Chapter 36: Before the Parent-Teacher Meeting

In the sunset at Fangting City’s Xizhao Middle School, on the third floor of the main teaching building, Lin Xiaolu stared blankly at the call that had just been hung up. After a pause of several seconds, she lowered her arm and put down her phone. She looked toward the corridor window; outside, a fine rain was falling continuously. In this boundless, overcast weather, even her mood felt a bit dampened.

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

When Cui Que told her "no need to come," it was surely well-intentioned. She did not want Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang to be in danger, nor did she want the two of them to miss an important parent-teacher meeting because of it. Who wouldn't understand the care hidden within those words?

Yet, even if Cui Que had no other intentions, this statement could be interpreted in another way. The so-called "no need to come" was, in fact, also saying, "It's useless for you to come."

There was no contempt or belittlement in this; it was merely a statement of fact: in Cui Que's eyes, the two newcomers were currently fragile and in need of protection, posing no usable combat strength whatsoever.

When facing a remnant beast of the Maggot rank, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, who were merely at the Seed rank, could not exert any influence. Even after nearly a month of study and training, they would likely only become a burden when facing a Maggot.

Nominally, Cui Que, Lin Xiaolu, and Xia Liang were "companions" as magical girls, but in reality, the two newcomers could not keep up with her pace at all and could not walk by her side.

Fangting City was currently in crisis, yet Cui Que still had to fight alone.

So, was it really good to just follow the established routine like this?

Lin Xiaolu thought to herself.

Being protected, cared for, and taught by such a senior, she did indeed feel at ease. Perhaps it really was just like this—pushing all the dangerous things onto Cui Que, improving her strength step by step according to her plan, and she herself could naturally become a proficient magical girl?

There would be no risks and no obstacles; all that was needed was time, effort, and talent.

Such a growth path sounded so reasonable, safe, and rational. Just as every good teacher would do, trying their best to arrange the most secure path for their juniors.

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

She couldn't figure it out.

"Are you okay, Xiaolu?"

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

Lin Xiaolu just shook her head.

The time for the parent-teacher meeting was gradually approaching, and most classes had already finished their lessons for the day. Students walked out of the classrooms, heading along the corridors toward the outside of the teaching building, preparing to welcome the arrival of their parents.

Thus, the number of people in the corridor gradually increased, and the passing flow of people became more and more dense. Lin Xiaolu could not talk to Moke at a time like this.

She put her phone back into her pocket and patted her cheeks with both hands to remind herself to pull herself together and refocus her attention on the upcoming parent-teacher meeting, then turned and walked toward the classroom.

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

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

It was Xia Liang.

"Xiaoliang!"

Moke, who had been worried about Lin Xiaolu just a moment ago, immediately defected from the camp, leaping off her shoulder and diving into Xia Liang's arms before she could even react, leaving Lin Xiaolu standing there, looking unhappily at 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 Moke, it would inevitably lead to being seen as a weirdo dancing and gesturing at thin air by other students. So Xia Liang also knew her limits, merely petting Moke before letting go, so as not to make her behavior seem strange.

"How is it?"

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

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

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

"Then why did you bring an umbrella?"

"…Anyway, there's nothing else to do, I'll go to the school gate and see."

"Pfft." Xia Liang covered her mouth and giggled.

"You're so annoying!"

Lin Xiaolu said with embarrassed anger: "If there's nothing else, go back to your own class!"

"Alright, alright, I won't talk about that."

Soothing Lin Xiaolu as if she were a child, Xia Liang slightly restrained her expression: "I just wanted to ask, the message you sent earlier, the remnant beast that appeared on the light rail train..."

"Cui Que went."

Lin Xiaolu's eyes flickered, and she answered briefly: "Alone."

"…Is that so, it's like this again." Xia Liang blinked in a daze, but soon, she understood what she meant.

Compared to Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang was more sensitive to social nuances. Therefore, she realized what Cui Que was doing earlier and understood it more clearly.

She knew why Cui Que went alone.

After the two were silent for a moment, Xia Liang regained her composure and smiled to comfort Lin Xiaolu: "But there's nothing to be done about it. Since it's already like this, let's just face the parent-teacher meeting properly."

"…Mm."

Lin Xiaolu nodded with a complex look in her eyes: "I know, just worrying is useless."

After these pleasantries, Xia Liang waved goodbye to Lin Xiaolu and walked toward the other end of the teaching building, while Lin Xiaolu took her umbrella and continued toward the school gate.

As the parent-teacher meeting neared, a dark mass of people had already gathered at the school gate. Students met up with their parents here and then led them to their respective classrooms.

Lin Xiaolu opened her umbrella, dodging the puddles on the ground, and hopped her way to the side of the gate.

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

After some futile effort, she realized that doing this was of little use, so she lowered her heels and stood still, preparing to try another method: find a spot where the flow of people wasn't as dense and wait there.

After all, with her height, it was somewhat difficult to find someone in the crowd, but with Lin Yun's physique, it wouldn't be difficult for him to look 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 flower bed 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 became increasingly dense. More classes finished and dismissed; some students waited in the teaching buildings, 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. In a situation where they didn't know if they had failed their exams, acting well-behaved first was never a mistake.

Lin Xiaolu didn't care about her report card. She had never liked studying, and after becoming a magical girl, she treated studying only as a rigid task. Although she knew her grades certainly wouldn't be good, wanting her to curry favor with Lin Yun over such a thing was like a fantasy.

She came to the school gate simply because she wanted to see.