A flush of peach-pink swept across Lando’s face, so vivid it seemed to bloom in an instant, creeping up to the tips of her ears.
Her fingers clutched the hem of her dress, twisting nervously, while the hand Su Mu held wriggled in restless unease, brushing softly against her palm with each subtle movement.
In a fleeting moment, Su Mu’s breath grew warm, her racing heartbeat pulsing faintly through their intertwined hands.
Unable to hold back any longer, she let go, and Lando’s hand slipped away in a swift, almost frantic retreat.
The sensation of that touch was not unlike kneading the soft flesh of her own stomach—nothing secretive or forbidden, yet when guided by another’s hand, it became exquisitely sensitive, sending shivers through her heart.
“Y-you… why? I mean, isn’t this a bit too soon?” Lando stammered, her words tumbling out in a jumbled mess, betraying the chaotic flutter of a girl caught off guard by an unexpected confession.
Yet, beneath her flustered tone, there was no trace of rejection.
Her heart raced like a deer spinning in circles, battering against the walls of her restraint.
And as she’d said, Su Mu’s move had been too hasty, too startling.
Their bond hadn’t yet reached such an intimate depth, so when Lando’s hand was pressed so close to Su Mu’s heart—barely ten centimeters away—she felt the moment crash over her like an unannounced wave.
‘Why?’
Lando’s pale violet eyes, wide with shy confusion, flickered with questions.
Su Mu, still flushed with embarrassment, averted her gaze.
Because she wanted to seize the future.
For Su Mu, her greatest enemy had never been death—it was loneliness.
Before she became a magical girl, she had never known true friendship.
Call it self-imposed isolation or an incompatible personality, the result was the same.
Su Mu didn’t believe she was utterly unlikable—at least not before she became the genius girl Irina.
Yet, for the past decade or so, her life seemed cursed by some invisible spell.
She didn’t know how to reach out to others, and they, in turn, looked right through her.
She was the most invisible presence in her class, the kind of girl whose absence from a graduation photo might go unnoticed.
Her grades were unremarkable, her personality unmemorable, her existence seemingly inconsequential.
She’d once thought her delicate appearance was to blame and tried foolish things to stand out: shaving her head, ditching her school uniform, even sticking on temporary tattoos.
The result?
The security guard wouldn’t let her into school, and her parents were called.
Hilariously, no one showed up.
Su Mu waited in the office for hours until the teacher, with a resigned shake of the head, let her go.
Parents?
What parents?
Her father was a ghost, rarely home, even less present than she was, though at least he sent money regularly.
As for her mother, always lost in a haze of lethargy, Su Mu preferred not to think of her at all.
Thankfully, she had her online friends.
No one to game with?
She’d rally strangers in a lobby.
Feeling down with no one to talk to?
She’d post on forums.
Online, the misfortune that clung to her seemed to vanish, opening a vibrant new world where she could easily draw attention and connect with strangers who felt like old friends.
Hiding behind an avatar and username, she could spill her secrets without reservation, as if they’d known each other for years.
This fleeting liveliness chased away her loneliness, and the gap between her real and virtual lives grew wider.
She began to shy away from real-world interactions, preferring to don an unfamiliar anime avatar and chat with other netizens as if she were someone else entirely.
Even if those conversations sometimes soured, it was better than being ignored.
And so, in front of her computer screen, amidst the possibly insincere birthday wishes of strangers, Su Mu turned fifteen.
That was the moment the illusion of that lively world began to crack.
Su Mu awakened a peculiar talent—one that marked her as a freak.
Anyone would panic in such a situation, and Su Mu, after much hesitation, couldn’t bring herself to rely on the woman who’d only mumbled a half-hearted “happy birthday” before leaving her room.
She tried subtly asking her online friends for advice, but how could a fifteen-year-old hide her true feelings?
Soon, someone called her out: “This ‘friend’ you’re talking about—is it you?”
Their masks fell away—or perhaps those were their true faces all along.
They distanced themselves, wary of being associated with her.
Some offered hollow words of comfort before vanishing; others simply disappeared.
In the end, Su Mu stared at a silent chat window, no new notifications flashing, lost in a haze of confusion.
Her freakish talent let her feel their negative emotions seeping through the internet, their fear and disgust at the monster she’d become.
After all, they didn’t even know each other’s names or faces, did they?
Loneliness enveloped her once more, deeper and more despairing than ever before.
Yet those negative emotions streaming through the web reminded her of another path.
That was the day Irina, the genius girl, was born—a false, infuriating magical girl.
Su Mu left her small hometown behind, moving to City B, a place she hoped might feel less desolate.
They said it was a bustling city, home to many magical girls.
As a fake magical girl, she figured she’d join the excitement.
***
“Satisfied now? I should go. Luo Jialan’s probably been waiting outside for a while,” Lando said, snapping out of her daze.
She clutched her still-warm right hand, pressing it gently against her nearly flat chest.
“Time to leave,” Su Mu replied, smoothing her dress with a faint smile.
“This is my dream, after all. Stay too long, and you might get lost. Want me to see you out?”
“No need. I can find my way back.”
[“Warning: Your immersion level is nearing 10%. It’s recommended to begin your return now.”]
Su Mu silently confirmed the prompt, and in an instant, a familiar sensation of liquid stagnation enveloped her.
A surge of magic gripped her, pulling her upward with steady force.
“Little Su Mu, you were just recalling some unpleasant things, weren’t you?”
Irina’s voice echoed faintly in her mind, not as playful as usual but warm enough to dispel the solitude of navigating this dreamlike abyss.
It was true.
Just having Irina—someone she could talk to in her head, someone who’d protect her in crucial moments—was enough to bring a sense of comfort.
“Don’t think like that,” Irina teased.
“Putting all your hopes in yourself is exhausting. Find more reliable girls like Lando to lean on. If that doesn’t work, I can introduce you to a few others as capable as Tang Nai.”
‘Hey, why does that sound so dangerous? Who else do you know that I don’t? And for the record, Lando’s not my girlfriend—we’re just friends, pure and simple!’
“If you say so,” Irina quipped.
“Just make sure to let me know when you’re having those touchy-feely moments. I’d hate to miss out on the fun.”
‘Oh, shut up!’
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