Is there a gap between imagination and reality?
At this moment, Su Mu could thump her chest with absolute certainty and declare, “Yes, my friend, there is. Can’t you see it? That’s the chasm no one can cross.”
Saved by Irina and still reeling, Su Mu shook her dizzy head and decided to slip into her swimsuit first.
No more looking.
This time, she really didn’t dare.
Having crossed that mental hurdle, Su Mu, even with her chin tilted upward, didn’t struggle too much to fasten the delicate white-peach swimsuit.
The familiar sensation of fabric hugging her body returned, and Su Mu, who’d been holding her breath, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
As for the lower half…
Best not to tempt fate with a glance.
One step at a time, she told herself.
A moment later, Su Mu tugged the curtain aside and peeked out of the changing room, her eyes locking with Luo Jialan’s, who leaned casually against the doorframe.
“Want a look?”
Luo Jialan’s gaze drifted down from Su Mu’s porcelain-like collarbone to the neckline of her swimsuit, and she swallowed hard, unthinking.
They were both girls, so why did this one feel so… different?
Was shyness some kind of contagious disease, spreading through a single glance?
“Ahem, sure, let’s take a look.”
After two soft coughs, Luo Jialan made her choice with unabashed honesty.
It was like swapping skins for a game character, wasn’t it?
A bit revealing, maybe, but wasn’t the whole point to admire the result?
With that thought, Luo Jialan cast a wary glance around, then lifted the curtain and slipped smoothly into the changing room.
When Su Mu’s figure came fully into view, Luo Jialan realized this bashful girl was far more captivating than she’d imagined.
Perhaps because Su Mu had always hidden her frame so carefully, the contrast now—her form unveiled in the swimsuit—hit with a force that left Luo Jialan’s mind momentarily blank.
She looked… pinchable.
The sudden, frivolous thought made Luo Jialan clench her right hand and tuck it behind her waist, trying to quell the restless stirring in her chest.
Luo Jialan, oh, Luo Jialan, could it be?
Did the blood of that woman—the one ruled by desire—truly run through her veins?
How else could her thoughts spiral so wildly?
Su Mu, pinned under that intense stare, flushed as pink as a ripe peach.
She scrambled for words to break the frozen silence but found her mind empty.
Lando was different today.
In Su Mu’s memory, she was decisive, bold, and carefree.
Yet whether it was when she spoke of her mother or now, she seemed inexplicably… conflicted.
What about me could possibly make her hesitate like this?
Being stared at so fiercely—it’s mortifying.
Su Mu turned her head away, and Luo Jialan, who’d been standing stock-still, snapped out of her daze.
“Uh, it looks great. Really suits you… Try the other one next.”
With that, Luo Jialan bolted out, stirring a gust in her wake.
Only when her eyes settled on the bright, orderly interior of the clothing store did her racing heart begin to slow.
Leaning against the door, she could feel her quickened breaths and pounding pulse.
Beyond that, she caught the faint rustle of fabric slipping off skin from behind the thin partition.
Her thoughts grew tangled, chaotic.
Luo Jialan slapped her cheeks lightly, the heat radiating into her palms forcing her to confront a startling truth.
“Could I actually be… interested in her body?”
At first, it was just the thought of how fun it might be to tease someone so soft and pliable.
But somewhere along the way, that notion had shifted, grown into something else.
By all logic, girls shouldn’t spark such ideas in each other.
Unless… was it because of those stories Su Mu wrote?
The first time Luo Jialan read them, she’d felt a mix of embarrassment and awe, as if a new world had unfolded before her.
She never imagined that wonder would circle back to the girl who penned those words.
“No, I became Magical Girl Lando to banish that woman’s shadow.”
Only she would toy with others like that.
Not me. I’d never…
“All changed!”
“Coming!”
Despite her inner warnings, Luo Jialan couldn’t help but smile as she stepped back inside at the sound of Su Mu’s voice.
Her usually steady magic began to waver, stirring restlessly.
Yes, I want to cast off the shadow that woman left on me.
She suppressed my desires, so I’ll set them free—fiercely, unapologetically.
Perhaps because Su Mu had already changed once, she seemed less shy now, though her tense posture betrayed her lingering unease.
“How’s it look?”
“Stunning 😋.”
Su Mu eyed Luo Jialan, who was clearly not herself, and instinctively crossed her arms over her chest.
Something’s off.
Her gaze is… strange.
At that moment, Irina’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Things aren’t looking good. She’s losing control.”
In the cramped changing room, Su Mu could sense the haze in Luo Jialan’s eyes and the surging tide of magic rippling around them.
“Losing control how? This feels really bad.”
“Powerful magical girls sometimes experience magical instability. Until they reach B-rank, this can grow more frequent as their strength increases.”
And Lando was at that stage.
“Right now, her desires have taken over. Good luck, little Su Mu.”
Wait, Lando is overtaken by desire?
Desire Witch, what did you do to her?!
As Su Mu’s thoughts raced, Luo Jialan’s hand closed around her wrist, gentle but firm, guiding her slowly toward the wall.
“Let me pinch you. Just a little pinch.”
Su Mu’s body slid down the wall, her eyes locked on Luo Jialan’s, now shaped like hearts.
Her pupils trembled violently.
Just a pinch, a rub, turn around…
“Irina, save me!”
“Idiot, why do you always call for me? Stop acting like some weakling. Use your own magic.”
“She’s holding my hands—I can’t break free!”
“Really? She’s barely gripping you. Seems to me you don’t want to resist~”
Su Mu’s face burned as she snapped, “No way!”
The outburst fueled her strength.
She yanked her hand free, and Luo Jialan froze, her movements halting.
Reality crashed back into her.
“S-sorry, I… I…”
Under Su Mu’s indignant glare, Luo Jialan stammered, words failing her.
‘Who am I?’
‘Where am I?’
‘What was I doing?’
‘Oh no!’
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