Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 5 The Search for Immortality

Friday was a sunny day with not a cloud in the sky.

Looking at the backstage of Qixin, I realized that although I was the psychological counselor for Class 1 and Class 2 of the senior year, I was not scheduled to teach any classes.

Long live understanding.

When the sun was high in the sky, Gu Bai tidied himself up and headed to the consultation room. He didn't really have to go, but he had something to look forward to today.

Around lunchtime, a friend request popped up on my WeChat.

Username: Xia?

Naturally, Xia Zhi came to mind, and Gu Bai approved it.

[This is Xia Zhi. Hello, Ms. Gu. Are you in the counseling room right now?]

【Yes】

【it is good】

It was so brief that Gu Bai was completely baffled.

Fortunately, the significance of it was soon understood.

Shortly after, there were two knocks on the door, and Xia Zhi pushed it open, carrying an orange lunchbox.

Wearing a black and white senior high school uniform, the crisp collar accentuated her long neck. Her long orange hair was neatly tied up with a dark hairband, without a single stray hair. Her legs, beneath the pleated skirt, were straight and shapely. She was just there to deliver food, yet she exuded a composure and elegance that one only needs to display in a public performance.

"Teacher Gu, we found that you haven't eaten in the cafeteria for the past few days. Your lunch and fruit are here."

"Thanks." Gu Bai smiled. Considering his situation, he hadn't gone to the cafeteria. He never expected things to turn out this way.

"You're welcome."

Xia Zhi nodded, turned and left, clean and efficient, without saying a word.

Gu Bai glanced at the lunchbox, then at her departing figure, lost in thought.

Deputy Zhang said that Qi Xin needed him.

This "need" seems to be serious.

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.

The afternoon was still a leisurely time.

Ding dong, ding dong~

As soon as the school bell rang, the door to the counseling room slammed shut.

"Skipping class?" Gu Bai asked Tao Zhuo as she entered the room.

"Academic classes? So boring." Tao Zhu shook her head indifferently. To her, this kind of class schedule was a waste if there wasn't free time. Seeing Gu Bai already there, her eyes lit up. "Looking forward to it?"

"I'm a teacher, this is my office—" Gu Bai didn't make a clear statement and changed the subject.

"—Stop!" Tao Zhuo narrowed her eyes, stepped back to the door, closed it again, and spoke mysteriously:

"In ancient times, there was a great tree called Chun, whose spring lasted eight thousand years and whose autumn lasted eight thousand years..."

"so?"

"A genius magical girl discovered by the villagers of Qixin in a remote, impoverished town—" She suddenly flung open the door, "Winter Camellia, here I come!"

Although Tao Zhuo spoke in a series of rapid-fire sentences, Gu Bai managed to grasp the key words in her speech.

However, the surname is Dong?

Summer, spring, winter—could it be that Qi Xin truly has a magical girl who is arranged according to the four seasons?

He didn't have time to think about it.

After two polite knocks, the girl came out from behind the door.

What was most striking was undoubtedly her smooth, waist-length white hair, as white as the first snow. Although both were wearing senior high school uniforms, unlike Tao Zhuo who wore hers casually, she had buttoned up the top button meticulously, exuding a sense of aloofness that kept strangers at bay.

The girl's eyes, as clear and cool as rubies, exuded indifference and rationality, and seemed to carry a sense of pure pragmatism.

Upon entering the room, Dong Chun's gaze fell on Gu Bai. She paused for a moment, not noticing any magical fluctuations, and her expression furrowed slightly.

Gu Bai looked at her without saying a word.

The two remained silent.

"Um, the atmosphere seems a bit awkward. How about we eat some fruit and chat about gossip to help develop our relationship?" Tao Zhuo didn't treat the two of them like outsiders. She picked up the fruit slices from Gu Bai's table, took a piece of dragon fruit, and popped it into her mouth: "Wow, it's sweet! Dong Chun, do you want some?"

"Dragon fruit is cold in nature, leaning towards coolness. According to the Five Elements theory of health preservation, I have been lacking in internal heat recently. If cold air enters my body now, it will affect the circulation of Qi and blood, thereby aggravating the irreversible cellular aging reaction." Dong Chun replied to Tao Zhuo expressionlessly.

"Hey, wasn't the founder of the Five Elements theory arrested by the Qixin Inspectorate last month for fraud?" Tao Zhuo complained.

"They did arrest him, but what they said isn't necessarily all wrong. Otherwise, why would so many people have gathered at that podium?" Dongchun said very seriously.

"It's a pyramid scheme! They're just scamming idiots like you who want to live forever!" Tao Zhuo continued to undermine them.

"Gu Bai." Gu Bai interjected at the opportune moment, introducing himself as "the psychology teacher of Class 1-2, Grade 12 at Qixin Academy."

"Hey, the teacher actually manages both of our classes!" Tao Zhuo's eyes lit up, and she seemed to have come up with another mischievous idea.

"Hello, Dongchun from Class 1, Grade 12, class 1."

Dongchun nodded slightly, then turned towards Taozhuo, her meaning clear: it was time to get down to business.

"Huh?" Tao Zhuo put down the fruit plate, cleared her throat, and said, "Ahem, yes, yes, the clue to immortality is—Teacher!"

"Huh?" Gu Bai tilted his head.

Dongchun fell silent.

She refocused her gaze on Gu Bai, a glint of light flashing deep within her red eyes.

tick-

It was as if an invisible second hand was stuck in the air.

Gu Bai noticed that Tao Zhuo's chewing of dragon fruit next to him had slowed down by several times, and the leaves falling outside the window were also suspended in mid-air.

The next moment, the winter jasmine moved.

No, to be precise, it was Gu Bai who noticed that she seemed to have moved, but by the time his gaze followed her, the girl had already stood still in the same place, her posture no different from before.

It's like a frame of an image malfunctioned and was instantly patched back up.

Is the time slow?

Gu Bai sensed something was amiss and looked at Dong Chun calmly, asking, "You?"

Dongchun's red eyes suddenly contracted, then returned to normal after a moment.

"That's an acceptable explanation."

When Dong Chun looked at Gu Bai again, her expression changed slightly.

When she finally spoke, her voice remained calm, but her speech was already a beat slower.

Gu Bai didn't continue thinking about it. Regardless of the situation, he needed to get down to business.

"Dongchun," he began, his gaze falling on the charm on her phone lanyard, "where did you get that charm from?"

Clearly, Dongchun had also heard some of the prospects from Taozhuo.

Following Gu Bai's gaze, she looked down, then picked up her phone and held up the small handmade pendant:

"This is a plant unique to the mountainous area of ​​my hometown. Its scientific name is Epiphyllum oxypetalum, but it is commonly known as 'Eight-type Grass'. It also has a rare name... 'One-day White'."

"A moment of white?"

"It blooms in the morning and withers in the evening, but its withering is not its death. The flowers will fall with the wind, become grass, and wait for the next opportunity to bloom again, and so on in a cycle."

"So it's immortality?" Tao Zhuo interjected, chewing on a dragon fruit.

"No," Dongchun corrected earnestly, "Nothing in this world is immortal. The meaning of the Eight-Type Grass is longevity."

Gu Bai stared at the pendant and slowly spoke: "I know a magical girl who is about your age. She might be from over there and is wearing the same pendant."

"It's probably...unlikely, because the old village is gone because of the Qixin Poverty Alleviation Project." Dongchun shook her head, then added calmly, "I was the last person to move out of that place, and I was the only magical girl who entered Qixin Academy at the same time."

"Tourists?" Gu Bai suggested another possibility.

"That's not a tourist area," Dongchun replied immediately.

Gu Bai frowned, something seemed amiss: "Where else can I find this kind of grass?"

"No, it's unique to that region, as it's found in the Heart-Praying Plant Library."

Gu Bai fell silent.

The clues led us here, only to find ourselves facing another wall.

"Can you take me back to look for it?" Gu Bai knew it was hopeless, but he still didn't want to give up.

Dongchun didn't answer immediately, but looked him over again before finally nodding: "Sure, if you need anything, we can use detection magic to deduce something, but it will take some time—"

"--Hehe, Dong-mei is still very concerned about the entrance exam."

Tao Zhuo then added, "After all, there's a famous saying that goes something like, 'A good beginning is half the battle,' right?"

Gu Bai glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

Outside the window, the sounds of students leaving school gradually faded away, and the atmosphere inside fell into a deathly silence once again.

After Tao Zhuo popped the last piece of dragon fruit into her mouth, her eyes darted from one face to another before she finally broke the silence with a casual remark:

"Well, since you're both quite satisfied, then I'll leave dinner to you tonight."