Magical Girl Fan Bingbing

Jiang Ran didn't get home until very late.

When I opened the door, the living room lights were still on, the TV was on, and the volume was turned down. A late-night variety show was playing on a loop, with the host telling lame jokes listlessly.

On the sofa, Jiang Li was curled up in a ball, her head resting on the cushion, hugging a pillow in her arms, her mouth slightly open, her breathing soft and even, clearly she had been asleep for a long time.

Jiang Ran stood in the entryway, looking at her daughter curled up on the sofa, and felt a surge of inexplicable guilt.

This girl was waiting for him to come back.

Jiang Ran quietly changed her shoes, walked to the sofa, squatted down, and reached out to pick up Jiang Li and take her back to the bedroom.

The late autumn night was already chilly. The heating wasn't on in the living room, and Jiang Li was only wearing a thin loungewear set, her arms exposed and feeling a little cold to the touch.

However, the moment his hand touched Jiang Li's shoulder, she opened her eyes wide as if a switch had been flipped.

When she first woke up, her eyes were still hazy from just waking up, but that haze only lasted for a fraction of a second. The moment Jiang Li's gaze focused on Jiang Ran's face, she was as awake as if she had never been asleep at all.

"What time is it?"

"A little after one in the morning," Jiang Ran answered subconsciously.

"A little after one in the morning," Jiang Li repeated the time, her tone calm.

Then she sat up, pushed the cushion aside, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and stared at him with an expression that Jiang Ran felt was somewhat familiar but he couldn't quite place: "Comrade Jiang Ran."

They don't even call him "Dad" anymore; they just call him by his name.

"Can you explain to me whether it's reasonable for a physical education teacher to not get home until 1:30 in the morning?"

Jiang Ran opened her mouth: "I have a client to meet with tonight..."

"What kind of customer?"

"I have a consultant position at a company, where I do consulting for people. Today I had an appointment with a client to discuss a solution, and we ended up talking late."

"A consultant?" Jiang Li's voice rose half an octave. "What kind of consultant are you, a physical education teacher?"

After joining the Public Security Bureau and undergoing a period of training, Jiang Li became quite serious and even seemed to have the right attitude, making Jiang Ran feel suffocated as if she were being interrogated in front of her daughter.

"Have you been seeing other women?" Jiang Li's ultimate question arrived as expected, her almond-shaped eyes filled with scrutiny. "Tell me honestly, who were you with tonight?"

"No……"

"Show me your phone."

"What?"

"Phone." Jiang Li stretched out a small, fair hand, palm up, her fingers making an urging gesture, "Unlock it, give it to me."

Jiang Ran looked at her hand, which was outstretched in front of him with a self-righteous air, and for a moment he didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He sighed, took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her.

"Look, Miss Detective."

He spoke frankly because there really wasn't anything to worry about.

All communications with Leng Qiaoqiao used specialized anonymous encryption software. Messages were set to self-destruct after being read, automatically disappearing after thirty seconds, leaving no trace of the chat history.

The app's icon is also disguised; it looks like an ordinary weather forecast app on the phone's home screen, and when you tap it, it does indeed display a weather forecast interface. Only by following specific steps can you enter the real communication interface.

Jiang Li took the phone and began to browse through it.

She has very few contacts on WeChat. The latest messages in her message list are from the "Magical Girl Special Class Staff Group", the "Meal Sharing Red Envelope Group", and her chat with Song Mingyue, but the content is mostly related to taking care of Jiang Li.

The call log is even more sparse; you can see the calls from the past week at a glance, and they are mostly calls from leaders or colleagues.

The text messages were all verification codes and package pickup notifications.

The photo album is completely deserted. The latest photo is a group photo taken last month when Jiang Li came over. Apart from that, there are a few copies of lesson plans and a supermarket discount flyer.

Jiang Li became increasingly frustrated as she flipped through the pages.

This phone is so clean it looks like a sample unit that just came out of the factory. There's not a single ambiguous message, not even a single warm conversation.

For a 35-year-old divorced man to have such a barren social life, if he's not hiding something, it can only mean that Jiang Ran's daily life is indeed extremely mundane.

However, Jiang Li had received training at the Public Security Bureau for a period of time and knew that the cleaner a cell phone was, the more likely it was to have been carefully handled.

Most people's phones have a little bit of random stuff on them—shopping records, social media messages, browser history, even a single spam message. But her dad's phone had even his browser history completely cleared, which was unbelievable on a middle-aged man's phone.

Is it reasonable for a man's phone to have no pornographic content?!

Jiang Li's intuition told her that something was wrong.

Unable to find anything on the phone, Jiang Li turned her attention to Jiang Ran himself.

She pushed the phone back, shifted to a more comfortable sitting position, placed her hands on her knees, and sat up straight, looking just like an investigator in an interrogation room.

"What's the name of tonight's client?"

"His surname is Wang, but I can't say his full name because he asked me to keep it confidential."

"Where did you meet her?"

"A coffee shop in the east of the city. After discussing the plan, I went to his company to take a look at the site."

"What time did it start?"

"Around 7 p.m.

"From 7 PM to 1:30 AM, that's almost six hours. Can you really talk to a client about a proposal over coffee for that long?"

"We also went to the site later, and it took time to get there and back."

"Where is the scene?"

"It's a newly opened office building in the east of the city. I don't remember the exact address, I just followed the navigation."

"What kind of consultation did you provide?"

"In terms of business management."

"You, a physical education teacher, are doing business management consulting?"

"It's just a nominal consultant role. I'm just helping to look at the plans and give some suggestions. It's not like I'm being asked to be the CEO."

"What's the name of this company?"

"I have an advisory title at Umbrella Technology Co., Ltd."

"...What's your name?"

"A protective umbrella." Jiang Ran said without changing her expression, "You can find it online. It's a legitimately registered company with all the necessary business licenses."

Jiang Li took out her phone and searched on the spot. Sure enough, she found the company's registration information on the enterprise information platform.

Protective Umbrella Technology Co., Ltd., registered in Tianhai City, has a business scope that includes technical consulting, business management consulting, and information technology services. The legal representative is a name she doesn't recognize. The registered capital, establishment date, and tax status are all complete, making it seem like a legitimate small and micro enterprise.

This company is legitimate, because it was registered by Leng Qiaoqiao at Jiang Ran's request.

Besides using the money through official channels, the Umbrella Corporation also served another purpose—providing cover for Jiang Ran's activities abroad.

Business consultants typically have very flexible working hours; meeting clients during the day and socializing and discussing proposals in the evenings are common occurrences, and it's perfectly understandable if they don't get home until the wee hours of the morning. Who would really scrutinize the schedule of a single father whose teacher's salary isn't enough to support his family and who has to take on side jobs to earn extra income?

Jiang Li looked Jiang Ran up and down several times, her lips slightly pouting.

Her intuition still told her something was wrong, but no matter how she questioned her, Jiang Ran's answers were perfectly logical and without any flaws.

That was a perfect answer.

It was so perfect, it was as if it had been prepared in advance.

However, "perfection" itself cannot be used as evidence, and Jiang Li has no way to deal with him for the time being.

After a series of exchanges, Jiang Li failed to extract any valuable information from Jiang Ran and, feeling somewhat discouraged, decided to change the subject.

"Dad, among all the students you taught before, were there any who later awakened into powerful magical girls?"

Jiang Ran had just picked up the water glass on the coffee table to take a sip when she heard the question and paused.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"I'm just curious." Jiang Li tried to keep her tone casual. "You've been a physical education teacher for so many years, you must have a few outstanding students, right?"

Jiang Ran put down her water glass and thought for a moment: "Yes."

Jiang Li's eyes lit up immediately, and she involuntarily leaned forward a little, perking up her ears.

Tonight, she was utterly defeated in the warehouse by that magical girl who called herself the "Calamity Master." The opponent's physical skills far surpassed those of any opponent she had ever encountered.

More importantly, those moves gave her an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, as if she had seen them somewhere before, or practiced them somewhere before.

If the "Disaster Master" was trained in a magical girl special class, and her physical skills were learned from Jiang Ran...

The list of students taught by Jiang Ran is an extremely valuable clue.

"Do you remember which students were particularly outstanding?" Jiang Li pressed.

Jiang Li did not suspect that her father was the source of the disaster. Regardless of how far-fetched the guess was, even if a magical girl really did come from their family, Jiang Li felt that her mother, Song Mingyue, was more suspicious.

"I only remember one of them clearly." Jiang Ran held up one finger. "Chu Ying is now the captain of the Magical Girl Investigation Branch of the Magical Element Management and Law Enforcement Brigade of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, codenamed Fluorite."

As he spoke, a rare hint of pride crept into his voice.

"You can find her information by searching online. Her official website has a photo of her, a standard headshot with a blue and white gradient background. Her personal resume is also very detailed, including her date of birth, school she graduated from, military service record, awards, and everything else."

Jiang Li almost rolled her eyes.

Of course she knew Chu Ying's name; this was her current boss.

"Is this the only one?" Jiang Li asked, unwilling to give up.

"This is the one that left the deepest impression on me." Jiang Ran thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, right, speaking of Chu Ying, she came to see me a few days ago."

"What do you want?"

"She said she was investigating a list of students who had previously attended the magical girl special class, and it seems she was investigating some kind of case, but she didn't tell me the specifics." Jiang Ran's tone was casual, as if she were talking about a trivial matter.

Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat.

Chu Ying was investigating the list of students in the special talent class. As a newcomer, she had naturally heard about it, but she never expected that the clues would lead back to her own father.

But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. After all, Jiang Ran is the physical education teacher for the special class, so asking him to investigate the students' information is a reasonable procedure.

"But I do find it a little strange." Jiang Ran turned to look at Jiang Li, "Why are you suddenly asking about this? I've never seen you show any interest in my students before."

Now it was Jiang Li's turn to feel guilty.

She couldn't very well tell Jiang Ran that she had just been beaten to a pulp by a magical girl with incredible physical abilities that night, and had even let out a shameful scream, and that she was now trying to get clues about the suspect from her father, could she?

Just talking about being beaten so badly that you can't fight back is enough to embarrass you for a lifetime.

"It's just... my classmates are talking about it." Jiang Li's gaze drifted elsewhere. "Girls these days really admire powerful magical girls. Someone in my class heard that my dad is a teacher in the special talent class, so they asked me to inquire and see if there are any powerful seniors."

This excuse is full of holes.

Jiang Ran noticed it, but he didn't press her for details. Things his daughter didn't want to talk about were secrets of adolescence.

"Don't overthink it, go back to your room and get some sleep."

Jiang Ran picked up the remote and turned off the TV. She patted Jiang Li's head and rubbed it twice, just like when they were little.

"understood."

Jiang Li responded, got up from the sofa, and stretched.

She turned and walked towards the bedroom, but after taking only two steps, she was just a short distance away from Jiang Ran.

Then, a sudden inspiration flashed through Jiang Li's mind.

The thought had barely surfaced, before it had even completed its logical progression in her mind, when Jiang Li's body had already taken action.

She turned around abruptly, clenched her right fist, twisted her waist, and threw a punch at Jiang Ran's side ribs using the starting stance she knew best from the depths of her memory.

The next second, Jiang Ran's right palm gently and easily blocked in front of the fist, his five fingers closed, steadily enveloping Jiang Li's fist in his palm.

The whole process was smooth and effortless; Jiang Ran didn't even turn her body around, but simply turned her head to the side, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"You brat, you're trying to murder your own father, aren't you?"

Jiang Li abruptly pulled back her right fist, then immediately struck Jiang Ran's abdomen with her left elbow, using the same move the Disaster Lord had used against her.

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow, dodged to the side, and casually placed her right hand on Jiang Li's elbow, gently pulling her outwards to completely deflect her attack.

"Again?" Jiang Li's rudimentary skills were learned from him when they were young. How could Jiang Ran possibly suffer a loss at her hands?

Jiang Li gritted her teeth and made two more moves.

A sweeping leg was lightly deflected by Jiang Ran's raised foot; a straight punch was dodged by Jiang Ran tilting her head.

Every move was cleanly and efficiently neutralized. Jiang Ran did not retaliate, nor did she use any techniques beyond the scope of a martial arts teacher. She simply relied on her thorough understanding of her daughter's moves to defend against each one with minimal effort.

Jiang Ran could predict when to throw a punch, when to change moves, whether to step with her left foot first or turn her waist first, even with her eyes closed.

Jiang Li was deflated.

They were all blocked; they didn't even get a single hit.

"Alright, alright, your skills are still at the level you were at when you were a kid. It's a shame you wouldn't learn back then." Jiang Ran laughed and flicked her forehead.

Jiang Li rubbed her forehead and glared at him angrily.

"Dad."

"Um?"

"I want to continue learning physical skills from you."

Jiang Ran was stunned for a moment.

"Haven't you always been reluctant to learn? When you were little, I forced you to practice the basics, and you cried your heart out. Why do you suddenly want to learn again?"

Jiang Li pursed her lips, remained silent for a second or two, then tilted her head back and looked at Jiang Ran intently.

"Your daughter is so pretty and cute, how can she not learn some self-defense skills?"

This reason is very Jiang Li's.

Jiang Ran couldn't help but chuckle. He looked into his daughter's earnest eyes, wanting to say something teasing, but ultimately swallowed his words.

Regardless of Jiang Li's true reasons, it would ultimately be a good thing if she could pass on her skills to her daughter.

Even if he's gone one day, at least... Jiang Li will still have the ability to protect herself.

"OK."

Jiang Ran nodded and reached out to rub her head.

"Starting tomorrow, get up at 5:30 every morning to train your physical fitness, then practice your basic skills. I'll teach you new moves when I get home from get off work in the evening, and you can practice extra on the weekends."

"So ruthless?" Jiang Li's lips twitched on the spot.

"Do you think learning martial arts is child's play?" Jiang Ran looked at her, her tone calm. "Back then, every single student your father taught started from this point."

Even when Chu Ying was still in her special talent class, she was subjected to a lot of rigorous training by Jiang Ran.

"If you don't want to practice, that's fine. Nobody's forcing you." Jiang Ran shrugged, feigning indifference, and turned to go back inside.

"Practice! Who said we weren't going to practice!"

Jiang Li immediately expressed her stance, clenching her small fists, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, her face showing an expression of defiance.

She hadn't forgotten for a second the humiliation of being brutally defeated by the Disaster Master in the warehouse that night. Every word spoken by the woman in the fox mask felt like nails piercing her head.

She was too weak and powerless.

Jiang Li wants to become stronger. The next time she meets that woman, she must personally pin her to the ground, tear her mask off the ground, and see what she really looks like.

Then give her a hard elbow to the stomach and see if she makes that embarrassing sound too.

"It's settled then. Tomorrow at 5:30, no sleeping in." Jiang Ran patted her shoulder. "Go to sleep."

"Um!"

Jiang Li nodded vigorously, turned around and strode quickly toward the bedroom, her steps filled with eager anticipation.

The bedroom door closed, and the living room fell silent again.

Jiang Ran stood still and looked down at her right palm.

He was all too familiar with the starting stance of that punch.

That was his most frequently used starting stance, and it was also the first movement he taught to every student in the special skills class.

Although Jiang Li's way of exerting force and changing the rhythm of her moves are still very immature, the underlying style is the same as his.

But those weren't what Jiang Ran cared about.

The timing and angle of Jiang Li's punch just now were almost identical to the way he had taught Jiang Li a lesson in the warehouse tonight.

"I hope... it's just my imagination."