Chapter 31: The Chaotic Aftermath and a Forced Return

After calling out her boyfriend’s name, the young woman stared dazedly at the sheets beneath her, then just as blankly at the young man before her, her delicate features hardening into a serious expression. She released Lu Chen’s arm and, with a swift, fluid movement, sat upright in bed. Then, she earnestly took the young man’s hands in hers and said softly,

“I’m sorry. But please don’t worry, I will take responsibility for you.”

“…Usually, I’d be the one saying that. W-well, don’t rush, let’s just confirm what happened first.”

****

Ten minutes later, Lu Chen stood in the living room of his rented apartment, a worried frown creasing his face as he surveyed his surroundings.

After Xia Shi’s return, Lu Chen had diligently resumed his regular cleaning routine, meticulously bagging and disposing of all accumulated hair, dust, and rubbish. For a time, the room had been spotless.

Now, however, the living room had once again devolved into utter chaos, though this time the disarray possessed a peculiar vibrancy.

The floor, walls, computer screen, and even the ceiling were covered in a riot of crayon graffiti, each scribble seemingly devoid of meaning. An outsider might easily mistake it for a post-modern art exhibit, or perhaps a cryptic message left by extraterrestrial spies lurking on Earth.

His overcoat, shirt, jacket, and trousers had been fashioned into crude scarecrows, lined up against the wall like a row of prisoners awaiting execution.

Adding to the spectacle, several charred heart shapes marred the coffee table and floor, clear evidence that a certain magical girl had been playing with fire indoors.

The true culprits behind this entire chaotic scene were a row of metal cans, neatly arranged on the coffee table.

These metal cans stood primly and uniformly on either side of the table, adopting an ‘it wasn’t me’ demeanor as they silently faced Lu Chen.

After splashing water on his face, Lu Chen began to piece together the events of the previous night.

Upon arriving downstairs at the apartment building, Xia Shi had been intrigued by the fruit wines in the convenience store and, on a whim, purchased a whole row of them.

The so-called fruit wines from the convenience store were more akin to juice than actual alcohol; their incredibly low alcohol content meant even a primary school student couldn’t get drunk from them. Neither Lu Chen nor Xia Shi had a habit of drinking, so they hadn’t given the beverages a second thought.

Yet, the potency of these drinks had far exceeded Lu Chen’s wildest imagination; it was as if someone had secretly swapped them out for hard liquor.

Initially, they felt nothing, but within ten minutes, both of them began to act wildly.

They rummaged through every nook and cranny, unearthing several crayons from who-knew-where, and promptly launched into a drawing contest. Lu Chen emerged victorious by a narrow margin, earning himself a bottle of fruit wine. Not to be outdone, Xia Shi then dug out Lu Chen’s clothes and, for reasons unknown, decided to compete in scarecrow-making. This time, Xia Shi triumphed, claiming another bottle of fruit wine…

Though Lu Chen couldn’t recall the specifics, the inexplicable series of competitions appeared to have continued well into the night, only concluding when both were utterly exhausted and naturally drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

The silver lining, amidst this unfortunate turn of events, was that despite Xia Shi’s initial misunderstanding upon waking, both their clothes were exactly as they had been when they first entered the apartment. There were no strange marks on their bodies or near the bed, clearly indicating that no irreversible ‘mischief’ had occurred in their drunken stupor, and their precious first experience had not been lost in such an absurd manner.

Nevertheless, with such a monumental mess, how long would it possibly take to clean up?

As the young man lamented, the bathroom door creaked open, and Xia Shi emerged, mop in hand. Her long hair was tied up, her sleeves rolled back, revealing her fair, slender arms.

She walked directly to Lu Chen, gave him a shallow bow, and declared with solemnity:

“Everything that happened last night was due to my negligence, and I have been reflecting deeply.”

“Please go to work without worry. I happen to be quite free, and I will take full responsibility for cleaning up.”

Just yesterday, Xia Shi had battled a strange entity.

As per custom, the Xinguang Group would grant her a period of rest, refraining from involving her in various activities, so she was indeed quite free.

However, Lu Chen naturally wouldn’t leave Xia Shi to handle it alone.

“I happen to be quite free as well. At the very least, leave the living room to me.”

“Oh? Isn’t today a workday? I recall you needing to be in the office by 9:30 AM at the latest, and you also have an afternoon meeting with Morning Star at the hospital.”

Lu Chen shrugged indifferently.

“While those are the rules… it doesn’t really matter in practice.”

“Aside from the timid interns and those particularly eager to advance, my colleagues often don’t arrive at the office until ten o’clock.”

“As long as the important work is handled properly, Sister Lin usually turns a blind eye to such tardiness.”

Xia Shi nodded thoughtfully, yet a glimmer of confusion still flickered in her eyes.

“Is that so… Aren’t you a cameraman? Don’t you need to speak with the subjects you’re responsible for today?”

With the exception of a few uncooperative individuals, most magical girls and celebrity mages each had a dedicated cameraman assigned to them, responsible for closely filming their daily lives and battles.

However, magical girls, of course, couldn’t be filmed every single day.

To prevent highly paid cameramen from sitting idle, the Xinguang Group typically assigned at least two magical girls or celebrity mages to each cameraman.

Even without filming assignments, they were still required to regularly converse with their assigned subjects, discussing how to enhance their public image, how to complete company tasks, how to manage fan outrage, and other such matters.

Given that a city only had a handful, or perhaps a dozen, magical girls in total, some cameramen even had to frequently travel between cities, making their work exceptionally demanding.

Conversely, the career prospects for this position were remarkably bright; most would, after accumulating sufficient experience, become producers, gaining the authority to define the public images of various magical girls.

As Xia Shi mentioned, Lu Chen was also a cameraman—or, more accurately, he *used* to be a cameraman.

He hesitated for a moment before explaining to the young woman:

“I’m no longer a cameraman; I’m just a regular field reporter now.”

“Ah, but I’ve already spoken with Sister Lin, and I’ll still be responsible for filming you, just like before. You don’t need to worry about adjusting.”

The young woman’s eyes widened, her expression becoming even more vacant than when she’d first discovered herself in Lu Chen’s bed. Tightly gripping the mop in her hand, she asked:

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lu Chen nervously averted his gaze.

“…Well, you never asked.”

“When did this happen?”

“…About a year ago, I suppose.”

“Because of my disappearance?”

The young woman’s voice trembled slightly, and Lu Chen’s tension mounted in response.

“No, it’s not because of you! It’s mainly because I was a bit tired myself, so I wanted to rest for a while—”

The young woman ignored Lu Chen’s explanation.

She walked straight back to the bathroom, returned the mop to its place, then pulled the hair tie from her ponytail and returned to the young man with a formidable stride.

“The room can be cleaned at any time.”

“Come with me to the branch office, and be a cameraman again.”

Lu Chen gave a wry smile.

“It won’t be that easy; someone already took over my position.”

“And Xia Xia, you really don’t need to blame yourself for this. I’m already very happy now, there’s no need to…”

Xia Shi seized the young man’s hand, a fierce fire blazing in her eyes.

“Now. Immediately. Come with me.”

“…Understood.”

Lu Chen ceased his resistance and readily agreed.

In any case, the magical girls and celebrity mages of Lincheng City had long since been divided among others; there wouldn’t be any extra clients for him to be responsible for, nor, consequently, any vacant positions.

Since Xia Shi liked the idea, he might as well go along with her little escapade.