Chapter 11: Selfishness

Leave.

One glance.

A torrent of purple magical energy flattened the ground.

At the very last moment before being struck by the magic cannon, Ming Die’s body scattered into countless gray butterflies flying in all directions.

Some of the butterflies were swallowed by the cannon blast, but the rest reformed mid-air into Ming Die’s shape again.

“Cough… You got lucky this time.”

]Luo Shuangyue, her face pale as paper, clutched her chest and glared fiercely at Xia Mo, who was being supported by Linglan.

Her condition wasn’t much better than Xia Mo’s, and there was still one magical girl in Xinghai City who hadn’t entered the battle yet.

If she didn’t leave quickly and ended up getting caught by the Ministry of Magic and that other magical girl, escaping would be very difficult.

Plus, her younger sister was still waiting for her in the basement.

If she delayed too long, her sister might start to get suspicious…

With a flap of the butterfly wings behind her, Luo Shuangyue once again used the Butterfly Transformation Technique and left the battlefield.

“Senior! We won!”

Watching the sky anxiously, Luo Shuangxing only let out a cheer of joy after hearing the Director’s voice confirm it.

She had actually defeated such a powerful enemy together with her senior—it was thrilling beyond words!

Hmph, that Ming Die was nothing but a defeated foe.

And she dared to talk about defeating my senior?

The one who’s been defeated now is clearly her.

Xia Mo’s body swayed. As Ming Die left, a wave of deep exhaustion surged up from within her.

The magic cannon earlier had nearly drained all her strength.

At this point, even maintaining her transformation was difficult.

“We’ve only driven her off for now. Huff… I need to leave, too.”

She clutched her chest and took a few shallow breaths—Xia Mo hadn’t forgotten how she even got out here in the first place.

She still needed to go back and find Shuangyue!

Though by doing this she had basically revealed her identity to Shuangyue, Shuangxing still didn’t know who she really was.

She didn’t want that kind-hearted Shuangxing to worry about her.

Upon hearing Xia Mo’s words, Luo Shuangxing suddenly came to her senses.

She realized she couldn’t waste time here either—her brother and Sister Xia Mo were still waiting in the basement.

If her brother and Xia Mo got to the basement and couldn’t find her, they’d definitely be worried…

“Mm-hmm! Senior, please go rest quickly!”

Watching the pale purple magical girl disappear into the sky, Luo Shuangxing glanced around furtively like a thief, then put away her magic wand and turned into a beam of light, hurrying toward another entrance to the underground shelter.

The building where her home had been was reduced to rubble in the earlier battle, so now she could only use another entrance to reach the shelter and find her brother.

After de-transforming in an empty corner near the shelter, Luo Shuangxing slipped into the bustling crowd.

Since the monsters were gone, the residents in the underground shelter were all rushing to the exit, which made moving against the flow very difficult for Shuangxing.

Release.

Moon.

After walking forward a few steps, Luo Shuangxing suddenly spotted Xia Mo being pushed along by the crowd.

There was an anxious look on Xia Mo’s face. She was trying to push against the flow too, but she didn’t have the strength that Shuangxing did.

Luo Shuangxing quickly weaved through the crowd and pulled Xia Mo out.

But she looked around left and right and still couldn’t find where her brother had gone.

“Sister Xia Mo, where did my brother go?”

“Shuangyue… He…”

Xia Mo opened her mouth, but couldn’t get a full sentence out.

She had just de-transformed and rushed back here—how would she know where Luo Shuangyue went?

Logically, Luo Shuangyue should have stayed with her, the patient.

But with things the way they were now, Xia Mo honestly had no idea how to explain it.

“He’s still at the old place…”

“Still at the old place?!”

Hearing this, Luo Shuangxing’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that something happened to her brother?

If that wasn’t the case, why would Sister Xia Mo be here alone?

Her heart began to race, and without even thinking, Luo Shuangxing dashed off in the direction of her home, leaving Xia Mo behind.

Big brother, please don’t be in any trouble!

Behind her, Xia Mo’s heart was pounding as well.

Shuangyue, you must be there!

One minute later, Luo Shuangxing arrived at the entrance to her family’s underground shelter and saw her brother, Luo Shuangyue, sitting on the ground, holding his arm, his face bruised and swollen.

“Brother!”

“Finally, you’re here. Ugh, help me up.”

Luo Shuangyue had a thin layer of cold sweat on his forehead, and seeing him in such a miserable state, Luo Shuangxing instinctively thought he was sweating from the pain.

“Phew.”

“Big brother, what happened? Are you okay?”

Luo Shuangxing hurriedly supported his brother’s arm, asking with concern.

“I slipped on the stairs and rolled all the way down.”

Luo Shuangyue said helplessly.

“Wait, let me treat your wound first.”

Luo Shuangxing took some alcohol swabs and bandages from the first aid kit, starting to clean his brother’s wound with practiced movements.

“Ahh… gently.”

“Don’t move! It’s your fault for being so careless!”

Luo Shuangxing firmly pressed the alcohol swab onto Luo Shuangyue’s wound, causing him to stifle his pained groans.

“The magical girl and the monster were fighting so fiercely in the sky. If I had run any slower, I would have been crushed under the rubble.”

“But Sister Xia Mo managed to get to the basement safely! In the end, you even had to have her call for help to rescue you.”

Xia Mo’s face immediately became awkward.

She quickly waved her hands, flustered, “It was Shuangyue who protected me, that’s why I made it to the basement.”

“Oh, the hero saves the beauty,” Luo Shuangxing muttered under her breath while cleaning the wound on Luo Shuangyue’s forehead.

Luo Shuangyue kept his mouth shut, not saying a word.

She couldn’t exactly tell him, “Sister Xia Mo is actually a magical girl, she didn’t need me to save her at all, did she?”

And the truth was that she herself had fought with the magical girl and lost, ending up like this, defeated by her in the end.

Who could have predicted that the injured Xia Mo could suddenly unleash such powerful strength, blasting her into this state?

Now, here she was, Luo Shuangyue, turned into a patient.

The one responsible for this beating was currently sitting nervously beside Luo Shuangyue, her hands tightly wringing each other, occasionally glancing up at him.

Open mouth, close mouth, open mouth, close mouth—anyone could see how conflicted she was feeling.

She really wanted to have an honest talk with Luo Shuangyue, but because of Luo Shuangxing’s presence, she couldn’t do it.

Just now, she had basically transformed right in front of Luo Shuangyue.

Xia Mo had gone upstairs and disappeared, and then the magical girl, Rosemary, appeared.

Oh, who could Rosemary, the magical girl, possibly be? It’s really hard to guess.

“Alright, the basic treatment is done. Brother, you and Sister Xia Mo stay here, I’ll go get help.”

After saying that, Luo Shuangxing hurriedly ran towards the exit of the shelter.

With just her and Xia Mo, they wouldn’t be able to carry Luo Shuangyue out.

Once she left, the atmosphere in the room became tense and awkward.

Xia Mo kept her head lowered, not daring to say a word.

Luo Shuangyue leaned against the wall, her gaze wandering around the dimly lit basement, but never settling on Xia Mo.

What should I say?

It wasn’t just Xia Mo who didn’t know what to say;

Luo Shuangyue felt the same way.

Should I just tell Xia Mo that she has to choose between me and the magical girl?

Luo Shuangyue felt that her position in Xia Mo’s heart might not be that high.

If she said this directly, Xia Mo would probably choose to let go in pain and focus wholeheartedly on being a magical girl.

Some people might say, “If Xia Mo lets go, then so be it. There are plenty of other good women out there, and Luo Shuangyue could easily find someone else.”

But the problem was that Luo Shuangyue really did have feelings for Xia Mo!

They had been childhood sweethearts for so many years, their hearts had already resonated with each other.

Although they had never formally confessed, they both shared special feelings for each other.

“Shuangyue, I’m sorry, I…”

Finally, Xia Mo mustered the courage to try to tell Luo Shuangyue everything.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Luo Shuangyue covered her ears.

If knowing the truth meant losing Xia Mo, Luo Shuangyue would rather choose to pretend not to hear anything.

As long as Xia Mo didn’t directly tell her that she was the magical girl, Luo Shuangyue could pretend nothing had happened.

Only Mingdie knew that Rosemary was actually Xia Mo.

Mingdie was not Luo Shuangyue, right?

“Just now, you stayed by my side the whole time and never left, right?”

Luo Shuangyue looked at Xia Mo and asked slowly, word by word.

Her eyes carried a hint of hope, hoping that Xia Mo would continue in line with her words, so that their relationship could remain on this delicate line.

Xia Mo didn’t answer.

She just choked up, burying her face in Luo Shuangyue’s chest, sobbing quietly, her emotions finally breaking free.

She had kept her identity a secret from Luo Shuangyue for three main reasons:

First, the rules of the Magic Department; 

Second, not wanting Luo Shuangyue to worry about her; 

And third, because Luo Shuangyue often expressed resistance toward magical girls.

Xia Mo feared that if Luo Shuangyue knew her true identity, she would choose to sever ties with her.

But now, Xia Mo realized she was wrong.

She had imagined Shuangyue’s thoughts in such a narrow way.

She had been so foolish, so foolish.

“Yes, I’ve always stayed by your side, never leaving.”

Feeling the warmth of the girl in her arms, Luo Shuangyue sighed inwardly.

Perhaps… this was better.

Xia Mo’s energy blast had shown her Xia Mo’s determination, a determination so bright and dazzling that nothing in the world could shake it.

At least, it was impossible for her to make Xia Mo give up being a magical girl with just a few words.

And Luo Shuangyue was a very selfish person.

Why didn’t she want Xia Mo to be a magical girl?

Isn’t it because she wanted Xia Mo to be her little wife, living happily and peacefully by her side?

Now, to prevent Xia Mo from being a magical girl, if she broke things off with her, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?

Rather than forcing her, it would be better to pressure Xia Mo as much as possible through Mingdie, while also offering Xia Mo the most meticulous care as Luo Shuangyue, gradually increasing her position in Xia Mo’s heart.

Eventually, she would get Xia Mo to willingly give up being a magical girl!

“Take care of yourself. If you get hurt again, I won’t help you,” Luo Shuangyue said softly.

“Mm.”

“Don’t act recklessly when you meet a scary enemy. Don’t forget that there’s someone waiting for you to come back.”

“…..”

“That’s all. You big fool.”

Luo Shuangyue gave Xia Mo’s head a light tap, saying irritably.

“Can you hold me for a little longer?”

But Xia Mo didn’t let go.

Instead, she continued to hold Luo Shuangyue tightly.

The understanding and support from her partner made her feel like her strength had grown once again!