Magical Girl Heavy Dependence

Chapter 91, The Taste of Orange Candy

Cheng Chen and Zhong Ai walked side by side on the path along the Guanjiang River.

Guanjiang River is a long river that runs through the entire city of Yincheng and flows into the sea. The existence of this river has established Yincheng's status as an ancient capital with a history of thousands of years.

In the dim light of early morning, there were few pedestrians on the road, and the only sound was the crashing of waves against the riverbank.

"The morning sun feels so nice."

"Won't it be a little cold?"

Zhong Ai seemed to be in a particularly good mood, walking ahead of Cheng Chen, and suddenly transformed.

Magical girl Aobozu pointed ahead: "Brother, how about a race to see who can fly to the sandbar first! The loser has to grant the winner one wish!"

"No comparisons, and don't change your appearance randomly. Once you debut, the popularity you accumulate as 'Azure' will determine how far you can go. I don't want people to post photos of 'Azure' walking with a young man online."

"Okay, okay!"

The magical light flashed and disappeared in an instant, and Cang Qing transformed back into Zhong Ai. "When you start nagging, you're just like my mother."

After saying that, she abandoned Cheng Chen and ran away with small, hopping steps.

Cheng Chen followed behind her at a distance, casually observing her back.

Her long, straight black hair was untouched, and her body was slender and supple. She had her hands behind her back, her fingers interlocked, as if she was waiting for him to catch up with her and take the initiative to talk to her.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

He took the initiative to speak, and although the topic was boring, he didn't find this aimless wandering interesting either.

"Hmm... let's walk a little further like this."

Zhong Ai didn't turn around; instead, she quickened her pace.

Cheng Chen followed silently behind her.

It soon came to an end.

The blockade blocked the way forward. Looking out along the river, one could see a scene of devastation in the distance. Helicopters were coming and going, and several rescue boats were anchored on the river to provide support.

"Excuse me, the area ahead is a post-disaster reconstruction area. We haven't finished clearing it yet, and there is a high risk of collapse."

The workers wearing safety helmets waved to stop them.

Zhong Ai moved closer.

"Is it serious?"

"Ugh... this is probably the worst magical disaster in the last decade." The staff member put his hands on his hips and complained, "These magical girls, if they want to fight, can't they go somewhere far away where there are no people? Why do they have to fight in the city? This isn't a tokusatsu show."

For ordinary people, they have no idea that what they are fighting in the Dragon's Blood Zone are extraterrestrial beasts, demons, or some other kind of thing.

When it comes to magic, there are only magical girls.

Naturally, they bear part of the responsibility for the destruction of the city.

"I see."

Zhong Ai sighed, "Magical girls are so wicked."

"You can't say that," the staff member shook his head. "If it weren't for their desperate protection of us, it wouldn't just be the Dragon's Footprint District that would have suffered; the entire Yin City would have been affected. I'm still standing here unharmed and speaking thanks to them... What I said earlier was just complaining; don't take it seriously."

"Perhaps there are bad people among them."

Zhong Ai calmly shook her head. "This disaster could have been avoided. It turned out like this because of the selfish desires of some of them."

Cheng Chen stepped forward and took her hand.

"Magical girls are not saints. They make mistakes, and they may be deceived or misled, but that doesn't change the fact that they are good girls. Perhaps they also feel guilty for not stopping the disaster sooner, but it's not their responsibility."

After finishing speaking, Cheng Chen smiled at the staff and asked, "Excuse me, is it still possible to go up to the sandbar in the river?"

"Ah...uh, I'm sorry."

The staff realized, "A huge crater with a diameter of over 100 meters was blown up in Longyin District. A lot of debris has fallen into the Guanjiang River. Shipping has been suspended, and there are no more ferries going to the sandbar for sightseeing."

"Okay, thank you."

Cheng Chen smiled kindly at him.

The two turned around and walked back the way they came.

The city buses seem to still be operating; just as I passed the bus stop, a bus pulled into the station.

Zhong Ai didn't let go of Cheng Chen's hand, but instead led him to the car.

"Where are we going?" Cheng Chen asked.

Zhong Ai pulled him to sit in the last row, gently shaking her head: "Stay with me for a bit, brother."

Sitting on a bus with no known destination, swaying and drifting aimlessly.

The disaster did not diminish the city's vitality; on the contrary, many resilient people are still doing what they should be doing.

Some romantics even laid flowers in the direction of Longyin District from street corners.

"When I was flying in the sky before, I always felt that I was far away from this city."

Zhong Ai leaned closer to him, shoulder to shoulder.

The citrus-scented fragrance of a young girl's hair quietly slipped into Cheng Chen's nostrils.

"After becoming a magical girl, I never thought about helping or saving anyone. Because my mother died at the hands of 'Feipeng,' I wanted to prove her wrong and that I could defeat the demon without hurting others. She was just an incompetent magical girl. Justice was just her excuse. In reality, she was weak and afraid that she was no match for that demon, which is why she killed my mother and the demon without any mercy."

She spoke in a low voice, pausing for a moment.

"But I seem to have gone even further than her."

"Do you feel guilty?" Cheng Chen offered no words of comfort.

Zhong Ai nodded: "Perhaps one day, someone like me will find out that all of this was caused by a magical girl named 'Cang Qing,' and by then I will have returned to being an ordinary person like 'Fei Peng,' married with children... How will they view me then?"

The bus pulled into the station, and new passengers boarded.

Zhong Ai huddled closer to Cheng Chen, pressing her shoulder even closer.

"I'm sorry, brother, I didn't want to talk about these things on our date." She lowered her eyelashes sadly. "It's just that my mind is a mess, and so many thoughts keep popping up uncontrollably—about Mom, about me, and about you."

The bus drove onto the overpass, and across the river, in the distance, stood the Qitian Tower, the landmark of Longyin District.

The building miraculously survived and still stands.

Cheng Chen took out her phone and said to Zhong Ai, "Let's take a picture."

click.

A selfie of the two of them.

Zhong Ai pursed her lips and said, "This is actually our first photo together."

"Haven't you filmed this before?"

"Before, it was only when you took me out that you took photos of me, some embarrassing, some laughing, some crying... This is the first time we've all appeared in the same frame." Zhong Ai received the photos Cheng Chen sent, hugged her phone tightly, and said, "Thank you, I'll keep them safe."

"There will be more in the future," Cheng Chen promised.

"More?"

"Well, after all, I'm your producer and your older brother."

Cheng Chen responded casually.

Zhong Ai lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

At this moment, the bus stopped again at the station, and Zhong Ai grabbed his hand and got off the bus.

……

This is an amusement park.

It boasts the largest castle in Yincheng, along with a range of attractions such as roller coasters and carousels. Coupled with the promotion of two animated films every year, it has always been a paradise for children and young couples. Even tourists who travel from afar to Yincheng consider it a popular tourist destination.

Cheng Chen and Zhong Ai had been here many times before.

Back then, I was mainly just playing around, and I could wear a little dress and dance with Sister Rabbit and Uncle Fox. Now, when I come back, my feelings are completely different.

Zhong Ai looked up at the amusement park sign and stared blankly into space.

Cheng Chen glanced at it and, naturally, saw that it was not open for business.

But it's okay.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly, and the tightly closed amusement park gates opened wide to welcome them.

"It's... become like this," Zhong Ai murmured blankly. "It's different from before."

"Nicole releases a new animated film IP every year. Whichever one becomes a hit, the park will renovate the buildings and sets based on that IP. Over the years, of course it's changed." Cheng Chen strolled with her among the various rides. "Haven't you come even once in the last few years?"

Zhong Ai shook her head.

Her father wouldn't bring her to a place like this.

As I grew older and stopped being a child, I didn't make any friends to play with.

"I wonder if the Exploding Bunny's tower is still there?"

She said this and then perked up to search.

"Bomb Bunny" is the animated series based on her favorite bunny doll. It was popular for a while about seven or eight years ago, but it wasn't particularly popular, so there was no sequel.

Cheng Chen brought her here to play. In the center of the amusement park, there was a building that imitated the tower in the cartoon. In the end, the little rabbit detonated a bomb and died together with the bad guy, the gray wolf, saving Zootopia.

Following the road signs and their memories, the two found the location and discovered that the tower was still there, but it had been transformed into a spiral ice crystal tower shaped like an ice cream cone.

Based on the currently popular animation IP "Frost Magic", it tells the story of a magical girl who manipulates frost to find her way home.

Zhong Ai was somewhat disappointed.

Cheng Chen scratched his head, stepped forward, and pointed his hand at the ice crystal tower.

Zhong Ai pressed his hand down and shook her head: "Let's go, brother."

Cheng Chen stopped casting the spell and continued strolling with her in the amusement park.

After walking for a while, Zhong Ai suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow!"

The two found a pink rabbit statue in a corner of the amusement park, and she quickly ran over to it.

Zhong Ai laughed happily, her smile innocent and pure.

"Xiao Ai, this is what you wanted to see, right?"

Cheng Chen asked, indicating that she hadn't taken him for a aimless stroll.

"Well, brother is half right."

"half?"

"Because I want to watch it with my brother." Chung Ai put two fingers together, "Neither of us can be missing."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze back to the pink rabbit.

"I used to think I would like Usagi forever. It feels like it was just yesterday that my brother took a picture of me with Usagi, and even now I still feel like a child, but it's been a long time since I watched cartoons."

Zhong Ai took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"To become a magical girl, to debut as an idol... Does that mean I'm already an adult, capable of deciding to do something like this?"

"..."

She lowered her head. "I want to be a child a little longer."

Cheng Chen didn't say anything, but just looked at the pink rabbit with her.

He could sense Zhong Ai's feelings, but he couldn't fully empathize or understand them, and Zhong Ai didn't tell him everything she said.

People can't understand each other. Even Jiang Fei would cry to him, afraid that she wouldn't be able to catch up with him.

Cheng Chen had never cared about other people's feelings before.

The two of them just watched the rabbit quietly. The roguish smile on the pink rabbit's face, though a little faded, seemed to never change.

……

On the way back, Zhong Ai gave him a piece of orange candy.

The two walked down the street, one in front of the other, each with a candy in their mouth.

He was supposed to take her home, but instead she followed him to his building.

"Thank you, brother."

At this moment, Zhong Ai's face was devoid of emotion. Her usual politeness, obedience, and poise had returned to the girl, overshadowing her hesitation and self-doubt.

I don't know if I've overcome them or just hidden them away.

"Yes, I'm very happy too."

Cheng Chen subconsciously wanted to touch her head, but halfway through his hand he remembered that this action might not be appropriate for an adult, so he stopped in mid-air.

Zhong Ai willingly placed her head into that palm.

"This is my first date," she said softly. "Maybe in my brother's eyes, it's just taking a little kid out to play."

Cheng Chen lowered his hand and looked at her.

"Do you know what my first date was like?" he suddenly asked.

Zhong Ai was taken aback, then shook her head.

"A crazy woman with a very low alcohol tolerance kept taking me drinking." Cheng Chen seemed to be reminiscing, yet also mocking herself. "She said some very ambiguous things, and I was very touched, so I prepared to kiss her."

Zhong Ai held her breath and quickly asked, "And then?"

"Then, when I got close, the crazy woman threw up in my face."

Cheng Chen replied with a shrug, "My first date was filled with the smell of alcohol and vomit. Compared to that experience, taking pictures and strolling around in an empty amusement park is already perfect, right? I wonder if saying this will make you feel any better."

Zhong Ai lowered her eyelids slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

After a pause, Cheng Chen changed to a more formal tone: "I'm sorry, Xiao Ai. I'm actually not very good at these things, so this might not be the kind of date you're imagining..."

Before she finished speaking, Zhong Ai stood on tiptoe.

Her fragrant breath silenced Cheng Chen's words.

The sweet taste of orange candy immediately filled my mouth.

Cheng Chen was completely stunned.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhong Ai slowly separated and took a step back.

"elder brother."

She said it with an incredibly serious look in her eyes.

"Perhaps your first date smelled like alcohol and vomit, and every time you think about it, it makes you feel sad and regretful. But this kiss..." She pursed her lips, "I hope that every time you see me, you can remember that the kiss after our date tasted like orange candy."

"That way, when I talk about dating with other people, I won't only have painful memories anymore."

Cheng Chen didn't know how to answer.

Chung Ai put her finger to her lips, as if savoring the memory, then said earnestly:

"Actually, I don't want to just be a younger sister."

……

"What the hell! Seriously!"

Yan Xi stormed out of the elevator.

She was summoned to the company last night by a message, but the producer wasn't there. It was just a message sent by the company's HR department using his account to check on the safety of the company's magical girl trainees.

I waited all night, but there was still no news from the producer.

It wasn't until Jiang Fei arrived at the company early in the morning that she hurriedly went up to ask about the producer's situation.

"Um…"

Jiang Fei's expression and eyes were somewhat evasive, as if she had something difficult to say.

"Go find him yourself, I'll give you the address."

In the end, the female CEO ran away, leaving her only a map location.

Since the Yincheng subway was out of service, Yan Xi had no choice but to take the bus and find her way here.

As a result of road damage, the bus route was changed, forcing her to take a long detour.

They finally arrived at the producer's doorstep, only to be greeted by a small white dog with its tongue lolling out; no one was home.

"Where did the producer go?"

She arrived at the entrance of the apartment building, her mind preoccupied.

The sunlight outside was intense, so she raised her hand to shield her eyes and squinted.

Then, he froze.

She saw Zhong Ai stand on tiptoe and kiss the person she had been longing for.

hum-

A sudden ringing in my ears, followed by dizziness.

Yan Xi stood there, stunned, her mind blank.

……