novelraw Chapter 43 Girl, are you a member?
Chapter 43 Girl, are you a member?
In the conference room.
The slides for the presentation were slowly rotating on the projector, and Deputy Zhang was pushing forward with the work.
"Call him over after the Magical Girl Executive Meeting at the First Affiliated Hospital ends."
At this moment, Xin looked up at the photography crew positioned on the stage, a very slight smile curving her lips: "Are they worried about us competing with Xia for their talent?"
"Your heart is not something to worry about."
The sound wasn't loud, but to Zhang Fu's ears, it sounded like someone gently placing their knuckles on the back of her neck:
"Let me help you think about it."
Xin tilted her head, the ends of her hair sweeping across her shoulder with the movement:
"The old moon has faded, and Zhenyue has refused to be promoted to the Seven Stars under the name 'Moon.' Of the Seven Stars currently in office at the First Academy, only that old guy Wei and I are left, right? You wouldn't want to include those two from the Second Academy in our count, would you?"
She didn't spell it out, but the echo lingered there, like a knife lying flat, ready to reveal its cold gleam if you tilted it even slightly.
After a long silence, Vice-Director Zhang finally spoke:
"Wei has already designated Xia Zhi as her successor, and Gu Bai's abilities are more than enough to be an asset to Xia Zhi."
"Gu Bai..."
He held the two words in his mouth and repeated them, his tone rising slightly on the second word, as if he were tasting some new candy.
She raised her hand, tapped her fingertips unconsciously twice on the edge of the table, and then changed the subject.
"If you ask me—" she paused, "just give the title 'Ming' to Zhenyue. After all, she just wants to keep her lost best friend by her side."
The air conditioner in the conference room hummed, and slides projected one frame after another of the Qixin logo onto the wall.
Vice-Director Zhang explained the reason: "The Ximing Cult will not agree."
"I agree, isn't that enough?"
He leaned back in his chair, his posture languid, and looking at Zhang Fu's expression, he smiled again, this time with a more genuine smile.
"Don't look so troubled. Just kidding. If I had to go, I'd find it too much trouble."
"That's all for now." Xin waved her hand. "Ready? I'm going on stage."
He stood up from his chair, straightened his clothes, and walked towards the podium, which had already been lit up.
Xin turned and stepped onto the stage. The microphone clicked very softly the instant it was positioned in front of her collarbone, and the camera lens immediately lit up.
Deputy Zhang returned to his seat, said nothing more, and didn't look at the people on the stage.
She understood that the invisible and intangible spear of public opinion was about to be turned around by one person.
If you want to ask for the reason.
Simply because of her title, the Magical Girl of the Heart.
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Qixin District, Gubai Staff Apartment.
"Wow, shorting was the right move! We've survived this ordeal and our luck has turned around!"
Tao Zhuo sat cross-legged on the living room sofa, chin resting on her knees, eyes fixed on her phone screen, her fingertips rapidly tracing names on the candlestick chart.
Aren't you going to sell it yet?
Dong Chun sat opposite her, with a thick book, "From Self-Cultivation to Immortality," open in front of her. Hong Tong glanced at her from the edge of the book.
"No!"
Tao Zhuo buried her face even deeper, her voice coming out muffled from between her knees:
"If I earn just a little more, I can make up for the losses from the last margin call. I have to hold back; I'm going to add a little more to my position now!"
"Be careful, the money you borrowed is still paying interest." Dongchun gave up on discussing financial matters with this guy.
"rest assured."
Tao Zhuo's attention seemed to shift away from the screen. She looked up and around, gazing at the suite from floor to ceiling and back again.
"But—" she drawled, "isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to just stay at the teacher's house like this?"
"I'm just staying with you temporarily." Dongchun turned a page of her book and said calmly, "And you, with the Inspectorate keeping an eye on you, if someone knocks on your door and takes you away at night, no one can save you. Staying here, the teacher can stop the Inspectorate."
"Sister Dong, why do you think those magical traces are mine?"
Tao Zhuo asked, "Each magical girl's magical traces are unique. Generally speaking, the Inspectorate can arrest people based on this, so it's not wrong."
Dongchun said seriously, "A strange person, or perhaps a witch..."
"Sigh." Tao Zhuo slumped for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "Speaking of which, is Qi Xin's faculty dormitory really that big? No wonder so many magical girls try to transfer back to the academy after retiring!"
"You should apply for a transfer to teach combat sports at Qixin Elementary School now."
"That would be murdering my youth! I'm still a long way from retirement—"
Just as Tao Zhuo was about to complain a bit more, her phone screen suddenly dimmed and a pinned notification popped up, with red background and white text.
As he unfolded the message, his voice inexplicably softened: "...Sigh, the memorial service announcement is for next week."
Dongchun paused slightly as she turned the pages of the book.
The living room was quiet for a few seconds.
All that could be faintly heard from outside was the evening broadcast of the Qixin District, Xiaoyue's ever-energetic voice, mostly filtered out by the window glass, leaving only a light, airy tone that seemed to be hinting at the imminent appearance of the magical girl of the heart.
"I feel a bit sad; it's been a long time since we've had such a big accident."
Inside the house, Tao Zhuo felt a lingering fear. If Gu Bai hadn't been there yesterday, she and Dong Chun would probably have been among those mourned.
"And also, how did the teacher ultimately lead us...?"
"Ask him?"
Dongchun closed the book, her tone as flat as ever.
In fact, Dong Chun still couldn't find a reasonable explanation for Gu Baineng's ability to accelerate in sync with her, and Tao Zhuo was unaware of this, nor did she intend to tell her everything.
Tao Zhu tilted her head and looked at Dong Chun for a while, then sighed with a hint of resentment, "Never mind, everyone has things they don't want to say. Anyway, he's an adult I can rely on."
Drop~
The sound of the electronic door lock unlocking came from the doorway.
"Ah, the teacher is back!"
Tao Zhu sprang up from the sofa with a somersault.
Gu Bai, carrying large and small bags, seemed a bit anxious as he quickly uttered two sentences combined into one:
"Tao Zhuo, your matter is settled, and the matter with the Inspectorate has been resolved. These are the tonics Qi Xin gave you. I have to go out immediately, you..."
"Thank you for your hard work!"
Tao Zhuo scratched her head, her words flowing like a torrent: "When and where will the Super Sword Cultivator Instruction Program, spearheaded by Teacher Gu, begin? The magic concentration here is high, could it be here?!"
"Quiet down, you can stay here if you want. I'm leaving after five minutes of rest."
"The landlord disappeared, leaving a bunch of beautiful girls to live in the house. This story is also recorded in 'My Nine-Year-Old Pretty Female Tenant'."
"The power plant should arrest you."
Dongchun chimed in, saying that she might need to learn some electric shock magic when she had some free time.
Just as the two were arguing heatedly, the TV, which was in sleep mode, suddenly switched on to broadcast live content.
"Hey, the anime *Love Magical Girl* has started airing! Winter, come watch!"
Dongchun put down the book she was reading, but the screen froze the moment she looked up.
A pop-up window with red background and white text unfolds in the center of the screen, accompanied by a crisp "ding-dong" notification sound.
[Dear regular member, two people are currently watching the 4K live stream. Simultaneous viewing by two people is not supported for non-VIP members. Please switch the resolution or upgrade to VIP before trying again!]
"..."
“…………”
Tao Zhuo held the remote control in mid-air, her mouth open, but she didn't close it for a moment.
"Can't you have any conscience?!"
"If we can get money from it, we'll sell it together," Dongchun calmly commented.
Helpless, Tao Zhuo had no choice but to manually lower the resolution from 4K.
[Current Resolution: Ultra HD]
The screen finally moved.
In the video, a striking red-haired figure slowly walks onto the stage, a microphone clipped to her collarbone, the light shining on the silver logo of "Qixin" behind her.
Hello everyone, I am the Magical Girl of Hearts.
As you all know, unusual events occurred in several disaster-stricken areas last night.
Gu Bai, who was resting, heard the voice of the magical girl in his heart and his gaze was drawn to the television.
The next second—
[Dear regular member, multiple viewers are currently watching the standard definition live stream. Non-premium members are not supported by multiple viewers simultaneously. Please switch the resolution or upgrade to a premium membership before trying again!]
Hey girl, wanna become a member? Top up now and enjoy a 8% discount, plus an annual membership gives you a chance to win an autographed photo of the Magical Girl of Hearts!
Perhaps they didn't make money from the last pop-up ad, so this time they've even thoughtfully offered coupons and perks.
"Fuck you!" Of course, Tao Zhuo was not going to buy it.
"Swearing is uncivilized," Dongchun reminded.
"Is this civilized?! What kind of table manners are these?!"
Tao Zhuo was so angry that she threw the remote control onto the sofa, but in the end she picked it up and manually downgraded it again.
Current resolution: Clear
While described as clear, the image was actually a jumbled mess of pixels, with the entire girl seemingly transformed into a pixelated puzzle, her multicolored hair blurred into an abstract blob.
Fortunately, the audio can still be listened to without a membership.
"I'm leaving."
Gu Bai, who had gotten up, was too lazy to argue with the TV. He walked to the entrance, turned on his phone, and looked to see what the gentle face on the screen would say next.