Chapter Text
It was over! Really over this time!
Not the whole magical girl thing, that was a completely different thing that he did not want to think about.
"I can't believe you're failing art ." Shang Qinghua snorted from next to Shen Yuan. He hissed loudly, the noodles he ate burning his tongue, served him right .
Shen Yuan looked down at his own lunch, frowning, the sandwich he had bought was stale and the bread was practically cardboard . Shen Jiu had given him cash to buy food, but by the time he got there all the good stuff was gone. This rotten school, not only was he forced to join an afterschool club, but his favourite foods from the canteen were gone!
Their homeroom teacher had declared that all students failing a class would have to join an afterschool class. It wasn't his fault that art was so mind-numbingly boring that he couldn't help but fail . What other choice was there? Pay attention? Try ? No thank you.
"You could join one of my clubs." Liu Qingge spoke from next to Shen Yuan, arms crossed. Come to think of it, did he ever eat ? Shen Yuan had literally never seen him eat during lunch.
Also, there was no fucking way Shen Yuan was going to even consider joining one of Liu Qingge's clubs! The guy was in every sports club known to man!
"...I'll think about it." Shen Yuan looked away.
"There's always the writing club!" Shang Qinghua sat the cup of noodles down, grinning.
"All you gotta do is hand in a short story every week!"
…no way. Shen Yuan was barely passing english as is! There was no way he'd be able to handle handing in some shitty story he wrote, forget embarrassment, he'd get bullied for it- no, he'd deserve to get bullied for the shit he's written. No, he would leave story writing to his airplane bro.
"...Maybe."
Shen Yuan stood up, holding the stale sandwhich. He took a violent bite, his other hand in a fist.
"Am gmma chhr thr crb brrf."
"?" Liu Qingge frowned.
Shen Yuan swallowed, his cheeks flushed red. He cleared his throat sharply.
"I'm going to check the club board."
He walked off before either of them could respond, breathing heavily.
—
[It Is Not Recommended For The User To Join A Club - After School Activities May Interfere With Magical Girl Duties]
Ah, what a shame! It would interfere , yeah he's so upset about that. Shen Yuan rolled his eyes.
Not the dance club, not the anime club, definitely not the art club.
"Ah-? Yuan-ge, are you looking to join a club?"
"Hmm?" Shen Yuan turned around.
Ah, it was only Luo Binghe! Wait, no! It was Luo Binghe ! Just because Luo Binghe and Ning Yingying chose not to tell anyone about his funky crossdressing 'habits', didn't mean they couldn't use it to blackmail him!
"Why don't you join the photography club?" Luo Binghe smiled sweetly, ah, don't hide behind a sweet smile! Shen Yuan knew all about 'photography' clubs! He's seen Yarichin Bitch Club! What a white lotus underclassmen, Luo Binghe was probably thinking of all the ways to torment him!
Shen Yuan coughed into his palm.
"...sure."
—
Shen Yuan kneeled over the toilet, his grip knuckle-whitening.
His neck ached from the curl of it, and his stomach was sore like someone stepped all over it. The smell of sour spit was enough to force him to vomit again .
He emptied the stale sandwich back up, as well as several other meals. Forcing its way out of his throat, he gagged, spilling more contents of his stomach out. His knees bruised from the cold tiles he had fallen onto.
The ring of the bell was loud, echoing throughout the empty bathroom. He retched again, his body almost forcing his head into the toilet from it, geez, he really was his own bully.
He pushed himself up, legs shaking. His arms felt weak as he wiped his face.
[Completion Of Magical Girl Transformation Is Recommended to aid health-]
Shen Yuan shook away the voice, washing his hands.
This sickness had been with him long before becoming a magical girl.
—
"You don't understand Shang Qinghua! He has dirt on me, like really, really bad." Shen Yuan stood outside the photography club room, yelling in hushed whispers, his stomach still hurt a little, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t… vomit.
"I can't go in there!"
"I'm sure its not as bad as you think! Besides, he's the one that invited you, don't stress about it!" Shang Qinghua grinned, patting Shen Yuan on the back before sprinting off, cackling.
"Good luck!"
Forget it, Shen Yuan was gonna vomit again.
That asshole ! Don't reassure him and then run away as fast as you can! What a coward!
"Yuan-ge? Are you here already?" Luo Binghe opened the door to the photography club, his face a little flushed. He stood to the side to let Shen Yuan in.
Shen Yuan walked in, trying not to look too upset.. or too sick . He was at least somewhat friends with Luo Binghe. They waved and said hi to each other when they saw each other in the hallway, there was that one time Luo Binghe bought him lunch… Shen Yuan didn't think about it too hard. Plus, Luo Binghe always happened to be in the library at the same time as him.
Speaking- ah, thinking of, Shen Yuan turned to look at Luo Binghe, who had just shut the door. Luo Binghe smiled, ah, all Shen Yuan had done was walk inside. Why was he smiling so brightly? Really… Shen Yuan suddenly shook his head, trying to shake the thought out through his ears. Had he forgotten? He was getting blackmailed!
Shen Yuan decided he needed to look at anything other than Luo Binghe's smile. No wonder he was so popular…
The room where the photography club was located was actually just a shed outside of the school. It was pretty much empty, save for a table and like 3 chairs, and an old shelf with a camera on it.
It was a little silent, quiet, ok, alot silent. Why wasn’t he talking?! Shen Yuan frowned, leaning his hips back onto the table.
"Is anyone else coming?"
"Ah, that…" Luo Binghe looked at the ground, shuffling his feet.
Hey! What was with him acting like a kicked puppy? Shen Yuan had only asked a question!
"You don't have to tell me."
…
Ah, what was with that look? Why does he look even more upset!
"It's fine."
…
Argh! Really, it seemed that anything Shen Yuan said would only have a negative outcome!
Finally, Luo Binghe spoke.
"You're the only one that signed up, Yuan-ge."
…
No wonder Luo Binghe was so embarrassed to tell him! What was popularity worth if no one joined the club he was in? Really…
Shen Yuan couldn't blame him for not wanting to say anything!
Wait, did that make Shen Yuan a bad upperclassman for coaxing the answer out of him?
"But it's ok! Since Yuan-ge is here!" Luo Binghe smiled again.
Really, how could anyone refuse a smile like that? How had no one signed up for the photography club? The only explanation was…
"A-Luo," Shen Yuan began speaking, idiot! How can he ask something like that ?
"?" Luo Binghe tilted his head, he really was like some sort of stray!
It was too late anyways!
"Have you always been in the photography club, or is it because of the mandate about failing classes that you joined a club?" Shen Yuan leaned onto the table, he looked away as he spoke, really, who asked a question like that!
Practically asking someone if they failed a class… Luo Binghe already got embarrassed way too easily! He was like a maiden with a fragile heart! Shen Yuan had to be more careful!
"Uh, well, actually I…" Luo Binghe looked away again.
"I'm failing all of my classes."
Huh? All of his classes? Really ? Shen Yuan really had such a poor underclassman! First no one signed up for the same club as him, and secoundly, he's failing every single one of his classes!
"Why don't I tutor you?"
Shen Yuan blinked suddenly. Had he really offered that? He was barely passing his classes!
"Really?" Luo Binghe's eyes lit up.
Luo Binghe no! Don't look at Shen Yuan like that! He was the worst possible upperclassman, offering to tutor someone while barely passing his own classes! It would be way more beneficial to get tutoring from someone like Liu Qingge, or hell , even Shang Qinghua, anyone but Shen Yuan!
Shen Yuan looked away.
He nodded.
–-
"A-Luo, you have to factorise it first." Shen Yuan gestured with his pencil to the mistake had made.
"Ah, ok, thank you Yuan-ge!" Luo Binghe smiled, writing things down quickly.
Ah, Luo Binghe, you really…! The reason he was failing all his classes obviously wasn't because he was stupid but because he was stupidly smart ! This kid really just wrote down the answers to questions worth 10 marks with just the answer! Plus it was if he was purposefully trying to fail! He had the exact same percentage on all of his tests!
And that was only maths!
Shen Yuan had only been tutoring Luo Binghe for a week now. Noone else was a part of the photography club, and there were no teachers to supervise. So they ended up spending photography club time as tutoring time.
It really was a lucky thing that Luo Binghe was two years Shen Yuan's junior. If he was any older Shen Yuan really wouldn't be able to fake the tutoring. He had studied more in the past week than he had in his entire life.
Luckily, no magical girl things had gotten in the way. Shen Yuan would have thought he imagined the stupid thing, some fever dream he could have gotten after some shitty food poisoning. He really would've thought that too if it hadn't been for the system constantly in his head 'please complete-'
[Please Complete Magical Girl Transformation]
Ah, fuck off already! Shen Yuan was sick of this stupid system! It wouldn't even tell him what exactly it meant by that!
"Yuan-ge? Are you alright?" Luo Binghe tilted his head slightly.
Shen Yuan shook his head, really. What a cute underclassman!
"I'm ok."
—
"A-Luo, ah, well done!" Shen Yuan looked at the graded paper in his hand.
A pass! All their hard work had paid off! Shen Yuan had almost shed a tear.
"Thank you, Yuan-Laoshi." Luo Binghe bowed, then peaked up behind his hands, grinning.
Shen Yuan's cheeks flushed pink, he hid his face behind the sheet of paper.
Ah, Luo Binghe! You really knew the way to someone's heart. If he's this charismatic now, imagine his secound year, no, his third year! He'd be well and truly experienced. After he graduates women would flock to marry him, they'd be crazy not to! He could have 10 wives, 1000, no, 3000 wives!
"Ahem, I'm very proud of you. It seemed your hard work paid off." Shen Yuan looked back at Luo Binghe, who was standing upright.
"I wouldn't have been able to do so well without Yuan-Laoshi."
Bullshit! Shen Yuan knew Luo Binghe had every capability of acing every single subject without even lifting a finger, yet he still chooses to fail!
In fact, Shen Yuan had a theory that Binghe purposefully failed his tests. There was no other reason for him getting 49% on every. single. test. without fail! Luo Binghe, you white lotus student, you can’t pretend to be stupid just to get Shen Yuan to tutor you! This must have been some weird convoluted plot to waste Shen Yuan's time! Probably!
"Well, to celebrate, why don't we skip out on tutoring today?" Shen Yuan smiled, then walked over to the shelf in the room. Luo Binghe may have been a white lotus, but Shen Yuan didn't mind treating him. It was all unrelated of course!
"What else would we do?" Luo Binghe's face seemed to fall a little, but lightened up at seeing what was on the shelf.
"Well, this is a photography club, isn't it?"
Shen Yuan picked up the camera, sweating.
Shen Yuan, in fact, did not know how to use a camera.
—
"These flowers really are quite nice." Shen Yuan crouched over the flower bed. His fingers grazing over the edge of one lightly.
Who knew their school had such a nice garden? Really, Shen Yuan had spent three years at his school and still had never known! Nevermind that, why was the photography club next to the gardening club? There wasn't even a gardening club!
"Make sure to take lots of photos of the flowers, A-Luo." Shen Yuan turned to look at Luo Binghe, who thankfully did know how to use a camera.
Click
"Eh?"
Luo Binghe! What are you doing taking photos of Shen Yuan? Really…!
Shen Yuan turned away quickly, cheeks flushed. This kid really knew how to make someone flustered!
"The… the flowers." Shen Yuan hid his face behind his hand, he pushed his glasses up onto his face.
Luo Binghe only smiled.
Shen Yuan walked away quickly, focusing on the tall stalks of bamboo throughout the garden. Ah, he really had no idea the garden was here.
"I can't believe you found this place, Yuan-ge." Luo Binghe spoke after taking a few more photos of hopefully not Shen Yuan, his tone was light.
"I was just walking in a direction." It was the truth! He really had just been wandering around in hope of finding a random place! It was by complete chance that they even found it, Luo Binghe please don't place so much respect onto your upperclassman! Especially an upperclassman like Shen Yuan!
He sighed. Shen Yuan looked over at the bamboo stalks. They were impossibly tall, really, how had he never noticed them before? Why wasn't this spot more popular? If he had a girlfriend he would definitely bring her here.
There was a loud… grunt ? groan? coming from Luo Binghe.
Shen Yuan turned around.
…
WHAT. THE. FUCK.
Shen Yuan ran over and grabbed Luo Binghe by the arm, pulling him away from the- the weird monster flower thing? The flower he was standing in front of had grown in size and the thorns were… bigger ? There were vines coming out of it and fuck ! Shen Yuan fell over, dragging Luo Binghe down with him.
What was with the position they fell in?! Luo Binghe was on top of Shen Yuan, his face slammed into Shen Yuan's uniform.
"Eurgh," Luo Binghe groaned from above him, clutching his head.
Shen Yuan grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him slightly.
"A-Luo, are you ok?!" Shen Yuan looked over Luo Binghe's face, checking to see if he was in any pain.
"???" Luo Binghe flushed bright red.
"Y-Yuan-ge?"
Ah, Luo Binghe, forgive your upperclassman for embarrassing you! Please don't use this against him! This thing he- he had to deal with it! Somehow! He was a magical girl- no- he definitely wasn't a magical girl! He- he was a... a person who happened to cross dress? Shen Yuan cringed.
Shen Yuan managed to manoeuvre him and Luo Binghe upright, despite how flustered Luo Binghe was. The weird flower monster thing seemed to not be attacking them? Which was strange but Shen Yuan wasn't going to question it.
He was still holding onto Luo Binghe's wrist when they ran away.
They sprinted to the photography shed. Shen Yuan practically forced Luo Binghe inside, panting heavily, geez, he really needed to work out. He was ready to jump in too, only…
[Magical Girl Transformation Commencing In 5, 4…]
Shen Yuan slammed the door to the photography shed, apologising to Luo Binghe profusely in his head.
"Yuan-ge!" Luo Binghe yelled from inside.
It was a lucky thing that Shen Yuan was the one with the keys! He locked the door to the shed quickly.
"I'll come back, just stay in there while I get help, ok?!"
There was a poof of green smoke, and the familiar feeling of… his unfortunate fashion.
Shen Yuan frowned, coughing. Two weeks , he had gone two weeks without any of this bullshit, and it had to come at the worst time! He was supposed to be treating Luo Binghe for doing well in his studies and instead…!
Shen Yuan strode back to the weird flower thing, his hands in fists.
'What was that?'
There was no answer from the system, but when he had blinked the book had appeared before him. He jumped, almost falling over.
Ahhh, what the fuck, really, if the embarrassment didn't kill him, the system would. He glanced at the book, which he had taken to naming 'The Origin'. Just two and two, really it made sense. The skinner had been sucked up into that thing . He was just a little worried that he would be sucked in too. Shen Yuan shuddered.
The page it was open on showed the very thing that was in the garden. The title of the page read 'Flower Demon: Birthing Stem'.
...
What the fuck was wrong with its name?
He made his way to the garden, the flower still kind of wriggling around. He couldn't really read the page, cursing under his breath, luckily the system read out the page.
[The Birthing Stem Demon Is Usually A Result Of An Excess Amount Of Magical Energy, Specifically Demonic Type.]
A vine shot out to where Shen Yuan was stood, he ducked quickly, his face paling as he watched half of the stalk of bamboo next to him fall off. There were different types of magic?
[The Flower Acting As The Birthing Location From Which The Demon Will Form Will Enlarge Before White Liquid Begins To Secret From The Petals]
What the fuck was with this- this, weirdly erotic flower!?
Shen Yuan's face was a deep crimson.
'How is any of this relevant?'
The system ignored him.
Shen Yuan jumped over another vine, a trail of… glitter? Falling from his skirt. What even-
Then he saw it, the weird white liquid the system was talking about. It fell in thin streaks, running like tears out of the petals, though, tears wasn't exactly how Shen Yuan would describe it.
The vines stopped wiggling around, they suddenly - and quite aggressively - shot towards Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan swore loudly, he ran to the side, doing his best to dodge, but only leaving a path of broken bamboo and turned up dirt. He could hear the vines scrape against the stone floors like saws.
Fuck fuck fuck , fuck!
[Agility Level Up!]
Eh?
The sudden system notification was distracting. Enough for Shen Yuan to hit his leg on a bamboo stalk and fall onto his palms. He flipped over, the vines shooting towards him like bullets. He pushed himself backwards, stumbling and staining his gloves with dirt. His hands scraped against the ground. Fuck the idea of agility leveling up, he just fell over!
[Coolness Points -20]
Shit shit shit shit shit!
He was really going to die! The vine chasing him was going to impale him right through! Only 18 years of living and he was already going to die! A virgin, a loser, not even graduated, he was going to die having accomplished nothing !
There was a loud clang , ringing in his ears.
The sound of his… death ?
Shen Yuan opened his eyes.
Eh?
There was some sort of blur in front of him, god he really shut his eyes tight. Did he even have glasses on? Wait, did he suddenly have amazing eyesight now in magical girl- no, wait, who was this in front of him?
There was another clang, the figure moved. Vines fell to the ground in a writhing and wriggling clump. The figure swung again, more vines falling to the ground.
[It Should Be Noted That Vines Cut From The Birthing Stem Will Transform Into Succubi]
… what?
Shen Yuan stood up quickly.
The figure flew past him in a blur. He spun around on his heels, what the fuck ? Hey! If you were going to save him, at least do it properly ! Get back up! Come on, this was life or death!
He turned to the perpetrator, the vines. They twisted and spun, embracing the petals and covering it in a cocoon.
“Euuuurghh, ahh~”
???
Shen Yuan looked for the source of the ah- voice .
The weird wiggling vine thing was shaking, white liquid pouring from cracks and slits in the plant. A woman pulled herself from the vine, body thin and pale and… very much… naked.
Another woman, another, another and, oh god, how many were there? Everywhere he looked was a body.
There was a shrill laughter echoing through the air.
“Magical girl, yahoo! Come over here!” Sweet voices rang through the air, Shen Yuan’s face flushed red, his head spinning, he almost fell over, but a firm grip helped him upright.
“Ignore them.”
The voice next to him was familiar- wait, Liu Qingge???
Huh? Why was he…?
Shen Yuan swore.
Liu Qingge was not only… there, but he was also dressed in an exquisite dress, sleek and layered in a way that framed his body’s curves, his long hair was adorned with pearls and ribbons, a braid lacing its way from his scalp to his ponytail. What was more notable was the- fuck was that a real sword?
[Warning! Interaction With Other Magical Girls Is Not Recommended!]
…
What.
“Ah, forgive my girls, please.” A demon stepped out from the flower, chuckling low, seductive.
“They just get easily… excited.”
Shen Yuan, frowned. Why was every demon he met something straight out of a cheesy novel?
[Warning! Flower Demon: Birthing Stem Has Bloomed Into A Succubus!]
Oh, Right.
“Uh, Miss…?” Shen Yuan fumbled over his words, still in the process of gaining his composure (however little that was).
“ Madam Meiyin.” The woman smiled, her palm hovering over her face, a smirk played on her lips.
“...Right, Madam Meiyin, I’m very sorry, but it seems you’ve intruded upon this school.” Shen Yuan chose his words carefully, sure to not mention that ‘this school’ was actually ‘ his school’. It was lucky that everyone was at their respective clubs, and the photography club was weirdly far from all the other clubs!
“Is that so?” She turned to look at all the other women, who proceeded to… giggle.
Shen Yuan turned a little pink, hiding his face behind his palm.
“Well, We’re very sorry to intrude.” She laughed again.
“Sure you are.” Liu Qingge scowled from next to him. He raised his sword.
“Uh, my… friend here isn't very used to talking to strangers.” Shen Yuan smiled, then turned to frown at Liu Qingge. Really… if you were going to make some grand entrance as a magical girl, be polite about it! Diplomacy comes first!
Madam Meiyin only smiled in response, her gaze fixed on Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge frowned, but her eyes were teasing, she would glance, then shut her eyes, chuckling. The more frequently she did this, the deeper Liu Qingge’s frown and the more he rolled his eyes.
Shen Yuan couldn’t do anything but stand there, what was with this uncomfortable scenario?!
It seemed Madam Meiyin was also quite impatient.
“Magical girl,” Her gaze was fixed on Liu Qingge,
“Have you ever been in bed with someone before?”
…
How straightforward.
Noone would ever dare to ask Liu Qingge something like that. Human, or demon, this Madam Meiyin had guts like no other! Liu Qingge must’ve assumed he misheard, because he turned to look at Shen Yuan quickly, his left eye twitching.
It was the first time in all their years of friendship that Shen Yuan had ever seen that expression on Liu Qingge. Really… words wouldn’t be able to describe it. Actually, Liu Qingge really was quite beautiful. Shen Yuan had always been aware of his friends looks, but Liu Qingge really… ah, what was he thinking? Shameless, shameless!
Liu Qingge coughed into his fist.
“...no.”
Why did he answer?
“Really? With such a pretty face and nice body, how come no one's ever fallen for you, hmm?” Madam Meiyin smiled.
“Wait, I’m curious too.”
Liu Qingge flushed red, exhaling sharply. He looked off to the side before raising his sword.
“Just get out of here!”
Madam Meiyin laughed.
“How rude, after I’ve been so sincere. Well, if talking isn’t something you enjoy there is something else.” Her tone was suggestive, ah, it was obvious what she was talking about!
“I’m not very skilled, but I’m quite accurate in predicting matters of love? How about it?”
Oh.
“I’m not interested!” Liu Qingge huffed stiffly.
Shen Yuan shook his head, smiling.
“He’s not interested, so I’ll have a go.”
Shen Yuan stepped towards Madam Meiyin, she seemed relatively harmless, he guessed. If he was looking at Liu Qingge, he would have seen the pained angry expression on his face.
Madam Meiyin revealed a small flower bud in her palm, ah keeping to the theme! Very nice!
“Please blow on it.”
Shen Yuan paused, but shrugged, it was probably fine. He blew softly on the bud, watching as she brought it up to her chest. The flower had bloomed slightly, she held it up by the stalk. It really was a beautiful flower, a bright pink, and glowing faintly, the fragrance coming from it was sweet, but smelt faintly of sweat.
Madam Meiyin looked into the flower, her expression weird. She looked a little confused, Shen Yuan was sweating. Was he destined to be a virgin forever? Just kill him now, he might as well die young!
“Uh, your destined partner is younger than you, their… seniority, experiences… it's not quite… I don’t think you can compare.”
…
A girl that's younger but surpassed him in seniority and experiences?! Huh?
“Your first meeting was unpleasant, you may have disliked this person, or been distrusting towards them, its quite… unclear? There are two meetings here actually… One that’s pleasant, and the other unpleasant. How interesting…” Madam Meiyin muttered, her expression still somewhat strained.
“Well, it seems a crucial event turned your relationship around.”
There… Shen Yuan wasn’t too sure there were any girls that met that description.
Shen Yuan felt Liu Qingge hovering to the side of him, ‘Not Interested’? What a joke!
“This person is always by your side. You have saved each other's lives.”
…saved his life? Forget a girl matching that description, there wasn’t anyone who matched that description!
“Is there anything else?” Liu Qingge spoke suddenly.
Eh? Since when was he interested in gossip? Whenever Shang Qinghua had gone on and on about the latest gossip, Liu Qingge either ignored him or told him to shut up. What was with this new personality?!
“Your destined partner rarely pays attention to those around them, but once they take interest and care for a person, they will do it wholeheartedly and without any limits.”
Shen Yuan quickly forgot the other factors, they sounded like a good partner!
“What about their looks?” Liu Qingge spoke again.
“A beauty that is secound to none.”
… huh? How did Shen Yuan land a babe? Someone younger, more successful and more attractive than him? How did he become destined with someone so out of his league?
“Smarts? Potential? Work Ethic?” Liu Qingge pressed on.
“A genius, exceptional potential, wonderful work effort… they come from a noble bloodline… a well established household.”
…
This was too much for a high schooler to hear.
…
Nobility?
…
“They’re always together?” Liu Qingge spoke after a long time, as if thinking of something important.
Madam Meiyin nodded stiffly.
“They may have parted in the past for a short time, but they’ll meet again quickly. The other party is the one that will keep chasing.”
… huh?
Not only was this person amazing in every category, they were after Shen Yuan? Of all people? Wasn’t Liu Qingge next to him a much better option?!
“I’m a little jealous, Magical Girl. This person is so devoted.” Madam Meiyin leaned onto her hip, shaking her head, still looking at the flower.
“...inaccurate.”
“???”
“Her predictions are inaccurate!” Liu Qingge yelled quite suddenly.
“How are you so sure they’re inaccurate?” Madam Meiyin’s hand grew into a fist.
To tell the truth, Shen Yuan was sure they were inaccurate. It made no sense! None of her predictions sounded realistic . More like something out of a stallion novel, or a cheesy romcom that he’d watch with his little sister. Ah, he really wished he could tell her about all this, she would love it.
[Revealing Information Regarding Magical Girls Is Ill Advised]
Right.
“Its all nonsense! Devoted? That doesn’t exist!”
“Its not as if you’re his destined partner! Who do you think you are? To question my predictions?!”
Hey, why are they fighting? So passionately too! Weren’t they still at the school, isn’t that more of a priority? Come to think of it, why did Shen Yuan even let her predict his love life? What side-plot was this?!
Liu Qingge raised his sword, breathing heavily.
“Come out, all of you!” Madam Meiyin yelled, the other succubi all appearing. When did they disappear?
Wait, why was a fight starting? What did they do? All Shen Yuan had done was have his future love life read, don’t start fighting! It made no sense, for what reason was this happening?!
White, flesh, curves, ah no no no, everywhere he looked…
Shen Yuan shut his eyes, so many naked bodies really was too much for a little virgin high schooler! He stumbled back, falling over.
Endless moans filled his ears, what, what, what was happening???
Shen Yuan managed to open his eyes, really, any guy would respond like this!
…
Liu Qingge simply swung his sword, the succubi falling down into crumbled withered petals, his expression… What expression!? He seemed completely unaffected!
Shen Yuan scrambled up, he wanted to fight them, of course he did! But he couldn’t last a couple seconds without turning into a blushing mess, really how was Liu Qingge alright?! Unnatural, unnatural!
Madam Meiyin picked up her skirt, beginning to run. Shen Yuan made chase. He jumped over a flower bed, and narrowly dodged a bamboo stalk.
[Final Ability Conditions Met]
Shen Yuan recognised the command, a familiar (unfortunately) pen fit into his palm.
“Finishing Move: Fourth Wall!”
There was a bright light, and Madam Meiyin fell like paper. The System appeared next to him, in the form of the ‘origin’. It flicked open to a blank page, the paper floating up and falling over the book, folding over itself until it fit in between the pages. The book glowed brightly, and Madam Meiyin appeared on the pages. Paragraphs of text describing her appeared.
A succubus who frequently went after pretty guys… no wonder she was so interested in Liu Qingge.
Speaking of, Shen Yuan turned around, ah, he had gone a bit far away, he had left Liu Qingge behind!
He ran back to where they had been before quickly. In all honesty, he wasn’t too eager to fight those succubus, but Liu Qingge needed his help! Shen Yuan did his best to run quickly, ah, he should have tried harder in P.E!
When he reached the centre of the garden, Shen Yuan was met with thousands of petals.
Liu Qingge was held up by the neck, his legs off of the floor. The figure was tall, broad shoulders, wearing red and black. Shen Yuan’s blood ran cold.
Liu Qingge caught sight of him.
“G-get- a…way!” Liu Qingge spoke in a rough voice, straining against the grasp on his neck.
Shen Yuan froze.
The figure turned to look at him.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
The gaze shook through Shen Yuan’s entire body, piercing red eyes.
Liu Qingge fell to the ground, blood dripping from wounds Shen Yuan couldn’t see. His dress was ripped and stained with the very same blood.
[Warning!]
The figure took a step towards him, dark curly hair. Sleek robes long and flowing, framing their attacker. Shen Yuan took a step backwards, tripping over.
The figure took another step, blood red eyes shot wide.
Shen Yuan pushed himself backwards.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
The attacker gripped their head, face scrunched up in pain.
“...now?”
Their voice was deep, smooth.
The figure pulled a sword from their hip, long and dark. A chill wind rushed over Shen Yuan, but also burning hot.
The figure glanced at Shen Yuan one last time, before cutting through the air, and stepping through a strange portal.
[Danger Averted!]
Shen Yuan was shaking.
Liu Qingge breathed out heavily, groaning.
Shen Yuan ran over quickly.
It was so much worse than he imagined. Liu Qingge was covered in blood, cuts and bruises all over his body, his neck was dark red.
“How do I help him?!” Shen Yuan spoke out loud without realising.
[That Spell Is Not Available-]
“ Available? He’s about to die!”
Liu Qingge was suddenly engulfed in a grey smoke, Shen Yuan held Liu Qingge’s body tightly.
He was back in his school uniform.
Shit, shit, shit.
Shen Yuan picked Liu Qingge up.
The- the hospital, he had to take him to the hospital!
—
‘You never told me something like this would happen. Warning? What help was that!?’ Shen Yuan paced outside the surgery room, back in his school uniform.
Liu Qingge was in emergency care.
[Host Must Become Stronger. Appearance Of-]
‘Stronger? Stronger? ’ Shen Yuan breathed out heavily.
“A-Yuan!” Shen Jiu ran into the waiting room, bringing Shen Yuan into a tight embrace.
“Are you alright? What happened?”
He leaned back, holding Shen Yuan’s face in his hands.
“I’m alright ge, its Liu Qingge.”
Shen Jiu looked towards the surgery room, face paling.
“What happened?”
“I-I don’t know, I just found him like that.” Shen Yuan looked away.
“Shen. Yuan.” Shen Jiu looked at Shen Yuan, his gaze hard.
“ Shen Yuan.”
His gaze softened, before he brought Shen Yuan back into a hug.
“Its ok. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry.”
Shen Yuan was confused. Why was Shen Jiu apologising?
“Just don’t cry.”
Oh .
—
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah, don’t worry Yuan-ge! I don’t mind, really, besides, it wasn’t your fault.” Luo Binghe rubbed the back of his neck.
Shen Yuan hadn’t been to school in a week, Liu Qingge was still in the hospital, but the doctors said his condition was stable.
Not only that, but he had left Luo Binghe in the shed, really, he was a terrible upperclassman…
Shen Yuan looked down.
“Don’t feel bad, I’m sure… Qing-ge will be alright.” Luo Binghe looked away.
Shen Yuan smiled.
“Thanks, A-Luo.”