Chapter 57: After Lunch

Lin Yun never could have imagined that his originally planned wedding anniversary, which he intended to spend alone with nostalgia and sorrow, would ultimately turn into a noisy family outing with two children.

Listening alone at the counter while the clerk talked endlessly transformed into three people chatting and laughing with the clerk.

Although Lin Yun was not good at communication, he could accurately convey his requests; Lin Xiaolu disliked communicating with people, but her cute appearance and her temper that flared up at the slightest poke made people unable to resist teasing her; Xia Liang was the most talkative of all, always able to coax the clerk into a happy mood, thereby quickly making the two sides get along well.

The shopping process became relaxed and pleasant.

During this time, someone misunderstood and actually thought they were a family, praising Lin Yun by saying, "Your two daughters are both very cute." In response, Lin Yun had to offer some simple explanations, Xia Liang looked quite happy, while Lin Xiaolu kept a small, stern face; it didn't look like she was angry, but one simply couldn't tell what emotion she was actually feeling.

They walked past many storefronts and finally found a gift that met their requirements at a jewelry store named "Shikuiqi."

It was a crystal necklace; its chain was made of silver, while the pendant part used rose quartz, also known as pink crystal. This piece of rose quartz was cut into a shape resembling a cherry blossom, surrounded by a rim of gold, looking quite fresh and beautiful.

Lin Xiaolu quite liked this piece of jewelry but couldn't say why; Xia Liang thought the style was slightly old-fashioned but didn't speak up due to the atmosphere. In the end, it was Lin Yun himself who made the final decision 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, the moment he saw this necklace, as if a voice inside his heart was telling him: this is the one.

Thus, the three who had decided on the gift went to other floors to stroll around; Lin Yun suggested buying clothes for Lin Xiaolu, but was refused by Lin Xiaolu, and ultimately, following Xia Liang's wish, the three of them went together to a cinema.

After watching a popcorn movie, they exited the theater close to one in the afternoon; the three selected a fashionable tea restaurant as their lunch spot.

Lin Yun played the role of an ordinary parent, while Xia Liang played the role of Lin Xiaolu's good student classmate; both clearly knew the other was hiding something, yet each maintained their respective personas, engaging in half-real, half-fake conversation, which made Lin Xiaolu sitting nearby doze off.

Halfway through lunch, the time had already approached two o'clock; just as all three people in the restaurant were in an extremely relaxed state, they suddenly heard a boom from a distance.

"Boom!"

It was the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, like a building collapsing, which drowned out the hustle and bustle of the entire shopping mall.

Under the deafening roar, people first fell silent, then became confused, and what followed immediately was panic.

The customers in the restaurant grew restless; some took out their phones to try contacting the outside world, while others immediately walked out of the restaurant, wanting to observe the source of the sound.

Amidst the chaos, only the table where the man and the two girls sat maintained a rare calm.

"Xiaolu, Xiaoliang, we must move out quickly!"

From a perspective ordinary people couldn't perceive, Moke shouted somewhat seriously: "I can feel that a Remnant Beast has appeared nearby!"

Its call, which it thought was hidden, was actually heard clearly by the other three present.

In fact, even if it hadn't spoken, the three of them had similar guesses about the cause of the boom—it should be a Remnant Beast.

However, at this critical moment, none of them could express the thoughts in their hearts.

Both Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang still thought Lin Yun was just an ordinary person, at least someone without magic; they could at most guess that he knew something about the magical side, or even knew their daughter was a Magical Girl. But this layer of window paper between them had not yet been pierced; suddenly bringing up matters of the magical side to the table now felt somewhat awkward.

The reason for Lin Yun's silence was even simpler: he was thinking about how much knowledge a person named "Lin Yun" should actually have regarding the affairs of Magical Girls.

Time was pressing; although the arrival was somewhat suspicious, a Remnant Beast had already appeared. It was certainly unacceptable that all three Magical Girls of Fang Ting City were sitting around this table.

Next, not only did the two newcomers in front of him need to go into battle, but he himself also had to find a reason to slip away, transform into Senior Cuique, and head to the scene to cover them from the side, 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 before him who also seemed to want to speak but held back, he had to make a decision.

Since discovering Lin Xiaolu following behind him that morning, he had already realized: at least some truths could no longer be hidden.

Since they already knew he knew Hong Siyu, it would be hard for him to have a reason not to know about the Magical Girls.

But should he admit here that he already knew his daughter and the others were Magical Girls?

After thinking it over, he felt there was actually a better way.

But first, he had to find a reason to explain how he knew it was a Remnant Beast attack.

Silently taking his phone from his pants pocket, he pretended to fiddle with it, tapped into the message interface, and after waiting a moment, sure enough, an evacuation notice from the Anomaly Bureau was sent to his phone.

Because the Remnant Beast attack occurred in a bustling area like a shopping mall with dense crowds, there were many witnesses, and the Anomaly Bureau's response was indeed fast enough. Merely dozens of seconds after the boom, notifications were sent to the phones of citizens across the city, reminding them to avoid this location while traveling and to flee immediately if they were already there.

Because of this, the other customers in the restaurant finally realized what had happened; many stood up in panic and began running out of the restaurant.

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

He frowned, held the notification on his phone in front of the girls, and pretended to look nervous: "It seems we can't stay here anymore; let's leave right away!"

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

His acting was actually quite exaggerated; if not for the chaotic situation with the surrounding crowd, it would have been easily exposed.

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

In the meantime, he would first call Lin Xiaolu's number twice using Lin Yun's phone to show concern, preventing any slip-ups. After dealing with the Remnant Beast, he would contact them again, claiming they got separated and arranging to meet at a specific location.

In this way, neither side would need to reveal each other's identities, yet there would be enough face-saving ground; if anything went wrong afterwards, it could all be explained.

However, the two girls did not know his plan.

Although the details differed, their thoughts were actually consistent: as Magical Girls, when facing a Remnant Beast attack with innocent civilians suffering, they should not choose to flee.

So even upon hearing his words, they remained seated, their expressions somewhat complex.