Chapter 2: The First Step of Jasmine

Her cheeks slowly flushed, a deep crimson that was not the shy blush of a young girl, but rather the helpless, embarrassed flush of an elderly person. Indeed, even if an onlooker were present, they would never imagine that this bashful maiden harbored the soul of a seventy-year-old man.

“This skirt,” she finally managed, her voice clear and gentle, yet imbued with a near-despairing slowness, “is it… a little too short?”

“Eh?” Xiao Ming tilted their head. “This is standard issue! It looks great! Youthful and vibrant! A classic magical girl look!”

Su Xinxin—she was beginning to accept the name that had surfaced in her mind—silently reached out, attempting to tug the hem of the skirt down a little.

Of course, it was useless. She then tried to press her legs together, a movement that caused the fabric of the short skirt to strain slightly.

“These young people nowadays,” she sighed, a weariness unique to the elderly, lamenting the decline of societal morals, settling upon her face. “The way they dress… never mind, never mind.”

A gentle breeze swept through, lifting the hem of her skirt.

She instantly froze, her hands instinctively pressing down on the skirt’s edge with a speed utterly uncharacteristic of an old woman.

“Perhaps…” she turned her head, asking in a negotiating tone, “could you give me some trousers instead? Long ones, cotton would be fine.”

“No, no!” Xiao Ming shook their head vehemently, their ears flapping like a rattle drum. “This attire is the manifestation of your initial transformation, it cannot be easily changed! And it really does look beautiful!”

Su Xinxin sighed, nodding in resignation.

She tried to take a step, her body so light that she found it unsettling. She had to consciously control her strength to walk steadily.

“Oh, right,” Xiao Ming suddenly said. “Did you smell that?”

“What?”

“Flower scent. Every magical girl has their own flower scent. Yours… is very gentle, very serene.”

Su Xinxin paused, startled. Only then did she notice the faint, lingering aroma of jasmine in the air. It was subtle and distant, like the scent of a early summer evening from a forgotten memory.

A softness graced her eyes for a fleeting moment.

“Test content: Purify that simulated N-level ‘Corrosion’—’Dust Mote’.”

Following Xiao Ming’s guidance, Su Xinxin saw a cluster of grayish-black mist hovering not far away. Low sobs emanated from within the mist, and wherever it passed, the lawn withered slightly, and the light dimmed.

“Remember, use magic!” Xiao Ming emphasized.

Su Xinxin took a deep breath, an action that caused the fabric across her chest to strain slightly, making her flush with embarrassment once more.

She raised her hand, softly chanting, “Answer me—”

A longer wooden staff materialized in her palm. At its tip bloomed a cluster of jasmine flowers, their centers glowing with a soft light.

She gripped the staff and walked towards the mist. Her steps were steady, the deliberate, grounded pace of an elderly person. Yet, due to her light body, it appeared as an elegant stroll of a young girl.

There was no incantation, no complex opening gesture. She simply held the staff, and in her heart, she gently whispered, much like she used to soothe her granddaughter to sleep:

“There, there… don’t cry anymore. Those things… they’re over now.”

The instant her words faded, the flowers at the staff’s tip brightened.

A warm, soft, goose-yellow glow gently unfurled, and several luminous petals materialized from thin air, drifting and swirling. The lawn beneath her feet seemed to straighten, its color becoming more vibrant.

The cluster of mist trembled softly.

Su Xinxin gently pointed the staff forward.

Her movement was light and tender.

“Be still.”

A soft, goose-yellow column of light descended from the heavens, enveloping both her and the mist.

The light column was not dazzling; it was like morning sunlight filtering through curtains. Within the column, ethereal jasmine blossoms floated, one, then two, quietly blooming. The light flowed like warm water, washing away the gloom within the mist.

The mist slowly thinned, and the low sobs gradually ceased.

Su Xinxin stood in the light, her long hair gently swaying. Her eyes were closed, her expression serene, not like someone in combat, but rather like someone comforting an uneasy child.

The light gradually dispersed.

Only a patch of exceptionally verdant lawn remained, with scattered white flowers blooming among the blades of grass. The jasmine scent in the air deepened, warm and gentle.

The mist was gone without a trace.

Purification complete.

Xiao Ming blinked, their ears twitching slightly.

“You completed it… very smoothly,” they said, a hint of surprise in their voice. “And so gently. Usually, a novice’s first time is a bit overzealous, but you…”

Su Xinxin gazed at the staff slowly dissipating in her hand, then at her own fair, clean hands. The sensation just now had been rather wonderful; her heart had indeed felt calmer, as if she had truly helped something.

“I just thought of letting it rest in peace,” she said slowly. “It naturally turned out this way.” She paused, then asked, “Does it count as a success?”

“Of course it’s a success!” Xiao Ming flapped their ears and flew closer. “And it was beautifully done! So… will you sign the official contract? To become a true magical girl?”

Upon hearing this, Su Xinxin unconsciously pursed her lips, looking truly like a shy maiden praised by her teacher. Yet, she knew in her heart that it was merely a small flicker of joy from being acknowledged—that she wasn’t entirely useless, or even a hindrance, as an old woman.

But this joy was quickly overshadowed by a hint of bewilderment. What exactly was she doing all this for?

To protect world peace? The thought made even her chuckle. It was too distant, a phrase one heard only on television. Having lived for seventy years, she understood that life was built day by day, on countless tangible things.

She couldn’t help but glance down at her attire again—the short skirt, the bare shoulders. Her face began to flush once more. This appearance, this body, to do these things… the more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt.

If not for those grand-sounding reasons, then what was it for?

Su Xinxin let out an almost imperceptible sigh, then looked up at Xiao Ming, who was floating in the air.

“Then…” she cleared her throat, her voice still very soft, but her question was undeniably practical, “does this job come with a salary?”

Xiao Ming froze, their long ears halting mid-air, though they continued to float. They seemed dumbfounded by this abrupt yet profoundly realistic turn.

“Y-yes…” they reacted a beat later. “Base salary plus performance bonuses, calculated by the level and quantity of ‘Corrosion’ purified. Full-time magical girls also receive housing subsidies, living allowances, a full set of identity disguises, medical insurance, year-end bonuses…”

“Can I manage my own salary?” Su Xinxin asked in more detail. “For example… if I want to send some money to my family?”

Xiao Ming blinked. “You can! The organization has special channels for anonymous remittances, setting up small trusts, and even arranging ‘unexpected lottery wins’! But it must be done in compliance with regulations, not too frequently… Also, your identity cannot be exposed to anyone outside the organization—friends, family… none of them.”

Su Xinxin nodded thoughtfully.

She asked no further questions, but the heavy weight in her heart suddenly lightened.

It wasn’t some grand philosophy about saving the world. It was simply the concern for her daughters, the remembrance of her grandchildren’s small wishes… things she could only worry about helplessly while lying in bed, but now, it seemed she could reach out and help.

It wasn’t some extraordinary ambition. It was just an old woman discovering she still had some use, that she could still quietly lend a hand to her children.

She looked up at the perpetually twilight sky. The warm sunlight bathed her face, just like many years ago, when she used to bask in the sun in her old home’s courtyard.

‘My dear wife, I’m sorry.’

‘My visit to you will have to be postponed.’

‘The children still have a long road ahead, and in this way… perhaps I can still quietly help them.’

‘I’m not clinging to life. It’s just that I suddenly realized… I might still be able to do something.’

A gentle breeze swept through.

The pleated short skirt fluttered, and the sheer shawl floated like wings. She uncomfortably pressed her legs together, but her eyes grew increasingly clear, increasingly resolute.

She retracted her gaze and looked at the little creature anxiously awaiting her reply.

“I’ll do it,” she said. “Full-time.”

The voice was soft, unassuming, yet it was like a nail driven into wood, firm and steady.

Her light brown eyes shone brightly, not with the eager, imaginative light of youth, but with the calm, grounded glow of an elderly person who has made up their mind about something.

Then, as if accepting it all, she finally revealed her first smile since becoming “Su Xinxin”.

It was gentle, inclusive, carrying the quiet strength forged by seventy years of life, and a faint, nascent hope of a new beginning.

“You’re called… Xiao Ming, aren’t you?”

She spoke softly, her voice clear and gentle as a spring:

“I am Su Xinxin. From now on—please guide me.”

Xiao Ming looked at the contradictory being before them, dressed in a magical girl’s short skirt yet exuding the aura of a benevolent elder. They saw her hand instinctively pressing down on her skirt, and then the profound, gentle determination in her eyes to fight for her family. Suddenly, their nose felt a little sore.

They sniffed hard, holding back the tears that almost welled up, and tried to make their voice sound serious, professional, and solemn:

“Congratulations on passing the pre-employment test. Su Xinxin, code name ‘Jasmine’, provisional rank ‘Apprentice’. Next, please sign the official contract.”

They extended a paw, attempting to make it look like a formal handshake, despite the fact that a fluffy paw was hardly formal:

“Welcome to the Jacaranda Bureau. May your floral scent… soothe this world.”

Su Xinxin looked at the small paw and smiled gently.

She extended her now fair and slender hand and gently clasped theirs.

The touch was warm, real.

Seventy years of life officially concluded at this moment.

From today, she was Su Xinxin. She was the magical girl Jasmine, and also the old woman who still wanted to do things for her family—no matter what she became, that thought in her heart would never change.

And the story belonging to the magical girl “Jasmine”—

Had only just begun.

The wind rose.

The goose-yellow pleated short skirt fluttered, and the jasmine hair ornament trembled slightly in the breeze.

In the distance, the simulated sunset slowly dipped below the horizon, painting the sky a gentle orange-pink.

And the scent of jasmine—

Subtle, distant, serene.

As if it could pierce through time and heal all wounds.