“Yo, yo, the two busy bees have finally come home. Did you actually remember you have a sister waiting for you?”
As soon as they stepped inside, they saw Ye Xingling lounging on the sofa, one hand playing with her phone while the other stuffed potato chips from the coffee table into her mouth. Not far away sat a can of Happiness Water. Dressed in an oversized shirt and bare legs, she looked like a quintessential shut-in.
“Hmph. Anyway, we only have one class tomorrow, while someone else has a full day of classes starting at nine in the morning. How could we possibly be busier than her?”
Ye Xingyao took off her shoes, lined them up neatly by the door, and teased back.
“Hey! Big Brother, what is that supposed to mean?! Are you gloating? You’re definitely gloating!”
Ye Xingling put down her phone and glared fiercely at Ye Xingyao, who had turned his head away, pretending not to care.
“Big Brother, do you have no conscience? You obviously went through the same thing yourself, yet as soon as you got into college, you started ruthlessly mocking your high school sister. A tragic, thick barrier has already formed between us! Is this a case of the dragon slayer eventually becoming the dragon itself?!”
“Please. I’m the dragon slayer, so what does that make you? The white dragon horse? Your big brother’s grades were among the best. On the other hand, shouldn’t you put a little more heart into it?”
“No matter how you look at it, you shouldn’t come up with a boring excuse like—’I accidentally lost my schoolbag while watching magical girls fight.’ Right?”
“Heart? What heart? Are we having snacks?”
Ye Xingling was truly an expert at playing dumb.
That excuse was actually the truth; it was because of that incident that she had been chosen by the Magical Girl Gem and became a magical girl. Unfortunately, she couldn’t let Big Brother or Sister Shiyue know. They were just ordinary people and would only worry about her.
“Now you’re acting cute?!”
“Alright, Xingyao, Xingling, stop bickering. It’s late. Wash up and get some rest; you both have classes tomorrow.”
Yi Shiyue took the coat Ye Xingyao had removed and hung it on a nearby rack along with her own, offering a smiling persuasion.
“Big Brother! Look at Sister Shiyue! You grew up together, so how is the personality gap so huge!”
Ye Xingling wore a look of “hating that iron cannot become steel,” pouted, and stuffed the last of the potato chips into her mouth. She stood up from the sofa clutching her half-finished can of Happiness Water.
“Little Sister Xingling, do you want a big sister instead~?”
Ye Xingyao raised his voice to a falsetto, swaying his body and blowing a flirtatious kiss toward Ye Xingling, sending a wave of chills down the latter’s spine.
“Wow, how disgusting… Big Brother, when did you become like this? What on earth does Sister Shiyue see in you!”
Ye Xingling squeezed out one last complaint through her teeth. Having already showered, she let out a yawn and trudged toward her room in a daze.
“Forget it, forget it. Your lovely sister is the bigger person today. Now that you’re back, get some rest. Goodnight, Big Brother, Sister Shiyue.”
Leaving those words behind, Ye Xingling closed her door, gulped down two mouthfuls of cola, set the can casually on the table, and collapsed onto her bed.
‘Ugh… so sleepy. Big Brother and the others are finally back…’
‘School again tomorrow, how annoying. Can’t magical girls be exempt from classes? I’m already a magical girl guarding the peace of the area! I’m still being tied down by those courses.’
‘But… Senior Qila said there’s a group mission this weekend. I’ll finally get to take action with everyone from the Magical Girl Association! I’m really looking forward to it; they’re all very interesting girls.’
‘I think there are hunters joining this operation too?’
‘Whatever, it’s not that important.’
‘Magical Girl Frost Flower, go for it!’
‘Zzz…’
…
“The water is ready. Little Yao, you go shower first. Just use the toiletries I bought.”
Yi Shiyue winked at Ye Xingyao, glanced toward Ye Xingling’s room, and spoke in a low voice.
“Now that you’ve become a girl, you must take good care of your body, understood?”
“Got it!”
Ye Xingyao nodded obediently, clutched her change of clothes, and walked into the bathroom. After locking the door, she deactivated her disguise magic. Standing before the half-length mirror above the sink, she slowly shed her clothing.
Compared to the one Ye Xingyao used to use frequently, the standard bathtub provided in the resettlement housing still made her feel a bit unaccustomed.
“Whew… so comfortable.”
Regardless of how tired she was, submerging her body in hot water for a relaxing soak before bed had always been Ye Xingyao’s essential way of life.
However, even though the temperature was set the same as before, it felt hotter now. Was it an issue with the new equipment…
‘No, it seems to be an issue with me.’
Glancing down at her flat stomach and her pinkish-hued back, she seemed to understand everything.
‘It’s true. Becoming a girl and all that.’
‘I thought it was some kind of dream.’
‘By the way, should I try…’
Ye Xingyao’s gaze slowly drifted downward until it stopped at that secret garden. Her star-blue eyes betrayed a hint of desire.
‘Ugh, forget it. If I don’t handle it well and make a strange sound, or if Shiyue finds out I laid a hand on myself, the life of the youth known as Ye Xingyao—well, the girlhood—would be over (how tragic).’
In the end, Ye Xingyao did not battle her inner demons.
She finished her soak, washed her body far more carefully than usual, then washed her hair, dried it, wiped herself down with a towel, and changed into a set of blue-purple pajamas in one smooth motion.
Wearing her pajamas, Ye Xingyao pushed open the bathroom door and poked half her head out to observe the surroundings. Seeing no sign of her little sister coming out, she grew bold and slowly walked into the room she shared with Shiyue.
“Finished? How do you feel?”
Yi Shiyue sat on the bed and asked with a beaming smile.
“What do you mean… how do I feel? It was just a shower, how else would it feel? Hurry up and go wash, Shiyue, I’m a bit sleepy.”
Ye Xingyao answered somewhat guiltily, then flopped onto the bed, nudged Yi Shiyue’s rear, and sprawled out in the shape of a large “X.”
“Alright then, I’m going to shower now, okay?”
…
Yi Shiyue walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas, turned off the living room light, and returned to the room. She saw that the girl had changed from her reckless sleeping posture and was now curled up under the covers, leaving plenty of space for her.
‘So cute.’
She climbed into bed with light steps and lay down beside the girl. Listening to the girl’s steady breathing, she suddenly thought of what Hong Yeqiu had said to her today.
‘Is Ye Xingyao very lonely?’
In places she and Ye Xingling didn’t know about, she had been fighting for a long time, relying on cross-dressing and the notebooks left by her parents.
Even she herself had been saved by her more than once.
‘From now on, let her rely on me more.’
Thinking this, a doting smile appeared on Yi Shiyue’s face. She reached out and quietly wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist, allowing her to lean against her in a comfortable position.
‘Little Yao, sweet dreams tonight.’
‘With these fluctuating bookmark numbers and the dead-silent comment section, I no longer know if my writing is actually good or not, meow…’
‘Xiao Xin’s friends said the evaluation is passable, though, meow.’