Lady Ziwei's Fan Festival

In a dark alley two kilometers away, the halo dissolved.

Su Bai braced himself against a brick wall and slid to the ground. His stomach felt hollow, and darkness swam before his eyes.

"Master, those six energy bars you bought this evening might as well have been for nothing." Kabi lay tucked inside the back of his collar, his voice weak. "Condensing that girl's core drew on your very essence. You can barely walk straight now."

"Home." Su Bai pushed himself up against the wall. "Xiaoxiao made braised pork."

"How do you know?"

"She sent eight messages this afternoon." Su Bai waved his terminal feebly. "The last one said, 'If you don't come home for dinner, I'll break your legs.'"

"...Then we'd better get back."

Xingfu Li Residential Complex, apartment 703.

As he turned the key in the security door, the smell of braised pork rushed out to meet him.

Su Bai's stomach gave a thunderous growl, loud enough to hear across the living room.

"Bro?" Su Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged on the sofa, her hair in twin ponytails. Without looking up, she kept tapping furiously at her tablet.

Three bowls of rice and a huge pot of braised pork sat on the dining table, still steaming.

"Wash your hands," she said, typing away. "I made the pork for a celebration. Just try leaving a piece."

Su Bai hadn't even finished taking off his shoes before he was at the table.

He grabbed his chopsticks and ate half the first bowl of rice in three mouthfuls.

"Slow down!" Su Xiaoxiao looked up from her tablet. "Did you just escape a famine camp?!"

"I started taking delivery orders right after school." He shoveled rice into his mouth, his words muffled. "I'm hungry."

"Deliveries made you this hungry?" She narrowed her eyes and leaned in, looking him up and down. "Bro, you've gotten so thin lately your face has changed. Your eyes are sunken."

"Growing boy."

"You're still growing?"

"Second growth spurt."

"Bull!" Su Xiaoxiao snatched up a cushion and hurled it at him.

Su Bai caught it with one hand without pausing his chopsticks.

"Hey, leave me some!" She lunged over to guard the pot. "This braised pork is for celebrating the fan club!"

"Celebrating who?"

"Lady Ziwei!"

"Then I'll eat her share."

"Her share?!" Su Xiaoxiao laughed in exasperation. "You think you're worthy? Lady Ziwei could swallow a Monster in one bite. You think she needs your braised pork?"

Su Bai picked out the biggest piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

Worthy or not, the pork was delicious.

"Forget it. I won't argue with you." Su Xiaoxiao picked up her tablet again, her voice jumping an octave. "Bro! Huge news! The fan club passed five million followers today!"

"Oh."

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" She shoved the tablet in his face. "Look at this! 'Lady Ziwei Saves a Beauty on Campus: The Full Story.' It was uploaded this afternoon and hit a million views in two hours!"

A wildly shaky video played on the screen.

A figure in purple and gold stood at the edge of a balcony and swept a long scythe through the air.

Three hundred meters away, a row of spectator-stand railings snapped. Three black-clad agents tumbled together with their guns.

"See that?" Su Xiaoxiao slapped the sofa in excitement. "One strike! Just one! She drove back an entire Monster Hunting Bureau team! The sniper, the night watchmen, the command vehicle—they all ran scared of that single slash! That's a god! The god of Magical Girls doesn't even need to fight!"

Su Bai kept picking up pork.

"That's a made-up story."

"Huh?!"

"I was there." He swallowed his rice. "Our teaching building was cordoned off all afternoon. The class chat was full of videos from the scene. That Magical Girl never fought anyone. She just stood there, swung her scythe once, and cut the railing. The Monster Hunting Bureau withdrew on its own."

"All that stuff about driving back a whole team is something you brain-dead fans made up."

Su Xiaoxiao's face turned red before his eyes.

"What do you know?!" She slapped the coffee table and shot to her feet. "Those alloy railings can withstand a charge from a D-class monster! One slash cut them into three sections! From three hundred meters away! Why did the Monster Hunting Bureau withdraw? Because they couldn't beat her!"

"It's called winning without a fight. That's a hundred times more impressive than fighting! Hajige, you deliver takeout. What do you know about tactics?"

Su Bai nearly choked.

Fine. I really don't know tactics.

"And another thing!" Su Xiaoxiao sat back down in a huff, then suddenly leaned toward him again, her eyes unnaturally bright. "Bro, I've spotted a pattern."

"What?"

"Lady Ziwei spent the whole day at your school."

She counted on her fingers. "The girls' dorm was sealed off this morning, and the teaching building this afternoon. She was behind both! I strongly suspect Lady Ziwei is actually a student at Tianqiong University!"

Su Bai's chopsticks paused for half a second.

"So?"

"So!" Su Xiaoxiao slapped her thigh. "I'm going to sneak into your university! There's a campus open day next week, right? I'll go in as a visitor and stake it out! I'm eighteen. I can easily pass for a first-year student!"

"Our security guards specialize in catching suspicious people like you."

"Please. I've got ways."

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked at the door.

"Ningning's here!" Su Xiaoxiao bounced off the sofa and ran barefoot to open it.

Xia Ning stood outside with her schoolbag on her back, still in her school uniform.

"Xiaoxiao, that badge you mentioned on the phone—"

"Come in, come in!" Su Xiaoxiao pulled her inside and held up the tablet like a treasure. "Look! I spent all afternoon drawing it!"

A sketch of a badge filled the screen.

It had a purple-and-gold background, a giant scythe in the center, and a ring of stars around the blade. Beneath it, small letters read: Star Team.

"What do you think?" Su Xiaoxiao planted her hands on her hips. "Our team badge!"

"Team?" Xia Ning blinked.

"Yeah! Star Xia Squad! I've got it all figured out. Lady Ziwei is the captain, and I'm the Saintess, responsible for conveying the will of the god of Magical Girls!"

"Once I awaken as a Magical Girl, I'll be Lady Ziwei's right-hand woman. Then Mint and the others will all answer to me!"

A curious look crossed Xia Ning's face.

"...You'll be in charge of Mint?"

"Of course!" Su Xiaoxiao noticed nothing. "Sure, Mint's a Magical Girl, but she hasn't been around as long as I have! I'm Lady Ziwei's first believer! Don't worry, Ningning. Once I'm the Saintess, I'll make you a guardian!"

Xia Ning opened her mouth, then swallowed her words.

"...Then I'll thank you in advance, Lady Saintess." She paused before adding quietly, "But as for being her right-hand woman, I don't think that position will go to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just a hunch." Xia Ning's smile was full of meaning.

"What hunch? Explain yourself!"

Su Bai sat at the table with his bowl, hearing every word.

Mint herself is standing right here, and you're already planning to boss her around.

He lowered his head and shoveled in more rice, his shoulders shaking twice.

"Bro, what are you laughing at?" Su Xiaoxiao glared at him.

"The braised pork is good." Su Bai raised his bowl to hide his face. "I'm moved."

"That's more like it!"

As Xia Ning changed her shoes in the entryway, her gaze moved over the three empty bowls on the table, then to Su Bai.

"Su Bai, your appetite's much better than usual today."

"All those deliveries."

"Oh..." Xia Ning nodded and asked no more.

Su Bai finished his third bowl and set down his chopsticks.

"I'll wash the dishes."

"Did the sun rise in the west?" Su Xiaoxiao stared at him.

"I ate three bowls. I should do something."

He carried the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen and turned on the tap. The rushing water drowned out the sounds from the living room.

His terminal lit up in his palm, opening the Star Communication Network.

The Public Fund Pool's balance sat at the top.

Su Bai glanced at it and raised an eyebrow.

"Master, more than four hundred thousand has gone into the pool since this afternoon." Kabi leaned over for a look. "It's all from that fan club group your sister runs."

"What kind of event brings in that much?"

"Read the announcement yourself."

Su Bai opened the pinned event post.

"[Crowdfunding] First Lady Ziwei Offline Fan Festival · Venue Fundraiser"

"Goal: 200,000. Raised: 460,000."

"???"

Water rushed from the tap.

He stared at the screen for three seconds, forgetting to rinse the suds from his hands.

In the living room, the two girls huddled over the tablet, growing more animated as they talked.

"I've already found the venue. That creative arts park by the river costs eighty thousand a day!"

"Eighty thousand?" Xia Ning clicked her tongue. "Where would we get that kind of money?"

"The fan fund!" Su Xiaoxiao lowered her voice. "I posted the fundraiser this afternoon. Guess how much it raised? Four hundred and sixty thousand! The fans are so enthusiastic!"

"But, but..." Xia Ning's voice grew faint. "Lady Ziwei doesn't even know about this in-person event. If we go ahead with it, won't she be angry?"

"Don't worry!" Su Xiaoxiao thumped her chest. "A god loves all people! Lady Ziwei couldn't even be bothered to fight the Monster Hunting Bureau. Why would she get upset with her true fans? Besides, we're spreading her name. It's a good thing!"

"But what if—"

"There is no what if!"

The water stopped running in the kitchen.

Su Bai walked out, drying his hands.

Su Xiaoxiao turned, saw him, and broke into a grin as she held her tablet high.

"Bro! I've got incredible news for you!"

"The first Star Magical Girls Lady Ziwei Offline Fan Festival!"

"Coming soon!"