Chapter 3: A Face-to-Face Talk

Lin Yun drove Hong Siyu’s car to drop her off at the apartment where she lived, then took the train back to his own home; by the time he stepped into the entryway, the clock’s hands were already pointing to ten.

Subconsciously glancing at the shoe cabinet by the door, he noticed his daughter’s shoes were kicked off carelessly on the floor; Lin Yun straightened them out, then walked toward the living room.

If Hong Siyu was right, there should have been a news report on television tonight interviewing the new magical girl.

Turning on the television and glancing at the city channel, he saw a cheap nighttime idol drama; realizing the news segment had likely already passed, Lin Yun opened his communicator and searched online for the city channel’s broadcast content for the evening.

Soon, he found a replay of the evening news on the official website.

One of the segments was about the news of the remnant beast attacking the downtown area that morning.

The news reported on the damage and casualties the remnant beast had caused in that district, then shifted the tone to state that the one who had defeated the remnant beast in this incident was the new magical girl; although she was a novice, she had already made an outstanding contribution to maintaining public safety.

Then, the footage shifted to the scene, with the reporter stating that they had met the new magical girl and would be conducting an on-site interview.

Before long, this previously quite mysterious magical girl made her debut in the news interview.

What met the eye was a girl who gave off a fairytale-like impression.

Golden twin tails, a light blue dress, a bright yellow sash around her waist tied into an exaggerated bow at the back, a circular gem pinned to her chest, and a small hat on her head.

"Hello everyone, uh, I am the new magical girl, my name is Bai Mei..."

Judging solely by her attire, she would not give anyone the impression of a "combatant," only making one wonder which ball this little girl had run out from.

However, such attire was the norm for magical girls.

Most magical girls fought in such outfits, and what was even more counterintuitive was that no matter how restrictive their clothing appeared, their movements were completely unaffected by such ornate attire.

Naturally, the first impression such a magical girl gave was not "powerful," but "cute."

Yet, watching the magical girl in the news video, Lin Yun always felt something was not quite right.

This sense of dissonance had no clear source, but it was so intense that he soon realized the essence of this feeling—it was a sense of familiarity.

He felt familiar with the magical girl on the screen.

Had he seen this girl somewhere before? With this thought in his mind, he subconsciously compared the magical girl before him with his own memories.

He actually felt it faintly in his heart, yet he was unwilling to let his thoughts drift in the direction he least wanted to accept.

But if he did not think in that direction, this sense of familiarity could not be explained, nor did it have an answer.

Therefore, when he hesitantly placed the answer he least hoped for on the table, Lin Yun froze.

Because he could not accept it.

How could it be her? Why would it be her? How could it be her?

Countless questions arose in his mind; questions turned into confusion, confusion evolved into agitation, and then transformed into anger.

Nearing forty, Lin Yun rarely felt such intense fury in his life; it surged as if to burst through his chest, burning his brain until it went blank.

He could not understand.

Why was this magical girl Lin Xiaolu? His daughter?

Having no mood to continue watching the news, Lin Yun put down the communicator in his hand, feeling only that his thoughts were chaotic and his emotions difficult to calm.

—I need to go have a good talk with her.

This thought surfaced in his mind.

Even though he and his daughter Lin Xiaolu had been in a cold war for a long time and they barely spoke a few words to each other on a daily basis, he still needed to fulfill his duty as a father and go have a proper talk with her.

If she had become a magical girl of her own volition, he had to tell her the pros and cons so she could weigh them again.

Harboring this thought, Lin Yun stood up abruptly and walked straight toward his daughter’s room.

[Knock first].

There was a note like this stuck on the door.

Familiar handwriting; when exactly did this note start being stuck on his daughter’s bedroom door?

In the two years since his wife passed away, there had been too many conflicts between father and daughter, and he was always poor at expressing himself, leading their relationship to reach this point.

The two of them were clearly kin who relied on each other in this world, yet they couldn't even say a few words to each other throughout the day. Even if they did, it was only the most basic daily arrangements, without any heart-to-heart conversation.

Lin Yun’s fingers paused against the bedroom door, then he took a deep breath and knocked forward:

"Are you asleep? Lulu?"

There was no response from the room.

His heart sank slightly; Lin Yun waited for a short while, soon calmed his mood, and knocked again.

Yet, there was still no response.

The light knocking sound disappeared without a trace, like a stone sinking into a deep pool.

Lin Yun lowered his head, his expression slightly heavy.

If it were any other day, he would probably have planned to give up by now. He would feel that things were beyond saving and that they should leave enough distance for each other, letting time heal the gap.

But not this time. Even if it would make the relationship between him and his child worse, he had to convey what he wanted to say.

So he would not stop.

Click.

Just as he was about to knock for the third time, the door in front of him was suddenly pulled open.

A young girl in pajamas stared at him with annoyance and retorted the moment they met:

"I'm awake, what is it?"

Her guarded look was just like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Seeing his daughter in this uncooperative state again, and thinking that he had come to talk to her out of concern, Lin Yun felt a wave of frustration and irritation. He felt this girl was so annoying; he really should give her a good scolding.

But the words stopped at his lips.

He suddenly didn't know what he should say.

Ask his daughter directly if she had gone to become a magical girl? And then scold her for an act that everyone else would consider a good deed?

Or tell her point-blank about the dangers of being a magical girl the moment they met and make her give it up immediately?

Not to mention how he would produce evidence to support his claims, would stating everything so bluntly touch upon the child’s fragile and sensitive nerves?

Taking a step back, in a long-overdue conversation, to negate the child the moment they met—as a father, was such a statement really appropriate? He wanted to understand his daughter’s true thoughts, but would his daughter really be willing to pour her heart out to him? Through such a harsh conversation, could he really achieve his goal?

As he was now, how could he make his child trust him?

No matter how he thought about it, the answer was that he couldn't.

Lin Yun couldn't help but start thinking: what were the words he truly wanted to tell her? Casting aside these external conflicts and ignoring the accumulated estrangement, he wanted to know his daughter’s true thoughts, so what about his own sincerity?

His thoughts raced in his daughter’s gaze, and he felt that in the end, all his ideas turned into nothingness, leaving only one voice:

"I haven't seen you for several days, Dad just wanted to see you."

This was his only remaining sincerity after casting aside the superfluous emotions of anger, anxiety, worry, and guilt.

He might not be able to make his daughter feel happy, and he might not be able to solve the problems between them, but at least for now, he wanted to see her.

Having learned that his daughter had become a magical girl, he now wanted to see if the child was safe, if she was afraid, and if her emotions were stable.

The girl standing at the door heard this sentence, her tightly furrowed brows lifted and then relaxed, and the expression on her face also became complex.

"Now? Just for this?"

"Yeah, because I didn't call you this morning for fear of making you angry."

A smile tugged at Lin Yun’s somewhat numb face: "Now that I've seen you, I feel much more at ease."

The black-haired girl raised her nose and sniffed, pursed her lips, and after a long while, she mumbled:

"Are you drunk?"

"Maybe? After all, I really did drink quite a bit tonight."

Lin Yun followed his inner feelings and said honestly: "You were willing to open the door; I am truly happy."

"…Then you've seen me now, and then what?" His daughter still frowned.

"Nothing, just wanted to ask how you've been lately, and if you're happy at school."

Lin Yun stood where he was and waved his hand: "I won't ask about your studies; you handle that yourself, and I'm not qualified to lecture you."

The conversation between the two paused again.

Seeming surprised that her father would ask such questions, his daughter looked him over with a strange expression; before long, she still answered in a nonchalant tone:

"Oh, it's very ordinary, nothing happened."

"It seems a dangerous incident occurred near your school; are you alright?"

"Danger… it's nothing, I can handle it."

"Do you need me to pick you up or drop you off?"

"Just worry about your own business."

"How is the phone I bought for your birthday last month?"

"It's pretty good."

"Is the dinner the hourly worker cooked okay?"

"No problem, Auntie Liu is very good at cooking."

"Has anything good happened lately?"

"Good things?"

Hearing this, his daughter raised her eyebrows, seeming somewhat puzzled, but soon, as if thinking of something, her expression became somewhat hesitant.

"I don't know, but anyway, nothing bad happened."

Nothing bad happened…

Lin Yun’s heart stirred slightly.

"Is that so? Then I have nothing else to ask."

Listening to his daughter’s somewhat ambiguous answer, he seemed to heave a sigh of relief and took a step back: "Lulu, Dad is sorry."

This sentence was met with a brief silence.

"...It is too late to say these things now."

The girl behind the door whispered, glanced at him again, lowered her gaze, and began to push the door shut:

"I'm going to sleep, don't bother me again."

Click.

The door in front of him was closed.

Standing outside the door, Lin Yun did not know what he was thinking, and he paused for a long time before walking toward his own bedroom.

In the end, he still hadn't been able to bring up the topic of "Magical Girl."

He couldn't say it, he couldn't ask, and whenever he thought about mentioning the term, his throat would become incredibly dry.

However, just because he didn't say it now did not mean he had given up.

During their conversation just now, Lin Yun had already thought of another way in his heart. Perhaps, by using that method, he could tell his Daughter some information about Magical Girls, and have enough certainty to make his Daughter take these words seriously.

Opening the door to his bedroom, he loosened his formal attire, set down his briefcase, and with a burning gaze, walked toward the wardrobe in the corner of the room.

There were two wardrobes in the master bedroom, used to store the clothing of the two owners; one was very large and placed against the wall, while the other was very small and tucked into the corner.

Lin Yun did not have many clothes; apart from a few casual outfits he wore often, there were only the formal clothes he wore for work.

He opened one of the drawers, which contained only old clothes, many of which he used to wear when he was young, styles that no longer matched his age or current trends.

Moving aside the clothing pressed on top, he slowly reached in and pulled out a gift box the size of a palm.

"...19 years."

He sighed in a trance.

Having once ignored his wife's objections to hide this box away, he had never imagined there would come a day when he would take it out again. At that time, he only felt that life was already perfect, everything had settled, and he had no reason to take out the item inside the box.

Yet, after so many years had passed, until today, upon learning that his Daughter had become a Magical Girl, he finally understood that avoidance could never solve problems.

Gently opening the box's latch and lifting the somewhat stiff lid, he gazed at the object inside, silent for a long time.

It was a Fragmented Gem Flower.

A gem covered in fine, fragmented textures, now stained with dust.

It had another name; people always referred to it as the "Flower of the Heart."

And in this world, only one type of person would possess such a peculiar treasure.

—Magical Girl.