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Join the ServerHad this pink-haired form possessed any real strength, Tian Lanxing would have long since stormed out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building, rather than lingering here, wasting time with her.
Qin Lan awkwardly cleared her throat, attempting to salvage a shred of her composure.
“Ahem, I was compelled to do it. If you’re looking for trouble, take it up with Director Zhou; every single order came directly from him.”
The young woman let out a dismissive huff, then spun on her heel and departed, unwilling to cast even a single glance back at her.
Watching Tian Lanxing’s furious retreat, Qin Lan sighed in resignation before pulling out her phone and making a call.
“Director, mission accomplished.”
****
Thus, another two days elapsed.
Behind the counter of Gu Qing’s convenience store, the pink-haired young woman sat listlessly.
In the days since, she had attempted countless transformations, yet that accursed four-sided die remained stubbornly fixed on the pink heart face, refusing to revert.
To make matters worse, she discovered this form rendered her utterly mundane, incapable of even stirring her star power. Even her ‘day’ form, usually her weakest, surpassed this current state.
The melodious chime of the wind bell announced a new arrival.
An elderly woman, clutching a vegetable basket and the landlady of the shop, stepped inside.
“Oh, dear, a new face, little one?”
“The boss is occupied,” the young woman replied listlessly. “I’m his newly hired cashier.”
“Newly hired?” The old woman’s brow furrowed in greater confusion. “Just recently, he was practically begging me to defer the rent, claiming poverty. How, then, has he suddenly acquired the funds to employ someone?”
A cold dread settled in the young woman’s stomach.
‘Damn it, I said the wrong thing!’
Unaware of her distress, the landlady continued to murmur to herself.
“Next time I see him, I’ll have to ask him properly.”
With that, she grabbed a bottle of soy sauce, scanned it, paid, and departed, humming a cheerful tune.
Silence once again descended upon the convenience store.
The young woman, vexed, ran her fingers through her long, pink hair.
“Argh! This is infuriating!”
This accursed form had even diminished her intelligence, causing her to fumble her words!
Just recently, her daughter’s application for boarding school had devoured nearly all her remaining funds for the accommodation fees.
Now, the next time she encountered the landlady, she would be at a complete loss for an explanation.
Life was utterly unbearable!
At that precise moment, the midday program playing on the small television mounted on the wall was abruptly interrupted by an emergency broadcast.
“Latest news from this station: Today at 10 AM, GSA Asia headquarters held an emergency press conference, officially announcing…”
The scene shifted to Qin Lan, clad in military uniform, standing beneath a spotlight with a grave expression.
Her voice, carried by the television, resonated into every corner of the world.
“The legend of seventeen years past has not faded; the strongest magical girl, ‘Tian Lanxing’, has officially made her return in recent days!”
The young woman stared at the television, her face darkening to a terrifying degree.
Snatching a nearby beer, she chugged it down in several large gulps, attempting to quell the surge of fury boiling within her.
‘Return, my ass!’
‘Qin Lan, I truly misjudged you.’
‘To think I once considered you a comrade-in-arms, someone I’d faced life and death alongside!’
‘Just you wait!’
‘Once I’ve recovered, you’ll be the very first person I come for!’
As the young woman was consumed by her burning rage, plotting how best to exact her revenge on that woman, a frantic phone ringtone abruptly pierced the air.
It was the dedicated phone belonging to her Bai Shiyu identity.
Immediately, the young woman’s expression hardened into a menacing scowl.
‘Only one person, she knew, possessed this particular number.’
‘Qin Lan, how dare you even call me!’
She snatched up the phone, hitting the answer button without a glance, poised to unleash all the pent-up frustrations of the past few days in one furious torrent.
“Hello! You motherfucker, do you actually have the gall to call me?! Are you looking for a death wish?!”
Yet, from the other end of the line, only silence met her outburst.
There was no trace of the anticipated apology.
“What, cat got your tongue? Playing dead, are we?!”
The young woman’s temper flared further, and, hands on her hips, she continued her tirade.
“Do you actually imagine you’ve got me cornered? Let me tell you something! Once I…”
Just as she was hitting her stride in the rant, a faint stir finally emanated from the other end of the call.
“Senior… I’m sorry… did I upset you?”
Confronted by her idol’s bewildering accusations, Gu Qianqian felt an overwhelming sense of injustice, her voice trembling with a nascent sob.
“If… if I somehow displeased you at the academy before, I truly apologize…”
The young woman froze, utterly stunned.
The furious scowl on her face vanished in an instant, supplanted by a ghastly pallor.
‘How would Gu Qianqian know this number?’
‘What had she just done?’
‘Had she just unleashed a furious, head-on tirade against her own daughter, the very girl who worshipped her as an idol, a beacon of faith?’
‘It’s over.’
“No, no, no, it’s not!”
The young woman frantically stammered explanations into the receiver.
“I wasn’t cursing you; I was cursing Qin Lan! She’s driven me absolutely mad, it has nothing to do with you, so please don’t misunderstand!”
On the other end, Gu Qianqian fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly processing the abrupt shift in tone.
“Really?” she asked softly.
“Absolutely! I never lie!”
Forcing herself to regain her composure, she continued, her voice as gentle as she could possibly make it.
“So… Qianqian, wasn’t it? How did you come to know this number?”
“Group Leader Qin told me.”
Her daughter’s voice, however, still carried a note of dejection.
“I pleaded with her for ages before Group Leader Qin finally relented and gave me your contact information…”
‘Qin Lan! It’s Qin Lan again!’
The young woman mentally added another tally mark against Qin Lan.
‘She truly doesn’t think I have enough on my plate, does she?’
“So, is there something you needed me for?”
The young woman asked cautiously, terrified of uttering another misstep.
On the other end of the line, Gu Qianqian drew a deep breath, steeling her resolve.
“Se-Senior…”
Her voice trembled noticeably.
“I can and you meet me?”
‘Meet?’
‘Absolutely not!’
The young woman’s immediate instinct was to refuse.
‘In her current awkward state, she wanted to avoid everyone.’
‘Until she reverted to her usual self, her only desire was to remain confined within the convenience store.’
“This…”
Just as she was about to concoct an excuse, Gu Qianqian, as if sensing the impending rejection, spoke with a voice steeped in profound disappointment.
“Ah… I’m sorry, Senior…”
Her voice was laced with self-reproach, a tell-tale sniffle suggesting she was on the verge of tears.
“I… I was far too presumptuous… I apologize deeply for disturbing you…”
“I… I’m hanging up now…”
The sound of her daughter’s voice, brimming with unshed tears, pierced the young woman’s heart.
She recalled the heated argument she’d had with her daughter just days prior.
For the past two days, whenever the young woman replayed that scene in her mind, a heavy ache settled in her chest.
She knew her words had been too severe, her actions too extreme.
The young woman yearned to apologize, to tell her daughter, ‘Your dad doesn’t not love you; he’s just terrified of losing you.’
Yet, her pride wouldn’t allow her to humble herself.
Especially now, trapped within this accursed pink-haired form, she felt utterly lost on how to face her daughter.
‘She had initially only sought to escape, but now, escape was no longer an option.’
‘Perhaps she was a poor father, but she could, at the very least, be a good idol for her daughter.’
“Wait!”
In the final second before Gu Qianqian could end the call, the young woman blurted out.
“If you wish to meet, then yes, we can.”
“Really?!”
The disbelief and delight radiating from the other end of the line made the young woman’s own heart flutter in response.
“You may choose the time and place. Simply send me the details once you’ve decided.”
“Alright, alright. Thank you so, so much!”
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Lich’s Journey in Another World After Reincarnation! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Lich’s Journey in Another World After Reincarnation
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