Chapter 235 The Source of Contradiction
When the Fangting City and Baian City teams returned to the magical girl's base, it was already past one in the morning.
The furnishings in the restaurant still remained the same as when the few people left in a hurry. The half-eaten meals were still scattered on the table, and the hot pot, which was supposed to be the highlight, was now deserted. Cumulative fat floated on the surface of the soup, mixed with some ingredients that had been put into the pot and never come out again, telling the story of the regrettable ending of this dinner.
"Damn claw marks... Damn evil magic girl, I will never stand with you..."
Aso Yuanxiang fell on the table in grief, crying every word as if she had some great hatred. Bai Ji stood beside her rather awkwardly, looking as if he wanted to speak but didn't know how to persuade her.
As for the other two people from Baian City, Mu Baihe was yawning and going into the bathroom, and Mimosa had returned to her room alone at some point.
Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu were in the kitchen cleaning up the ingredients and sundries that were originally going to be used on New Year's Eve, while Cuiqiao urged Bai Jingxuan to wash up and go to bed quickly. Then she found a secluded corner by herself, changed back into Lin Yun's identity, and continued to instruct the next steps of the Strategy Bureau over the phone.
Fortunately, this incident did not happen in the city. Whether Yuan did it intentionally or unintentionally, she chose Yinping Mountain in the far suburbs as the location for the battle. This was a good thing for the Yi Ce Bureau, as it meant that they at least did not need to spend a lot of manpower and resources to repair the scene.
However, the Strategy Bureau still needs to send people to the battle scene to carry out some post-war work, whether it is the remaining beast magic power, the large-scale destroyed forest vegetation, or even the damaged mountains, all need to be cleaned up.
In addition, this kind of vicious incident of claw mark attack needs to be reported and filed by the Strategy Bureau to the headquarters and the national authorities, and the Fangting City Strategy Bureau itself also needs to record and archive it. Magical girls should also receive some official rewards as a reward for taking on powerful enemies.
How to arrange these matters is Lin Yun’s current task.
By the time he had roughly arranged things, restored Delphinium's appearance, and quietly returned to the corridor of the base, it was already past two in the morning.
Here she met Lin Xiaolu, who had already washed up, changed into pajamas, and was about to go back to her room to sleep.
Perhaps because she had just been through a fierce battle and had consumed a lot of energy, she looked quite sleepy at this moment. She walked with her head hung down and did not even notice someone passing by her.
"Bai Mei." Then Cuiqiao spoke and called out to the other party.
"ah?"
Lin Xiaolu raised her head belatedly, and seeing that it was Cuiqiao calling her, she tried to cheer herself up again: "What's wrong?"
"Can you still hold on? I have a few words to talk to you alone." Delphinium went straight to the point without any intention of hiding her intentions.
"Hmm... should it be possible?" Lin Xiaolu blinked. Although she felt a little strange in her heart, she did not refuse.
She actually had some guesses as to why Delphinium came to her alone.
After all, on the way back to the base, she had briefly explained that she had successfully awakened the magic suit. So, given Cuiqiao's character of never doing anything without a purpose, she must want to know more about the magic suit from me, right? Although she is very tired now, but because awakening the magic suit is of great importance, she is still in a state of wanting to find someone to talk to. She almost asked someone "How do you know that I just successfully awakened the magic suit". It could be said that it was exactly what she wanted that Cuiqiao took the initiative to find her for a talk at this time. .
After reaching a consensus, the two walked towards Lin Xiaolu's room together. During this process, Cuiqiao didn't say much, and although Lin Xiaolu glanced at him from time to time, she also didn't take the initiative to speak.
She entered the room and Delphinium closed the door. Then she looked at Delphinium openly, as if she was ready to listen attentively.
Could he be asking about his magic suit? Surely, right? If you
——"Your father just called me. He doesn't understand what you did."
So Kuei-Jin sighed and said, "He said that according to the agreement between you and him, you should have stayed in the base tonight to recuperate and should not have appeared on the battlefield."
Her tone was calm, and there was no discernible emotional bias. When she said this, it was as if she was really just conveying someone else's words.
However, no matter how good Delphinium's disguise is, it cannot change the fact that the question itself is questioning Lin Xiaolu's behavior. So when these words were spoken, it was visibly seen that Lin Xiaolu, who seemed to be secretly expecting something, suddenly wilted.
She opened her mouth first, as if she wanted to refute something, but she stopped herself. She looked at Delphinium and frowned slightly, obviously thinking about how to refute, but these thoughts eventually stopped at thinking, and she could only continue to look at Delphinium in silence.
Everything was reflected in Cuiqiao's eyes. She saw Lin Xiaolu's expression change from faint excitement to astonishment, resentment, and finally grievance. She looked at her with red eyes, just like a puppy about to be abandoned by its owner.
"…What's wrong?"
Even the dullest person would realize that he had said something wrong, so Delphinium, who had come with the intention of accusing someone, had to stop thinking and lower his voice.
Lin Xiaolu did not answer her.
Now it was Delphinium's turn to doubt itself.
If she were to ask herself honestly, she had tried her best to control the tone of her voice and try not to sound too fierce. You know, on the way to Yinping Mountain, when she found Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan appeared in the team, she almost fainted.
When she was in the Yi Ce Bureau, she, in the identity of Lin Yun, gave Lin Xiaolu many warnings and instructions, asking this group of juniors not to come to the battlefield without permission. At that time, Lin Xiaolu agreed verbally and looked submissive. As a result, in less than half an hour, this girl not only pretended to obey but also brought all her teammates here? Considering Cuiqiao's mood at the time, she did not go up and hit Lin Xiaolu on the head, which showed her extraordinary composure.
At that time, a powerful enemy was in front of them and time was pressing. If the problem was not handled in time, Fangting City might be in great danger. That was why Cuique did not say much, but pretended not to know the truth and kept silent. Just because it didn't happen at the time doesn't mean the matter can be forgotten.
If it was just some trivial matters, it would be fine, but this kind of issue involving life and safety, she really couldn't just brush it off lightly. This time it was a close call, as Kite with Claw Mark unexpectedly did not deliberately target the younger generations. But what if there is a next time? If Lin Xiaolu is so disobedient every time, what will happen if something unexpected happens? Therefore, when Kuei-chih arrived, she had already made a plan. Even if she didn't scold her daughter, she would at least give her daughter a good scolding, to make her realize the wrongness of her behavior.
Considering that they had just fought a fierce battle with the enemy and everyone was very tired, her words and actions should not be too extreme, so she carefully considered her words and only used relatively mild words such as "don't understand" and "shouldn't", in order to reduce the other party's resistance as much as possible.
But Cuiqiao didn't expect that even though she had said it so tactfully, Lin Xiaolu still showed considerable frustration, even more sad than she had expected.
What went wrong? Are the words I said so heavy? "I don't mean to criticize or blame you, I just simply feel confused."
After thinking it over, she could only soften her tone once again, trying to eliminate the blame that was already there in her words: "After all, I am actually worried too, because the enemy this time is really strong, and it will be very dangerous to fight them."
"...But I won." Lin Xiaolu, who had lowered her head at some point, said in a low voice.
"Hmm?" Delphinium did not expect to get such an answer. She was stunned for a moment, and then she subconsciously guessed - is this a sign of dissatisfaction?
But she soon realized from the tone that it wasn't the case.
And the person standing opposite him was his own daughter after all. The father and daughter had been in a cold war for two years before this. During this period, Lin Yun had seen his daughter's appearance when she was angry countless times: when she was angry, she always looked directly at others with confidence and never lowered her head on her own initiative.
So, what does this sentence mean? She was still subconsciously thinking about the meaning of Lin Xiaolu's words, but the next moment, Lin Xiaolu suddenly raised her head, and the expression on her face seemed much calmer.
"Yeah... you're right."
She stared at the floor and said, "I also know that I didn't do well in this matter and shouldn't have gone back on my word, so after it was over, I was planning to apologize to him. Next time something like this happens again, I won't go to fight him on my own."
"ha……"
I don't know why the other party's attitude changed so quickly, so that Kuei-chih only had time to let out a meaningless breath, and after collecting his thoughts, he responded hesitantly: "If you say so, it should be okay?"
Is everything really okay? Then why do I use question sentences? In fact, even Delphinium itself didn't understand it.
"Well, I'll send him a message later, and then apologize to him in person."
But Lin Xiaolu had already followed her words and said, "Thank you for your reminder."
Take away other people's words and leave them speechless.
Lin Xiaolu has done this now, and she makes Cuiqiao not know what to say.
In terms of a very upright attitude and correct words, what else can Delphinium say? Comfort seems abrupt and discipline seems harsh. Should I change the subject at this time?
"Well, Delphinium."
Fortunately, Lin Xiaolu seemed to have something to say: "I was really unwilling to accept it during the Full Moon Festival before."
"...Full Moon Festival?"
"Well, at that time, when I faced the 'Moth', I mustered up the courage to fight, but because I was too weak, I knew that I was of no use at all."
Lin Xiaolu spoke calmly, with surprisingly little emotion in her words: "I was knocked down and defeated so easily. The enemy didn't even take it seriously. They were just playing with me."
Delphinium was speechless.
Lin Xiaolu once again blocked her space to speak. She could neither admit nor deny this kind of thing, because it seemed inappropriate no matter how she said it.
If she admitted it, it would be like pointing fingers at Lin Xiaolu and saying that she was "useless". If she didn't admit it, it would be like she was lying with her eyes open and it wouldn't be convincing at all.
Cuique remained silent, and Lin Xiaolu was the only one who continued to speak in the room: "In fact, because I was there, that woman thought I was a weakness, and caused you, Cuique, to be injured. I know all this."
"If you want to say that I shouldn't have been there at that time, and shouldn't have been a burden to you, I admit that even I hate myself."
“So, this time, I really tried to work hard.”
"I have awakened my magic suit."
"I also...although I was not alone, I finally defeated that enemy."
"You can say I'm bragging, but my battle this time should have played a role, right?"
She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Delphinium with uncertainty in her eyes: "I shouldn't be a burden this time, right?"
Delphinium looked at her for a long while, then nodded slowly: "You are not a burden. There is no need to ask this. What you did was very important in order to defeat the enemy tonight."
"Then why..."
"Because I'm really worried about your safety, especially you, Bai Mei."
Delphinium took a deep breath and said, "You should know that your mother, Sakura, died while performing a magical girl mission. She was very powerful. At that time, she was definitely stronger than me. Even such a powerful magical girl would encounter an accident during the mission, causing most of the magical girl teams in the material world to panic."
"As her... teammate, I am definitely one of the people who cannot accept what happened. I really regret not being by her side at that time. So now, I really don't feel comfortable letting you carry out a mission that is too dangerous. If you encounter any accident because of this, I really..."
At this point, she paused, then closed her eyes and shook her head, as if to drive some thoughts out of her mind: "I can't accept that."
"What about me?" Lin Xiaolu asked.
"What?"
"And what about my feelings?"
Lin Xiaolu opened her eyes wide and her voice gradually became louder: "Have you ever thought that I actually feel the same way? I'm worried about you too! You lost your teammates, but I lost my mother! My mother died while on a mission! How could I possibly want to experience that kind of pain and despair again!"
"Am I not sad? Am I not afraid? It is precisely because I am also worried about such things that I will also think, 'If I don't cause trouble to Delphinium', I don't want to think about such things at all!"
"You always say you're worried about me and don't want anything to happen to me, but have you ever thought that I'm the same way? I'm worried about you so much that I can't even sit still. If you let me stay in the base, I'll really be wondering every second whether something will happen to you. How can I bear it!"
"You were severely injured by that woman during the last Full Moon Festival, and in the end, for some unknown reason, your magic suit was destroyed. In this battle, you were injured by the Claw Mark again, and you almost got hurt! Do you know how I felt when I was next to you? I was really worried that you were going to die! I couldn't even speak!"
"Do you think I'm afraid of death? Yes, I am. I'm afraid of death, I'm afraid of pain, I'm even afraid of thunder. There are so many things I'm afraid of. I'm just a coward. But what I fear most is never these. What I fear most is that the people I like and the people I love will disappear from my life!"
"My mother is dead and will never come back. It took me two years to accept it, and I still find it hard to accept it. If you die, how many more years do you want me to spend to accept it?"
"If that's the case, you might as well let me die in your place. After all, you saved my life. Even if I encounter any real fatal danger, if I can exchange my life for yours--"
Lin Xiaolu stopped talking.
When she was talking about the most emotional moment, Kuei-Jia raised her hand and firmly grasped her shoulders. She widened her pair of clear blue eyes and said word by word: "Absolutely not."
Lin Xiaolu had never seen such a delphinium before.
There was still no exaggerated expression on her face, but there seemed to be some chaotic and heavy emotions brewing in her wide eyes, and there was even a hint of oppression, which made her feel breathless.
Just like some kind of stress response, when she mentioned that she would "die for Delphinium", it was like awakening a sleeping beast, causing Delphinium to change from its original calm thinking to this state.
"...I absolutely cannot accept this. You should think about it carefully. What will your friends, your father, and I think of this?"
After a long while, Cuique finally recovered from that state and released her hand on Lin Xiaolu's shoulder: "I'm sorry, I hurt you, but you have to know that there will be many people who are sad for you and feel sorry for you. Believe me, no one wants to see that kind of thing."
"But if it means saving you, I'm willing to do so."
Lin Xiaolu did not give in at all: "Maybe I will feel sorry for my dad, but this is the only thing that makes me feel guilty."
Delphinium stared at her for a long moment.
After a while, she nodded expressionlessly as if she was meeting Lin Xiaolu for the first time: "Okay, I understand."
She took two steps back, leaned against the wall, and folded her arms:
"But since you really have such an awareness, I will also tell you my true thoughts. If you really risk your life for such a thing, I will first kill the person who killed you, and then commit suicide directly."
Now, it was Lin Xiaolu's turn to be stunned.
"Why?" It took her a while to sort out the information in Delphinium's words, and she asked in a daze.
"...No reason." Delphinium turned her head to the side.
Because her daughter's words broke her bottom line, she couldn't help but speak the truth on impulse: she had already lost her wife, and if she were to lose her child one day, then there would really be no meaning in living in this world, and she might as well commit suicide to find peace.
Although it is a bit extreme, this logic is barely understandable to Lin Yun. However, it seems a bit inappropriate when applied to Delphinium.
After all, from the perspective of others, the relationship between her, Delphinium, and White Rose, was just that of a pair of magical girls who happened to meet in the same city, and it was far from being a life-threatening situation like this.
Cuiqiao knew this, but she had no choice. At the same time, she realized at this moment that the identities of "Cuiqiao" and "Lin Yun" were indeed different.
Lin Yun is Lin Xiaolu's father, and he is also just an "ordinary man who knows some magic". With such an identity when talking to his daughter, he can naturally express his concerns about his daughter going to the battlefield and use various means to dissuade her. Because to his daughter, he is a father, a "rear-line person", and he has the right to give such advice.
But Cuiqiao is a magical girl, and also the captain of Fangting City's magical girl team. She always leads the charge in the front line. With her status, she should not stop her team members from going to the battlefield.
The reason is the same as that given by Lin Xiaolu. If it is just to "protect teammates", then everyone has a similar idea, and no one can guarantee that their life will not be in danger when performing the mission.
What's more, she once made a promise to Lin Xiaolu in the identity of Delphinium to help her become a "magical girl who can stand on her own feet." From a standpoint, we should encourage Lin Xiaolu to fight and grow.
It was precisely because she failed to distinguish the roles of "father" and "predecessor" that Lin Xiaolu reacted so violently to Cuique's words just now.
Yes, she was wrong. On such a night when a great battle had just ended, as a senior of the magical girl, she should have praised Lin Xiaolu's achievements, complimented her awakened magic outfit, and encouraged her progress. This is what a magical girl senior should do.
Saying something like "worrying about safety" is not something a senior should say. At least, it should not be said at this time. Because this actually ignores the other party's awareness of stepping onto the battlefield and is a kind of contempt for others.
However, it was too late to realize this now. The emotions that were supposed to explode had already exploded, the impulsive words had already come out, and now she had no way to explain herself.
Then, she could see Lin Xiaolu's expression changing in front of her, from confusion, to relief, to determination.
"Delphinium."
She started by saying, "I've always felt uneasy. I've always felt that you've been too good to me. I don't know why I deserve your favor, and I don't know if I can live up to your investment, so I've always been uneasy."
"I'm afraid that if I expect too much and think I'm special, I'll be upset when my fantasy is shattered because of the huge gap."
"And now, I think I can probably figure out why you do these things."
"You, after all, still want to find the shadow of your mother in me, right?"
She lowered her eyes slightly: "I put myself in your perspective and thought about it. If in the future, a very good teammate of mine died and her child became a magical girl, perhaps I would also be unable to resist looking for something familiar in her."
What weird things is this girl thinking about?
Cuiqiao couldn't help but sigh, and subconsciously wanted to deny it, but before she could say anything, Lin Xiaolu shook her head at her.
"I might still care a little bit, but after thinking about it more, I think I can care less."
She took two steps forward, got closer to Delphinium, lowered her head slightly, and looked deeply into those clear eyes:
——"Well, in that case, can I also treat you as my mother?"
(End of this chapter)
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