Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 12: Candy in the Drawer

Vol 2 Chapter 12 Candy in the Drawer

The next morning, inside the Director’s Office at the Countermeasure Bureau.

Seated behind the desk, Lin Yun stared blankly ahead, lost in thought.

The events of last night were still playing on a loop in his mind, leaving him with a pounding headache.

It wasn’t the first time he’d felt this kind of headache—the last time was during a cold war with his daughter. Truthfully, he had no idea how to deal with the current situation.

His daughter’s completely irrational misunderstanding. A mysterious “adopted daughter” that had popped up out of nowhere. And the dangerous thoughts Bai Jingxuan had started revealing over the past two days... Each one of these was a serious headache on its own, but now they were all piling on top of him at once.

And worse, they weren’t isolated issues. They were tangled together—trying to solve one would inevitably tug on the others, setting off a chain reaction that could make things even more complicated.

If he handled things with a firm hand, that meant being firm with Bai Jingxuan too—but her problem clearly couldn’t be fixed by scolding her. In fact, that would probably backfire.

If he took a softer approach, then he’d never be able to clearly explain away the misunderstanding—first impressions were powerful. Especially when both kids had already convinced themselves that “this is the truth,” no explanation would come across as anything more than a weak excuse.

So what now? Just do a “reveal the magician’s trick” stunt right in front of the kids and say, “I am your dad”?

Lin Yun couldn’t help but have that thought.

But then he remembered how his daughter had spent all last night chasing after him, yelling “Mom,” and he suddenly imagined what it would be like to follow that up with a bombshell truth like this. The awkwardness from that alone would probably take more than two years to recover from.

The clock ticking in the corner let out a crisp “tick, tick,” and golden sunlight streamed through the full-length window, casting a long shadow of his desk across the floor. That shadow stretched forward... all the way to a pair of white ballet flats.

Above the shoes was a pale green dress, worn by a girl with a single ponytail of leaf-colored hair.

The “prime culprit” in Lin Yun’s eyes—Bai Jingxuan—was standing there in the Director’s Office.

From her perspective, the middle-aged man in front of her had been silently staring at her for over a full minute. Ever since she walked in, he hadn’t said a single word. And the reason? Simply because she had called out “Dad” the moment she walked through the door.

That one “Dad” had thrown Lin Yun into a long, brooding silence.

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

Unable to wait any longer, Bai Jingxuan began to worry. She figured he must be staying quiet for some other reason and asked with concern, “Are you not feeling well?”

Her voice finally pulled Lin Yun back to reality.

Still caught in his thoughts, he opened his mouth on instinct, ready to call her by her Magical Girl alias—but then quickly remembered that right now, he wasn’t Veronica.

Right now, he was in the Countermeasure Bureau, seated in the Director’s chair.

“Why’d you suddenly go quiet again, Dad?” Bai Jingxuan had already walked up to the desk, stood on tiptoe, and was leaning forward with her hands on the table, looking at him seriously.

“How should I put this... Could you maybe not call me that?” Lin Yun said, helpless.

“Why not?” Bai Jingxuan blinked.

“It’s not about whether it’s okay or not, it’s just... we’re not actually related in any way.”

Lin Yun tried to soften his tone. “I mean, we’re not really father and daughter. Calling me that could give people the wrong idea.”

“...I see.”

Bai Jingxuan wasn’t a dense child. On the contrary, she was actually very sensitive to others’ perceptions. Lin Yun’s words immediately made her realize what he meant. She let go of the desk edge, a little disheartened. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize, I’m not blaming you.” Lin Yun let out a small sigh of relief.

“I guess I got ahead of myself and made things awkward for you, Uncle.”

Bai Jingxuan lowered her head slightly. “I just thought it might be true since Sister Xiaolu said it could happen... I didn’t think you weren’t even planning to adopt me...”

“No, it’s not that I’m awkward. And it’s not that I’m not thinking about it.”

Seeing her mood dip so quickly, Lin Yun hurried to explain, “What I mean is—it’s just not set in stone yet. It’s not that far along.”

“So... Uncle, are you actually considering adopting me?”

“...It’s possible,” Lin Yun said carefully.

“Then doesn’t that mean you’ll be my dad in the future?” Bai Jingxuan tilted her head.

Lin Yun fell silent again.

“Dad, I want to join the operation. I want to fight the bad guys.”

“No.”

“Dad, I really want to go.”

“...Sigh.”

Aside from a headache, he had no other thoughts left. Lin Yun, resigned, pulled open his desk drawer and fished out a few pieces of candy. “Here, have some candy.”

He had prepared these candies ahead of time after Bai Jingxuan’s last visit to the Bureau—just in case he ever needed to distract her when logic didn’t work.

Bai Jingxuan liked sweets, and she didn’t have any guard up against her “future dad,” so she reached out and took the candy from Lin Yun’s hand.

Seeing her accept it, Lin Yun let out a small breath of relief. “Good girl. I’ll give you a few more. Why don’t you head back for today, okay?”

“I don’t want to go back.”

“Then I’ll give you a few more to take back and share with your Sister Xiaolu.” Lin Yun opened the drawer again.

“Oh.”

Bai Jingxuan obediently took the extra candies. “Then Dad, I’ll go home for today… but I’ll come back tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ve got meetings tomorrow,” Lin Yun tried to decline.

“Then I’ll come the day after.”

“Don’t come.”

“See you the day after, Dad!”

But Bai Jingxuan didn’t hear a word of his refusal. She hopped away with her candy, full of energy.

Is she always this lively around me? More than she is with Veronica?

Watching her cheerful figure bounce away, Lin Yun sank into thought again. Then he let out another helpless sigh and picked up the files on his desk.

This really wasn’t something he could deal with right now. He’d have to set it aside for the time being. With the candy-loving kid now out of the way, it was time to finally get some work done. The Countermeasure Bureau was still in shambles, and he didn’t have the luxury to slack off.

However, just as he spread out the documents and tried to focus, a feminine voice with a metallic edge suddenly rang out in the office:

“Daaaad—”

The voice drawled the word out lazily, laced with teasing amusement.

Immediately recognizing who was behind him, Lin Yun put the files down once more and turned around, helpless.

“I’m not one to judge other people’s tastes,” he said flatly, “but could you please stop with the disgusting nicknames—at least at a time like this, Your Excellency Chief?”