Even if you're a corrupted magical girl, you still have to try to redeem yourself.

Yuuki Yukino temporarily pulled everyone into the same group and then sent the same message three times in a row in the group.

After a moment of silence, people started replying.

“I remember we all got together once during Nishio Reki’s time, and then we went to the shrine to wait for the sunrise. How about we do what we did that night?”

Herlica's reply was so quick that Yuuki Yuuki wondered if she was just staring blankly at the chat software.

I hadn't personally witnessed Nishio Reki's dream, but Baqi and Helica told me a lot about it later, especially after the secret of the Holy Prayer was unsealed, so there was no need to hide it from Yuuki Yukino anymore.

However, according to what Yuuki Yuen heard, the New Year's Eve in her dream, which was the New Year's Eve they had experienced, was something she had made in advance with everyone, so it wasn't very relevant to her experience.

To spend an entire afternoon preparing everything from shopping to serving the food, without any help, is quite a challenge.

Nishio Reki followed up with a reply: "I'm afraid that won't work. Kaname prepared for it a long time in advance."

As expected of his own mouth double, Nishio Reki engaged in a verbal battle with Tenrai Helica in the group chat, ultimately defeating Helica.

Saying he was killed on horseback is a bit of an exaggeration, but in the end, Nishio Reki convinced Helica and made her realize that it was unreasonable to prepare a meal on the spot.

As the two argued, more people joined the discussion and began to offer suggestions.

First of all, the camp was already divided into two factions: those who wanted to eat out and those who wanted to eat at Yuuki Eri's house, with the faction that wanted to eat out gaining the upper hand.

"First of all, you can't go to family restaurants." This is the major premise proposed by Yuuki Enishi.

“Eel rice is out of the question too,” Inuyama Tomoe added.

Clearly sensing that she was being targeted, Helica immediately vetoed the idea: "No fast food! Okay? We're not going to eat fast food!"

The suggestion was accepted by everyone, and a lively discussion ensued.

Next came Mizuno Yu's negative segment: "Let's not eat barbecue either, shall we? We've already had it before. Life is about challenging ourselves with new things."

“Let’s skip sushi too. It’s either super expensive and impractical, or it’s priced like fast food and not suitable for group gatherings,” Helica continued to help eliminate options.

At this moment, Yuuki En misses the grand restaurants of her past life. No matter the situation, a group of people can always get by by ordering ten or eight dishes around a table.

But such places do exist in Yuehai City; it's just that there aren't any suitable places right now—or rather, all the suitable places have already been booked.

The remaining options are mostly Western food, Chinese food, and some unique international restaurants, which aren't really suitable for everyone to stay together until New Year's Eve.

The problem is that after eliminating various answers, everyone felt awkward about narrowing down the options further, so they started saying in the group that they were open to anything.

For the first time, Yuuki Yuen realized that deciding what to eat was such a difficult problem.

"How about this?"

This message wasn't sent in the group chat, but rather as a private message from Nishio Reki.

"Should we go out and take a look, just the two of us?"

I felt like I was going to cough myself to death after going out for a short while.

Chapter 125 The Weather Is Great

The snow on the streets has been cleared away, and the shops along the shopping street have hung up all sorts of New Year's decorations more often than usual.

Under the warm winter sun, the crowds on the street seemed even more bustling than usual, and the whole street was filled with a lively atmosphere of eagerly welcoming the New Year.

Just walking down the street made Yuuki Yukino feel incredibly happy; the bustling yet peaceful scene was truly infectious.

Moreover, beside Yuuki Yuuki, a girl with black hair but wearing a white down jacket was extending her little finger and hooking it with Yuuki Yuuki's little finger, walking side by side with Yuuki Yuuki in a slightly awkward manner.

The force transmitted through that finger trembled slightly at first, allowing Yuuki Yuen to clearly feel the other's unease, but as time went on, this connection became a habit.

The girls kept their lips tightly closed, strolling quietly amidst the noise, as if the sound of their shoes tapping on the brick road was so clear.

After what seemed like centuries of silence, Yuuki Yukina curled her little finger even more, pulling Nishio Reki closer to her.

"Xiao Li, why did you suddenly decide to go on a date with me at this time?"

Nishio Reki silently tightened his grip on Yuuki Eri's fingers, and after a long moment of stunned silence, he whispered his explanation.

"It's...it wasn't a date, was it?"

Despite Nishio Reki saying this, it's hard to hide one's secret joy, especially in front of Yuuki Yuki, his childhood friend; such thoughts are even more obvious.

Yuuki Yukina slyly curled her lips, revealing a meaningful smile that Nishio Ryū hadn't noticed, before retracting her little fingers that were hooked together with Nishio Ryū's.

After a moment of smug satisfaction, Nishio Reki felt a brief pang of disappointment, but she quickly masked it by quietly retracting her little finger, making a fist with her five fingers together, and preparing to put her hand into her coat pocket.

Before she could do that, Yuuki Yuki's slender, soft hand, which was a little cold in the wind, came up and her five fingers firmly held Nishio Reki's palm, turning their hand-holding into this ambiguous interlocking of fingers.

Nishio Reki turned to Yuuki Yuki with a slight surprise, but Yuuki Yuki was already waiting for Nishio Reki with her head tilted, a mischievous grin that seemed to come from a successful prank.

Those eyes seemed to be staring silently at Nishio Reki, as if trying to steal his consciousness. The moment Nishio Reki and Yuuki Yuuki made eye contact, they quickly turned their heads away like squirrels whose tails had been stepped on.

"Hate……"

Nishio Reki complained, only to be met with Yuuki Yuki's giggles.

"Does Xiao Li hate being with me? I actually find it quite enjoyable to come out with Xiao Li."

Nishio Reki was momentarily interrupted by Yuuki Yuuki's unexpected answer, and awkwardly puffed out his cheeks: "Yuuki-chan knows perfectly well that's not what I meant."

Yuuki Yukino was still smiling happily, as if she hadn't thought about anything, or as if she had seen right through Nishio Reki: "If that's what Reki meant, I wouldn't have said it so directly."

When Yuuki Yukino answered him like that, Nishio Reki was once again at a loss for how to respond.

Half a day later, Nishio Reki, having nothing to say, replied with a meaningless and unanswerable "Okay".

Nishio Reki is always like this; whenever it involves Yuuki Yuuki, she becomes extremely clumsy and doesn't know how to express her feelings.

She had considered making changes; she had thought about it immediately after the farce involving Yumehara Sumireko ended.

If someone as awful as Helica could change to please everyone, becoming more gentle and understanding of others, there's no reason why I couldn't do the same.

Nishio Reki certainly knew she could do it. She could accept the memories that flowed into her mind, and she could resolutely give up her future to save Yuuki Eri, whom she didn't know if she could really save. Of course, she had the determination to change.

But in front of Yuuki Yuki, she was still like that naive child, and her attitude and feelings towards Yuuki Yuki had never changed.

Seeing that Nishio Reki hadn't spoken for a while, Yuuki Yukina shook their tightly clasped fingers.

"Xiao Li, what are you thinking about? Did I go too far? I didn't mean it that way, I'm sorry."

Despite being pleaded with by Yuuki Yukina's soft, sweet voice, like the rice paper coated with sweetness on a milk candy, Nishio Reki couldn't muster any anger.

Although she wasn't angry to begin with.

Nishio Reki shook his head, a smile spreading across his face: "No, I was just thinking about random things."

"The New Year is just around the corner, so let's think about things later, okay? Right now, our priority is to find a restaurant where we can all have dinner together tonight! Right?"

Yuuki Yukina shook Nishio Reki's arm again, and at this moment she was no different from a spoiled child.

Nishio Reki understood Yuki Yuki's unspoken message: whatever worries you have, you can put them aside for later; now is the time for everyone to relax and have fun.

This troubling matter worth pondering, Yuuki Eri, to some extent refers to everything related to magical girls, including Seishin and Urouge Mashiro.

“That’s true, but I don’t have any good ideas. The shops we just asked either don’t stay open too late or don’t have any rooms available. The rest are not suitable.” Nishio Reki sighed.

Yuuki Yukino shook her head like a carefree, innocent little girl: "It's okay, we still have plenty of time, we can just keep looking, right?"

"That's true." Nishio Reki quietly exhaled the pent-up frustration in his chest.

This was a date between myself and Xiaoyuan, even though I had just denied it, but that was the truth.

I can't be the one creating a negative atmosphere and ruining the date.

Nishio Ryū has never counted how many steps it takes to walk from one end of the street to the other, nor does she have a clear idea of ​​how long it has taken.

But no one, except Nishio Reki herself, knew better than her just how intense her heartbeat had been during that time.

Even though it was a journey that yielded nothing in terms of results, Nishio Reki still felt very satisfied.

Such a time, with gentle breezes and bright sunshine, is perfect for holding hands with someone you love before reaching an end, and running together towards the next starting point.

I like her so much, I want to get closer to her, and I'm so afraid that she will slip through my fingers.

But at this moment, her time belongs only to herself.

But in the end, his heart belonged only to her.

This feeling is like a fresh strawberry in winter. It looks very plump. When you bite into it, the juice and sourness fill your mouth, making you frown slightly. But after swallowing the fruit, the lingering taste is refreshing and sweet.

That's probably what love is all about—a bittersweet experience.

If that's the case, then why go further?

If that's the case, why not take it a step further?

A sense of anticipation began to sprout in Nishio Reki's heart, as if another voice in her mind was telling her to destroy the unnecessary shackles she had imposed on herself and to present her ever-beating sincerity to Yuuki Yukino.

If Inuyama Tomoe can do it, if Tenrai Helica can do it, then there's no reason why I can't do the same thing.

But everything I did was to make Xiaoyuan feel comfortable. If I really did that, wouldn't it just cause trouble for Xiaoyuan?

I did a good job on Christmas Eve. I didn't say anything unnecessary to Xiaoyuan, nor did I do anything excessive with her. I just maintained our existing relationship.

Nishio Reki doesn't know how to express his feelings.

She has always maintained her preferences without crossing any boundaries.

She didn't need to say it aloud, because her feelings had already been conveyed.

She didn't care whether she received a response from the girl; she only hoped that the girl's future would be bright.

She has always been this cautious.

As she walked, she felt the girl's warm palm cup her cheek, felt the girl's forehead against hers, and felt the cherry-pink hair obscuring half of her vision, yet making the girl's face even clearer.

She was so panicked that she felt like the child who didn't know what to do in front of the girl who had acted like a child all day.

"Xiao Li, what are you thinking about?"

The girl spoke, and the words that flowed from her lips, as fresh and tender as a strawberry, as fresh as her own love, made my heart beat even faster, as if I had drunk a glass of strong liquor.

She knew her cheeks were burning, she knew her heart was pounding, and she knew that in front of the girl, she looked as shy as a restless little bird.

Later, the little bird landed in a gentle embrace.

Several more seconds passed quietly.

Nishio Reki gently placed his palm between the two of them, pushing Yuuki Yuki's body away a little.

Yuuki Yukino also stepped back a little, and their foreheads, which had been pressed together, finally separated slowly.

(Yama 8%) Reimu, only a few seconds had passed, and Nishio Reki's heartbeat inexplicably became stable.