novelraw Chapter 1 Would you mind having a daughter?
Chapter 1 Would you mind having a daughter?
In August, the temperature turned cool.
Qixin District, Qixin Academy Main Campus.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—"
The gentle, crisp school bell rang on time, and the soon-to-be magical girls, brimming with youthful energy, poured out of the dull classroom.
Contrary to this youthful spirit is the cloying sweet smell of advanced magic essence wafting through the air of Qixin Academy.
For any aspiring magical girl who wants to give up but doesn't dare to actually give up completely, the period at the beginning of the school year is undoubtedly one of the most painful times of the year.
Of course, if we're going to make a strict comparison, the pressure during the days when the final rankings are announced is ultimately greater.
The administration building stands on one side of the playground.
At this moment, in the vice principal's office on the third floor.
Standing by the window, Gu Bai turned his gaze away from the noisy crowd below and mumbled something under his breath:
"Youth is wonderful."
"You're quite young too." Vice Principal Zhang, sitting upright behind the yellow wooden table, put away his pen and handed the newly signed document to the orange-haired girl who was waiting respectfully to the side. His tone was slightly raised. "Xia Zhi, take this document to the Academic Affairs Office. After that, you will be responsible for liaising with Teacher Gu."
"Yes, Deputy Zhang."
Xia Zhi nodded, put the document into her pocket, and then her gaze, along with that of Vice Principal Zhang, fell on Gu Bai.
"My heart isn't young anymore."
With a smile on his lips, Gu Bai strolled back to the two of them and silently pondered for a moment.
If I include the scattered memories of my past lives that surfaced when I was ten years old, and the large truck that flashed before my eyes in the final moment, then my mental age is probably around thirty or forty...
However, those are ultimately things from a past life, so I don't take them to heart.
Gu Bai snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the documents Xia Zhi was holding in her arms: "So, am I officially considered an employee now?"
"Welcome to Qixin Academy." Vice Principal Zhang gave a formulaic smile. "It was just going through the formalities, which I'm sure you can understand. After all, the identity of a male teacher is a rather sensitive matter for Qixin Academy."
"..."
Gu Bai shook his head, showing no intention of replying. He needed Qi Xin, but Qi Xin also needed him. Why use such a trivial matter to put him in a difficult position?
Seeing that the pause had dragged on for a while, Xia Zhi suddenly spoke softly:
"Teacher Gu, please feel free to contact me if you need any help at Qixin Academy in the future."
In fact, if any of the aspiring magical girls on the playground at this moment heard these words, they would probably be stunned for quite a while.
How could Senior Xia speak so gently?
"Not bad." Gu Bai then replied, "You're much cuter now than when you were hissing like a kitten in shock. Come on, give me a smile?"
"...I was presumptuous back then." Xia Zhi lowered her head slightly. At the very beginning, she really did not believe that Qi Xin could actually recruit a male teacher.
But after the interlude, we still had to get back to the main topic. Gu Bai shrugged and looked at Deputy Zhang, saying, "Let each get what they need."
"Yes, each to their own needs."
Vice Principal Zhang did not dwell on the topic further, but simply placed the pen back on its holder before speaking again:
"Your dormitory has been arranged. Regarding the course schedule—"
"Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't schedule my classes, right?" Gu Bai interjected, as he neither had nor planned to take the teacher qualification exam.
Are you kidding me? You want to teach magical girls yourself? Don't lead them astray!
"Hmm." Vice Director Zhang paused for a moment, "The psychological counselors at Qixin Academy are usually on... sick leave."
"understand."
"That's good, Teacher Gu," Vice Principal Zhang said calmly, placing his hands on the table. "In order to use Qi Xin's channels to find the missing magical girl who grew up with you, the academy has begun to advance this work. Within reasonable limits, we will cooperate with all your requests."
"Thanks then." Having officially received the promise, Gu Bai turned to leave.
Finally, I wish you a pleasant life at Qixin Academy.
"Of course it's enjoyable. I'm surrounded by cute and kind magical girls. Should I be worried that I'm having too much fun?" As Gu Bai finished speaking, he pushed open the door to the vice principal's office and strode out.
Xia Zhi watched that retreating figure, frowned slightly, and then turned her head after a moment:
"Vice President Zhang, do you really believe him and the story he told? A magical girl who didn't grow up within the Prayer System?"
Vice Principal Zhang lowered his head and picked up the pen again:
"It's hard to say, and it's not really a question, but in the future, Qi Xin will need him."
"And..." Vice Zhang seemed to have thought of something, paused for a moment, and then slowly said, "He has been searching for that missing magical girl all these years, and it seems that he has never come into contact with the 'orthodox magical girls' in Qixin Academy."
"It seems so, yes."
Xia Zhi's eyes drooped slightly. Although some things were common knowledge within the industry, she still felt a little strange when she was being watched by outsiders.
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In the corridor on the third floor of Youai Building.
The psychological counseling room used by Gu Bai is located at the far end of the corridor, far from the usual classrooms, and has been abandoned for a long time.
I've already earned a week's wages here, and I still recognize the way back.
As for accommodation after get off work? He used to live in a rented room, but he can move to a different place today, since Qi Xin has already provided him with an employee suite as Xia Zhi had mentioned before.
As for why he's going back now, it's because the magical girl student he knew before said she had a surprise for him today.
Last week, that guy had already set up the abandoned counseling room as his secret base. Even after Gu Bai entered, he didn't give up. Instead, he proclaimed that she was the "native" and finally agreed to meet next week, which is today. He promised to give Gu Bai a very generous reward as a fee for renting the counseling room.
How could a high school senior do something like this?
To be honest, Gu Bai couldn't understand it, but he was also curious to see just how generous the so-called "generous reward" would be.
They walked slowly along the corridor, their pace unhurried.
Every few meters along the corridor walls are small screens displaying the same content as the two-story-high screen in the plaza outside, only on a smaller scale and embedded in every corner of daily life:
[Qixin Stock Market News Today – Most lead stocks have hit their daily limit down for several consecutive days. Now is the perfect time to buy the dip! Interested investors can check the details on the Qixin APP →]
The second screen displayed the following: "The first-day performance of the anime-style game 'Prayer Ring' is out. Its daily revenue surpasses that of games posted on cloud storage, potentially making it another dark horse game after 'Prayer Heart: The Power of the Origin'..."
On the next screen appeared a small girl with a crescent-shaped ahoge (a single strand of hair sticking up) on her head and bright blue eyes:
[Unexpected Event, Little Moon Report: Little Moon reminds everyone of the volatility of 'Magical Girl·True Moon Coin'. Due to the unfavorable outcome of the True Moon Coin's defeat of the Golden Beast this afternoon, significant volatility has been observed since 12:00 PM, with a current drop of 31.9%! Highly leveraged positions should exercise caution and manage risk.]
[Temperature is high on the rooftop, beware of margin calls! Xiaoyueyue reminds everyone again: if you have highly leveraged positions, please follow Xiaoyue to get the latest information!]
Gu Bai passed the last screen, paused for half a second, and his gaze fell on the scrolling red marquee—[Zhenyue Coins have dropped by 31.9%!!!]
He looked away and continued walking forward.
At the end of the corridor, there was an ordinary wooden door with a metal plaque nailed to it: [Psychological Counseling Room]
The lettering is neat, but the edges are worn and old, as if it has been hanging there since the last century, and no one has ever thought of replacing it with a new one.
Gu Bai paused at the door.
He grasped the doorknob and pushed it inside.
The consultation room was simply furnished with a low table, two wide chairs, and an unidentified green plant by the window, its large, round leaves gleaming quietly in the twilight.
A person was sitting in the chair by the window.
To be more precise, she is a peach-haired quasi-magical girl.
She had her back to the door, her school uniform jacket casually draped over the back of the chair, her posture languid, her whole body sunk into the chair, her head slightly tilted back, her phone lying flat on her lap.
From Gu Bai's perspective, that face was indescribably calm, even serene.
They didn't seem like students waiting for consultations; they seemed more like they were meditating.
Gu Bai took a few steps closer and followed her gaze downwards.
The phone screen was still on, displaying the interface of the Qixin Coin Market APP. The candlestick chart for Zhenyue Coin was a dismal green, with two lines of red text quietly lit up at the bottom:
[System Notification: Your account margin balance is insufficient, triggering the forced liquidation line for your 10X long position in Zhenyue Coin. The system executed a forced liquidation operation on all your positions at 17:32. Account balance: -14234.96. Total loss for this transaction is—]
[A friendly reminder from Qixin: As long as you're healthy, you can always make a comeback. We recommend you apply for the "Magical Girl Rural Loan" as soon as possible. Apply now and you can enjoy interest subsidies for up to one month.]
Margin call?
Gu Bai still remembered that just a few days ago, this well-behaved student had told him that she was a cryptocurrency trading genius.
In just one month, he had multiplied his principal several times over on Zhenyue Coin, so he staked all his wealth on it, waiting for the next takeoff point to cash out and leave the market, never to touch it again.
Gu Bai stared at the string of numbers for half a second before shifting his gaze back to that 'peaceful' face.
"...Student," Gu Bai carefully considered his words before finally asking, "Can you settle the fee for using the counseling room today?"
The girl sitting in the chair then stirred, slowly turning her head to meet Gu Bai's gaze.
Her eyes were extremely calm, so calm that they carried a hint of death.
There was a silence of about three seconds.
"Teacher," the girl spoke slowly, her voice as still as a ghost, utterly flat: "I've been set up by capital."
"...I know." Gu Bai glanced at the scrolling marquee in the corridor: "I just saw Xiaoyue broadcast it."
"oh."
She looked up at the window, and the room fell back into that mysterious tranquility.
Outside, the crowds of students leaving school hadn't dispersed yet, and the sounds of laughter and chatter seeped in through the glass, lively and noisy, creating a strange disconnect from the atmosphere inside the counseling room.
After a long while, the girl murmured, "I..."
"What's wrong?"
"My name is Tao Zhuo, a senior at Qixin High School. Um, would you mind raising a daughter from now on? All you need to do is provide meals, I promise, I eat very little!"
"ha?"