Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 135: Going Along with the Mistake

Vol 2 Chapter 135 – Going Along with the Mistake

“In the warm candlelight, heartfelt wishes take flight.”

“The moon and stars weave a crown for your years.”

“May the fragrance of flowers and the sweetness of honey stay with you, year after year.”

“Happy birthday to you. No matter where your heart is, may the blessings be everlasting—”

An exaggerated operatic voice delivered the birthday song that was widely popular across the Magical Kingdom. Its melody echoed in the small room, mixing with the flickering candle flames and reaching everyone’s ears.

Everyone in the Fangting City squad, no matter what they had been doing before, now paused and looked in unison at the brightly burning “37” perched on top of the cake.

No one spoke, because whether it was Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang, Bai Jingxuan, or Veronica herself, they were all still processing what this scene truly meant. And for Veronica, she had even more to think about than her juniors.

There was no doubt—what she now faced was the immediate challenge of how to explain the candle’s reaction.

Should she pretend she didn’t know anything and claim the candle was faulty?

Should she come clean and explain that the candle had just measured magic activity, proving it wasn’t some kind of “astrology trick”?

Or should she insist it was her doing—that she saw the candle hadn’t been used and lit it up with a spell?

None of the three options seemed particularly reliable. First off, the first one would mean forcibly bending the truth with her own credibility: while the candle was clearly a cheap market item, it had still worked properly. If another junior ever used this kind of candle for their birthday, her lie could get exposed and spark even more suspicion.

As for the second option—well, for starters, she was Veronica now and logically shouldn’t know that her daughter and the others had explained the candle’s true function to Lin Yun. Even if she bypassed that issue and revealed what the candle really did, how would she explain her own elevated magic activity from the anxiety?

And the third? That just didn't make logical sense. She had merely walked past and the candle lit up—there was no spell-casting gesture, no activation sign. Using that excuse to fool her daughter would be treating her like an idiot.

Behind all these plans loomed a greater contradiction—if she firmly denied that today was her birthday, what would she say when asked for the actual date? If she made one up, wouldn't that just create a web of more lies to cover the fake birthday?

Veronica hesitated.

But her silence didn’t mean the others would stay quiet too. As Lin Xiaolu gradually pieced together what was happening, her mouth slowly opened in disbelief before she blurted out:

“Wait—today’s your birthday too, Veronica?!”

That one sentence suddenly broke the tension that had frozen the room.

Bai Jingxuan, equally surprised, glanced at the candle and then gently shook the arm Veronica had wrapped around her own, clearly expecting an explanation. Xia Liang, who already knew part of the truth, feigned shock and joined in with Lin Xiaolu: “No way, for real?”

“Veronica, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

Lin Xiaolu had already stood up. “We didn’t even know today was your birthday!”

“No, it’s not like that. Today actually isn’t my—”

The way things had escalated so fast caught Veronica off guard. She hadn’t even realized how they’d all already assumed today was her birthday. She tried to push aside the contingency plans running through her head and take back that conclusion, but suddenly found that words were incredibly powerless in moments like this.

“Whoa, it’s the same day as my dad’s?”

Lin Xiaolu’s excitement had clearly taken over. She didn’t notice Veronica trying to deny it at all. “I’ve never met anyone with the same birthday as someone I know before!”

“Why didn’t you tell us, Teacher?”

Even Bai Jingxuan seemed slightly upset. “If it weren’t for the candle, we wouldn’t have known today was your birthday at all.”

“I said, it’s not that I didn’t tell you… It’s because today isn’t my—”

Veronica sighed, trying to stay calm and explain things rationally. But even her voice was being drowned out by the booming birthday song from the candle.

She wanted to raise her voice—but doing that might just make her seem guilty. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do.

“Alright, let’s go, team!”

Lin Xiaolu ignored everything and sprang up from her chair, cracking her knuckles. “Good thing we still have half the cake left! Time to prep for the second half of the birthday party!”

While saying this, she walked up to Veronica and nudged her shoulder. “Birthday girl, come sit over here. Now that we know, we’ve got to give you a proper celebration.”

Seriously, was no one going to question why “Veronica” and “Lin Yun” had the same birthday?

Veronica was dumbfounded.

She hadn’t felt this much generational disconnect in a long time. Seeing that Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan showed no signs of doubt, Veronica couldn’t help but feel ridiculous for having weighed her options so carefully just a moment ago.

So… should she just go along with it and admit today was her birthday?

She had to admit—it would take a lot of pressure off her.

If she insisted on denying it and had to invent a fake date, that would only lead to more lies to patch things up. Lies that, as they piled up, would become increasingly hard to maintain. Falsehoods don’t become truth by accumulation. The more she lied, the more likely it was she’d slip.

Thinking it through, Veronica realized that in a situation where the accident had already happened and Lin Xiaolu wasn’t even suspicious, admitting it might actually carry less risk than denying it.

That risk assessment finally led her to accept the slice of cake Lin Xiaolu handed her.

“Sorry… It’s been years since I celebrated a birthday. Honestly, sometimes I even forget I have one.”

She held the cake plate, speaking with a mix of truth and excuse. “So I figured… there wasn’t really a need to celebrate…”

“I was already making a cake for my dad, okay?”

Lin Xiaolu widened her eyes and, with rare mock irritation, said, “It got to this point and you still didn’t want to say anything? Were you seriously going to let us miss your birthday on purpose?”

“Well, that was your dad’s cake.”

Veronica sighed. “If I’d said it was my birthday too, it would’ve just added pressure on you guys.”

“But if you didn’t say anything, and it wasn’t for Dad—uh, Uncle’s birthday, we really would’ve missed it.”

Bai Jingxuan was still hugging Veronica’s other arm. “Birthdays are super important. It’d be such a shame not to celebrate.”

“Exactly! Veronica, you’re way too dismissive about things that matter to you!”

Lin Xiaolu nodded firmly. “You have to speak up about stuff like this. Otherwise it’s a huge regret for everyone!”

Veronica didn’t really get what exactly was so regretful.

But she knew this wasn’t the time to ask, so in the end, all she could do was sigh and compromise:

“Alright, I get it. If something like this happens again, I’ll tell you all in advance.”

With that, she sat down at the table, picked up a fork, and looked at the cake—feeling a bit amused and a bit helpless.

Celebrating two birthdays on the same day, with the same people, under two different identities—that was a rare kind of experience, to say the least.

As the girls chimed in once again with cheerful “Happy birthday!” wishes, the moment felt like an extension of that video call at the tavern, only now Veronica had stepped in to replace Lin Yun in the frame, sitting before the cake and taking a bite.

And with that, this February 14th—a day that had always been special to Veronica—once again became just as meaningful as before, in a whole new way.

“…The cake is really sweet.”