Located on the west side of Binhai City near one end of Twin Bridge, there sits the largest school in the entire city and even the surrounding area. Baichuan Middle School, known as Binhai No. 1 Middle School. It has both middle and high school departments, and this year it also expanded its elementary school department—a comprehensive school.
“…And then, while I was telling her a bedtime story, she quietly fell asleep. She had such a cute sleeping face.”
At that moment, outside the corridor of the first-year high school wing. Two girls were strolling leisurely. They had plenty of time to reach the classroom before the bell rang.
“The best part is, she called me ‘Mom’! I definitely heard it, I swear.”
Among them, a girl with pink hair tied in a single ponytail was enthusiastically telling the story from two days ago to her friend with a sky-blue high ponytail.
“Well, congratulations on that. But.” Upon hearing this, the other girl didn’t look surprised. She was already aware that her classmate and good friend had a daughter.
“Next time, could you not talk about this in the school hallway? If someone else hears it, I’ll be the one in trouble.”
Qinglan shot her a helpless glance, but to avoid dampening her friend’s spirits, she could only beat around the bush.
“Ah, I can’t help it. It really is something to be happy about. All my hard work finally paid off, and I feel like I got something in return.”
As she spoke, Lianying had already reached the classroom door. She quietly shut her mouth and then sat down in the seat next to Qinglan.
.
“Good morning, Lianying! Did something happen? You seem to be in a great mood.” Classmate A, sitting in front, turned around with concern.
“Hmm? Not really. It’s just some family stuff.” Lianying shrugged, then smiled as she looked out the window.
“Suspicious~ Could it be about love? Did you suddenly get a boyfriend or something?” Classmate B in the upper right corner joined the gossip.
“It’s something even more interesting than that.” Lianying replied without turning her head, lost in her own memories.
“Um, Lianying. I heard there’s a new doll store opening on the Commercial Street. Do you want to come with us?” Classmate C, walking over from a distance, suggested.
“Yeah, yeah. I heard there’s a discount too. It’ll be fun if we all go together.” Another male classmate behind him chimed in.
However, at this seemingly appealing proposal, Lianying just shook her head lightly.
“No. You guys go ahead. Don’t worry about me.”
.
“I-I see.” “Then there’s nothing we can do.” The male students who had specifically come to invite her could only back off sheepishly.
“Mmm…” “Still, Lianying sure has her own personality.” The female students who had wanted to strike up a conversation also gave up on chatting with her and turned away.
—
“…Hey, Lianying. Not that I’m particularly concerned.” Qinglan, who had been silently observing from the side, offered a deliberate reminder.
“Has anyone ever told you that your behavior at school, outside, and at home are completely different?”
“Really? You’re overthinking it, Qinglan.” Lianying crossed her arms behind her head and tilted her chair back. “I’ve always been like this.”
“No, you haven’t. Definitely not. Especially in front of Wuhua, you’re like a completely different person.” As someone who had grown up with Lianying, Qinglan’s words carried weight and confidence.
“Before you adopted Wuhua, I always thought you were just that kind of person. So it surprised me quite a bit.”
“Eh~ Well, whatever. It’s not a bad thing.” Lianying didn’t have much to say about it. Instead, she started thinking about tonight’s plans.
“Xicheng invited us to spend the night at her place tonight, right? How are you preparing?”
“What is there to prepare? Just showing up is good enough.” Qinglan rested her chin on the desk, looking at her friend’s laid-back attitude. She knew today’s classes wouldn’t be worth paying attention to.
“If you’re bringing Wuhua along, you’d better prepare a bit more. She might not be used to it.”
“I know. I’ll do my research.” Then—she started looking forward to it, a sweet smile spreading across Lianying’s face.
“I’m going to give Xiaohua the best night ever.”
The two chatted about tonight’s topic until the bell rang.
Meanwhile, back in Lianying’s room. A small, cute figure on the bed slowly stirred from deep sleep.
.
“Mmmmmm…” Wuhua sat up in bed, stretching her body to the fullest.
“(yawn)” She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at the spot beside her.
“Lianying already left, huh.” As expected. Still in her pajamas, Wuhua rubbed her head and walked into the living room.
“Good morning. You sure woke up late today, meow.” Miao Ke sat on the sofa, lazily greeting her.
“Miao Ke, to be honest, I’m surprised I woke up at this hour at all.” Wuhua poured herself a glass of water, letting its coolness wake up her body and mind.
“What happened, meow? Did you stay up too late playing games with Lianying in bed last night, meow?” Miao Ke said calmly.
“…That wasn’t a game. But yeah, it’s related to that.” Wuhua awkwardly tried to cover it up.
The reason she woke up late today was mainly because of the stimulation from massaging Lianying yesterday afternoon. The impact was so deep that she couldn’t fall asleep until dawn, tossing and turning.
‘Is this the desire deep inside me? It’s really scary.’
‘Yesterday, I lost control and did things to Lianying that I’d never dare to do normally.’
‘Good thing she didn’t take it to heart… which means there will be chances again in the future.’
‘As long as I’m still her Wuhua.’
Already subconsciously fantasizing about a happy future, Wuhua wore a somewhat obsessed smile.
“…Wuhua, you’re a strange kid, meow.” Miao Ke observed her, then concluded.
“Sometimes I feel like you’re not a seven-year-old kid at all, meow.”
“Eh, what are you talking about?—Miao Ke, you just don’t know enough about humans.” Seeing this, Wuhua smoothly switched to a suitable tone and manner.
“Oh, right. About the Wish Jade I collected yesterday. I haven’t asked about it yet.” She changed the subject while inquiring about what had been on her mind.
“Hmph. I suppose I should explain it properly. Leave it to me.” As if hearing their conversation, Ruibi poked out of the pocket and began to explain slowly:
“What’s called a Wish Jade is actually named according to human customs. It doesn’t inherently belong to this world, but its origin is undoubtedly from humans.”
“When a human’s inner wish is unfulfilled, and the suppressed emotions are released, once they accumulate to a certain amount, they coalesce somewhere into a Wish Jade like this.”
As she spoke, Ruibi pulled out the faintly glowing sphere from her other-dimensional body.
“A Wish Jade has the power to fulfill any wish. But it’s not free; there’s some kind of price. What’s known so far is that a Wish Jade requires a Magical Girl to activate it. Also, depending on the difficulty and level of the wish, more are needed.”
“Wayward Girls collect large amounts of Wish Jades, probably due to their identities. Compared to normal Magical Girls who simply protect the city and everyone, their hearts are often filled with desire and selfishness.”
“Of course, I told you to collect Wish Jades not just to keep them out of wrong hands. For us fairies, Wish Jades have an even more important role. That’s all.”
After saying everything in one breath, Ruibi looked at Wuhua—who was clearly stunned—and Miao Ke, who seemed helpless.
“Hey, rabbit. Your explanation was way too brief and direct, meow. Wuhua won’t understand like that, meow.” Miao Ke criticized.
“It’s like you’re just reading out of our textbooks, meow.”
“I can’t help it. I don’t know how to explain it more clearly.” Ruibi rarely admitted her own shortcomings, shaking her head.
“But I trust my contractor. Her cognition and talent will lead us to success.”
Faced with Ruibi’s strong trust, Wuhua just smiled and nodded.
“Yeah. All of this is for Lianying… and everyone.”