Chapter 42: The Magical Girl’s Bold Embrace

How could such a beautiful girl be at their school?

No one knew.

Yet, this beautiful girl had undeniably embraced their physical education teacher.

Liu Xingyue, witnessing this scene, froze instantly.

While others were clueless about her identity, how could Liu Xingyue not recognize her?

This was clearly Magical Girl Ink Crystal!

He Yao, having transformed into a magical girl to approach Lin Han, harbored the intention of luring out the masked monsters. Thus, she hadn’t deliberately concealed her aura.

Naturally, she knew Liu Xingyue might recognize her as Ink Crystal, but what did it matter?

Liu Xingyue, after all, didn’t know the true identity of Magical Girl Ink Crystal.

Furthermore, the relationship between Ink Crystal and Emerald was merely an acquaintance. While her sudden appearance beside Lin Han seemed abrupt, who was to say a magical girl couldn’t fall in love?

As a mental health counselor, Teacher Lin had encountered Magical Girl Ink Crystal during past therapy sessions. Was it truly so strange for such a girl to develop feelings for him?

Considering all these factors, she believed she could perfectly well appear before Liu Xingyue in Ink Crystal’s guise.

Despite her reasoning,

When she embraced Lin Han, her peripheral vision caught Liu Xingyue’s stunned expression.

A wave of profound embarrassment washed over her. Her sense of shame surged forth.

‘How to describe it?’ she pondered. ‘Though it’s to assist Teacher Lin and to bait those masked monsters, yet… yet this… am I truly seducing another man right in front of his girlfriend?’

She finally realized how outrageous and brazen this whole situation was.

Yet, Ink Crystal was a formidable character. After a brief flush of shame, she realized she absolutely couldn’t back down now, or her entire plan would unravel.

Thus, despite her crimson cheeks and boundless guilt, she had no choice but to continue the charade.

‘It’s fine,’ she told herself. ‘It’s just like actors on a screen. You can’t take acting seriously. Just because they’re a couple in a drama doesn’t mean they have to be one in real life, does it? There’s no logic to that.’

With this thought, she finally managed to calm her turbulent heart.

Ultimately, she was inherently a ‘chūnibyō’ type. Even before becoming a magical girl, if a strong gust of wind blew, she would extend her hand and exclaim, “Wind, heed my call!” [TL Note: ‘Chūnibyō’ (中二病) refers to a common Japanese term for adolescents who have delusions of grandeur, believing they possess hidden powers or knowledge.]

And if, by chance, a breeze happened to follow, she would feel an immense thrill—that kind of person.

On the scorching summer sports field, the girl clung to the tall, robust man. Her soft body pressed against his muscular frame, creating a scene where, for a moment, onlookers didn’t know who to envy more.

At this moment, Ink Crystal finally released Lin Han. “Teacher Lin~ did you miss me~? I’m your little Mo~”

She blinked, her girlish eyes twinkling as if with tiny stars.

Lin Han knew the performance had begun.

‘By the way,’ he thought, ‘what exactly is a ‘little Mo’?’

“Little Mo! Mind your distance!”

“Oh~ Teacher is so cold~ I only hugged you because I missed you so much~ Don’t you like it, Teacher?”

This felt genuinely dangerous, didn’t it? Lin Han felt as though someone was subtly scratching his name off his teaching certificate with a small knife.

‘This plan is no good,’ Lin Han thought.

That was Lin Han’s personal assessment.

Ink Crystal, however, clearly didn’t share his view.

She had already noticed Liu Yun approaching them.

‘Teacher Liu has truly been secretly watching Teacher Lin all this time…’ she mused.

Just as Liu Xingyue had recognized Ink Crystal at a glance, Liu Yun evidently had as well.

From afar, seeing a girl embrace Lin Han, the smile vanished instantly from Liu Yun’s face. She was just about to march over and demand to know which class this student belonged to!

Only to discover it was a colleague of sorts! Magical Girl Ink Crystal!

‘This truly is an insolent one!’ she fumed. ‘This magical girl has only just debuted, and instead of honing her abilities, she’s thinking about romance! And targeting *her* Teacher Lin, no less!’

‘Too arrogant!’

She had initially thought being a magical girl was an advantage. She had only just told Teacher Lin about it yesterday, and now another magical girl had popped up today!

Lost in thought, she had already arrived before the two.

“Teacher Lin, which class is this student from?”

She feigned not recognizing Ink Crystal.

Ink Crystal blinked. “You must be Teacher Liu, right? Hello, Teacher Liu~”

“Which class are you in?”

“Oh~ Teacher Liu, have I done something wrong? You’re asking for my class, are you going to complain to my teacher?”

That was precisely what Liu Yun had intended, but with Ink Crystal voicing it, she found herself at a loss for words. “Why would I do such a thing? I’m asking you, why were you hugging Teacher Lin just now?”

“Oh~ Isn’t physical education class coming up? My teacher asked me to invite Teacher Lin to join our class~” She recalled the ‘assassination’ mission she’d received that morning regarding Teacher Lin.

‘Speaking of which, Teacher Liu is really quite ruthless…’ she mused. ‘Could it be that she wants me to ‘assassinate’ Teacher Lin, then take care of him afterward to gain some goodwill?’

‘How despicable!’

This was her projecting her own petty thoughts onto a noble person.

Liu Yun knew perfectly well that He Yao couldn’t possibly ‘assassinate’ Lin Han, which was precisely why she’d assigned He Yao this task. After all, if it had been anyone else, they might genuinely try to assassinate Teacher Lin.

Thus, giving this task was essentially the same as not assigning He Yao any task at all.

She probably hadn’t anticipated He Yao would ‘repay kindness with enmity,’ and secretly label her as ‘despicable.’

“Requesting Teacher Lin to join is perfectly understandable, but as a sensible high school student, embracing your teacher like that—what kind of decorum is that? Even if you don’t care, what about Teacher Lin? Do you know that your actions could affect Teacher Lin’s reputation? It could make everyone question his professional ethics.”

Her words were heartfelt.

For an excellent teacher like Lin Han, having his reputation tarnished by such an incident could potentially lead to him losing his job.

Her tone was quite severe at this moment.

Lin Han then interjected, “Teacher Liu, little Mo’s actions were unintentional. I actually knew little Mo before; we’re friends. Please don’t blame her any further.”

“It’s precisely because you indulge these children too much, Teacher Lin, that you always lack authority!”

Liu Yun shot Lin Han a glare, then fixed her gaze on Ink Crystal. “You, come with me to the office. We need to have a serious talk about this!”

“Teacher Liu…”

“Teacher Lin also needs to pay more attention to his own words and actions! If any troublesome rumors spread, it could damage the reputation of all the teachers in the school!”

“This! Then I’ll come with you both!”

“No need! Someone is looking for you, aren’t they?”

‘Looking for me?’

Lin Han turned his head and saw Liu Xingyue approaching.

‘Ah…’ Lin Han suddenly thought, ‘Ink Crystal’s idea was indeed a terrible one. This is definitely going to cause trouble!’

‘Are the gains truly commensurate with the effort?’

Ink Crystal, for her part, obediently followed Liu Yun to the office.

‘Anyway, Teacher Liu doesn’t know who I really am!’ she mused.

She even winked at Lin Han.

“Watch how I battle Teacher Liu!”

As the saying goes, by putting on a mask, she had, in fact, taken off her mask!

Having just convinced herself, Ink Crystal now felt she had transformed into a true ‘normie’—someone living a fulfilling life—and there was nothing, not even a teacher, that she needed to fear! [TL Note: ‘Normie’ (现充) is an internet slang term referring to someone who lives a fulfilling real-life, often with a good social life or romantic relationships, in contrast to someone who spends most of their time online.]

After all! She was a magical girl!

Liu Yun led her into the small dorm room where she resided.

This was understandable; presumably, Liu Yun didn’t want to genuinely scold someone in the office. ‘Come to think of it,’ she mused, ‘my last visit here was about Lin Han’s situation with Liu Xingyue. I didn’t expect to be back so soon.’

A glimmer of eagerness shone in her eyes!

‘Today, I’ll tell Teacher Liu! If we’re talking about love for Teacher Lin, mine is ten thousand times hers!’

Of course, she was only joking.

Nevertheless, she understood Teacher Lin far better than Teacher Liu did. Though it was a bit cunning, defeating Teacher Liu wasn’t truly what she desired, but…

‘Since it’s Teacher Lin’s wish, then I must help him fulfill it!’

Then, her face was suddenly pinched.

“Teacher Liu?!”

“Magical Girl Ink Crystal, aren’t you? Instead of properly being a magical girl, you come running to our school to seduce our teacher? What exactly do you think you’re doing?! Huh?”

“Eh?!!”

‘Why does she know me? Eh?’ she thought. ‘And her grip is so strong! My face hurts so much!’

‘Could it be! Teacher Liu is one of those masked monsters? A powerful, physical-type monster!?’

‘Crap!’

‘At this distance, I can’t use Sting! This is very, very bad! If I were to unleash my power now, Liu Xingyue could rush over. Two against one isn’t without a chance…’

Then she saw a light glow around Liu Yun.

She transformed into Magical Girl Amethyst.

Ink Crystal’s pupils constricted violently!

She immediately knelt down and bowed her head in submission.

“I’m sorry! Teacher Liu, I was wrong! Please forgive me! I shouldn’t have done this!”

‘What a joke! Any other magical girl would be one thing, but this is Amethyst! I can’t possibly withstand that Amethyst Storm. Even Sheep Mask couldn’t find a single hero shard after being caught in it!’

‘This senior magical girl’s power is unbelievably strong!’

Amethyst folded her arms across her chest, looking down at Ink Crystal. “Ink Crystal, come on, tell me! Who are you? Which class are you in? What’s your relationship with Teacher Lin?”

‘No, my civilian identity must absolutely not be exposed!’ she thought.

‘If it’s exposed, I’ll never be able to show my face again! She absolutely cannot let anyone know her identity! Absolutely not!’

‘Although Teacher Lin already knows, he’ll keep my secret!’

‘If Teacher Liu finds out, my life will definitely become utterly miserable! No matter what, I can’t expose myself.’

“Haha~ Teacher Liu, what are you saying? Actually, I’m not a student at your esteemed school. I just wanted to see Teacher Lin, so I changed into this outfit and tricked the gatekeeper into letting me in.”

“And why did you come in as a magical girl?”

“Because… I look much better as a magical girl. My original form isn’t very pretty… I think Teacher Lin would prefer my magical girl appearance.”

This was, indeed, a plausible explanation.