Chương 80: Magical Girl Yuexi

Lin Che woke up in a hazy warmth, the familiar scent of flowers lingering around his nose.

Slowly opening his heavy eyelids, his consciousness was still a little hazy. He felt that the night before, when they slept in each other's arms, was the most peaceful sleep he had ever had since his rebirth, and even his mental fatigue seemed to have dissipated a lot.

The first two times he slept with Su Yuqing, he woke up first, looking at the girl sleeping soundly beside him with a mix of amusement and helplessness.

However, this time, the situation seems to be somewhat different.

When he finally regained full consciousness and his vision became clear, what came into view was a pretty face with a sly smile right in front of him.

Su Yuqing had woken up sometime earlier, and it seemed she had been awake for quite some time. She was lying next to him, her hands supporting her chin, her bright eyes fixed on him, and the curve of her lips was just right.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a pale golden halo over her soft hair, and her smiling eyes sparkled with a gentle light.

"Good morning, A-Che." Her voice, with the languidness unique to the morning, gently rang in Lin Che's ears like the most beautiful music.

Lin Che looked at her, his heart skipping a beat.

"Morning..."

He had barely managed to utter a single word when Su Yuqing leaned in close, her nose almost touching his, her warm breath brushing against his cheek, her smiling eyes curving into beautiful crescents.

"As a reward for waking you up," she drawled, her tone tinged with a hint of smugness and anticipation, "I want a good morning kiss."

Before Lin Che could react, she immediately added, her tone carrying just the right amount of grievance and threat: "You're not allowed to refuse, or I'll get really hurt!"

Looking at her smug expression that seemed to say, "I've seen through all your tricks," and the unwavering determination in her eyes, Lin Che could only sigh helplessly and resignedly close his eyes.

Su Yuqing's smile instantly became even brighter. Without the slightest hesitation, she lowered her head and gently kissed him.

This kiss, unlike the one at the doorstep last night, didn't carry the connotation of release and declaration. Instead, it was as gentle and sweet as the morning dew, with a hint of cautious probing and overflowing joy.

It didn't last long; it was just a light peck, like a feather. Su Yuqing got up contentedly, a smug smile on her face, and rolled off the bed beside him, her movements as light as a kitten.

"Okay, good morning kiss over!" Su Yuqing stretched and yawned, her face full of undisguised smugness. She then hummed a tuneless little tune and walked briskly toward the door.

"I'm going to wash up!" She turned around and winked at Lin Che, her smile as bright as the sunshine outside the window.

"Oh, and starting today, I'm going to drink more milk for breakfast!"

Lin Che looked at her skipping away with some confusion: "Didn't you used to dislike drinking milk?" He remembered that she used to complain about the taste of milk.

Su Yuqing had already reached the door when she heard this. She turned around, gave him a mysterious smile, and put her index finger to her lips in a "shh" gesture, but did not answer.

Lin Che watched her disappearing figure, shook his head helplessly, but a doting smile unconsciously appeared on his lips. What mischief is this girl up to now?

In the following days, life seemed to return to its usual tranquility.

The school courses proceeded as scheduled, and Lin Che and Su Yuqing maintained their tacit understanding as "ordinary classmates." However, in a corner where no one was paying attention, the sweetness and tacit understanding between them when their eyes met was even stronger than before.

Lin Che, on the other hand, persisted in his special "mission"—searching for Luo Bingli on campus.

Despite the previous misunderstanding, Lin Che's attitude towards Luo Bingli remained unchanged. He still wanted to approach her slowly and without putting pressure on her, to melt the ice in her heart.

However, after the misunderstanding last time and the sudden hug in the mall, Luo Bingli's attitude towards Lin Che underwent some subtle changes.

She learned of her friend's deep and unique feelings for him, and also felt the sincere and warm kindness in Lin Che.

This realization made her feel an indescribable awkwardness and... a subtle, almost imperceptible avoidance when facing Lin Che.

She no longer coldly ignored or directly rejected him as she had at the beginning, but she also wouldn't take the initiative to get close to him. Even when Lin Che "accidentally" met her, her eyes would subconsciously dart away, as if she didn't know how to face Yu Qing's "brother" and this "friend" who showed her unique care.

Several times, just as Lin Che was about to step forward and say something, she would hurriedly leave like a frightened little rabbit, making up various excuses and leaving behind a thin and slightly flustered figure.

Lin Che could sense that it wasn't disgust, but a more complex emotion, tinged with helplessness and deliberate avoidance. Therefore, he didn't force her, but still gave her space and respect within his capabilities.

Occasionally, he would leave a bottle of orange juice in her favorite corner or a small bag of her favorite snacks next to the bench where she often sat, and then quietly leave. He believed that as long as he persisted, one day she would be willing to truly open her heart to him.

At the same time, Lin Che did not relax his control over his own power.

Besides his nighttime magic training, he also kept an eye on the system's notifications regarding small-scale virtual infiltration.

These "minor troubles" that might be nothing more than a matter of lifting a finger or not even worth paying special attention to for Liuli are, in fact, valuable opportunities for him to hone his magic manipulation skills and become familiar with the rhythm of battle.

He no longer relied solely on instinct to fight, but instead strived to understand the essence of magic, to try more refined control techniques, and to analyze the weaknesses and behavior patterns of different types of Void Beasts.

Every battle is a valuable opportunity to accumulate experience, and every release and recovery of magic power makes him more proficient in controlling this power.

That night, the moonlight was as clear as water, and the starlight was bright.

Xingshuang stood alone on the roof of an abandoned factory, surrounded by faint energy fluctuations left over from the infiltration of the ethereal realm.

Just now, she used a smooth and fluid combination of techniques to completely eliminate the last void beast inside this small void bubble.

As the energy core crashed to the ground, the distorted dimensional bubble burst like a soap bubble, and the surrounding scenery quickly returned to normal, with the factory's outline becoming even clearer in the night.

As Xingshuang was preparing to leave quietly as usual, a strange yet exceptionally clear wave of magical energy suddenly came from not far behind her and was approaching her at an extremely fast speed.

Her body tensed instantly, and she turned around warily, her wand already in her hand, the tip of which glowing with a pinkish-gold light.

The next moment, a bright yellow streak of light descended from the night sky and gracefully stopped on the ground not far in front of her.

As the light faded, a tall and slender young woman appeared before her.

The girl wore a well-tailored bright yellow combat suit, simple yet elegant, which accentuated her beautiful figure. Her long, straight hair, also in the same shade, swayed gently in the night breeze, like the finest silk.

Her features were exquisite and bright, as dazzling as a blooming flower, and her bright amber eyes, like stars in the night sky, were now looking at Xingshuang with a friendly smile.

"That move was beautiful," the magical girl in the bright yellow combat suit said, her voice clear and melodious, like the sound of a wind chime.

She took a few steps forward, stopping some distance from Xing Shuang, tilted her head slightly, and smiled even more brightly: "My name is Yue tide, nice to meet you."

She paused, her bright eyes sparkling with curiosity, and continued, "And you? What's your code name?"