Task: Expansion - Phase 3
The Magic Girl candidate has not been acknowledged by the guardian star; try to help her unleash her potential.
Reward: 500 divine code stone
After washing up and changing into athletic wear, Su Tianqing specifically pulled out her secret codex from her magic space to check the task page.
Hmm… from the task description, it seems Hua Ling tried to transform after talking to me last night, but she wasn't acknowledged by the guardian star, which is why I got this task.
But it doesn't matter, everything is within my plan! Especially now that I have the Xin Yue Magic Wand!
Next up is the daily task.
secret codex! Give me some slacking tasks!
Daily Task 1: Slacking Time
Seeing how much effort you expended yesterday, today you're rewarded with a day of slacking.
Reward: 100 divine code stone
Yay, long live slacking.
Su Tianqing quietly clapped her hands.
After a simple breakfast, she tucked a power bank and a few slices of bread into her shoulder bag. The Fox Fox stood in front of the full-length mirror, giving her outfit a final once-over.
Her hair was tied into two low pigtails. She wore a light, athletic shirt covered by an open cardigan, an outfit clearly meant for running and jumping around outside.
As for the shorts and calf-length socks with athletic shoes…
Su Tianqing didn't really like athletic shoes, because they hid Fox Fox's small feet, as if something essential was missing.
“Let's go!” Fox Fox clenched her fists, full of confidence.
When they met at the subway station entrance, Nan Jiayu's outfit was quite similar to hers.
In fact, she was even more lightly dressed—she didn't even wear a coat for necessary cold protection, just a short top and skirt-pants. She had a unique heroic aura, typical of a Cat Girl.
Rong City Amusement Park is in the northeast part of the city, easily reachable by subway.
Perhaps because it was the weekend, the amusement park entrance was full of parents and children, as well as many groups of students, and laughter filled the air.
Su Tianqing felt incredibly excited, unable to suppress the thrill in her heart. She pulled Nan Jiayu around the amusement park entrance, looking at things, and even before entering, she felt like buying toys.
“Xiao Yu, look! Does this hat look good?”
The Cat Girl turned her head to look.
The Golden Fox's head was crookedly adorned with a human-style hat, her ears pressed tightly against her head, but it still couldn't sit properly, looking more like it was hanging from her ears.
Nan Jiayu chuckled.
“Don't be in such a hurry to buy, buy, buy so early. These are souvenirs to buy when you leave the amusement park and are ready to go home. If you buy them now, are you going to wear them everywhere while playing later?”
“Ah… that makes some sense!” Su Tianqing suddenly realized.
Let alone the former Miss Su Tianqing, even in her previous life, her visits to amusement parks were few and far between. After starting work at the hospital, such leisure time practically ceased.
She had no idea there was such an unwritten rule at amusement parks.
Soon, Nan Xiaofeng and Hua Ling arrived in a hurry.
“Jiayu Jie~~~”
From a distance, Su Tianqing saw the girl who, as always, wore a blue dress.
Nan Xiaofeng. She really liked this color scheme; not only did she mostly wear blue clothes normally, but even after transforming into Hyacinth, she was sky blue. Su Tianqing inwardly grumbled.
The moment her eyes met Nan Xiaofeng's, Su Tianqing immediately hid behind Nan Jiayu, maintaining her distance from the Fox-sucking Monster, Nan Xiaofeng.
After entering the main gate, an artificial lake appeared before them.
A Ferris wheel was erected on the island in the middle of the lake, and the amusement facilities were perfectly organized into sections, making Fox Fox's eyes light up.
Looking at the roller coasters and Ferris wheel in the park, as well as the various flashy amusement facilities, Fox Fox couldn't help but wag her tail vigorously.
“Where should we start playing?”
Staring at the tri-fold map handed out at the entrance, Su Tianqing suppressed her tail and seriously considered the question.
Definitely start with the roller coaster!
...
Sitting side by side with Nan Jiayu, the moment her seatbelt clicked shut, Su Tianqing felt a pang of regret.
“L-L-Little Little Little Yu, aren't you… not scared?” The Golden Fox asked timidly, trembling.
But when she turned to look, she only saw Nan Jiayu, whose expression was calm as if nothing was happening, looking at her with a puzzled gaze.
“Hm? Tianqing, do you feel unwell?”
“…No, I'm fine.”
Su Tianqing feigned composure, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her racing heartbeat.
But her fox ears and tail wouldn't lie, faithfully reflecting her current mood with the most vigorous bristling of her life.
The roller coaster set off, and the Fox Fox's screams echoed over Rong City.
Five minutes later.
“Ugh! …Wuu wuu… Ugh…”
“Are you okay, Tianqing? Feeling better?”
“Wuu wuu wuu… Ah… Ah ah…”
Fox Fox was hunched over a trash can, vigorously throwing up rainbows.
...
“I really didn't expect you to react so strongly to the roller coaster, Tianqing.”
Strolling leisurely along the green pathway in the roller coaster area, Nan Jiayu said with a wry smile to the loli Golden Fox beside her.
Su Tianqing was on the verge of tears.
“I didn't know I'd get so dizzy… It looked super fun, but why can't I enjoy it?”
Fox Fox looked up, just as a roller coaster car sped past above the railing, and she could faintly hear Nan Xiaofeng's cheerful laughter and Hua Ling's screams.
The two Beastkin watched the car speed by.
“…I feel like Hua Ling is also pretty scared of roller coasters.” After a long silence, Su Tianqing grumbled.
“I think she's fine, she's probably just screaming from excitement,” Nan Jiayu shrugged.
“Ah—I envy young people—”,
“You say that as if Tianqing you're very old.”
With this interlude, Su Tianqing profoundly realized that she and thrilling rides were inherently incompatible, so she had to accept reality. The group split into two teams, each embarking on different routes of play.
Spinning teacups, bumper cars, pirate ship.
After trying these milder amusement facilities, Su Tianqing felt that the amusement park was actually quite fun.
Her past self thought going to an amusement park was a pure waste of time, probably because back then she had no friends she could talk to.
Thinking about it, were she and the former “Su Tianqing” similar in some ways?
For example, both had no friends, both lived monotonous lives, both toiled for a living, and even their daily routines were quite similar.
The morning passed quickly.
After a simple meal of bread and some dried fish Nan Jiayu brought along, lunch was barely managed.
While eating, Su Tianqing didn't forget to chat with Nan Jiayu about last night's events.
“Hua Ling classmate…”
Nan Jiayu chewed her dried fish in small bites, thoughtfully,
“Xiaofeng only recently became friends with her, and I also heard about her situation from my uncle yesterday… How to put it, it's not very optimistic.”
“Is it that serious?” Su Tianqing was a little surprised.
“Yes. Hua Ling lives in the Hero Association's relief apartment. Her parents died four years ago in a Monster attack, leaving her alone.”
Su Tianqing's heart sank.
Last night, she had guessed many possibilities for Hua Ling's family situation, but she never expected it to be this.
“Xiaofeng also heard about this, but that child didn't treat Hua Ling differently because of it, which is quite good.”
“Indeed, what Hua Ling needs most is a friend like Xiaofeng.” Su Tianqing nodded in agreement.
It seems this Magic Girl candidate's inner strength is far greater than she imagined.
If an average child encountered such a thing, their psyche would have collapsed long ago. Although Hua Ling also suffered a considerable blow, she appears no different from a normal child on the surface.
To be able to endure such a drastic life change and actively adapt is an absolutely rare quality for her age.
“That child and Xiaofeng both like you very much.”
Nan Jiayu suddenly added.
“Like me?” The Golden Fox blinked.
“Xiaofeng is very happy whenever she sees you, and Hua Ling is also very willing to chat with you. Tianqing, you are very popular,” Nan Jiayu replied with a smile.
“Is that so… Then what about you, Xiao Yu? Do you like me too?”
The Fox Fox tilted her head, ears perked up, revealing a harmless smile.
“Of course I li—”
The words that were about to spill out froze on her lips. Nan Jiayu seemed to realize the hidden double meaning of the sentence, and it got stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken, her cheeks rapidly flushing red.
Su Tianqing suddenly laughed, a very happy laugh, her laughter like the calls of an osprey or a nightingale, pleasant to the ear.
The Golden Fox reached out and took the Cat Girl's hand beside her, pulling her up from her seat, and pointed to the bustling amusement facility in the distance.
“That looks super fun! Let's go play that!”
The Fox Fox scampered a few steps, then suddenly turned back to look at Nan Jiayu, who was still standing still, and gave a charming smile.
She truly is… as dazzling as the sun on a clear day, Tianqing.