The rain outside was still falling.
Jiang Si came down from the bedroom on the second floor, and his sister was sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the family portrait hanging on the wall.
It was taken before they went on a trip.
Their mother, wearing a white hat, smiled faintly but furrowed her brows, reaching out to pinch the cigarette in their father's mouth.
Their father, who seemed a bit old, wore a helpless smile, holding the excited sister in his arms.
Behind the three of them was an absent-minded Jiang Si, looking out of place.
"Uncle said he wants to adopt you."
As he walked to the door to change shoes, Jiang Si's tone was indifferent, "Pack up and go, I'll watch over the house, and you can come back to visit anytime later."
"Brother."
The soft call sounded weak, as if she hadn't eaten for days, with a sob in her voice.
"Anything you want from home, take it with you."
Jiang Si tiptoed at the entrance to make his shoes fit better, "I have things to do."
"What exactly, brother?"
His sister's eyes were red, her tone filled with grievance, "What could possibly be so important?"
Jiang Si paused at the door, drew an umbrella from the shoe cabinet, "A lot."
"Brother!"
His sister raised her voice, as if trying to stop him.
However, Jiang Si didn't look at her, merely walked out the door and closed it.
"Jiang Si!"
The final call sounded a bit hoarse, mingled with crying. Jiang Si, however, didn't stop; he just opened the umbrella and walked into the rain.
A small elf, looking like a puppet, flew out of his pocket.
It had the appearance of a pink flying kitten.
"Wouldn't it be better to stay and have a heart-to-heart with your sister…?"
The Magical Girl's Companion Spirit; Jiang Si hadn't watched Magical Girl anime and didn't know what it was.
When it first appeared after he transformed, his first reaction was that it was a budding Disaster Beast, so he instinctively wanted to destroy it.
But in reality, he couldn't touch it.
It wasn't a real creature but rather a phantom formed by Magic Power after he transformed into a Magical Girl.
He later learned that it existed to guide the Magical Girl.
"No need, since our parents are gone, she has to grow up quickly."
Jiang Si's tone was devoid of any warmth, as if the rain falling beside him would freeze, "I don't plan to take care of her."
He had many things to do and wouldn't be able to spare time for her in the future.
It was best if she could be obediently adopted by relatives.
"A girl's heart is very soft, like a flower that needs care..."
Before it finished speaking, Jiang Si grabbed a grass-like thing on its head and held it in front of him, letting the rain pour on the little elf.
Relying on the Magic Power of the Magical Girl, the Companion Spirit would gradually acquire physical form, and the grass on its head was this elf's point of origin, the only weakness Jiang Si could seize.
"I want to know about the Magical Girl business."
Jiang Si's tone unusually carried a hint of impatience, "Why can't I transform again?"
Since that day, after he transformed, when he took out the seed again, he no longer felt the Magic Power and couldn't transform.
This was something Jiang Si could not accept.
This was also why he had no mood to care about his sister; his own path was the most important matter.
Like a little cat, the elf fluttered its wings from Jiang Si's hand, only to say with exasperation after escaping:
"If you keep this up, I'll really get mad!"
"Sorry, so why can't I transform?"
Jiang Si's straightforward apology took the elf by surprise; after a pause, it mumbled, "Transformation requires many conditions, you can't just transform at will, and I've never seen a boy become a Magical Girl either..."
"So what do I need for transformation?"
"Why are you so anxious..." the little elf murmured but still answered, "First, hold the Miracle Seed, it's an important medium for transformation, and only when you have your own Miracle Seed do you become a true Magical Girl..."
Walking along the road, preparing to buy something from the convenience store, noisy sounds came from the parking lot ahead.
"Oh no!"
The little elf's previously leisurely voice suddenly became urgent, "A Disaster Beast has appeared!"
"I still don't know how to transform."
"I'll explain it quickly, just run! If Disaster Beasts devour people, they'll grow stronger!"
Jiang Si didn't run but quickened his pace.
In the pouring rain, a panicked crowd surged out from the parking lot, pushing against him, making it impossible for Jiang Si to run.
His usual training always provided him with reliable support at critical moments.
Effort never betrays.
Even in this chaotic crowd, he could still make his way against the flow as leisurely as if walking in a courtyard, without the umbrella in his hand moving at all.
"Second! Feel the Magic Power in the seed! Resonate with it! Only by resonating with the Magic Power can you possess the ability to become a Magical Girl! Close your eyes, and you can feel the water flowing in the seed—that is the Magic Power!"
As the little elf said, closing his eyes indeed allowed him to feel the power flowing within the seed.
But it wasn't like water, more like flames.
Blazing, fierce!
Through the crowd's flood, Jiang Si finally reached the parking lot where the Disaster Beast was.
A terrifying monster, like some kind of insect enlarged, its mouth even tore apart a car.
The entire parking lot was in chaos, but there were almost no people; only vehicles were smashed, sending up black smoke, the pouring rain extinguishing the flames.
Only a little girl with a cut on her right leg sat in the rain, pressing her bleeding leg and sobbing in panic.
"Hurry and save her, Jiang Si!"
"I've felt the Magic Power, and then? I still can't transform."
Jiang Si unhurriedly walked towards the Disaster Beast.
"The last step is of course the Spell, the final Transformation Spell! You have to come up with it yourself! It's the catalyst for the eruption of Magic Power to dress up! Through the Spell, you can transform, it's common sense, okay!"
"What kind of common sense, never heard of it."
The injured girl lifted her head, watching the strange boy walk in front of her, facing the Disaster Beast.
He casually threw the umbrella, letting it fall at her feet.
"Stay out of the way."
The cold tone didn't make her feel cold; when she picked up the umbrella, she saw the boy taking out a seed.
A beautiful and delicate seed that captivated her at first sight, unable to look away.
Then, she heard the boy muttering some spell, but the rain drowned out the words.
Purple flames soared into the sky!
They blasted the oncoming Disaster Beast, flinging it onto a car.
The urgent sound of car alarms, the heavy rain, the Disaster Beast's roars, all mixed together, yet the girl couldn't see or hear anything else.
Her entire being was focused on the purple figure before her.
The fluttering ribbons were like flowers swaying in the wind, and the purple and gold dress made her resemble a flower blooming from a seed of fire.
And that face, with a few resolute and arrogant traits found in men, yet extremely beautiful and cute in its features.
A boy had transformed into a Magical Girl...
"Magical Girl, Zi Yuan."
"Commence the cleanup mission."
The sound, coming from who knows where, was etched deeply in the girl gripping the umbrella, as was the figure resembling both flame and flower in front of her.
She would never forget it.