“Huh… as expected, sandwiches are cheap and filling…”
In the small park downstairs from the school, Jiang Nan took a huge bite out of a hot sandwich fresh from the microwave and let out a happy crunching sound as she sighed.
“If you got up earlier in the morning, you could eat breakfast.”
Ye Xingling said nonchalantly.
Right now, her mind was full of strange thoughts. As for the comprehensive census? What was there to care about? She’d already thrown it to the back of her mind. With her beautiful and powerful senior Qiluo around, anything that threatened a magical girl’s identity was nothing but a floating cloud~
“Easy for you to say. Something that big happened last night, and you’re the only one who could just sleep peacefully on schedule, then get up early to eat your brother’s lovingly made breakfast.”
Her deskmate wolfed down an entire sandwich. Her speed in that regard always earned Ye Xingling’s sincere admiration.
“Haha… it’s just that I was busy with something else last night and didn’t pay much attention to the online info.”
Ye Xingling scratched her hair and offered a weak explanation.
“Okay, you’re really a busy person. Every weekend I ask you to hang out, you never have time.”
Jiang Nan pouted in dissatisfaction. She had good intentions, thinking that Ye Xingling seemed a bit isolated at school, like she didn’t have many friends. So she wanted to invite her deskmate to join when she went out with others sometime.
Ye Xingling just looked like such a pure and lively girl—why wasn’t she willing to interact with everyone?
“Well, I really couldn’t spare the time that time. I recently took on a part-time job to help lighten my brother’s burden.”
Ye Xingling awkwardly twirled her hair with her fingers.
To be honest, the reason she didn’t go was simply because she didn’t feel like moving, and lately she really had been busy on weekends.
Using white lies to hide her magical girl identity was probably going to happen often from now on. Luckily, she didn’t have many close acquaintances. Her gaming friends—she could just say she’d stopped playing. She’d probably only need to come up with a logical excuse to fool her brother…
No, no—how could this be called lying? Could hiding a magical girl’s identity and activity track be called lying?
“Alright, alright. What a good little sister you are.”
Jiang Nan rolled her eyes lightly.
“Hey, Xingling, you’re so cute. Could you introduce your brother to me?”
Then Jiang Nan leaned in mysteriously, her breath like orchid, and gave a small, playful whine.
“Ew, Jiang Nan, you’re being super creepy like that…”
Ye Xingling didn’t take the bait. Instead, she pushed away the face with that disgusting grin.
“You’re not promiscuous, so why are you so interested in my brother? Don’t tell me you want to be my sister-in-law? If that’s really what you’re thinking, then you’ve got an incredibly fierce rival!”
Ye Xingling said irritably.
I treat you as a friend, and you want to be my sister-in-law?
Is that allowed?
Sister Shiyue definitely doesn’t seem like the type to allow her brother to have a harem. And besides, even though Sister Shiyue is usually cheerful and acts like a gentle, perfect wife, when she gets angry… though I’ve never seen her angry, my magical girl intuition tells me that if Sister Shiyue did get mad, it would be terrifying!
Thinking this, Ye Xingling instinctively shrank her neck.
“Huh? He’s already taken?”
Jiang Nan reluctantly pulled away from Ye Xingling, a look of disappointment on her face.
“But I’m not giving up! Spill it! Who’s my rival?”
Then she became fired up again, waving her little fists as if she was about to challenge something.
“Alright! Full of spirit! Then allow me to introduce—my brother’s childhood friend who grew up with him, gentle and considerate, full of charm, a perfect combination of a gentle wife and a sly personality—the next-door big sister type! Contestant Jiang Nan, any trash talk you want to say before the match?”
Ye Xingling also got caught up in the fun, hosting a nonexistent competition in the tone of a game announcer.
‘Hmm, let’s call it “Operation: Big Brother’s Love Battle” for now!’
“Guh… such a formidable opponent! But I, Jiang Nan, am no pushover either! Wait, is that the right word? Whatever, anyway, as galgames say, a childhood friend can never beat a sudden arrival! So in this battle, the advantage is mine!”
“Alright! Let’s give a round of applause for Contestant Jiang Nan’s extremely confident declaration!”
Ye Xingling, as if infected by her momentum, clapped enthusiastically for her, prompting the latter to bow repeatedly in thanks.
In the end, who couldn’t hold back their laughter? Hard to remember. Anyway, the two girls spent a pleasant break time horsing around.
They returned to the classroom early and saw their math teacher, who was also their homeroom teacher, already standing at the podium—nothing like her usual lazy habit of arriving right on the bell.
Seeing the homeroom teacher this early probably meant something had happened at school…
Ye Xingling felt a little creeped out by the stare, while Jiang Nan casually went back to her seat.
As the two of them walked in, the homeroom teacher stopped staring at them and shifted her gaze to the mostly empty seats, as if calculating something.
This couldn’t be blamed on the students of Satellite City Sixth High School for being “unstudious.” For students of this era, learning wasn’t limited to school content. The twelve years of compulsory education mostly taught common-sense knowledge needed in daily life and some ways of thinking that aided development.
This tendency meant that today’s students could freely explore what they liked without pressure. As for class, it was mostly a formality. Of course they’d cherish precious break time. Just showing up on time for class was already being respectful.
The homeroom teacher leaned on the smart podium and waited a bit longer until the bell rang, then students lazily walked in from the door.
Miraculously, by the time the bell stopped, everyone was already in their seats. You had to admire it—every generation of students had its own special skills.
“Ahem, looks like everyone’s here.”
The homeroom teacher didn’t put up her math lesson slides first. Instead, she cleared her throat, straightened her back, and spoke very formally.
“I’m sure you all know what happened last night, so I won’t go into detail here. This afternoon, our school will undergo a comprehensive census. Therefore, afternoon classes and club activities are canceled. After finishing the check-up, you can all head straight home. That’s it. Class begins.”
Ye Xingling had known about this already, but still put on a surprised expression.
The reason?
It was the message on her phone.
Dumb brother: You’ll have a comprehensive census this afternoon. It’ll probably focus on testing lineage, magic power, superpowers, and stuff like that. I’ll send you an ID code. Give it to the Human Alliance organizer, and you can go straight home.
Dumb brother: Don’t ask why for now. I’ll explain when I get back.
Huh…?
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