Chapter 13: Cooking for My Little Girlfriend, Meow?

A New Team Forms

The next day, inside the Association’s office, Miss L was making introductions.

“This is [Little Red Hood], a newly awakened magical girl who recently joined the Association. And this is [Sirius], a newcomer transferred to our Xia Hai City. From now on, they’ll be under your command, Xingge.”

Xiao Keke’s face brimmed with uncontainable excitement. To think that Minister L would assign her to Mu Xingge, an S-rank magical girl, as her captain! Surely it was because the minister saw her potential as a magical girl, right?

The Association currently organized magical girls into small teams, with at least three members per team, led by a C-rank or higher magical girl. They operated in groups of three during missions.

Xiao Xi stole a glance at Miss L… Assigning Mu Xingge to lead her? That woman was definitely doing this on purpose!

In terms of popularity, Skylark Songstress Mu Xingge might even outshine Eternal Star. Not only was she a certified S-rank magical girl, but she was also a famous idol. The synergy of these two identities made her wildly popular.

“[Little Red Hood] and… [Sirius], right? Nice to meet you both. I look forward to working together.”

Mu Xingge gave a gentle smile and extended her hand. Though reluctant, Xiao Xi had no choice but to shake it.

But after the greeting, Mu Xingge’s gaze lingered on Xiao Xi, studying her thoughtfully up and down.

Xiao Xi tensed. She had never shown her Sirius form to anyone. Even as her former teammate, Mu Xingge shouldn’t notice anything, right?

“What’s up, Senior Mu Xingge?”

“Nothing, just that your transformed outfit is quite unique. What’s your symbolic item from when you awakened?”

Xiao Xi knew her Sirius attire didn’t quite scream “magical girl,” but she hadn’t expected Mu Xingge to ask this. She was momentarily at a loss for words.

Every magical girl received a unique symbolic item upon awakening. For example, Mu Xingge’s was a skylark, while hers was a star.

But Eternal Star’s symbol was too well-known. If she mentioned it, Mu Xingge might get suspicious!

“It’s okay. That kind of thing is personal. You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.”

Thankfully, Mu Xingge didn’t press, offering a warm smile instead. “Let’s chat more when we get the chance. I have a rehearsal for a performance soon, so I’ll head out now.”

Miss L noticed that as Mu Xingge turned to leave, Xiao Xi’s gaze lingered on her, filled with an indescribable mix of affection and apologetic tenderness.

‘Looks like A-Xing still feels guilty about leaving without a word back then…’ Miss L thought to herself. Pairing Mu Xingge with A-Xing was the right call. Maybe nostalgia would convince A-Xing to make a comeback.

What Miss L didn’t know was that Xiao Xi was indeed staring at Mu Xingge’s retreating figure, frantically apologizing in her mind—not for abandoning the team, but for recently writing spicy fanfiction based on her.

Xiao Xi had considered using a different character, but yesterday her editor gave feedback on the novel’s opening, praising her talent for writing realistically and urging her to keep the character as is to capitalize on Mu Xingge’s popularity.

‘Sorry, Xingge! Forgive me, considering I’m broke and jobless! Red bean mochi, I’m so sorry!’

A New Mission

After Xiao Keke left, only Xiao Xi and Miss L remained in the office.

“So, A-Xing, how does it feel to talk to an old teammate after three years? Got any urges to make a comeback and rekindle old bonds?”

Xiao Xi shot her a look. “Get to the point. Why’d you keep me here?”

“Your team’s next mission is set. I’m just giving you a heads-up.”

Xiao Xi blinked. Miss L was such a capitalist, already squeezing her for labor so soon.

“It’s related to the previous monster attack. Other departments found some leads.”

Miss L showed Xiao Xi several photos from the different monster attack sites. Zoomed in, they focused on a few individuals.

Xiao Xi squinted at them for a while before noticing that each person bore the same tattoo.

“What’s this?”

“That’s the tattoo of the Mang Wolf Gang. It’s normal you don’t know them—they popped up after you retired.”

Miss L shrugged. Calling the Mang Wolf Gang a villain organization was generous; they were just a bunch of petty thugs.

“They’ve got some minor villain tech but never dared to use it openly. Besides, most major villain groups were wiped out by you during the chaos years.”

“You think the last monster attack is connected to them?”

“Yep. We spotted Mang Wolf Gang members at four of the eight attack sites. That’s no coincidence, so we’re going to investigate.”

Though she said “investigate,” the Association’s plan was to take down the Mang Wolf Gang entirely. They’d turned a blind eye before since the gang stayed low-key, but now, tied to such a large-scale monster attack, the Association had no reason to hold back.

With Xiao Xi on the case, Miss L was even more confident. Though Xiao Xi was hiding her identity and suppressing her mana to D+ level, her veteran experience made this a cakewalk.

“Fine, but one condition: the mission can’t be at noon or evening. I need to be home to cook.”

Cooking for… Who?

Xiao Xi’s words sparked Miss L’s gossip instincts. “Cook? For who? Don’t you live alone?”

“And making a special request… Don’t tell me you’re cooking for a little girlfriend? No, wait—did you retire to get married? Do you even have kids?!”

As Miss L’s guesses grew wilder, even reaching to touch Xiao Xi’s stomach, Xiao Xi finally snapped, raising a fist in mock threat.

“Stop guessing nonsense!”

“No way, A-Xing, you’re always so mysterious. Maybe you’re secretly a thirty-year-old widow with two kids? You can’t be rushing home to cook for yourself, right?”

Xiao Xi gritted her teeth, too lazy to argue. It wasn’t that she cared that much about Ye Xinglan, but their agreement included her preparing three meals a day for her. Xiao Xi didn’t want to break her promise.

“Don’t worry, the raid on the Mang Wolf Gang is set for after midnight. It won’t mess with your girlfriend’s dinner plans.” Somehow, Miss L had already decided Xiao Xi had a girlfriend.

After midnight? That solved the cooking issue, but…

Xiao Xi frowned. She knew Ye Xinglan stayed up late every night—rich girls didn’t need to worry about early mornings. But if she went out that late, how would she explain it to Ye Xinglan?