Chapter 18: So, About the Melon

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Lin Yu stood before the automatic doors of the Ruikang Biomedical Group’s Third Affiliated Medical Center, feeling like a vagrant who had wandered into a high-class French restaurant.

Unlike the crowded public hospitals he’d imagined—filled with the stench of disinfectant and patients’ groans—this place…

Didn’t look like a hospital at all.

It looked more like a members-only five-star luxury hotel.

The spacious, brightly lit lobby, with a ceiling at least twenty meters high, was floored in white marble polished to a mirror finish. There wasn’t the faintest trace of medicinal odor. Instead, the air carried the rich, expensive scent of calming aromatherapy.

What the hell is this smell? Kind of woody, kind of like tea…

Lin Yu’s nose twitched. The scent inspired an odd kind of awe.

Before I left, I stupidly used Taiyi’s recognition feature to look it up—turns out it’s something called “cedar white tea” compound aroma. Specifically designed for rich capitalists with more money than sense to relax their nerves. One tiny bottle costs more than my entire month’s rent. Damn it, even capitalist air reeks of money.

At the center of the lobby, there was no guiding desk or noisy queue screen—only a circular service counter designed like a piece of art. Several nurses in tailored white uniforms, their smiles as standardized as flight attendants’, gracefully assisted visitors who all looked wealthy and important. Overhead, no messy wires—just a massive dome ceiling simulating the changing light of the sky. Gentle New Age music drifted softly from hidden speakers, giving one the sense of coming not for treatment but for an expensive spiritual spa.

…Damn capitalism.

Lin Yu hugged the heavy paulownia-wood box in his arms—a Hokkaido Yubari King melon that had cost nearly six hundred yuan of hard-earned money. It felt less like a melon and more like his next month’s living expenses.

Adjusting his faded T-shirt, he took a deep breath and approached the intimidating service counter.

“Hello, sir. How may I help you?” One of the nurses flashed a perfect smile—warm and polite, yet carrying that invisible distance that kept strangers away.

“I… I’m here to see someone.” Under her gaze, Lin Yu shifted, clearing his throat to sound less like a pauper who had wandered into the wrong place. “I’m visiting a patient—an employee of Dawn Labor Services Co., Ltd., named Ye Yeying.”

At the words Dawn Company, the nurse’s smile subtly shifted—from “ordinary wealthy client” to “VIP partner.”

“Oh, so you’re a guest from Dawn Company. Please register your employee ID here.” She deftly pulled up a holographic interface.

Lin Yu placed his phone terminal on it.

Beep—

Name: Lin Yu / Codename: Gray Crystal / Rank: D / Department: C-Zone Business Unit 1

The concise information flashed onscreen. The nurse’s gaze lingered a half-second on the glaring “D” rank, a flicker of doubt in her eyes, though her smile never wavered.

“Very well, Mr. Lin. You are registered. Ms. Ye Yeying is in VIP Special Care Ward A-03, top floor. I wish you a pleasant visit.”

She didn’t mention “gifts,” confirming Lin Yu’s suspicion that Manager Qian had never intended to waste company money on such “unnecessary” tokens of goodwill.

So Lin Yu clutched his heavy sacrifice while the nurse’s sweet “enjoy your visit” echoed behind him and stepped toward the exclusive VIP elevator.

The elevator ascended silently. Lin Yu’s reflection in the mirrored wall looked taut and weary, like dough beaten flat.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, Lin Yu—it’s not a job interview. Just a hospital visit. Everyone’s done that before, right?

But… a visit should start with some opening words. What should I say?

“Um… senior, are you feeling better?”—No, too stiff.

“Is your health okay?”—Nonsense. If it was, she wouldn’t be hospitalized.

“Last night… thank you.” That’s good. Direct, sincere. But then what? What if the air freezes in awkward silence? What if she ignores me? Should I follow with, “You looked really cool when you fought”? No, no—she hates it when I act like a simp…

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

Ding.

The doors slid open.

The corridor was carpeted in thick gray that swallowed all sound. Modern art pieces hung on the walls. The expensive aroma was even stronger here.

Following the signboards, Lin Yu quickly found the room marked A-03 / Ye Yeying. The door was heavy, white composite with a metallic sheen—more like the entrance to a secret lab than a hospital room.

Clutching the paulownia box like it might explode, he took several deep breaths, abandoning all eight hundred variations of opening lines.

Let fate decide. Adapt on the fly!

Knock, knock, knock.

The door slid open noiselessly.

Lin Yu entered, wearing a practiced, complicated smile—somewhere between guilt, gratitude, and corporate flattery.

Then his smile froze.

His whole body stiffened.

The first person he saw was his target—Ye Yeying.

She was half-lying in a pristine white smart hospital bed beside a floor-to-ceiling window. Outside lay Xinhai City’s dazzling, mirage-like skyline. She wore a pale-blue hospital gown, the soft fabric accentuating her already fair skin, which now looked almost translucent, like fragile porcelain. An IV was inserted into her left hand, pale yellow fluid slowly dripping through a tube. She wasn’t gazing out the window or at anyone nearby, only at the pure white ceiling above.

Her deep sapphire eyes had lost their usual sharpness—now only calm remained. A kind of exhaustion and fragility Lin Yu had never seen on her face before.

Then his eyes shifted to the two others in the room.

…Oh crap, it’s them?!

He recognized them instantly. Though he’d only glimpsed them once on his first day at the office, their appearances were too striking to forget.

One was the pink-haired girl who had cooked snail noodles in a portable pot near his desk. She now perched on a small stool beside the bed, wearing an outrageously elaborate Lolita dress, layers of frills making her look like a walking cream cake. Her iconic strawberry-milkshake twin-tails bounced as she talked, brimming with energy. In her hands was the latest handheld game console, which she excitedly waved as she chattered to Ye Yeying, boasting about a newly drawn SSR character. Her crisp laughter clashed jarringly with the solemn hospital room.

The other was her polar opposite—

A short-haired “big sister” exuding a keep away aura, earbuds in place. Clad in a fitted black sports jacket, her jet-black shoulder-length bob was sharp and clean. She stood by the window, frowning in concentration as she peeled an apple with a small fruit knife. Her movements were precise and unbroken—the peel curled away in one perfect ribbon. Her expression was stern, her eyes sharp, as if she were defusing a bomb instead of peeling fruit.

With Lin Yu’s entrance, the room fell silent.

Three girls. Six eyes. Three floodlights focused squarely on the lone intruder.

Lin Yu’s mind went blank.

What do I do?! Self-introduction?

Within a second, his brain completely crashed under the sudden weight of social hell.

The pink-haired twin-tail girl broke the silence with a squeal.

“Waaah!!!” Her eyes sparkled. She hopped over like an excited bunny, landing in front of Lin Yu. Tilting up her collagen-filled baby face, her wide eyes scanned him curiously, as if trying to see through him.

“You! You’re the legendary… the very first—and only—male magical girl in company history, Senior Lin Yu, right?!” Her voice was bright and lively, like a lark. “I’m Li Qing! Codename: Red Fox! Pleased to meet you! I heard all about it! You guys pulled off something huge last night at Station B7 in C-Zone! That was amazing!”

…Senior?! I’m the newbie here, okay?! Don’t call me that!

Lin Yu blushed furiously.

And do you have to tack on so many weird qualifiers before “male magical girl”…

Before he could respond, an icy voice cut in.

“Li Qing, step back.”

The black-haired big sister set down the knife and rose. Calmly, she pulled Li Qing behind her like a protective leopard shielding its cub, then scrutinized Lin Yu with eyes full of suspicion.

“You are Gray Crystal?” Her words fell like bullets. “The one… that Ying risked her life for, even breaking protocol to unleash her Concept Contract Armament to save?”

If Li Qing’s gaze was curiosity, this girl—Chen Bing—looked at him with undisguised doubt and hostility.

Lin Yu wilted under the dual heat and cold, wishing he could vanish into the floor.

A weak voice rose from the bed.

“Li Qing, Chen Bing. Quiet.”

It was Ye Yeying.

Her tone was calm, without force—but her words carried the absolute authority of an A-rank magical girl, instantly restoring silence.

Li Qing stuck out her tongue like a scolded student, falling silent though her curious eyes still darted between Lin Yu and Ying. Chen Bing folded her arms again, retreating to the side but watching coldly.

The room fell quiet save for the beeping monitors—and Lin Yu’s loud heartbeat.

Sweat dampened his palms. He dared not present his expensive melon in this tense air, so he set it gingerly on the coffee table near the door, like placing a live bomb.

No one noticed. All eyes were on Ye Yeying.

“Gray Crystal.” She deliberately enunciated his codename, drawing a cold, professional line between them. “I’ve reviewed last night’s incident report.”

Her voice was soft and steady, yet it made Lin Yu’s skin prickle.

“The nest crisis was caused by a failure of the Emergency Management Bureau. Manager Qian and Director Bai will handle it. The blame is not yours.”

Lin Yu almost sighed in relief—until her next words cut like a scalpel.

“But. The problems you exposed during the mission… are fatal.”

“Your reaction time ranks third-worst among every D-rank rookie I’ve ever trained.”

“Your fighting spirit was nearly zero. Before the monster grabbed you, you had over five seconds where your mind went blank, and you only screamed.”

“Your marksmanship… I hesitate to even call it that. You sprayed bullets like confetti.”

Each sentence nailed his pride like a spike—harsh, unembellished facts. And that was the cruelest cut of all.

Lin Yu’s cheeks burned. He hung his head like a schoolboy awaiting punishment.

“A true partner is someone you can entrust your back to, without hesitation,” she continued. “With your current level, I cannot carry a burden on missions. That would not be teamwork—it would be taking a ticking bomb into battle. Irresponsible to you, to me, and to the team.”

“So…”

She paused, finally looking him in the eye for the first time. Her sapphire gaze held no scorn, no ridicule—only cold indifference.

“When I finish recovering, I will submit a request to Manager Qian. You will be reassigned. Either to train under Black Iron—Chen Bing here—or another B-rank magical girl. They have more patience and are better suited to guide you.”

Her words thundered in his skull.

The air froze.

Li Qing’s smile vanished. She glanced between them, wanting to speak, but Chen Bing’s stern glare silenced her. Chen Bing’s expression was one of approval—she clearly agreed.

The meaning was brutal in its simplicity:

You are unqualified to be my partner.

…Huh?

Lin Yu’s mind went blank.

…It’s over? Just like that?

He recalled the time in college when his friends shoved him onto a stage and he froze, unable to speak, a clown under the audience’s disappointed gaze.

The same gaze was on him now.

A joke… I’ve become a joke again? A burden… again?

His chest ached.

Should I say thank you? Apologize? Tell her I’m sorry for dragging her down?

But the words wouldn’t come.

When had he become this man who could only apologize, only hold others back?

A surge of shame and defiance welled up.

He thought of his parents’ disappointed eyes.

Of his sister’s unreachable brilliance.

Was he always this useless? Would he remain so forever?

Would he really allow himself to be outshone by a girl nearly ten years his junior, from a foreign land?

In that instant, Lin Yu made an unexpected move.

“senior…”

He stepped back, feet together, then bowed deeply before Ye Yeying.

“I’m sorry.”

He bent like a folded ruler, holding the pose with humiliating solemnity.

“Hey! What… what are you doing?!” Li Qing cried, moving to help.

“Don’t move.” Chen Bing held her back, eyes narrowing.

Ye Yeying’s eyes widened slightly.

Lin Yu ignored everything, voice hoarse with guilt.

“Because of my weakness, my incompetence, my stupidity…”

“…you had to use a power that cost you your lifespan.”

“…you ended up like this.”

“…I apologize for it all.”

“But… I don’t want it to end like this.”

He straightened, raising his head.

“I don’t want to leave as a worthless failure. I want to prove myself! Not to prove greatness—only that I am not useless.”

“So… please give me time. Until my probation ends. I will do everything I can to grow stronger!”

“Two months from now, I’ll stand before you again for assessment.”

“If then, I’m still dead weight…”

“…I won’t wait for you to say it. I’ll walk away myself.”

The words drained him. Shame and exhaustion swept over him like a tide.

He stumbled, vision darkening.

Forgetting the melon on the table, he bowed once more, stammered:

“Forgive me for disturbing you—I’ll… I’ll take my leave!”

And he fled the room like a beaten dog.

The heavy door shut behind him like a stage curtain.

Silence lingered. Only the breeze outside could be heard.

“…Woooow.” Li Qing broke the stillness, mouth agape, her wide eyes round as glass marbles. “I thought those ‘if I fail I’ll quit’ scenes only happened in manga. I never thought… they could happen in real life…”

Her gaze turned to the door, full of complicated emotion.

“Hmph. What’s the point?” Chen Bing scoffed, arms folded. Yet her frown had softened slightly. She shot Li Qing a stern look. “And Li Qing—I must correct you. Stop calling him senior. In entry time, mission experience, and rank, he’s without doubt our junior. We are his seniors. Rules are rules. Understood?”

“Eh? Chen Bing-jie, you’re way too rigid!” Li Qing waved it off, defending her quirky nickname like a kitten guarding food. “Rules are dead, people are alive! Besides—don’t you think it’s more fun to call him senior?”

“Fun?” Chen Bing arched a brow, utterly baffled.

“Of course!” Li Qing puffed her chest and argued like a lawyer. “Think about it! Since our company was founded, every single ‘magical girl’ has been like us—young, beautiful girls, right?” She pointed to herself, to Chen Bing, to Ye Yeying. “But then—bam! Out of nowhere, like in a myth—a pure-blooded uncle pops out! Okay, sure, he looks kind of boyish, but compared to us, he’s still an uncle~”

“And then he becomes the one and only male magical girl among us! Isn’t that legendary—”