Chapter 27: Unexpected Escort and Magical Girl Cards

On Friday, at half past four in the afternoon, Zhang Qingwei sat idly at his workstation, scrolling through webpages.

He glanced at the clock, noting that only half an hour remained until he could punch out and make his dash for home.

From his school days, longing for dismissal, to his working life, anticipating the end of the day, Zhang Qingwei’s unwavering desire to return home had remained constant.

Though his weekends often lacked any particular agenda, the simple luxury of idly passing the time with a clear conscience was, at times, a profound pleasure.

Just as he was silently savoring this ‘transition period,’ the office door creaked open.

He instinctively minimized his browser and switched back to his document, his actions so practiced they seemed to have been refined over a thousand trials.

‘Ah, what a bother,’ Director Qi sighed as she entered, phone still pressed to her ear.

She settled into the workstation beside Zhang Qingwei, continuing her conversation.

‘What’s troubling you, Sis?’ Zhang Qingwei asked casually, tilting his head slightly.

He observed her leaning back against the chair, her face etched with weariness.

Director Qi, though just past forty, possessed an appearance that belied her true age, making her seem considerably younger.

As his office supervisor, she was known for her easygoing nature, devoid of any pretense of authority.

She consistently assigned tasks that aligned with his capabilities and personality, making her, in essence, a colleague and leader he held in high regard.

‘The higher-ups just sprang a meeting on us, and it’s set to last about two hours,’ she explained.

‘And I still need to take my child to class shortly after that. Can you believe the timing? It’s all happening at once!’

Director Qi grumbled under her breath as she began gathering the necessary meeting materials.

‘Is there anything I can assist with?’ Zhang Qingwei offered, asking for the names of the attending leaders and the meeting’s title.

With practiced ease, he quickly designed a meeting banner and printed a sign-in sheet, which he then handed to her.

‘Oh, thanks, Zhang’er, but don’t trouble yourself,’ she replied.

‘You can head home when your shift ends; I’ll manage the meeting. My only concern is arranging for my son to get to class.’

Director Qi then dialed another number, evidently to consult with her son.

Yet, her expression suggested that the conversation was not unfolding as favorably as she had hoped.

–Did the school send out more materials today? Is it a lot? Hmm…–

–Yes, I likely won’t be finished until around seven or eight. How about you catch a ride with… you know, that person? Doesn’t he have class today too—He’s sick? Oh, dear…–

Noting her obvious distress, Zhang Qingwei pondered for a moment before offering a solution: ‘Sis, perhaps I could take him to his class?’

‘Just let me know the time and address.’

Director Qi paused, surprised. ‘Oh, that would be far too much trouble for you. No, no, you’ve had a long week and must be exhausted, Xiao Zhang. Please, head home.’

‘It’s truly no trouble, Sis,’ Zhang Qingwei reassured her. ‘I don’t have any pressing plans at home anyway.’

‘And it would be quite inconvenient for your son to carry all his things to class by himself. I’ll gladly take him.’

After a brief, polite exchange of refusals, Zhang Qingwei ultimately accepted the task.

His duties now encompassed picking up the child, escorting him to class, sharing a meal, and finally ensuring he arrived home safely.

Following this, a sum of money was transferred to him, intended to cover both transportation and meal expenses, including his own portion, which Zhang Qingwei accepted without a moment’s hesitation.

‘Then I’m truly imposing upon you, Xiao Zhang,’ Director Qi said, her eyes alight with genuine gratitude. ‘I’m counting on you.’

‘Leave it to me, Sis,’ he responded. ‘You’ll have enough on your plate with the meeting.’

****

Ten minutes before clock-out, he powered down his computer, descended to change, and punched his card precisely at the main building’s entrance.

Zhang Qingwei then set off, walking briskly towards the elementary school marked on his phone’s map.

Around five o’clock marked the peak of dismissal time.

Fortunately, the elementary school was conveniently situated just off the main street and not far, allowing Zhang Qingwei to arrive well within the bustling period.

The school gate teemed with activity, a noisy tapestry woven from parents, security guards, and students.

Rather than pushing through the main throng, Zhang Qingwei opted for a less conspicuous spot at a slightly more distant street corner.

He leaned against a lamppost, patiently observing the scene.

Director Qi had, on several occasions, brought her son to company lunches, affording Zhang Qingwei a faint recollection of the boy’s appearance.

Moreover, she had instructed her son to seek him out today, meaning Zhang Qingwei simply needed to position himself in a readily noticeable spot.

Indeed, his height proved quite advantageous in such a crowded environment.

In less than five minutes, a somewhat familiar face emerged from the school gate, a backpack slung over their shoulders and something clutched in their hand.

‘Hey, Xiao Hao, over here!’ Zhang Qingwei called out, waving as he approached.

‘Oh, thank you, Unc—Brother!’ The child swiftly corrected himself.

Noticing the man extend a hand for the backpack on his shoulder, he naturally slid the bulging bag off.

‘Brother, how will we get there later?’

‘Your mother instructed me to buy your ticket; we’ll be taking the subway,’ Zhang Qingwei explained, hoisting the backpack onto his own shoulder.

He then took another bag from Xiao Hao’s grasp.

‘What a familiar weight,’ he mused inwardly. ‘They claim schools have been reducing the burden on children for years now, but it appears the weight of this backpack hasn’t lessened by a single ounce.’

–Oh… alright.–

At this tender age, elementary school students typically wear their thoughts plainly on their faces.

Zhang Qingwei readily grasped Xiao Hao’s unspoken sentiment: the subway would undoubtedly be uncomfortably crowded at this time.

In the progressively warmer weather, with no air conditioning yet, the journey would likely be far from enjoyable.

Conveniently, they found themselves in complete agreement on this particular point.

‘That being said, how about we take a taxi instead?’ Zhang Qingwei proposed. ‘That way, you can relax a bit during the ride.’

–That sounds great! But, Brother, is that really allowed? I don’t think Mom told you to take a taxi.–

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Zhang Qingwei countered. ‘Your mother often looks out for me too. Besides, this way, we’ll both have an easier time of it. So, are we going?’

‘Let’s go, let’s go!’ Xiao Hao’s spirits instantly lifted, and he followed Zhang Qingwei, grinning, as they exited the throng.

With a few taps on his phone, Zhang Qingwei summoned a car, and soon he and Xiao Hao were comfortably seated inside.

‘Brother, can you drive?’ Xiao Hao inquired, settling naturally beside him in the back seat and initiating conversation.

‘I do possess a license,’ Zhang Qingwei admitted, ‘but I’ve scarcely ever laid hands on a steering wheel.’

–Why not, Brother? I think driving is really enjoyable, and you can travel to so many distant places!–

‘To each their own, I suppose,’ Zhang Qingwei replied. ‘I often see your mother sharing photos and videos of the two of you enjoying outings.’

‘However, I tend to stick to wandering around the city, and usually I’m too disinclined to venture far from home. In such instances, the subway proves perfectly adequate.’

–So, Brother, do you have a girlfriend?–

Zhang Qingwei cast a fleeting glance at him, his expression utterly unreadable. ‘What do you think?’

Xiao Hao scrutinized Zhang Qingwei for a moment before shaking his head. ‘I don’t believe you do.’

‘Then congratulations, you’ve answered correctly,’ Zhang Qingwei said with a wry smile. ‘Just promise me you won’t become like your brother when you grow up.’

This particular topic seemed to spark the driver’s interest.

He launched into a lament about his own children remaining unmarried, then pivoted to how contemporary youth seemed disinclined to pursue relationships, citing the ‘changing times’ and similar sentiments.

Zhang Qingwei offered a few agreeable murmurs in response.

–Brother, do you play video games?–

‘I dabble in a few, yes,’ Zhang Qingwei replied. ‘Why do you ask? Your mother specifically warned me, a thousand times over, not to let you play with my phone, and I intend to abide by that strictly.’

–No, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s this; let me show you.–

Reaching into his backpack, Xiao Hao mysteriously produced a pencil case.

Upon opening it, Zhang Qingwei discovered it had a double-layered design.

From the bottom compartment, Xiao Hao retrieved several cards and extended them to Zhang Qingwei.

–Brother, take a look at these.–

Zhang Qingwei initially assumed they were the collectible trading cards featuring special effects heroes, popular among elementary school children.

However, as he took the cards into his hand, he was surprised to find the images depicted on them were, in fact, quite familiar.

‘Magical Girls?’

Clutched in his hand were several Magical Girl cards.

Based on the insignia and certain descriptions, they appeared to be derivatives of a card-battling game.

–Brother, you don’t know? This is a really popular game lately!– Xiao Hao exclaimed, pointing to the cards in Zhang Qingwei’s hand as he began his explanation.

–This one is my absolute favorite, ‘Anaconda.’ She’s incredibly powerful! Look, her effect is… and if you pair her with this equipment card…–

Once a topic he cherished was broached, Xiao Hao became an unstoppable torrent of words.

Zhang Qingwei, refraining from interruption, simply listened intently, offering an occasional nod of acknowledgment.

In the process, he gleaned an understanding of the game’s rules.

Its mechanics bore a resemblance to a certain card game that Qin Ye was utterly engrossed in—one involving summoning monsters through diverse means to engage in combat.

However, given that an elementary schooler like Xiao Hao could grasp it so readily, the difficulty was likely considerably lower; at the very least, the card descriptions were comprehensible with a single reading.

Xiao Hao then produced additional cards, most of which depicted Magical Girls Zhang Qingwei vaguely remembered.

Among them were even several Magical Girls he had personally confronted in battle.

Xiao Hao’s favorite, Anaconda, for instance—that tall girl with a dark green high ponytail, clad in scale-patterned battle armor—was nothing short of a raging lunatic in combat, far more monstrous than her stylized card image implied.

In reality, these Magical Girls served as hunters, battling Corrupteds (TL Note: ‘负蚀体’ literally means ‘negative corroded body,’ referring to the monstrous entities in this world), embodying the very essence of justice.

Yet, in the innocent hands of these children, they had been reduced to mere symbolic figures of entertainment.

‘So, Magical Girls are now trending among elementary school students?’ he mused. ‘That’s quite an unexpected development.’

As Zhang Qingwei sifted through Xiao Hao’s substantial stack of cards, he noticed one whose craftsmanship distinctly surpassed the rest.

‘This must be one of those ‘foil cards,’ he surmised.

He glanced at the Magical Girl’s codename: ‘Zhuohua.’

Zhang Qingwei admired the beautiful girl on the card, seemingly dancing with flames, before handing the card back to Xiao Hao.

–Brother, this one is super powerful! I only pulled this ‘Face Flash’ Zhuohua half a month ago.

Back then, someone in class even offered to trade an entire team of other cards for her, but I refused! Everyone knows Zhuohua is Jingping’s strongest Magical Girl.–

‘Zhuohua? Shouldn’t Polaris be the strongest in our Jingping City?’ the driver in the front seat interjected suddenly, a hint of skepticism in his tone.

Xiao Hao, while tidying his cards, replied, –Polaris? My friend has her card, but I don’t think she’s all that strong.–

‘Little brother, you can’t always judge by the cards alone. When it comes to this, I have something to say,’ the driver announced, seizing the opportunity while stopped at a red light. ‘The Fenglai Building incident—I was there! I witnessed it firsthand.’

Xiao Hao shook his head, while Zhang Qingwei’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He remained silent, allowing the driver to continue.

‘Little brother, you wouldn’t know, but before that, I also thought Magical Girls were far removed from our lives.’

‘But on that day, when everyone in the building and I thought our lives were forfeit—I was even about to call my wife to say goodbye—Polaris saved us.’

‘She protected all of our lives, and without her and her team, I wouldn’t be here driving this car today.’

Xiao Hao listened intently, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face. –Could it be… she really is that powerful?–

‘Of course she is!’ the driver asserted firmly. ‘All those fights and battles shown on TV are nothing. True strength is when you think ‘It’s over,’ and then someone appears before you and protects you.’

‘What do you think, young man?’ the driver suddenly directed the question to Zhang Qingwei.

A brief silence settled in the car.

Zhang Qingwei gazed out the window, his lips moving slightly, his voice calm: ‘…Yes, I also think she’s quite strong.’

He offered no further words, knowing more would only add to the awkwardness.

The driver continued to ramble about ‘young people not believing in heroes,’ ‘Magical Girls becoming increasingly commercialized,’ and ‘kids only caring about the spectacle.’

Xiao Hao, meanwhile, listened while idly shuffling his cards.

Zhang Qingwei understood the driver’s perspective.

For those who experienced the Fenglai Building incident firsthand, Polaris’s magic was indeed a miracle.

People often failed to grasp what magic truly offered merely from stories of Magical Girls defeating Corrupteds.

Yet, on that specific day, at that precise moment, Polaris, through her magic, unequivocally demonstrated the meaning of ‘protection.’

She had, single-handedly, saved numerous lives, a tangible truth in the eyes of many.

Consequently, some even regarded her as a deity.

‘How could there be such a foolish and weak god?’ he thought.

His gaze pierced through the car window, landing on the increasingly distinct outline of the Fenglai Building.

The setting sun glinted off its glass facade, shimmering like molten gold.

‘A true deity would not collapse into despair after every rescue,’ he mused.

Precisely because he knew these truths, he never subscribed to the narrative of ‘divinity.’

They were not gods; they were living, breathing Magical Girls, susceptible to breaking.

And he knew that such breakdowns and suffering would never be etched onto a flimsy little card.

–Brother, do you have any favorite Magical Girls?– Xiao Hao looked up and asked him.

Zhang Qingwei paused for a second, then shook his head.

‘No, I’m not interested in Magical Girls.’

He watched the receding glass towers, utterly uninterested in ‘miracles’ that could so easily fall.