At night, strange mixed sounds could be heard from the hotel rooftop.
“Little Red Riding Hood, d-does this really mean anything?”
Hai Ling couldn’t bear it anymore. Luo Zining, right in front of her, had already been knocked down by her elbow but was still trembling as she struggled to get up.
She had no idea what was wrong with the other girl. Out of nowhere, Luo Zining had asked her to randomly elbow her during their casual conversation, which made no sense at all.
It didn’t even look like they were playing some kind of special game, did it?
Hai Ling slowly crouched down. “.Little Red Riding Hood, can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing, I just suffered a major failure.” Luo Zining stubbornly stood up. “I just want to make myself remember this feeling of humiliation.”
“Haโฆ”
Turning her head, she saw a figure standing on the lightning rodโit was Luo You.
“Hey, this self-abuse has gone far enough. How do you expect to maintain your combat strength like this?”
“..What are you doing here?” Luo Zining turned away.
“I heard noises and thought you two were up to something improper.”
ใคใผใผ!
Hai Ling’s face flushed red. Thankfully, it was a dark and windy night, so Luo Zining didn’t see it.
How could someone be so terrible at talking! How could magical girls possibly do anything improper outside?
Luo You had been watching for a while, but when she saw that the two were just playing an elbowing game, she instantly lost all interest.
What the heck?! Seriously! You elbowed her down, so why not just do it?
Luo Zining didn’t know what kind of look to give her.
But even though she didn’t know Luo You well, her body instinctively triggered a rebellious response.
“What I do is none of your business, right? (mumbling)”
“Yeah, as your former~~senior, of course I can’t control you.”
Luo You sneered, “Let me be clear, I can’t stand you, so don’t expect me to treat you kindly. Even if you’re a senior, it doesn’t matter.”
“.!” Luo Zining’s face showed a mix of shock and hurt, but she stubbornly replied, “Me, me neither!”
“You two, stop arguing already!”
Sensing the mood was going south, Hai Ling quickly raised her voice to break the deadlock. “Since we’re all on the same team now, we should get along.”
Here, as Hai Ling’s friend, Luo Zining should be the first to compromise so her friend wouldn’t be embarrassed, and she was about to do just thatโbut Luo You beat her to it.
“Fine, since Hai Ling says soโฆ”
Luo You sighed. “Let’s get back and rest early. We still have to head to the next stop tomorrow. There’s a basketball friendship game there.”
With that, she leapt straight down from the rooftop, twenty stories high.
Luo Zining didn’t find anything strange about it. Instead, she wondered why, after trading a couple of barbs with Jin Lin, she suddenly felt much lighter?
“Hai Ling, let’s go back and sleep too.”
“Mmโฆ”
On the way down, Hai Ling tilted her head in confusion.
Am Iโฆ that familiar with Jin Lin?
In the room, Xing Yue put down her book. “Where did you go?”
“Went out to watch a show, but only saw something abstract.”
“You wanted to see how bonds are formed with your own eyes?”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
Luo You smoothly skipped over the topic. In her heart, she was already hatching a plan to help Hai Ling and Luo Zining get along.
And now, she was putting it into action.
“Don’t go meddling in the relationships between magical girls,” Xing Yue suddenly chimed in, shattering Luo You’s rosy fantasies with a light reminder.
“Got it. I’ll just observe naturally, nothing more.”
Even though Luo You said so, Xing Yue still added, “If you interfere too much in magical girls’ relationships, it’ll only cause consequences you can’t even imagine.”
Luo You was displeased. Hands on her waist, she said, “If you put it that way, isn’t your so-called Stability Team doing the same thing?”
“It’s different. Ours is supported by sociological research and dataโit’s scientific.”
“Bringing bonds into this, and you still call it scientific?” Luo You rolled her eyes. With a wave of her small hand, the lights went out.
“I still want to read.”
“I’m going to sleep.”
“..”
Xing Yue gave up, closed her book, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep.
The night passed without incident.
Luo You glanced back at Xing Yue.
Damn, I really want to bury my face in that pair of soft fleshโฆ
But her pure image had already collapsed in front of Xing Yue. If she forced herself over now, it would probably just cause rejection.
No rush, there will be chances.
Luo You consoled herself this way.
Although she and Xing Yue were supposed to be strengthening their friendship now, in truth, they weren’t doing anything special, just interacting a bit more than before.
But she didn’t have any special feelings about it.
As someone with experience, Luo You naturally understood that it’s precisely this kind of plain and simple interaction that builds a firm and solid friendship.
Those friendships that suddenly go from strangers to supporting each other’s dreams only exist in anime.
The next noon
Da-da-da-da-da-daโ
The rapid sound of basketballs hitting the ground brought energy to the air.
“Me, Hai Ling, Xing Yue, and Qiu Yu on one team. You four on the other. Let’s start. The losing side has to treat everyone to lunch this afternoon.”
Times were getting tough. On the basketball court, Luo You was in her element.
Hua Hua complained, “Having to go up against Lord Jin Lin and Lord Xing Yue at the same time, it just feels impossible to winโฆ”
“Don’t overthink it. As long as we’re not using magic, we’re all on the same level. No need to be so pessimistic.”
“Lord Xing Yueโฆ so dazzling.”
“Stop yammering! Let’s go!”
Basketball was a reasonably complicated sport, but with girls playing, there was no need to fuss about the rules. Just play.
Even after explaining the rules, some people would ignore them on their first gameโso long as everyone’s having fun.
This gave Luo You the perfect excuse for her ten-meter, no-dribble sprint dunk.
If she pulled that in an official match, the referee’s whistle would fly off the court.
Luo You’s team was the first to score a point.
This made Luo Zining secretly start to compete with her.
[Where the heck did you learn to dribble? The ball doesn’t even touch the ground!] Luo Zining bit her lip.
If the losing team had to buy lunch, she had no problem paying up. But to use her money to buy Jin Lin food?
No way!
Not a chance!
Next, Luo You pulled the same trick, but even more exaggeratedโalmost a twenty-meter no-dribble sprint. Just as she was about to make a layup, Luo Zining smacked her shot away, the ball slamming right into Luo You’s head.
“โฆ.Wasn’t that a foul?”
โ
“You’re the one who fouled, you little shorty?!” Luo Zining snapped, eyes wide with rage.
This Jin Lin was too much!
“Little Red Riding Hood, don’t get too worked up, that’s just a personal attackโฆ” Hai Ling forced a bitter smile, stepping in as the peacemaker again.
In the end, it was Luo You who gave in first. She said to Hai Ling, “Hai Ling, be my wingman.”
“Eh? W-wingman?”
“Yeah, I know we’ll have great teamwork. I believe in you! If it’s youโฆ I know you can do it!”
Luo You gave her a thumbs-up and flashed a radiant smile.
In that moment, the others seemed to see the radiance of friendship and dreams shining from them!
Huh?
Xing Yue stared, dumbfounded.
What the heck?