"Heh yo…!"
Su Tianqing strenuously lifted the paper bag onto the table and let out a long sigh.
"Phew! ...These merchandise are quite heavy."
"!!"
Lin Muyao quickly came forward and offered Su Tianqing a glass of clear water.
"Is this for me? Thank you, Muyao Meimei (Muyao Little Sister)~"
"...!!"
The girl was flustered, still not quite used to the enthusiastic response from this Golden Fox.
So lively and cheerful, she simply couldn't resist the charm radiating from Tianqing Jie.
But after a few days of interaction, Lin Muyao roughly knew the preferences of this little Fox Fox in front of her:
Su Tianqing liked cute things and pretty things, but she wasn't picky about food, so she should be easy to take care of.
Yes, very easy to take care of.
"I feel a bit tired now, can I sit on your bed for a while?" Su Tianqing asked.
"Please feel free."
The girl picked up her drawing board and quickly wrote three words.
The Golden Fox didn't stand on ceremony, plopping down onto the bed covered with pink and white sheets, straightening her calves, and stretching her body slightly.
"Mm—~ Uhm!"
The pure white over-the-knee socks reflected the halo of the bedroom's ceiling light, outlining a tender and slender curve.
"Today I really bought a lot of merchandise, Muyao Meimei (Muyao Little Sister), do you want to open them?"
"I have that intention, Tianqing Jie, would you like to join me?"
Su Tianqing looked at the words on the drawing board, then at the girl whose face was full of eager anticipation, and smiled slightly.
"It seems Muyao Meimei (Muyao Little Sister) isn't the type who likes to unbox things by herself."
"In that case... I, your older sister, will help you!"
A rustling sound echoed in the bedroom.
Su Tianqing skillfully unsealed the plastic packaging and handed the opened small cards and picture badges to the girl across the table.
Time gradually passed.
While unboxing, Su Tianqing looked at Lin Muyao, who was playing with the pictures across the table.
"Muyao Meimei (Muyao Little Sister)."
"!"
The girl suddenly looked up and blinked.
"Actually, I've always wanted to say something, but I was worried you, Mu Yao, might find what I, your older sister, say strange..."
Lin Muyao was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up her drawing board and seriously wrote a line of text.
"It's okay, Tianqing Jie, just say it."
"Really? Since you, Mu Yao, don't mind, then..."
After gathering her thoughts, Su Tianqing secretly glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was nine fifteen.
There were fifteen minutes left until the half past nine she had agreed upon with the cat.
This amount of time was enough to solidify her position in this child's heart.
"...I heard about your past, Mu Yao, from Teacher Meteor."
Su Tianqing said softly,
"I'm very concerned about what you, Mu Yao, have experienced."
The girl suddenly froze, as if recalling something, and her expression instantly darkened.
But she didn't become depressed as Meteor had described; instead, she forced a smile.
"Tianqing Jie, are you deliberately approaching me like those doctor-sisters?"
Another line of text was written on the drawing board.
But the Golden Fox shook her head and replied softly:
"No, I'm not."
The girl froze, looking up at the Golden Fox across the table.
Su Tianqing held a picture card in her hand, but her eyes were not focused on the card at all, but on something deeper and more distant.
"When I heard about this from Teacher Meteor, I thought you, Mu Yao, were a very brave child."
"Even after such a serious accident, you were able to recover from such a blow. I, your older sister, admire you very much."
"...I've never seen my parents."
Lin Muyao trembled all over.
Aphasia prevented her from speaking, and Su Tianqing couldn't know her feelings at the moment, only inferring them from her expressions and small movements.
With a glance at Lin Muyao's astonished expression, Su Tianqing remained calm and continued:
"When I was your age, I went to school alone every day, came home alone every day, it was like that every single day."
"Because I'm a Beastman, no one wanted to be friends with me. Everyone ostracized me, everyone thought I was a Monster with a tail."
"I once thought about finding a rooftop to jump off and end it all."
"Later... because I was very scared, I didn't dare to jump."
Su Tianqing calmly recounted the original owner's past experiences, her face devoid of emotion.
Lin Muyao hesitated, about to write something on the drawing board, but Su Tianqing continued to speak.
"Later, many people helped me."
"They chatted with me, paid for my living expenses, sponsored me to study, sponsored me to go to university, and encouraged me to live."
"So I felt... since so many people want me to live well, then when I grow up, I also want to do my best to help those who need help."
"When I heard Teacher Meteor mention you, I thought at the time... is there actually someone in the world so similar to me?"
"And she's not only brave and resilient, but she also likes Magic Girl just like me."
"So I wanted to meet this child, I wanted to see if I could help her."
After speaking, Su Tianqing's gaze fell on Lin Muyao, a slight smile on her lips.
The girl pursed her lips, her pen tip writing and erasing on the drawing board, erasing and writing again, unsure what to say.
Tianqing Jie had never seen her own parents.
Yet she could show such a dazzling smile.
"I want her to get what she likes, I want her to have many friends, not to be like me anymore..."
Lin Muyao held up her drawing board, interrupting Su Tianqing's monologue.
"Tianqing Jie is not a Monster with a tail!!"
"Tianqing Jie is a very cute Fox Fox! Her smile is super beautiful!"
"Oh my..."
Being praised so directly by the other party, the Golden Fox couldn't help but blush slightly, her tail wagging from side to side.
"Thanks for the compliment~ But, Muyao Meimei (Muyao Little Sister), you..."
"Thank you, Tianqing Jie."
The words on the drawing board choked the words Su Tianqing was about to say.
The girl wrote very quickly, very excitedly, eager to express her inner emotions through words.
"For so long, Tianqing Jie, you are the first person who is willing to talk so much with me."
"You gave me merchandise, you brought me to interact with other Magic Girl fans, it's you who gave me these two friends, Xiao Feng and Hua Ling."
"I see, then did I help you, Muyao Meimei (Muyao Little Sister)?"
"You helped me, Tianqing Jie helped me a lot."
"These past few days... have been the happiest days of my life."
"Thank you, Tianqing Jie."
After reading the last sentence on the drawing board, Su Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gently.
Her smile was as bright as the morning sun.
Lin Muyao's hand holding the pen was trembling slightly.
She had never written on the drawing board so quickly.
She didn't want Tianqing Jie to misunderstand, didn't want to lose this cute Fox Fox because of her aphasia and silence.
And she didn't dislike her silence; instead, she showed her that dazzling smile.
—Just as the two were about to say something more,
A piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire Association High School.
"Monster Alert!"
"Monster Alert!"
"Monster detected in the Association High School! Please proceed to the nearest shelter immediately!"
"What... Monster...?"
Su Tianqing froze, and Lin Muyao froze along with her.
The two subconsciously ran out the door, and along with a crowd of students, they all looked towards the school gate, towards the huge black wolf in the dark night!
The black wolf looked towards the dormitory, opened its blood-red mouth, and a white light bloomed from within!
"...Mu Yao! Go back quickly!!"
Su Tianqing quickly blocked the stunned girl behind her, pushing her into the room.
"Puff boom!!!"
Magic missiles flew over, exploding into countless shattered rocks and rubble on the balcony at the dormitory entrance!
Lin Muyao fell to the ground, her vision obscured by the dust that rushed towards her, only vaguely seeing the golden figure that had pushed her down.
And the only exit from the dormitory leading downstairs... had been completely destroyed.