Chapter 11: Su Qi’s Speculation
Ba-ji~~~
“Oh, oh, so sorry, Su Qi! I accidentally stepped on your foot!”
The next morning, Su Qi arrived at school brimming with anticipation.
Barely stepping into the classroom, he was “accidentally” bumped by An Xiao Ling, who was heading to the water dispenser and “unintentionally” stepped on his foot.
Hearing her apology—eerily similar to yesterday’s, dripping with gremlin-like insincerity—An Xiao Ling flicked her twin tails and skipped away.
Su Qi froze for a moment.
Though An Xiao Ling’s petite, loli-like frame and light weight made the step painless, it was obviously deliberate.
As the saying goes, “Only villains and gentlemen are hard to deal with.”
Watching her skip off happily, freckled face beaming as she fetched water, Su Qi silently pitied her future husband.
‘Living with that gremlin must be tough!’
‘What did I even do to offend her?’
Pondering briefly with no answers, Su Qi brushed off the incident and headed to his seat.
To his surprise, Mo Yu—his best friend who always arrived early with breakfast—wasn’t there today.
“Hey, did you see the announcement? Lin City Adventurers’ Guild is organizing a raid on the Fourth Plane of the Sacred Ruins tonight.”
“Hiss, the Fourth Plane? Sounds terrifying. Think there’s a dragon boss or something?”
“Scared of what? We’ve got the SSR-tier Magical Girl as our ace. Hiss, I wonder who she is in real life. If only I knew her.”
As Su Qi neared his seat, he overheard two tall classmates chatting.
He knew a bit about the Fourth Plane and the Magical Girl from textbooks.
Though he’d never been to the Sacred Ruins without an awakened ability, he understood the basics.
Since the spiritual resurgence, Sacred Ruins had appeared worldwide.
Like dungeons in games, the deeper you went, the denser the spiritual energy and the stronger the spirit beasts.
Some beasts even gained intelligence, with rumors of human-like forms.
Due to varying beast strengths, the Ruins were divided into six planes, One being the weakest and Six the strongest.
Humanity had only reached the Fifth Plane, and none who ventured there returned.
This highlighted the danger of the guild’s Fourth Plane raid.
After stashing his bag—containing women’s clothing—in his desk drawer, Su Qi checked his phone.
On Lin City’s official account, he found the raid post.
It was formal, stressing the necessity of exploring the Ruins to address humanity’s crises, subtly recruiting awakened individuals to join the city hall and contribute.
At the end was a photo of seven distinct figures: a muscular hulk, a slender girl with oversized “fruits,” a sharp boy with red flames at his fingertips, a girl with eagle-like eyes, a gloomy guy with spider silk, a handsome swordsman with a greatsword, and, at the center, a Magical Girl radiating otherworldly beauty, her long hair and delicate features sparkling, holding a Love-Shining Magical Girl Wand.
Staring at the striking, powerful group, Su Qi felt a pang of envy.
‘Emmmmmmmm, joining that team for one mission would probably earn enough to clear Wen Yin-jie’s debt in one go.’
‘Being admired like that… just thinking about it feels thrilling!’
Amid his envy, his gaze lingered on the central Magical Girl.
Her waist-length hair shimmered, her beauty almost too perfect, like a 2D character.
Su Qi was certain he’d never met her in real life.
Yet, something about her felt vaguely familiar.
As he pondered this familiarity, a light tap on his shoulder broke his thoughts.
“A-Qi, morning!~ Did you eat breakfast?”
Turning, he saw Mo Yu, holding two instant sandwiches—one clearly for him.
Making space for Mo Yu to sit, Su Qi gratefully took the sandwich, watching his friend nibble daintily at his own, cherry lips taking tiny, cute bites.
A faint disappointment stirred in Su Qi.
‘What a pity for my bro.’
‘With that personality and look, he’d be the perfect wife—yet he’s a guy.’
‘Finding a girlfriend must be tough. He’s been single forever.’
While feeling sorry for Mo Yu and finishing the sandwich in a few bites, a warm feeling sparked a bold idea.
Should he transform into his Crisp Wife form and pretend to be Mo Yu’s girlfriend to cheer him up?
The thought lasted a second before he shook his head, dismissing it.
The reason was simple.
Each time he activated Crisp Wife in women’s clothes, his looks and figure were top-tier, paired with a gentle charm even he found alluring.
If Mo Yu fell for his female self and later discovered his true identity, things could get messy.
Worse, it might spark a “fencing” scandal.
‘That’s a no-go!’
As Su Qi mused, Mo Yu, having finished his sandwich in small bites, tugged softly at his sleeve, speaking in a soft, sticky voice.
“A-Qi, I’ve got some family stuff going on. For the next few days, you’ll need to bring your own breakfast.”
At Spirit Martial University, though courses differed from pre-resurgence universities, attendance was lax.
As long as you had enough credits and passed exams, you wouldn’t fail.
For bottom-tier Class 18, this was especially true.
If you had personal matters, you didn’t need to clear it with a counselor—just manage your time.
Hearing Mo Yu would be absent due to family matters, Su Qi nodded.
Every family had its struggles, and Su Qi often took leave for Su Lulu.
But thinking he wouldn’t see his best friend for days made him feel a bit lonely.
Then, a sudden thought struck.
The guild’s announcement said the raid on the Fourth Plane was tonight, and Mo Yu just mentioned taking leave tomorrow.
Wasn’t that too coincidental?
Eyeing Mo Yu’s petite frame, a wild idea formed.
‘Could my bro be the Magical Girl?’