Chapter 116 – If You’re Grabbing Zhou Shuren

1, What Does That Have to Do with Me, Lu Xun?

The moment Zhao Xinning saw Yang Shanshan, she started apologizing nonstop.

She said that when she heard the alarm go off, she had wanted to bring Yang Tongtong over to find Lin Xi and Yang Shanshan. But the second she turned around, Yang Tongtong was gone.

Lin Xi’s face changed in horror. “Little Sister Tongtong is so cute-she must have been kidnapped by some pervert!”

“We have to contact the amusement park right away and have them seal off every exit!”

As Lin Xi spoke, she pulled out her phone.

Yang Shanshan, meanwhile, used her thoughts to urge her little sister to show herself.

“Tongtong, come out already. Everyone’s worried about you.”

“I don’t care how those two feel,” Yang Tongtong said. “You hurt me so badly, Big Sister. I’m taking Liya and going to another city.”

“If I go somewhere else, I can do whatever I want. That’s way better than staying by your side.”

Yang Shanshan: “…”

Without a second’s hesitation, she dropped to her knees in spirit and begged for forgiveness.

“It was my fault!”

“I promise I’ll make your favorite strawberry cake for you myself!”

She knew very well that her little sister loved human sweets.

Yang Tongtong also knew very well that after her sister had degenerated from the Queen of Lust into a small-fry Otaku, her cooking skills had somehow improved by several orders of magnitude.

“I want to eat it every day!”

“Fine. No problem,” Yang Shanshan agreed.

Then she said to Lin Xi and Zhao Xinning, “Look over there. Isn’t Tongtong coming this way?”

Lin Xi and Zhao Xinning looked in the direction Yang Shanshan was pointing-and sure enough, there she was.

“Thank goodness,” Lin Xi said. “As long as Little Sister Tongtong is okay.”

After Yang Tongtong came over, she made up an excuse, saying that because of the alarm, she’d accidentally gotten separated from Zhao Xinning in the panicking crowd.

“I’m sorry, Little Sister Tongtong,” Zhao Xinning apologized. “It’s all my fault. I should have held your hand while we walked.”

“It’s okay, Sister Xinning. I’m fine, aren’t I?” Yang Tongtong thanked Zhao Xinning for worrying about her.

Then she turned to Lin Xi. “And Sister Lin Xi, thank you for worrying about me too.”

Lin Xi found it a little hard to smile, because the way Yang Tongtong spoke to her sounded… kind of weird?

“Tongtong!” Yang Shanshan told her sister through their thoughts. “You can’t talk to Miss Lin Xi in that passive-aggressive tone.”

Yang Tongtong: “…”

For the sake of the strawberry cake her sister would make by hand, she would endure it for now…

“Ah! So this is where you all were!” Su Xiangxue, the “guide” of their little group, ran over from behind. “Is everyone okay?”

Su Xiangxue was not alone. There was another girl beside her.

Lin Xi recognized her at a glance.

She had seen this girl on television many times.

She was Su Xiangxue’s older sister, and also the most powerful Magical Girl in Z City-Su Tang.

Su Tang’s face could only be described as breathtakingly beautiful, yet it carried a heroic sharpness. Her fair skin was like the first snow of winter, radiating a cool, crisp quality.

What a cold, noble beauty… Lin Xi thought.

Perhaps because she had spent so much time with Xia Xun, Lin Xi no longer grew tense with fear whenever she saw a Magical Girl, whether it was Misaka Shirai or Su Tang.

She knew the other party could not see through her witch identity.

Lin Xi had heard quite a lot about Su Tang from Su Xiangxue.

Su Tang only looked cold and aloof. In truth, she was also a very kindhearted beautiful girl.

As a Magical Girl who protected Z City and spread love and justice, being kindhearted was basically standard equipment.

Because of that, Lin Xi was not afraid of Su Tang.

After Su Xiangxue ran over, she first introduced her older sister.

Then she introduced all her good friends to her sister one by one.

She also told Lin Xi and the others that the moment she heard the alarm, she had contacted her sister immediately.

And then Su Tang rushed over.

“Sister Xiangxue,” Yang Tongtong said with feeling, “I’m so jealous. You have such a wonderful older sister who cares about you so much.”

Yang Shanshan: “…”

She had never expected that even her sister, a certified sister fanatic, would one day tease her like this.

In Yang Shanshan’s heart, her sister and Lin Xi were equally important.

And she had the ability to protect both of them at the same time.

She believed that once her sister spent more time with Lin Xi, she would definitely change her opinion. At the very least, she wouldn’t be hostile toward Lin Xi anymore…

Su Tang greeted her younger sister’s friends one by one, every inch the refined young lady of a great family, mature and composed.

As expected of Z City’s Chief Magical Girl, Lin Xi thought in admiration.

“Did you all see it?” Su Xiangxue asked her friends for confirmation. “A huge Fireball wiped out all the monsters.”

That had happened before Su Tang arrived.

Yang Shanshan and Yang Tongtong naturally knew it had been Lin Xi’s doing.

Zhao Xinning had already guessed that it was probably Lin Xi.

Because of her earlier eavesdropping, she knew Lin Xi was the Blazing Blast Witch.

The moment the Fireball appeared, she understood. Lin Xi must have been protecting her. Protecting everyone.

In Zhao Xinning’s heart, Lin Xi was the true angel.

The only one who didn’t know the truth was Su Xiangxue, who had still been working hard to turn Lin Xi into the model ordinary person.

Lin Xi felt a little guilty about that, but not much.

After all, Su Xiangxue was the one who insisted on doing it. It wasn’t as if Lin Xi could confess to her that she wasn’t an ordinary person at all, but the Blazing Blast Witch.

Su Xiangxue’s older sister was Su Tang. Confessing her true identity to her was no different from seeking death.

“I saw it,” Lin Xi said. “The Fireball wiped those monsters out completely.”

Lin Xi was confident that no one would ever know she had done it.

She would never have imagined that Yang Shanshan, Yang Tongtong, and Zhao Xinning already knew her true identity.

“I wonder which Nameless Hero it was,” Lin Xi said, a little smug. “Once the deed was done, they brushed off their sleeves and left, hiding both themselves and their name.”

“Sis,” Yang Tongtong complained to Yang Shanshan through her thoughts, “is this bastard really that shameless? She’s even praising herself now. I really want to expose her to her face and let her endure the righteous iron fist of a Magical Girl.”

Yang Shanshan refuted her sister:

“First of all, what do you mean shameless? Miss Lin Xi isn’t wrong. She really did eliminate the monsters and protect everyone.”

“Second, you’re not allowed to call Miss Lin Xi a ‘bastard’ anymore. Good children don’t use bad words.”

“Lastly, Tongtong, you actually have the nerve to talk badly about Miss Lin Xi? Aren’t you the one who keeps yelling about wiping out every human in Z City and killing the three Magical Girls?”

Yang Tongtong was left speechless by her sister’s retort. “Hmph. Just keep protecting her, then. You’re definitely going to end up drawing water with a bamboo basket-nothing to show for it. She’s obviously inseparable from Zhao Xinning. You’re just an outsider.”

Yang Shanshan disagreed.

“When it comes to feelings, getting there first doesn’t guarantee victory.”

“Childhood friends ending up as the losing heroines is hardly rare.”

Just then, Su Tang suddenly brought something up. “I heard from Xia Xun and Misaka Shirai that recently, in District 2 and District 3, a Dark Realm Disaster who loves setting fires has appeared. And it’s even a Special-Grade Disaster.”

“Because of that, Xia Xun and Misaka Shirai have even been working on the case together.”

Lin Xi: “…”

“I mean…”

“The Nameless Hero who appeared here definitely isn’t the Special-Grade Disaster from District 2 and District 3.”

“What kind of Special-Grade Disaster would act to protect everyone?”

Lin Xi had only one point she wanted to make:

What does arresting Zhou Shuren have to do with me, Lu Xun?

Footnote:

1. Zhou Shuren(周树人): Zhou Shuren is the real name of the writer Lu Xun. The chapter title humorously references a meme: “Arrest Zhou Shuren, what does it have to do with me, Lu Xun?” used when someone denies connection to their own actions or words. Here it sets a lighthearted tone for the chapter.