Lu Liang had a dream.
He dreamed that his bank account balance had reached one million, and he no longer had to risk his life working hard to make ends meet.
His younger sister had also been admitted to Magical Girl University, becoming a proud apprentice Magical Girl.
He had also shed his identity as a Monster and no longer had to worry about being exposed.
Lu Liang held Lu Xiaoling’s acceptance letter in his left hand and a bank card loaded with one million in his right, smiling foolishly as tears of joy welled up in his eyes.
Wiping his eyes and clearing his nose, Lu Liang suddenly felt an absurd sense of unreality about all this beauty.
A thought formed in his mind—could everything before him just be a dream?
As distracting thoughts surged, an abnormal change occurred.
The wonderful dream that had resembled a Peach Blossom Spring before him instantly turned into a nightmare.
The bank card and acceptance letter in Lu Liang’s hands vanished in an instant, replaced by a battered, broken phone.
Lu Liang looked at the screen in despair as flashing electronic messages appeared one after another, each as glaring and piercing as blood, reading:
Your bank card is overdue by thirty million! Please repay promptly or you will be blacklisted in the Credit List…
“No! Stop harassing me! You might as well just kill me! Stop chasing me for money!”
Lu Liang painfully threw the phone away:
“Fake, it’s all fake, hahaha, how could I owe so much money? It’s all fake! Life will get better and better!”
The shattered phone screen cracked open, and from within the broken shards crawled a lump of pink flesh.
The mass swelled and squeezed until it finally took the form of a person.
“Brother.”
“Lu Xiaoling?”
Lu Liang was startled. Seeing the lump transform into his sister’s appearance, his heart felt like it was breaking.
“Brother, why didn’t you tell me you were a Monster?”
Tears dripped down “Lu Xiaoling’s” pretty face:
“Brother, why did you lie to me? My family’s credit was blacklisted, I failed the entrance exam… I was supposed to be admitted to Magical Girl University.”
“No, Xiaoling, I didn’t lie to you… I’m not a Monster.”
Lu Liang trembled all over, shaking his head wildly. He wanted to grab his sister’s shoulders and tell her he wasn’t a Monster, but when he reached out, he found his hands were enveloped in black mist.
That cold, ominous black fog was Lu Liang’s Miracle Power.
He… was a Monster.
“Brother, help me.” “Lu Xiaoling” stretched out her hand and slowly approached Lu Liang. As she drew closer, her appearance suddenly turned terrifying:
“The Magical Girl Association is hunting you. They promised that if I hand you over, they will allow me to enter Magical Girl University… Brother, for me, please become a performance!”
Saying this, “Lu Xiaoling” pulled a dagger out of nowhere and viciously stabbed it into Lu Liang’s chest!
“Ah!”
Lu Liang was shocked awake from the nightmare.
“Huff huff huff huff…”
Thankfully, it was just a nightmare.
Panting heavily, Lu Liang still hadn’t fully recovered from the nightmare. Before his eyes was an unfamiliar scene.
An even older building than his home, a bed faintly scented with a young girl’s fragrance, covered with a Magical Girl anime quilt, and on a chair beside him, a girl watching him nervously—Bai Wanqing.
“Where is this…” Lu Liang stared at Bai Wanqing and asked slowly:
“Your home?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Bai Wanqing nodded obediently.
Still shaken by the nightmare, Lu Liang glanced around the surroundings and recalled his memories before fainting.
He quickly pieced together the situation.
It seemed he had overexerted himself these past few days.
When parting ways with Bai Wanqing, his body forcibly shut down and he collapsed unconscious. Naturally, Bai Wanqing brought him home.
Rubbing the bed sheets, looking at Bai Wanqing’s slender figure, Lu Liang’s expression turned somewhat awkward.
He could almost imagine how much hardship the frail Bai Wanqing endured carrying a strong man like him home, how much gossip she must have suffered from passersby.
She was naturally introverted and shy, yet she still did it.
“Why?”
Lu Liang got out of bed and suddenly asked.
“Hm?”
Bai Wanqing tilted her head, seemingly not understanding the meaning behind his question.
“Why bring me home? A man and woman alone like this. Now whatever I do to you, you probably won’t be able to resist. Aren’t you afraid?” Lu Liang teased harshly.
“Eh?”
Hearing this, Bai Wanqing’s pretty eyes widened in surprise. She never expected Lu Liang to be so “unreasonable.” Only after his reminder did she realize the implications.
She anxiously shrank back, timid yet stubborn, saying:
“No… You wouldn’t. You’re a good person.”
“Hmph, I was a good person.” Lu Liang forced a smile:
“That’s uncertain. Humans are complicated creatures. How can you be sure I’m good? What if I want to do something bad to you… And besides, I just dreamed I became a millionaire, but you woke me up at the best part. How are you going to make it up to me?”
“Oh, s-sorry.”
Bai Wanqing blinked dumbly at Lu Liang, completely unaware that his half-awake state had nothing to do with her.
“It’s fine, I forgive you.”
Lu Liang magnanimously patted his clothes and got off the bed. He sniffed the air and suddenly caught a whiff of a delicious aroma.
“What’s cooking?”
His appetite stirred, Lu Liang didn’t know how long he had slept, but he felt hungry again.
“V-vegetable porridge.” Bai Wanqing asked timidly:
“Do you want some?”
“Sure, bring me a bowl.”
Lu Liang wasted no time and found a table to sit at.
He propped his chin on his hand and quietly watched Bai Wanqing nervously enter the kitchen.
When Bai Wanqing brought a steaming bowl of vegetable porridge and looked anxiously at his face, the evening glow filtered gently through the window, softly illuminating her profile.
Lu Liang’s heart skipped a beat as he suddenly felt time was passing so quickly.
He took the spoon Bai Wanqing handed him and before eating asked:
“You said you’re short on tuition?”
“Mm.”
“How much?”
Hearing this, Bai Wanqing seemed to realize something.
She opened her eyes wide, shook her head, and clenched her hands tightly in front of her, looking like a bullied kid.
Her peach blossom eyes blinked stubbornly and pitifully:
“I—I don’t want your money.”
“Who said I was giving you money? What are you thinking? Pretty girls are always so dramatic.”
Lu Liang blew on the steaming porridge unhappily, then disregarding the heat, poured it down his throat along the bowl’s edge.
One bowl finished, burning his mouth and making him grimace, he took the water Bai Wanqing handed over and drank it all down, then sighed deeply before saying:
“Let me see that bag of Monster Insects you have.”
“Oh.”
Bai Wanqing went to get her bag of Monster Insects and handed them all over to Lu Liang.
Lu Liang glanced at the number of Monster Insects inside—no more than eleven or twelve. He thought for a moment and said:
“Do you know who you should be selling these insect monsters to?”
Bai Wanqing shook her head, confused.
“Tch, rookie’s still a rookie. No supplier lined up and rushing to earn money by going down the drain.” Lu Liang sneered with disdain but pulled out some money from his pocket, counting twelve hundred yuan and placing it on the table with a cocky smile:
“There. I want them. Sell them to me.”
Bai Wanqing hesitated.
She wasn’t worried about Lu Liang undervaluing the price but rather didn’t know the market price for the insect monsters.
She feared Lu Liang might pity her financial situation and intentionally give her charity.
Her lips moved, trying to say something, but Lu Liang seemed to read her mind and pinched her cheek:
“Don’t worry, I’m definitely not letting you profit. For insect monsters worth 200 yuan each, I’ll take a 100 yuan cut. Not unreasonable, right?”
Bai Wanqing’s face was soft and springy, like a freshly baked bun.
Being pinched by Lu Liang contorted it into all sorts of shapes.
After struggling for a long time, she finally escaped his grasp and covered her flushed cheeks.
With teary eyes, Bai Wanqing nodded:
“Okay, I’ll sell them to you… but can you stop bullying me all the time?”
Lu Liang was taken aback.
He didn’t actually like bullying others.
It was just that Bai Wanqing had a sort of “poor person’s stubbornness” that was annoyingly persistent, making Lu Liang feel bad.
That’s what made him want to tease her.
Seeing Bai Wanqing’s reddened eyes and frightened doe-like expression, Lu Liang couldn’t help but feel a mischievous impulse.
He spread his magical palm out, but before he could move, Bai Wanqing fearfully backed away.
Lu Liang then withdrew his hand and said:
“Hmph, let’s see how you behave… Oh, by the way, my name’s Lu Liang—the ‘Lu’ of Lu Bu, the ‘Liang’ of pure goodness.”
“Oh.”
Bai Wanqing rubbed her reddened eyes:
“Hello, I—I’m Bai Wanqing.”
“Heh, dummy, you already said your name.”
Lu Liang chuckled lightly and pulled out his phone:
“Add me as a contact. You’re still a rookie, not quite qualified to be a Cleaner yet. But if you insist on making money, add me next time. We can cooperate and watch out for each other.”
“Oh.”
This time Bai Wanqing didn’t refuse but obediently nodded and added Lu Liang’s contact.
After exchanging contacts, Lu Liang habitually checked the time.
It was nearly 11 o’clock. He figured Lu Xiaoling should be finished with school and heading home by now.
He flipped through his phone’s call log—over 99 missed calls from Lu Xiaoling!
Lu Liang’s scalp went numb.
Damn! How did he forget about this!
The message he sent to Xiaoling during the day must have been misunderstood! And now, not having seen him so late, she was probably furious!
Just imagining the little one at home, standing at the door with arms akimbo, fuming while waiting for him, Lu Liang felt chills run down his back.
“Let’s go. Call me if anything.”
After saying this, Lu Liang didn’t dare linger any longer and hurriedly left Bai Wanqing’s home.
Regaining her composure, Bai Wanqing carefully put away the twelve hundred yuan Lu Liang gave her, then washed the bowls and chopsticks he had used.
She wanted to finish before her parents returned from work.
The water in the sink was naturally cold, sliding over Bai Wanqing’s delicate hands, sending cool shivers.
Her peach blossom eyes carefully watched the dishes as she endured the chill, wiping the edges and corners.
Suddenly, Bai Wanqing paused.
Looking at the bowl Lu Liang had eaten from and recalling everything that had happened today, Bai Wanqing suddenly smiled.
Her smile blossomed like a flower.
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