The Tentacle Girl's Child Can't Be a Magical Girl

Chapter 55 Anomaly

A short while later, the head maid brought the food up with her attendants.

The meals were sumptuous.

Braised, steamed, stewed, and cold dishes filled half the table, each one as exquisite as a work of art, emitting an enticing aroma.

Bai Yuze glanced at the pile of dishes in front of Bai Cha Qianxia, ​​then looked down at the fried rice in front of him.

The golden rice grains, garnished with emerald green scallions and orange-red carrot cubes, are indeed very fragrant.

But the taste was just not right.

Bai Yuzhe ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice without saying a word.

He was there to freeload, so naturally he wouldn't be picky. Besides, the fried rice was really good; the grains were distinct and the wok hei (wok aroma) was perfect.

A few minutes later, after Bai Yuze finished his last bite and saw the head maid leave the room, he whispered a complaint: "Class monitor, is your head maid not very welcoming to me?"

As Bai Yuzhe was leisurely sipping her soup, Bai Cha Qianxia heard his words and slowly replied, "The head maid doesn't welcome anyone. Besides, why were you sitting so far away from me just now?"

Bai Yuzhe glanced in the direction of her gaze. When he entered the room, he deliberately chose to sit at the very edge of the dining table, at least three seats away from Bai Chaqianxia, ​​so as not to appear too abrupt or impolite.

Bai Cha Qianxia chuckled, "Wouldn't it be better if we just sat closer?"

"That won't work."

Bai Yuze looked righteous and said, "The class monitor is the class monitor, and ordinary students are ordinary students. How dare I overstep the class monitor's authority?"

"," Shiracha Chika raised an eyebrow.

But the next second, she saw Bai Yuze saying that he dared not overstep his bounds, while he had already picked up his own bowl and chopsticks and moved to the seat next to her.

Hmph, they say no with their mouths, but their actions tell a different story.

Bai Cha Qianxia smiled slightly. She didn't have a big appetite, so she put down her chopsticks after a few bites and watched him eat, resting her chin on her hand.

Bai Yuze, on the other hand, was completely unaffected and ate with relish, making her want to eat another bowl of rice.

After eating and drinking his fill, Bai Yuze put down his chopsticks and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Class monitor, when are you performing?"

Bai Cha Qianxia narrowed her eyes: "You, all you do when you come here is eat and watch me dance. What do you take me for?"

"An angel who descended from the sky."

"Tsk."

As the two were chatting, the head maid quietly walked up to Shiracha Chika and bowed slightly.

"Miss, young master Tokugawa has arrived at the manor and is speaking with the master in the living room. When would you like to meet him?"

"What's the rush?"

Bai Cha Qianxia frowned slightly, then quickly returned to normal.

"I still have guests to entertain."

"?"

Bai Yuze turned his head, looking at Bai Chaqianxia warily. "Dear class monitor, you're not thinking of using me as a shield, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cha Qianxia turned around and looked him up and down, then she sighed softly.

"I'd like to use you as a pawn, but if you go out looking like this, people won't feel threatened. On the contrary, they'll treat you politely on the surface, but behind your back they'll laugh at you for being a loser or a nobody."

Bai Yuzhe: "————"

Bai Yuze looked at Bai Chaqianxia with a pained expression, "Class monitor, there are some things you should just keep to yourself. Why say them out loud? It hurts my fragile self-esteem."

"So, are you still going to watch me dance or not?"

"look!"

The piano room is on the third floor.

Bai Yuze was stunned for a moment when he pushed open the door.

The room was small, with a black grand piano in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Sunlight streamed in through the glass, casting dappled patterns of light on the piano.

The floor was made of dark solid wood, polished to a shine, and the walls were completely empty except for a few simple paintings.

It looks like it was specially made for dancing.

Bai Yuze sat down at the piano, his fingers landing on the keys.

Shiracha Chika walked to the center of the room, turned around, and looked at him.

"Breaking the Cocoon?"

"Um.

""

Bai Yuze took a deep breath and pressed the first note with his fingertips.

The sound of the zither flowed out.

He didn't look at her, but stared at the piano keys, relying on the muscle memory formed from countless practices to make his fingers move between the black and white keys.

White Tea Chitatsu is moving.

She didn't rehearse beforehand, nor did she tell him how to coordinate. But every movement she made was precisely in time with the music.

As the notes rise, she stretches out her arms; as the notes fall, she curls up; when the melody becomes exciting, she spins and leaps, as if she is truly breaking free from some unseen constraint.

Bai Yuze occasionally looked up.

Then he lowered his head and continued playing.

Although it was the first time the two had worked together, their chemistry was as good as if they had rehearsed a thousand times.

As the last note faded, Shirocha Chika stopped right in front of the window.

Sunlight streamed in from behind her, casting a long shadow.

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Bai Yuze looked up at her, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Class monitor."

"Um?"

"You danced even better than I imagined."

Bai Cha Qianxia turned around and snorted, "That's right, don't you even know who jumped?"

"Then, squad leader, you..."

"6

"Continue, I felt there were a few places where the coordination wasn't quite right."

"

..good."

The sound of a piano flowed down from the third floor, faintly audible.

In the living room, Bai Cha Zheng Nan picked up his teacup, blew on it gently, and looked at the young man opposite him.

Tokugawa boils clouds.

Twenty-six years old, the second son of the Tokugawa main family, with a handsome face and a lazy, aloof air about him. He leaned back on the sofa, his posture as casual as if he were sitting at home, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Uncle, how's Chika doing at school lately?"

Bai Cha Zheng Nan put down his teacup, a perfectly timed smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you for your concern. That girl is still the same as always, I don't know what she's busy with all day."

"It's a good thing that young people have their own pursuits."

Tokugawa Niun smiled and said, "Unlike me, I do nothing all day and cause my family a lot of worry."

"Bai Cha Zheng Nan also smiled, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment.

Doing nothing?

In the entire Japanese autonomous region, probably only those who are detached from the dark side would truly believe that Tokugawa Niun was a spoiled brat.

Tokugawa Zhuyun's eyes flickered slightly as he also sized up the head of the White Tea family in front of him.

Bai Cha, facing south, is forty-three years old. He has gray hair at his temples, but his back is straight and his gaze is calm as water.

He appears to be a gentle, Confucian businessman, speaking calmly and methodically, and handling people with impeccable manners.

But Tokugawa Nagaku knew that this old fox was able to support the Baicha family amidst the four great families, and that was never due to gentleness.

The two chatted back and forth for half an hour, from tea ceremony to calligraphy and painting, and then from calligraphy and painting to the current situation.

To put it simply, it was all just pointless chatter.

Tokugawa Niun put down his teacup and suddenly changed the subject: "Uncle, I wonder if Chika is home right now? Since I'm here, I'd like to greet her in person."

Bai Cha Zheng Nan's fingers paused slightly, then he smiled. "That girl is entertaining her classmates, so it's probably not convenient for her."

"classmate?"

Tokugawa Niun raised an eyebrow, his smile unchanged. "That's perfect. I'll also take this opportunity to meet Chinatsu's friends. Uncle won't mind, will he?"

Bai Cha Zheng Nan looked at him.

His young face was calm, his smile gentle, and his gaze sincere, as if it were just a casual remark.

Just a casual remark?

Tsk, he's already declined three times.

It would be impolite to refuse again.

"Fine," Bai Cha gestured with his chin toward the door, "Butler, go and call Miss down."

Footsteps echoed down the creaking stairs.

Tokugawa Nagaku raised his head, his gaze falling on the slender figure that appeared at the top of the stairs, and then he froze.

Shiracha Chika stood in the middle of the stairs, her cheeks slightly flushed, fine beads of sweat still clinging to her forehead, and a few strands of hair damp with sweat, sticking to her cheeks.

Her skirt was slightly disheveled, and she looked like she had just done some strenuous exercise.

Behind her stood a young man, dressed plainly, with a somewhat inexplicable expression in his eyes.

Tokugawa Zhuyun's gaze lingered on the two of them for a second.

very short.

Then he smiled, his smile still gentle.

"Chika, it's been a long time."

Chinatsu Shiracha nodded, her tone indifferent: "Young Master Tokugawa."

Tokugawa Nagaku's gaze passed over her and landed on Bai Yuzhe.

"Who is this?"

"My classmate."

Hakucha Chika's answer was very brief.

"classmate?"

Tokugawa Nikuun looked Bai Yuzhe up and down with a gentle gaze and a touch of just the right amount of curiosity.

"You should be graduating soon, right? Do you have any plans? I have some connections in the National Security Bureau, so feel free to ask if you need any help."

Bai Yuze looked at him.

His face was smiling, and his tone was so sincere that there was nothing wrong with it.

But Bai Yuzhe always felt that when those eyes looked at him, it wasn't like they were looking at a person, but rather like they were looking at a monkey.

"Thanks."

He smiled, his tone equally sincere, "I don't have any plans yet."

Tokugawa Niun nodded and said nothing more.

He turned to Shiracha Chika, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then got up to take his leave.

"Uncle, I'm sorry to bother you."

He bowed slightly to Shiracha Seishun, then looked at Shiracha Chika with a gentle smile, "Chika, I'll come see you again when I have time."

After saying that, he and the black-clad attendant who had been standing at the door disappeared into the sunlight outside.

After Tokugawa Niun left, the living room fell silent.

Bai Yuze stood there, looking at the door that had closed again, and then looked at Bai Chaqianxia.

Bai Cha Qianxia's complexion had returned to normal, but there was something in her almond-shaped eyes that he couldn't understand.

"You go upstairs and wait for me."

Bai Yuzhe nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to go back upstairs.

Only Shiracha Masanao and Shiracha Chika remained in the living room.

Bai Cha picked up the teacup from the south and took a sip.

"What do you think of that kid?"

Shiratsuka Chika naturally knew who he was asking. "Tokugawa Nichiun? No good at all. I'd rather marry a dog than this beast."

Bai Cha Zheng Nan smiled but didn't reply.

His gaze lingered on the stairwell where Bai Yuzhe had disappeared for a few seconds.

From the moment he entered until now, the young man has handled Tokugawa Nissun's veiled questions with impeccable skill.

Neither humble nor arrogant, neither timid nor fearful, and even able to return the same smile.

This is good.

But he also noticed something: when the young man looked at his daughter, there was appreciation, affection, and trust in his eyes.

But when I looked at him, there was nothing there.

There was no reverence, no flattery, and no self-awareness in front of elders.

Looking at him is like looking at an ordinary, insignificant passerby.

Bai Cha Zheng Nan withdrew his gaze and sighed softly.

Although he didn't know what gave this young man his confidence, it was clear that the other party didn't seem to know much about the Bai Cha family.

Or perhaps, the other party doesn't want anything from them.

When Bai Cha Qianxia returned, Bai Yuze was standing by the window, staring blankly at the scenery outside.

To say I was daydreaming was really just about staring at the unidentified tree in the yard, its leaves swaying in the wind.

Shiracha Chika walked up behind him, drawing out her words, "Shiracha-kun, didn't you say you didn't want to be my shield? Why did you insist on going down just now?"

Bai Yuze turned around, leaned against the window frame, smiled and said, "Talk is cheap, doing is another matter. If it can help the squad leader share some of the firepower, that's fine too."

"snort."

Bai Cha Qianxia snorted lightly, "I'm just afraid that he'll kill you instantly, and I'll have to clean up your corpse."

"Collect the corpse?" Bai Yuze blinked.

"yes."

Shiracha Chika looked at him seriously. "You don't still want me to avenge you, do you? How could a weak woman like me possibly fight against the Tokugawa family, the rulers of the Eastern Japanese Autonomous Region?"

Bai Yuzhe thought about it seriously and said, "That's true. Then I'll try to die with my body intact so it'll be easier for you to collect it."

Hakucha Chika was stunned for a moment.

Then she looked at him and chuckled, "Just kidding, you're still a guest I brought here."

In that instant, a hint of coldness appeared in her almond-shaped eyes.

Bai Yuzhe looked at her.

A breeze blew in through the window, ruffling the stray hairs by her ears.

"Our squad leader is awesome! Our squad leader reigns supreme!"

Bai Cha Qianxia instantly lost her composure, and angrily raised her hand to slap him.

"I'm not going to care about you anymore!"

Bai Yuze smiled, looking at the tree outside the window swaying in the wind, but his mind was still on the gentle-smiling man from earlier.

Tokugawa boils clouds.

It doesn't mean anything else.

We finally met the mission target.

Side quest, progress +1.

After leaving the Genting District, Bai Yuze stood by the roadside, thinking about his next steps.

He was supposed to practice piano in the afternoon, but remembering Kenji Morikawa's request yesterday, he thought about it and decided to visit his classmate instead. Although he wasn't close to him and they didn't interact much in class, since the classmate specifically asked to see him, he might as well go.

It's not far anyway.

Xingjiang District Rehabilitation Center.

Bai Yuze pushed open the door and entered, his brows furrowing slightly.

When he came here last time, he could clearly sense that there was an Abyssal Beast and two pseudo-humans.

Now that the Secret Service has intervened, the number of imposters has not decreased but has actually increased to four.

The smell, a mixture of rust and rotten sweetness, like spoiled fruit, lingered faintly in the air.

But what's even stranger is that the entire rehabilitation center is much more lively than when he last visited.

People came and went in the corridor, nurses pushed wheelchairs by in a hurry, and the sound of patients chatting and laughing came from the wards. The lobby rest area was full of people, some reading newspapers, some chatting, and some playing chess.

"Junior Brother!"

Director Li strode over from the other end of the corridor, a delighted smile on her face. "What brings you here?"

Bai Yuze withdrew his gaze, a gentle smile appearing on his face as usual: "Come and see my classmate."

"That kid from the Morikawa family, right?"

Director Li nodded, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "Speaking of which, I really have to thank you! Ever since you introduced Captain Morikawa, the special operations team has been coming by every now and then. Now all those messy things have disappeared, we have a lot more patients, and we've finally gotten through this!"

Bai Yuzhe nodded, then followed Director Li to the ward.

It's interesting that the environment has actually improved despite the increase in fake people.

Morikawa Hayasuke's ward was on the third floor, a private room with a window facing the small garden behind.

The other person was leaning against the bed, holding a book in their hand. Hearing the door open, they looked up, saw Bai Yuze, and immediately smiled.

"Bai Yuzhe, you've arrived!"

His voice was much stronger than Bai Yuze had imagined. His limbs were recovering well, and his face had regained some color; it seemed he would be able to be discharged from the hospital in a while.

But the moment Bai Yuze stood by his bedside, a scent wafted to his nose.

Rust,

A cloyingly sweet, fishy stench.

This smell is so familiar, you imposter.

It's not even a regular-level fake.

Thank you so much this time.

Morikawa Hayasuk put down his book and said sincerely, "My dad told me that if it weren't for your help, I don't know if I would be able to get out of bed for the rest of my life."

"It's alright, we're all classmates, helping each other is only right."

"This is just something to say to outsiders. Everyone knows that in our class, the students from Maple Leaf District are on one side, and the students from Parrot District are on the other. Anyway, I'll remember this favor. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know."

When Morikawa Hayasuk spoke, you could clearly feel that he was much more confident than before.

Moreover, his personality has changed a lot. Before, he was the timid and introverted type. Otherwise, even though his father was a special operations team leader, he wouldn't have ended up hanging out with those gangsters.

Bai Yuze nodded.

"Take good care of your health."

Morikawa Hayasuk escorted him to the ward door, smiling and saying, "Come visit often when you have time."

Bai Yuze nodded, and after he walked out of the rehabilitation center, he looked back at the white sign with black lettering.

He stood there at the Hanjiang District Rehabilitation Center for a few seconds.

His eyes flickered slightly.

Then, I turned around and walked towards the bus stop.

He doesn't want to meddle in other people's business now.

I can't afford to manage it, and I don't want to manage it.