âWhy hasnât big brother come back yetâŠâ
Keke complained as she leaned against the windowsill. âItâs already so late. Teacher Shion didnât drag him into something dangerous again, did she?â
Inside a private room at the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau, the celebration wasnât over yet.
When the former bureau chief heard that Keke had won the championship, he was so happy he paid out of his own pocket for them to celebrate properly.
So Susan booked the whole hotel without hesitation, spending freely.
Not only people from the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau came to celebrate; some competitors who had participated in the contest earlier also showed up to join the festivities.
They partied until well into the night. Keke felt a bit tired and stepped outside to get some fresh air.
âHmph, big brother and big sister are just like that.â
She muttered to herself. At that moment she glanced to the side and realized the panda girl had somehow slipped outside. The girl was holding a bottle and was chugging it straight into the panda headâso far, no one had ever managed to take off that panda mask.
âIsnât it inconvenient to eat and drink like that?â
âNot really, you just get used to it.â
The panda girl copied Keke by leaning on the railing and looking out. âBig brother and big sister are really annoying, arenât they, Keke?â
âYeah, is your sister that troublesome?â
âSuper troublesome.â
The panda girl muttered and listlessly shook the panda head. âSometimes I want her to play with me, but she ignores me. Then at night she insists on holding me and watching me sleep, using me as a pillow and almost strangling me every night.â
â...Isnât that kind of nice?â Keke said.
âWhatâs so nice about that?â
Keke curled her lips. âIf it were my brother and I wanted to sleep together, heâd kick me down from the bed so Iâd have to sleep on the floor.â
The panda head listened blankly for a moment, then nodded. âOh, then my sister is actually pretty good...â
Suddenly she realized something was off. Sheâd come to gripe about her sister, not praise her, so she quickly added angrily, âAnd another thing, we agree to eat together, but she eats first and brings me leftovers to heat up. She always makes me eat leftovers!â
âMy brother throws cold food at me and tells me to heat it myself,â Keke thought, âmost of the time he just gives me money to buy my own food.â
â...Also, my sister used to hum to soothe me to sleep, but then she put a tape recorder playing a lullaby next to me to fool me, and itâs super noisy so I canât sleep!â
âMy brother would just knock me out to make me sleep.â
â......â
âIs that your real brother?â
âAbsolutely, genuine.â Keke sighed. âYou arenât trying to show off your sister, are you?â
âNo no.â
The panda head sounded a little apologetic. âI mean, you know how their family isââ
âItâs fine. Most of the time we get along well. And my brother has a lot going on every day. We rarely get to play together.â
âMm, same here. Sometimes she gets tired and tells me to go play by myself because Iâm too troublesome.â
âRight, right, exactly like that.â Keke sympathized. âShe acts like sheâs on a different plane, thinks I donât understand anything, and refuses to tell me things. Hmph.â
âYeah. I actually understand why she does those things. I know she cares about me,â the panda girl said quietly. âBut she always pretends not to care. Itâs annoyingâeverythingâs left for me to guess.â
âI think thatâs better,â Keke pondered.
The panda girl tilted her head. âHuh? Why?â
âBecause whenever I imagine my brother suddenly being very affectionate and overly gentle with me,â Keke shivered, âitâs disgustingâŠâ
The panda girl immediately laughed. âHaha, whatâs up with you? Your brother cares about you and you find it gross? If he was genuinely gentle, you might actually be happy.â
âMaybeâŠâ
Keke was about to agree, but she remembered the fake brother they had met when the captain had captured herâthe one she had kicked and left dead by the roadside.
âNo way.â
âEh?â
âAnyway, itâs just gross.â
The panda girl scratched her head. âAlright, why?â
Keke looked troubled. âItâs a habit thing. If he had always been gentle, Iâd probably get used to it. But heâs been like that since childhoodâaloof, but still watching over me properly. In my heart, thatâs my brother. If he suddenly turned warm and affectionate, Iâd feel alienated and disgustedâŠâ
âTrue.â
The panda girl murmured while staring at the night sky. âSame with me. My sister has always been like that. If one day she suddenly said cheesy things like âI really like you,â Iâd feel gross too.â
âSiblings are like that.â
Keke patted her panda head.
Then she wondered why the girlâs head was so small and pinched the mask, unable to reach any face inside. âEveryone has their own way of relating. No need to force change or envy others. Who knows if itâs actually better.â
Just like Yiyi.
Keke had envied that sisterly bond before, but in the end, the sistersâ relationship wasnât necessarily better than hers with her brother.
Even if they had cold wars or fought, between brothers and sisters there was always family beneath it all.
No one ever intended to hurt the other.
Sometimes a seemingly great relationship hides resentment and hatred beneath.
So Keke was content with how she and her brother related.
âYeah, I donât want to change either. I know my sister has her reasons and sheâs put in more effort than I imagined. I just wish we could be closerâŠâ
Hearing the panda girl, Keke sighed. âWho wouldnât want that.â
Although satisfied with the current relationship, thinking that her brother and Teacher Shion were closer made her a little gloomy.
Possessiveness isnât limited to one kind of relationshipâbe it familial, friendship, or even teacher-student. Once youâre treated specially, you canât help wanting to monopolize it.
Everyoneâs selfish that way, thought Keke.
She wanted to monopolize Teacher Shionâs care and didnât want anyone else to take away her brotherâs attention.
But when two possessive people meetâŠ
the result isnât double joy, itâs double sourness.
âSometimes trying too hard backfires,â the panda girl said softly. âThe more you rush to make things better, the more you mess them up. Even siblings can break apart if they donât handle things right. Doing nothing might sometimes be best, but doing nothing feels so uneasy. Being a little sister is hard.â
Keke had nothing to argue with there.
Being Jiang Siâs sister was pretty easyâŠ
At least for Keke, she hardly needed to do anything for Jiang Si. Although she wanted to help, her brother would probably just find her annoying.
For Keke, as long as her brother was safe, there was nothing else to worry about.
Jiang Si handled studies and lifeâshe just had to not be a nuisance, and sheâd be a good sister.
âIf only I could be as strong as Ruri, then my sister wouldnât leave me behind.â
âDonât worry, family ties arenât that fragile,â Keke comforted. âJust try your best, theyâll understand.â
After all, her brother wouldnât demand she become like Teacher Shion. That wouldnât be familial love, it would be control.
âMm.â
âEven if he rarely says it, and sometimes seems fierce or cold, a brother is still a brother. Have faith, they wonât abandon their sister!â
The panda girl suddenly smiled and hugged Keke. âMm.â
âHeh, Iâm a worse sister, but my brother hasnât abandoned me either.â
âYour brother is really nice.â Remembering Jiang Siâs earlier scolding of Keke, the panda girl added, âEven if he doesnât show it.â
âMy brother is like that, I think heâs just shy,â Keke said seriously. âHeâs the type who gets embarrassed expressing feelings. He cares a lot but must act aloof. Like before, he was actually satisfied with my grades but insisted they werenât good enoughâŠâ
âAre you sure that isnât just your rose-colored glasses?â the panda girl whispered. âI feel like he really isnât satisfied.â
âYou donât understand my brother more than I do!â Keke tugged the panda girlâs mask furiously. âHe definitely thinks that!â
âOkay, okay, Iâm wrong. Your brother cares a lot about you!â
The two little sisters laughed. The panda girl hugged Keke and gazed out at the night. âAre we friends, Ruri?â
âNo.â
âHmmâŠâ
âCall me Keke and weâre friends.â
The panda girl froze, then happily tapped Kekeâs forehead. âHmph, you scared me, Keke!â
âWhatâs your name then?â
âLeia.â
âLeia?â Keke found the name uncommon but nodded. âYou should come visit Beihai!â
âNo way, Beihaiâs Azure Cloud Sect is too scary. Iâm not brave enough to go.â
âItâs not scary at allâŠâ
The two chattered on. Suddenly the night sky outside burst into brilliant colors.
The panda girl panicked and leaned forward to look toward the neon-like display.
âSo many magical girls?â
âThey must be facing a Disaster Beast,â Keke craned her neck to look. âWhere is that?â
âGuangzhou. My sister is still in Guangzhou!â
âShould be okay, so many magical girlsâŠâ
The panda girl fell silent for a moment and then took off, âI have to go check.â
âHey, wait!â
Seeing the panda girl leap down, Keke quickly transformed and followed, notifying Susan and Yiyi on the way.
It never hurts to report when heading to South China; itâs dangerous there.
But Guangzhou?
Keke felt puzzled. Wasnât that where the championship prize had been awarded by the Disaster Control Bureau? Why such a commotion?
Could it be Teacher Shion�
She felt uneasy. If Jiang Si had gone to South China, Teacher Shion probably came too. She might not know where or how, but Shion would certainly come if Jiang Si was there.
Could Shion be trying to reclaim the championship prize for her?
Keke felt a bit vain thinking that and then scolded herself. Teacher Shion wouldnât bother with such trivial things.
âLeia, slow down!â
She kept close behind Leia and also intended to head to Guangzhou to check things out.
But before theyâd gone far there came a low roar that spread across all of South China!
In the next moment, a colossal golden Calamity Dragon, exuding a holy and majestic aura, beat its wings and soared into the sky!
The dazzling golden radiance and the earth-shaking cry sent the panda girl tumbling backward!
Keke hurriedly grabbed her. The two looked up at the arrogant golden Calamity Dragon hovering in the air.
The golden light cloaked all of South China, almost turning it into daytime!
âItâs like the SunâŠâ
The panda girl whispered, stunned and dazed.
Keke was slightly surprised too. She stared at the enormous Disaster Beast and wondered if that might be Teacher Shionâs arrival.
The aura clearly belonged to an S-rank Disaster Beast, and probably only people from Azure Cloud Sect could handle it.
Still, she wasn't shocked. Having seen Teacher Shionâs power before, few things surprised Keke.
It was that sun-like unleashing of mana that made Keke think of Teacher Shion.
Not that Teacher Shion was a Disaster Beastâthat would be rude.
And magical girls donât turn into Disaster Beasts!
It was the arrogant, wanton display of magical energy and presence that reminded her of Shionâs style: the grand opening move Shion taught, the âHeavenâs Desolationâ finger moveâmaybe powerful people all fought like that.
âI need to find my sister!â
The panda girl panicked and rose to run, and her panda mask fell off.
Amid the Disaster Beastâs roar, Keke and Leia froze.
Keke looked at the panda girl. After the mask fell, there was nothing insideâcompletely empty.
âWhereâs your head?â
Before Keke could ask, the panda girl hurriedly pulled the mask back on. âThis is actually a trickâeyes on the head and the real eyes are on the chestâŠâ
At once Yiyi, Susan, An Shiyu, the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau magical girls, and the local contestants who had attended the celebration all rushed out.
âKeke, donât run off!â
The Beihai magical girls landed, while the local contestants immediately flew toward Guangzhou. âWeâre going first!â
Another roar sent golden rain cascading from the Calamity Dragonâs body.
The countless colorful light points representing the magical girls exploded into brilliant bursts!
Explosions rolled out beneath the dragon in the sky, continuous and deafening.
Magnificent and dazzling!
Keke watched the panda girl fearlessly head toward Guangzhou and grabbed her. âWait! Itâs too dangerous for you alone.â
She glanced back at Yiyi and the others. âHer sister is in Guangzhou. I want to go with her and see, Captain.â
Not as a friend, but as a teammate applying to join the mission.
Li Yi looked up at the Golden Calamity Dragon King and took a deep breath.
Then she asked Susan, An Shiyu, and Peony, âWhat do you think?â
An Shiyu nodded. âIt looks like the magical girls there are in a tough fight. We should go help.â
After all, the Golden Calamity Dragon King is probably Jiang Siâs doing, so itâs not that dangerous.
Itâs mostly just a color change; aside from being larger, itâs not that different from the original Disaster Dragon.
Maybe he came because of Kekeâs Dream Coreâno wonder they left in such a hurry.
Susan nodded. âNo problem.â
Peony: âI want to go back to sleep.â
âFine, then letâs all go.â
âWait, I didnât agree!â
Ignoring Peony, Silver Lotus walked up to Keke. âLetâs go. We canât leave South Chinaâs magical girls stranded. Winning the championship deserves a response.â
âMm!â
Keke picked up the panda girlâindeed very light. There was no one inside at all!
Her heart stirred. She planned to ask what was going on later; with so many people around, it wasnât the time to force the issue.
Holding the panda tight, she wouldnât let her go.
As they prepared to fly to Guangzhou with the other Beihai magical girls, a girl with gray pupils stepped forward and stood before them.
âOh.â
A girl wearing a black magical outfit smiled calmly and waved to them.
âLong time no see, Susan, Yiyi, and Peony. You didnât slack offâsurprising.â
All the Beihai magical girls went quiet.
Even Keke widened her eyes in disbelief.
âSenior Hyacinth!â
âOh, isnât this Keke?â
Hyacinth smiled gently and reached out her hand. âGive Leia to me.â