Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 95: Lin Xiaolu's sense of crisis

Lin Xiaolu’s strange reaction caught Xia Liang’s attention.

Seeing her staring motionlessly at the entrance where Veronica had just left, Xia Liang reached out and patted her shoulder. “Something wrong?”

“Status…” Lin Xiaolu murmured in a low voice.

“Status?”

“My status is under an unprecedented threat!”

She spun around abruptly, gripping Xia Liang’s shoulders, her gaze swirling in turmoil. “I can’t let this continue! I can’t just sit by and watch their relationship get any closer!”

“Uh…”

This kind of over-the-top reaction was classic Lin Xiaolu. Having witnessed it multiple times, Xia Liang had developed a sense of how to deal with it. She simply stretched out her response in a half-hearted sigh, then forced a smile. “Why?”

“Can’t you feel it? If this goes on, that kid is going to monopolize Veronica’s attention!”

Oblivious to Xia Liang’s perfunctory attitude, Lin Xiaolu was clearly overwhelmed, flailing her hands as she blurted out, “Just look at the situation now! She gets walked home alone every day, spending so much time with Veronica. It’s just too envi—too unfair!”

“That kid lost her parents, she has a disability, and she keeps calling her ‘teacher, teacher’ in such a sweet voice. With qualities like ‘obedient,’ ‘pitiful,’ and ‘adorable,’ if I were in Veronica’s position, I’d naturally pay her more attention too.”

“And if this keeps up, as they spend time alone every day, their bond will only deepen. Veronica will focus more and more on her until one day, she completely surpasses us!”

“If that happens, our four-person squad will be down to just two names! We’ll be nothing but background characters—just spectators!”

As she spoke, Lin Xiaolu could already imagine that inevitable day.

In a daze, she saw a scene unfolding before her: the day when Bai Jingxuan, having completely won Veronica’s favor, stood beside her, looking pitiful as she asked—

“Teacher, isn’t it unfair to favor me so much when the whole squad is full of newcomers?”

“It’s fine. Because in my heart, you’re the most outstanding one. The other two? Just a pair of delinquent girls who can’t even pass their school exams.”

“But Senior Viola is better than me, isn’t she?”

“She’s too exceptional. Even without my guidance, she’s already walking the path to success.”

“And wasn’t Senior White Rose the one you had the highest hopes for at the start?”

“She can’t even properly control her newly awakened deviant magic. A failure like that doesn’t deserve my attention.”

“Teacher…”

“Xiaoxuan…”

—“YAAAHHHH!”

Clutching her head, Lin Xiaolu let out a miserable wail as she collapsed onto the sofa. “Nooo! I don’t want to see that day! I refuse!”

Her performance was practically a one-woman comedy act, leaving Xia Liang so dumbfounded she nearly forgot how to react.

Watching Lin Xiaolu’s increasingly dramatic outburst, she even considered, Should I just… leave her alone?

“Haha… How should I put this? I really don’t think Senior would be like that.”

After a long pause, Xia Liang finally found a gap in the chaos to insert herself, letting out a dry chuckle as she tried to console Lin Xiaolu. “You don’t need to think so negatively or overcomplicate things. Just be like me—take everything as it comes.”

She had intended to ease Lin Xiaolu’s anxieties, but as soon as she said it, she noticed an eerie change in the atmosphere.

Lin Xiaolu suddenly went silent, staring directly at Xia Liang’s face. After a long moment, she slowly averted her gaze.

“…Forget it. Talking about this with someone who’s never been favored from the start—you wouldn’t understand.”

The room fell into dead silence.

Lin Xiaolu had no awareness of how lethal her words were. But the moment she finished speaking, after a brief pause, she felt a pair of hands cup her cheeks.

She blinked, only to see Xia Liang smiling stiffly. At some point, both of Xia Liang’s hands had landed on her face, fingers pressing down—hard.

Lin Xiaolu struggled. “Wha ou doin?!” (What are you doing?!)

“Oh, you have the nerve to ask?” Xia Liang gritted her teeth, her forced smile betraying her irritation as she viciously pinched Lin Xiaolu’s cheeks. “Did this arrogant mouth really just say that?! There should be a limit to how much nonsense you spout!”

“Acting all high and mighty just because Senior treats you differently! ‘Never been favored from the start’? Wow, never been favored from the start! You’re killing me here! You think I don’t want more attention?!”

“This whole summer, both you and Xiaoxuan got one-on-one training from Senior! Meanwhile, I was left completely unattended just because I progressed too fast! You think that’s what I wanted?!”

Lin Xiaolu tried to swat Xia Liang’s hands away. “Bu I wash jus sayin da facs!” (But I was just stating the facts!)

“I know! And that’s exactly why it hurts!”

“Den why ya takin it ou on me?!” (Then why are you taking it out on me?!) Unable to shake off Xia Liang’s attack, Lin Xiaolu decided to go on the offensive, reaching out to pinch Xia Liang’s face in return.

“Who do you think is the reason I’m this pissed?!”

The two ended up in a full-blown pinch battle, wrestling around until their stomachs started growling. Only then did they finally drop the topic.

As Veronica had instructed earlier, before heading to Xia Liang’s place for their study session, they needed to eat dinner first.

After quickly reheating the meal prepared by the housekeeper and scooping out freshly cooked rice, they brought everything to the dining room and sat across from each other, picking up their chopsticks.

—“What the hell happened to you two?”

Yawning, Moko had just woken up from a nap when she saw their faces. She stared at them blankly. “Your faces look kinda swollen… Did you get fatter?”

“None of your business!”

“This has nothing to do with you, Moko.”

The two girls spoke in unison. Though their phrasing differed, the underlying meaning was the same.

Feeling unfairly dragged into their mess, Moko was even more baffled.

“…Anyway, this can’t go on.”

Puffing out her reddened cheeks, Lin Xiaolu held up her rice bowl. “Even if we take personal feelings out of it, this situation is way too inefficient. You, me, Veronica, that kid—we all live in different places. Every time we have an activity, we have to meet up first, then relocate, and on top of that, there’s a kid who needs to be escorted home. Don’t you think it’s a huge hassle?”

“What can we do about it?”

Xia Liang took a sip of soup, chewing slowly. “If anything, Senior should be the one who finds this the most troublesome, but she hasn’t complained. Are you really suggesting we just let that little kid fly home alone after training? Or are you volunteering to escort her yourself?”

“S-o, I’m, s-a-y-i-n-g—”

Lin Xiaolu tapped her chopsticks against her bowl with each word, raising her voice. “For Veronica’s sake, it’s time to come up with a win-win solution!”

“…What solution?” Xia Liang paused mid-bite, blinking curiously.

“Heh, you wouldn’t understand. You lost touch with magical girl anime a long time ago—you’ve lost your childhood innocence.”

Smirking, Lin Xiaolu twirled her chopsticks in the air. “When it comes to magical girls, there’s one classic element—a signature scenario! And I think we can totally use it to solve our problem.”

“A classic magical girl scenario?” Xia Liang tilted her head. “School?”

“Zero points.” Lin Xiaolu shot her down mercilessly.

“Then what is it?” Setting down her bowl, Xia Liang started seriously thinking.

Tying the previous discussion to the current situation, considering the context in which Lin Xiaolu made her remark, and listing out potential solutions—Xia Liang felt like she was on the verge of an answer.

Watching Lin Xiaolu wear a smug I’m a genius expression, Xia Liang slowly parted her lips, then pointed a finger at her.

Seeing that Xia Liang was catching on, Lin Xiaolu finally revealed her answer.

In that moment, their thoughts aligned perfectly as they spoke in unison—

“A secret base!”