I Can't Fly

"Your name is Ye Jingjing, right? How old are you?"

Inside the tea room, Wu Shao held Ye Jingjing's hand and asked softly.

Ye Jingjing swallowed hard, her hand, which was being held, was sweating. The magical girl was so close to her! And her tone was so gentle, completely different from when she was outside. This made Ye Jingjing, who had no social experience, a little stunned.

"Don't smile so fake, you look like a mother swindling children..." Qiang Hong never gave Wu Shao any face and directly mocked her.

"...I'm punishing you by not letting you eat later."

"No... Besides, Sister Xingyu will let me eat it, it's no use if you don't allow it." Xiaoba snorted lightly, completely ignoring the other party's threat.

After this back and forth, Ye Jingjing, caught in the middle, relaxed a little. She glanced at the two of them, feeling she couldn't afford to lose face like this, so after preparing her speech, she said:

"I'm 15 years old... I dropped out of junior high school... I, I didn't want to go astray, I just wanted to do something else..."

She introduced herself, then hurriedly explained, fearing the righteous magical girl would dislike her as a "bad kid."

"It seems like there's no one else at your home... Where are your parents?"

Wushao voiced her question, and the others looked over. They had assumed that such a young child must have parents, but Yui said there were no signs of anyone else living in the house, which was very strange.

Ye Jingjing paused, wondering whether she should tell these unfamiliar older women.

"My father disappeared eight years ago, and my mother left home last year and has never come back... The police can't find her, and... no other relatives have come looking for her."

Ye Jingjing gave a brief explanation without going into further detail.

"Oh? You must be exhausted!" Upon hearing this, Qiang Hong immediately leaned close to Ye Jingjing with pity, hugged her, and gently patted her slender back.

"So how do you live all by yourself? Doesn't anyone help you?" Gun Red asked.

"The government provides living allowances...and dropping out of school allows me to earn some pocket money..."

Qiang Hong looked at Wu Shao, somewhat at a loss.

Wushao didn't ask why Ye Jingjing would drop out of school when she had subsidies to attend. Although Ye Jingjing was just a child, she must be very vulnerable after such a life change. She had already decided to let her join the magical girls, and they would find a way to help Ye Jingjing later.

"So... who was the man you were chatting with at the entrance of the apartment complex earlier?"

Wu Shao still asked the question she was most curious about. If she might have a conflict with Xing Yu in the future, making a decision now would be difficult.

Gun Red and Xunfeng also perked up their ears. If Ye Jingjing no longer had any relatives... then what about Senior Xingyu's husband?

"..."

Ye Jingjing's mind was a complete mess. Wu Shao's question caught her off guard. She had only been trying to appease her older brother's wife before, but the magical girl already knew roughly what was going on with her. If she kept making excuses, she would definitely be found out. But she couldn't reveal Tang Ming's secret about being a thief either, or the magical girl would definitely arrest him...

Ye Jingjing had no choice but to play dead...

"Hmm? Not a good answer?" Seeing Ye Jingjing blink, Wu Shao asked with a wry smile.

"I...he's my friend," Ye Jingjing gave an ambiguous answer.

"Friends? Could they be bad people? Girls need to protect themselves when they're out in public," Wu Shao said seriously.

Ye Jingjing shook her head vigorously, "Big brother isn't a bad person. We've known each other for months...he's taken care of me."

Seeing that Ye Jingjing didn't budge, Wu Shao had a sudden thought: "Then what do you think of him...?"

Xiao Ba stared at Wu Shao with disbelief, wondering what she was up to.

"He's very interesting, very capable... and takes good care of me," Ye Jingjing replied earnestly.

While watching Ye Jingjing, Wushao communicated with her companions using magic:

"At least we can confirm that she is not Tang Ming's illegitimate daughter. This child shouldn't be so smart as to lie like this."

"Why are you asking such detailed questions? Shouldn't we be explaining magical girls and then I sign a contract with her?" Yui asked, puzzled.

"I still have serious doubts about her relationship with Tang Ming. They're not related, and there's such a big age gap between them... Ye Jingjing's response was also a bit strange," Xunfeng said after a moment of silence.

"None of that matters. We can ask Xingyu when she gets here. I can't wait to see what kind of magical girl Ye Jingjing is!"

Gun Red excitedly urged Yui on. The more she looked at Ye Jingjing, the more she liked her. Although she didn't talk much, the petite and cute girl in a baggy T-shirt had already captured Gun Red's heart.

"Ye Jingjing, let's sign a contract!"

Yui flew to Ye Jingjing, extended her finger, and a thin beam of light appeared out of thin air, shining on Yui's hand.

Ye Jingjing tremblingly reached out her hand, glanced at Wu Shao, and under Wu Shao's encouraging gaze, she reached out and touched Yui's fingers, also bathed in the sunlight.

The colorless beam of light from beyond the Demon Realm turned into black light the moment it touched Ye Jingjing, and the bewitching magical loops formed strange characters.

Ye Jingjing instantly understood these notes—they were countless magical formulas from the Demon Realm.

Countless spells, guided by Yui, flowed into Ye Jingjing's chest. Meanwhile, black light enveloped her delicate body, swirling around her smooth skin.

Kaoru frowned. A magical girl whose main color was black... she had never seen one before.

Wu Shao squinted, trying to glean some information from the scene before her, but Ye Jingjing's signing process was no different from theirs. Through the elf's signing, she accepted the projection from beyond the Magic Realm and obtained her own [Magic True Body].

A flash of black light appeared, and Ye Jingjing, dressed in a jet-black sailor summer uniform, looked down blankly at her new outfit. Her entire body was made of black fabric, with a collar outlined in white that clung tightly to her slender neck. A pure black pleated skirt flowed smoothly to her knees. Ye Jingjing glanced down and pulled the hem down slightly with her hand.

"So cute!!" Gun Red exclaimed excitedly, her usually cold and domineering face now revealing a somewhat perverted smile in front of the Void Beast. If Xunfeng hadn't grabbed her by the back of the neck, she would have already pounced on her and given her a good pat.

Ye Jingjing glanced at her transformed outfit, then with a thought, she deactivated the transformation. A piece of jade, less than two fingers wide, floated in front of her chest. Ye Jingjing stretched out her hands, and the jade fell into her palms.

"This is called the [Soul Jade Fragment]. It's our magical girl transformation artifact, so you must keep it safe," Wushao explained.

"The first thing you need to master is the disguise and concealment spells. Normally, you can disguise the Soul Jade as a personal item, and use it at will when you need to transform..."

Ye Jingjing silently recited the incantation, and the jade fragment of soul in her palm transformed into a bracelet.

"I... I learned how to conceal myself... hehe." She threaded the bracelet into the book, pursing her lips and smiling broadly.

Uso exclaimed in surprise, "You really have talent! When I first became a magical girl, I knew absolutely nothing about magic, yet you've already mastered quite a few magical techniques..."

"Next, I'll explain the [Chakras] to you. This is an important standard for every magical girl to be considered qualified..."

"Wu Shao! Oh no, a Void Beast has appeared over at Xing Yu's place, more than five Goblin-level beasts!" Xun Feng interrupted, handing his phone to Wu Shao.

"Five heads? Isn't that a piece of cake for her?" Wushao asked as she took the phone.

"With the Void Beasts appearing in the subway station and her husband there, she'll definitely be distracted protecting him and might not be able to control so many Void Beasts!" Xunfeng calmly analyzed.

"Let's go over there now! These few are perfect for Ye Jingjing's first battle!" Wu Shao raised an eyebrow and looked at the newly recruited magical girl beside her.

"She hasn't chosen her first page of techniques yet, isn't that a bit...?" Gun Red hesitated.

"It's alright. She already possesses some magic, and with us protecting her, this is a good opportunity for her to hone her skills," Wu Shao said confidently.

"That's fine, otherwise there's no point in leaving her here alone." Xunfeng agreed.

Seeing this, Qiang Hong didn't say anything more. Although she was worried about Ye Jingjing, Xing Yu's situation was urgent. The subway station was a confined space, which could easily cause many casualties.

"Alright, let's go!"

Four magical girls filed out of the teahouse. Hearing the noise, a woman came out of the kitchen and her gaze fell on the girl in the black sailor uniform.

The four stood at the gate, and after confirming that no one else was around, they used their magic to fly into the air... except for Ye Jingjing.

"I...I can't fly..."