My wife is a magical girl, how can I be the villain?

Ye Jingjing's bedroom.

Tang Ming used his strength to prop up the bed board, revealing a cabinet hidden underneath. Ye Jingjing carefully placed the magic stones and crystals she had arranged inside.

"Won't magic emit radiation...?" Tang Ming wondered for no reason.

"Big brother, can you pick out a few for me to study and use? I've used up all the ones I had before."

Ye Jingjing put the magic stones away and pointed to several dull-colored magic stones on the desk shelf. She had used them all up while learning the spells.

"Take whatever you need, but don't touch those mediums yet. The magic array has peculiar effects, and you might get hurt if you're not careful," Tang Ming nodded casually.

After getting to know Ye Jingjing, Tang Ming discovered that she had a level of trust that was different from other children her age.

She was easy to communicate with. Although she didn't have the maturity of someone older than her age, she made him trust her without reason. In fact, Ye Jingjing, who knew about Tang Ming's vast "wealth," had always kept quiet and never caused any trouble.

This is why he felt comfortable leaving so many magic stones and crystals in Ye Jingjing's house.

"Don't worry... I won't use it recklessly. I'll ask you about it after I'm done."

"It's alright." Tang Ming waved his hand magnanimously. "You have a talent for magic. You were able to resonate with the magic stone from the very beginning. I was so envious of you."

Although these magic stones are very precious, they are not very useful to Tang Ming at the moment. Ye Jingjing is all alone and has the talent for magic cultivation, so it is most appropriate to give these things to her.

"Hehehe~" Ye Jingjing covered her mouth and laughed while hugging the magic stone, "When I become stronger, I can protect Uncle."

"Don't call me uncle... Never mind, uncle doesn't need your protection, just take care of yourself." Tang Ming sighed, speechless.

"Don't be afraid, uncle. Once I become a wizard, I can... protect you, an ordinary person."

Ye Jingjing looked at him with bright eyes and said softly but firmly.

The two stuffed everything else under the bed. Ye Jingjing reached out and drew a line in the air, using a somewhat clumsy spell to seal off the aura emanating from under the bed, and then cast a simple concealment spell.

Tang Ming sighed as he looked at the magic spell in Ye Jingjing's hand, which had a dim halo but already showed the beginnings of intricate patterns.

Although he had chosen a different power, he had once been envious of the dazzling magic that wizards and magical girls wielded.

Unfortunately, he lacked talent and was destined to be unrelated to magic.

Ye Jingjing walked to Tang Ming's side and picked up a "disc" covered with spell patterns from the table. Tang Ming was placing the mediums one by one on the desk to check them.

"Big brother, do you remember the first time we met...? You were stealing the media that someone else had installed..."

When Ye Jingjing mentioned their first meeting, Tang Ming smiled.

"What do you mean by stealing... I just took what nobody wanted, and if I hadn't run to that godforsaken place... you would be gone."

"At the time... I was getting into the mood when a man was sneaking around crawling on the ground. I was terrified." Ye Jingjing puffed out her cheeks.

Tang Ming protested, "Let me clarify, I was on top of the tower all night. You came up after me. I thought I saw a female ghost."

The two teased each other without any restraint. Later, Ye Jingjing stumbled over her words and could only sigh, "Sigh, Uncle shouldn't have advised me to jump. He wouldn't have had to worry about all the troubles in my life."

"Don't talk about these things so casually! Don't you care about the future at all?" Tang Ming's smile faded, his brows furrowed, and his tone became somewhat harsh.

This child always belittles herself. He is not her elder and does not want to lecture her, but after spending these past few months together, he does not want to see Ye Jingjing fall into an extreme "vortex" again.

"Big...brother, don't be so serious, you scared me. I was just joking." Ye Jingjing shrank her head, lowering her eyebrows and letting her bangs cover her vision.

"I've thought it through carefully... Whether I live or die is a matter for the future, and I won't drag you into it."

Tang Ming knew the child wasn't joking as she claimed. He sighed, walked to the living room, sat down, and looked at Ye Jingjing's youthful face.

"Do you think that's what I care about? Even if it was at first, over this period of time..."

"I understand," Ye Jingjing interrupted Tang Ming. "My father abandoned me to avoid a future disaster, and my mother, for her own future... never came back to this home. I don't even know if they're still alive..."

"What I see is everyone giving up the present for a vague and uncertain future... I don't want that. What's the point of the future? What's the point of tomorrow?"

Tang Ming remained silent, while Ye Jingjing continued, "People in the city are constantly at risk of being caught up in battles between virtual beasts and magical girls. Just walking down the street, the future they want to pursue can vanish... Why suffer in the present for the sake of the future?"

"I see no point in clinging to life... Anyway, the future isn't far off, so what difference does it make whether I die today or tomorrow?"

Ye Jingjing opened her eyes wide, her gaze filled with half conviction and half confusion.

Tang Ming moved a little closer, reached out and stroked the back of Ye Jingjing's head, and after a long while he spoke:

"Let's go down for dinner first, it's getting late. I'll treat you to a big meal."

Seeing that Tang Ming did not give a direct answer, Ye Jingjing wisely shut her mouth. A well-behaved child would not make trouble.

Tang Ming took Ye Jingjing to a stir-fry restaurant. It had been around for a few years and was one of the few family-run restaurants these days. Compared to the quick-cooked dishes in shopping malls, it had a lot more of the smoky aroma of oil sizzling in a wok.

"You like this, right?"

Seeing Ye Jingjing keep putting her chopsticks into the grilled squid dish, Tang Ming smiled.

"Mmm... I can't taste this sizzling flavor by myself, it smells so good!" Ye Jingjing nodded, realizing her mouth was full of oil. Tang Ming handed her a tissue, and she wiped it off embarrassedly.

"If you don't have money, just tell me. This dish isn't expensive." Tang Ming glanced at the bill.

"No, the portion sizes and ambiance of this kind of stir-fry... aren't suitable for one person. I don't know many people, so I usually just order random dishes from a rice cooker. This kind of restaurant is for you to come with me..."

Tang Ming suddenly realized that Ye Jingjing was indeed very thoughtful. She put down her chopsticks and smiled, "Then eat more. If you want to eat in the future, just call me and I'll support you."

"Thank you, big brother!" Ye Jingjing picked out the remaining squid without ceremony and stuffed it into her mouth one bite at a time.

"...Isn't the possibility of tasting such delicious food again in the future something to look forward to?"

Tang Ming said gently, "You're happy now, but that doesn't mean the future is meaningless. At least for now... you can look forward to this time tomorrow, when we'll come back here to eat again. The restaurant still has sizzling pork on a hot plate..."

"This insignificant hope for the future is just the difference between dying today and dying tomorrow."

Ye Jingjing stopped what she was doing, staring blankly at Tang Ming. The squid in her mouth pushed up one cheek. After a long while, Ye Jingjing chewed what was in her mouth and her face lit up with joy.

"So, big brother still remembers what I said earlier, which is why he brought me here?"

"No, I originally wanted to eat here."

"Anyway... Big brother put his heart into it. My parents would never have thought of trying to persuade me indirectly before, although I don't need to..." Ye Jingjing forced a smile.

"Don't worry, I was just talking nonsense. I forgot what I said... Now my life has a new purpose. I have magical talent, don't I?"

Tang Ming carefully examined Ye Jingjing, and seeing no trace of distress on her face, he sighed inwardly and said:

"Anyway, I'm just an ordinary person, waiting for you to finish your studies and protect me... Don't get distracted by other things and forget about me."

"I won't forget it. I only ever told those complaints to my older brother; I never told anyone else!"

Ye Jingjing nodded firmly, afraid that Tang Ming was just treating her like a child, and even raised her little hand to swear.

"Alright, alright, let's go to the supermarket after we finish eating. I'll buy you some fruit. You don't have any food at home. At this age, your health is very important."

"Uncle...you sound just like an old man when you say things like that," Ye Jingjing pouted and said softly.

As the two finished cleaning up the leftovers on the table, a faint golden streak swept across the sky outside, bathed in the glow of the sunset, before quickly disappearing into the rosy clouds.