Chapter 5: The Unforeseen Alliance

It was only after Su Qingyao had made up her mind that she realized she had no way to contact Luzhichuan.

Oh, that certainly presented a problem.

As Su Qingyao mused, her hands continued to idly caress Su Muxue’s hair, inadvertently tangling the girl’s naturally silky strands into a mess.

The little girl walking beside her showed not a hint of displeasure.

Instead, she resembled a kitten seeking affection, diligently tilting her head back to nuzzle into Su Muxue’s palm.

Her vacant eyes comfortably narrowed.

‘Should I take things one step at a time, or make some noise to draw Senior Luzhichuan out?’

Su Qingyao muttered to herself, a hint of vexation in her voice.

Even though she hadn’t fully shed the ingrained patterns of male thought, her active life as a Magical Girl had long since taught her how to carry this ‘skin’ with an air of elegance.

Indeed, it was merely a shell.

Su Qingyao reaffirmed this conviction in her heart.

Ever since she had embraced the identity of a Magical Girl while still in a male body, her physical form had become nothing more than an ‘external possession,’ akin to clothing; this was the very premise upon which she could now live freely.

Just as donning a suit naturally straightened one’s posture, only by changing into work clothes could one comfortably wade through mud—

At least, that had been the case initially.

Yet, this didn’t prevent Su Qingyao from using it as a justification to persuade herself.

Since her past self had undergone a gender transformation out of necessity for the Blue Witch’s power,

then surely, obtaining a small ID card now, for the sake of giving Su Muxue a complete childhood, wasn’t such a difficult choice, was it?

As if!

Su Qingyao’s face contorted into an expression caught between a wry smile and a grimace.

If anything, it made it incredibly difficult for her to accept cohabiting with another man as ‘husband and wife’!

After all, beneath this skin resided the soul of a high school boy.

Throughout the remainder of their walk home, Su Qingyao found herself entangled in a web of conflicting emotions.

How to contact Luzhichuan, ironically, was entirely forgotten.

Su Qingyao trusted that the dependable Senior Hero would undoubtedly seek them out himself.

This, too, was a part of trust.

****

Su Muxue’s apartment was rather small.

According to Su Muxue, Booboo, the magical creature she was contracted with, would use magic to help with household chores.

They even occasionally helped her with grocery shopping, which sounded quite incredible.

Now, the apartment welcomed a third person, besides Booboo and the mother-daughter pair.

“You know, I didn’t want to come across like a stalker, squatting in a corner or hiding inside Su Muxue’s home.”

Luzhichuan sat primly on the living room sofa, his hands clasped squarely on his knees, presenting an image of utter sincerity.

Across from him, the black-haired girl, Su Qingyao, held a glass of cool plain water, her gaze sweeping over him repeatedly with suspicion.

If looks could kill, Luzhichuan felt he’d need to expend three or four layers of resurrection armor.

Oh, and given Su Qingyao’s gaze, it certainly wasn’t impossible for her eyes to kill.

In that case, Luzhichuan felt he still held some standing in the girl’s heart.

“Hah, heh-heh.”

Su Qingyao let out a pair of cold laughs, as if she had just heard the most outlandish joke, dramatically covering her mouth with her hand:

“So, this is why our esteemed Hero shoved his precious business card all the way from the community entrance into our apartment door crack?”

“To be precise, Booboo did it.”

Luzhichuan adopted an innocent expression. “I merely asked them to place the card somewhere you would see it.”

“As for the result, well, Qingyao, you see it before you.”

Oh… that explanation was somewhat plausible.

After all, magical creatures were known for their occasional flights of fancy and penchant for causing trouble.

Hm, wait a minute?

Su Qingyao realized a crucial detail.

“You know Su Muxue’s contracted partner?”

The girl suddenly recalled Muxue’s earlier account of how she had formed her Magical Girl contract:

[‘By the time I arrived, the big monster had already been defeated by a strange uncle.’]

So, Luzhichuan was the ‘strange uncle’ Muxue had mentioned. Su Qingyao, upon realizing this, let out a relieved laugh.

She hardly believed it was a mere coincidence.

“Senior Lu, you—had—this—all—planned—out, didn’t you?” It was only after Su Qingyao instinctively blurted out the accusation that she belatedly realized:

Whenever the topic of Su Muxue arose, her emotions seemed to surge with a subtle yet undeniable intensity.

Even though she knew Luzhichuan, as her companion, harbored no ill intentions towards Su Muxue, this remained true.

Was it a subtle sense of losing control, or perhaps a possessive urge concerning Su Muxue?

“Indeed.” Luzhichuan’s voice cut through Su Qingyao’s spiraling thoughts.

Despite the accusation, Luzhichuan remained unfazed.

In other words, his conscience was clear.

“Because when I first discovered her existence, I too harbored suspicions about this child, Qingyao. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

“A Cuckoo’s Child, is that what you mean?”

“Ah, precisely. To put it plainly, I don’t quite trust those who have left the front lines. They tend to grow lax in areas where vigilance is crucial.”

So, his thoughts mirrored Su Qingyao’s own.

“Hm… well then, I suppose you pass.”

After a long moment of consideration, Su Qingyao accepted the accused Luzhichuan’s defense.

Finally, it was Luzhichuan, his arms now crossed, who took the initiative to ask:

“So, Qingyao, what have you decided?”

“Hmph.”

The girl took a sip of plain water, letting out a disgruntled hum.

“Senior Lu, you should be aware of my true identity.”

Su Qingyao ‘kindly’ reminded him, “Oh, I almost forgot. We were good buddies, weren’t we, in the same club, rating campus beauties together?”

Su Qingyao, covering her mouth with a mischievous grin, deliberately emphasized the word ‘buddies,’ only to find the man across from her looking thoughtful, a smile playing on his lips:

“Indeed. Sometimes I do miss those days. Back then, we…”

“…”

“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Can I change my mind now?”

Su Qingyao crossed her arms over her chest, as if she had just witnessed something truly horrifying.

“Ahem, is there a possibility that what I missed was the sports field, the green grass, and our youth?”

“And not a bean sprout hiding in the dark corner of a classroom?”

For the first time in a long while, the Hero, usually unshaken even if Mount Tai crumbled before him, showed a faint crack in his perfectly composed expression.

“Oh, you should’ve said so earlier!”

Su Qingyao, feigning relief, patted her ample ‘maternal bosom’.

The exaggerated theatrics vanished in an instant, and both the Hero and the Blue Witch reverted to their serious demeanors.

“In any case, if we’re truly going through with this, I still have one question for you, Senior Lu:”

“Does your partner have any objections?”

“Hm…”

Luzhichuan pondered for a moment.

He lowered his head, seemingly lost in remembrance, or perhaps savoring a taste that was both bitter and endlessly profound:

“Of course.”

Finally, he uttered the weightless words:

“After all, my beloved is already gone.”

Luzhichuan was not lying.

Everything was as Su Qingyao had suspected.

“As for me, I simply wish to raise a child, to find something to occupy myself before I’m in the grave.”

Luzhichuan’s twelve years of restless activity had been nothing more than this.

****

“Oh, Muxue knows you.”

Su Muxue emerged from her bedroom, clutching a large plush dog, her eyes narrowed.

Though her gaze lacked focus, Luzhichuan knew she was looking at him.

“You’re the strange uncle.”

Su Muxue tilted her head, then broke into a joyful smile:

“Is the strange uncle the Daddy Mama talks about?”

“Ahem, just for now.” Luzhichuan’s face imperceptibly flushed a little as he squatted down, speaking to Su Muxue face-to-face:

“Only for a while, until Muxue grows up.”

“Aw, that’s too bad.”

Su Muxue beamed, a wide smile spreading across her face:

“Because Daddy smells so nice, Muxue really likes it.”

“So, Daddy will try his best?”

Luzhichuan carefully weighed his words, subtly winking under the watchful, protective gaze of Su Qingyao.

It was unclear whether Su Muxue had understood Luzhichuan’s words.

Or perhaps she simply found it amusing.

Su Muxue, in turn, fluttered her snowy white eyebrows.