In the park inside Chunhui Community, on this weekday morning when people should be at work or school, three girls of similar age were sitting in a circle on a carpet spread on the ground.
“Alright, let’s begin! A three-person game of house.” The girl, who looked very excited, raised her hands and shouted enthusiastically.
She had bright gold curly short hair, a cute headband with a bow, a white undershirt with a pink dress, light eyes that were a clear sky blue, and fair skin—she looked like a mixed-race child.
“An adult game… so it’s playing house.” Wuhua, who had almost misunderstood, rubbed her hair awkwardly.
“Huh? What else? The game of playing mom and dad is an adult game.” The blonde girl tilted her head as if it were obvious.
“Ah, with you here, we finally have enough people. Jasmine and I used to take turns being the adult and the child, and we got a little bored.”
At that moment, the playmate beside her spoke up in dissatisfaction: “Yes. And Anna will definitely be a bad mother in the future. She once said something like ‘A mother and child each have their own lives and shouldn’t disturb each other.’”
Unlike the mixed-race girl named Anna, Jasmine had short brown hair that reached her shoulders, wore a hooded trench coat and cargo pants, and had a nearly expressionless face. Compared to Anna, the two were completely opposite types.
“Tsk, Jasmine, that means you don’t understand adults. Adults are all that willful, don’t you know?” In response to Jasmine’s accusation, Anna wiggled her finger and clicked her tongue, uttering such an outrageous statement.
“Alright. If we keep talking, we won’t have time. Let’s start quickly.” After chatting for nearly five minutes, Anna finally remembered the main task and urged them on.
“You… what’s your name again? Little sister with white hair.”
“Huh? Ah, just call me Wuhua.” Wuhua answered nervously.
‘Although I was half-pushed and half-persuaded into agreeing to play with them, thinking carefully, it’s a good opportunity to learn and observe the behavior and personality of girls this age. Moreover, playing with children of the same age won’t arouse Lianying’s suspicion.’ After much thought, Wuhua felt she was the one who gained.
“Okay, Wuhua. Since you’re new…” Anna pointed at Wuhua and said confidently, “I’ll be Dad, Jasmine will be Mom, and you can start as Daughter!”
And so, the three little girls—Wuhua, Anna, and Jasmine—started playing house. Although Anna seemed a bit mischievous—the lively type with a lot of ideas—the game process was surprisingly ordinary and simple: just simulating the life of a family of three. If there was any complaint…
“It seems I can’t escape the fate of being someone’s daughter.” Wuhua couldn’t help complaining.
“Mmm, mmm, I’m h-home!” At that moment, Anna, playing the husband and dad, pretended to be drunk and walked over to Wuhua.
“Honey. I’ve told you many times, don’t drink so late—coming back will disturb our daughter’s sleep.” Jasmine, playing the mother and mom, stood up and scolded.
“Shut up! You old hag, how dare you boss me around! If I didn’t make money, you and her would be out on the street!” Saying that, Anna suddenly collapsed onto Wuhua.
“Come here, my precious. Give Daddy a kiss. Don’t be shy.” As if drunk, she kept rubbing against Wuhua.
Children generally don’t understand personal space, so by the time Wuhua reached out to push her away, she was about to get kissed. Still, even if she got kissed, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“What kind of image of adults do you have in your head?” Wuhua couldn’t help remarking. Then she added, “Alright, alright, take off your clothes and go take a bath. Otherwise, Jasmine will get angry.”
“Ah, I can’t stand you. Such a typical male chauvinist.” Jasmine cooperatively picked up the line—but her tone was flat and expressionless, giving the feeling she was just reciting a script.
“Let’s get a divorce. The child is yours, the house and car are mine. See you at the police station tomorrow afternoon.” After dropping that line, Jasmine stood up and walked out.
“That’s called the Civil Affairs Bureau.” Wuhua corrected from the side.
“Baby, let’s kiss—let’s forget about that woman. From now on it’s a single-parent family, and I’ll raise you well.” Anna was persistent. She stuck close to Wuhua.
“You should at least try to stop her!”
—
The three of them spent a happy, leisurely yet busy time.
…
…
“Ah, it’s been so long since I had this much fun. It really is more interesting with three people.” Standing up and walking in the opposite direction with Jasmine, Anna said with satisfaction.
“Y-yeah.” As for Wuhua, she felt more like she’d watched a melodramatic love drama.
“Well, I’m going back for a nap. Let’s play again another day, Wuhua.” Anna waved vigorously at her—children like to raise their hands high.
“Goodbye, Wuhua.” Jasmine, who rarely showed expressions, had a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.
“Bye!” Of course, Anna’s grin was just as cute as Wuhua’s.
After saying goodbye to her new playmates, Wuhua headed home. While she was waiting for the elevator alone, she heard Lianying and Qinglan’s voices behind her.
“Huh, Xiaohua?” “What a coincidence. Fancy meeting you here.”
Wuhua turned around to see the two in school uniforms already beside her.
“Welcome back, Sister Lianying. By the way, Sister Qinglan, are you also coming home at noon?” Wuhua said.
“Sigh. It’s because this idiot insisted on dragging me along. I would have eaten at school.” Qinglan complained, hands on her hips.
“Eh… you two have such a good relationship.” Wuhua said as if seeing through them.
Ignoring Qinglan’s speechless expression, Lianying took Wuhua’s hand. “Let’s go home. And we can hear what Xiaohua was up to this morning.”
“Hmm hmm (chewing) As expected of Xiaohua, already making friends. Amazing.”
“Can you swallow your food before talking?”
During lunch break, Wuhua and Lianying were enjoying takeout as usual. Today, Qinglan was also joining them, which was rare.
“But now I feel relieved. I was worried at first that Xiaohua might be too bored.” Lianying said.
“So, is that why you came back specially?” Qinglan said, seemingly seeing through someone’s thoughts.
“D-don’t say that in front of Xiaohua, honestly.” Lianying turned away shyly, then added, “Cherish the friends you’ve made. Sister Qinglan and I will support you.”
—
When lunch break ended, the two high schoolers rested briefly and then went back to school. The large house was once again left with only lonely Wuhua.
She sat on the sofa without turning on the TV. Staring at the empty room, she unconsciously recalled what Mingji had said to her early yesterday morning.
“Becoming a Magical Girl means you can never go back to how you were, huh?” Wuhua murmured to herself. She hadn’t told Mingji that she was already a Magical Girl, a Fairy’s Contractor.
Or rather, she simply had no real sense of it. Her understanding of Magical Girls was limited to yesterday afternoon, when she fought against the rumored monster.
“No wonder Lianying and Qinglan look no different from ordinary high school girls. So everyone was just an ordinary girl before becoming a Magical Girl.” Wuhua deeply understood this.
Even now, she could hardly believe the miraculous reality that seemed like a series of events. ‘First becoming a seven-year-old girl, then a Magical Girl, huh.’ It seemed that adapting to her identity would take longer than she had imagined.
“Hey, Wuhua.” At that moment, Ruibi poked its head out of her pocket, like a robot receiving a signal. “An anomaly has appeared. Now is the chance for the Magical Girl to make her debut.”