Later that day.
At the Rongcheng Third College of Arts and Sciences dormitory, Su Tianqing knocked on the tightly shut door.
Quan Niang, dressed in pajamas, opened the door. Upon seeing Su Tianqing and Yue Tianxin, her tail immediately wagged like an electric fan, welcoming the two Fox Foxes inside.
"Good afternoon~"
"Ah... g-good afternoon!"
Quan Niang replied awkwardly, tensing her body nervously, but her tail still wagged uncontrollably.
Could it be that a Beastkin's tail and their main body are two different beings? Su Tianqing finally felt the same defenselessness towards her own tail when observing another Beastkin's.
"Xiaowang, are you not working today?"
"Mm-hmm, the manager said the store would be closed for half a day this afternoon for annual accounting and procurement planning."
"Is that so? Then aren't you lucky to have gotten half a day off?"
"Hehe..."
Wang Xiaowang scratched the side of her face, chuckling.
Yue Tianxin floated forward and chatted with Quan Niang about everyday topics, mostly unnutritious conversations like, "Have you successfully transformed?" and "What do you want to do after becoming a Magic Girl?"
The two sides chatted harmoniously, and the conversation gradually deepened, quickly moving from daily work life to some deeper information that Su Tianqing wanted to understand.
"Miss Yue Tianxin, what is the Star Realm like? Is it similar to our current world?"
Quan Niang asked curiously.
The Fox Spirit pondered for a while, as if searching for memories from the settings she had been given, then quickly replied:
"The Star Realm is a vast place with countless worlds floating within it."
"The place where I live is called the 【Observer's City】, where the Star God Council trains Observers."
"Oh, oh... so amazing..."
Wang Xiaowang's eyes lit up, looking expectantly at the sky outside the window, overly excited.
She looked as if she couldn't wait to float up to the Star Realm for a trip immediately.
"Hehe, if you, Xiaowang, can become a very powerful Magic Girl, you can travel freely to the Star Realm just like Mercury and Red Rose~"
"Really?! Then, then, then, I need to work hard!" Quan Niang was filled with fighting spirit.
Following this topic, Su Tianqing glanced at the Fox Spirit, prompting her to continue pressing for information.
"Speaking of which, Xiaowang, are you a local? How long have you lived in Rong City?"
"Woof..."
Having asked about the Fox Spirit's origins, Quan Niang did not find it abrupt when asked this question in return and honestly replied:
"I guess I'm considered a local. I've been in Rong City ever since I can remember."
"When I was very young, I lived in an orphanage, and a grandpa and grandma adopted me. I really liked them."
"But Grandpa and Grandma weren't in very good health and often got sick. Their children also rarely came back to look after them."
"Five years ago, Grandma fell seriously ill and was bedridden ever since. Grandpa was busy late every day to treat and care for Grandma."
"Later..."
A pause, silence.
Despite the quiet, Su Tianqing could still guess what followed.
Quan Niang pursed her lips and remained silent. Su Tianqing and Yue Tianxin exchanged glances, then quickly offered gentle comfort.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up that sad memory, that..."
"N-no, it's fine! It's been many years already!"
Quan Niang forced a cheerful smile and straightened her back, but her glistening eyes made Su Tianqing realize the pain she was enduring.
...Since then, I haven't had a home.
"I walked and walked and walked on the streets of Rong City. When I was thirsty, I'd look for a public restroom faucet, and when I was hungry, I'd try my luck at the entrance of a bakery at night."
"One day, while I was waiting for expiring bread outside a bakery, an uncle from the mutual aid society found me and told me to go back to school to continue my studies."
"Later, I got into the College of Arts and Sciences, and now I can even work part-time at a milk tea shop during winter break!"
At this, Quan Niang grinned, her tail wagging excitedly a few times.
She really is a pitiful little one, Su Tianqing thought.
"Mm-hmm, let bygones be bygones. How about we talk about something happy?"
Yue Tianxin quickly changed the subject, pulling out a postcard that Su Tianqing had prepared earlier from her magical space and showing it to Wang Xiaowang.
"Xiaowang, look! This is a small gift Tianqing received from the new Magic Girls who came to Rong City!"
"Woof! I know this! It's Fen Feng from London!"
When a familiar topic came up, Quan Niang instantly perked up, her earlier gloominess vanishing as if she had become a different dog.
This trip wasn't specifically to check on Wang Xiaowang's status, as she was currently just a reserve and hadn't entered her own script yet, leaving little room for manipulation.
While the Fox Spirit and Quan Niang chatted, Su Tianqing quietly observed her surroundings.
Just like with Lin Muyao back then, only by scouting ahead could she identify the entry points and thus create conditions for subsequent actions.
In other words, reconnaissance of the terrain!
...
Afterward came the usual pep talk for the new Magic Girl. After encouraging her to bravely try transforming, Su Tianqing then left the dormitory with the Fox Spirit.
Quan Niang looked reluctant to part, but also felt it inappropriate to keep the two of them playing with her, so she simply arranged a time for their next meeting.
"Anyway, I don't have any friends, so Tianqing Jie and Miss Yue Tianxin can come find me anytime!"
Wang Xiaowang said something melancholic with the happiest expression, watching the two Fox Foxes disappear from sight.
...Woof.
"Today, I talked a lot with them."
Quan Niang stood blankly at the dormitory door, muttering to herself.
Had she found a new home again? The Bernese Mountain Quan Niang couldn't help but wonder.
Becoming a Magic Girl was something she had never even dreamed of, yet a guardian star and an Observer truly appeared before her...
And even the Iris and Dandelion, whom she had recently grown very fond of, had a series of interactions with her under the Observer's guidance.
It felt like a dream, the kind of beautiful dream where it wouldn't be surprising to wake up at any moment.
Thinking this, Wang Xiaowang grabbed her restless tail and gently bit it.
The pain made her instinctively pull back her tail, confirming that this was not a dream, but reality.
Quan Niang returned to her dormitory, closed the door, and was about to lock it when she suddenly saw another bed that had already been made in the room.
The hand reaching for the lock paused for a moment.
Ah, now that she thought about it, she already had a roommate.
And a foreign student who came from England, no less?
Thinking this, Wang Xiaowang recalled what Yue Tianxin had instructed her before leaving:
"Don't tell your roommate that you are a Magic Girl, and absolutely do not reveal the true identities of your companions."
...From now on, I can't just casually hold my guardian star and strike transformation poses in the dorm anymore.
Quan Niang suddenly felt like she had lost another form of entertainment, whimpering softly to herself.