Ordinary People
Cheers and cries mingled together, piercing through the battlefield that had just calmed down.
Above the sky, the purple-gold clouds slowly dissipated, and before the residents of Xinghai City could catch their breath, raindrops began to pelt down.
The torrential rain enveloped the entire city almost instantly.
Without the slightest hesitation, the two shooting stars, one purple and one gold, disappeared in different directions at the edge of the city.
This is a rule set by Su Bai.
To avoid revealing their identities, they must split up and take a long detour before dispelling their transformations and returning home.
Outside the South City Old Wharf Park.
A figure in purple and gold descended from the rain and stood silently under a row of Southern Magnolia trees.
The canvas canopy of the barbecue stall across the street was rattling loudly as the rain pelted down.
A man wearing a baseball cap was engrossed in eating grilled kidneys, while a DSLR camera next to him was wrapped tightly in a waterproof cloth.
He was a war correspondent for the Demon Hunter Forum, ID: Frontline Old Hound, who had just retreated from the outer perimeter of the girls' school blockade and was now extremely hungry.
Just as he picked up the second skewer of chicken wings, he caught a glimpse of that figure out of the corner of his eye.
The man stopped eating the chicken wing.
The rain was too heavy; he couldn't see the person's face clearly.
All that could be seen was a tall, slender silhouette; her long, soaked, purplish-gold hair clung to her cheeks and neck, with water droplets trickling down the ends, indistinguishable as to whether it was rain or something else.
She stood there without deploying her shield, letting the torrential rain soak her entire body.
She casually held the Great Scythe in her hand; the blade was not stained with blood, only with rainwater.
Even through the rain curtain dozens of meters away, you could still see the deep weariness in those eyes.
"Frontline" - "Frontline Old Hound".
He dropped the skewers, tore open the tarpaulin, grabbed his camera, and scrambled into the rain.
"Lady Ziwei!"
"I'm a reporter from the Demon Hunter Frontline! What are your thoughts on the Echo Banshee incident...?"
He didn't dare get too close, stopping ten meters away and raising the recording pen in his hand high.
Ziwei slowly raised her head.
This is really troublesome...
Her gaze went past the man's shoulder and landed in the darkness further away.
There was no emotion in that gaze.
There was neither the satisfaction of saving the world nor the exhaustion of battle, only a numb calm.
The Frontline Old Hound pressed his index finger against the shutter button to capture the face of the "Frontline Old Hound".
The Great Scythe has disappeared.
Ziwei put away her weapon, deliberately avoiding close-ups of her face and keeping it out of the camera's view.
"If you want to live, don't film."
Her voice was faint, almost inaudible amidst the sound of rain.
"I'm nothing special, just an ordinary person."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of purple-gold light appeared.
There was no one under the tree.
The Frontline Old Hound stood there, stunned, as the water dripped from the brim of Frontline Old Hound hat down his neck.
He glanced down at the camera screen, replaying the captured image.
There's only a blurry profile picture.
The Magical Girl was soaked to the bone, her purple-gold hair clung to her cheeks, rainwater streamed down her chin, and her expression was indifferent.
Half an hour later, in room 703 of Xingfuli Apartment.
Su Bai felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.
The second-ring magic skill [Star Marrow Magic Body], combined with the final forced dragging of the spatial vortex, almost completely burned away the Magic Power and energy reserves in his body.
His Magic Power was inexhaustible and could naturally absorb Magic Particles from the air to replenish itself. However, when his magic power was depleted, he felt a sharp hunger pang in his stomach.
He was soaked to the bone and ran nearly five kilometers in the pouring rain before finally getting home.
Ten minutes later, his fingers were trembling as he inserted the key into the lock.
As soon as the door opened, a wave of warm air mixed with the smell of instant noodles rushed out.
The living room TV was on, playing Xinghai Television Station's news report on the girls' school bombing on a loop.
Su Xiaoxiao had already arrived home and taken a shower. She was sitting cross-legged on the carpet in her pajamas.
Her eyes were red from crying after watching the television report of her heroic deeds, the Magical Girl Starshine saving the world; there were many used tissues piled on the coffee table.
She was also clutching a life- Lady Ziwei in her arms.
Hearing the door open, she sniffed and turned her head.
Seeing Su Bai's disheveled appearance, she was so frightened that she stood up from the carpet.
"Haji-ge!" she roared with great force, launching into a furious and exasperated tirade. And now, her identity was different from before; she was Magical Girl destined to save the world from suffering.
"Where have you been! You're not replying to my messages or answering my calls!"
"What are you doing? Going out to run errands in this heavy rain? Is money more important than your life?!"
He was cursing fiercely, but his hands didn't stop moving.
She rushed over, grabbed a dry towel from the sofa, and hurriedly wiped Su Bai from head to toe.
Su Bai was so dizzy from her rubbing that he didn't even have the strength to refute her.
Completely exhausted, his vision went black, and he collapsed onto the sofa, his body going limp.
"Elder brother!"
Su Xiaoxiao called out anxiously.
She hurriedly helped Su Bai up and laid him on the sofa before rushing into the kitchen.
A clattering sound erupted from the pots and pans.
Soon, a rich aroma wafted out.
Su Xiaoxiao, holding a large bowl and sniffing, carefully walked to the sofa.
This is a deluxe version of instant noodles.
Inside were three golden-brown fried eggs and two thickly sliced sausages.
Su Bai woke up because he was hungry.
He propped himself up, took the bowl, and began to wolf down the food, shoveling soup and noodles into his mouth.
"Ugh... the eggs are burnt..." he mumbled incoherently.
"You're lucky to have anything to eat! Why are you being so picky!"
Su Xiaoxiao angrily reached out to pinch his arm, but her fingertips touched a sticky substance as soon as they touched his elbow.
She looked down and saw that Su Bai's clothes had a hole in his elbow, and underneath was a scrape that was still bleeding.
She withdrew her hand.
Su Xiaoxiao bit her lip and said nothing. She silently turned around, rummaged through the medicine box, and took out iodine and medical tape.
She sat on the carpet and carefully tended to her brother's wound.
On television, the news footage cut to a photo taken by reporter "Frontline Old Hound. " Frontline Old Hound," the station's breaking news reports, " Magical Girl Ziwei did not give any interviews after the battle."
"Witnesses say they saw her standing alone in the rain..."
While treating Su Bai's wounds, Su Xiaoxiao kept muttering to herself while staring at the figure on the TV.
"God is so unfair..."
"Why do heroes who save the world have to risk their lives in the sky, getting exhausted and soaked in the rain all by themselves?"
"My brother, that unlucky guy, even while delivering food, he almost died from tripping on a step..."
Late at night.
Su Bai regained some of his strength and pretended to be fast asleep on the sofa.
He could feel Su Xiaoxiao tiptoeing over and draping a blanket over him.
Only a dim floor lamp was on in the living room.
Instead of going back to her room, Su Xiaoxiao sat on the carpet, gazing at her brother's sleeping face in the dim light.
After a while, he heard suppressed sobs.
"Hajige ..."
Su Xiaoxiao buried her face in her knees, her voice muffled.
"Even though you're a useless, clingy person, always stealing my snacks, and have a sharp tongue..."
"Since you're my brother, I, this Saintess, will reluctantly protect you a little more from now on."