Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 13: Temptation

Veronica looked at the girl in front of her, feeling a slight stir in her heart.

It wasn’t because of the girl’s appearance—she never judged people by their looks.

It was the word "kitty" that caught her attention. The girl was clearly referring to Moko, who had been following them all along.

Ordinary people couldn’t see fairies like Moko. In fact, most wouldn’t even sense their presence at all. That meant the girl before her was no ordinary person.

Considering her question and Lin Xiaolu’s reaction behind her, it wasn’t hard to deduce that this was the girl with magical talent—the very person their group had been searching for.

"You—when the hell did you sneak up over here?!"

At some point, Lin Xiaolu had already hidden behind Veronica, staring at the girl with a mix of bravado and nervousness. "I saw you and your group walking ahead!"

"Walking ahead… Ah, I just made up an excuse to slip away from them," the girl said with a playful blink. "Because I saw you following me, so I wanted to ask what you were up to."

"Saw me? No way!"

Lin Xiaolu shook her head and pointed a finger at the girl. "There were so many people on the street! I was blending into the crowd the whole time. How could you possibly notice I was following you?!"

"But you're wearing the same school uniform as me," the girl said, tilting her head slightly. "And you’re the only other student from our school around here. So to me, you stood out a lot."

"Same school? Hah! You think you can fool me with that excuse—"

Halfway through her sentence, Lin Xiaolu suddenly seemed to realize something. She scrutinized the girl’s appearance carefully, then gasped as if recalling something. "Ah! I remember now! You're with that delinquent girl gang in our grade!"

The term "delinquent girl" caught Veronica’s attention, making her glance at the girl again.

Makeup, dyed hair, earrings—by middle school standards, she did have the look of a "bad girl." But aside from that, there wasn’t anything particularly delinquent about her.

"Hah… ‘delinquent girl gang’…"

The girl didn’t seem offended by the label. Instead, she burst into laughter, as if she’d just heard something amusing. "That’s funny. Is that what people call us at school? Or did you come up with it yourself?"

Lin Xiaolu didn’t answer. Instead, she took two steps back and grabbed onto Veronica. "Veronica, this girl is dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" The girl looked genuinely puzzled by the accusation.

"I’ve seen it before!" Lin Xiaolu declared righteously. "Girls like her—those delinquent types—bully other students!"

"But I’ve never bullied anyone," the girl countered. "That’s slander."

"Even if you didn’t bully anyone, your whole look is scandalous!"

"This is just normal styling." The girl puffed her cheeks. "Shouldn’t girls try to look fashionable?"

"It’s shameless!" Lin Xiaolu shook her head furiously. "Dressing like that is bad enough, but you people are always flirting with boys! One of your friends even got suspended for, uh, doing things with a boy in an empty classroom—"

"You mean she slept with her boyfriend? That wasn’t me, though."

The girl raised an eyebrow, looking helpless. "And I don’t flirt with boys. Dating is such a hassle. I reject all my confessions properly, thank you very much."

"Wh-why would you just say it like that?! Y-you’re such a pervert!"

Lin Xiaolu’s face flushed red with embarrassment and indignation. "Even if you haven’t done anything like that, you dress like this on purpose to get boys’ attention, don’t you?!"

"Hmm… That’s true."

The girl admitted it without hesitation, but her expression remained calm and sweet, almost obedient. "But don’t you think it’s funny? Watching boys struggle between wanting to look and being too scared to?"

"You—you—" Lin Xiaolu was utterly flustered.

As their conversation drifted further off track, Veronica finally had to step in. She sighed and cut them off. "Alright, both of you, enough."

She gestured toward the side. "I’m not getting involved in whatever nonsense you two have going on. But arguing like this in the middle of the street isn’t exactly ideal. Look—people are staring."

Lin Xiaolu and the girl both stopped, looking around. Sure enough, a small crowd had gathered, some even holding up their phones to record.

It wasn’t hard to see why—three young girls, one of whom looked particularly small, standing together in the street. All of them were cute enough to pass for idols, and they were having a dramatic argument. Anyone watching might assume they were filming some variety show or viral video.

If they kept drawing attention, there were a lot of things they wouldn’t be able to talk about freely. So Veronica decided to take charge. She pointed toward another direction and said, "How about we move somewhere more private for this conversation?"

The girl blinked in surprise, then smiled, looking a little confused. "Eh? But I don’t even know what you guys want. Why should I go with you?"

"We’re following you," Veronica stated flatly. "Because you’re special. We need to talk to you."

"Following me?"

The girl covered her mouth, putting on an exaggerated look of fear. "Oh no, I’m being stalked? What do you want from me? If I give you money, will you let me go?"

"You came to us first," Veronica replied, unimpressed by her theatrics. "Which means you're interested. Even now, you’re still curious about that floating pink cat, aren’t you?"

"…Maybe?" The girl remained evasive.

Seeing that Veronica had mentioned her, Moko flapped her wings and flew closer, about to speak. But one sharp glance from Veronica shut her up instantly. The little fairy had no choice but to obediently remain silent.

"I’ll tell you this—your instincts are right. Everything you’re sensing is real."

Veronica, having silenced Moko, turned back to the girl, placing one hand on her hip. "That strange attraction you feel toward the pink cat, the unexplained sense of danger when you look at me—they’re all real."

"If you want to understand why, then follow me."

For the first time, the girl’s confident expression faltered. She looked slightly taken aback—clearly, Veronica had struck a nerve.

Sensing the timing was right, Veronica decided to employ a little push-and-pull strategy. She lifted her chin slightly, her tone turning more aloof. "I’m not forcing you. You can refuse and leave right now. But this invitation? You won’t get a second one."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the girl staring after her.

Moko and Lin Xiaolu quickly followed suit—Moko fluttering her wings as she caught up, and Lin Xiaolu shooting one last glare at the girl before jogging after Veronica.

"…Ah, geez. In the end, I’m the one getting reeled in, huh?"

The girl hesitated for a moment, then let out a helpless laugh. And then, step by step, she followed them.