Chapter 151: Chapter Twenty-Three: Shucao

When Xia Liang finished her patrol and returned to the secret base, the sky was nearly dark.

She wearily dismissed her Heart Gem at the door, changed into indoor slippers, walked into the living room, and immediately saw Lin Xiaolu lying on the sofa playing with her phone.

"You left the TV on but aren't watching it?"

She walked straight to the sofa and sat down beside Lin Xiaolu. Xia Liang scanned the living room, then pointed at the TV still playing an anime: "Then I'll switch to something I like?"

"Mm." Lin Xiaolu stared straight at the screen, not looking up.

This cold response struck Xia Liang as strange, because in the past, whenever Xia Liang hinted at wanting to change the channel, Lin Xiaolu would fiercely object.

Whenever they watched TV together, they always argued over what to watch. Xia Liang preferred idol dramas, variety shows, and news; Lin Xiaolu only liked anime and educational programs, and they had fought countless times over control of the TV.

But strange as it was, an unearned opportunity was too rare to pass up. Since Lin Xiaolu didn't mind, Xia Liang had no qualms—she picked up the remote and switched to the local news channel, settling in to watch the evening bulletin.

Minutes passed. Xia Liang was watching the news, but subconsciously she remained curious about what Lin Xiaolu was doing. She hadn't intended to ask, but her curiosity grew stronger until she couldn't hold back—she propped herself up and leaned her head toward Lin Xiaolu's phone:

"What are you doing?"

Lin Xiaolu glanced at her sideways, then returned her gaze to the phone screen: "A game."

"A game? What game?"

That instantly sparked Xia Liang's interest: "You've suddenly gotten into this? Why start playing games now?"

"A game about magical girls." Lin Xiaolu didn't look up.

"Is it fun?"

"I don't know."

"If you don't know, why are you so absorbed?"

"... You're so annoying."

Lin Xiaolu finally looked at Xia Liang, tilting her phone screen slightly: "See? It's a game like this."

"Let me see—this interface, turn-based combat? These characters... a gacha game?"

Xia Liang stared at Lin Xiaolu as if she were a stranger: "Why are you playing something like this?"

"Just playing."

Lin Xiaolu turned her phone back, continuing to tap the screen with her thumb: "I'm bored anyway. Just messing around."

"Did you pull anything good?"

"... Just messing around." Lin Xiaolu's expression carried a detached, all-knowing calm.

"I see."

Though Lin Xiaolu's answer seemed evasive, Xia Liang understood her meaning: she hadn't pulled anything good.

Not pulling good items in a gacha game was hardly a happy thing, so Xia Liang said nothing more—but she didn't leave either. She stayed beside Lin Xiaolu, watching.

One played, one watched—this continued for a while, until Xia Liang suddenly noticed something and pointed at the screen: "Why are you always borrowing this character called Shucao? I don't think she's strong."

In the game "Magical Girl Squad," when new players couldn't clear a stage, they could request to borrow a "support character" from other players to help them pass.

Yet throughout her gameplay, no matter the stage difficulty, Lin Xiaolu always borrowed a support character codenamed "Shucao," leaving Xia Liang puzzled.

"Who says she's not strong? Aren't you clearing stages smoothly?" Lin Xiaolu turned her head slightly, annoyed.

"But she doesn't deal damage at all—she's clearly a support... Do you like this character?"

"Not really."

"Then why don't you borrow other support characters from other players?"

"Isn't it my choice how I play?"

"Huh—"

Xia Liang dragged out the sound in skepticism, continuing to watch. After a moment, it clicked—she pointed at the magical girl on screen named "Shucao": "This pink color scheme, and the name 'Shucao'... doesn't this character..."

"You're overthinking."

Whether or not Xia Liang had hit the mark, Lin Xiaolu's expression grew complicated: "It's just a mobile game."

"But isn't Shucao another name for cherry blossom?" Xia Liang pressed.

"... I don't know about that." Lin Xiaolu muttered.

She denied it so firmly that Xia Liang couldn't press further. Silence stretched between them until Lin Xiaolu finished the current stage.

Without a word, she tapped into the next stage, browsed the "Request Support" menu, found the character named Shucao, and tapped to select her.

【Remaining Support Requests Today: 0】

The game displayed this prompt.

Lin Xiaolu's hand froze.

She stared silently at the screen. Soon, she returned to the main menu, then immediately tapped the gacha option without hesitation.

Under Xia Liang's gaze, she spent all her stage-clearing rewards on gacha pulls—repeating the process again and again, pulling various characters from the pool.

But even after all her rewards were exhausted, none of the characters drawn was the one Lin Xiaolu had been fixated on: "Shucao."

Lin Xiaolu fell silent again. Her fingers tightened around the phone, as if holding back something. Finally, she sat up sharply and tossed the phone aside:

"Boring. I'm done! Watch TV!"

She snatched the remote from Xia Liang's hand and, before Xia Liang could react, rapidly pressed buttons to switch back to the anime channel.

"Hey, I hadn't finished the news! Switch it back!" Xia Liang protested.

"You weren't even watching anyway," Lin Xiaolu replied matter-of-factly.

"You were the one who stopped watching first!"

"Now I'm watching!"

"You're not playing anymore?" Xia Liang raised an eyebrow.

"Not anymore!" Lin Xiaolu declared firmly.

"But you haven't gotten the character you wanted yet?"

"It's just virtual data anyway—no big deal if it's gone!" Lin Xiaolu stared at the TV, slightly lifting her chin.

"But I clearly saw on this gacha screen the text: '12 draws remaining to summon a specified magical girl.'"

Xia Liang picked up Lin Xiaolu's phone from the sofa cushion beside her and pointed to a line of small text on the screen: "Look."

Lin Xiaolu's previously firm expression wavered instantly. She wanted to maintain the appearance of being absorbed in the TV, but her eyes kept darting sideways, betraying her completely. Realizing this, she finally gave up the pretense, silently reaching out and taking the phone from Xia Liang with a sense of surrender.

She looked at the screen and confirmed the line Xia Liang had mentioned. She tapped the list following that text and quickly found "Shucao," the character she had been longing for—her eyes instantly glowed again.

"Twelve draws left… twelve draws left…"

She began thinking hard: "But how can I gather these twelve draws? I've already claimed all the rewards from early game stages. Later stages are getting harder, and without 'support characters,' I can't possibly clear them."

And in a gacha game, if you want to obtain gacha resources outside of rewards, there seems to be only one way.

"Just pay for it?" Xia Liang tilted her head.

"No, I know I can pay—but spending money on something like this feels…"

Lin Xiaolu struggled: "Isn't that just wasting time and losing focus?"

"True. I've often seen news reports about the dangers of game addiction."

Xia Liang nodded again: "So? Maybe you shouldn't play anymore?"

"This… that…"

Lin Xiaolu stared at the game's gacha screen for a long time, unable to make up her mind. Her reason told her not to spend money, but her emotion kept urging her to tap.

A fierce inner struggle raged in her mind. Her eyes grew vacant as they fixed on the screen, a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She bit her lip, and her dark pupils slowly began to swirl.

Three minutes later.

Lin Xiaolu selected the paid option in the shop interface.

After careful calculation, she found that choosing the 68-yuan option would exactly meet her need for twelve draws. So, for the first time in her life, Lin Xiaolu chose to pay in a game.

She repeatedly confirmed the button on the screen, read the payment notice, and verified that her payment would indeed qualify for the "first-time discount" policy before finally nodding, extending her hand, and pressing her finger against the fingerprint sensor.

Then, she suddenly heard a scream from the TV.

Instinctively looking up to see what was happening in the anime, she realized it was merely the protagonist breaking an object. Disappointed, she lowered her head again and saw the message "Payment Completed" pop up on the screen.

Paying for a game for the first time in her life stirred a faint sense of guilt in Lin Xiaolu—but beneath it, there was also an unexpected thrill. Carrying this complex emotion, she returned to the gacha screen, eager to use her remaining twelve draws to obtain the character she wanted. But as her finger touched the gacha button, she suddenly noticed something odd: the number of draws seemed wrong.

If she remembered correctly, the resource she paid for should have been around fifteen draws. So why did she now have 150?

Staring at the number displayed on her phone screen, Lin Xiaolu froze.

"What's wrong?"

Xia Liang noticed Lin Xiaolu's strange expression and leaned closer. When she saw the number on the screen, she covered her mouth: "How much did you pay?"

"It should've been 68 yuan… right?"

Lin Xiaolu, uncertain, switched back to the game's shop interface and checked the previous payment option. The "first-time discount" label on the 68-yuan option remained clearly visible. But the 648-yuan option no longer had the label—the button now looked abrupt and empty, as if signaling something.

Staring at her phone screen, Lin Xiaolu fell into another long silence.

She had probably tapped the wrong button.

"Where did you get that much money?"

Xia Liang asked: "Did your dad give you allowance?"

"No… how to put it…"

Lin Xiaolu slowly snapped out of her daze and murmured: "If I remember right, this was probably given to me by Senior Cuique a few days ago."

"For what?"

"To buy study aids. She said she didn't have time to buy them herself, so she gave me the book titles and told me to buy them—she'd pay."

Lin Xiaolu's voice grew quieter: "I haven't had time to buy them yet."

"Study aids?"

Xia Liang frowned: "Why didn't I hear about this?"

"You were goofing off then. But Senior Cuique should've transferred that money to you."

Lin Xiaolu looked puzzled: "Didn't you notice an extra amount in your personal account?"

"An extra amount in my personal account…"

Xia Liang tapped her lower lip, deep in thought. After a moment, as if suddenly remembering, she clapped her hands: "Ah! That's why I felt like I've been spending more lately, but my balance hasn't dropped at all!"

"You spent it too?"

"Maybe?"

Xia Liang laughed awkwardly: "I got my hair done a few days ago. Now that I think about it, I must've used Senior Cuique's money for that."

The more she spoke, the less certain she became—until finally, she fell silent alongside Lin Xiaolu.

The living room was now filled only with the sound of the anime on TV.

But misfortune never comes alone. Just as the two girls were at a loss, a door closing echoed from the entrance. They hurried to the wall beside the living room, peeking out cautiously—and saw Senior Cuique walking in with Bai Jingxuan.

Senior Cuique led, Bai Jingxuan followed. They chatted all the way into the living room. Senior Cuique glanced inside and saw Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang sitting upright on the sofa, as if earnestly watching TV.

The scene seemed normal—but Senior Cuique felt something was off. Normally, these two were always lounging or slouching, utterly lazy. Why were they suddenly so well-behaved?

"I'm back."

Without further thought, she waved at the girls in the living room: "How was patrol today?"

"Nothing at all!"

As Senior Cuique spoke, Lin Xiaolu's ponytail jerked sharply. She stammered: "Everything's… everything's normal. No residual beasts, no incidents!"

"Good. And you don't need to shout."

Senior Cuique nodded expressionlessly, turning her gaze to Xia Liang: "What about Xiao Jin's area? Any issues?"

"Ah, n-no, none!" Xia Liang averted her gaze, feeling strangely guilty. "Reporting to you, the last residual beast sighting in Xizhao District was last week. This week has been completely quiet."

"Why are you using honorifics?"

The two girls' strange behavior deepened Cuique's confusion, but she couldn't imagine what could have happened, so she didn't press further: "Alright, you've worked hard. I'll go prepare dinner first; you two rest some more."

The two girls in the living room could only mutter a dull "Yes." Bai Jingxuan called out, "Let me help!" and followed Cuique toward the kitchen.

After Cuique left, the two in the living room looked at each other, each seeming to have something to say, yet neither spoke first. It wasn't until Lin Xiaolu had mulled it over for a long time and finally decided to speak that Cuique suddenly walked out of the kitchen again.

——"Oh, by the way, tonight is tutoring night; you still remember that, right?"

As she slipped on her sleeve protectors, she reminded them: "I told you last time to prepare your supplementary textbooks. If you have time, you might as well preview them."

"The end-of-year exam for second grade is coming soon. Your recent grades haven't been very stable, so I've already marked out the key sections for you. Start studying those first."

"If you don't want to preview, that's fine too—but I might ask you more questions to make sure you've mastered the material… Huh? What's wrong? Why do you look so pale? Too tired? And why did you both suddenly stand up? Why are you standing so close?"

——"Sorry, Cuique!"

——"Sorry, Senior Cuique!"

Cuique hadn't thought much of it yet, but before she finished speaking, she saw Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang suddenly leap off the sofa and dash toward her. Without warning, they both bowed their heads and spoke in unison: the words above.

Looking at her daughter standing before her in such a contrite posture, Cuique was momentarily stunned. She blinked, then after a long pause, spoke with bewilderment:

"... Huh?"

(End of Chapter)