Chapter 60: The Promised Truth

The residual beast that attacked the shopping center, though massive in size, was not particularly strong.

According to Senior Cuique's observations, this residual beast was of the common Split-Skin type, for which she had taught many countermeasures; as for its individual capability, it was merely one of the stronger Egg-level specimens.

Such a residual beast, while sufficient to devastate a shopping center, was still delusional to think it could withstand a joint assault by two Magical Girls.

Moreover, Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu were no longer the novices they had been two months ago.

Not to mention Xia Liang, who had recently drawn perilously close to the Bud level, even Lin Xiaolu had made rapid progress through diligent study and cultivation. Added to that, their coordination had begun to form, at least no longer hindering each other—this battle held no suspense from the start.

As Xia Liang fired a magic beam from the tip of her wand, the pierced residual beast collapsed heavily to the ground.

Senior Cuique hid alone in the shadows, silently watching the entire battle, her expression betraying a touch of satisfaction.

She was glad for the growth of the two newcomers, and relieved that their relationship was gradually harmonizing.

After confirming the residual beast had been defeated and its resonance collected, she slipped away once more, returning to where she had parked.

She couldn't show her face because she had already asked Hong Siyu to tell the two newcomers she had urgent business and couldn't come. If she suddenly appeared now to meet Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, the lingering misunderstandings would become impossible to clear—something she refused to see.

So, after taking the nearest route back to the parking lot, she immediately got into the car and transformed back into Lin Yun's appearance.

Driving out of the garage, he pulled over to the roadside, first contacting Hong Siyu to have the Strange Affairs Bureau send personnel to clean up the scene; then, using Lin Yun's phone, he opened a map and shared his location with Lin Xiaolu. After finishing this, he stood beside the car and waited.

About ten minutes later, he saw the two girls emerge unharmed from the shopping plaza.

He tugged at his lips and waved to them; Lin Xiaolu nodded awkwardly, while Xia Liang returned a sweet smile.

"Well done. I'm proud of you."

After offering simple encouragement and praise, he added: "The Strange Affairs Bureau will arrive shortly. Get in the car—I'll take you home."

This had been agreed upon beforehand, so the two girls obediently got in. The three made no further stops and drove slowly away from the shopping center.

The car traveled a distance, yet no one spoke during that time.

Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu remained silent; Xia Liang merely sat with a smile, observing the strange atmosphere between them without intervening.

——"So, when exactly did you find out? That I became a Magical Girl?"

Eventually, Lin Xiaolu, sitting in the backseat, couldn't contain her curiosity and asked first: "Was it the day that woman Hong Siyu came? Or earlier?"

"The day you appeared on TV." Lin Yun stared straight ahead, speaking plainly.

"Huh? I was on TV… wasn't that discovered just a few days later?"

Lin Xiaolu blinked in surprise, then suddenly understood: "Wait—so that's why you said those weird things that night?"

"You thought I was drunk?" Lin Yun raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you?"

"That night, over dinner, Hong Siyu came straight to me and told me you had Become magic."

Without dwelling on the topic, Lin Yun glanced in the rearview mirror and explained calmly: "But that was only part of the reason. What I said that night—that I wanted to see you—was also true."

"To see if my daughter who became a Magical Girl had turned into an alien?" Lin Xiaolu retorted dryly.

"To see if my daughter who became a Magical Girl was still as adorable as ever."

Lin Yun made a light joke: "Besides, even if you became an alien, you'd still be my daughter—that won't change."

Leaning back, Lin Xiaolu rested against the seatback and let out a soft huff: "Fine, I'll pretend you're telling the truth."

She chose to let it go; the matter ended there.

The car continued forward in mutual silence for a while longer.

"But, Little Lulu, I was actually angry that night."

Soon after, Lin Yun spoke again suddenly: "When I saw you become a Magical Girl, I truly felt worried—even a little heartbroken."

"Why?" Lin Xiaolu frowned, staring at the driver's seat as if she could see the man facing away from her.

"Because I was afraid I'd lose you."

Lin Yun gazed out the windshield, recalling that night's emotions, his voice unconsciously tinged with sorrow: "That night, I wanted to tell you that being a Magical Girl is an extremely dangerous role. But at the time… I just couldn't bring myself to say it."

"You thought I wouldn't listen?"

"Probably." Lin Yun didn't deny it.

"... Never mind. It's all in the past."

"Yeah. Sorry. Maybe I should've trusted you more."

As he spoke these words, Lin Yun couldn't help but offer a bitter smile.

After all, the cost of not telling the truth then had far exceeded his imagination. Since then, to protect his daughter and communicate with her, he had gone through a massive detour, pretending identities, telling countless lies—until now he had no idea how to reveal the truth.

"Does it really matter?"

Unaware of Lin Yun's feelings as he spoke, Lin Xiaolu blinked, relaxed her brow, and said vaguely: "Are you being too pessimistic? I remember the number of Magical Girls who actually died wasn't that high—most retired normally."

Here, she grew a little proud: "Besides, it's not bragging—I'm actually quite safe now, since I have a very powerful senior protecting me."

Her demeanor left Lin Yun torn between laughter and exasperation; he didn't know whether to continue the conversation.

But some things had to be said, so he adjusted his emotions and asked lightly: "... Is her name Cuique?"

This question froze Lin Xiaolu's expression in the backseat.

"So you really knew?"

She murmured, stunned for several seconds, then sat up straight. Without restraint, she grabbed the front seatback, pressed her face close to Lin Yun's ear, and her tone instantly became eager, even excited: "Do you know her? What's your relationship? Did she come to Fang Ting because of you?"

Lin Yun gave no direct answer to these questions.

He didn't particularly want to use his role as father to speak more about "Cuique," because if he concealed his identity, every word he said could become a lie.

Yet now, explaining Cuique's origins—at least part of them—to his daughter had become unavoidable.

So he knew: the promise he had once made to his daughter was now due to be fulfilled.

"Little Lulu."

Gazing straight ahead, Lin Yun recalled the promise made a month ago: "Do you remember what I told you—that I'd reveal some truths to you?"

"Ah, yeah. That morning in the car."

Hearing him bring up this matter, Lin Xiaolu also calmed down slightly, releasing her grip on the front seat: "Does this have anything to do with what you're about to say?"

"It does, or rather, this is the answer you've been seeking."

Releasing one hand from the steering wheel, Lin Yun picked up his phone with a single hand, swiped a few times, and found the message thread between him and Lin Xiaolu.

His thumb paused above the screen for a moment, then, finally, he pressed send on the message he had long since composed.

Immediately, an image was transmitted via the message to Lin Xiaolu's phone.

He put the phone down again and said, as if relieved of a great burden, "Take a look. If you examine this photo clearly, many of your doubts should be answered."

This was the best explanation he could offer.

Lin Xiaolu, filled with questions, picked up her phone, and Xia Liang, also quite curious, leaned her head over. But when they opened the photo and truly saw its contents, they both widened their eyes.

For the content of the photo far exceeded their understanding.

It showed four young girls in magnificent attire, varying in height and beautiful in appearance, yet clearly all in their early teens.

The background in the photo also seemed quite exaggerated; at a glance, one could tell it was beneath a setting sun, atop a massive object that resembled the carcass of a beast.

From this alone, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang could guess: they were all magical girls.

The four girls possessed vastly different demeanors and spirits. Standing farthest to the left was an elegant purple-haired girl wearing a white silk gown, a deep purple outer robe, and a round hat; she faced the camera with a quiet, intellectual smile. The orange-haired girl on the far right wore a magnificent golden dance dress, held her chin high, and wore a smile of arrogant self-satisfaction on her face.

Lin Xiaolu did not recognize these two magical girls, so upon seeing them, her gaze merely paused briefly before moving on.

But when her attention shifted to the center of the photo, the pair standing in the middle—one tall, one short, a combination of pink and navy blue—made her widen her eyes.

The navy-blue figure was one she knew all too well, for the person in the photo was no different from the present; yet the pink figure, though so unfamiliar, still allowed her to recognize the face and thus realize the identity of the person in the photo:

"This is Senior Cuique and... Mom?"