The first stop heading south was Changxiang City, right next to Huahai City.
Even though it was close by, Luo You had never visited, for a simple reason—the economy was underdeveloped.
Even the cement roads weren’t fully paved, and the streets were narrow. The only place that looked remotely upscale was Qianda Plaza near the city center, but there weren’t many shops inside, and there weren’t many people either.
Luo You and her group took a quick stroll inside and came right back out.
“Are you serious? What’s there even to do here?” Mu Shui asked in disbelief.
“It’s so backward!” Qiu Yu was also visibly disappointed.
It looked like one night here would be more than enough.
According to their plan, they would stop at one city per day. The schedule was tight, which had its pros and cons.
By coincidence, there was a hotel right next to the plaza. Luo You was just about to walk in when she turned around and asked, “By the way, how are we handling the accommodations? We can’t use our ID cards.”
“Check the itinerary,” Xingyue pulled out a brand new itinerary and handed it over.
The accommodation issue had obviously been arranged in advance. The Magic Alliance had reserved several rooms in luxury hotels across the southern cities for an entire year.
That was true both domestically and abroad.
Now that the various governments near the Boundary Sea didn’t dare hold back funding for the Magical Girls, the restrictions had loosened significantly. This year’s funding was even more than double previous years, so the Magic Alliance was able to set aside some budget for this stability maintenance squad.
After all, the purpose was to help Magical Girls forge bonds and strengthen their fighting ability, so a supportive environment was essential.
Even Luo You couldn’t help but marvel at how the Magic Alliance left nothing to chance and truly had deep resources. Even things as mystical as “friendship and bonds” could be systematically cultivated.
One wrong move, though, and they’d just be pairing up random couples.
“When are the other four meeting up with us? Who are they?” Luo You asked Xingyue.
“They’ll probably get here today. The specifics haven’t been finalized. Once they’re done discussing, they’ll come over on their own.”
“You’re the First Seat, yet you don’t know anything?”
“I was a last-minute addition, nothing I can do about that.”
Xingyue curled her lips slightly. Seeing that Qiu Yu and Mu Shui weren’t paying attention, she moved a little closer.
Darkness fell over Luo You’s face.
٠٠٠]
[Iron Sheep, don’t block my sunlight! On a cold day like this, I need the sun for warmth, you idiot! If you know you’re wrong, squeeze over here with those shameless udders of yours and use them to warm me up, you indecent magical dairy cow!]
Noticing Luo You’s resentful yet burning gaze, Xingyue naturally squeezed her arms together, pressing her chest and casting an even bigger shadow over Luo You’s face.
Luo You instinctively leaned her head back, oppressed by the darkness.
Xingyue lowered her voice and said, “Looks like you’ve already figured out the meaning behind this itinerary.”
“Well, anyone can see that this stability maintenance job is way too relaxing and comfortable—there’s definitely something fishy.”
“Just don’t spread it around. If word gets out, it won’t work as well. This mystical thing where friendship and bonds boost fighting power—many Magical Girls have experienced it firsthand, but afterward, they all think it was just their own ‘cosmos’ surging. Very few realize it’s all traceable.”
Even among the Ten Seats, only four or five people know about this for sure.
It’s not public knowledge. If all the Magical Girls knew that friendship and bonds could be cultivated, they’d start chasing it deliberately, and the resulting bonds would be too low in purity!
Not only would it not improve their combat ability, it might even have the opposite effect.
١٠٠٠
“But now I know, so what should I do?” Luo You pointed at herself, “I want to know what kind of stimulant ‘friendship and bonds’ are too.”
Hearing this, Xingyue sighed in exasperation, “Your talent is very important to us. One of the reasons I joined the team at the last minute was to see if I could form a—”
“Stop! Stop, stop, stop! Don’t say it!”
Having guessed what was coming next, Luo You felt uncomfortable all over!
Form a bond with Xingyue? Don’t be ridiculous!
She could accept forming a bond with any other Magical Girl—even that coward Liyun would be fine—but Xingyue… just felt too weird! Out of ten, it was twelve points off!
She desperately needed a pair of ears that hadn’t heard that sentence!
Besides, Xingyue was still her only rival in bed. If they formed a bond too, wouldn’t that make it just a pure best-friend relationship?
◎
Xingyue said nothing, but led everyone into the hotel.
They all used disguise magic. If the recently trending Jin Lin and the household name Xingyue appeared in public together, so much for calling this a vacation.
“Here are your room cards. Keep them safe.”
“Thank you.”
“Jin Lin, this is yours.” “Oh.”
Then, they all entered their rooms one after another.
After Qiu Yu and Mu Shui entered theirs, something felt off.
It was a triple room.
But right now, only the two of them were here.
“Jin Lin-sama got a room card too, so is Xingyue-sama staying with us?” Mu Shui asked dazedly.
“Are you dumb? Didn’t you hear there are four more people who haven’t arrived? Xingyue-sama is definitely staying with Jin Lin-sama. They’re both top Magical Girls—they’ll have more to talk about,” Qiu Yu said as if it were obvious.
On the other side.
Luo You swiped her card and entered her room.
She hadn’t even closed the door before Xingyue’s hand slipped through the gap and then the rest of her followed.
She’d seen this scene so many times that Luo You wasn’t even surprised anymore.
“Xingyue-sama? What are you doing?”
Luo You noticed it was a double room.
Xingyue, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world, took off her shoes, put on the slippers, and plopped down on the bed without ceremony.
“I’m asking you a question,” Luo You said bluntly.
After all, Xingyue already knew her true nature, so she didn’t bother pretending to be some goody two-shoes. She didn’t speak as politely as other Magical Girls.
◎
“Look,” Xingyue once again pulled out an itinerary, “Don’t make me repeat myself too many times.”
Luo You took it and read through every line and word carefully. Suddenly, she understood everything.
One of the goals for this stability maintenance squad was to foster friendship and form bonds, so of course there wouldn’t be any single rooms booked.
Usually, there was one double room and two triple rooms.
Triple rooms were for building friendship.
Double rooms were for forming bonds.
Makes sense, right?
Luo You understood the logic, but she still had a question.
“There’s another triple room that’s empty, so why are you putting me with you? Shouldn’t I be with Mu Shui and Qiu Yu? That would make three.”
Luo You didn’t mind sharing with Xingyue. In fact, it was better for some mischief.
But Xingyue had just mentioned forming a bond with her, which made this double room feel extra suspicious!
She knew Xingyue wanted to try and form a bond, but Luo You just couldn’t refuse.
If she didn’t want to form a bond with Xingyue, then she couldn’t be mischievous, nor could she enjoy those shameless udders. After that, she’d have to share a room with someone else—who knew if they’d be an older sister or a pair of As.
But if she accepted, she’d be giving in to Xingyue’s schemes, fueling that woman’s arrogance.
What a top scheme of the 21st century!
Facing her doubts, Xingyue simply lowered her head and slowly unbuttoned her jacket while saying,
“Because the other four haven’t arrived, and the relationships across the hall are still uncertain. If we randomly assign two Magical Girls to a double room, it could have serious consequences.”
“Serious consequences?”
“Maybe you haven’t seen it yet, but Magical Girls can have some intense love triangles.” “Ah… That’s true.” Luo You nodded.
If a pair of Magical Girls in love were separated into different rooms and one ended up sharing a double with someone they had ambiguous feelings for, it really could cause jealousy, anxiety, and a whole string of other issues.
But Luo You, still feeling weird, retorted, “Aren’t you afraid sharing a room with me will also cause the kind of ‘serious consequences’ you mentioned?”
“Not worried,” Xingyue got up to boil some water, “Besides, I never said I was sharing a room with you.”
“Huh? Not the same room?” Luo You looked up in surprise.
So who was she sharing a room with?
She hoped it would be a gentle older sister who was good at removing clothes!
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