Absurd

The grand plan to make a spectacular entrance was temporarily shelved and stuffed into a drawer.

The days returned to normal.

Monday, at school.

During the ten-minute break, the undisputed queen of classroom conversation was still that newly emerged magical girl.

Although she had only appeared recently, her frequent appearances, combined with the fact that she was a magical girl who had awakened in this city, made Thousand Blades's fan base grow at an astonishing speed.

She still had a ways to go before catching up to Knight.

But she had already surpassed Masked Heroine's support squad and was faintly neck and neck with the elusive Love.

"Did you see it? Did you see it? What happened at Riverside Park last night—Thousand Blades struck again!"

"I saw it! The moment Blade Rain fell, it was an instant kill! She was so cool even my mom applauded!"

"What do you think Thousand Blades is like in person? I bet five cents she's a cold, elegant older woman!"

"I'll bet ten cents she's the gentle senior type! Listen to how gentle she sounded in the news when she said, 'Everyone, please move back.'"

At the back of the classroom, the very person who was both a "cold, elegant older woman" and a "gentle senior" had her face buried behind her textbook, her ears red enough to drip blood.

Chen Qianqian, Magical Girl: Thousand Blades, was currently enduring the torture every magical girl with a secret identity had to suffer—

listening to her classmates discuss her right in front of her.

"Qianqian, what do you think?" Her deskmate suddenly tossed the question at her. "Which type do you bet on?"

"Huh?" Qianqian jolted. "I—I bet... I bet she's an ordinary person!"

"An ordinary person? Ha-ha, that's way too unimaginative!"

"Exactly. She's a magical girl! How could she possibly be ordinary—"

Qianqian gave an awkward laugh and went along with them, sweat beading on her forehead.

An ordinary person. Really, she was incredibly ordinary. Just yesterday, she'd gotten into an argument with her father because she couldn't buy limited-edition merchandise...

And in this classroom, the center of another conversation was Yang Chen.

"Hey, did you guys notice?" A boy in the front row lowered his voice and winked suggestively at those around him. "Hasn't Yang Chen changed again?"

"I noticed ages ago. His hair's grown longer, and his skin's gotten fairer. I took a close look yesterday—and wow, those eyelashes."

"No wonder they call him Miss Yang."

"Shh—he's coming, he's coming."

Yang Chen returned to his seat with a water bottle in hand. The moment he sat down, heads turned toward him from every direction in perfect unison.

"What?"

"Yang Chen," the boy in the front row said, barely suppressing a laugh. "Let's discuss something."

"Go ahead."

"For next month's Campus Culture Festival, our class is putting on a performance. Everyone unanimously recommends you—"

"I'm not doing it."

"You haven't even heard what it is!"

"Whatever it is, if you're recommending me, it can't be anything good."

"How can you say that?" another boy protested passionately. "We want you to cross-dress as the lead in a stage play of Puella Magi Madoka Magica! Your appearance is practically made for the role!"

Yang Chen: Law of Cycles? Me?

"Pfft—"

Yang Chen sprayed out a mouthful of water.

"Cough, cough, cough... Are you guys crazy?! You want a man to cross-dress as a magical girl?!"

"What's wrong with being a man? Can't a man play a magical girl?" the other boy demanded righteously. "Art knows no gender!"

"Besides..."

The students gave Yang Chen a meaningful once-over.

His long hair had already fallen to his shoulder blades. His eyelashes were exceptionally long, his features were becoming more and more beautiful, and his skin was fair with a rosy tint...

"I think the only people in our class who can take on this role are you and Chen Qianqian."

"Then why don't you ask Chen Qianqian?"

Yang Chen turned his head away.

The girl was currently in the middle of continuing to blush and hadn't noticed Yang Chen's gaze at all.

"Because Chen Qianqian already has another role lined up!"

"No, no, no. I won't go even if you beat me to death."

"Tsk, what a shame." Everyone burst into laughter and dispersed. "Then we'll be counting on Chen Qianqian for the festival—oh, right, Qianqian's been acting strange lately too. Her complexion keeps getting better, and her bearing has changed a lot. She even seems kind of handsome. Did you two secretly evolve behind our backs?"

"Secretly playing cross-dressing games behind everyone's backs?"

"Get to class!"

On the way home from school.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the road.

Chen Qianqian walked beside Yang Chen, never once taking her sidelong gaze off him.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

As someone who had spent eighteen years with him, she could responsibly say that the changes in this guy lately could no longer be described with the two words "absurd."

His hair had clearly grown past his shoulders, and his skin was so fair it seemed to glow... His way of walking and even his voice were all charging headlong in a very peculiar direction.

The most absurd part was what happened during today's break. Looking at him from behind, there had been a moment when she genuinely thought a new female student had transferred into the class.

Then she recalled the wicked scheme he'd been keeping to himself on the day he left the hospital, along with that sparkling gaze full of "expectation"...

A conclusion slowly pieced itself together in Chen Qianqian's mind.

Could this guy be planning to cross-dress just to mess with me?!

The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

After all, although she'd been embarrassed by her classmates' discussion today, she'd also heard them invite Yang Chen to play a magical girl.

"Hey, Yang Chen."

"Hm?"

"Don't you think you should get your hair cut?"

She spoke as casually as she could.

Yang Chen twisted a lock of his hair around his finger.

"It's fine, isn't it? You should've seen the expressions on the faces of those people who thought I was a girl after they found out I was a guy... So satisfying!"

The corner of Chen Qianqian's mouth twitched.

"What a nasty personality... Don't tell me you actually enjoy messing with people like that?"

Come on, Yang Chen. Let me see how you'll answer!

"You mean this?"

"Ha-ha... Seeing those people look as if their beliefs had collapsed is pretty enjoyable, actually~"

Yang Chen turned around, his expression rather smug.

"What? Don't tell me you think I'm planning to mess with you too?"

Chen Qianqian spread both hands.

"Who knows? From what I know about you, it's genuinely possible..."

"I'm saying, Yang Chen... you..."

"All right, all right. Why are you thinking so much about it?"

Yang Chen cut Chen Qianqian off, then grabbed her hand.

"Come on, let's go home. I'm starving."

Feeling the warmth of Yang Chen's palm, Chen Qianqian's face suddenly flushed bright red.

He—he—he actually took my hand first?!

In an instant, all of Chen Qianqian's strange theories vanished without a trace.

In the past, Chen Qianqian had always taken the initiative to stay close to Yang Chen.

But for some reason, Yang Chen had always seemed to reject her ever so slightly.

Since leaving the hospital, however, Yang Chen seemed to have let go of something, and the barrier between them really did seem to be dissolving little by little.

If that was the case, then so be it.

What harm could a little prank do?