Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 133: That Strange Boy

At 14 years old, Hong Siyu didn’t believe in miracles.

Or rather, miracles were something that had nothing to do with her.

Since birth, she had seemed like a child who was always just a little more unlucky than the people around her. No matter what she did, things often didn’t go as planned.

So, when she was helping at her class’s food stall during the cultural festival and was bumped from behind, causing the condiments in her hand to spill, she didn’t find it surprising at all.

Ah, it’s happening again.

That was all she thought.

The opened condiment bottle slipped from her palm and fell into the air. The reddish-brown sauce continued to swirl in the bottle, almost about to spill out.

Hong Siyu didn’t have time to catch the bottle, so she could only futilely extend her hand and watch the flying bottle in the air.

Then, in her line of sight, a hand suddenly reached out from the side.

The hand firmly grabbed the condiment bottle that was almost about to fall onto the hot plate. Even the sauce inside didn’t spill much, and the bottle remained intact.

Hong Siyu stared blankly at the hand that had appeared out of nowhere, unsure of how to react.

Looking up, the owner of the hand was a tall and handsome boy.

The boy’s features weren’t particularly striking, but when put together, they created a pleasing harmony. He looked neat and well-groomed, with short hair styled carefully, and his school uniform was perfectly neat and precise. His aura gave off a reserved and meticulous impression, a bit like the “scholar” one might read about in classical novels.

However, the boy’s face held no expression, even to the point of seeming indifferent. He simply held the condiment bottle that Hong Siyu had dropped, handed it back to her, and didn’t say another word.

“...Thank you.”

Hong Siyu managed to force out those two words, though her voice was so soft it could barely be heard.

“You’re welcome,” the boy responded with a stiff tone.

After taking his portion of food from the stall, he showed no signs of wanting recognition, as though the act of helping her had been insignificant. Without another word, he left, disappearing into the crowd.

“...Ah, wasn’t that him?”

While Hong Siyu was watching the boy walk away, a classmate noticed the scene and spoke out, “That’s the boy from the third year, right? I remember he’s pretty well-known.”

“Well-known?”

Hong Siyu looked at her classmate in confusion, “I don’t remember him at all.”

“You wouldn’t know, you’re the model student who never listens to gossip,” her classmate said with a smile. “That senior’s quite famous for being a playboy. I think he’s dating two or maybe three older girls at the same time?”

“Huh, what?”

Her classmate’s revelation suddenly pulled Hong Siyu out of her dreamy thoughts, and she exclaimed in surprise, “A playboy?”

“Don’t be fooled by his looks,” her classmate said as she spun the whisk in her hand, her tone full of experience. “He may look like a handsome guy, but you can’t judge someone by their appearance. If you get too close, you’ll only end up being tossed aside after your feelings are played with.”

“Played with feelings? I—I didn’t think about that at all!”

Hong Siyu quickly defended herself, feeling a bit flustered, “And early relationships are wrong! It’s not something we should be considering!”

“Are you a little kid? So innocent,” her classmate teased with a slightly disdainful smile. “The way you were acting earlier, clearly you were a bit moved, right? Falling for his looks?”

“Huh?”

Her classmate’s blunt words made Hong Siyu’s cheeks burn. She instinctively leaned forward and grabbed her classmate’s shoulder, “I wasn’t!”

“Then why were you staring at his back?”

“I wasn’t! I was just a little concerned because he helped me out earlier!”

“Really?”

“Of course it’s true…”

The two continued their pointless argument until the class monitor noticed that the food stall’s sales were declining, and even causing a shortage. They came over to break up the conversation.

Hong Siyu returned to her spot, picked up the condiment bottle again, and resumed preparing food.

However, because the bottle had slipped from her hand earlier, she held it much more carefully now, just to avoid any more accidents.

It wouldn’t be so lucky to get help from a stranger again, would it?

She thought, gradually forgetting about the boy in the middle of her work.

---

14-year-old Hong Siyu was a somewhat unlucky child.

Because of her bad luck, she didn’t expect anything from fleeting fortunes. She always tried her best and relied on effort to gain a certain future.

That’s why she was a very diligent and excellent student.

To be more specific, she was the top student in her entire grade.

She would always spend all her free time in the school library. While others enjoyed their youth, she would quietly sit in a corner of the library, reading and studying.

It was only during these times that she felt a rare sense of peace because this was her small world, where she could immerse herself in books without any external disturbances.

However, recently, she began to notice another person in the library—a boy, someone she had a vague impression of.

This was the boy who had helped her during the cultural festival months ago, something Hong Siyu had only remembered recently.

She didn’t know exactly when the boy started studying in the library, since she had never paid attention to the other students there before.

But a few days ago, the boy came to the library with another pretty girl.

When a handsome boy and a beautiful girl appear together in the library, they naturally become the center of attention.

Surrounded by questioning, envious, and even disdainful gazes, many students found it hard to concentrate and couldn’t focus on their studies. Some even left the library that day, feeling embarrassed to be in the same space with them.

Even though the boy and girl were just studying, doing nothing else.

Hong Siyu didn’t leave.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to leave, but she couldn’t. Her mother wouldn’t pick her up until late, and unless she went back to the classroom, she had nowhere else to go.

It was then that she overheard the boy and the girl talking softly to each other, and learned the boy’s name.

Lin Yun.

A name that suited his appearance perfectly. Like warm sunlight, not glaring, but still shining brightly.

After that, Hong Siyu gradually noticed that Lin Yun was indeed a regular at the library.

And it seemed that he was truly serious about his studies.

Except for the time he came with the pretty girl, Lin Yun always came alone, silently selecting reference materials, and quietly writing and reading in a corner of the library. He didn’t talk to others, nor did he care about people’s gazes. Day after day, he came and left on time, like a robot.

Of course, there were occasionally days when he wasn’t in the library.

That was normal; everyone has their own life.

Hong Siyu only noticed him, but never spoke to him. Their only exchange was during the cultural festival when he helped her and she thanked him, and he responded with a “you’re welcome.” There was no reason for them to interact more.

Or at least, that’s what she thought, until one day in the library, when she fell from a height while trying to grab a book placed too high.

She had stood on a chair to reach for the book, but the chair slid, and she lost her balance.

In that critical moment, a hand reached out from behind her, grabbing her collar to stop her from falling.

The shock from almost falling made her heart race. After finally calming down, she turned around to see who had helped her, and it was the boy named Lin Yun.

“Um… Thanks?”

Not knowing what else to say, Hong Siyu could only weakly thank him in a voice she wasn’t even sure of.

“You’re welcome,” Lin Yun replied briefly. “Be careful.”

His voice was calm and clear, pleasant to hear, and because it was so quiet in the library with only the two of them there, his voice sounded incredibly distinct to Hong Siyu.

After making sure she was steady on her feet, he let go of her collar, adjusted the chair she had fallen from, and then silently walked away.

Hong Siyu stared at his retreating figure, and only when he disappeared behind the bookshelf did she slowly turn back to look at the shelf.

When she selected the book she needed and left the shelf, she realized that Lin Yun had already left the library. In contrast to his usual punctuality, he had left at an odd time, neither early nor late.

Hong Siyu didn’t think too much of it and continued with her usual routine of studying in the library until it was time for her mother to pick her up.

However, just before leaving, she noticed something on Lin Yun’s seat.

She walked over and found a book.

It was a textbook for the third year.

The pages were worn at the edges, clearly showing signs of frequent use. When she opened the cover, she saw “Lin Yun” neatly written on it.

Flipping through the pages, she saw the book was filled with annotations and notes, written in different colors to indicate which round of study they were from.

It was clear that the owner of the book was very serious and meticulous about their studies.

It seemed that he had left the book behind in his rush to leave, or maybe he had deliberately left it in the library because he didn’t want to carry it around.

Hong Siyu didn’t know the exact reason, but she decided to put the book in the library’s lost-and-found, just in case it got thrown away or taken by someone else.

She would tell him about it when he came back tomorrow.

That was what she thought.

But after that day, she never saw Lin Yun again.

The once familiar figure disappeared from the library.

In the following months, whenever Hong Siyu looked at Lin Yun’s usual seat, she saw nothing but an empty desk and chair.

She sometimes wondered if she should take the book to his classroom.

But when she thought about how strange that would seem, she didn’t have the courage to do so.

A completely unfamiliar girl carrying a boy’s textbook from one or two months ago to his classroom? That would be too weird! It would look like she had some strange ideas.

She didn’t have any feelings for Lin Yun. She was just a little interested in him, nothing more. There was no need to go that far.

That’s what she told herself. So she never touched the textbook in the lost-and-found again.

And so, a month or two passed. Eventually, someone else took Lin Yun’s seat.

The students who used to study in the library had all changed, probably because the senior students were preparing for their high school exams.

Hong Siyu gradually found the noisy library unbearable.

She didn’t want her concentration to be disturbed, so she started studying in the empty classrooms after school.

Then, after a few more months, the third-year students graduated.

It was only after their graduation that Hong Siyu returned to the library, resumed her usual seat, and continued her unchanged life.

Then, one day, she remembered Lin Yun again.

She realized she hadn’t seen him since that time.

Curiosity stirred in her, and Hong Siyu went to the library’s lost-and-found to look for the textbook she had placed there.

He hadn’t taken it.

For some reason, Hong Siyu didn’t feel surprised.

Had he not found the book because she put it in the lost-and-found? But she had been in the library for months, and if he had come, she would have told him where she put it.

She took the textbook out, wiped the dust off it with a tissue, and felt an inexplicable emotion in her heart.

Should she muster the courage to return the book to his classroom? After all, it didn’t really matter. She didn’t have any other feelings for him, just a bit of concern. It was no big deal, right?

Should she wait a little longer in the library? Maybe he had come back during the two months she hadn’t been there.

After all, now that he had graduated, she might never see him again.

Holding Lin Yun’s textbook, Hong Siyu stood in front of the lost-and-found, feeling a wave of emotions.

She didn’t understand what it was, but she felt a faint, naive feeling rising within her, something that made her act strangely.

What was it? Hong Siyu didn’t know. She just knew that she had kept the book close, so it wouldn’t be thrown away like trash.

And so, she kept it with her.