The Boy and the Girl

In a house somewhere in the city, every light in the living room was on.

Chen Qianqian sat on the sofa, clutching a cushion. Her phone was still on the call screen. Seventeen calls, and still the same message: "The person you are calling is temporarily unavailable."

Her parents had promised to be home before nine tonight.

It was already eleven forty.

If they had called ahead, that would have been one thing. But they hadn't said a word, and neither of them was answering the phone. Chen Qianqian couldn't help wondering if something had happened.

"What happened... What could have happened..."

An image flashed through her mind: her parents driving through an intersection, only to be struck by a truck that came out of nowhere.

Then they were in an alley, where a mugger suddenly appeared and yanked apart her mother's pearl necklace...

And there had been that news report! Signs of a new Fallen Beast had supposedly appeared... What if her parents had run into it?

"No, no, no..."

Just as Chen Qianqian was about to drive herself mad—

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was at the door.

"Dad! Mom!" She practically sprang off the sofa and rushed to the door barefoot, yanking it open—

But the person outside wasn't either of her parents.

It was a slender boy.

The hallway's dim yellow light fell across his face. His skin was almost impossibly fair, and his delicate features were nearly pretty.

Seeing Chen Qianqian in such a rush, the boy looked distinctly puzzled.

"Qianqian? What's wrong?"

"...A-Chen?"

Chen Qianqian froze.

"What are you doing here so late?"

Then she seemed to realize how that sounded.

"Ah, sorry. Mom and Dad still haven't come home, and I don't know why. I'm a little worried... Come in and sit down."

"Uh... Well..."

Yang Chen scratched his head.

"I came to borrow your dad's toolbox. My water heater broke, and I wanted to take a look at it."

Chen Qianqian was too worried to even consider whether Yang Chen knew how to fix a water heater.

"Come in first."

Yang Chen followed Chen Qianqian inside.

Only the living room lights were on. The cushion on the sofa was crumpled; Chen Qianqian had clearly been taking her anxiety out on it.

"Yang Chen... I saw a news report today saying a new Fallen Beast had appeared..."

"And it happened right when Knight went to the neighboring province."

Knight.

The Magical Girl stationed in their city.

A Firefly Rank Magical Girl.

Because the city was generally so safe, she had gone to the neighboring province two days ago for an exchange visit.

No one had expected this to happen as soon as she left.

Chen Qianqian couldn't go on.

Yang Chen looked at her reddened eyes and fell silent for two seconds.

Then he spoke in an unusually steady voice.

"Qianqian, look at me."

"Your parents will be all right."

"I promise."

"...How can you promise that?" Chen Qianqian sniffled. "You can't even..."

This time, Chen Qianqian clapped a hand over her mouth before the words slipped out.

That was close...

But from the context, Yang Chen could still guess what she had almost said.

After a moment's silence, he reached out and patted her head.

"When have I ever lied to you, all these years?"

"Last week, you lied and said you passed math."

"That was a white lie!"

While the two of them bickered, familiar footsteps sounded in the hallway.

Then came familiar voices.

"Wanwan, slow down. The hallway light's broken, so watch your step..."

"I know, I know. Worry about yourself. Your legs are still shaking."

Chen Qianqian went rigid.

The next second, she rushed out like a gust of wind.

"Dad! Mom!"

In the hallway, Chen Zhou and Su Wan barely had time to react before their daughter threw herself into their arms. Chen Qianqian buried her face in her mother's shoulder, and the tears she had held back all night finally spilled over. "Where did you go... You didn't answer your phones... I thought you... I thought..."

"Oh, sweetheart, it's all right." Su Wan patted her daughter's back, her own eyes reddening. "We're fine. Mom and Dad are fine. It's just that... something happened on the way, and our phones got broken."

"What could happen that would break your phones—"

"Ahem." Chen Zhou cleared his throat, cutting his daughter off. He still hadn't decided how to explain what had happened tonight. "Let's talk inside."

The three of them went in, only then noticing someone else standing in the entryway.

"...A-Chen?" Su Wan looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Hello, Auntie." Yang Chen smiled politely. "I came to borrow Uncle's toolbox."

"A toolbox? What for? Are you fixing something? Do you know how?"

Chen Zhou looked at Yang Chen, puzzled.

"Oh, right."

Chen Qianqian caught on too.

"Don't mind him, Mom. He made that up." Chen Qianqian wiped away her tears as she gave him away. "Who knows why he's really here?"

Chen Zhou looked at the boy he had watched grow up, then remembered what he'd said to his wife at the factory a few hours earlier, when he thought they might not make it out. Suddenly, he felt an urge to grind his teeth.

"Tsk."

"Uncle?" Yang Chen blinked.

"It's nothing." Chen Zhou walked past him with a stern face. "Go home. I'll come over and take a look in a bit. Coming here in the middle of the night... honestly."

"Oh..."

Yang Chen nodded obediently and walked to the door, then looked back at them.

Under the lights, the family of three stood together in the entryway.

Chen Qianqian was still sniffling softly. Su Wan had an arm around her daughter's shoulders, and Chen Zhou awkwardly reached out to draw both of them into his arms.

The corners of Yang Chen's mouth lifted before he realized it.

"I'll head back, then. Good night, Uncle and Auntie. Good night, Qianqian."

"Night, night."

Chen Qianqian waved him away without looking back.

The door closed softly.

In the hallway, Yang Chen leaned against it and let out a long, long breath, as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He looked down at his hand.

In the dim hallway light, it was pale and slender, with delicate knuckles. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like the hand of a "childhood buddy."

"...Changed a little more, huh?"

The boy murmured to himself, smiled helplessly, and tucked his hand back into his pocket.

A night breeze blew in from the end of the hallway, stirring the loose hair across his forehead.

"It's fine."

"It was worth it."

That's right. Yang Chen was the Magical Girl who had appeared at the abandoned factory and saved Chen Zhou and his wife—or rather, the warrior of pure love, Love!

As for why he could turn into a Magical Girl...

In novels, that was practically standard fare.

His wish had simply been so powerful that it broke through all limits, defying common sense and transforming his male body into that of a Magical Girl.

The side effects, of course, were another matter entirely.

Still, Yang Chen felt that as long as he could protect the people he cared about, it was worth it, no matter what.

Of course, he wished transforming didn't affect his personality. Every time he changed back, he spent ages cringing at himself...

It was so embarrassing...