Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 2 The Quasi-Magical Girl Tao Zhu

"What's wrong?"

"The 70,000 yuan I saved up over the years through part-time jobs and studying is all gone now!"

Gu Bai stared at the peach-haired girl in front of him, who had switched from a meditative state to a state of divination, remained silent for two seconds, and finally asked only one question:

"And your first reaction was to ask me to raise you as my daughter."

"Teacher," Tao Zhuo said, her hands clasped together, her eyes shining with an almost devout light, "you're the kindest person I've met since my account was wiped out. You won't just leave me to die, will you?"

"...Judging from the time you were liquidated, I'm probably the first person you've met."

"So this is fate!"

Gu Bai took a deep breath and mentally reviewed what he had gained that day: officially joining Qixin Academy and acquiring a prospective magical girl as an adopted daughter.

Hehe, life at Qixin Academy is really enjoyable...

"Alright," he finally sat back down in the chair opposite him, propping his chin up with his hand, his tone as calm as if he were handling official business, "Forget about the daughter, let's talk about how you're going to repay your debt. You don't have money, but do you have anything else that can be exchanged for money?"

Tao Zhuo's eyes immediately lit up.

At this moment, Gu Bai noticed that this guy's lifeless eyes could actually glow under this specific circumstance.

"I'll act as a dating agent and collect a referral fee to pay off my debt. Teacher, you probably don't have a girlfriend yet, right?" Tao Zhuo went to the window, took a deep breath of magic essence, and then deftly pulled out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm a soon-to-be magical girl. I'm a top-notch gossip gatherer at Qixin Academy."

"...What is the accuracy rate of the information?"

"When the information is accurate, the accuracy rate is high!" Tao Zhuo quickly added when she saw Gu Bai's expression change slightly. "Oh dear, teacher, these days, where can you find information that's 100% accurate? Don't you think so!"

Gu Bai neither said yes nor no, he just glanced at her.

"Come on, let's take a look at the goods first." Tao Zhuo held her phone screen close to Gu Bai's face, her thumb quickly swiping through the photo album. "Look, this orange-haired magical girl is the future pillar of Qixin Academy!"

Gu Bai glanced at it but didn't say anything. Wasn't this Xia Zhi, whom he had just met? Was this guy really reliable? Judging from his own feelings, Xia Zhi should be the kind of person who disliked this kind of thing.

"Not interested?" Tao Zhu pouted and continued swiping. "How about this one? And this one? And this one—"

"Wait, take a picture back."

A moment later, Gu Bai's voice suddenly rang out, signaling Tao Zhuo to slide back.

My gaze fell on the screen. The photo was a side profile shot. The light spilled over the girl's waist-length white hair. Her red eyes were slightly lowered, and her expression was indifferent, like a well-composed painting.

But Gu Bai wasn't staring at her face; he was looking at a small handmade charm hanging from her phone strap.

Made of straw, the leaves overlap to form a horizontal closed loop. At first glance, it looks like a knot tied casually, but the closure and stitching are very careful, not random.

Gu Bai had seen this before.

To be precise, the magical girl he was looking for also had the same one—from childhood until the day she left, the same keychain was always on her.

He asked her about it back then, and she always smiled and said it was a secret, adding that she might see it on other people in the future.

But then, I saw him again today.

"This," Gu Bai said, his voice a half-tone deeper than usual, "is this your relationship with me?"

Tao Zhuo noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere. Her eyes darted around, and the corners of her mouth subtly curved upwards—a smile that suggested she had sensed the fish had taken the bait. She smelled the aroma of dinner.

"My best friend."

She put her phone away, sat back down in her chair, and adopted a serious expression. "White hair and red eyes, how about it? Not bad, right? Let me tell you, if this were in the original version, someone with this face would definitely be a featured character!"

"What's her name?"

Let's talk about the price first.

Gu Bai was silent for three seconds, then looked up at her.

Tao Zhuo, under that gaze, shrank back in her chair, but her mouth remained stubborn:

"Teacher, you want to ask for my name directly, which means you want to bypass me as the middleman. This is against the rules in the information market."

"..."

"Transfer the money, um, transfer thirty yuan to my account first," Tao Zhuo held up three fingers and shook his head, "I can call her and ask her out. I'll bring her to see you tomorrow. You can pay the rest later as you see fit. Whether it works out or not is another matter. I'm just here to make the connection."

Gu Bai looked at her for a while, but didn't say anything.

He checked the small charm on the white-haired girl's phone strap again on the screen, and he knew that he was right; this was no coincidence.

"Okay," Gu Bai nodded, "but I need to confirm one thing."

"What is it?"

"That tip fee you mentioned, thirty yuan." He paused. "That's all?"

"..." Tao Zhuo paused for a moment, then reacted, stood up, walked to the windowsill, took another deep breath of the magic essence seeping in through the window crack, and then spoke with a righteous expression:

"Teacher, I'm an intelligence agent with professional ethics. The fact that she has white hair and red eyes is undeniable. Considering that accepting less would be disrespectful to my best friend, so—"

She then held up five fingers.

"Fifty dollars exactly, including the agency fee. A fair price."

"..."

Gu Bai decided to discuss the temporary price increase with her later; right now, something else was more important:

"Call up."

"Okay."

Tao Zhuo opened her contacts and dialed the number.

The connection was established faster than expected. After a half-second silence, the other end spoke first:

"What is it?"

The voice was cold, carrying a sense of detachment as if the person was reluctant to answer the phone, but Tao Zhuo didn't care at all. She munched on sunflower seeds she pulled from one of her pockets and leaned against the windowsill.

Come see me tomorrow.

"I'm not going."

"I've found a clue to immortality."

silence.

two seconds.

three seconds.

"...Where is it?"

"The usual place."

"What time is it."

"After school, secret base." Tao Zhuo emphasized the last four words, turned her head and winked at Gu Bai, "Don't worry, although it's been turned into a counseling room now, the teacher is very nice, he won't report me or deduct my credits."

There was no response on the other end of the phone.

The call was not disconnected.

Two or three seconds later, a word leaked from the microphone:

"it is good."

The call has ended.

Tao Zhuo slammed her phone back on the table, clapped her hands, and gave Gu Bai a confident smile: "Done."

Gu Bai looked at her for a moment: "What is the clue to immortality?"

"Well," Tao Zhuo closed her right eye, made a peace sign with her fingers, and smiled, "it's a secret for now~"

"..."

"But don't worry, teacher," she said, cracking sunflower seeds as if she were talking about the weather, "my best friend will definitely come tomorrow, because the words 'immortality' are a big deal to her."

A while ago, a charlatan claimed to have mastered a secret method for prolonging life. Before being shut down by Qi Xin, he swindled a bunch of people out of their money. My best friend was the first to send money, and she sent it twice.

"twice?"

"The first time was with a letter," Tao Zhuo held up one finger, her expression subtle, then she held up a second finger after a moment: "The second time was, 'What if, what if it's true!'"

Gu Bai remained silent for a moment, without replying.

He recalled the indifferent profile on the screen, and then thought back to the three seconds of silence during the phone call.

A smart person can be this stupid for the sake of something.

This obsession has been going on for quite some time.

Then I looked at Tao Zhuo's pretty face.

He recalled the first time he bumped into her in this room a week ago. She was leaning against the windowsill, frantically scrolling through her phone. At that time, he thought she was just a problem student looking for a place to slack off.

Yeah, now I think he's more of a problem student, the kind who gets himself into trouble.

However, it might be somewhat useful in terms of information gathering, since it's unlikely that Qixin would want to talk to Xia Zhi when she first arrives.

Gu Bai stood up and grabbed his coat: "Okay, that's enough for today."

"Wait!" Tao Zhuo stood up abruptly. "Teacher, um, I really don't have any money for dinner."

Gu Bai looked at Tao Zhuo speechlessly and asked, "Have you had lunch?"

"I'm watching the food; I haven't eaten yet."

"Open the QR code for payment."

Tao Zhuo was silent for two seconds, her eyes twitched slightly, but in the end she didn't say anything and looked down to find the payment code.

[Your Qixinbao payment has arrived, 100 yuan!]

A notification sound indicating successful transfer rang out.

Tao Zhu stared at the number for a second, then looked up:

"teacher……"

"Um?"

"You're such a kind person!"

Tao Zhuo's lips slowly curved into a smile, and something lit up in her eyes: "You absolutely have to come tomorrow! My best friend is no ordinary girl!"

Gu Bai put away his phone and walked towards the door:

"it is good."

Gu Bai pushed open the door, and a blast of cold air from the corridor hit him. On the screen, Xiao Yue was still broadcasting the drop in Zhenyue Coins on a loop, and the red scrolling lights were festive.

He paused at the doorway, seemingly remembering something, without turning around: "Tao Zhuo."

"what?"

"That pendant... how long has your best friend been wearing it?" Gu Bai asked. He wanted to ask more questions, but in the end, he just asked this simple question casually.

After a moment of silence behind her, Tao Zhuo's voice drifted over, tinged with confusion:

"I don't know, it's been hanging up on me ever since I met her, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, see you tomorrow."

Gu Bai started walking again.

I searched for a long time.

The first clue was obtained in this way.

Even after passing through the last screen, the scrolling marquee remained a festive red.

He had no heart to look anymore.