434. Lily
Lily dropped to the ground, her legs spread out like a pair of awkward chopsticks. She propped herself up on the cold tile floor, tuning in to the talking black cat as it excitedly described the perks of becoming a magical girl.
Having seen the talking cat a few times, the initial shock to her worldview was wearing off.
Her expression remained as chilly as an ice mountain, but curiosity flickered in her eyes. Finally, her legs regained some strength, and with a poker face, she pushed off the wall and stood up.
“Magical girl?”
Only now did she start to pay attention to the black cat’s talk about contracts.
“Yes! A magical girl! Don’t you have any wishes? Once you become a magical girl, I can help you fulfill one wish!”
“You’re not tired of your monotonous school life? Don’t you feel powerless seeing people you dislike but being unable to do anything about it…?”
Ning Chu suddenly shoved her hand down atop the black cat’s head, forcibly cutting off its sales pitch.
“Don’t listen to it! If such a good thing actually existed, it wouldn’t land in your lap!”
She didn’t want to have Lily turn into a future breeding ground for tentacle monsters! Not even a chance.
“The cost is just to eliminate that evil demon lurking in your school.”
She didn’t know if Lily was intrigued, but she grabbed Lily by the wrist and tugged her to a corner.
Stealing a glance at the black cat and Qian Qian, Ning Chu leaned in to whisper in Lily’s ear, “The ‘evil demon’ it mentioned is a super scary tentacle monster!”
Lily froze, turning to look at Ning Chu’s serious face.
“Are there really… tentacle monsters?”
“Yup! Very scary! It’s like something out of a doujinshi; one-on-one, there’s no way you’d win. If you don’t fight it, you might end up being… ” Ning Chu’s words abruptly halted as she wasn’t sure if that would scare Lily or tempt her.
After all, this succubus had somewhat peculiar tastes…
“Anyway, don’t let the black cat con you! Why would I lie to you?”
Lily, still a bit dizzy from her newfound knowledge of a talking cat, nodded blankly.
“Hey, hey, hey! She’s the perfect girl in this school! If she chooses the contract, that mere evil demon will be no match!”
The black cat suddenly darted in, “Besides, how do you know so much!? I didn’t mention anything to you!”
When explaining the evil demon, the cat conveniently omitted the fact that the demon was an enemy of women.
Ning Chu couldn’t explain; she instinctively looked at Qian Qian, who after a moment’s hesitation, helped cover for her: “I told her.”
“No wonder she rejected me!”
The black cat scrambled around in frustration on the balcony.
Ning Chu couldn’t care less about the cat; she turned back to Lily, ready to continue persuading her, only to find Lily nodding in understanding: “I get it.”
“Good to know.”
She finally sighed in relief, “Alright, once the black cat contracts the magical girl, let her check out that little octopus you have. But I recommend just sprinkling some salt and grilling it directly.”
“No way.”
In front of others, Lily spoke little, her expression rigid, making anyone who saw her think she was a high-cold ice mountain goddess.
This made Qian Qian take quite a liking to Lily. She grabbed the scruff of the black cat’s neck, ignoring its squirming protests, and cheerfully approached Lily: “I’m the transfer student next week, so consider this an early introduction~!”
“I’m Qian Qian~ I’ve been a magical girl for over six months! But I haven’t seen an evil demon yet… probably?”
This magical girl was a bit of a chatterbox, chirping away like a little sparrow.
“Before I became a part-time magical girl, I was actually a sophomore! I have no idea what kind of magic little black used to transfer me here…”
“Lily.”
Lily’s lips curled slightly, attempting to show a warm and generous smile for self-introduction, but it only resulted in a nervous nod.
“Wow, you’re so cool~”
“That’s just her personality.” Ning Chu was curious about how Qian Qian would react after learning about Lily’s somewhat dark thoughts, “We should head back; it’s almost ten. The bus will stop running soon.”
“Okay! See you Monday, Lily dear!”
With that, Qian Qian dragged the squirming black cat along, following Ning Chu out of the girls’ dormitory.
Inside, the sleepy Yan Xinya and Lin Li finally opened their eyes groggily.
“How did we suddenly fall asleep? Where’s Ning Chu?”
Wolf Girl shook her wolf ears and looked up at Lily, who was holding a cup and staring blankly at the dormitory door.
She waddled over to Lily, her tail spinning like a ceiling fan: “Lily! What’s wrong? Why are you dazing out?”
“Nothing.”
“What about Ning Chu and that girl?”
“They just left.”
“They didn’t even say goodbye before leaving…”
Wen Yang was waiting outside the girls’ dormitory. Despite the light drizzle, a few enthusiastic girls had gathered around him.
With his cool demeanor, he had his hands shoved in his pockets, paying no mind to the girls surrounding him, as his gaze remained fixed on the entrance of the dormitory.
The moment he spotted Ning Chu coming out, his meticulously crafted aloof expression cracked, revealing a soft smile as he casually brushed off the girls nearby and walked straight to Ning Chu.
“How’d it go?”
“Found nothing.”
Ning Chu glanced back at the girls trailing behind Wen Yang, who was puffing out her chest with pride as she affectionately linked her arm with him, openly declaring his ‘ownership’ to the giggling girls nearby.
“Looks like he already has a girlfriend~ And she’s so pretty.”
“Does she have horns? Is she a sheep?”
“Maybe she’s a succubus.”
She could vaguely hear the whispers of the girls, and her expression stiffened.
There are so many with horns! How did they immediately guess I’m a succubus? Did my tail accidentally show?
The tail coiling around her thigh instinctively tightened a little.
“You have a year left, don’t rush.” Wen Yang sensed Ning Chu’s tense posture and gently reassured her.
“By the way, Lily picked up an octopus tonight.”
“Tonight?”
No matter how dense he was, he subconsciously linked the octopus to the newly emerged tentacle monster.
Ning Chu nodded vigorously: “I suspect it’s the tentacle monster! But it’s way too cute, even Qian Qian and the black cat couldn’t tell the difference.”
“Cute?”
Wen Yang found it hard to imagine how an octopus could be described as cute.
“Oh, I have a photo! It looks a lot like a little flying elephant octopus, just with longer tentacles.”
Ning Chu pulled out her mobile phone and showed Wen Yang the photo of the octopus: “Right? Isn’t it cute~ I almost want to keep one!”
As they chatted and left the school, they stopped in front of the bus station. Ning Chu turned around only to find Qian Qian trailing behind them, her hands empty as she searched around.
“Where’s that cat?”
“It said it had something to do—maybe it found another suitable magical girl?”
“Well… I guess that’s okay.”
