Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 110: Birthday Party

A few hours earlier—before Veronica and Xia Liang had returned—Bai Jingxuan and Lin Xiaolu were busy setting up decorations in the living room.

They had only learned about Xia Liang’s birthday through Veronica, who had tasked them with preparing a surprise before Xia Liang got back.

After a brief afternoon rest, Lin Xiaolu took the initiative to handle the living room decorations, while Bai Jingxuan moved to the entryway to retrieve the prepared banners and string lights, hanging them from the ceiling.

Since neither of them was tall enough, they simply transformed into their Magical Girl forms, using their ability to hover midair to make the task much easier.

Bai Jingxuan carefully spaced out the decorations, exhaling lightly as she took a step back to check her work. When she glanced toward the living room, she saw Lin Xiaolu just as focused, working diligently.

Her thoughts drifted.

It had been over a month since she joined the Fangting City squad, yet she still hadn’t figured out the dynamic between the three seniors.

Her teacher—Veronica—was the squad leader and took her role seriously, guiding every Magical Girl on the team. Bai Jingxuan respected her deeply.

Her own relationship with Veronica was purely that of a student and teacher. But when it came to Veronica’s connection with the other two seniors, things seemed… more complicated. There was a side to it she hadn’t fully grasped yet.

And as for the relationship between Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang—that was even more confusing.

Lin Xiaolu was always annoyed with Xia Liang, while Xia Liang always seemed to be provoking her on purpose. Every time they were together, they bickered over the silliest things.

At first, Bai Jingxuan had wanted to step in and mediate. But after observing them for a while, she realized things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

Their constant clashes didn’t seem to stem from pure dislike. If anything—though Bai Jingxuan still didn’t fully understand it—their relationship didn’t seem that bad.

After all, if Lin Xiaolu truly disliked Xia Liang, she wouldn’t be so eager to prepare a surprise birthday celebration for her, right?

——“That’s just how stubborn she is.”

A voice suddenly spoke beside her.

Turning her head, Bai Jingxuan saw a floating pink cat yawning beside her.

“Ah, Moko, you’re back!”

Just as she finished her task, Bai Jingxuan gently landed on the floor and smiled at Moko.

“How was it today? Did you find any new Magical Girls?”

“No luck, no progress at all.”

Moko flapped its tiny wings and crossed its paws with a frustrated expression.

“It’s so weird. Ever since that last incident, there have been fewer Ravagers and fewer new recruits. If this keeps up, I’m gonna be completely useless!”

“Isn’t it a good thing that things are peaceful for once? You don’t even like fighting, do you?”

“No way! I’m your Seeder! If there aren’t any Ravagers or new Magical Girls, I might as well be some house pet!”

“…You can talk?”

“Xiaoxuan! How could a good kid like you say something so cruel?!”

“Eh? But you can talk, so you’re different from a regular pet, right?”

“I’M NOT A PET! Don’t treat me like one!” Moko cried out in indignation.

——“You two, quit chatting and get over here to help!”

Lin Xiaolu’s voice rang out from the living room, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

“We’re not done yet! What are you lazing around for?”

“Sorry, Xiaolu-jie! I’ll be right there!”

Bai Jingxuan quickly grabbed the rest of her decorations and hurried to the living room. She looked up at Lin Xiaolu, who was still floating midair, hard at work.

“Where should I start?”

“Near the balcony.”

Lin Xiaolu pointed without looking away from her task.

Bai Jingxuan didn’t ask further. She floated up again and began working alongside Lin Xiaolu to finish the setup.

Since they didn’t have to waste time climbing ladders, they worked efficiently and soon completed the decorations, transforming the entire first floor of the villa.

As she tidied up leftover wrapping and decoration scraps, Bai Jingxuan glanced around the room.

“…Xia Liang-jie will probably be really happy when she sees this.”

“She better be.”

Lin Xiaolu huffed. “After all this effort, if she isn’t happy, I’m going to flip out.”

“No way.” Bai Jingxuan shook her head. “I mean, I’m not Xia Liang-jie, but if it were me…”

“You’d feel a little envious?” Lin Xiaolu glanced at her.

“Ah? No, that’s not what I meant—I wouldn’t want to trouble you all…”

Caught off guard, Bai Jingxuan flailed her hands, trying to deny it.

“It’s no trouble. You’ll get your turn—on your birthday.”

Lin Xiaolu gave her a sidelong glance.

“You can start thinking about what kind of cake you want.”

“Isn’t it way too early for that? My birthday’s still so far away!”

Bai Jingxuan instinctively refuted, but her voice trailed off as she found herself imagining it.

“…A birthday cake, huh?”

“What’s too early about it? No harm in thinking ahead.”

Lin Xiaolu smirked. “Just wait and see. Next year, on my birthday, I’m making Xia Liang do all the work while I sit back on the couch.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing this, Bai Jingxuan blinked. Then, in a moment of blunt honesty, she said,

“Xiaolu-jie, you’re always complaining about Xia Liang-jie… but you actually seem to get along with her pretty well.”

“…Who said I get along with her?”

Lin Xiaolu grumbled, clearly annoyed. “Veronica asked me to do this, that’s all. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

——“What she means is that if the Inspector hadn’t given instructions, she would’ve just given Xia Liang a normal birthday.”

Moko grinned slyly.

“Like, maybe she would’ve bought a cake and sung ‘Happy Birthday’? And if she’d found out even earlier, maybe she would’ve even made a handmade gift?”

“Stop twisting my words!” Lin Xiaolu shot Moko a glare.

“I meant I wouldn’t have celebrated it at all!”

“Oh really? Then why’d you go out and buy a present yesterday and hide it under your bed?”

“Ha? How did you—wait, no! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

“I saw you! You even made sure to sneak it in without Xia Liang noticing!”

“Shut up! It was just something I bought randomly on the way home!”

“So you did buy something!”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying! I hate you, dumb Moko!”

“I’m dumb? Then what does that make you, since even a dumbass like me saw right through you? Big dumb Xiaolu!”

“Idiot Moko!”

“Big idiot Xiaolu!”

Their pointless argument dragged on for a while. Even when Bai Jingxuan tried to intervene, she could only get them to stop their verbal sparring—they both just sat on opposite sides of the room, sulking in silence.

By the time Veronica and Xia Liang returned, Lin Xiaolu and Moko were still trading occasional jabs.

Of course, all negativity was put aside once the birthday celebration began.

With the pop of party crackers and the chorus of birthday wishes, the evening unfolded into a joyous event that left unforgettable memories for everyone.

That night, in the dimly lit living room, candles flickered atop a birthday cake as everyone sang for Xia Liang, waiting for her to blow out the flames.

That night, in the brightly lit dining area, girls and fairies alike cut into the cake, tasting its sweetness—marking yet another step toward growing up.

That night, by the stairway landing, everyone presented their birthday gifts to Xia Liang.

Veronica gifted her a new plush toy, knowing how much she liked hugging them in her sleep.

Bai Jingxuan gave her a handmade card, carefully crafted from thick paper and colorful scraps at the orphanage.

And finally, the last gift—Lin Xiaolu’s—was a pair of earrings.

“Back then, I said wearing these made you look frivolous, so you took off your old pair and threw them away, didn’t you?”

She turned her face aside and shoved the small box into Xia Liang’s hands.

“…I’m not apologizing. I just don’t like owing people, so I saw these and bought them. Take them or leave them.”

Xia Liang covered her mouth, speechless.

Then, all at once, she lunged forward and wrapped Lin Xiaolu in a tight hug.

“…Thank you.”

And so, Xia Liang’s birthday came to a close in a warm and unforgettable way.

Naturally, Moko didn’t prepare any gifts.

But when it came to the cake, it ate the most.

All celebrations had to come to an end. The party eventually wound down, the dinner concluded, and after the Magical Girls finished celebrating, they still had to clean up the decorations on the first floor. Veronica took care of throwing the trash into the designated bins.

Since Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu had school the next morning, they headed off to wash up, bid everyone goodnight, and returned to their rooms to sleep.

Bai Jingxuan, on the other hand, went back down to the basement.

Since she didn’t have to attend school for the time being, most of her energy was poured into training—so much so that Veronica had to supervise her to prevent overtraining and possible self-injury.

And so, the two remained in the underground training room until nearly 11 p.m. Bai Jingxuan was barely holding back yawns by then, but she still intended to continue.

Veronica, however, stopped her.

"That’s enough. Go get some sleep."

Bai Jingxuan was an obedient and sensible child. So, upon hearing Veronica’s firm instruction, she didn’t argue. She simply nodded and returned to her room for the night.

Veronica, the last one awake, finally returned to her bedroom after shutting down the training facility.

She let out a small sigh, weary from the day’s events, and began to remove her coat, preparing to wash up and go to bed. But just as she reached for her collar buttons, she noticed a faint glow coming from the mirror on her bedside table.

It wasn’t an ordinary mirror.

It was the Magic Mirror that the Investigation Bureau had given her—a device meant for direct communication with Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye.

A soft shimmer pulsed across the mirror’s surface, signaling an incoming message.

Veronica furrowed her brows. She took a few steps toward the table and picked up the mirror. A single tap on the screen displayed the caller’s information—

Just as she expected, it was from the Investigation Bureau.

Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye wanted to speak with her?

A thought crossed her mind.

Instead of delaying the inevitable, she decided to get it over with.

Work was work—better to handle it now than put it off.

With that mindset, she reached out, letting a few Favored Runes fall from her fingertips, their golden symbols striking the mirror’s surface.

She accepted the call.

The magical sigils on the screen briefly swirled before fading away. The transmission stabilized, and soon, a girl wearing a golden, stiff-topped hat appeared on the display, looking back at Veronica with a solemn expression.

Veronica recognized her immediately—she was the same Magical Girl who had handled her last call with Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye.

"Inspector, thank you for answering our call."

The girl gave a small, formal bow before raising her head again. Her voice was serious as she spoke:

"I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, but an incident has occurred in the southern region of Donghua Province—your current jurisdiction—one that none of us wanted to see happen."

"What is it?"

Veronica’s expression remained unreadable as she looked at the mirror.

"Don’t tell me this is another one of our Director’s pointless word games."

"...I apologize, Inspector," the girl responded, bowing again. "But this time, it really is something serious."

She took a breath and continued,

"According to information gathered by our Investigation Bureau, as well as reports from Magical Girls stationed in Bo’an City near your location—"

"The squad that was previously deployed to Donghua Province, the team that had been in direct contact with you…"

"The Cat Tail Squad—they have disappeared in the southern region of Donghua Province."