Chapter 4: The Secret Identity and the Client’s Claim

Gu Qing gasped, a sharp intake of breath.

“You heard all that?”

“Yes, I heard the content of your argument.” Xia Xingyan’s expression remained unchanged, as she calmly stated.

“But I will go to the school myself, explain to her personally, and diligently clear up the misunderstanding.”

Gu Qing’s mouth opened and closed, yet not a single word escaped him.

He watched as the old security door creaked shut, and the world once again descended into a deathly silence.

This sensation was far more suffocating to Gu Qing than any argument could ever be.

Rising to his feet, he walked to the balcony and lit a cigarette.

The nicotine flooded his lungs, yet it failed to dispel the pervasive chill.

His hands trembled violently.

****

Days earlier.

Inside the convenience store, a small television set was broadcasting the evening news.

“…The city’s new Magical Girl, Blazing Rose, successfully repelled a Void Beast once again last night, safeguarding the peace of the South City Commercial Street. Citizens have expressed…”

Gu Qing’s hands, which had been tidying the shelves, froze in mid-air.

On the television screen, an adorable Magical Girl struck a victorious pose for the camera.

That somewhat familiar face, coupled with the stance so reminiscent of his wife, Blazing Sun…

It was Qianqian.

Gu Qing instantly recognized his daughter, and the blood in his veins practically turned to ice.

That night, Gu Qing, for once, did not drink.

After waiting for his daughter to fall into a deep sleep, he found himself inexplicably drawn to her room.

The room was plastered with posters, all featuring the Magical Girl Blazing Sun.

They covered the bedside, the desk, the bookshelf—they were everywhere.

He picked up the phone his daughter had left on her bedside table.

He entered a series of numbers onto the screen.

It was his wife’s birthday.

The screen illuminated.

He tapped open the green chat application, and a pinned group chat immediately caught his eye.

The golden shield emblem behind the group name, the insignia of the GSA, stung his eyes.

He tapped on it.

[GSA Linhai City C-Squad]

[Captain Qin Lan: Gu Qianqian, you completed today’s mission exceptionally well. Your energy control has improved significantly since last time. Congratulations on passing the final assessment and officially becoming a GSA-affiliated Magical Girl, codenamed ‘Blazing Rose’.]

[Received! Thank you, Instructor!]

[Teammate Xiaolu: Qianqian, you’re amazing!]

Gu Qing’s breath hitched.

His hands trembling, he opened his daughter’s photo album.

The most recent photograph plunged him into an icy abyss.

In the photo, the Magical Girl Blazing Rose stood atop a towering skyscraper, her victorious pose an exact replica of Blazing Sun’s, with the city’s myriad lights twinkling behind her.

A caption accompanied the photograph.

“Mom, I did it.”

The phone slipped from Gu Qing’s grasp, hitting the floor with a muffled thud.

Anger?

No, that word utterly failed to capture the depth of his feelings.

Seventeen years ago, the inferno that had consumed everything, the body that had grown cold in his arms, the very genesis of his own collapse—all surged over him once more.

“A hero? What a joke.”

On the balcony, Gu Qing pressed the cigarette butt firmly against the railing.

“I will never let you stray down that path again!”

****

In front of the magnificent gates of Saint Sakura Noble Academy.

A black, top-tier luxury car pulled up to the curb, and Xia Xingyan stepped out.

Beads of sweat gleamed on the plump principal’s forehead in the morning light.

“Young Miss, my Young Miss, you’ve finally returned!” He was practically on the verge of tears. “The Xia family has nearly turned all of Linhai City upside down looking for you.”

“My affairs are none of their concern.”

Xia Xingyan’s voice was as cold as ice.

Without even a glance back at the principal, she walked directly into the campus.

The principal let out a sigh of relief, though his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Trembling, he fumbled an encrypted phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

The moment the call connected, he instantly adopted an utterly humble tone, his waist instinctively bending in a deferential bow.

“Master, the Young Miss has safely returned to school… Yes, yes, her mood appears quite stable, please rest assured.”

Only after hanging up the phone did the principal feel as though he had come back to life.

Serving the Xia family was truly more exhausting than serving an emperor.

****

During the break, the classroom for Class 3, Grade 1 was buzzing with activity.

A girl wearing a student council armband approached a solitary desk.

“Excuse me, are you Gu Qianqian?”

Gu Qianqian, who had been napping at her desk, was disturbed and reluctantly lifted her head.

“The Student Council President requests your presence.”

The girl’s tone was polite, yet it carried an undeniable sense of command.

Gu Qianqian was taken aback.

“Why would the Student Council President want to see me?”

She had always been a loner at school; aside from her secret Magical Girl missions, she was just an ordinary student. How could she possibly be involved with the Student Council President?

Filled with suspicion, Gu Qianqian nevertheless followed the girl.

Leading her through several corridors she had never traversed, they arrived before a magnificent door crafted from top-grade mahogany.

A gilded plaque hung on the door.

[President’s Office]

Gu Qianqian pursed her lips. ‘Student Council President,’ she thought, ‘acting as if she’s a company CEO. What a show-off.’

With that thought, she pushed open the grand door.

The next second, she was utterly stunned.

‘This is no office,’ she thought.

‘This is clearly a viewing platform so opulent it’s outrageous!’

Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows stretched a breathtaking panorama of the entire Saint Sakura Noble Academy, with the distant city skyline clearly visible.

Behind the mahogany desk, a single figure sat with their back to her, occupying the chair that symbolized the highest student authority in the entire school.

Hearing the door open, the chair slowly turned.

The morning light, filtering through the glass, cast a soft halo around her waist-length black hair.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, with an ethereal coolness that seemed untouched by the mundane world.

‘It’s the person who was on my couch this morning!’ she realized.

Gu Qianqian’s mind went utterly blank.

“You… how are you here?”

Xia Xingyan gazed at her, her amber pupils reflecting an unruffled calm.

“Let’s discuss your father’s situation.”

This instantly made Gu Qianqian bristle.

“My dad? What right do you have to talk about my dad? Who are you to him?”

She stormed to the desk, slamming both hands forcefully onto its surface.

Xia Xingyan didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

She raised a hand, gently tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, and slowly began to speak.

“If I absolutely had to put a label on it, I suppose I’m his client.”

“Client? Do you take me for a fool?”

Gu Qianqian choked on the reply, her fury blazing even brighter.

She felt her intelligence had been insulted.

“I bought a photograph,” Xia Xingyan calmly explained. “It cost me all the money I had, leaving me with nowhere to stay.”

“A photograph? What kind of photograph could possibly cost you all your money? Don’t think I’ll believe…”

“Those details are not important.”

Xia Xingyan cut her off.

“What’s important is that your father saved my life.”

“Saved you?”

Gu Qianqian laughed, her voice rising several pitches.

“That drunkard? How could he have saved you? Did he pour you a glass of his prized whiskey and tell you not to do anything foolish?”

Gu Qianqian’s tone was laced with bitterness, a hard shell she had spent years building around herself to face Gu Qing.

Xia Xingyan watched her, remaining silent for a moment.

Finally, a ripple disturbed the calm of her pupils.