Chapter 405: The Amazing Wisdom of the Golden Retriever, Hot Springs

Sea City, Zhelong Town.

Underground base, training room, bathroom.

Xie Qingxuan took off her sweat-soaked underwear. She stepped into the shower room, turned on the shower, and used scented soap to glide over her skin, creating dense bubbles. After rinsing briefly, she sank into the spacious bathtub.

The hot water gushed out noisily. The crab toy in the tub blew bubbles and hummed a bubbly tune. It spun around, bumped against towering peaks, then leisurely bounced back, looking adorably silly.

The girl’s platinum eyelashes drooped softly. She lazily gathered the bubbles in front of her into her arms, hiding the snowy scenery, then poked the cool bubble-blowing crab toy with her finger, making it change its song.

She had originally bought two of these toys: one golden and one bright red.

But strangely, no matter how she searched recently, she could only find one.

A normal person would surely think it had been lost during the trip in Austria, most likely left behind in some hotel.

But Xie Qingxuan felt this was like the seventeen or eighteen extra pieces of lingerie in her wardrobe and the random toys extra in her suitcase—there had to be some unspeakable secret, probably connected to someone she liked.

On one hand, it was an unreasonable intuition.

On the other hand, it was a judgment based on reason.

Xie Qingxuan had been rigorously brought up since childhood; even in rebellion, she chose to become an idol rather than stepping into the arts favored by her parents. Contrary to her figure, her personality was extremely indifferent.

In simple terms, she was very disciplined, never self-stimulating, and had no interest in anything erotic.

So no matter how one looked at that pile of little toys and lingerie, it felt completely out of place, not to mention the strange knowledge that had grown in her mind.

Moreover, after some incidental study during her bath, she was surprised to find her body had become… well, more sensitive.

In a silly little game, this would be like a hypnotized heroine suddenly realizing while fully conscious that her love points had maxed out, causing her to question everything because it all seemed so bizarre.

Xie Qingxuan, however, did not feel that she had been hypnotized.

Although magical girls often fare poorly in these erotic-themed stories, easily caught off guard by villains and harshly grabbed…

In reality, as beings born of pure will, magical girls will always react if their true selves are distorted. The Flower of the Soul inevitably responds, sometimes even bursting open spontaneously.

Therefore, the answer she got by following her instincts, after reflection and investigation, was only ever more deeply confirmed as the truth.

“You… where are you?”

The girl lowered her eyes and whispered softly, feeling somewhat lost. She buried her head in the bathtub like a jellyfish, blowing bubbly bubbles like the cool crab toy, her mind full of a wistful melancholy.

In these two weeks, aside from guessing that the lover she forgot was most likely a girl, she had gained nothing else.

As for how she deduced the gender, it was purely from reasoning about the little toy and the finger cot.

If the partner were male, unless she had been stuffed like a cream puff every day, there would definitely have been condoms in that disorganized, naughty bag stuffed with toys and finger cots.

Also, reviewing her tightly packed schedule over the past year, she had always appeared publicly as a celebrity. Plus, if she had a boyfriend, paparazzi and fans would have long since uncovered it, making it headline news online.

So, her partner was most likely someone from Dazzling Stage, a relationship kept internal among girls.

The clever golden retriever used his wisdom and checked the last activation time of the toy app. Very few people matched that timestamp, so it was most likely a teammate.

From this perspective, the lover she forgot could possibly have been a former teammate.

Xie Qingxuan, being straightforward and without shame regarding this, confided everything to Liuli, Little Shu, and Miyuki, hoping to gather more clues and jointly report to Dream Weaver Rabbit for assistance in finding the person.

But unfortunately, except for the golden-haired pervert dog, neither the sluggish green-eyed cat nor the very innocent Little Sakura could find any clues in this unusual matter.

As for the lovely daughter…

Hmm, she was even less likely to discover any flaws in this way.

Even so, the three teammates still expressed a certain degree of trust when Xie Qingxuan candidly shared her thoughts.

But unlike last time, there were far more clues and traces devoured by the Void. Some missing segments from Dazzling Stage’s past now had partial causal corrections, and all the past descriptions referring to Honey Qing completely vanished.

Moreover, the four’s emotional fluctuations, déjà vu, and sense of dissonance were almost entirely erased. The fact that anyone could sense this was entirely due to Xie Qingxuan’s strong effort to piece things together.

Dream Weaver Rabbit promised to investigate but didn’t regard it very seriously and hadn’t produced any clues so far.

“Gurgle, gurgle.”

Xie Qingxuan despondently ended her meaningless jellyfish act. With wet fur and her dark eyes lowered, she evaporated all the water on the bathtub, floor, hair, and her body like scattered magic particles.

In an instant, the bathroom returned to its state before the bath.

The girl put on her clothes, covering her enticing charm, glanced at her smoothly dried hair reflected in the mirror, and instinctively cupped a few strands in her hands, a hint of yearning rising in her chest.

Stepping out of the bathroom, the green-eyed cat who had also just finished bathing sat on the sofa. Together with Kirimi Miyuki and Chu Wang Shu, they were browsing through the sheet music for their debut songs, humming the melodies with serious expressions.

Since two weeks ago, the four of them had been working nonstop, preparing every aspect for their debut.

Because they were magical girls, everyone had a high degree of autonomy. Whether it was costume design, group concepts, team styles, stage visuals, or other aspects, they had free rein to decide.

Yet, too much freedom made them hesitant and indecisive.

That was why, in the beginning, Dream Weaver Rabbit asked them to fill out a form with only broad requirements. After all, they were merely idols. Their primary responsibilities were to express themselves, maintain their appeal, and carefully prepare their performances. The rest should be left to professionals.

Chu Wang Shu put down the sheet music and asked,

“Which song do you all think suits us best for our debut?”

Indeed, what troubled the young idols now was the audition phase, much like HR recruitment. Long before the Dazzling Stage project was officially implemented and the show aired, the whole world had already been preparing in advance for the debut of this batch of magical girls.

The debut song was undoubtedly part of this process.

Dazzling Stage had invited musicians worldwide, one to three years in advance, collecting many high-quality songs. These were sealed in the program’s music library, awaiting this moment.

Every contestant who advanced was entitled to freely choose 1 to 7 songs from the library. They could pick one as their debut song, choreograph dances to others, or simply include some in a CD for release — all were permitted.

Of course, Dazzling Stage also allowed the little idols to leverage the show’s resources to quickly commission musicians to customize a debut song specifically for their team.

However, since Dream Weaver Rabbit only gave them one month to prepare for the debut, not many teams opted for this approach.

Kirimi Miyuki’s team initially leaned towards a custom-made song, but upon learning that they might lose one teammate, she and the others tacitly abandoned that plan and decided to search the music library for a debut song instead.

Xie Qingxuan picked up the tablet on the table, searched for a while, and showed her lovely daughter her choice.

— “My Air Lover.”

The girl blinked her eyes and said seriously,

“I think this one is good.”

Chu Wang Shu felt Sister Xie looked a little like a lonely puppy abandoned in place, with no one to pet her, somewhat pitiful. She took the tablet and teased,

“Even if we pick this song, no one online will know our situation here.”

It was like a week ago when she foolishly chased a phantom-like figure all the way to the most secret part of the base and ran into Sister Ji, Esther, and Xiaoxiao — somewhat neurotic and futile.

Chu Wang Shu felt she had been under immense pressure lately. Within just a few months, she had experienced a series of explosive events: unexpectedly chosen, continuously advancing, exploding in popularity online, learning the truth about the world, becoming a magical girl, meeting her real mother who was her age, and narrowly escaping death during a performance…

Under these circumstances, it was reasonable for her mind to feel a bit abnormal, wasn’t it?

That’s why, when she heard that unfamiliar voice, she chased after it without a second thought.

Yet deep in her heart, she knew that voice and the figure were not illusions. The other party must have deliberately guided her to the lower level so she could save the knight fused with the Disaster Gene; otherwise, such a coincidence couldn’t be explained.

But…

If it wasn’t a hallucination, then to whom did that mysterious voice and the white hair fluttering as she turned belong? Could it be the lover Sister Xie suspected, the one who suddenly disappeared from everyone’s minds?

Chu Wang Shu couldn’t find the answer; she could only focus on what needed to be done for now.

Xie Qingxuan did not feel disappointed about being rejected. She flipped through the selected songs. Everyone had listened to these carefully chosen tracks recently, and all were of high quality; they were simply picking the best ones now.

Little Sakura spoke seriously:

“I think we should choose songs that are positive, make people smile, and have nothing to do with romance. They should match our group’s name.”

— pure white.

— Pure White.

This was the name they had officially announced a week ago, taken from the Miracle Wall that had spanned the globe 17 years ago.

Within the Countermeasures Bureau, it had always been referred to as “Pure White.” As magical girls, they named their team after it, as if they were representatives praising the tall wall—a singing troupe under a certain deity. In a sense, it truly fit their duty and spirit.

After all, both sides fought against the Disaster group and protected the world.

Moreover, the world government had long since made this history public. The origin of the name was easy to guess; worldwide, it was similar to naming the Red Army in Daxia, so fans naturally accepted it well.

Under these circumstances, their debut song shouldn’t be grandiose or sing about petty loves; it should be passionate, full of positive energy, and a hymn to hope.

Tang Liuli looked at the layers of sheet music stacked on her lap and sighed:

“You’re right. All the printed sheet music meets these requirements. Maybe we should just randomly draw one?”

Chu Wang Shu firmly opposed:

“How can we be so casual? Liuli, you need to pull yourself together. I think everyone should practice singing all of these songs once before making a decision.”

Kirimi Miyuki said thoughtfully:

“That’s a good idea. Anyway, practicing in advance won’t be wasted. We’ll need them all during the tour, and recording at the studio later will be more efficient.”

Xie Qingxuan had no objections and nodded in agreement.

The green-eyed cat pouted, instinctively wanting to cry and throw a tantrum, but after glancing at Little Sakura, her cute daughter, and the naughty golden dog, she realized with shock that there was no one left to act spoiled towards. Her heart instantly felt sad and hollow, and even the irritation caused by the heavy workload evaporated in an instant.

This feeling was strange and awkward, a repressed sense of melancholy spreading silently within her. It made her unconsciously long for the warmth of her mother deep in her memories.

Yet, even recalling how it felt in her mother’s arms did not dissipate this complex emotion. Instead, it deepened, like a subtle, unnoticed despair slowly engulfing her.

Tang Liuli refused to sink into this mood. She patted her cheek and listlessly agreed to Chu Wang Shu’s suggestion, trying hard to memorize the lyrics and drive these strange feelings out of her mind by focusing on work.

…

The next day, it was the season between late summer and early autumn.

Niigata Prefecture, Yuzawa Town, hot spring inn.

In the early morning, the nearby mountain ridges rose and fell; some were lush and verdant, some dusted with frost and snow, gradually revealing autumn’s touch, yet all were shrouded in a soft mist, making it difficult to discern the season.

Although this was the snowy country in the story, except for the ski resort and some snowy mountain terrain, the four seasons here were unusually distinct. This abnormal scenery was probably related to the rising disaster aura worldwide, changes in air temperature, and the broader environment.

Chu Yuanqing stood by the balcony railing. She gazed at the distant mountains and sky. Closer at hand were trees as tall as the telephone poles, signal towers, and old-fashioned buildings. The ridges and foothills appeared mysterious in the fog, then were slowly dispersed by the increasingly powerful sunlight.

This scene felt like a rebirth, very beautiful.

“Click.”

The shrine maiden paused, capturing the side profile of this person looking into the distance. She put down the camera she had obtained from somewhere, smiled brightly at Honey Qing who was glancing back, and said:

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“But it’s a bit of a pity. I still want to see what summer normally looks like here.”

Chu Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, swallowing the comforting words, “When everything ends, the seasons will return to normal.” She smiled faintly and simply said:

“It’s beautiful like this too, isn’t it?”

“And if it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t get to see the snowy country’s scenery.”

The shrine maiden nodded at this. She smiled sweetly and, in a boastful manner, lifted the sake she had bought from the supermarket, tilting her head and said:

“I bought it yesterday. Want to drink together?”

“Go to the hot spring?”

“Of course!”

Chu Yuanqing thought for a moment, then returned to her room and opened the guitar case.

Like the guitar, it was a fixed magical array she had created when she first awakened. The guitar itself was ordinary, playable in a normal way, and could also be transformed into other instruments. The case was a conceptual miniature space.

The Pure White Witch took out some clothes to change and asked:

“You won’t get drunk, right?”

The shrine maiden squatted nearby, watching Honey Qing’s actions, and joked:

“I’m Nostalgia, not a silly ghost. Besides, ghosts don’t get drunk, do they?”

Chu Yuanqing answered with reason:

“But you can eat, drink, run, jump, and if you want, even let people see you. So it wouldn’t be strange for you to get drunk.”

The shrine maiden stubbornly said:

“That’s how we Nostalgia are.”

After speaking, she lowered her eyes, her gaze softening, and with a radiant smile said:

“Besides, maybe it’s because in Little Qing’s subconscious, she wants to see such a lively shrine maiden, right?”

Chu Yuanqing was somewhat speechless. The shrine maiden was right. Perhaps… even her existence was born from her wish?

After all, the original purpose of the paper crane jar was to fulfill her wish.

But somehow, this made her feel a little cunning.

The shrine maiden saw through Chu Yuanqing’s uneasy feelings and, without hesitation, reached out to pinch her cheek. Her fingertips conveyed a sensation that was warm yet cold, unreal yet tangible:

“Maybe in a few days, I’ll be able to be Little Qing’s pillow and sleep with you.”

“By then, Little Qing might still worry about whether that would feel like betraying the real Miyuki. I’m looking forward to it.”

Chu Yuanqing thought the shrine maiden was a little mischievous. She remained silent, changed into the hotel pajamas, packed the sake and clothes into a bag, and together with the ghost who didn’t have to pay and could enjoy the hot spring for free, they walked downstairs.

The hostess of the hot spring hotel was an elderly woman with graying hair and a gentle smile. Whenever she saw Chu Yuanqing, she always greeted her warmly in Japanese. Whether it was because of someone’s looks or charm, the woman’s attitude was very kind.

Walking along the wooden corridor, they arrived at the semi-open-air hot spring. The sky had not fully brightened yet, and a few rays of morning light shone down on the steam-covered water, creating a shimmering surface. The contrast of light and shadow formed a composition that looked like a scene from a film.

Though late summer was not exactly off-season, and the music festival related to “Dazzling Stage” attracted many visitors, perhaps because the hotel was somewhat secluded or because fewer people came to the hot spring so early, there was no one inside.

This made Chu Yuanqing feel no need to worry that someone would be frightened by her body, nor did she have to be concerned about how strange it looked to drink with an “air friend.”

Of course, she could also use [Nothingness] to erase her presence.

However, doing so frequently often made her feel more alienated from the world and caused her to lose the meaning of traveling.

“The stones are a bit warm.”

The shrine maiden floated into the hot spring and touched the stones, as if testing their warmth. But she remained dry as a ghost in costume—no different from a spirit pretending to be human.

Chu Yuanqing found it somewhat amusing. Wrapped in a towel, she also entered the water, sitting beside the shrine maiden. She reached out and pushed the wooden bucket holding the sake, saying:

“Want some?”

The shrine maiden’s ghostly form became somewhat more solid in the light mist. Her thin clothes were quickly soaked through. Ignoring the exposure of her body, she shed her clothes like peeling eggshells, hugged the wooden bucket, and in bright, crisp eyes said:

“I want to drink!”