Chapter 77: Outside the Office Building

Lin Yun put down his phone and resumed organizing the papers on his desk.

After lunch break ended, Xia Liang suddenly sent him a text, saying she suspected Mo Ke had falsified intelligence—recently claiming to be searching for a Magical Girl, yet failing to return for days, so she wanted to conduct surveillance.

Recalling how he himself had once been their subject of investigation, only for them now to turn their suspicion toward Mo Ke, Lin Yun found it amusing, yet he did not refuse.

He activated the tracking incantation previously set on Mo Ke, sensed its location briefly, then shared the coordinates via the group chat with the two girls.

"But… Fuli Academy?"

As he tidied the papers, his thoughts drifted: "Maybe there really is a new one?"

Though he wasn't particularly eager to recruit new Magical Girls, if he truly encountered a gifted child, the final decision might still rest with her.

After all, following his conversation with his daughter, not only had Lin Xiaolu temporarily laid aside her emotional burden, but he himself had also come to understand many things.

He would soon resign from his job, which he had held for nearly a decade, and devote all his energy entirely to matters concerning Magical Girls. And once he made this decision, it also meant one thing—he would one day investigate the truth behind An Ya's death.

Back then, knowing his wife's death had been suspicious, he took no action because the Golden Cat's Eye had warned him: he was now a father, his daughter's only relative; if anything happened to him, no one would raise his child.

But now, things were different—his daughter had become a Magical Girl.

Though the process had been accidental, even unpleasant, since she was resolute about walking this path, as her father he should support her as much as possible.

Thus arose another option: train his daughter until she was strong enough to protect herself against all enemies, then choose the right moment to leave.

This rekindled his desire to help her build a team.

When he first recruited Xia Liang, he had entertained this idea, but later realized: his days were too packed—working during the day, acting as a Magical Girl on the side, and tutoring two children at night.

With such a crowded schedule, hastily recruiting another Magical Girl would leave him no time to teach her properly, and might create vulnerabilities in her personal safety.

He wanted every child he trained for his daughter to grow up safely and steadily, their wings fully feathered before facing real storms.

Now that he had chosen to resign, he felt considerably more confident about recruiting new members.

This was also why he had agreed to let Xia Liang and the others track Mo Ke.

He arranged the papers on his desk neatly to one side, confirmed there were no oversights, stood up from his chair, and gave his desk one final look.

To say he felt no attachment to this job was a lie.

He had devoted years to this position; though it brought much fatigue and unhappiness, he had also met many friends and gained considerable growth. More importantly, it had been his way of shaping his social identity.

Choosing to step back from his identity as a Magical Girl and enter society as a corporate backbone—his motives, beyond not wanting to live off savings, wanting to secure family income, and keeping himself occupied, were fundamentally about clarifying his selfhood and preserving his inner core.

A person's essence is the sum of their social relationships: it is through meeting, coexisting with, and influencing others that each individual becomes unique.

He stepped out of his office, gently closed the door, and took a long breath.

It was over.

He would go to the general manager's office to say goodbye, then resign completely, ending this chapter of his career.

Passing by the External Affairs Dispatch Office, through the glass partition he caught his old colleagues' eyes—he saw Liu Guanshan, sitting at his desk with legs crossed, smiling and raising his hand.

Let's have a drink sometime.

That was what his lips formed.

"Yeah right—who drinks unless it's for networking?" Lin Yun muttered through the window, smiling.

Arriving outside the general manager's office, he saw the door slightly ajar, paused briefly, straightened his collar, then knocked softly.

"Come in."

A hoarse voice came from inside.

Entering, Lin Yun saw his company's general manager, Wang Tengfei, seated behind the desk, smiling at him.

He was general manager, not president, because Gao Sheng was still a chain brand.

Its small and household elevator business spanned the entire southern Donghua State, with headquarters located in the nearest central city—Yannan City.

When An Ya was still alive, Lin Yun occasionally traveled for external duties; after An Ya's death, to better care for Lin Xiaolu, he voluntarily transferred to the after-sales department—though busier, at least he stayed in Fang Ting City.

At that time, he had also communicated with the general manager before him.

The same man had handled his earlier transfer, and now his resignation—but his mindset was utterly different.

"Old Lin, sit down. Are you really sure?"

Wang Tengfei gestured to the chair in front of the desk: "Let's be straightforward—you're a veteran, highly capable. I'd already planned to promote you in two years; becoming a manager was no problem."

"We all know your family situation; your recent attendance has been off, but everyone understands; just get past this rough patch, and it'll be fine."

Unfortunately, this rough patch might be impossible to get past.

Lin Yun sighed inwardly.

If it were merely a normal fluctuation in life, he could have endured it. But now, his job and Magical Girl duties were mutually exclusive—he could only choose the side that mattered more to him.

And now, without An Ya, Lin Xiaolu was the heaviest weight on his scale.

"Manager Wang, we've discussed this many times. The company has treated me well, but I have personal reasons."

As the saying goes, don't strike a smiling face—so Lin Yun smiled back: "I've got a lot to handle at home, and I don't know how long it'll take. Continuing would only burden the company. Better to decide early."

"No burden, no burden—we all understand. You're overthinking this."

Wang Tengfei still tried to persuade: "If family matters are pressing, just take a long leave? We're old comrades—why go to such extremes?"

"Ah, Manager Wang…"

Lin Yun feigned a sigh; they exchanged polite formalities until both had fulfilled their social obligations, finally ending the conversation.

In the afternoon office, only their voices echoed, and if listened closely, the hum of air conditioning blended in.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting large bright patches on the floor.

Yet within those patches, a tiny black dot had appeared—no one knew when.

The black dot grew larger, heavier, increasingly impossible to ignore, and faintly took on a blurred human shape.

Lin Yun, facing the window, was still speaking to Wang Tengfei—but as he gradually made out the scene outside, his speech slowed, then stopped entirely.

There was a person outside the window.

The general manager's office was on the 17th floor of the office building—no one could be outside.

But at this very moment, someone was indeed standing far away outside the window, gazing across at the office building where Lin Yun was located.

It was a young girl.

A young girl with a smile on her face, dressed in a black skirt.