Testing the Waters

After the battle at the concert, the Liberation Faction's strength in the city had taken a serious hit.

Negative Emotion Crystals buried for who knew how long had been cleared out overnight. Undercover agents who had spent years infiltrating the city had either been captured or had fled. As for the "Harvester" who had worked so hard to build an operation here, he was now sitting in an Association holding cell, singing the jailhouse blues.

As Old Wei put it, "That lot took a real beating here. They won't be making trouble again anytime soon."

The city enjoyed a rare stretch of peace.

Not complete peace, of course.

On the day of the concert, the emotions of eighty thousand people had surged wildly. That had produced plenty of positive energy, but the negative energy that escaped into the air above the city still had to settle somewhere.

So over the past half month, a few Fallen Beast incidents had cropped up here and there. Fortunately, they were all first-tier and posed no major threat.

And those first-tier Fallen Beasts had become the perfect training ground for one newly minted magical girl.

"Yesterday evening, a first-tier Fallen Beast appeared on Riverside Road in the west of the city. Magical Girl: Thousand Blades completed the purification within three minutes. There were no casualties—"

The news anchor's crisp voice came from the television.

Onscreen, a rain of gleaming silver blades fell from the sky, pinning a truck-sized Fallen Beast until it dissolved into black mist. The girl recalled her blades and turned, her cape sweeping through a sharp arc.

The comments had exploded.

[Three minutes?! From dispatch to finish, three minutes?!]

[Blade Rain is so cool, I'm crying. What is it about our city? First Knight, then Love, and now Thousand Blades too.]

[Shield and blade! Knight holds the front while Thousand Blades stands behind her! I'm sold on this duo!]

[Am I the only one who thinks Thousand Blades looks cooler every time she puts her blades away? Has she been practicing in secret?]

She had, in fact, been practicing in secret.

Every day after patrol, Chen Qianqian dragged Ranger to the training ground for an extra hour. She had practiced her turn while recalling her blades under Masked Heroine's guidance no fewer than fifty times.

"Raise your hand! Don't let the blade formation scatter when you turn!" Masked Heroine's voice echoed through the training ground. "Yes! Just like that! Beautiful!"

Over the past half month, the name "Magical Girl: Thousand Blades" had become known throughout the city.

Without fail, Chen Zhou and Su Wan watched the news for a glimpse of their daughter every day. Their feelings were a jumble: the pride was real, and so was the worry.

Su Wan's constant refrain these days was, "As long as she comes home safe. As long as she comes home safe."

Central Hospital, inpatient ward.

"Aaah—" Yang Chen lay sprawled across the hospital bed and let out a long, hopeless groan.

Half a month.

A whole half month.

His injuries had actually healed completely by the third day. But would it make sense for a patient with "eleven wounds across his body, deep enough to expose bone" to leave the hospital after three days?

Of course not.

So he had to stay in bed.

He ate on schedule, slept on schedule, and gave the nurses a weak smile whenever they came to check on him.

He had lain there so long his bones felt soft.

Still, he had done a lot of thinking over the past half month.

Late at night, Celestial Star's words would play on a loop in his head.

—You're the most devoted supporter of pure love yourself. You should understand that better than anyone.

—No matter what you become, the love of the people who care about you won't change.

—You really only ever think about yourself.

Yang Chen rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.

So annoying.

Why did that woman with the glasses speak like she was throwing knives, each one striking the place that hurt most?

Maybe she should be Magical Girl: Thousand Blades.

But...

He stared at the ceiling and remembered what he had been like seven years ago, wooden as a puppet. He remembered the rainy night Chen Zhou had carried him for three blocks, the meals Su Wan made differently every day, and the earbud Qianqian had shared with him.

Those people had warmed him, bit by bit.

Did I deserve to be treated that way?

If they knew the truth, would they still...

"What are you thinking about?"

The door to the hospital room opened, interrupting his thoughts.

Chen Qianqian came in carrying a bag of fruit. She was still in her street clothes, with a little dust in her hair—she had rushed over as soon as her patrol ended.

"How are you feeling today?" She set the fruit on the cabinet and picked up an apple and a fruit knife with practiced ease. "The doctor said you're recovering well. You'll be able to leave in a little while."

"Mm..." Yang Chen propped himself up. "You were on the news again today."

"Ahem." Qianqian's hand paused mid-peel, and the tips of her ears turned a little red. "You saw it?"

"Three minutes. Clean and quick. Recalled your blades and turned in one smooth motion." Yang Chen gave her a thumbs-up. "Cool."

"Hehe." She lowered her head and kept peeling, but she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from rising. "Well, I did practice in secret—ah!"

The strip of apple peel snapped.

The hospital room fell quiet.

Sunlight slanted in through the window and fell across her focused profile.

She peeled slowly and intently, as though it were a task of great importance.

Yang Chen watched her, then suddenly spoke.

"Hey, Qianqian."

"Mm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

He was silent for a few seconds.

His heart was beating a little fast. Celestial Star's words circled through his mind again and again. At last, he heard himself ask in a tone he tried to keep casual:

"What if... I mean, hypothetically."

"What if one day I became completely different from how I am now?"

"So different... you didn't even recognize me. What would you do then?"

Click.

The fruit knife stopped.

Chen Qianqian looked up at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Have you gone stupid from lying in bed?"

"I'm serious."

She stared at him for two seconds, then set down the apple and knife, pulled her chair close to the bed, and grew solemn.

"Yang Chen, tell me the truth."

"About what?"

"Did you find out you have some terminal illness and hide it from me?!" Her voice shot up. "Or did that blow mess up your brain? I knew we should've had the doctor give you a full examination that day—"

"No! I'm perfectly fine!" Yang Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I was just asking!"

"Just asking?"

"Just asking."

Qianqian eyed him suspiciously for a long while. Only after she was sure there wasn't a trace of guilt on his face did she pick up the apple again.

"Whatever."

She lowered her head and resumed peeling, speaking offhandedly as she worked.

"No matter what you become, you're still you."

"Seven years ago, you turned into that gloomy, silent version of yourself. You barely said a few words all year, like a rock—but you were still you, weren't you?"

"Besides."

She put the peeled apple in his hand, dusted off her hands, and spoke as lightly as if she were commenting on the weather.

"Did you forget? I'm a magical girl now."

"No matter what you become, no matter what kind of person you turn into—"

She lifted her chin at him, smiling until her eyes curved.

"I can stand beside you and pull you back."

Yang Chen held the apple without speaking for a long time.

Outside the window, the setting sun was beautiful.

He had heard those words before.

Not long ago, beneath an apartment building, a girl who had just watched him charge at a Fallen Beast had said almost exactly the same thing, her eyes red.

Back then, she had no power. All she could do was stand there and wish.

Now she had it.

And her answer was the same as Celestial Star's.

—No matter what you become, the love of the people who care about you won't change.

I should have believed it long ago.

"Hey, why are you spacing out?" Qianqian waved a hand in front of his face. "The apple's going to turn brown!"

"It's nothing."

Yang Chen lowered his head and took a bite of the apple.

It was very sweet.

"I just think," he said around a mouthful of apple, "our Qianqian really has grown up."

"Gross! Who's your Qianqian?"

The girl flushed and lunged at him, fists flying. The hospital room erupted into chaos.

Yang Chen laughed as he dodged her blows. Deep in his heart, the weight that had pressed down on him for so long quietly began to crack.

Just give me a little more time.

That was all he needed.

Just a little more.