Love, Gun, Cupid

Although we live in modern times, some areas of academia still resemble feudal clans, where members either intermarry within their own circles or arrange for their children to marry up-and-coming talents, binding them together to ensure the continuation of the school of thought.

Yang Xuemeng's parents did not force their daughter to do this, but they undoubtedly hoped so, so among the men they were arranging for their daughter, the one in front of them was highlighted.

Yang Xuemeng had already forgotten her parents' somewhat rambling remarks. Her ideal man was younger, tall, muscular, with an unassuming personality, and whose income and family background didn't need to be too good, so that she could feel superior. But she would only date someone from an only-child family to avoid getting involved in the messy affairs of a bunch of siblings, especially regarding the distribution of property.

Clearly, the man in front of her was not her ideal type. She could sense that he wasn't interested in her either; it was just that adults were putting on an act.

“You are not my student, you don’t need to call me that.”

"But Uncle Yang said, 'You like being called that by the students you teach. Can you tell me about your time at school? I'm in a research institute now, and I miss the youthful feeling I had when I was an undergraduate.'"

Yang Xuemeng pretended to chat enthusiastically about student matters, but her expression only became slightly more lively when the topic turned to a certain tall, mischievous boy.

After the dinner, Yang Xuemeng insisted on splitting the bill and declined her blind date's invitation to go for a drive, citing school commitments.

They added each other's contact information and agreed to chat when they had time. At least for Yang Xuemeng, having time to chat meant that she would only think of him when sending out mass greetings on holidays.

On her way back, she scrolled through her WeChat Moments for a while and saw a series of photos of Lin Jiade's "holiday trip". Apart from a few women among the people who liked or commented, she noticed a long strand of hair on Lin Jiade's shoulder.

Based on her woman's intuition, Ms. Yang was convinced that it was a woman's hair. Even though it had nothing to do with her, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Even after she got home, took a shower, changed into her Pikachu pajamas, and surfed the internet, she couldn't calm down.

Not long after, her mother called. When Ms. Yang answered, she coldly said that she still didn't find the right person, which earned her a sigh from her mother.

"Then take good care of yourself. Your father and I won't force you."

This matter had been argued about several times, so Yang's mother did not force her daughter. She quickly hung up the phone, and Teacher Yang turned off the light, curled up in bed, and looked at what was in the chat groups she had joined.

Seeing her married friend writing about bedroom pleasures again, Ms. Yang's breathing became heavy. The warm air blurred the phone screen, and desire arose in the darkness. At this moment, Ms. Yang always thought of a tall and strong figure.

He doesn't belong to her, but in her fantasy, he imprisons her like a domineering CEO, leaving her nowhere to escape. Then he kisses her with a wicked smile, rough and savage, plundering everything from her amidst her cries.

"Ugh."

After a long while, Teacher Yang got up. The relative humidity reading hanging near the wall rose from 47% to 50%, but then slowly dropped back down to 47% as the water in the bathroom gurgled.

The weary Ms. Yang yawned. If she met Lin Jiade at school tomorrow, she would ask him about his trip and who he was traveling with. It was a normal thing for a teacher to care about her students, and she didn't think much of it.

Ms. Yang quickly fell asleep. In her dream, she saw a black cat that spoke human language and asked her to adopt it. In return, the cat would use its power to help her get what she wanted. Whether it was cursing someone and causing them endless misfortune or accidentally murdering them, these were all its specialties.

As long as Teacher Yang can offer up a high-quality offering.

Teacher Yang refused the black cat's request. The black cat politely asked her to carefully consider the deal, but she refused even faster. Then, an incomprehensible monster emerged from the darkness and disemboweled her.

Ms. Yang woke up with a start. She touched her stomach, which was perfectly intact. She breathed a sigh of relief. A cold wind blew across her back, making her shiver.

"Strange, did I forget to close the window?"

Ms. Yang got up and saw that the window was ajar. She cursed herself for being careless and instinctively blamed Lin Jiade. At that moment, she froze, opened her mouth, and fear choked her scream.

A black cat sat there, its tail tied with a blue ribbon swaying, its orange-yellow eyes staring at Yang Xuemeng, and it licked its paws.

Omen - Flower-like Flower

Mu Xiu has a secret.

During the day, Fuxing City is no different from other third-tier cities in the Empire, but at midnight when the moon is full, the second hand stops at the last second of the day, and as a new day is about to begin, what emerges from the darkness makes Fuxing City exceptionally different.

"Monsters," "Shadows," "Demons," "Divine Evils"—these things that disrupt the order of Fuxing City have many names. At certain times, they surge out of the darkness and rush to certain locations, where only certain people can detect them.

No one knows their origin. Some say it is the aftermath of the Trojan War—the famous civil war waged by the Celestial Observers in the Empire; some say it is the wound left by humanity's conquest of the planet in the name of destiny; some say the strange phenomena in Renaissance City are caused by the Empire's new Class A magic reserves and exploration theories in preparation for the next war with aliens.

All three of these theories have been mentioned, but before they could be widely disseminated, all those who spread these hypotheses were executed by the Empire, and people fell silent, no longer daring to discuss the matter.

These monsters are harmless to ordinary people. When the black shadows pass through pedestrians, they are unaware of what is happening. Even the superhumans of the special tactical and rescue service team deployed by the Empire in Fuxing City have no record of the strange phenomenon that occurs once a month at midnight.

But if, on the night of the full moon, monsters emerge from the darkness and take over all the sacred sites in the city that hold special significance for them, then they will transform from phantoms into reality and wreak havoc on all living creatures.

The protectors of the day failed to notice, but some remembered those who protected the city in the darkness. As day and night alternated, heroes, both celebrated and forgotten, fought together to protect the city. Thus, the city expanded like tree rings, and on the branches of the buildings, the inhabitants sprouted new buds, grew, and then withered, returning to the land that nurtured them.

Mu Xiu was one of them. At the age of eleven, he inherited this lonely yet great mission by chance and became a hero who appeared in the night.

Today, at the moment of the full moon, monsters will emerge from the darkness, and the mission of the dark heroes is to hold out until four in the morning, when the monsters will abandon their offensive and return to the darkness to await the next full moon at midnight.

When Mu Xiu received a private message on his phone signaling him to set out, he first glanced at his girlfriend. He was currently living at his girlfriend's house; their love nest was upstairs, and his girlfriend's private clinic was downstairs.

He tiptoed out of the room; his identity as a hero needed to be kept secret, and the process of becoming a hero filled him with shame. In the full-length mirror, a handsome man with androgynous beauty walked by, holding a leaf shaped like an ice cave. But after a flash of light, the mirror reflected a beautiful girl in a flowing dress.

This is Mu Xiu's unspeakable secret: starting from the age of eleven, once a month, he would transform into a beautiful girl for four hours—a woman in both mind and body. What he found incomprehensible and shameful after turning back into a man, he found perfectly natural when he became a magical girl.

At the same time, the monthly transformation caused developmental and cognitive disorders in him. From the age of eleven until now, countless people have called him a sissy behind his back because he lacks masculinity and sometimes makes girlish gestures.

Mu Xiu felt pain, but the nobler part of his humanity compelled him to continue protecting the city, along with the peaceful dreams of those who had insulted him. He hadn't forgiven them; he simply felt that his power had a greater purpose than revenge.

Of course, he was the only one among his companions who guarded the city with this problem; the others were all genuine girls, making it difficult for Mu Xiu to find relief from their troubles.

He still doesn't understand why boys can have the ability to become magical girls? Why do magical girls have to wear dresses decorated with lots of ribbons and lace, and white knee-high socks? Why does his hair turn brown after he transforms?

After her routine吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online commentary/criticism), the magical girl Mu Xiu's mindset had shifted back to that of a girl. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror, checking if her clothes were neat, if her hair clips and hair ties were secure, and if her makeup looked beautiful.

She fiddled with her bangs, took a selfie, carefully edited it, and posted it in the group chat to compete with the bitches. They were her colleagues and good friends, and good friends and bitches are compatible.

As the time drew nearer, the magical girls stopped their playful antics, having become quite adept at this task.

At 11:30, Mu Xiu rode her magic wand to her position. A cool breeze blew in through her flowing skirt, making her thighs numb.

She once suggested to the captain that she could wear thermal underwear or long johns under her skirt, since the skirt was long enough to reach her ankles and no one would see her wearing thermal underwear underneath.

The captain rejected her idea with the absurd reason that magical girls can only wear underwear under their skirts. In fact, being a woman, she agreed with the captain's statement and continued not to wear extra clothes even in winter.

Mu Qiu was in charge of the sacred site at Sannam Dongdo University. In the vast campus, while most people were still asleep, only her lonely figure was carrying out her mission.

Half an hour later, monsters surged out of the darkness, ending her loneliness. She raised her staff, and a pink beam of light shot out from its tip, obliterating monsters wherever it passed, turning them into a string of tiny stars that rose into the air and vanished.

Throughout the defensive operation, Mu Xiu only needed to raise his staff and sweep it across the school gate repeatedly, much like erasing pencil marks from paper with an eraser. The monsters' futile attacks subsided at four o'clock. Mu Xiu observed for a while longer before announcing the end of the operation.

She yawned and flew back to her girlfriend's house. After a burst of light, the slender and handsome Mu Xiu reappeared in the mirror.

Mu Xiu tiptoed in and took a nap. When the alarm clock woke him up, he was still very sleepy, so he spent the entire public class napping on the table.

"Hey, wake up, Lao Mu, don't sleep."

After class, Mu Xiu was woken up by someone poking him. He opened his eyes and a tall figure cast a column of darkness over his face. Needless to say, the only student in his department that big was Lin Jiade.

"The weather's warm today, wanna go play some football?" Lin Jiade asked.

"No, I just finished guarding the city in the early hours of the morning, and I'm sleepy now."

Lin Jiade didn't believe it. Urged on by Lin Jiade, Mu Xiu lazily stood up and lagged behind the team.

You lot, just live your lives in ignorance and bliss, Mu Xiu thought. Don't let my amazing monthly sacrifice go to waste.

Touched at the end of the month

end

After the competition ended, the participants' fates diverged. Rafaam and Yiju Tingfeng returned to Dongfeng Valley, a place of sorrow, and to Yiju Tingfeng's hometown, where they made money by taking cute anime loli photos and earning money from wealthy otaku.

After gaining a certain number of fans, they started live streaming, engaging in lesbian-themed activities, and participating in various online and offline events. In just one and a half years, they earned back the expenses of participating in the competition.

They were so engrossed in their lives that they forgot all about home and lost interest in pursuing their superhuman careers. They then focused on their live streaming and photo book sales, mingling among ordinary people and living a happy life.

The hatter had two lovers, Tianlong and her female lover. The three of them formed a wonderful harmony. The following year, Tianlong was promoted to a senior position and became very busy. The hatter then took charge of Tianlong's smuggling channels. They never officially registered their marriage, but people said they were a model couple.

Karsak really suffered at the hands of the Green Curtain, but later, she took advantage of the Green Curtain's boyfriend's infidelity. During a heated argument, the two escaped and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Qi Yanli joined the imperial army and fought with her sisters for the status of their people. Her efforts neither improved the situation nor changed the course of events; individual efforts were so powerless in the face of the collective will.

Qi Yanli was melancholy and people never saw her smile during her service. Even after she retired and became the militia captain, her indifference continued.

On January 4, Lin Jiade went to West Ham Hospital for a check-up. The doctor said that his diagnosis would not be available for another 3 days. As an alternative, his left knee was immobilized by a magical artifact, so he could only walk and could not move normally.

Throughout the entire process, he was accompanied by Wei Ying. Although this "patient's family member" was very unreliable and paid more attention to the game than to him, Lin Jiade instantly became the most dazzling person in the hospital by having an informal celestial observer as a companion.

Driven by vanity, Lin Jiade treated Wei Ying to another meal when he returned, and then casually said, "Do me a favor."

"Ok?"

"I feel like Jasmine and Gladiolus's reactions are a bit strange. Can you help me figure out what happened?"

Wei Ying rolled her eyes: "What they won't tell you, you can't tell me?"

Lin Jiade replied, "There are some things that are harder to say to people you're closest to. I asked them, and their answers were surprisingly consistent: nothing happened."

I often tell my parents on the phone that nothing happened, including when I was talking to them on the phone at the hospital just now. I said "nothing happened" again. No one understands those words better than me.

"Oh, is that so? Then I'll go back and beat them up until they open their mouths?"

"No violence allowed!"

Lin Jiade's tone softened again: "Just say that you saw me looking distracted and that I was affected by your state, so I couldn't play the game well. That's why you came to ask what happened. If you're a little more aggressive and express that you're very unhappy, you might be able to get some information out of me."

Wei Ying nodded, then suddenly looked up and glared at Lin Jiade: "In your eyes, I'm just a domineering person who loves playing games?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant."

Wei Ying glanced at Lin Jiade's injured leg, then looked at Lin Jiade again and bared her teeth, her expression seeming to say, "If you talk nonsense again, I'll kick your injured leg."

"So it's not okay?" Lin Jiade said cautiously. "I'm sorry, I thought we were close enough that I could ask you for these things. I was just being presumptuous in my expectations of you."

Wei Ying glanced at Lin Jiade sideways: "Playing the victim won't work, you stupid human. Your older sister used this move to kill you, and you stole it to try and control me? I don't know how many times your older sister has used this move on me, my resistance is already maxed out."

"And what good would it do me to ask? In the end, you're the one who solves the problem. I'm not your fighting tool; at most, I'll be there to supervise you from behind when you get into trouble, raising my arm..."

"Clap for me?" Lin Jiade asked.

“No, I mean slap you across the face when you embarrass yourself.” Wei Ying crossed her arms, glanced at Lin Jiade, and then looked away. “Hurry up and deal with this. I mean the one in front of us.”

Lin Jiade looked up and saw Mu Mian and He Huan walking together. Mu Mian was enveloped in a confusing spell, while He Huan looked gloomy. He walked over and greeted them. He Huan responded and walked past with her head down.

Wait for me a moment.

Kapok made a gesture to Lin Jiade, who nodded. He sat on the nearby steps, and the reed warbler simply transformed into a bird and landed on his shoulder, pecking at him every now and then.

"A rekindling of old flames?" Wei Ying asked.

"No, I'm afraid it's about the mimosa tree."

"You're worried about her, huh? Well, you're still obsessed with her breasts. You're so shallow, you only like balls."

“So what if I’m a fan?” Lin Jiade protested, “Besides, you and Jasmine are tied, and I didn’t say anything.”

The warbler flew up and fluttered at his cheeks for a while before flying to a nearby branch to look at him. At this moment, the kapok tree came out and said to Lin Jiade, "I don't want to say more. Go back and ask your husband. The Hehuan family may not be able to hold on."

Lin Jiade was shocked: "What?"

"Just think of it this way for now: Hehuan is taking leave and will be staying in the hospital for a while. This is her last safe haven."

Lin Jiade frowned: "Are you really going to be so ruthless as to wipe them all out?"