Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 105: Dating (1)

【White Rose: Veronica, when are you guys coming back?】

【Veronica: A little later, probably by evening.】

【White Rose: That late? Guess we'll just order takeout for lunch then.】

【Veronica: Mm, thanks for handling it. Everything going smoothly on your end?】

【White Rose: Don’t worry, leave it to me!】

Staring at her phone screen, Veronica took a slow sip of tea, feeling slightly reassured before placing the phone back on the table.

It was right after lunch. Sitting in a tastefully decorated tea café, Veronica and Xia Liang were each resting in their seats. The clock on the nearby wall ticked rhythmically, accompanied by the soft background music, creating a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere.

The café they chose for lunch was called "Qinhe," a tea restaurant Xia Liang had found online and suggested. It wasn’t originally part of Veronica’s plan. Business was booming, and they had to wait in line for an hour before getting seated. Even after entering, every booth around them was filled with customers, with hardly an empty table in sight.

Veronica had little interest in trendy, internet-famous restaurants and didn’t care much about what to eat, so she left all the ordering to Xia Liang. The result was a table full of aesthetically pleasing dishes, while Xia Liang enthusiastically took pictures of each dish as it arrived.

Whether the meal was delicious or not was another matter, but at the very least, Xia Liang seemed satisfied.

As Veronica put her phone back on the table, Xia Liang, who had been busy figuring out the best way to photograph her dessert, looked up and held up her phone.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing, White Rose was just asking where we are." Veronica answered matter-of-factly, her expression unreadable.

"Why do you still call her White Rose?"

Xia Liang smirked teasingly. "They're not even here right now. Can’t you just call Xiaolu directly… Oh wait, you usually call her Lulu, right?"

Veronica gave her a flat look. "I’ve said this before. It’s about maintaining the awareness of being a Magical Girl."

"Mm—"

Xia Liang hummed in vague disagreement, raising her voice slightly before setting down her phone and picking up the spoon beside her cake. "But you’ve already started calling me 'Xia Liang' directly. Sticking to 'White Rose' for Xiaolu… Isn’t that just your way of being shy?"

"…I’ve told you, I still haven’t figured out how to explain it to her."

Veronica averted her gaze, somewhat exasperated. "Anyway, if you’re done resting, we can head out now. There’s still more on the agenda this afternoon."

"Wait."

Xia Liang suddenly raised her hand, grinning. "I just thought of a place I want to go."

Seeing the meaningful smile on her face, Veronica felt a faint twitch in her brow but still respected her decision. "Where?"

"Well, since we're already in the electronics district, and the weather finally cleared up after the rain..."

Xia Liang pointed outside the café's floor-to-ceiling window, looking excited.

"Let’s go shopping for clothes!"

---

A short while later, in a clothing store not far from the tea café.

"This is perfect! I knew this outfit would suit me!"

Stepping out of the fitting room, Xia Liang twirled in front of the mirror, admiring her reflection with bright eyes.

Beside her, a sales assistant showered her with praise. "You, young lady, are simply born to be a model! Even our promotional photos don't look this good!"

The store, "Remedy," specialized in casual wear for young women, targeting the 15-30 age group.

"Haha, thank you."

Xia Liang chuckled as she smoothed out the hem of her short pink sweatshirt and adjusted the slight creases in her skirt. She rocked on the heels of her white ankle boots, spinning around to check her look from different angles.

"But hmm… doesn’t this feel a little childish?"

After scrutinizing her outfit for a while, she turned to Veronica. "What do you think, Senior? Does this outfit suit me?"

"It looks great. Cute. Well-matched. Very stylish."

Veronica’s tone was flat, her response almost robotic. "I think it suits you."

It was a habit she had developed from shopping with her wife.

Whenever Aya asked for Lin Yun's opinion while picking outfits, it was rarely about actual feedback—she just wanted to hear him say she looked good. In the end, what she actually chose had little to do with his response.

And it wasn’t just Aya. Shopping with the old Fangting City squad had been a regular occurrence.

As the only Magical Girl in the team whose real body was male, Lin Yun had been treated as a reference point for the "male gaze." This meant he was frequently asked, "How does this outfit look?"

Not answering would lead to relentless questioning. Being too indifferent would get him scolded for being unhelpful. Over time, he had perfected a set of go-to, foolproof compliments.

Xia Liang, however, could tell Veronica was just giving a canned response. Narrowing her eyes slightly in mild dissatisfaction, she suddenly seemed to have an idea, and her smile took on a more mischievous edge.

"Miss, do you have outfits in this child's size?"

She turned to the store assistant with an innocent expression.

"This child?"

The sales assistant glanced at Veronica, then nodded after a brief assessment. "Our smallest sizes should fit just about right."

"In that case…"

Xia Liang grinned and took two steps toward Veronica, her voice playful.

"Hey hey, Senior, why don’t you try something on?"

"Try what…?"

Initially, Veronica wasn’t paying much attention. But as she processed Xia Liang’s words, her gaze slowly shifted toward the store’s clothing racks. After a moment of silent observation, she turned back and stated firmly:

"I’m not wearing it."

"Why not?"

Xia Liang sighed in disappointment. "You hardly have any casual clothes, right? And most of what you do wear looks like children's clothing anyway. Why not try dressing a little more mature?"

"I’m not like you guys."

Folding her arms, Veronica frowned slightly and explained in a serious tone.

"For me, as long as my clothes are clean and practical, that’s enough. I don’t need, nor do I like, overly flashy outfits."

"Have you ever tried, though?" Xia Liang suddenly asked.

The question made Veronica pause. After a moment of eye contact, she let out a soft sigh and nodded. "I have."

What she didn’t say was that she hadn’t just tried—it would be more accurate to say she had worn practically everything.

Two decades ago, when various fashion trends swept through the young female demographic, she had tried nearly all of them—thanks to Aya’s insistence.

Aya had always been incredibly enthusiastic about dressing up Veronica’s Magical Girl form.

At first, she just experimented with her old clothes. Then, it became a habit of picking outfits whenever they shopped. Eventually, it evolved into a strange tradition called "Veronica’s Image Update Day."

Every now and then, the old Fangting City squad would drag Lin Yun—transformed into Veronica—on shopping trips to pick out new outfits.

Most Magical Girls had an inherently attractive transformation appearance, each with their own unique charm. But Veronica’s look had an elegance that was rare even among them. The squad often described her as having a "noble" aura, like some aristocratic lady from an unknown realm.

Aya and the others had treated her like a life-sized dress-up doll, trying out all kinds of outfits on her.

So while Veronica wasn’t personally interested in fashion, she couldn’t deny that she had, in fact, worn just about every style imaginable.

"Then try it again!" Xia Liang pumped her fist excitedly.

Veronica let out a long sigh. Seeing that Xia Liang had planned this all along, she hesitated for only a moment before conceding.

"Fine, but no overly revealing outfits."

—"Yes!"

Xia Liang and the sales assistant high-fived in celebration, as if they had just overcome a major hurdle.

And so, the fashion show began.

Veronica’s agreement ignited an excited discussion between Xia Liang and the store assistant about what styles would best suit her.

Off-the-shoulder jackets, suspender skirts, graphic sweatshirts, knit tops—one by one, Xia Liang handed various outfits to Veronica, who dutifully changed into them and emerged from the fitting room with an expression of complete indifference.

Even as she remained cold and detached, the other two’s enthusiasm remained undeterred.

The store assistant even took it a step further, personally styling Veronica’s hair in different ways to match her outfits—twin tails, a bun, braids… Meanwhile, Xia Liang captured every moment with her phone, snapping photos from different angles.

Veronica stared at the girl in the mirror wearing unfamiliar clothes, listening to the store assistant’s exaggerated compliments. For a brief moment, she felt a strange sense of time displacement.

It was as if she had been pulled back to the days when she used to go shopping with the old squad. The ones joking and laughing outside the fitting room weren’t Xia Liang and a store assistant, but Aya, Margaret, and Su Shengzi…

But that feeling lasted only for a fleeting second before she snapped back to reality.

"How about this one, Senior?"

After finishing her latest round of photos, Xia Liang stepped beside Veronica, resting her hands on her shoulders as they both looked into the mirror.

"I think this one is the best."

Veronica turned her gaze to the mirror.

She was wearing a short, loose-fitting, long-sleeved cardigan over a high-waisted skirt. White socks and canvas shoes completed the look, adding a youthful touch.

Her transformed appearance as a Magical Girl already made her look somewhat young, but this outfit gave her an air of being a "mature kid." She actually looked more like a middle school student now.

That realization made Veronica pause for a moment before she gave a small nod.

"I think it’s pretty good."

This time, she wasn’t just being perfunctory—she actually found it acceptable.

And so, after nearly an hour of trying on different outfits, they finally wrapped up—not because they were done having fun, but because the store assistant had been ignoring other customers for too long.

With several shopping bags in hand, Veronica and Xia Liang stepped out of the store.

By now, it was already afternoon.

"Ahh, that was so satisfying!"

Hugging her phone, Xia Liang scrolled through the pictures she had just taken. "Normally, I’d never get to see Senior wear these kinds of clothes. But now, I can keep them all saved!"

"…I’d prefer if you deleted them."

Carrying the paper bags, Veronica walked at a steady pace down the street.

"If you really don’t want to, at least be careful. Don’t let the others see these photos."

"Eh? But wouldn’t Xiaolu love to see them?"

Xia Liang tilted her phone slightly. "I bet she’d be thrilled! After all, Senior looks super cute in these."

"You know exactly what I mean."

Veronica shot her a glance. "No means no."

"So this is our little secret, huh?"

Xia Liang grinned, resting her phone against her chin. "Another secret just between us, hmm?"

Veronica chose to stay silent.

If she reacted too strongly, Xia Liang’s teasing would only escalate. But if she acted too indifferent, Xia Liang might think she was being ignored. The best approach was to simply not respond at all.

They continued walking through the pedestrian street, occasionally exchanging casual remarks. Before long, they rounded a corner, and Veronica spoke up.

"We’re here."

"Where?" Xia Liang asked, confused.

"Our next stop—an independently owned hand-brewed coffee shop."

Veronica glanced ahead as she recalled, "It used to be where the old Fangting City squad would meet after school. I’m not sure if it’s still open, but I figured we could check it out."

"Kind of like how we used to insist on meeting up on the office building rooftop?" Xia Liang mused.

"Something like that," Veronica replied lightly.

"Wow, I can’t believe you guys used to meet up in a place like this," Xia Liang remarked, intrigued. "Was there a specific reason for it?"

"Is it really that odd? Meeting at a café isn’t exactly uncommon."

"It’s not that meeting at a café is weird," Xia Liang said thoughtfully, raising a hand to point across the street. "But the kind of café you guys picked seems a bit…"

Veronica followed Xia Liang’s gaze.

There, at the location she remembered, was indeed a café.

But as she took a closer look at its signage and décor, her words suddenly caught in her throat.

In her memory, this had been a quaint, sophisticated coffee shop with a subtle Middle Eastern-inspired aesthetic. The business had been a little slow, but the ambiance and quality had always been excellent.

Now, however, what stood before her was something completely different.

A girl in a black-and-white uniform stood at the entrance, energetically advertising to passersby. The storefront was coated in pastel pink, radiating an overwhelming sense of femininity. The café's name was written in cursive on the sign, and right beside it—was a logo featuring a miniature version of the same black-and-white dress.

That particular style of dress was well-known to the general public.

It had a name: Maid outfit.

—This was now a maid café.