Chapter 9: TS Magical Girl, Neighbors with Good Brothers!

Dongfang Cheng stared at himself in the mirror, expressionless.

To be precise, he was staring at the pair of jeans in his hand in the mirror.

The pants were a spring style he’d bought last month, his standard size, fitting perfectly at the time.

Now, the dark blue trouser legs dragged on the floor, making him look like a kid in adult clothes.

His face was as sour as if he’d found a dead fly in his cafeteria food, ready to argue with the chef, only for the chef to swallow the fly whole.

“Stupid cat, get up.”

Dongfang Cheng’s consciousness sank into the gray space of the contract terminal again, his tone sharp.

“What’s that, meow? Disturbing my sweet nap so early in the morning! I’m still sleeping!”

“Explain why my height dropped so much since my last transformation. Six centimeters, way more than before.”

“Meow?”

The black cat tilted its head, as if recalling something.

“Oh, you mean the werewolf fight, meow? Easy, meow.

That transformation lasted way longer than usual, and the fighting burned way more energy, meow.

High-intensity, prolonged use of transformation power naturally costs more, meow.

It’s just the law of energy conservation, meow.”

It spoke matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal.

“Who told you to chase it all the way to the suburbs, meow.”

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

Dongfang Cheng suppressed his urge to flatten the furball, though this round-headed cat sorely deserved it.

“You didn’t ask, meow,” the black cat said, licking its paw with an innocent look.

“And the contract says the price fluctuates based on transformation strength and duration, meow.

In short, if you don’t wanna shrink more, avoid transforming, meow, or end fights fast, meow.

There are five real magical girls in Duhuang City to handle things, meow, so you, the extra, can just chill and slack off, meow.

Now, shoo, I’m playing Monster Hunter Cat: Rise.

Haven’t fought Nergigante today, meow, so don’t bug me.”

It waved its paw, and a virtual game screen popped up.

“…”

Staring at the cat, now glued to its game and ignoring him, Dongfang Cheng’s fists clenched.

Taking deep breaths, he forced himself to calm down.

Arguing with this cat was pointless.

Better not waste time in this contract space.

Back in reality, Dongfang Cheng eyed the trouser legs dragging in the mirror and sighed.

“Better get these altered.”

An oversized top could pass as “liking baggy styles lately.”

But pants dragging on the ground were too obvious, too ugly, and would make people think he was unhinged.

Opening the door, Duhuang City’s spring sunshine hit him, a bit dazzling.

Not far to the left, a voice etched into his DNA rang out: “Morning, Ah Cheng—oh, wait, it’s noon! Good afternoon, you heading out?”

Dongfang Cheng whipped his head around, eyes nearly popping out.

“Lin Feng?! Why are you here?”

His friend stood at the next apartment’s door, grinning like a game NPC triggering a new neighbor quest.

But this rich kid’s villa got blown up by a monster—why move to his old, rundown complex?

Lin Feng saw Dongfang Cheng’s ghostly expression and chuckled inwardly.

He wouldn’t tell Ah Cheng the real reason: intel from the organization hinted at a secret operation targeting magical girls and their associates soon.

Though Lin Feng didn’t think his best friend was tied to any magical girl, an inexplicable worry pushed him to use his wealth to “vacate” and rent the apartment next to Dongfang Cheng’s ASAP.

Officially, his villa’s destruction left him homeless, but really, he wanted to watch closely.

Was someone in the organization experimenting on Ah Cheng, causing his height loss?

If danger arose, he’d react fast to protect his stubborn but soft-hearted buddy.

On the surface, Lin Feng flashed a sly grin, striding over to sling an arm around Dongfang Cheng’s shoulders.

“Of course I wanna be your neighbor.

My house got bombed, and there was a vacant spot next to yours, so I rented it!

Surprised?

From now on, we can go to school and back together.

I just ordered a PS6 Pro—come over after school to play.

When you’re tired, crash at my place, no problem.”

“Don’t talk like some weird PSA character, or I’ll give you a three-page beatdown.”

“Don’t be so harsh.

Anyone else wouldn’t even get a chance to hang with me.”

Lin Feng leaned in with a playful grin, eyes casually scanning Dongfang Cheng.

It wasn’t his imagination—his friend was shorter.

Before, he had to look up at him, but now they were nearly the same height, with Lin Feng slightly shorter.

“By the way, Ah Cheng,” he said casually, “you grown taller lately? Your pants look short.”

He threw in some sarcasm to test the reaction.

Dongfang Cheng’s face darkened.

He glanced at his worn sweatpants, sagging over his shoes, then raised his head, annoyed, shaking the bag of new jeans.

“What the h*ll! Can’t you see I’m getting them altered?

I misread the size online, and they came way too long.”

“Alter your pants? Perfect!”

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up, and he closed in.

“I’ll go with you!

My clothes got burned, so I’m buying new ones.

Come on, I know an old tailor shop with killer craftsmanship.

Their styles are top-notch.

You’ll look ninety percent as handsome as me in them.”

“Get lost.

I don’t need you tagging along.

I can’t afford the stores you shop at.”

Dongfang Cheng shut him down without a thought.

One of Gouda’s shirts could cover his living expenses for months.

“Hey, don’t be like that.

Neighbors help each other.

I’ll cover the alterations and get you a one-year membership—unlimited free fixes and a thirty percent discount on clothes.

Plus, I’ll treat you to a meal to celebrate my new place.”

Dongfang Cheng paused.

Going out with this guy was a net loss for his eardrums and sanity, but the offer was too good.

“…Fine.”

The two walked side by side to the tailor shop.

The afternoon sun filtered through the dense foliage lining the street, casting dappled light on the ground and on them.

Lin Feng had no interest in the scenery.

He was wrestling with a big question: how does someone get shorter?