Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 13 Opening Exam

Sunday is such a relaxing day at home.

Monday, life in the counseling room remained the same.

In the morning, when I opened the window of the counseling room, the wind outside carried a hint of autumn chill.

The exam bell had already rung, but it had nothing to do with Gu Bai.

I settled into a chair, opened my phone, then closed it again. The QiXin app's teacher backend showed no notifications today; everything was quiet.

Today is the cultural exam, followed by magic theory and spell demonstrations, and finally the practical test on Thursday and Friday.

Gu Bai mentally reviewed the timeline, not because he was concerned about the exam, but because after the exam on Friday morning, he would set off with Dong Chun and Tao Zhuo.

Looking around the consultation room, the leaves of the green plants shimmered in the sunlight, and the sunflower seed shells that Tao Zhuo had eaten last time were still left on the low table.

Gu Bai reached out, gathered the sunflower seed shells into a pile, and threw them into the trash can.

It was nearing noon.

There was a knock on the door of the consultation room.

"Teacher Gu." After receiving permission, Xia Zhi pushed open the door and came in, carrying an orange lunchbox. Her words were as crisp as ever: "I'll leave lunch here."

"Thanks." Gu Bai lifted the lid and glanced at it.

The side dishes were arranged carefully, not just thrown together haphazardly. Meat and vegetables each had their place, and the portions were just right, not too much and not too little. They were still steaming hot, so they must have been delivered shortly after they came out of the oven.

"The final bell hasn't rung yet, did you hand in your paper early?"

"We have enough time." Xia Zhi said succinctly, then paused and added, "I've already reported what you told me yesterday. Qi Xin will provide vehicles and coordinate with the relevant areas. Do you need me to come along?"

"The car is fine, nothing else is needed. Don't notify the people there in advance, just take a quick look first."

"Okay, got it."

Xia Zhi nodded in agreement, turned around and left without saying anything more.

Gu Bai glanced at her departing figure, then lowered his head again, placing the lunchbox lid to the side on the low table.

Outside the window, a few birdsongs occasionally drifted from the direction of the examination hall, but soon returned to silence.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

7 p.m.

Inside the counseling room, a magical girl's wailing continued unabated.

"I saw Dongchun on the way here, but she wasn't here. I complained to her about it!"

"I've completely forgotten all my cultural knowledge. What about the history of Cangzhou and Yuchao? No, as a devout magical girl from the Prayer Zone, who remembers that? I'll never have anything to do with those places in my life!"

Tao Zhuo sprawled out in the wide chair, her limbs spread out in a starfish shape, as if she were about to merge with the chair at any moment. Her phone was placed face down, covering most of her face, leaving only a clearly defined mouth visible as she cursed.

"And then there's the history of the magical girl battle suits produced by Luoshui Heavy Industry. No, the Luo Group is already declining, and now they're still using it in exam questions to disgust me. I can only say that if this continues, I'll switch all my allegiance to Dawn Creative!"

After speaking, Tao Zhuo took the phone away from her face, stared at the ceiling for two seconds in a daze, then suddenly changed her tone, revealing a hint of smug satisfaction, as if she were rapidly calculating on an abacus:

"Thank goodness, the cultural exam and daily performance each only account for 10% of the score, tomorrow's magic theory exam and the day after tomorrow's spell demonstration each account for 20%, and the final practical test, which accounts for 40%, is the main part!"

"So, you're quite pleased with yourself?" Gu Bai asked.

"No way!"

Tao Zhuo sat up abruptly, a lock of her pink hair disheveled from her previous slumped position. She casually tucked the lock behind her ear and said matter-of-factly, "I was just making an objective score assessment. Teacher, don't you think one is less than two?"

"As far as I know, Class One is the top class, so they should be better than you, the student in Class Two."

"Shut up." Tao Zhu gritted her teeth. "And it's not even certain. I answered the big question about Qixin Education on the standardized test very well!"

"Is that so?" Gu Bai replied dismissively. It was fine to chat during his free time; for him, all he needed to do now was kill time and wait for Friday.

"Hmm!" Tao Zhuo paused, flipped her phone over to look at it, and then looked away. "There were a few fill-in-the-blank questions. I wrote the fourth and fifth values ​​of Qixin Academy in reverse order, but the meaning is similar, so it shouldn't matter."

Do you think it's possible?

"Maybe...?"

Gu Bai picked up his teacup but did not pursue the matter.

Tao Zhuo stared at Gu Bai's profile, opened the review outline for magic theory, flipped through two lines, and then closed it again.

Review? Review my ass!

After wandering around the counseling room, Tao Zhuo's gaze fell on the orange lunchbox on the low table, most of it still lying there: "Teacher, this—"

She turned her head halfway through her sentence and casually said, "It doesn't seem to align with the principles of the Prayer for Heart Disc Campaign."

"Look at you like this." Gu Bai pushed the lunchbox towards her. "Eat it. Someone brought it for you. If you want some, thank them next time."

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

Tao Zhuo stuffed her phone into her pocket, walked over, and opened the case.

The dishes inside were carefully selected, as if they had been thoughtfully considered.

First, use the [Heating Magic] to slightly raise the temperature of the food.

Tao Zhu then produced a pair of disposable chopsticks from somewhere, took a bite, chewed it, and slowly swallowed it.

"...It's actually quite delicious!"

She lowered her head and ate the remaining half box of rice one bite at a time, without thinking about anything else.

Tao Zhuo closed the lunchbox lid, sat back down in the chair, propped her chin up, and slowly returned to her usual tone:

"Oh, right, teacher, I have another idea."

"explain."

"Look," Tao Zhuo said, holding up one finger with a serious expression.

"There's a potential section in the Qixin Coin Market that specializes in coins featuring aspiring magical girls. Unlike the regular coins that can only be issued after university, these coins can't be exchanged for any rights. Therefore, their prices can skyrocket and then plummet within a single day. If you sell them at a high price..."

She emphasized the word "if," and leaned forward slightly:

"If you have a good eye, the profits can be substantial."

"insider trading?"

"The shares held by the prospective magical girl herself are held in custody by Qixin Official," Tao Zhuo said righteously, but her blinking eyes revealed her little scheme: "But what I mean is, teacher can take advantage of the low price now to buy some."

Gu Bai glanced at her. "Tao Zhuo."

"Well..."

"What you mean is," Gu Bai paused, "that I should buy things like you, right?"

Tao Zhuo remained silent for a full three seconds, then raised her head, her eyes open and honest, and spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Teacher, you don't understand finance, but I do. Follow me and you'll definitely make money!"

"Oh, the person in the know is currently eating dinner that someone gave me because I went bankrupt."

Gu Bai decided not to pursue the topic any further. To be honest, this kind of insider trading was practically a sure thing, but ultimately he wasn't obsessed with money.

"One day I'll go back to the market and make up for all my losses. I made some money on the last mission, and I've almost paid off my debts," Tao Zhuo said, puffing out her cheeks.

Gu Bai changed the subject: "So what's the general content of tomorrow's magic theory?"

"The mechanism of magic operation, the encyclopedia of exotic beasts, and the analysis of classic battles of magical girls." Tao Zhu stuffed the last mouthful of rice into her mouth and mumbled, "There's also an open-ended question that comes up every year, with the same old formula but a different presentation."

"What's the exam?"

Tao Zhu put the lunchbox lid back on, cleaned it with a [Clean Magic] spell, then cleared her throat and began speaking in a tone that tried to imitate an official announcer:

"Please analyze the most strategically valuable magical girl or magical ability in the current version environment and explain your reasoning."

"How do you plan to write it?"

"Let's analyze the market logic behind Qixin's current focus on spring, summer, autumn, and winter." Tao Zhuo stuck her chopsticks into the takeout bag, stood up, and stretched. "Just write what the official channels want to hear, as long as there are no mistakes."

Gu Bai nodded without commenting, since he didn't understand either.

Tao Zhuo walked towards the door, paused at the door, turned around, and her expression was less playful and more serious than usual.

"However," she paused, then continued, "I recommend that you take a look at the day after tomorrow's technique demonstration and the day after that's practical testing."

"What's wrong?"

Tao Zhu stared at him for a second, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upwards. She turned around, pushed open the door, and her tone of voice had completely returned to its usual manner:

"Teacher, you probably don't have much contact with magical girls, so you must know a lot about them~"

"I'll consider it."

"Okay, I'll go back and study now."

The door closed.

The sound of her footsteps gradually fading away echoed in the corridor. Gu Bai sat in place, moved the empty lunchbox to the side of the low table, picked up his phone again, opened the Qi Xin backend, found the application portal for watching the spell demonstration, and filled it in.

Submitted and awaiting review.

Looking out the window, the streetlights on the playground lit up one after another, casting long shadows of the trees. Some people were flipping through notes under the lights, while others had given up and packed up early, walking in twos and threes toward the dormitory building.

Gu Bai was lost in thought; who knew, he might encounter something interesting.