan to use him as a negative example throughout the city later. (smile) (smile)"

The teachers of Haiyang No. 2 Middle School quickly chimed in below to support him.

The principals and teachers from the other schools only replied the next day.

"Sorry, I was busy yesterday and only just saw the messages. I have something to deal with, so I'll stop here."

The moment Lu Ming returned to the classroom, he drew plenty of attention. He sighed.

"What, did the principal really scold you?" Li Deng hurriedly asked.

The other students looked over as well.

Ran Yanyue kept her head down as she did her homework, but the pen in her hand had stopped.

"It's hard to say." Lu Ming deliberately hesitated, drawing most people's attention. "I saved a kid yesterday, and his parents insisted on coming to the school to thank me. The principal insisted on dragging me into a photo."

Lu Ming couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

The sight immediately made the others lose it.

"You're pretty good at showing off!"

"Damn, Lu Ming, you really weren't afraid of getting framed?"

"Come on, come on, I'll buy you water during PE this afternoon! Anything under two bucks!"

The classroom erupted with laughter.

Ran Yanyue continued writing, her handwriting a little lighter than before.

After school, Lu Ming received a QQ message from Tang Zhiqing. Her profile picture was Bao Zheng.

Tang Zhiqing: "I need you for something in a few days. Do you have anything keeping you busy?"

Lu Ming: "Theoretically, yes."

After talking with Tang Zhiqing so much, he had learned the art of speaking too.

Tang Zhiqing: "Then remember to make time. Didn't you say you wanted to learn Karate?"

Tang... oh, right, Karate.

Lu Ming: "Sure. I'll clear my schedule and wait for you."

Lu Ming crossed out "sleep in" and "sleep in" from his weekend schedule.

Tang Zhiqing: "(thumbs up) (thumbs up)."

Looking at the allowance in his phone that had suddenly become a five-digit amount, Lu Ming had no idea how to spend it.

After getting off the bus after school, he saw Lu Annuan waiting for him at the station.

"I knew you'd get home a little late, so I've been waiting here for more than ten minutes!" Lu Annuan said with a smile.

Lu Ming walked alongside her.

He suddenly remembered that the day after tomorrow... would be the anniversary of Lu Annuan's mother's death.

Lu Ming looked at Lu Annuan beside him.

Fighting Alongside Lu Annuan

[Thinking back to the spring of your second year of high school, you recalled two deeply regrettable things.]

[The first was that you never discovered Lu Annuan's identity as a Magical Girl, missing the only chance in your life to truly open up to her. From then on, the two of you gradually drifted apart. You forgot the happy days when you had been childhood sweethearts, and never learned that she had injured her leg protecting you, leaving her with a lifelong ailment.]

[The second regret was that you did not visit her mother's grave with Lu Annuan, so you never knew that the Evil Beast that killed her mother had appeared again on the anniversary of her death. Lu Annuan was no match for it and suffered a crushing defeat. She spent half a year in the hospital afterward, and throughout those six months, you knew nothing about it.]

[Now that this has not yet happened, you feel that you should do something in this world.]

[Mission: Help Lu Annuan escape the attack of the Code-named Evil Beast "Wendigo." Reward: Physique +3, Magic Power +3, Antique Pocket Watch Time Stop duration +2s.]

The rewards were a little too generous.

It was practically a system feast!

Lu Ming was shocked. The system had actually offered such good rewards. Previously, each reward had only boosted one area, but this time, it had truly blossomed in two... no, three directions!

Both Physique and Magic Power would increase by three.

Even the Time Stop Antique Pocket Watch would gain another two seconds.

That meant this mission was extremely difficult—at least four or five stories high!

Although the Main God... no, the system wouldn't issue a certain-death mission, if he was even slightly careless, he might end up in the hospital for half a year like the Lu Annuan mentioned by the system. But Lu Annuan was a Magical Girl, while he was just an ordinary person.

He might die... perhaps.

When they reached the door, Lu Annuan turned back and looked at him strangely. "What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and open the door."

"Oh, right. Come to think of it, don't you have a key too? Why not open it yourself?" Lu Ming said as he turned the key.

"I want that feeling of you inviting me inside." Lu Annuan said smugly.

Why did that sound so impressive?

Miss Lu needed some discipline.

"You should be going to school for training the day after tomorrow, right?" Lu Ming asked.

Lu Annuan smiled softly with her hands behind her back. "I took the day off. It's fine to slack off for a day sometimes."

She had taken leave.

To visit her mother's grave at Haiyang Cemetery.

Lu Ming couldn't bring himself to tell Lu Annuan not to go pay her respects. If the two of them hid in a police station, they might be able to complete the mission easily.

But could Lu Ming live with himself?

Regrets were regrets because you regretted not taking action back then.

For example... killing that damned Evil Beast!

They weren't going to run. They were going to beat it to death.

Lu Ming remembered Lu Annuan's mother. She had been far gentler than Lu Annuan. Perhaps she had been as lively as Lu Annuan when she was young, but in Lu Ming's memories, she had always spoken softly to everyone. The children and elderly people in the neighborhood all liked her, yet she had died several years ago after getting caught up in an Evil Beast disaster.

"Then I'll take the day off too," Lu Ming said.

Lu Annuan did not refuse.

Back in his room, Lu Ming used his computer to search for Evil Beasts with code names. Those code-named Evil Beasts were stronger and more intelligent than ordinary Evil Beasts, making them even more terrifying. Some code-named Evil Beasts even lured humans into traps.

"...Pretty crafty," Lu Ming thought.

Lu Annuan felt that Lu Ming had been a little strange these past two days. Although her mother's death anniversary was approaching, why had Lu Ming become so strange?

After dinner that evening, Lu Ming suddenly said, "Annuan, you know about the Evil Beast called 'Wendigo,' right?"

How could Lu Annuan possibly forget? But hearing Lu Ming bring it up startled her.

"I know. What about it?" Lu Annuan asked quietly, biting her chopsticks.

It was the Evil Beast that had killed her mother.

"It seems very powerful. If it appears, you need to be careful," Lu Ming said.

Lu Annuan froze.

Did Lu Ming really know her true identity?

But why was he warning her like this? What did he know?

Lu Annuan felt that the mysteries surrounding Lu Ming had only grown lately.

"And..." Lu Ming added, "you do the dishes!"

After wiping his mouth, Lu Ming hurried into his room and locked the door.

Still... he was just as annoying as ever.

Lu Annuan's blood pressure rose.

"Lu Ming!"

On May 25th, Lu Ming and Lu Annuan headed to Haiyang Cemetery. They took the bus there and bought a bouquet of flowers along the way.

"Let's buy white lilies. My mother liked lilies," Lu Annuan said.

Lu Ming wanted to pay, but Lu Annuan paid first.

"She's my mother. Of course I should pay for it myself," Lu Annuan said with a smile.

Lu Annuan really was different from those other girls. She absolutely would not let others help with her own matters.

"Your mother took such good care of me. I'll buy a bouquet of chrysanthemums to pay my respects, so she can bless us from heaven," Lu Ming said, putting the flowers into his backpack.

"Bless the two of us with what?" Lu Annuan asked curiously.

Of course... with surviving.

It began to drizzle when the two arrived at the cemetery. The landscaping around it was excellent and quiet, but they were the only visitors that day. There were quite a few offerings left behind from several days earlier.

Of course, Lu Ming would never do something like stealing offerings to eat.

After finding Lu Annuan's mother's gravestone, they placed the flowers before it, lit incense, and pressed their palms together.

Lu Ming opened his eyes and turned to see Lu Annuan still standing with her eyes closed and hands pressed together. Fine rain dampened her jet-black hair, which clung to her snow-white skin. Her slender neck was like a swan's, and she possessed a moving beauty amid the drizzle.

Lu Ming did not disturb her. She probably had many things she wanted to say to her mother.

At that moment, Lu Ming saw someone in a black raincoat enter through the cemetery gate. They seemed to have forgotten where the gravestone was and walked over to ask.