Chapter 36: Before the Parent-Teacher Meeting

In Fang Ting City, at the Sunset Glow Middle School, on the third floor of the main teaching building, Lin Xiaolu stared blankly at the call that had been hung up. After pausing for a few seconds, she let her arm drop and put down her phone. She looked out the window in the corridor; outside, a fine rain fell continuously. In this boundless, gloomy weather, even her mood had sunk a little.

Perhaps it shouldn't be called sinking; she felt a sense of loss.

When Senior Cuique told her "no need to come," it was indeed out of good intentions. She did not want Lin Xiaolu and Ye Yixia to place themselves in danger, nor did she want the two to miss the important parent-teacher meeting because of it. Who could not understand the care behind this?

Yet, even if Senior Cuique had no other thoughts, these words could be interpreted in another way: the so-called "no need to come" actually meant "your coming would be useless."

There was no contempt or belittlement in this; it was merely a statement of fact: in Senior Cuique's eyes, the two newcomers at present were fragile, needed protection, and constituted no usable combat power whatsoever.

When facing the remnants of the Caterpillar class, Lin Xiaolu and Ye Yixia, who were merely at the Seed stage, could not play any role. Even though they had undergone nearly a month of study and training, when facing a Caterpillar, they would likely only become a burden.

In name, Senior Cuique, Lin Xiaolu, and Ye Yixia were "companions" as magical girls, but in reality, the two newcomers could not keep up with her pace at all, nor could they walk by her side.

Fang Ting City was currently in crisis, yet Senior Cuique could still only fight alone.

So, was it really good to just proceed step by step like this?

Lin Xiaolu thought so.

Being protected, cared for, and taught by such a senior, she did indeed feel reassured. Perhaps it really was just like now: leaving all the dangerous matters to Senior Cuique, improving her strength step by step under her planning, and she could naturally become a proficient magical girl?

There would be no risk, nor any obstacles; all that was needed was time, effort, and talent.

This growth path sounded so reasonable, safe, and rational. Just as every good teacher would do, she was doing her utmost to arrange the most secure path for her juniors.

But since she could understand, where did this feeling of loss in her heart come from?

She could not figure it out.

"Are you okay? Xiaolu."

Moko, who was lying on Lin Xiaolu's shoulder, saw her low spirits and asked with some concern.

Lin Xiaolu only shook her head.

As the time for the parent-teacher meeting drew closer, most classes had already finished their lessons for the day. Students walked out of the classrooms, along the corridor, toward the outside of the teaching building, preparing to welcome their parents.

Thus, the number of people in the corridor gradually increased, and the passing flow of people became denser; Lin Xiaolu could not talk to Moko at such a time.

She put her phone back in her pocket, patted her cheeks with both hands to remind herself to regroup, shifted her attention back to the upcoming parent-teacher meeting, and then turned to walk toward the classroom.

The rain outside was getting heavier; she had to go back to get an umbrella.

Passing through a nearly empty classroom, Lin Xiaolu pulled her schoolbag out from her desk, took out an umbrella, and as she walked out of the classroom door again, she happened to see a familiar figure:

It was Ye Yixia.

"Xiaoliang!"

Moko, who had been worrying about Lin Xiaolu just before, immediately defected to the other camp. It leaped from her shoulder and, before she could react, threw itself into Ye Yixia's arms, leaving Lin Xiaolu standing there, looking displeased as she watched the interaction between the human and the spirit.

However, this was a school, filled with ordinary people who could not see spirits. If she interacted too much with Moko, she would inevitably be regarded by other students as a weirdo dancing in the air. So Ye Yixia also knew her limits; she merely patted Moko and then let go, to avoid making her own behavior seem strange.

"How is it?"

After putting Moko down, she smiled and looked at Lin Xiaolu: "Is your father coming soon?"

"How would I know that person's movements?"

Lin Xiaolu looked displeased: "Maybe he won't come at all."

"Then why did you take an umbrella?"

"... Anyway, I have nothing else to do, so I'll go check at the school gate."

"Hehe." Ye Yixia covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"You're so annoying!"

Lin Xiaolu said, flustered and angry: "If you have nothing else to do, go back to your own class!"

"Okay, okay, okay, let's not talk about that."

After soothing Lin Xiaolu like one would a child, Ye Yixia slightly composed her expression: "I just wanted to ask, about the message you sent just now... the remnants of the beast that appeared on the light rail train..."

"Senior Cuique went."

Lin Xiaolu's eyes flickered slightly; she answered somewhat briefly: "Alone."

"... Is that so? Again like this." Ye Yixia blinked in some astonishment, and very quickly, she understood her meaning.

Compared to Lin Xiaolu, Ye Yixia was more sensitive to human affairs and social customs. Therefore, regarding Senior Cuique's actions, she realized it earlier and understood it more clearly.

She knew why Senior Cuique went alone.

After the two remained silent for a short while, Ye Yixia regained her mood and smiled, comforting Lin Xiaolu: "But this is unavoidable. Since it is like this, let's just face the parent-teacher meeting well."

"... Mm."

Lin Xiaolu nodded with a complex expression: "I know; worrying about it is useless."

After this small talk, Ye Yixia waved goodbye to Lin Xiaolu and walked toward the other end of the teaching building, while Lin Xiaolu, holding her umbrella, continued toward the school gate.

As the parent-teacher meeting approached, a dark, dense crowd had already gathered at the school gate. Students met their parents here, and then led them to the classes they belonged to.

Lin Xiaolu opened her umbrella, dodged the puddles on the ground, and hopped three steps at a time to reach the side of the gate.

She stood on tiptoe, looking left and right, trying to find Lin Yun's figure in the crowd. However, with so many heads moving in the chaotic crowd, it was really difficult for her height to see clearly.

After expending some useless effort, she also realized that doing so yielded little result, so she lowered her heels and stood firmly again, preparing to try a different method: find a spot where the flow of people was not so dense, and stand there waiting.

After all, with her height, it was somewhat difficult to find someone in the crowd, but with Lin Yun's build, it would not be difficult for him to see over obstacles and spot his daughter.

What she should do was make herself easier to find.

Holding her umbrella, Lin Xiaolu found an empty corner by the flowerbed at the school gate. After confirming that this spot could be seen from the entrance, she stood there and quietly began to wait.

The flow of people at the school gate grew denser; more classes finished their lessons and dismissed. Some students waited inside the teaching building, but most came to the school gate to welcome their parents—after all, this parent-teacher meeting would also announce the final exam report cards. Not knowing whether they had failed their exams, it was never wrong to act a bit more obedient first.

Lin Xiaolu did not care about her report card; she had never liked studying before, and after becoming a magical girl, she treated studying even more as merely a mandatory task. Although she knew her grades certainly would not be good, expecting her to flatter Lin Yun over such a thing was nothing short of a fantasy.

She came to the school gate simply because she wanted to take a look.