Chapter 5: Identity Exposed?

A Misunderstanding Sparks

Seeing the shock in Xiaoke’s eyes, Xiaoxi hurriedly explained.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce. This is my current roommate, Ye Xinglan.”

“No way!” Xiaoke stared at Ye Xinglan, then elbowed her sister.

“Isn’t she the blind date Mom set you up with? Mom showed me her picture! Roommate? Don’t lie to me!”

“You’re… already living together?”

Xiaoke swallowed hard, holding back the rude follow-up: ‘Isn’t that a bit fast?’

She hadn’t expected this.

Xiaoxi used to be so reserved.

Xiaoke never thought anyone would fall for her.

But now, as a girl, her sister was suddenly… impressive?

Xiaoke had seen Ye Xinglan’s profile—a total rich girl.

Her sister bagged someone like that?

She had to admit, her view of Xiaoxi was shifting.

“No, we’re not living together because of the blind date… It’s just co-renting! You get it, right?”

Xiaoxi’s face flushed, her words stumbling.

But Ye Xinglan gave a graceful smile, stepping forward to wrap her arms around Xiaoxi’s neck from behind.

“Yep, we’re living together now. You’re Xiaoke, right? I heard from your sister you’re coming to Xiahai City for university. Nice to meet you~”

Xiaoxi froze.

They’d been co-renting for a bit, but this was the first time Ye Xinglan had been so close—let alone initiated it.

Wait, this wasn’t what they’d agreed on!

A glint of mischief flickered in Ye Xinglan’s eyes.

She was hiding here under the guise of “falling for her blind date and moving in.”

She couldn’t afford to slip up in front of others.

Besides, teasing Xiaoxi was kind of fun.

From her angle, she could see Xiaoxi’s reddening ears and neck, tempting her to poke further.

An Unexpected Call

“By the way, Ke,” Xiaoxi started, remembering something, “why does your university need early reporting…”

“Sorry, I need to take this.”

Xiaoke’s phone buzzed, cutting Xiaoxi off.

Seeing the caller ID—“Chief L”—she stuck out her tongue and darted to the balcony.

“Xiaoke, do you have a computer handy?”

A stern woman’s voice came through.

Xiaoke lowered her voice. “Yes, Chief. What’s up?”

“The electronic file you submitted had an error. The Association needs it urgently. Fix it and send it back—now.”

Hearing it was for the Magical Girl Association, Xiaoke didn’t dare dawdle.

She agreed repeatedly and hung up.

By then, Xiaoxi was busy cooking in the kitchen.

Ye Xinglan followed her, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Sis, can I borrow your computer? Uh… my school needs me to submit a personal info file!”

“Sure, go ahead,” Xiaoxi called from the kitchen, unsuspecting.

“The password’s the same as before. I haven’t changed it.”

A Suspicious Discovery

Xiaoke opened Xiaoxi’s laptop with ease.

Seeing the desktop wallpaper—a scantily clad anime character—she grimaced.

Even as a girl, her sister was still the same old nerd.

Xiaoke had always looked down on Xiaoxi’s hobbies.

She understood why.

Her sister was a bubbly, outgoing high school girl.

Of course she’d scoff at Xiaoxi’s anime obsession.

This disdain grew after Xiaoke became a fan of Eternal Star.

Strong, just, warm, and unyielding against evil—that’s why Xiaoke adored Eternal Star and magical girls.

Xiaoxi, the shut-in nerd, was the opposite of those traits.

Opening WPS, Xiaoke quickly fixed her file per Chief L’s instructions.

After triple-checking it, she sent it off and slumped back in the chair, relieved.

Wait!

She jolted upright.

She had to delete the local copy of her file.

If Xiaoxi saw it, her secret—that she’d joined the Magical Girl Association as a magical girl—would be exposed!

She opened the document list, deleted the file, and cleared the recycle bin.

Satisfied that her file was gone, she relaxed.

But then, she noticed something.

Xiaoxi’s document list was filled with resumes.

Xiaoke paused.

Her sister hadn’t changed much, but she was clearly struggling and trying hard.

Maybe she should be kinder to Xiaoxi…

Huh? What’s this?

Her mouse hovered over a document titled with “Magical Girl.”

Among the resumes, those words stood out like a sore thumb.

Magical girl?

Why would Xiaoxi’s computer have something about magical girls?

In Xiaoke’s mind, her sister had zero interest in them.

She knew snooping was wrong.

But curiosity got the better of her, and she double-clicked the mysterious document.

A Shocking Revelation

“Sis! Why’s there magical girl stuff on your computer?!”

Xiaoke’s piercing shout echoed from the room to the kitchen.

Xiaoxi, stir-frying vegetables in front of Ye Xinglan, nearly dropped her spatula.

She’d meant to scold Xiaoke for yelling.

But the words “magical girl” made her hand tremble.

Oh no.

She hadn’t been active as Eternal Star in so long, she’d forgotten her computer held files from her magical girl days!

Back then, she and her teammates took on side gigs at magical girl events to earn extra cash.

Xiaoxi was clueless about organizing, so Mu Xingge and Miss L always sent her schedules and plans.

She’d never bothered sorting or deleting those old files.

After three years away from being a magical girl, she’d completely forgotten.

She shouldn’t have let Xiaoke touch her computer!

Forgetting the sizzling pan, Xiaoxi rushed to her room.

One thought consumed her—

After hiding her Eternal Star identity for years, it was about to be exposed like this?

“What’s going on?”

Ye Xinglan, startled, turned off the stove and followed curiously.