The intersection was quiet, and there weren’t many vehicles passing so early in the morning.

Dawn was only just breaking. Beihai’s mornings still held a damp chill, and their breaths came out in white mist.

Li Yi jogged in place, waiting for a while. Only after Jiang Si’s transformation had fully ended did she turn her head,

and with an expression as if they’d just casually met, she said:

“What a coincidence. Want to go for a run together?”

Her psychological resilience and control over her expression were both excellent.

A bright future awaited her.

Jiang Si compared her acting to Twins in his head, then shook his head and said, “No thanks. I’ll go home and check on Keke first.”

“Keke’s still asleep.”

Li Yi, who had been jogging in place, stopped and did some chest stretches. “She stayed up late last night waiting for you. White Fox came back and said you were fine before she went to sleep. It’s better not to wake her yet.”

Like something Keke would do.

“So come jogging with me. By the time we get back, Keke should be awake.”

“All right.”

For Jiang Si, it seemed suppressing the automatic transformation still wasn’t that practiced. Practicing while running would help.

Li Yi originally planned to jog slowly and chat with Jiang Si as they went.

The two of them rarely had a chance to talk alone. After all, most of the time Jiang Si vanished without a trace.

Even Keke had trouble finding him, let alone Li Yi, who was only a grade below him.

To begin with, Jiang Si hardly ever went to school before. It wasn’t easy to bump into him. Now he’d skipped a grade to take the college entrance exam and scored high, entering university right away—there’d be even fewer opportunities to meet....

Besides, Li Yi’s studies weren’t good enough to skip grades; she was aiming for the same university Jiang Si had taken the exam for.

But as soon as Jiang Si picked up his pace, Li Yi realized she had miscalculated.

He ran too fast!

Although to Jiang Si it was merely a jog, a moment’s inattention and he was about to vanish from sight.

There was no sign he intended to wait for her.

Forced, Li Yi had no choice but to use a bit of magic as she ran.

After all, she had stepped into the Blooming—oh wait, she couldn’t call it Blooming now, she had to call it Sprout—Magical Girl level. Even untransformed, she could use a portion of a Magical Girl’s power.

Like now, she attached mana to her feet so every step left faint sakura traces, increasing her speed.

Luckily Jiang Si was only jogging slowly.

Using all her strength plus the boost of Sprout-level mana, Li Yi finally caught up to the joggling Jiang Si.

“Wow, Senior, could you—slow—down a bit…”

Jiang Si glanced at her. “You still need practice.”

I’m not a PE student.

Li Yi inwardly complained, but when she asked, Jiang Si did actually slow down.

Though still a little quick, it was at least within the range of normal human running.

She gradually fell into step beside him. A faint scent of sweat came from the young man, but Li Yi didn’t dislike it.

They ran along the road until they reached the riverside path.

“Can you walk with me for a bit? I can’t run anymore…”

Maybe because she’d spent so much time around Keke, or maybe the two girls were just similar by nature, Li Yi fit so naturally beside Jiang Si.

Sometimes he unconsciously treated Li Yi like Keke,

even though he didn’t want another troublesome sister.

After stopping, the little girl bent over, hands on her knees, catching her breath for a moment.

She really wasn’t much different from Keke of old.

Maybe all little sisters were pretty much the same.

“Can I… call you big brother?”

Walking slowly and adjusting her breathing, Li Yi looked at the river glittering under the rising sun.

The girl gathered courage as she walked and glanced down at her feet, trying to make herself appear a little closer to his height.

When Jiang Si looked over, Li Yi panicked a little. “I mean, calling you Jiang Si sounds weird, like it’s rude. Calling you senior is too formal and distant, and Keke and I are very close friends, so—if I call you big brother like she does, won’t that be more fitting?”

“What’s fitting about that?”

Li Yi was at a loss for words and could only mutter to herself:

Isn’t it obvious from the height difference...?

That naming tactic had failed; she needed another approach, but her mind went blank.

Walking quietly behind Jiang Si, strolling by the river, was already pleasant enough.

The morning breeze caressed them. The weeping willows swayed with the water. Willow leaves brought moist coolness, fresh and crisp.

Everything made Li Yi feel comfortable and content.

“If you go to the heavens school, you won’t come back to regular school, right?”

“Why would I?”

“There was a time I went home to see my parents. They treated me better, but I still didn’t like it, so I cut off contact. I won’t be going back.”

“Oh.”

“Last night when I chatted with Keke waiting for you, she said she’d really like me to live with her.”

“Mm.”

“I’m actually good at cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, housework—I’m good at all of it.”

Jiang Si walked and, when they reached the riverside preparing to cross the bridge, glanced back at Li Yi. “What did you want to say?”

Her fragmented thoughts came out in broken words,

like a leaf falling into the river and the ripples splitting its reflection.

The rising sun lengthened their shadows and hid Li Yi’s slightly bowed face. The river’s outlines quivered and shimmered in the dawn. “So I’d be a very reliable, useful little sister.”

Whether it was imitation or simple contagion from proximity, Jiang Si really did mistake her for Keke for a moment.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a fish-like Disaster Beast leapt up out of the river!

Maybe a Mirror Beast.

Water splashed like rain. The beast’s fishtail slapped the air with a sharp cry and it dropped toward the two of them.

No one looked up.

The falling Disaster Beast hovered in midair, then splashed down, sending up an even larger wave.

It exploded into a shower of brilliant sakura petals.

A gentle breeze swept through. Pink clouds of petals fell like snow.

Amid the floral gale, a pale-pink Magical Girl who had transformed quietly stood with her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward. Her moist, sakura-like pupils blinked softly after the Disaster Beast, devoured by the petals, sank into the water behind her.

“I want to live with you. Forever, forever.”

Pink ripples spread underfoot. Sakura petals brushed Jiang Si’s lips and face, then settled into Silver Lotus’s hands.

The Magical Girl lightly bit a petal and whispered, “Brother.”

The sakura formed a thin silk-like layer over the water. Wind lifted the ripples. Petals compressed and then spread apart.

Jiang Si stepped on the sakura while walking toward the stone bridge, nodding.

“Return my track jacket first, Sakura Spirit.”

“I am not a sakura spirit!”

…

No matter. Jiang Si didn’t mind the idea of a sakura spirit—or whatever calling itself that—wanting to live at his house permanently.

From the start there were always many people staying at his place. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, he didn’t care.

But when Silver Lotus skipped and fluttered away like a sprite amid the sakura,

a little black dragon inside Jiang Si took a bite with disdain.

“What little sister! That brat doesn’t mind her manners and has plenty of schemes. Seeing the schoolgirl path blocked, she immediately plays the little sister angle. Devious to the core!”

Although the Emperor manipulated mana in her Golden Core and pedaled her metaphorical bike — she was still able to follow the outside scene. The brilliant sakura had actually captivated her a little.

In the Curse Realm she’d never seen such beautiful scenery. The cherry-colored magic left her with a fond feeling.

The idea of the girl wanting to become Jiang Si’s sister struck her as adorable.

When she heard the little black dragon’s criticism, the Emperor stepped in. “She probably doesn’t have that intention.”

“What do you mean she doesn’t, she’s full of thoughts! Mom, you don’t know—these little girls are precocious now, even elementary students are full of romance.”

“She seems to be a high schooler.”

“They all look like elementary students anyway. I’m familiar with this trick. In Douluo Continent and God-Inscribed Throne it’s recorded: first ‘little sister, little sister,’ then sleeping together, and soon she’s climbed up to become the woman! The intent is obvious!”

The little black dragon ground its teeth and complained, “Citing classics to seduce the boss — so sly. If he can’t resist, it’ll be bad. Sleeping with a schoolgirl is already dangerous…”

The Emperor felt helpless toward the little creature for a moment.

After pedaling her mental bicycle a few more times—i.e., operating her mana—the Emperor said softly, “It shouldn’t matter. She just looks small. And she might not actually have those thoughts you described.”

“Mom, you’re naive and don’t understand how treacherous people can be.”

Hearing the little black dragon speak like an old hand, the Emperor, who had once schemed and plotted with many people in the palace, couldn’t help but smile.

As for romance, she admitted she wasn’t exactly mature.

“If Jiang Si likes her, I don’t think it matters. Keep your ears to yourself, or else you might be punished later.”

“Hmph.” The little black dragon scoffed. “I’m not afraid. The boss can only be my mom’s. Only I know mom and thus have the right to woo dad!”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow. “You mean Lu Ya? I wonder when she’ll be found.”

“And you too, Mom!” The little black dragon flapped excitedly. “You’re my mom as well.”

“Me?” The Emperor was at a loss. “That has nothing to do with me.”

“Have confidence, Mom. With your looks, personality, and ability, my dad will definitely like you!” The little black dragon patted her chest, utterly confident. “Besides, you’ve already got me as a daughter. It’s practically like being pregnant before marriage. My dad will take responsibility! Mom, you can totally win him over!”

The Emperor felt a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

What was all this?

Pregnant before marriage? I only saved your life, not given birth to you with Jiang Si.

A brief, intrusive fantasy flitted through her mind and left her a little flushed.

“Stop babbling.” Once she calmed down, the Emperor shook her head. “I’m just a dead person.”

“A dead person is fine. We can have a ghost marriage. And you have the flesh of the Golden Calamity Dragon King. One day you can manifest a body and then be with dad!”

“Oh, what a fine fantasy.” The Emperor smiled faintly. “But I don’t like imagining impossible things.”

The only successful miracle she’d ever imagined was meeting Jiang Si.

For her, that already was a huge wonder and blessing.

“Believe in miracles, Mom. This is the world of Magical Girls. If you believe, miracles will surely happen!”

“Maybe think less about whether Li Yi will be okay.”

At the mention of Li Yi, the great white dragon fell silent for a moment, then stubbornly said, “One-eight-seven is Li Yi’s mother, seven-seven-eight is Qiang Wan’s mother, so there’s no problem!”

She stifled a laugh and didn’t take Lu Ya entirely seriously.

Thinking of the girls surrounding Jiang Si, she couldn’t help but worry a little for Miss Lu Ya.

Love—she hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

“We have to find a way to keep these vixens away from the boss, Mom…”

The Emperor tapped the little black dragon’s forehead, telling her not to act up.

This little creature chatted with her often, and she had come to care for it. She didn’t want it to offend Jiang Si and end up being erased.

In her Golden Core, she watched as Jiang Si entered the house. The graceful White Fox came over respectfully to greet him.

Then Keke poked her head out of the kitchen, grumbling while happily telling Jiang Si what they were going to eat today.

A faint loneliness and a little envy rose in the formerly empty heart.

Sure enough, the little black dragon’s idle chat had influenced her.

Thinking that, the Emperor couldn’t help but rub the little black dragon’s forehead again.

“You just watch. That’s already very good.”

The excitable little black dragon quieted down.

By the time Jiang Si stepped through the door, he was almost able to control his transformation.

Most importantly, on the way he’d learned to recognize the signs before an automatic transformation.

As long as he avoided being seen during those signs, there was no problem.

He checked homework. White Fox had already finished the readable part of Douluo Continent and had mostly finished Season of the Ji Family Cultivation.

She treated Douluo as homework and read Ji Family Cultivation for leisure—mixing work and rest.

Jiang Si frowned.

She hadn’t finished the five-volume Douluo and instead got obsessed with side stories, plunging into Ji Family Cultivation and The Ring of Mysteries, those dry, detail-heavy worldbuilding novels. Going down the web novel alley by the back door at the start; how would she conquer Tomato’s five years and Potato’s three years now!

Time to pull out the heavy-hitting content and give her a shock.

He grabbed White Fox’s phone in one swift move. “Don’t read Douluo Continent for now.”

White Fox watched him tap on the phone, snort, and toss it back.

“Read this book first from the shelf this morning. At noon, open the Emperor Goose video.”

“At noon today?” Jiang Si said calmly. “The Masked Heavens Film: Coffin King Takes the Throne premiere.”

“Remember to study it!”

He didn’t look at her any further and walked into the kitchen.

Keke had already taken most of the leftovers out of the refrigerator: a chicken drumstick, a bunch of greens, two or three potatoes, and some bean sprouts.

Not sure what she planned to do, Jiang Si habitually helped alongside her.

“Big bro, are you being called by Teacher Shion again tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s outer space—outer space, you can’t even interfere, right?”

“It should be fine.”

“Teacher Shion is already so strong.” Keke stirred the pan, worried. “Why still ask you to go help? Isn’t that a bit too dangerous? And you didn’t sleep last night, right?”

“Still okay.”

“I knew it. Wash your face and get some sleep later. You can sleep after you do the dishes. Anyway the bedding needs washing…leave the other chores to me. If Teacher Shion needs help, I—I can go help, cough cough…”

She choked on her own words and switched on the range hood. Her grumbling continued unabated.

“Darn oil smoke! Monsters, demons, go away!”

When Jiang Si placed a peeled potato on the cutting board and casually said,

“I’m planning to move out. I’m not going to live at home anymore.”

There was a coughing sound, and even breathing seemed to stop.

Only the sizzling in the pan rang loudly.

Keke waved the spatula and water splashed onto her big brother’s face. She quickly wiped her hands and reached to wipe his face, but Jiang Si had already brushed it away himself.

His movements froze for a moment. The pan’s contents nearly started to burn.

“Turn off the heat.”

Jiang Si reminded her, and she jolted awake, fumbling to turn off the stove.

Then she kept wiping her hands, looking from the pan to him over and over.

“Wh—what did you say?”