A Girl Who Doesn’t Believe in Humans

Chapter 8: Fighting

“That guy is quite annoying, right?” Watching Du Zhi’s retreating figure, Han Quan, as if venting, sought Qing Yue’s opinion.

She seemed to have completely forgotten the conflict between herself and Qing Yue just now.

“Really? I thought you and her had a good relationship.” Qing Yue didn’t agree but instead continued to ask with a mischievous tone.

She knew that Han Quan’s isolation in their class was largely orchestrated by Du Zhi. Of course, Han Quan also had her reasons. Someone who was always nostalgic about the past wouldn’t easily make new friends.

“How could that be?! I hate her the most…” Han Quan reminisced about something.

“Maybe in the past… umm (shaking her head), I can’t get along with someone like her.” Han Quan seemed to disdain the other person.

“Why? What’s wrong with her?” Han Quan and Du Zhi were actually classmates.

“What’s wrong? As a magical girl, she only cares about being an idol, isn’t that the biggest problem?” Han Quan expressed her disdain.

“But you also plan to debut, don’t you?” Qing Yue challenged.

“How can that be the same? I considered debuting as an idol to become a better magical girl. But she, she became a magical girl just to be an idol.” Han Quan seemed to understand the other person well.

“Isn’t the result the same?” Qing Yue disagreed.

“How could it be the same?! We spend all our time fighting demons, but she’s either shooting ads or acting in idol dramas all day. Making someone like her a magical girl is simply a waste!” Han Quan spoke bluntly.

“It seems like you know her quite well.” Qing Yue felt that Han Quan’s attitude towards Du Zhi wasn’t as simple as she claimed.

Under the summer shade, it became a bit stuffy. The moisture from tears remaining on clothes made Qing Yue uncomfortable. She fanned herself gently by lifting her clothes, allowing the airflow to carry away the water vapor between her peaks.

Gurgle…

Watching Qing Yue’s movements, Han Quan unconsciously swallowed saliva. From her perspective, she could see the snowy white northern hemisphere and the slightly mature black fabric under Qing Yue’s clothes. The swaying clothes reminded her of the soft touch she had felt on her cheek earlier, making her face blush.

“Understand her… not really. We just went to the same middle school before— I mean, she, Cherry, and I were all in the same middle school.” Sensing Qing Yue’s glance, Han Quan immediately averted her eyes but continued the conversation with an attempt at composure.

“Oh? Is that so? Your fate with Du Zhi seems even deeper than with Cherry and the others.” Qing Yue mocked.

“This is just a curse, right?” Han Quan said dissatisfied, but her eyes still stole glances at Qing Yue.

“That person debuted in middle school—not as a magical girl but as a plain idol. At that time, she wasn’t a magical girl. She wasn’t like she is now…” Han Quan’s expression turned somewhat dim.

“Oh? Ai Dou became a magical girl? What a coincidence.” Qing Yue took a sip from her bottled water.

The transparent liquid overflowed from Cherry’s small mouth, flowed over her delicate chin, and slid down the graceful neck, all the way to the deep valley between the two snowy peaks, attracting Han Quan’s gaze.

The instinctive allure seemed to have become an inherent ability in Qing Yue’s demonic body.

Heh…

After replenishing her fluids, Qing Yue exhaled contentedly.

This brought Han Quan back from her daze.

“Actually, at that time, she couldn’t be considered an idol; she was just an idol trainee with basically no popularity.” Han Quan suddenly grabbed Qing Yue’s water bottle and, closing her eyes, gulped down a large mouthful.

Qing Yue rolled her eyes helplessly.

“Well, she’s quite lucky. This way, her idol career got a turning point.” Qing Yue commented.

“Gurgle gurgle… Huh! Maybe, but when she became popular, she changed completely…” Han Quan stared in the direction Du Zhi had gone, her expression somewhat forlorn.

“Changes in people are normal, right? No one can assert that they haven’t changed a bit after becoming a magical girl, can they?” Qing Yue also looked in that direction.

Du Zhi, dressed in a colorful gymnastics suit, was striking various cute poses on the playground. Beside her were the producer in a suit and a photographer. The photographer aimed his equipment at Du Zhi, while the producer talked on the side. They seemed to be conducting a campus-themed photo shoot. The scene attracted a crowd of students, even their large physical education teacher joined in the excitement.

“Even if there are changes, there should be a limit, right? She was completely different before. Although a bit introverted, she should have been a gentler and kinder person.” Han Quan tried to find the shadow of the past Du Zhi in the present.

“Oh? You also pay attention to people other than Cherry? I thought she was the only one in your eyes.” Qing Yue sarcastically remarked.

Han Quan glanced at her but didn’t say anything.

The two of them quietly watched the distant shooting activity.

Suddenly—

The producer, holding a phone, shouted something to Du Zhi, and she immediately stopped posing. The surrounding crowd began to transform—

“A faint yellow musical note rings out, accompanied by a healing voice. Bo Xiang, joining the battle!”

A faint yellow magical girl appeared in the air above the playground, striking the signature pose.

This scene immediately stirred up a commotion among the onlookers.

Then, Du Zhi—or Bo Xiang—soared into the sky and flew in a certain direction.

A drone on the ground also soared into the sky, carrying a high-definition camera to follow Bo Xiang.

“Is this some special photography plan? Something like a daily life after transformation?” Qing Yue stood up from the flower bed and dusted off the dirt on her gym shorts.

Han Quan stole a glance at the two swaying fat masses.

“Who knows? Maybe? I don’t understand the idol stuff.” Han Quan replied.

Seeing Han Quan’s gaze, Qing Yue glanced at her, and Han Quan immediately averted her eyes.

“By the way, does Du Zhi know about Zhanlan’s situation?” Qing Yue asked.

“Oh, she knew a long time ago. But even if one magical girl learns about another’s identity, they still have to keep it a secret for her—this is the second rule of the ‘Magical Girl Unspoken Rules.'” Han Quan gestured with her right hand.

“You magical girls have quite a lot of rules.” The commotion in the distant crowd became more noticeable, and they seemed to be watching something in the center.

“Wanna go check it out?” Qing Yue suggested. She noticed the tension in Bo Xiang’s expression just now, a stark contrast to her demeanor during idol work.

“I guess. Let’s go.” Han Quan also jumped up from the flower bed.

The two walked to the outer edge of the crowd, hearing the noisy discussions of the people. Qing Yue approached a male student at the outermost edge; she vaguely recognized him as a classmate.

“Did something happen?” The boy was startled by the sudden appearance of a voice and turned to see Qing Yue behind him. Due to the height difference, he could look down at Qing Yue’s neckline, revealing some fair skin, and catch a whiff of the intoxicating sweet floral fragrance.

“S-student councilor… hel-hello. It’s, it’s that—ma-magic—”

Qing Yue was the class study committee member. The boy’s voice was a bit awkward, and his face was a bit red.

Impatiently, Qing Yue said, “Could you please move aside a bit, classmate?”

“O-okay!”

Without hesitation, the boy obeyed Qing Yue’s command.

This was actually the unconscious release of pheromones due to Qing Yue’s demonic constitution. It could seduce and to some extent control prey. Pheromones had a subtle effect on magical girls, but they were remarkably effective on ordinary humans.

Without even getting too close, Qing Yue could manipulate the subconscious actions of the other person with her words. However, this mechanism itself was more like an instinct of a demonic creature and couldn’t be controlled by Qing Yue herself. Therefore, she generally avoided getting too close to others and often reminded herself not to rely on this demonic ability.

However— it worked quite well in this situation.

Upon hearing Qing Yue’s words, the boy immediately squeezed his body to the side, creating more space for Qing Yue to pass. His backward movement inevitably bumped into others.

An annoyed boy turned around; he had originally wanted to scold the person behind him for being unaware, but after seeing Qing Yue, a fascinated admiration arose. He also began to move backward in a daze.

In this way, the originally crowded crowd parted like the Red Sea under Moses, and Qing Yue and Han Quan were able to pass through the human wall, reaching the central position.

There was a high-definition display connected to a very high-tech mainframe nearby. A photographer was operating a remote control, and the screen displayed scenes of magical girls battling demons, following the movements of the photographer’s fingers.