The 30-Year-Old Magical Girl - Chapter 63

Gradually.

Slide.

Gradually.

Slide.

“…Xianjie, can you stop already?”

“Aw, just a little fun~”

Tidal closed her eyes and turned her head away, refusing to look at her arm as Chen Xi continued teasing her.

After a while, Chen Xi finally stopped and proudly examined the faint mark she had managed to leave.

“Wow! Look, it really left a mark!”

She held up Tidal’s arm as though she had just made an important scientific discovery.

“…You’re impossible.”

Tidal sighed helplessly.

They were in Chen Xi’s bedroom. After leaving the rooftop, Tidal had been “invited” back to her home.

At first, they had simply spent the afternoon together.

They scrolled through their phones, chatted about random things, and generally behaved much as they had when they were dating.

But then Chen Xi, apparently inspired by something she had been reading, suddenly made an unusual proposal.

“Let’s run an experiment!”

“An experiment?”

Tidal looked up from her phone and turned toward Chen Xi, who was lying beside her.

“I want to see whether a magical girl’s body can actually behave like a human body.”

“…Huh?”

Tidal blinked in confusion.

Chen Xi nodded enthusiastically.

“You said magical girls’ bodies are formed from magic particles, right? So aside from their appearance, can those bodies really reproduce all the normal characteristics of a human body?”

She tilted her head.

“Don’t you find that interesting?”

“I don’t.”

Tidal immediately shook her head.

“No, I do.”

Chen Xi quickly grabbed Tidal’s hand.

“Let’s test it!”

“No. I don’t want to.”

“Too bad. I do.”

Chen Xi grinned.

“Take off your coat.”

“…”

With her secret already in Chen Xi’s hands, Tidal knew she had little room to argue.

Reluctantly, she removed her outer coat, revealing the ornate magical-girl outfit underneath.

“Give me your arm.”

“Th-this feels wrong…”

Tidal hesitated.

“What if it leaves a mark? Someone might see it and become suspicious.”

Her mind immediately flashed to the suspicious looks You Xi and Mo Li might give her.

“What’s wrong with that?” Chen Xi asked.

“When we were together before, you never seemed this worried.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Tidal’s excuse immediately collapsed.

She reluctantly extended her arm.

“Hehe~”

Chen Xi carefully held Tidal’s delicate arm.

She examined it with exaggerated seriousness, as though she were conducting an important medical experiment.

“Here should be fine.”

Tidal sighed.

“This is ridiculous.”

Chen Xi ignored her complaint and continued with her little experiment.

“It’s… ticklish.”

Tidal frowned at the strange sensation.

Chen Xi continued for a while before finally pulling away.

Tidal looked at her arm.

A faint mark was visible on her skin.

Chen Xi’s eyes immediately lit up.

“It worked!”

She looked delighted.

“So magical girls’ bodies really aren’t that different from humans after all.”

She examined the result with great satisfaction.

“I wonder if the same applies to other parts of the body…”

“Hehe.”

Tidal immediately gave her a suspicious look.

“You’re so childish.”

“This is research.”

Chen Xi raised her chin proudly.

“Academic pursuit.”

“Whatever.”

Tidal sighed, then cautiously asked the question that had been bothering her.

“…So does this mean you’ll keep my secret now?”

“Like that?”

Chen Xi widened her eyes in disbelief.

“How long were we together again?”

Tidal froze.

Why was she bringing that up now?

A familiar sense of guilt began to rise inside her.

“Compensate me.”

“…What?”

“You have to compensate me.”

Chen Xi’s tone was firm.

“I’m sorry about what happened.”

Tidal lowered her eyes.

She hesitated before forcing the next words out.

“If there’s something I can do…”

“You can.”

Chen Xi nodded immediately.

“We dated for four years.”

She held up a finger.

“So you’ll fulfill ten of my requests.”

Tidal stared at her.

“After ten requests, we’re even. After that, we can either continue being friends or go our separate ways.”

Chen Xi’s expression became more serious.

“Whether you’re Tidal or You Dong won’t matter to me anymore.”

“And I won’t tell You Xi your secret.”

Her tone was surprisingly casual, as though she were discussing an ordinary agreement.

Tidal thought about it for a moment.

“But… four years together, and only ten requests?”

“Hmm.”

Chen Xi considered it.

“Then twenty.”

“No, ten is fine…”

Tidal immediately accepted the original number.

She had a feeling Chen Xi would keep increasing it if given the chance.

“So…”

Tidal looked at her.

“What kind of requests are we talking about?”

“I’ll think of them as I go.”

Chen Xi laughed.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

Tidal sighed.

“Then I’ll go home. Call me when you’ve thought of one.”

She turned toward the door, hoping to escape before Chen Xi came up with something else.

But Chen Xi quickly stepped in front of her.

“Wait.”

Tidal stopped.

“Is there something else?”

Chen Xi didn’t answer.

Instead, she walked out of the room and headed toward the living room as though she were going to get something.

Tidal waited.

A moment later, she faintly heard the refrigerator opening and closing.

Then Chen Xi returned.

She was holding a box of chocolates.

“Eat this.”

Tidal stared at the box.

“…Chocolate?”

Chen Xi smiled.

“I’ll feed you.”