Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

More than a month ago, during the tracking mishap at the shopping center, Xia Liang had dialed "Emerald Sparrow's cellphone" on Lin Yun's person and uncovered some clues.

At that time, Lin Yun, in order to avoid embarrassment and cover up the truth, explained that "he knew Emerald Sparrow, and she had left her phone at his house."

Such an explanation actually had many contradictions behind it, but at the time, his time to think was exceedingly short, and under the urgent circumstances, he couldn't provide a better explanation.

Now, as Xia Liang used almost the same tactic again and asked that question, Emerald Sparrow knew: there was no room for explanation anymore.

Even if she were to deceive with the same rhetoric, saying "Lin Yun left his phone at Emerald Sparrow's house," she couldn't explain the logic behind it: why would she carry someone else's phone?

To cover up one lie, more lies would be needed to fill the gaps; to hide something, one's actions become distorted.

Emerald Sparrow was neither a professional speaker nor a swindler, and she neither wanted nor was willing to invest too much energy into endlessly concocting lies. Therefore, she squinted her eyes and sighed slowly:

"Being so persistent over these matters seems a bit willful."

She chose to give up arguing completely.

"About what? "

Xia Liang held her phone, tilted her head slightly, and innocently said, "I don't know what you're talking about, Junior."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she received a knuckle-rap on the forehead from Emerald Sparrow.

"Ow!" Xia Liang immediately covered her head.

"Why pretend when you've already guessed?"

Emerald Sparrow retracted her hand somewhat helplessly, her eyelids drooping as she looked at Xia Liang, "When exactly did you start noticing?"

"So you're admitting it, Junior?" Xia Liang said in surprise, pressing her forehead.

"Why not admit it at this point?" Taking a few steps back, Emerald Sparrow leaned on the railing of the balcony, "Even though it's quite an awkward matter to discuss, I'm not going to be petulant towards a child."

"Hehe, that's good." Letting go of her head, Xia Liang sneaked forward two steps with a mischievous smile, lowering her voice again to ask in Emerald Sparrow's ear, "So, the 'Uncle Lin' I saw is actually the same person as you, Junior?"

Emerald Sparrow didn't reply.

She just looked at Xia Liang expressionlessly, then turned her head slightly toward the balcony door.

The gesture was clear enough: she wanted Xia Liang to close the door before they continued, to keep Lin Xiaolu in the room from overhearing their conversation.

Xia Liang caught on quickly, turned around, and energetically closed the balcony door, then looked back at Emerald Sparrow with eyes full of curiosity and investigative intent.

"...Let's start by you explaining how exactly you found out." Emerald Sparrow looked down as she spoke.

"Is this like giving an acceptance speech for an award?"

"You could say that, because I'd also like to understand your thought process," said Emerald Sparrow frankly.

"Um... If I have to pinpoint the time, it should be after the last phone call, right?"

Xia Liang touched her chin, musing, "At first, I really didn't think about it that way, I just thought you knew Uncle Lin, that's all. After all, Junior, you said it yourself: you were teammates with Xiaolu's mom before, so it's normal for you to know her dad."

"But that time, when the Magical Girl with the Claw Mark called, you showed up at Uncle Lin's workplace immediately."

"After that, I remembered what happened before, as Xiaolu told me: the day Uncle Lin went to attend a parent-teacher conference for her, the light rail encountered Remnant Beasts. Were you the one who dealt with those Remnant Beasts too, Junior?"

Emerald Sparrow's expression faltered slightly, then she nodded, "Right, but that still doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence. If it's just this, it could still be explained by having a close connection with him."
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"But this is the second time, the cellphone."

Hearing Emerald Sparrow's retort, Xia Liang pointed to her pocket, "If you, Junior, and 'Uncle Lin' really are two different people with such a close connection that you can arrive at the scene of the Remnant Beasts the fastest every time... then there's no reason to let the other's phone be lost here, causing you to lose contact, right?"

"Just like you, Junior, worried about our safety, so you asked Xiaolu to inform you when she encounters Remnant Beasts, if you and 'Uncle Lin' also had some kind of close relationship, even if his phone was left at your place, you'd definitely retrieve it as soon as possible."

"There are also many other doubts, like you, Junior, and 'Uncle Lin' seeming to have a close relationship but overlapping actions; Hong Siyu seems to have a bit of interest in 'Uncle Lin,' but doesn't seem to mind your relationship..."

As she explained step by step, Emerald Sparrow's expression went from helpless to thoughtful, and then settled into placidity.

Her neutral expression revealed neither joy nor anger, nor was there a trace of personal emotion, which made Xia Liang, who still had a bit of a triumphant mood, gradually become hesitant, even a bit guilty.

"I knew that even up to this point it's still not enough to be certain of everything. And my speculations are just so strange; they could very well be my own delusions. So I took this opportunity to play a prank; I wanted to get the real answer from you, Junior."

After describing her thought process, seeing that Emerald Sparrow was still silent, she could only muster her courage to say, "Did my actions make you angry?"