Magical Girl Fan Bingbing

Jiang Ran returned home, tied on an apron, and started chopping vegetables and heating the pan.

The fumes on the stove were sucked away by the exhaust fan, emitting a low hum. This sound made him feel at ease; at least when he was cooking, he could clear his mind and not think about those annoying problems.

However, after the dishes were served and the rice was served, Jiang Li still hadn't returned.

Jiang Ran glanced at her phone; there were no messages.

He sat down at the dining table, stared blankly at the two sets of bowls and chopsticks for a while, then poured himself a glass of water and waited quietly.

Only when the last rays of sunlight outside the window sank into the city skyline did familiar footsteps finally echo in the stairwell.

The door opened.

Jiang Li stood in the entryway, her schoolbag slung over only one shoulder, the other strap slipping down to her elbow without her bothering to pull it up. Her hair was a little messy, and her eyes were still bright, but the fatigue in them was undeniable.

A female high school student looked more tired than Jiang Ran, a middle-aged man who had been out all day.

"You're back?" Jiang Ran didn't ask immediately, but picked up the rice bowl and handed it to him. "Eat first."

"Mmm," Jiang Li responded, yawning as she changed her shoes and almost putting her slippers on backwards.

She walked to the dining table, sat down, picked up a piece of food, put it in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Jiang Ran didn't speak until she had scooped out the last grain of rice from Jiang Li's bowl.

"Have you been busy with something lately?"

"No," Jiang Li denied reflexively, without even looking up.

"You've been coming home really late every day these past few days, you look more tired than me after a whole day's work. What have you been doing?"

Jiang Li slowed down her chewing. She pursed her lips, held the bowl in both hands, her amber eyes flashed twice, and then she put on a very sincere expression. "It's just some... little things that teenage girls do, Dad, don't worry about it."

A seemingly ordinary sentence caused Jiang Ran's chopsticks, which were picking up food, to freeze in mid-air.

His sixth sense, as a father, was frantically alarming.

If you substitute the elements of puberty, girlhood, and inner thoughts into a fifteen-year-old high school girl, there's only one answer.

Are you in a relationship?

Jiang Li almost spat out the rice in her mouth.

"What?!"

"Otherwise, why would a normal girl come home so late every day?" Jiang Ran's voice suddenly turned cold, and she slammed her chopsticks down on the rim of her bowl. "Was the other person a boy or a girl? How old? From your school? Were they the kind with dyed blonde hair?"

"Dad, what are you thinking about!"

Jiang Li's face instantly turned pink, a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. "I'm not in a relationship! Really not!"

"Then tell me, what have you been busy with lately?"

At this point, a terrifying killing intent suddenly emanated from Jiang Ran, and Jiang Li was momentarily stunned, as if she were seeing a scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Any father, upon hearing that his precious daughter might have been violated by some wild boar that appeared out of nowhere, would react no less gently than Jiang Ran.

If the little cabbage in the house really gets eaten by some pig that just appeared out of nowhere, Jiang Ran will definitely let it experience what true cruelty is!

However, faced with Jiang Ran's barrage of questions, Jiang Li was completely speechless.

She had always been the one interrogating Jiang Ran; she never imagined she would be the one being interrogated by him.

Moreover, Jiang Li couldn't answer.

You can't exactly say, "Dad, don't worry, I recently passed the civil service exam and am now working as a magical girl in the police department. I come home late every day because I'm outsmarting criminals," can you?

These words, not to mention the exposure of her identity, would be enough to cause her serious trouble just by the need to keep the case under investigation confidential.

Jiang Li still has a future to advance, and she can't afford to leave such a stain on her political career.

Seeing Jiang Ran's fierce appearance, Jiang Li felt a surge of warmth in her heart, but she also regretted not accepting Nuan Yu's suggestion earlier.

Keeping it a secret from her family all this time makes it really difficult to carry out her duties as a magical girl.

The effort required to come up with an excuse each time is almost as much as the effort required to carry out the task itself.

Jiang Li secretly made a decision in her heart: one day she would find an opportunity to be honest with her mother, Song Mingyue. Song Mingyue's personality was much more open-minded than Jiang Ran's. If she did not object or was even willing to support her, then the next step could be to hold a family meeting and hold a referendum.

At that point, with the score at two to one, even if Jiang Ran wanted to object, she wouldn't be able to turn the tide.

But right now, she needs to put out Jiang Ran's fire first.

Jiang Li used her unique magic—a flash of inspiration!

"Dad, I'm really not dating anyone." Jiang Li put down her chopsticks, looked into Jiang Ran's eyes, and said seriously, "The reason I came back late is because I recently got hooked on an offline detective game with some classmates. It's like Werewolf. We got so engrossed in it that we forgot about time."

Jiang Ran's brow twitched slightly. "A detective game?"

"Yes." Jiang Li's mind raced after a flash of inspiration, and a complete explanation almost unconsciously flowed from her mouth.

"It was just a group of classmates and friends sitting together, some playing civilians, some playing criminals, and I was assigned the role of the detective."

"But that criminal was too strong. I couldn't find her and lost several rounds in a row. I was unwilling to accept it, so I kept studying how to win."

After hearing this, the murderous aura on Jiang Ran's face gradually subsided.

It wasn't that Jiang Li's acting skills were particularly outstanding, but rather that this kind of game was indeed very popular among young people, and Jiang Ran had heard students mention it quite a few times at school.

My suspicions have mostly dissipated.

However, Jiang Ran was still a little puzzled: "Are you really that bad at this? You can't even catch a criminal?"

Jiang Li blushed instantly: "You... what do you know! It's not that our army is too weak, it's that the enemy is too strong and too cunning!"

Jiang Li said these words almost through gritted teeth.

"Alright, alright, consider these few games as you being out of form." Jiang Ran shook his head with a smile, then leaned back in his chair. "Tell me about it, maybe your dad can give you some advice."

Jiang Li's lips twitched slightly; in fact, she had the same thought.

Since Chu Ying entrusted her with the task of investigating the disaster victim, she had racked her brains for a long time. She had gone to the detention center and investigated the informants, but every path she took ended up in a dead end.

Both the disaster victim and the avengers possessed exceptionally strong counter-surveillance capabilities. All communication channels were either encrypted with self-destructing messages or completely anonymous one-time numbers, leaving even the technical staff helpless.

She needs a completely new approach, even if it's just a directional inspiration.

Jiang Ran has taught in special classes for so many years and has dealt with all sorts of magical girls, so her perspective on issues may be completely different from that of frontline law enforcement officers like hers.

An outsider's perspective is sometimes the most useful.

However, Jiang Li wasn't foolish enough to simply reveal the case information.

She quickly went through it in her mind, translating all the core problems she encountered while investigating the disaster into the language of the game.

"This game has a few rules." Jiang Li picked up her chopsticks and tapped them on the rim of her bowl, acting as a pointer.

"First, the criminals are far more powerful than the detectives, so the detectives cannot win by brute force."

"Secondly, the criminals are hiding among civilians, so detectives can only identify them by collecting evidence, and cannot take action against civilians."

"Third, and most importantly—the criminal has issued a warning that she will commit another crime at some point. The detective must apprehend her before she strikes again, or the game is lost."

"fourth……"

After explaining the rules of the game, Jiang Li rested her chin on her hands and looked at Jiang Ran expectantly, "Dad, if you were the detective, how would you win?"

After listening to Jiang Li's story, Jiang Ran fell into deep thought.

This game is indeed quite difficult. Are all young people these days so fond of playing high-level matches?

After a moment, Jiang Ran offered his suggestion: "Since you've already tried various methods, including interrogating the accomplice, which also failed, why not try starting with the murder weapon?"

"You said that the criminals use a special weapon every time they commit a crime, and that they must dispose of it afterward. The weapon is very distinctive and can be recognized by an ordinary person at a glance."

"Therefore, the murderer will definitely hide the murder weapon in a place that the detective does not expect, to reduce the probability of it being found."

"Then what you need to do is use your detective privileges to search places where tools might be hidden. Look in places the killer wouldn't think of."

"Finding the murder weapon is the same as finding fingerprints. With fingerprints, the criminal's identity can no longer be hidden."

The idea is not complicated. Jiang Li had been stuck in the mindset of "finding people" and tried to lock onto the target by tracking the interpersonal relationship, communication records and movement patterns of the disaster master and the avengers, but all of them failed.

"Unexpected...unconventional..."

Jiang Li's eyes gradually brightened, the restaurant lights reflected in her pupils, like two small stars burning at the same time.

She jumped up from the chair with such force that the chair leg scraped against the floor.

"I understand!" Jiang Li practically pounced on him, wrapping her arms tightly around Jiang Ran's neck and nuzzling her head against his chest. "Dad, you're amazing!"

"Be gentle, you're going to break my neck!"

"If I win this game, I'll give you a huge surprise, Dad!"

Jiang Li's mind was already racing.

That level of magic power could never disappear silently. As long as the entire security bureau is mobilized to investigate, it will definitely be found out!

Every contact leaves a trace!

She could already imagine the scene after she solved this sensational case.

The Public Security Bureau issued a commendation notice, Director Liu personally praised him, the ten-seat council issued a commendation order, and Comrade Xiao Qinglong was awarded a first-class merit...

Then she can return home in glory, slap the commendation order in front of Jiang Ran, and see what reason he has to object to her becoming a magical girl!

"Dad, just you wait!" Jiang Li lifted her head from Jiang Ran's arms, her eyes shining brightly.

Jiang Ran looked at her daughter's excited, glowing face and couldn't help but smile, reaching out to pat her head.

It's just a game, why are you so excited?