funbook-pk Chapter 44 Why was Cheng Qi appointed as commander?
Chapter 44 Why was Cheng Qi appointed as commander?
"Young lady, do you have any plans for this afternoon?" Dong Nuan's voice interrupted Qing Luan's thoughts.
Qingluan snapped out of her reverie and shook her head slightly. "I don't have much to do this afternoon. Miss Dongnuan, is there anything you'd like me to help you with?"
"Ah, it's nothing major that requires help."
Dong Nuan quickly explained, "I just heard that you used to live in the 'Star's Lair' underground base. I'm a bit curious about this organization, so I wanted to ask you some questions about it... If it's convenient, I hope you can keep me company this afternoon."
"I'm fine with it," Qingluan nodded in agreement.
Before leaving, the head eunuch mentioned that her search for a secret base might take a while. Since I have nothing else to do anyway, I might as well spend more time with these magical girls.
After saying that, Dong Nuan looked at the other person: "How about it, Su Wei? Do you want to join us for a chat later?"
"Forget it."
Suwei, who had been excited, now looked disgusted and exhausted. "I have to go to my tutoring class this afternoon. After math class, it'll be my turn to patrol the city and guard against the beasts..."
She grabbed her golden twin tails with both hands and couldn't help but yell to the sky, "Seriously! I'm already a magical girl, why do I still have to go to school... This is so illogical..."
Neither Qingluan nor Dongnuan responded to Suwei's complaints.
Clearly, being a magical girl is not a reason to neglect one's studies.
After their chat, the three magical girls jumped off the roof of the skyscraper, landed in a quiet alley, and then deactivated their transformations together.
"I'm off then, bye!"
After Liu Xiali left, only Xie Lan and Su Chenjin remained in the alley.
"Ms. Xie Lan, would you like to find a coffee shop to sit down and have a proper chat?" Su Chenjin suggested.
"There's no need for that. We can just walk and talk as we go."
Xie Lan smiled, and then strolled down the street with Su Chenjin.
However, before officially starting the conversation, Xie Lan still had considerable objections to how the two parties addressed each other.
"I say... junior, you're several years older than me, right? Yet you keep calling me 'Miss Xie Lan,' it sounds a bit too polite."
"..."
Su Chenjin remained unfazed and replied in a maid's tone, "Although I have awakened into a magical girl, I am still Miss Lin's personal maid. Naturally, I must maintain respect for Miss Lin's junior magical girl."
"Hehe, actually, when we're alone together, there's really no need to be so reserved. Just call me Xie Lan!"
Xie Lan plans to take her relationship with the blue-haired girl a step further.
"Yes, Miss Xie Lan."
"...Hmph, what an unlovable junior." Seeing that the blue-haired maid had no intention of changing her mind, Xie Lan stopped insisting and turned her head away somewhat sullenly.
"So... Miss Xie Lan, what exactly do you want to know about 'Where the Stars Are'? I'll answer any questions you have about it, as long as I know the answer."
Seeing that the time was right, Su Chenjin took the initiative to start talking about the main topic.
"Hmm... there is a little... I do care about it."
Xie Lan carefully considered her words for a moment, "Junior, you used to work as a maid at the 'Star's Lair' base... So, are you familiar with the 'leader' of that villainous organization?"
familiar?
Cheng Qi couldn't help but let out a soft snort in his heart.
That looks so familiar!
No one understands leadership better than me!
However, on the surface, Su Chenjin maintained a calm and composed expression: "I used to be the Commander's personal maid, specifically responsible for all sorts of chores in his daily life. So... I guess you could say I know him fairly well."
Xie Lan's interest was immediately piqued: "She's actually a personal maid! That's wonderful! I'm really curious to know what kind of person the leader of 'Where the Stars Are' is!"
"Uh...why are you interested in him?"
A novice magical girl is asking about her own affairs... What does she want to do?
"Because it's strange!"
Xie Lan frowned slightly and began to analyze.
"Look, the 'Four Heavenly Kings' of 'Where the Stars Are,' they're all incredibly powerful magical girls, right? And that leader... he seems to be just a mage, right? Judging from their strength, even a mage can't compare to a seed-level magical girl, right? Why would the Four Heavenly Kings submit to him as their leader?"
Upon hearing this question, Su Chenjin fell silent.
She was well aware of the reasons.
But the problem is... the causes and consequences of these things involve too many past loves, hates, grudges, and entanglements, and it's impossible to explain them all in a short time. Moreover, theoretically... these things are not something I, as a "maid," should know.
So, in order to fit her persona as an "inexperienced maid," she decided to play dumb for a bit and offer an answer from a different perspective.
Su Chenjin feigned deep thought, and after a moment slowly spoke:
"As a servant, I am not very familiar with the specific history between the Commander and the Four Heavenly Kings."
"But Miss Xie Lan, do you think that maintaining an underground organization, and even daring to confront a magical kingdom, requires only the leader's personal combat prowess?"
"Huh? Isn't that right?" Xie Lan blinked, somewhat puzzled.
"That's not the case. What makes a person a leader is never their fighting ability, but their ability to unite and lead. Although the leader is an ordinary person, he seems to have a kind of attraction that can gather those wounded and scattered souls together and lead them toward the same goal."
"The strongest person may be the blade that cuts through everything. But only those with outstanding leadership charisma, a broad mind, and unwavering faith no matter what dire straits they face... can become the hand that holds that blade."
"The Commander-in-Chief doesn't need to go to the front lines to fight the enemy personally; he only needs to tell everyone where the real direction is. The Four Heavenly Kings were captivated by his personal charisma, which is why they gathered under his command."
After saying this, Su Chenjin tilted her head slightly and looked at Xie Lan's reaction.
"So that's how it is... leadership and conviction." Xie Lan murmured to herself, looking thoughtful. Then she turned to Su Chenjin, "Thank you, junior. I think I understand some things now."
"Yes, I'm glad I could answer your question."
To be honest, praising herself so lavishly from a third-person perspective... Su Chenjin felt a little embarrassed. She repeatedly reassured herself—it's just telling the truth!
"By the way, junior, do you... have time tomorrow?"
Xie Lan asked suddenly, seemingly out of the blue.
"I don't have any special plans. Is there anything I can do for you tomorrow?"
Xie Lan nodded, but her eyes darted around, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Finally, she seemed to have made up her mind—
"Junior...could you...attend my parent-teacher conference?"