Chapter 28: A Misplaced Moment and a New Encounter

As Xiao Ming’s internal exclamation echoed, Su Xinxin’s cheeks flushed crimson.

She had been following the faint scent of “Corrosion” and had completely forgotten to glance at the sign on the door.

A stubbornness, typical of her ‘elderly’ mindset, had taken over, causing her to focus solely on “tracking the target” and completely neglect basic common sense.

She quickly turned and hurried towards the restroom on the other side.

Her face still warm, she entered a stall with her head bowed, closed the door, and squatted down, clutching her shoulder bag. Xiao Ming had intended to say something, but seeing the situation, wisely kept quiet.

After she had finished attending to her “physiological needs” in the stall and walked to the sink, a new dilemma arose in her mind.

[What if the ‘Corrosion’ was hiding in the men’s restroom? How should I handle that?]

[Well… ] Xiao Ming’s voice sounded a little troubled. [Usually… we just let ‘male’ magical girls handle it!]

Su Xinxin paused, taken aback.

‘Male’… magical girls? So, that’s how it’s arranged?

[Then… can I handle it?] she asked instinctively.

[Absolutely not!] Xiao Ming immediately replied. [You are ‘Su Xinxin’ now, a girl! How can you just enter a men’s restroom? Unless it’s an extremely urgent situation, it’s definitely against the rules.]

[So what do I do now?]

[You could stand at the entrance and try casting a purification spell inside? If you’re incredibly, incredibly lucky, you might hit it!] Xiao Ming’s tone was half-serious, half-joking.

Su Xinxin was speechless at the suggestion.

Even with her limited understanding, she knew some basic common sense from watching war films in the past. The entrance was a corner, blocking any view inside. Given her current abilities, she couldn’t cast a “tracking missile” spell with eyes of its own. Moreover, this “speck of dust” wouldn’t make a sound to reveal its position.

How was this any different from firing a random shot blindfolded into a battlefield, hoping to strike the enemy leader?

However, there truly wasn’t a better option at the moment. A thought even crossed her mind: *Should I just pretend not to know, quickly go in, deal with it, and then come out? It seems no one is around right now.*

Like a thief, she tiptoed to the women’s restroom entrance, poked her head out to peek, ready to implement her rather ill-conceived idea.

But just as she peered out, a girl walked directly towards her.

The girl’s eyes seemed not fully open, carrying a sleepy fatigue. She wore the library staff’s dark uniform, with an ID badge hanging around her neck.

Su Xinxin’s heart tightened. *What would she think if she saw me coming from the direction of the men’s restroom?*

Her thoughts shifted, and she immediately chickened out, ultimately bowing her head and quickly leaving the restroom area.

After walking a few steps, she unwillingly concentrated her senses again.

Strange, the faint scent of “Corrosion” from before… seemed to have vanished?

[Huh? Could it be… washed away by the water?] she asked Xiao Ming.

[That’s unlikely,] Xiao Ming analyzed. [Either it slipped away on its own, or it was dealt with by someone else in this short time. Besides you and Jasmine, there should be at least one or two other magical girls regularly stationed in this library.]

[So… a ‘male’ magical girl went in and handled it?]

[It’s also possible it was resolved from outside.] Xiao Ming paused, a hint of teasing in her voice. [My method is for your current stage! Stronger individuals naturally have other ways. Haven’t you seen people using rapiers, wielding long whips, or even throwing knightly lances before? Why can’t you imagine that there might really be magical girls whose weapons are ‘tracking-type’?]

[That… that powerful?] Hearing “tracking-type,” Su Xinxin couldn’t help but recall the difficult years gone by and blurted out, [Why didn’t you all come out in those past years?]

As the words left her mouth, she felt a pang of impropriety. Perhaps they had come out, but their existence had been erased from memory?

[…Do you think it’s possible,] Xiao Ming’s voice softened, but she didn’t continue on that topic. Instead, she circled back to the previous question. [Hey! Actually, you’ve seen the most reasonable method too, like Jasmine’s purification barrier, which can cover and resolve things from a distance. It’s just that your current strength isn’t enough; you have to take it slow!]

Su Xinxin processed this information, walking slowly along the corridor.

She had no way of knowing how the “Corrosion” had disappeared. Wild speculation was useless—for instance, could that sleepy-eyed female staff member from earlier have been Jasmine? *Sigh, it’s unclear.*

After wandering on the second floor for a while, she headed up to the third floor.

The third floor housed the “Chinese Book Lending Area.” Upon ascending, a large screen in front of the atrium displayed a map of the bookshelves, categorized by alphabet, and functional zones. Besides the core lending area, a separate “Audiovisual Arts Space” was designated in the southeast corner.

Su Xinxin looked at the letter classifications, a new question forming in her mind.

[These letters… aren’t they arranged by Pinyin?]

[This is a specialized book classification system!] Xiao Ming explained.

A was for ideological theory, B for philosophy and religion, C for social sciences…

Su Xinxin browsed, unsure where to begin. However, one category piqued her interest: R, Medicine and Health.

She took out her phone, and with a clumsiness characteristic of older individuals, finally managed to take a clear photo of the directory. Then, following the map, she walked towards that area, secretly calculating:

*This category should have content on health and wellness, right? It’s always good to learn more about health. If there’s knowledge related to women, even better. I need to pay more attention to ‘Su Xinxin’s’ body now.*

Upon reaching the R category area, she scanned the rows of bookshelves. As she had expected, most of the people sitting at tables nearby were middle-aged or elderly individuals, likely forty or fifty years old and above. *Do young people really not read these types of books very often?*

She recalled how her second daughter used to help at the health clinic. Her job was stable, yet she constantly complained that “studying medicine is bad,” often quoting examples of famous figures who “abandoned medicine for literature, or for the military.” She claimed that fewer people were studying medicine in the current climate and even forbade her own children from pursuing that path, unless… they were truly willing to endure hardship, like ancient physicians who harbored a heart to “save the common people.”

“Eh—”

A young girl’s soft exclamation.

Su Xinxin was deep in thought and, without realizing it, accidentally bumped into someone.

“I’m so sorry, my apologies!” she quickly whispered, lowering her head.

The other person said nothing, only glancing up at her before returning to their book, leaning against the bookshelf.

Seeing that the person didn’t seem to mind, Su Xinxin said no more. She turned and moved to the adjacent bookshelves to continue her search.

*It seems there are still young people who enjoy reading these types of books, but that girl’s personality… well, it’s better not to judge.*

She almost habitually resorted to her “elderly person’s” way of judging from small observations but stopped herself in time.

This time, she didn’t duck into the narrow aisles between the bookshelves. Instead, she slowly checked along the sides of the shelves, where the titles of some books in that row were listed.

She hadn’t walked many rows when she spotted another young girl. Judging by her height, she looked like a high school student.

Compared to the somewhat aloof girl from earlier, this girl exuded a natural warmth. Her gentle eyes and demeanor made her seem more suited to medical or nursing work.

The girl’s attire was a casual, academic style: a white shirt with a delicate bow tied at the collar, topped with a thin, off-white long-sleeved cardigan, looking fresh and soft. Below, she wore a light blue plaid pleated skirt.

As Su Xinxin discreetly observed, the girl seemed to have found the book she was looking for. She was standing on tiptoes, reaching for the book on the very top shelf—unfortunately, she was just a little short.

Without a second thought, Su Xinxin walked over.

“Do you need help?”

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