Lin Xiaojue lay on her bed in total boredom after a day of fun.
The pitter-patter of water came from the bathroom outside. Lin Xiaojue had already showered, so it was Su Yaqing’s turn now.
As for Xia Yao…
She turned her head to look at the girl beside her, who was breathing softly with her mouth slightly open.
After returning to Guangyuan city, Xia Yao had moved into Su Yaqing’s home. Su Yaqing had cleared out a room for her, and now the three of them lived together.
Outside the window, it was raining. Droplets hit the windowsill, leaving behind trails of transparent water.
Lin Xiaojue flailed her arms on the bed like a salted fish, as if she were swimming.
‘Boring.’
She looked on with dead eyes and picked up her phone. It was packed with downloaded games.
G-Impact, H-Star Rail, W-Waves, Z-Zone Zero, S-Break…
Almost every game she could think of to pass the time had been downloaded, but she hadn’t expected them to be so unrewarding to play.
She opened the magical girl squad group chat. Since the birthday party ended, no one had sent a message in a long time.
Except for the bubble icon that showed An Yuxi was active every day.
“Um… speaking of which.” Lin Xiaojue exited the chat app and checked the trending searches.
Su Yaqing had previously mentioned seeing news about Lacrima Mundi disbanding online, but Lin Xiaojue didn’t know if it was true.
When she checked, the hype from the past few days had already died down.
[Lacrima Mundi has disbanded! Thank you all for your support and companionship along the way!]
“Eh? They really disbanded?!”
Lin Xiaojue sat up in surprise, gripping her phone with both hands as she scrolled through the comments.
Xia Yao’s brow furrowed slightly. Catching this out of the corner of her eye, Lin Xiaojue reached out to gently soothe her.
“Mmm…” Xia Yao smiled, her little face relaxing.
“They really disbanded?” Lin Xiaojue whispered.
The comment section was filled with all sorts of voices. Some were praying for a revival, while others were cursing and demanding ticket refunds.
*Buzz buzz.*
A message popped up at the top of her screen. Lin Xiaojue opened it.
Magical Girl Xi: [Bubbles].
Murong Qiuyu: “I heard Mundi disbanded. Xiao’an, can you help with ticket refunds? @Magical Girl Xi.”
Magical Girl Xi: I can’t do that.
Magical Girl Xi: I’ve been busy playing games lately, but now that I’m free, I’m planning to start livestreaming. It’s just that I can’t handle it all by myself. I wonder if anyone is willing to help me? [Acting Cute]
‘Playing games? And livestreaming?’
Lin Xiaojue glanced at the streaming equipment by her bedside: the phone stand, the microphone, and the massive monitor and PC tower connected to her mouse.
She was already a VTuber online and was fairly popular. Since An Yuxi was also streaming, should they do a collaboration?
But… Lin Xiaojue thought of the red-haired girl she had met at the airport. She still had her doubts about An Yuxi.
‘Is it a trap?’
Lin Xiaojue recalled the games she had played with Su Yaqing and the others these past few days.
If she were handcuffed by An Yuxi and locked in a basement…
“Eek—” Lin Xiaojue shivered, her skin crawling with goosebumps.
However, when she remembered An Yuxi’s sweet appearance, she felt like that shouldn’t happen.
Everyone seemed so distant now. Should she take this opportunity to bring everyone together?
Lin Xiaojue missed the time when the seven of them got along harmoniously. Spring was fast approaching; could they all reunite?
She planned to give it a try. When the time came, she would bring Xia Yao and Su Yaqing along.
She could also announce the relationship between the three of them.
Lin Xiaojue thought for a moment before typing on the keyboard.
Magical Girl Tianyu: I can help.
An Yuxi replied quickly: Great.
Magical Girl Tianyu: But I plan to bring Su Yaqing and Xiao Xia along. It’ll be easier to create content that way since it’s a livestream.
This time, An Yuxi didn’t reply instantly.
Her avatar suddenly went dark. Lin Xiaojue guessed she must be busy with something.
Otherwise, An Yuxi wouldn’t act like this.
Lin Xiaojue put down her phone and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Hello, may I ask how you have been lately? Are you keeping in touch with your friends? If so, I recommend this product to you…”
*Beep beep.*
In an office where the sounds of phone calls rose and fell, a pink-haired girl wearing a headset sat before a computer. With calm eyes and trembling wrists, she crossed a number off her contact list.
“Hey, Sakuragawa, it’s time to clock out.”
Beside her, a tall woman in an office uniform took off her headset. She gave the reminder and left without looking back.
The woman joined several colleagues at the office door. She glanced back at Sakuragawa Iku, saw her still sitting in her seat, and silently closed the door as she left.
The last person in the group turned off the lights.
The sound of whispering drifted through the crack in the door. Just like the pitter-patter of the rain outside, it was impossible to ignore.
“I heard she was the keyboardist for Lacrima Mundi?!”
“Yeah, seriously. I heard it from the supervisor.”
“Eh! Isn’t that just terrible?! Qiu Yu said the live show was canceled because the keyboardist didn’t show up! Everyone spent 1,000 to hear them!”
“Tch, don’t even get me started. She even disbanded the band herself.”
“No way—”
The sound of footsteps and the incessant gossip faded away. Sakuragawa Iku sat in a daze, staring at the pale computer screen where numbers flickered.
The office was pitch black, with only a gray light hitting her face, making her life seem just as bleak.
After a long time, Sakuragawa Iku sighed and clicked the clock-out icon, ending her day’s work.
Normally, she would work overtime and ask a few more customers, “Are you happy today?”
If it was a kind customer, like an elderly man or woman, they would ask her in return:
“I am very happy, child. Are you happy?”
Sakuragawa Iku’s answer was always no. Then she would take the initiative to hang up the phone, resulting in her performance bonuses being completely docked.
Then, she would continue to work overtime.
She would work until she found a happy person who gave the “correct” answer.
Stepping out of the company building, the glare of car headlights was blurred by the rain. The streetlights cast fractured reflections in the puddles.
Sakuragawa Iku didn’t use an umbrella, nor did she hold a briefcase over her head like her colleagues. She simply walked through the rain, letting it sharpen her senses.
The rain soaked her pink hair, leaving messy strands across her forehead. Following her memory, Sakuragawa Iku found a hospital and bought some medicine from the pharmacy.
People nearby cast strange looks at her. Sakuragawa Iku realized that her current appearance looked a bit like one of her old album covers.
“It’s already… over.”
She looked up at the gray, desolate sky.
Her life as a magical girl was over. Her life as the keyboardist of Lacrima Mundi was over. What came next was the life of Sakuragawa Iku.
A life of sin.
A life where she had committed a monstrous crime against the predecessor she loved, a life held in contempt by everyone…
*Honk honk—*
The piercing sound of a car horn pulled Sakuragawa Iku back to reality. She lowered her head and continued to walk in silence, out of place in the crowd, like a sinner bearing shackles.
After navigating through several streets, she turned into an old residential area, climbed up the dark stairs of an apartment building, and returned to her cluttered home.
Sakuragawa Iku cleaned up the wine bottles on the floor and carefully straightened two black-and-white photos on the wall cabinet.
After finishing all this, she slumped down onto the wooden floor.
*Buzz buzz.*
At that moment, a message popped up on her phone.
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