My ex-girlfriend is a magical girl junior?

After the illusory bubble shattered, the faint fishy smell gradually dissipated, replaced by the fresh air of the night sky. The huge shelf area returned to silence, and even the simmering atmosphere in the air vanished completely.

Yin Xue didn't immediately pay attention to the falling energy core. She quickly stepped forward, first looking at Liu Li with concern. After confirming that Liu Li was alright, she turned to look at Xing Shuang, her eyes filled with obvious tension.

"Senior Xingshuang, how are you? The injury on your back..." She hurriedly wanted to step forward to check carefully.

"It's alright." Xing Shuang shook her head gently. The wound on her back had been mostly healed thanks to the other party's previous treatment, and it didn't affect her movement at the moment.

She turned her gaze to Liuli. The girl in front of her had her head down, and her long, icy blue hair fell down, making it impossible to see her expression. Only her unconsciously clenched fists and slightly trembling shoulders revealed her extremely complicated emotions at this moment.

It was self-blame, guilt, and also the fear that Yin Xue would be disappointed by her recklessness and thus distance herself from her.

Liuli took a deep breath, as if she had made a huge decision. She slowly raised her head, a struggle flashing in her icy blue eyes, but in the end she looked directly at Xingshuang and spoke slowly.

"...I'm sorry." Her voice was soft, filled with obvious guilt and self-reproach, a stark contrast to her usual sharp tone. "I was too impulsive and caused you trouble."

Xing Shuang's heart was touched by the sincere apology. She walked up to Liu Li, her eyes so gentle they seemed to melt ice and snow. She didn't say anything like "be careful next time" or "don't be reckless." She simply reached out and gently patted the girl's head.

Liuli's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, her fingertips trembling slightly. She instinctively wanted to pull away from this sudden intimate touch.

But in the end, the warmth and kindness from Xingshuang's palm, and the tolerance and understanding conveyed in her eyes, made her, unusually, not resist. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she quietly accepted the touch.

"Well done, Liuli," Xingshuang said softly, her voice full of approval. "You successfully restrained it with the ice mist, buying us time." She deliberately emphasized Liuli's contribution in the battle, rather than her recklessness.

Upon hearing this affirmation, Liuli's shoulders visibly relaxed a little, but a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. She bit her lower lip, as if she had something else to say.

"Star Frost...senpai." Finally, she uttered the title in a formal, respectful tone, with a hint of awkwardness.

This transformation brought a warm smile to Xing Shuang's face, and a sense of relief welled up inside her. For Liu Li, the transformation from "Shorty Senior" to the present was a redefinition of herself in her inner world, and an initial acknowledgment of this selfless protection.

She withdrew her hand and looked at Yin Xue not far away.

Yin Xue let out a long sigh of relief, a radiant smile spreading across her face. She rushed to Xing Shuang, arms outstretched—

"Senior Xingshuang!" She seemed to want to give Xingshuang a big hug to express her gratitude and joy.

A barely perceptible look of panic flashed across Xing Shuang's face. She subconsciously shifted her body to the side, causing Yin Xue's embrace to miss.

At the same time, a hand swiftly reached out and grabbed Yin Xue's arm.

"Hey!" Liuli's voice was tinged with annoyance and awkwardness as she pulled Yinxue to her side.

"What are you doing? So inappropriate for the occasion!" She didn't look Xing Shuang in the eye, but her dissatisfaction with Yin Xue's "closeness" was undisguised.

Yin Xue was stunned, and looked at Xing Shuang with slight disappointment. Xing Shuang unconsciously took half a step back.

"But... the senior saved us, I just wanted to..." she tried to explain.

"What are you thinking!" Liuli glared at Yinxue, then tightened her grip on Yinxue's arm, pulling her half-hug and half-dragged to her side.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly, her eyes showing obvious concern. Her fingers gently stroked Silver Snow's combat suit, as if checking if she was injured.

"I'm fine, and I'm not hurt," Yin Xue replied gently, then hugged Liu Li. "Li is alright too, that's great..."

Liuli immediately felt a warm current flow through her body. Looking at the care in Yinxue's eyes that was unique to them, the deepest fear in her heart of "losing" her partner was slowly dissipating under the other's response and care.

Even with the powerful Senior Xingshuang appearing, and even though she had just made a mistake, Yinxue was still the partner who would care about her and protect her.

"Liuli." Xing Shuang's voice broke the warmth between the two. She looked at the other person again, her tone becoming serious and solemn. Now it was time to touch on that deeper issue.

Liuli immediately released Yinxue, her body tensing up again. She knew that what Xingshuang was about to say might be a lesson about her reckless behavior, or something else that she would find even more objectionable.

"I've seen how hard you've worked on the infiltration," Xing Shuang said, expressing understanding before criticizing her. "But you often skip classes... that's not good."

Upon hearing the words "skipping class," Liuli's body stiffened abruptly. A hint of surprise flashed in her icy blue eyes, followed by a complex expression on her face—a mixture of astonishment at having her private life exposed and a touch of being cared for.

She didn't understand why this senior colleague, whom she had only known for a short time, knew about her private behavior.

"...What does it matter?" She tried to sound calm, but her voice trembled slightly as she attempted to use her usual defensive posture to cope with the discomfort. "Anyway...no one will care..."

"Someone cares." Xing Shuang interrupted her calmly, her tone gentle yet firm. "Can't Yin Xue do it too?" She deliberately avoided mentioning herself, directing attention to the person closest to Liu Li.

Upon hearing the name "Yin Xue," Liu Li's icy blue eyes narrowed slightly, her sharp gaze like two ice blades, shooting straight at the green-haired girl beside her.

Yin Xue panicked immediately. She waved her hands vigorously, a guilty smile on her face: "Ahaha... um... senior must have guessed it, right? Look..."

"Okay, not long ago... I spoke with Senior Xing Shuang on the phone and told her about these things." But in the end, under Liu Li's sharp gaze, she didn't continue to hide it and told the truth.

"A phone?!" Liuli was completely stunned. She never expected that Yinxue would exchange contact information with Xingshuang. "When did you..." She looked at the other person, her eyes filled with obvious confusion and a hint of grievance at being "excluded".

"Speaking of which, I don't have your contact information yet, Liuli," Xingshuang said gently, extending her hand to Liuli. "If you don't mind, could you tell me? That way, you can find me more easily if you need any help in the future."

Liuli looked at Xingshuang's outstretched hand, then glanced at Yinxue, her heart filled with turmoil. This was the first time a "senior" had taken the initiative to ask her to exchange contact information.

"You've worked so hard to deal with the infiltration to protect this city, that's good, you're very brave." Xing Shuang didn't urge her, but continued, her tone still gentle, "But you're not fighting alone, you still have Yin Xue, and I hope I can help you too."

She paused for a moment, then cautiously made another request: "And you also need to have your own life, try to make more friends, so that you don't always have to face these things alone."

Liuli's cheeks flushed red at a visible speed. She felt that Xingshuang's requests—not to skip classes and to make friends—were like knives, precisely stabbing into the most vulnerable and secret places in her heart, wounds that she had covered with thick thorns, unwilling to let anyone touch.

She couldn't understand why this person could see through her so easily, and why he was so determined to help her, as if her loneliness and pain were so important to him. This sudden and unexpected concern made her feel helpless and overwhelmed.

"Senior...you've made too many requests." Her voice was so low it was almost inaudible, like a wounded little animal whimpering. It was her inner vulnerability resisting, and also her way of expressing the heavy feeling that this kindness brought her.

Seeing Liuli's reaction, Xingshuang felt a pang of pain in her heart. She realized that she had been too hasty again. For a child who lacked a sense of security and was used to bearing things alone, these demands might be too heavy.

"I'm sorry..." Xing Shuang apologized softly, "Was I too harsh? If you find it difficult, that's okay, take your time..."

Ruri looked up abruptly, her icy blue eyes gleaming with complex light. She looked into Hoshino's eyes and saw the sincere apology and gentle understanding. That selfless kindness struck her again, making her feel an indescribable warmth and... belief. This senior seemed to be truly different.

She bit her lower lip, seemingly still hesitant, but in the end, she reached out, summoned her phone from "Tears of the Star," unlocked the screen, and handed it to Starfrost.