Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 21: A Stranger's Confession

Vol 2 Chapter 21 A Stranger's Confession

"Lin Xiaolu! I like you! Will you be my girlfriend?"

It happened beside the bleachers on the outskirts of Xizhao Middle School's sports field.

It was mid-November, and the weather was gradually turning cooler. Even with the blazing sun at noon, it didn’t feel too hot.

Since it was lunch break, the field wasn’t very crowded—only a few energetic students were kicking a ball around on the grass. But they were too focused on their game to notice what was happening near the bleachers.

Right there, in that little corner, Lin Xiaolu received a confession from a boy in her class.

It was the first time since she started middle school that a boy had confessed to her.

At first, she was just confused why this classmate had suddenly asked her to come to the field. But after walking just a couple of steps with him, he suddenly dropped a bomb like that.

His words were so blunt and direct that Lin Xiaolu’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

“W-What are you talking about! G-Girlfriend?! Aren’t you embarrassed saying something like that?!”

She instinctively took two steps back, raising her voice at first, but then quickly realized this kind of thing wasn’t something you should be shouting, so she lowered her tone slightly. “This is early dating! That’s not allowed!”

“...Early dating?”

The boy, clearly caught off guard by that response, blinked in confusion. “But… we’re already in middle school?”

“The teacher said we’re too young to be dating at our age!”

Lin Xiaolu shook her head vigorously. “No way! I can’t be in a relationship!”

“Ah, well...”

The boy had mentally prepared himself for rejection, but this reason was totally outside what he expected. After a moment of awkward silence, he decided to stick with Plan B. “Then… if not boyfriend and girlfriend, how about we just hang out? Go on a date or something?”

“A date?” Lin Xiaolu raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I know a few fun shopping streets. I can take you there.”

He hesitated for a second, then added, “You can pick the time that works for you. My treat.”

“Hm... You’re treating, huh.”

She crossed her arms and thought about it for a moment. But in the end, she still shook her head. “No, I don’t have time.”

As an active Magical Girl, Lin Xiaolu had to juggle her school life with patrolling the city. Compared to other kids her age, she had far less free time.

And whatever little free time she had, she’d rather spend it with her squadmates at their secret base than go out with a guy she barely knew.

Of course, she couldn’t say any of that out loud—her identity as a Magical Girl was still a secret. That made the boy feel even more defeated.

“You won’t even go out with me... Do you really dislike me that much?” he asked, clearly distressed.

“I wouldn’t say I dislike you... but I definitely don’t like you either.”

Lin Xiaolu lowered her gaze and waved him off. “Anyway, I’m against early dating, so no.”

With that, she turned around without hesitation and walked briskly back toward the classroom, ignoring the boy’s calls behind her.

The classroom during lunch break was relatively quiet. A good number of students were either napping on their desks or lounging in their chairs. The only sounds were faint whispers here and there, forming a low, droning hum.

As soon as Lin Xiaolu returned to her seat and pulled out her chair, the girl in front of her turned around and asked:

“So? Did you accept his confession?”

The girl in front of her was named Jiang Yuan—a slightly chubby, bespectacled, and introverted girl.

If someone were to pick the most socially awkward girl in Class 3, Year 2, it would probably be Lin Xiaolu. The runner-up? No doubt, it’d be Jiang Yuan.

That wasn’t to say they were ostracized. Actually, most of the girls in Class 3 were pretty friendly. Some even saw Lin Xiaolu as a little sister, thanks to her petite and cute looks. Honestly, if she were willing to open up, she wouldn’t have had any trouble making friends.

But Lin Xiaolu just preferred keeping to herself. That’s why this was her first time getting confessed to—she never gave anyone a chance to get close.

Some boys had noticed her because of her looks, sure, but at their age, most guys were too shy to approach her. Since she kept to herself, no one had a chance to strike up a conversation.

Lin Xiaolu’s awkwardness came from her own slightly prickly personality. Jiang Yuan’s social awkwardness, on the other hand, came from her inability to communicate. Anyone who tried talking to her would hit a brick wall right away. As Jiang Yuan put it herself, “I literally can’t speak when I’m around strangers.”

And yet, these two misfits had somehow ended up able to talk to each other after becoming seatmates.

No one really knew who started it, but one day during a break, they chatted for the first time. From that point on, their conversations slowly grew, until they reached their current level of camaraderie.

“I didn’t accept it. Why would I say yes to someone I don’t even know?”

Lin Xiaolu pulled out her schoolbag, sounding annoyed. “Besides, we’re way too young to be dating anyway. It’s early dating. Totally not okay!”

“You turned him down? Good for you! That’s exactly what you should do!”

Jiang Yuan nodded. “What’s the point of dating? Shut those boys down hard!”

“Why do you sound even more fired up about this than I am?”

Lin Xiaolu gave her a puzzled look as she pulled out her books for the afternoon classes. “Wait... Don’t tell me you like that boy?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Yuan’s voice shot up by half an octave, but realizing she might disturb others, she quickly lowered it again. “No way! If I wanted to date someone, wouldn’t that be betraying our antisocial alliance?”

“‘Antisocial alliance’? What the heck...”

Lin Xiaolu half-lowered her eyelids. “I don’t remember ever signing up for that.”

“Bottom line is—if you start dating, our alliance falls apart! You can’t turn into one of those flirty types!”

Having drawn her line in the sand, Jiang Yuan then pulled out her phone. “Anyway, since you turned him down, that means we’re still friends. So, did you try the mobile game I recommended yesterday?”

“Game?”

Lin Xiaolu blinked, trying to recall what Jiang Yuan meant. Then it hit her—yeah, Jiang Yuan had mentioned a mobile game after school yesterday.

But back then, Lin Xiaolu had her mind set on patrol duties. She hadn’t really been listening, and couldn’t even remember the game’s name.

“What was it called again?”

So she just awkwardly said, “I couldn’t find it when I searched last night… so I didn’t play it yet.”

“Come on, how could you not find it? It’s the most popular game right now!”

Jiang Yuan grumbled and held up her phone screen. “Look, it’s called this. Try searching again.”

Feeling a bit guilty, Lin Xiaolu had no choice but to at least look, even though she wasn’t that interested. She focused on the phone screen to figure out what game Jiang Yuan was talking about.

There, she saw a flashy icon: at the top were two crossed wands—one white, one black. Below them was a stick-figure drawing of a cartoon girl, super cute and eye-catching.

Underneath was the game’s title:

"Magical Girl Squad."