Chapter 57: After Lunch

Lin Yun would never have imagined before that what he had originally planned as a wedding anniversary spent alone in nostalgia and sentiment would end up as a family outing with two children, noisy and bustling the whole way.

Listening to the clerk chatter away at the counter alone turned into a three-way conversation filled with laughter.

Although Lin Yun was not good at communicating, he could accurately convey his requirements; Lin Xiaolu did not like to communicate with others, but her cute appearance and a personality that reacted to the slightest poke made people unable to resist teasing her; Xia Liang was the most talkative one, always able to turn the tables and coax the clerk into being happy, thereby quickly helping both sides hit it off.

The shopping process became relaxed and pleasant.

During this time, some people even had misunderstandings, actually thinking they were a family, and praised Lin Yun, saying, "Your two daughters are both very cute." Regarding this, Lin Yun had to make some simple explanations; Xia Liang looked quite happy, while Lin Xiaolu kept a straight little face—it didn't look like she was angry, but in any case, it was impossible to tell what her mood actually was.

They walked past many storefronts and finally found a gift that met their requirements in a jewelry store called "Shi Kuiqi."

It was a crystal necklace with a silver chain, but the pendant used hibiscus stone, also known as rose quartz. This piece of hibiscus stone was cut into a shape resembling a cherry blossom, and the perimeter was wrapped in a gold rim, looking quite fresh and beautiful.

Lin Xiaolu quite liked this piece of jewelry, but she couldn't say why; Xia Liang felt the style was a bit old-fashioned, but seeing the atmosphere, she didn't speak. In the end, Lin Yun made the final decision himself and bought the item.

There was no other reason; it was simply for the cherry blossom on the pendant.

Such a crystal cherry blossom made him feel as if a voice was telling him when he saw the necklace: this is the one.

Thus, the three of them, having decided on the gift, went to stroll on other floors. Lin Yun suggested buying clothes for Lin Xiaolu, but was refused by her. In the end, they followed Xia Liang's wishes, and the three of them went to the cinema together.

After watching a popcorn movie, it was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon when they walked out of the theater. The three of them chose a trendy tea restaurant as the location for lunch.

Lin Yun acted as an ordinary parent, while Xia Liang acted as Lin Xiaolu's good student classmate. Even though both clearly knew the other was hiding something, they each maintained their respective personas, engaging in a half-true, half-false conversation that made Lin Xiaolu, sitting to the side, nearly fall asleep.

Lunch was halfway through, and the time was approaching two o'clock. Just as the three people in the restaurant were in a state of extreme relaxation, they suddenly heard a roar from afar.

"Boom!"

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, as if a building had collapsed, drowned out the bustle of the entire shopping mall.

Under the loud noise, people first fell into silence, then became confused, and what followed immediately after was panic.

The customers in the restaurant were in an uproar; some took out their phones to try to contact the outside world, while others walked out of the restaurant at the first opportunity, wanting to observe what the source of the sound was.

Yet amidst the chaos, only the table with the man and the two girls maintained a rare calm.

"Xiaolu, Xiaoliang, we must move quickly!"

From a perspective imperceptible to ordinary people, Moke shouted with some seriousness: "I can feel that a Remnant Beast has appeared nearby!"

Its self-perceived hidden shouting was actually heard clearly by the other three people present.

And in fact, even if it didn't say anything, all three had similar guesses as to the cause of the roar—it should be a Remnant Beast.

But at this critical juncture, not one of them could express the thoughts in their hearts.

Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang still thought Lin Yun was just an ordinary person, at least one who should have no magic power; at most, they guessed he knew something about the magical side, or even knew that his daughter was a magical girl. However, the thin veil between them had not yet been pierced, and bringing up magical matters to the table now was still somewhat uncomfortable.

The reason for Lin Yun's silence was simpler, because he was thinking: how much should the identity of "Lin Yun" know about magical girl matters?

Time was currently tight, and although it came suspiciously, the Remnant Beast had already appeared. The only three magical girls in Fangting City were all sitting around this dining table; this certainly wouldn't do.

Next, not only did the two newcomers in front of him need to go into battle, but he also had to find an excuse to slip away, transform into Cui Que, and head to the scene to provide cover for them from the sidelines, preventing the attacking Remnant Beast from being too powerful.

So, should he be the one to bring up this topic?

Looking at the two girls in front of him who were also hesitating to speak, he had to make a decision.

From the moment he discovered Lin Xiaolu following behind him in the morning, he had already realized: at least some truths could no longer be hidden.

Since they knew he was acquainted with Hong Siyu, it would be difficult for him to have a reason not to know about magical girl matters.

However, should he admit here that he already knew the identities of his daughter and the others as magical girls?

He pondered for a moment and felt there was actually a better way.

But first, he had to find an excuse to explain why he knew it was a Remnant Beast attack.

Silently taking his phone out of his pants pocket, he pretended to fiddle with it, clicked into the message interface, and after waiting for a moment, a notification from the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategy regarding evacuation was indeed sent to his phone.

Because the Remnant Beast attack occurred in a bustling, densely populated area like a shopping center, there were many witnesses, and the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategy's response was indeed fast enough. Just tens of seconds after the loud noise occurred, a notification was sent to the phones of all citizens in the city, reminding them to avoid this location when traveling and to flee as soon as possible if they were there.

Because of this, the other customers in the restaurant finally realized what had happened, and many stood up in panic and began to flee outside the restaurant.

"There's actually a Remnant Beast? How dangerous!"

He frowned, handed the notification on his phone to the girls, and pretended to be nervous: "It looks like we can't stay here; let's leave immediately too!"

To show that he was truly nervous, he didn't give the two girls time to reply, picked up his coat from the chair, stood up along the edge of the table, and waved to signal: "Ask the clerk if there are any other exits in the store; the main entrance is already blocked!"

His acting was actually a bit exaggerated; if it weren't for the situation where the surrounding crowd was very chaotic, it would have been easy to see through.

And his plan in his heart was actually very simple: rush into the crowd outside with the two girls, then pretend to get separated, thereby leaving them enough space to act, while he could find a place to secretly transform.

In the meantime, use Lin Yun's phone to call Lin Xiaolu's number twice to show concern and prevent the ruse from being exposed. After the Remnant Beast was dealt with, contact them again: just say they got separated and agree on a place to meet up.

In this way, both sides would not need to clarify each other's identities, and it would leave enough of a graceful exit, and any oddities afterward could be explained.

However, the two girls did not know his plan.

Although the details were different, their thoughts were actually consistent: as magical girls, when facing a Remnant Beast attack and having innocent people suffer, they should not choose to flee.

So even after hearing his words, they still sat in their seats, their expressions somewhat complex.