Lin Yun and An Ya were childhood sweethearts.
Since a very young age they had been in the same class and became friends. An Ya was a very lively and mischievous girl, so gender never became a barrier to their friendship. They got along really well and were inseparable.
However, there came a short period of time when, as they both gradually grew up and entered adolescence, they started to become aware of the differences between their genders, making their interactions somewhat awkward. Also, because they went to different schools after advancing to the next educational level, they began to drift apart.
Until one day, an event caused An Ya to re-enter Lin Yun's life, turning everything upside down.
—An Ya had become a Magical Girl.
She emerged in front of him like a resolute angel, saving both Lin Yun and the people around from sudden danger.
Strong, steadfast, beautiful.
The childhood playmate had become someone to be admired from afar, so different from the tomboyish troublemaker in his memories that he even felt she was somewhat a stranger.
But An Ya was happy, for she felt she had a friend to share her secret with, and that this friend was her once somewhat estranged childhood sweetheart. Their relationship was rekindled, killing two birds with one stone.
However, being a Magical Girl was not a relaxed identity. The number of Remnant Beasts in the city kept increasing and getting stronger, and there came a day when An Ya was completely overwhelmed by the never-ending stream of enemies.
That's when Lin Yun stepped in, and so, he too became a Magical Girl.
After that, they encountered many things, met more companions, and went through more perilous battles but ultimately persevered and even became heroes who saved the city.
In the end, as an adult, Lin Yun gave up the power and identity of a Magical Girl and returned to a normal life.
To say it was normal, but it wasn't quite normal; after all, his wife was a Magical Girl.
He and An Ya were married.
The two lived a life filled with love, had a cute daughter and enjoyed family happiness. Everything seemed quite natural, with the hero who saved others from crises hanging up his armor to return to a peaceful and happy life.
It should have been like that.
"It should have..."
In the crowded hustle of the early morning, Lin Yun was squeezed among the commuters on the train, staring numbly at the scenery outside the window as always.
A week had passed since he found out that his daughter had become a Magical Girl.
Perhaps because he had poured out his true feelings for the first time in a long while that night, Lin Yun felt that the atmosphere between him and Lin Xiaolu had improved a bit. At least when they were together at home, his daughter would give him a symbolic glance instead of completely ignoring him and treating him like air, as she did when their relationship was at its worst.
In this way, it could be considered a small step forward in repairing their father-daughter relationship.
He was somewhat relieved.
Regarding the safety of his daughter being a Magical Girl, he chose to stay in contact with Hong Siyu, asking her to keep an eye on Lin Xiaolu as an official from the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, prioritizing his daughter's safety.
Lin Yun somehow sensed that Hong Siyu might have some romantic feelings for him, so now that he was actively contacting her, not bringing up the matter at all felt somewhat like he was being a scoundrel, wanting to make that relationship clear.
But Hong Siyu kept denying it, claiming she couldn't even remember the nonsense she spouted while drunk that night, and told him not to take it seriously.
The matter was thus shelved.
As for what Lin Yun did that night after taking out the Heart Blossom.
He wanted to try transforming.
The identity of a Magical Girl had long become a distant memory for him, and the feeling of fighting and even killing the Remnant Beasts had also been forgotten. He could hardly remember what it felt like to battle.
Had he really fought against such monsters as a matter of course?
The thought unconsciously crossed his mind.
In truth, although he had retired, strictly speaking, he hadn't completely lost the power of a Magical Girl. Regardless of the issues involved, he should still be able to transform.
However, that night, his attempt to transform failed.
As he reached for the Heart Blossom, there was no response at all.
The dust-covered Heart Blossom was just like a truly inanimate object, showing no change whatsoever.
This left Lin Yun unsure whether to feel relieved or worried.
Relief came from the fact that he seemed to really have lost his power; many of the thoughts that had tortured him in his mind had dissipated to some extent. However, he worried that without his power, he might not be able to assist his daughter when she faced crises she couldn't resolve on her own.
As a result, he couldn't use the identity of a Magical Girl to tell her certain things.
Yes, he had once wanted to reach out to his daughter as a Magical Girl.
As a father, he couldn't tell her things that might not be believed even if spoken out loud, but as a "senior Magical Girl," he had enough standing and reasons to speak.
To tell her about the dangers of being a Magical Girl.
To tell her what this power meant.
To tell her who the enemies really were.
To tell her how to make herself stronger to better protect herself.
If it was a senior Magical Girl speaking these truths, his daughter would have no reason to not take them seriously.
He had so much he wanted to say to his daughter, but he didn't know how to begin.
The silence of the Heart Flower made him abandon this idea.
Whether he had truly lost his power, or he no longer qualified to be a Magical Girl, or for some other reason, none of it seemed important anymore.
During this period, a Remnant Beast appeared in the city again. Fortunately, it was eliminated by Lin Xiaolu without much trouble, and the subsequent damage was also minimal.
The only thing that surprised Lin Yun was that unlike the previous television interview, the media's reaction to this Remnant Beast attack was sparse.
He wasn't sure if it was a sign of the times changing, that the Abnormal Strategy Bureau had started taking a low-profile approach, or if people's attention had shifted elsewhere. Regardless, despite the increasing frequency of Remnant Beasts in the city and the emergence of a new Magical Girl, the incidents didn't spark much public discussion.
Even the TV station's interview seemed to vanish after it was broadcast, and the videos he had found online were quickly buried by new content from the TV station's official website.
In the era when he served as a Magical Girl, both the media and the public loved to make Magical Girls the center of conversation.
His mind filled with countless thoughts, Lin Yun followed the flow of people to his company and began another day at work.
It was still the familiar and tedious tasks, but perhaps due to a shift in his mindset, he felt that the previous sense of anxiety had diminished considerably.
He stayed busy until noon. After eating his work meal and while sitting in the office processing unfinished paperwork, Lin Yun suddenly received a phone call.
The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
Although he didn't know who it was, he still pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear:
"Hello?"
All he got was a hissing busy tone.
Frowning slightly, Lin Yun waited two seconds, then asked again:
"Hello? Who is this?"
"...Be careful."
"What did you say?"
"Hiss."
"Hello?"
"Be careful of tonight's Remnant Beast."
A single sentence made Lin Yun's eyes widen.
"What do you mean? Who are you?"
He couldn't help but press on, but after saying just that, the other end of the call went silent.
Before long, the hissing noise turned into the busy tone of a disconnected call.