Chapter 2: The Reluctant Mother and the Unexpected Daughter

From Su Qingyao’s experience, it was clear.

This undoubtedly indicated that the unknown entity, claiming to be the ‘leader’s daughter,’ likely possessed a high level of intellect.

[Moreover, it knew how to disguise itself.]

This thought instantly dampened Su Qingyao’s enthusiasm for the impending conversation, especially as the victim.

After swiftly navigating a few topics concerning future arrangements, Su Qingyao donned the mask of the Blue Witch.

Harnessing the irresistible charisma it bestowed, she politely requested Chen Qingfeng to leave the hospital room.

Lying back down on her bed.

Su Qingyao recalled the memories still flashing incessantly in her mind; being resurrected did not mean waking up in peak condition.

On the contrary, a pervasive weakness clung to Su Qingyao, refusing to dissipate.

The harrowing experiences suffered before her death replayed repeatedly in her mind, forcing her to endure the agony of phantom pain.

“Hah, a sigh—”

Only after Chen Qingfeng’s departure could Su Qingyao finally shed her instinctive smile, exhaling a long, weary breath.

She closed her eyes, attempting to revert from her transformed state.

Though her magic responded to Su Qingyao, it remained utterly unresponsive to the command to ‘undo’ the transformation.

Indeed, resurrected by the power of a ‘magical girl,’ her body had been entirely reshaped into one of optimal adaptability.

“Being male, it truly has become a thing of the past.”

Su Qingyao sighed aloud, leaning back against her pillow.

“Though, I suppose this was also within my expectations.”

The mere thought of being entirely female from now on, despite her long-held resolve to live as a confirmed bachelorette, rejecting marriage and family, still made the part of Su Qingyao that was once male wail in protest.

‘Oh, she nearly forgot.’

‘She’d already skipped marriage and started a family right here and now.’

Su Qingyao’s amber eyes narrowed slightly as she refocused on the bewildering daughter.

In Su Qingyao’s perception, that ‘daughter’ had been irrevocably branded an alien monstrosity.

It took Su Qingyao less than a second to recall a litany of calamities involving entities that ‘bred using human corpses,’ their offspring undeniably ‘aliens’ brimming with malice towards humanity.

During her first year of combat, a leader of a survivor settlement, driven by softheartedness, had adopted an alien infant that appeared human.

The result was not only the annihilation of the entire settlement but also the death of the first magical girl companion Su Qingyao had ever known.

Ultimately, she herself had to destroy the entire ruin, which had become nothing short of a living hell.

From that day forward, Su Qingyao harbored nothing but pure ‘hatred’ for any alien, devoid of a single shred of pity.

This hatred for aliens, compounded by the outrage over her own corpse’s desecration, coalesced into a whispered murmur from Su Qingyao’s lips.

“Hah, daughter, my daughter.”

Su Qingyao knew well that aliens possessed countless ways to masquerade as humans; some even had virtually no physiological differences from them.

Su Qingyao wouldn’t blame those who had chosen to deliver and raise her.

The tone in the notes made it clear that a multitude of halos and honors had been bestowed upon Su Qingyao.

The reverence behind them would naturally cloud people’s judgment.

Even if a few abnormalities were discovered in the ‘child,’ its identity as ‘Su Qingyao’s daughter’ would provide a not-so-clear yet sufficiently convincing explanation.

Su Qingyao understood them; how could she possibly blame them?

A cold smile touched Su Qingyao’s lips.

****

‘Ah, ah, she needed to devise a gentle, appropriate, and dignified exit for that cute little cuckoo.’

****

‘But what if that impossible possibility were true?’

‘What if that ‘posthumous daughter’… truly was her own flesh and blood, the offspring of her and another male human?’

Such a voice still lingered in the depths of Su Qingyao’s heart.

The tender part of the young girl’s heart ultimately chose to accommodate this discordant thought, quietly placing it before her.

Unconsciously, Su Qingyao’s cold sneer vanished from her lips.

In its place emerged a complex expression, a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief.

She was, after all, a ‘blossoming youth’ whose psychological age had only matured for two years.

Even having accepted the reality of her complete transformation upon resurrection, she was still at an age where she should be a graceful young woman.

This discrepancy felt simply too exaggerated.

‘Would Su Qingyao truly not raise a rebellious daughter with a foul mouth if she were to parent a child?’

“No, no, no.”

Su Qingyao vigorously patted her cheeks.

“Why dwell on something impossible from the start?”

“I… I could never be a mother; it sounds disgustingly sappy, alright!”

The feminine ‘niáng’ that had almost slipped out was forcibly twisted into the more neutral ‘zǐ,’ a subtle rebellion against her body’s instincts.

With her composure shattered and hatred naturally receding, all that remained was an awkward young girl squirming restlessly on the bed.

“Heh, haha.”

‘Why dwell on such impossible notions?’

Using her magic to smooth the wrinkles from the bedsheets and comb her tangled, long hair, Su Qingyao ended her tumultuous thoughts with a dry, elegant chuckle.

‘Now that she thought about it, Senior Hero never had children either.’

‘If she were my daughter, what would she look like?’

‘If she inherited the genes of my magical girl form, she should be quite cute, unless the father was…’

‘No! Why am I thinking about these things?’

‘Am I actually anticipating such an absurd possibility?’

‘What about her hair color then? Would it be black, like now, or like in her magical girl outfit…?’

‘Ugh—’

‘Su Qingyao! What in the world is going on in your little head?!’

“Ugh, ah—”

It was not an end.

Ashamed of her rapidly devolving thoughts, the young girl let out a moan laced with a hint of embarrassment, which echoed through the hospital room.

Just before opening her eyes, she had been living a blissful life where her only concerns were whether to unleash a milky blast or cut down an enemy.

How was it that after dying once, she now had to face such troublesome matters?

Su Qingyao took several more deep breaths, barely managing to suppress her runaway thoughts.

Hidden beneath her drooping eyelids was an emotion she herself couldn’t comprehend.

Mother, daughter.

The unfamiliar words echoed in her mind.

Su Qingyao rolled over, burying herself in the blankets on the bed, only a small part of her face peeking out.

‘No matter what!’

‘Even if she wasn’t the detestable offspring of an alien, she couldn’t possibly harbor deep affection for a mere human infant.’

‘After all, did she even know anything about this daughter?’

‘No.’

‘So, could any feelings possibly arise?’

‘Absolutely not, alright.’

“Right.”

Su Qingyao, bundled up like a cocoon, nodded vigorously:

“I’ll just consider her a piece of flesh that accidentally fell off after an injury!”

“Click!”

As if in response to Su Qingyao’s resolve, a crisp click echoed from the hospital room door.

‘No, someone’s come in.

Is it Chen Qingfeng?’

“Hmm? Is there something else?”

Su Qingyao released her grip on the blanket and poked her head out from her bundled form.

However, to her surprise, it wasn’t the reserved young man, Chen Qingfeng, standing at the hospital room door.

The small figure that entered the room stood at approximately 1.56 meters tall.

With just a glance, Su Qingyao recognized the outfit the girl wore as the ceremonial attire of a Magical Girl.

A pristine double-layered gauze dress was adorned with cascading petals and lace trim.

A cerulean ice-crystal brooch was pinned to her right breast, and a snow-white witch’s hat, with a deep blue brim, tilted gracefully among the girl’s hair.

Snow-white hair cascaded to her waist, and on the girl’s flawless, beautiful face, a pair of dazzling blue sapphires were strikingly set.

[So, she inherited the hair color from my magical girl outfit.]

Unlike Chen Qingfeng’s reserved demeanor, the little girl’s flushed cheeks, a result of overexertion, conveyed more of an anxious apprehension and nervousness before an inevitable outcome.

In her eyes, Su Qingyao could discern no trace of focused gaze.

Her naturally dilated pupils destined those eyes never to shimmer with sparkling light.

All the mental preparation she had made beforehand instantly vanished.

Upon seeing those dull, lifeless eyes, Su Qingyao’s initial sensation was certainly not discomfort or fear.

Instead, a strange pang of pain gripped her chest.

A profound emotion, unlike anything Su Qingyao had ever experienced, welled up in her chest, stubbornly refusing to dissipate.

“Uh, that.”

The nervous words tumbled out from cherry lips, one by one.

The girl slowly spoke:

“Uncle Chen said, Mama, you’re awake.

So, I came, came to see you.”

It was only at the moment she truly faced her daughter.

All her mental preparations were utterly torn to shreds.

Su Qingyao sat up from the hospital bed, nodding gently towards her daughter, Su Muxue.

Then, she opened her arms, embracing the fledgling bird that flew into her embrace.