Chapter 107: Girls’ Gathering

“Our reservation is on the second floor,”
Li Qing skillfully led the way ahead, the bright red scarf around her neck drawing lively arcs as she walked.

“Bing-jie and the others are still on the way. They said they might be a little late.”

“Perfect.”
Lin Yu silently breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them went up the narrow wooden staircase, passed through a hallway marked by dark blue fabric curtains, and finally stopped before a private room with “Blue House” written on the nameplate.

Li Qing pulled open the sliding lattice door.
A wave of warm air, carrying the scent of grilled meat sauce mixed with clean wood, rushed toward them.

“This is the place!”

The room wasn’t large, but carried a quaint charm.
Warm light spilled from paper lanterns overhead, coating everything in a soft amber glow.

In the center sat a sleek black grill table, and the floor was covered with clean tatami.

“You have to take off your shoes, you know, Lin Yu.”

As she spoke, Li Qing had already bent down lightly and slipped off her brown leather shoes.

“Oh.”
Lin Yu also sat on the step at the entrance, fumbling a bit as she placed her shoes neatly to the side.

In her lowered view, her skirt fell like petals, revealing only a segment of her calf wrapped in black tights.

She followed Li Qing and sat on the floor cushion.

Because she wasn’t used to it, she instinctively wanted to sit cross-legged.

But this body had its own instincts now—her knees closed together naturally, calves folding gracefully to the side in a very proper “duck-sit”, settling her into an elegant posture.

“Wow…”
Li Qing immediately noticed and her eyes sparkled with surprise.

“Lin Yu, you look so ladylike now! I remember before… didn’t you always just sit cross-legged like some middle-aged uncle?”

“—!”

Lin Yu’s heart clenched, a thin film of cold sweat instantly forming on her back.

She quickly switched her legs back!

“Cough… um… recently I’ve been practicing on purpose.”
She forced a stiff smile.

“Since I’m fighting with this body, I need to learn how to control it properly, right? So at home I practiced posture a bit! Body posture is important… right?”

“Totally not because I’ve been pretending to be some runaway heiress for weeks in front of Luo Shaotian and can’t drop the act now!”

“Really—?”
Li Qing dragged out her words, clearly not convinced, though she didn’t push further.

She picked up the ordering tablet and slid the menu in front of Lin Yu.

“Forget that! Look! This place added A5 marbled wagyu to the menu! Should we try it today?!”

Her eyes were practically sparkling.

“Do whatever you want.”
Lin Yu answered absent-mindedly.

“She was officially hired now. Forty thousand a month was enough to cover her normal expenses—
as long as she didn’t go back to burning money on photography or similar hobbies.”

Li Qing didn’t hold back. Her fingers tapped rapidly across the screen, and soon the order was placed.

While waiting, she propped her chin in one hand and studied Lin Yu again, as though assessing something.

“Speaking of which, Lin Yu,”
she asked casually,
“why did you come out today using your transformed appearance? Didn’t you always say you hated wearing that outfit, that it felt awful, and you’d switch back the moment a mission ended?”

Lin Yu’s hand, stirring barley tea, stiffened for a second.

“…I told you, it’s to better adapt to this body.”
She repeated the excuse, trying to sound natural.

“I can’t be re-learning how to use my body before every fight. Getting used to it ahead of time helps with upcoming missions.”

“Ohhh—”
Li Qing nodded, seemingly convinced.

But the next moment, she asked:

“Is it really just for work? Really?”

“Of course!”

Lin Yu felt her cheeks heat up, but forced herself to meet Li Qing’s gaze.

“Why else would I do it? You think I enjoy running around in skirts?!”

“Oh—so that’s how it is?”
Li Qing puffed her cheeks, clearly dissatisfied with the vague answer.

Before she could probe further, the sliding door suddenly opened.

Both of them turned instinctively.

A tall, cool silhouette stood in the doorway.

Short black hair, a few rebellious strands falling across her forehead—clean, sharp, and strikingly handsome.

No makeup, a composed face with traces of fatigue and cold air.

It was Chen Bing.

Because of the chill outside, she wore a white turtleneck sweater beneath a long khaki trench coat—an effortlessly stylish look.

“Bing-jie! You’re here!”
Li Qing leapt up excitedly.

“Mm.”
Chen Bing replied with her usual calm, removing her coat and hanging it on the rack.

“Where’s Ying? Still not here?”

“She said she’ll be a little late,”
Li Qing replied, then eagerly grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

She pointed at Lin Yu, almost flaunting her as some new discovery.

“Bing-jie, look! Guess who she is?”

Chen Bing looked at the unfamiliar black-haired girl.

The face was new… but the eyes—those uneasy, guilty eyes—felt very familiar.
Very much like a certain unreliable junior she knew.

“…Lin Yu?”

“Yes! I knew you’d recognize her!”
Li Qing clapped happily and quickly explained, “She used [Transformation☆Time’s Up!]. Changed the hair and eye color to be low-profile for work.”

“I see.”

Chen Bing accepted the explanation easily.

After removing her boots, she stepped inside and sat opposite Lin Yu.

Seeing Chen Bing, Lin Yu felt her heart tighten again.

As expected—

Chen Bing took a sip of barley tea, wetting her throat, then lifted her gaze—those sharp eyes locking straight onto Lin Yu.

“But… if I remember correctly, [Transformation☆Time’s Up!] only changes hair color, eye color, and preset outfit templates. It can’t alter the fundamental Phase Body model.”

Her gaze slid downward, finally landing on Lin Yu’s chest—now significantly fuller under the stretched fabric of her blouse.

“So, can you explain… why your body is so much bigger than last time?”

“I— I…”
Lin Yu’s voice caught in her throat.

“Oh right…”
Li Qing muttered belatedly,
“I was also super curious about that!”

That extra stab nearly made Lin Yu collapse.

“Ahem—”
Her face reddened in embarrassment.

“Come on… seriously…
Why are you girls so sharp?
Why are you all obsessed with this of all things?!”

“It wasn’t the skill.”
Lin Yu sighed.

“It was contamination.”

“In Y District, I was deeply contaminated by that Tzeentch-line entity…”

“So my body became like this.”

“Contamination?!”
Li Qing yelped, her earlier gossip instantly replaced with panic.

She rushed to Lin Yu’s side and immediately started poking and prodding her body anxiously.

“Where? Where’s the contamination? Does anything feel wrong? How’s your mind? Any hallucinations? Any illusions?”

She machine-gunned the questions in pure panic.

“H-hey! Don’t just touch me everywhere!”
Lin Yu nearly died from mortification, her whole body tensing under the cold, wandering fingers.

“I’m fine! Really! The company already evaluated it—it’s just a physical alteration! My mental state is completely stable!”

Chen Bing didn’t panic like Li Qing, but her brows tightened deeply.

“…How serious?”
she asked solemnly.

“Will it affect battle? Is there a risk of… witch-transformation?”

“No no no! Absolutely not!”
Lin Yu shook her head fiercely, desperate to stop them from worrying.

“I said it’s nothing serious! Look! I can eat, drink, joke— I’m completely fine!”

Her frantic reassurance made the two women exchange a glance—
But the worry in their eyes didn’t fade.

They knew too well:
Contamination, especially from the Curiosity spectrum, was no trivial matter for a magical girl.

Just then, the sliding door decorated with peony patterns opened again.

A slender figure stepped in, carried on a breeze of cold air.

She wore a winter dress with a soft black fur shawl, draping elegantly across her shoulders.

A small beret perched on her head, the tips of her black hair brushing the brim—adorable and refined.

It was Ye Ying.

She looked like she had come straight from a formal banquet, radiating an effortless, graceful upper-class aura.

As her gaze swept across the room, she caught the end of Chen Bing’s sentence.

“…a risk of witch-transformation?”

Ye Ying’s eyes settled on Lin Yu’s flustered face.

“So, you were already informed,” she said calmly.

She stepped into the entrance, bent down gracefully to take off her shoes.

Lin Yu’s eyes involuntarily followed her movement.

Magical girls all had excellent physical conditions—

Ye Ying was no exception, especially her feet:
Beautiful arch, slender ankle—
wrapped in black stockings like a perfectly shaped dark chocolate popsicle.

After hanging up her coat and hat, she sat down at the table.

“Regarding the Gray Crystal,”
Ye Ying said after settling in,
“Section 00 already submitted their full report to the company.”

She took the teapot and poured herself some barley tea.

“Manager Qian also sent me the internal documents before I came.”

She paused, lifted her cup, letting the rising steam veil her expression.

“So, this gathering isn’t just a reunion.”

Ye Ying’s gaze cut through the soft white steam and landed firmly on Lin Yu—whose face was full of unease.

“It also includes another assignment—”

“As the company’s representative for follow-up supervision after your collar removal…”

“I’m here to conduct a small check-up.”