Chapter 108: A New Love
This question had troubled Luo Shuangyue for a long time, and even when she returned home with her sister after dinner, she still couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
As soon as she got home, she had no time to think about this question anymore.
Because she saw Xia Mo resting with her eyes closed on the sofa in the living room, emanating a terrifying aura that was rather unsettling.
Huh? What’s wrong? I didn’t do anything bad, did I?
Luo Shuangyue recalled her experiences from the day and felt that she hadn’t done anything wrong. So what made Xia Mo show such a terrifying expression?
Luo Shuangxing glanced at Xia Mo, whose face was darkening, and then at her bewildered sister, and instinctively made a wise choice.
She decisively let go of Luo Shuangyue’s arm, quickly ran to the doorway of her bedroom, and said, “I’m going back to my room first, you two take your time talking!”
After saying that, she slammed the door shut and started to tune out the outside world.
Let the two sisters resolve their conflicts themselves!
Luo Shuangyue, left standing there abandoned by her sister, stood dazedly in place, realizing that she seemed to have no way out. She took small steps over to Xia Mo’s side, laughing apologetically as she sat next to her and cautiously reached out to touch Xia Mo’s hand.
Xia Mo’s face was cold, and she didn’t say a word.
Luo Shuangyue’s heart shivered; she knew Xia Mo was genuinely upset at this moment.
“Mo Mo, what’s making you unhappy?” she asked in an incredibly humble tone.
Fortunately, Xia Mo wasn’t the type who would go silent and make her partner play guessing games when she was angry. If she were that type, Luo Shuangyue probably wouldn’t have any feelings for Xia Mo.
“This afternoon, you were happily hugging another girl, weren’t you?” Xia Mo turned her head and offered Luo Shuangyue a chilling smile. “I saw everything clearly from above.”
While Luo Shuangxing was dealing with monsters, Xia Mo hadn’t been idle. Thanks to the magical girl’s extraordinary vision, she clearly saw Luo Shuangyue holding hands with that unfamiliar girl and patting her head.
Luckily, Xia Mo had a good temper; otherwise, she would have flown down from the sky right then and there to confront Luo Shuangyue about who that woman was.
That would have made big news.
“Huh? I didn’t do anything! That girl is a friend of Luo Shuangxing’s class monitor; she was scared silly by a magical beast, and I was just comforting her!” Luo Shuangyue asserted, feeling terribly wronged. She had no feelings for that girl at all.
Her heart only held loyalty towards Xia Mo!
Xia Mo, you are the only sun in my heart!
You have to trust me!
“Comfort? You went straight to hugging her?” Xia Mo squinted, and did you think you could explain yourself away?
If Luo Shuangyue had used a male image at that moment, the scene would have felt incredibly wrong.
Anyone witnessing that scene wouldn’t believe Luo Shuangyue was innocent.
“Not at all! It was her who hugged my arm, and I don’t even know her!” Luo Shuangyue continued to explain. She knew her argument was weak, but it was all she could do.
After all, she had indeed been hugged. Unless she could let Xia Mo see her true feelings, this matter would be pretty difficult… Huh?
For ordinary people, this would indeed be disheartening because they couldn’t show their true feelings to Xia Mo.
But Luo Shuangyue wasn’t an ordinary person!
“Xia Mo! Let’s connect our feelings again! That way, you’ll know what’s in my heart!” What misunderstandings, let’s clear everything up with just one connection!
This strange way of understanding each other was simply perfect for this situation. You doubt me? Then I’ll just let you see my true feelings.
In that moment, Luo Shuangyue felt like a genius. She believed that if she encountered problems in the future, she could solve them this way directly.
What misunderstandings couldn’t be resolved with one emotional connection? None!
Seeing Luo Shuangyue’s confident expression, Xia Mo also began to understand that she might have been overthinking things.
To propose connecting their feelings so easily meant Luo Shuangyue definitely had no ulterior motives.
Those with ulterior motives wouldn’t dare to be so proactive and eager to make such a request.
“Alright, then let’s do it like last time.” Xia Mo flirtatiously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke to Luo Shuangyue.
Luo Shuangyue nodded, and before she could make any move, Xia Mo leaned forward and pinned her down.
Then, her mouth was blocked.
With no magical power imprinted on their tongues and neither in transformation form, the two couldn’t use any magical power. So this time, Xia Mo simply wanted to taste Luo Shuangyue.
After all, it was her first time seeing this style of Luo Shuangyue.
……
“I can’t believe…” Through the crack in the door, Luo Shuangxing sneaked a glance into the living room, her face flushing as she firmly closed her bedroom door.
So stimulating!
She had thought a fierce battle would erupt in the living room, but she never anticipated it turning into this!
Didn’t Xia Mo seem very angry just a moment ago and looking for an explanation? How did it turn around like this?
Also, could you two not do that in the living room? Have you forgotten there’s someone else in this house?
Covering her flushed cheeks, Luo Shuangxing took a couple of deep breaths, but it didn’t help much.
Her mind was filled with the image of her sister, blushing and pinned down by Xia Mo, being nibbled on.
One was her respected senior, and the other was her blood-related sister. Even though she had received hints from Xia Mo and was somewhat prepared, seeing it unfold in front of her was still shocking.
This… this is too stimulating!
Pressing a hand against her racing heart, Luo Shuangxing carefully opened the bedroom door a crack again, unable to help her curiosity.
However, when she opened the door this time, the battle in the living room had already ended.
Luo Shuangyue sat on the sofa, blushing and with her clothes in disarray, while Xia Mo was in a similar state, her blush not as obvious.
“There’s someone else at home.” Luo Shuangyue complained in a low voice.
She didn’t dare imagine what would happen if Luo Shuangxing had seen the earlier scene. Her sister was already quirky enough; it would truly be a problem if she became any quirkier.
“Next time you come to my house, there will be no one else here.” Xia Mo winked at Luo Shuangyue, clearly reflecting no thoughts of reflection.
Anyway, she enjoyed herself, and her little unhappiness had vanished.
Today, Luo Shuangyue had passed this round.
……
“What is this?”
“A knife!”
“And this one?”
“Master!”
You Lian’s crisp voice echoed in the small room. Luo Shuangyue looked at You Ji, who was gradually increasing her vocabulary under You Lian’s guidance, feeling the same sense of satisfaction as a mother watching her daughter grow up.
Compared to the silly little fool who could only say interjections before, You Lian had now learned to say words with actual meaning! This was a huge advancement!
After helping You Lian recognize some words, You Ji finally released the black thorny vine that had tied up You Lian, letting the small creature happily fly to the top of Luo Shuangyue’s head.
“I didn’t expect you to be quite skilled at teaching children.”
“She’s not stupid to begin with, and this place can produce a lot of things, so it’s easy to teach.” You Ji snapped her fingers, and a steaming cup of red tea appeared in front of Luo Shuangyue.
Her control over this place seemed to have increased significantly; now she could even make tea?
However, Luo Shuangyue was more concerned about the hidden message in You Ji’s earlier words. “You stole my electricity again!”
“Just a little bit, and it doesn’t count as stealing. I merely utilized the idle mental energy efficiently.” You Ji defended herself without blushing.
To assert such a fallacy without discomposure, it seemed that You Ji had been thoroughly tainted by human emotions and thoughts.
Nonetheless, Luo Shuangyue hadn’t felt any excessive mental drain these days, so You Ji must have watched the consumption rate a little.
Since that was the case, Luo Shuangyue decided to turn a blind eye; it wasn’t like she could truly stop You Ji from stealing electricity.
It was rather amusing; in terms of controlling this place, she was at a disadvantage compared to You Ji, the outsider.
Lifting the cup of red tea made by You Ji, Luo Shuangyue took a small sip.
“Um?!”
……
“You’re here? Go sit over there… Why does your face look so pale?” Monise glanced up from a pile of documents, confusion evident on her face.
If it weren’t for Luo Shuangyue’s stable aura, she would suspect that Luo Shuangyue had disintegrated again without her knowing.
What caused Luo Shuangyue’s face to turn so pale?
Luo Shuangyue sighed and didn’t answer anything.
She couldn’t possibly say that she had a taste of tea in her dream, and the flavor lingered on her tongue, not dissipating even now, could she?
You Ji had proven that merging too many delightful flavors was likely a recipe for disaster—no, an apocalyptic disaster.
In any case, Luo Shuangyue thought it unlikely she would regain her normal complexion today; her taste buds were practically in a state of collapse.
“What experiments do we have today?” She changed the subject.
“Nothing to do; those people all went next door.”
“Next door?” Luo Shuangyue scratched her head. What could be more attractive than her little You Lian?
My little You Lian is the first humanoid weapon in the world, a path for the future magical girls!
Could it be that these researchers looked down on her little You Lian?
Monise shrugged, indicating she wasn’t quite sure what was happening.
She could conduct research on Luo Shuangyue because, for one, her strength was indeed impressive, and for another, she was essentially Luo Shuangyue’s superior, so excluding her from research wasn’t an option.
However, Monise couldn’t comment on other matters within the Magic Department, and certain secretive subjects were kept from her.
“It seems like there has been some new discovery elsewhere, and those people seem pretty excited.” Monise stated.
Recent discoveries had been coming one after another, so many that it was hard to keep up.
However, Monise wasn’t particularly concerned about these matters; she should focus on her own work before discussing additional issues.
“Today there’s nothing for you, I’m going to check on that transformed person and see if there are any new insights.”
Magical Four was still hanging by a thread with the Magic Department; the reason for his existence was simple: Monise wanted to use him to probe the future of transformation technology.
However, breaking through a bottleneck wasn’t so easily accomplished, and Monise’s energy wasn’t infinite. Recently she’d been busy researching You Lian, causing slow progress on this front.
Now that she had some time to spare, it was natural for her to deal with this matter seriously.
If she could break through this bottleneck, she would empower Jiuye and the others with significantly more strength, elevating them from struggling against budding-level magical girls to bud-level or even initial bloom levels!
If she reached such a level, Monise’s long-held aspiration would be complete!
Having a transformed person with self-awareness comparable to an initial bloom magical girl would be an immensely significant technology in today’s world!
The emergence of magical girls was based on luck, but transformed persons didn’t rely on luck. Even if their upper limits weren’t very high, their quantity and lower limits could easily compensate for this flaw.
Currently, the Magic Department couldn’t expand humanity’s territory simply because there weren’t enough magical girls, while ordinary Magic Department troops had virtually no resistance against powerful magical beasts.
If the Magic Department had a sufficient number of transformed persons, they wouldn’t need to be overly strong. Even bud-level strength could change the current situation!
Unfortunately, the issue with transformed persons was that safe ones lacked strength, while those strong enough were easily affected by the mindset of magical beasts, ultimately turning into humanoid beasts.
This dilemma had troubled Monise for a long time, and so far, she had yet to find an adequate solution.
“Sigh, I wonder when we’ll see some progress…” Monise sighed lightly.
Seeing this, Luo Shuangyue had no particular thoughts; she was only half-aware of these matters, knowing that Monise wanted to do good but kept failing.
In these matters, she couldn’t really offer any assistance; she wasn’t a naturally brilliant genius, and her greatest contribution to this research was likely just being the research subject.
With Monise gone, Luo Shuangyue found herself with nothing to do, so she decided to wander around other areas.
She wasn’t too familiar with the Magic Department and soon found herself in the place she knew best: the magical girls’ lounge.
Pushing open the door to the lounge, she found only Xiaomimi reading, while Luo Shuangxing and Xia Mo were nowhere in sight.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Xiaomimi’s mechanical cat stirred slightly, then she looked up at Luo Shuangyue and said, “Meow?”
She had expected either Xia Mo or Luo Shuangxing to come in, but instead, it was someone she never anticipated.
“Miss Die?”
She remembered that Dark Butterfly should be the enemy of the Magic Department, at least not a member of it.
During their previous interactions, Dark Butterfly had exhibited a poor attitude towards the Magic Department. Why, all of a sudden, was she here almost like she was home?
Surely, she wasn’t just bored and looking to visit, was she?
“Are you here all by yourself?” Luo Shuangyue stepped into the lounge, casually finding a place to sit, and offered Xiaomimi a relatively friendly smile.
“Yes, both my senior and Linglan have things to do.” Xiaomimi nodded and then curiously asked Luo Shuangyue why she had come here.
Luo Shuangyue scratched her head, indicating that it was a complicated matter. In short, she was now considered an external member of the Magic Department and would likely be appearing here frequently for a while.
External members of the Magic Department: Referring to those regarded as valuable research subjects.
“Oh! Miss Die is joining us now!” Xiaomimi misunderstood Luo Shuangyue’s intentions. She thought Luo Shuangyue was switching sides.
“That’s not quite it; it’s just that my boss has come to a temporary agreement with the Magic Department, and once their collaboration ends, I’ll leave.” Luo Shuangyue corrected Xiaomimi’s assumption. She would never join the Magic Department, not at all!
But Xiaomimi didn’t care about that; she only recognized Luo Shuangyue as a friend and companion.
Since that was the case, Xiaomimi wanted to ask Luo Shuangyue about Jiuye.
She had been looking for the opportunity to ask and hadn’t had the courage to do so, but now she felt it was the right time.
“Um, Miss Die, can you tell me what kind of girl Jiuye is?” Kneeling on the mat, Xiaomimi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
What kind of person is Jiuye?
That was a great question! Luo Shuangyue wanted to tell Xiaomimi right then and there that Jiuye was the kind of girl who would meow after getting hit.
You two met a long time ago, and during that encounter, you made your friend roll around in pain!
But Luo Shuangyue couldn’t bring herself to sell out her subordinate like that.
So, when faced with Xiaomimi’s question, Luo Shuangyue put on a silly expression and said, “She’s a very cute and kind girl, similar to you, Mimi.”
You both are catgirls, so saying your vibes are similar isn’t an issue, right?
As for useful information about Jiuye, Luo Shuangyue didn’t reveal a single word.
Naturally, Xiaomimi caught on to the implicit meaning. She didn’t believe Luo Shuangyue didn’t understand her question.
“Miss Die, I want to meet Jiuye. Can you help me convey a message to her?” Xiaomimi asked quietly, pointing her fingers.
This wasn’t impossible, but what intrigued Luo Shuangyue was that she remembered Jiuye had Xiaomimi’s contact information, so why did Xiaomimi need her to act as an intermediary?
“Can’t you just tell her directly?”
“I’ve invited her several times, but she keeps making excuses. She either says she’s busy or that she’s catching up on work…” Xiaomimi explained, her tail drooping behind her.
Relying on Luo Shuangyue’s help was a last resort; if she could get Jiuye to hang out with her on her own, she would have done so long ago.
And among the people she knew, the only one who had a good relationship with Jiuye and had met her offline was Luo Shuangyue. She only had one option.
“I see…” Luo Shuangyue nodded hesitantly. If it was just passing along a message from Xiaomimi, then it was no problem.
That didn’t count as selling out Jiuye, right? It was more like helping Jiuye find friends and doing something good!
“I can bring you a message, but I can’t guarantee the result.”
“Really? Thank you, Miss Die!” Xiaomimi cheered, her previously listless tail now brimming with energy.
It was as if Luo Shuangyue’s promise to convey the message guaranteed that Jiuye would agree to meet her.
Luo Shuangyue didn’t think her face carried such weight, and besides, Jiuye might not match Xiaomimi’s imagination anyway.
……
“Eh? Did Mimi actually get you, Dark Butterfly, to invite me?” Hearing Luo Shuangyue’s message, Jiuye tweaked her cat ears in confusion.
While she was puzzled, she still unhesitatingly declined Xiaomimi’s invitation.
“I can’t; I simply can’t go out like this.”
As a transformed person, Jiuye couldn’t appear openly in public; people had adapted somewhat to the presence of magic beasts, but they weren’t very familiar with catgirls yet.
And she had to meet with Xiaomimi; there was no way she could show up wrapped in a thick coat and wearing a large hat. Wouldn’t that make her appear suspicious immediately?
So the best option was to avoid meeting altogether.
They could simply connect spiritually; there was no need for a real-world relationship.
Luo Shuangyue had already anticipated Jiuye’s response; for her little catgirl, going out was indeed a hassle.
The existence of transformed persons was still not accepted by human society.
“Is Miss Die and Mimi quite close?” After turning down Luo Shuangyue’s invitation, Jiuye noticed something else: Xiaomimi had actually asked Luo Shuangyue to convey a message.
She had thought that Luo Shuangyue’s only contact with Xiaomimi was when she helped her carry something, but it seemed like Miss Die had also become friends with Mimi after that?
Now Mimi could even ask Miss Die to pass on messages!
Jiuye knew well how cold and heartless Miss Die could be towards those who weren’t in her heart. For Xiaomimi to have gotten Miss Die’s help meant something significant.
At least it indicated that Mimi and Miss Die were not strangers!
“Not particularly close; she’s a very enthusiastic girl. When she helped deliver something to you, she almost filled me with coffee.” Luo Shuangyue expressed a seven-parts exasperation, three-parts embarrassment. That first meeting was something she preferred not to recall.
As for the ongoing affairs, there wasn’t much to say; Luo Shuangyue had a decent relationship with Xiaomimi, mostly because this girl got along well with those around her, and also because she wasn’t too bothersome, so maintaining a good relationship wasn’t a bad thing.
“What’s the matter, afraid I might steal your friend?” In closing, Luo Shuangyue teased Jiuye.
Jiuye’s ears twitched twice, but she didn’t display the possessive expression that Luo Shuangyue hoped for. Jiuye was a clever cat; she recognized immediately that Luo Shuangyue was just joking.
Friends weren’t something you could steal, and it wasn’t like if Mimi and Miss Die became friends, Jiuye would suddenly become disliked.
“Don’t laugh at me, Miss Die. By the way, the Black Dragonfly just mentioned she’d gotten some information to share with Lady Monise.” Jiuye chuckled lightly then shared another matter with Luo Shuangyue.
She belonged to the combat part of the organization; hearing Black Dragonfly’s mention of looking for Monise didn’t strike her as important at the moment. Now that she thought about it, she casually told Luo Shuangyue.
“Oh, Monise probably won’t return these next few days. I’ll go find Black Dragonfly.” Luo Shuangyue nodded. As the second-in-command of the organization, she needed to handle some of the work during this time when the leader was semi-absent.
For example, checking what intelligence Black Dragonfly had gathered.
This girl, who looked even less human than Jiuye, might not be particularly strong in combat, but she was excellent at intelligence-gathering, at least more useful than Jiuye in battle.
Finding Black Dragonfly wasn’t difficult at all; Luo Shuangyue merely circled outside Monise’s office once and found her.
After Luo Shuangyue explained Monise’s current situation, Black Dragonfly revealed the information she had acquired.
“I heard that other organizations in Xinghai City were saying that a meteorite fell in the wasteland a few days ago, and that meteorite had a lot of treasures. Now they’re all discussing how to find that meteorite.”
“Huh?” After hearing Black Dragonfly’s account, Luo Shuangyue felt her head buzz slightly.
What on earth was this? Were those people in Xinghai City losing their minds from absorbing too much magical energy? That was an absurd thing to say!
A meteorite? Treasures? These were utterly imaginary notions!
