Get off work and become a magical girl

Chapter 218 On duty
The Yi Ce Bureau was much quieter on New Year's Eve than on ordinary days.

In response to the request of Lin Yun, the current director, a considerable number of employees will have to stay on duty this year, but Lin Yun is not the kind of leader who would not like to see his employees idle. After all, more people can take normal holidays and go home for the New Year.

Most of the employees who stayed on duty were combatants. Even if they were not high-ranking magicians, they all had certain abilities in using spells. A small number of civilian staff were added to ensure minimum operation, thus achieving the purpose of preventing dangers before they occur.

Of course, in order to serve and to compensate these hard-working employees to a certain extent, those who work one night on New Year's Eve can not only receive a week's salary, but also have a very sumptuous dinner in the cafeteria, which makes up for not being able to go home for meals.

As for whether this kind of compensation can really eliminate the employees' opinions and whether the employees will have doubts in their hearts, Lin Yun really can't take care of it.

After all, he is also having dinner at the Yi Ce Bureau now.

Lin Yun picked up the fish from the plate expressionlessly, took a bite, and then thought about his plans for tonight.

According to his idea, he should first inspect the Special Policy Bureau as the director to confirm that all departments are operating normally and all personnel are on duty, and at the same time indicate that he is on duty as well.

After that, he would have to temporarily leave the Strategy Bureau and return to the Magical Girls' Base in Fangting City as Delphinium to ensure that "Delphinium would attend the New Year's Eve party normally."

Then, he had to rush back without stopping and spend midnight in his office as Lin Yun. The reason was that Lin Xiaolu was still here, and he was destined not to be away for too long.

Yes, in the end he couldn't think of an excuse to reject Lin Xiaolu.

In other words, he was actually happy with Lin Xiaolu's proposal from the bottom of his heart, no matter what the reason behind it was.

After dinner, Lin Yun handed the plates and cutlery on the table to the cleaning window, then returned to the food pick-up area and received several stacked lunch boxes from the chef who greeted him with a smile. He put the lunch boxes into the bag that had been prepared, and left the cafeteria without stopping.

Along the way, employees passing by nodded and greeted him from time to time, and he responded one by one, including an employee he was quite familiar with - Tian Sheng.

Compared to when he first joined the company two months ago, Tian Sheng now has almost no trace of the immaturity of a newcomer. Not only that, perhaps because he has been participating in high-intensity battles, he now has a bit of bloodiness.

This is not a bad thing. Working in such a dangerous position, those who are adapted to combat can go further.

After exchanging a few brief words with Tian Sheng, which took about half a minute, Lin Yun said goodbye to him, walked quickly into the elevator of the office building, and pressed the button for the director's office floor.

A few minutes later, he finally pushed open the door of his office carrying a heavy packing bag.

In the room, a girl in a down jacket was sitting half-reclining on a chair, holding her mobile phone high in the air, tapping the screen with her thumb. Her cheeks were slightly puffed up, as if she was holding something in her mouth, so she made a few unclear mumbling sounds from time to time.

Even when she heard the sound of the door opening, she did not stop what she was doing. It was not until Lin Yun put the bag in his hand on the desk with a "dong" sound that she finally reluctantly looked away from the screen.

"Too slow." The first sentence he said was quite merciless.

Seeing her say that, Lin Yun unceremoniously put his hand on her head and patted it hard: "I'm already very quick, eat quickly, otherwise it will get cold later."

Just as Lin Yun had said to Lin Xiaolu at home before, in order to avoid appearing in the Strategy Bureau with his family as much as possible, he did not take Lin Xiaolu directly to the cafeteria, but chose to take the meal back to the director's office.

There are three reasons for doing this. In addition to taking precautionary measures to prevent the infiltration of undercover agents in the Bureau of Strategy, they also do not want the rumor that "the director is spending the New Year with his daughter in the Bureau of Strategy" to spread among the employees.

More importantly, quite a number of employees in the Strategy Bureau had seen Lin Yun’s “daughter” before that - a quiet girl with shoulder-length hair who looked like she was still in elementary school.

Yes, the news that Bai Jingxuan had nothing to do so she ran to the Yi Ce Bureau and called Lin Yun "Dad" without restraint eventually spread in a small circle.

Even if all employees who know about the rumor leak the information repeatedly and tell the other party "never spread it outside", the next employee will often pass the rumor he knows to the people he is most familiar with.

This actually violated the regulations that employees of the Strategy Bureau were not allowed to bring family members in, but in fact no one could stop Bai Jingxuan from breaking into the Strategy Bureau. Even Lin Yun, after Bai Jingxuan's birthday, could not do anything about it on the surface, and over time he just turned a blind eye.

This would lead to a very serious consequence. If Lin Yun took Lin Xiaolu in and out of the Strange Strategies Bureau, anyone with a discerning eye would be able to see that the director's daughter was not the same person as his usual daughters, and some strange misunderstandings might arise.

In order to avoid this kind of headache-inducing situation, Lin Yun asked Lin Xiaolu to stay in the office. If she wanted to go out for a visit, she had to wait for someone he arranged to guide her.

Eventually, the current situation was formed.

After taking the lunch box that Lin Yun brought back, Lin Xiaolu turned off the screen of her mobile phone and put it aside, but just sat there without eating immediately.

"What's wrong? No appetite?" Lin Yun asked.

"No, I'm eating candy." Lin Xiaolu answered incoherently, and at the same time pushed the candy in her mouth against her cheek, probably wanting Lin Yun to see clearly.

"Where did you get the candy?" Lin Yun couldn't help but feel strange.

"I took it from the drawer."

Lin Xiaolu responded confidently: "I really like this brand of candy. One of my teammates often brings this to me."

"Bai Jingxuan?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"She got her candy from me."

"Oh, so I took it from you...what is it?"

Lin Xiaolu looked up in surprise: "Why did you take it from you?"

"Isn't it because I have a good daughter? I don't know who encouraged me to adopt her teammate. Have you forgotten it?"

Lin Yun said expressionlessly: "They found me right away."

There was no need for him to hide this matter. After all, it was Lin Xiaolu who had initiated it, and Bai Jingxuan had already let the cat out of the bag.

"Ah... that thing... I haven't forgotten it..."

When Lin Yun mentioned this, Lin Xiaolu remembered how she had previously spread the rumor that "Cuiqiao and my father were having an affair" within the Fangting City team. She was so embarrassed that she dug her toes into the ground, and her voice naturally became quieter.

At that time, she was really obsessed and firmly believed that the reason why Cuique was so good to her was because she wanted to be her stepmother. Therefore, she made a series of outrageous inferences afterwards. Now that she calmed down and thought about it, it was really untenable.

After all, a perfect magical girl like Delphinium is indeed as noble and cold as a princess. There is no reason for her to be a love-brained person who devotes herself to love.

Rather, given Cuiqiao's usual expression, as if everyone owed her money, Lin Xiaolu found it hard to imagine what it would be like for her to really fall in love with someone.

And what reason does such a magical girl have to stay for me...

Thinking of this, Lin Xiaolu suddenly became visibly depressed again.

On the other side, seeing that his daughter was thinking about something, she was silent for a while and suddenly her whole temperament became melancholy. Lin Yun couldn't help but knock on the lunch box: "What are you thinking about? I told you, if you don't eat now, it will get cold."

"……Oh."

This was forcibly brought out of her own thoughts. Perhaps because what she thought of was indeed very shocking, Lin Xiaolu did not retort. She just looked at Lin Yun blankly and then nodded.

While she reached for the lunch box in front of her, she used her back teeth to chew the candy that she had been holding in her mouth into pieces.

Click.

A subtle crisp sound rang out in her mouth, and the broken candy left a slightly pricking taste on her tongue, but it was quickly swallowed down her throat. Savoring the last aftertaste of the candy in her mouth, Lin Xiaolu's slightly distracted vision gradually focused.

Something suddenly occurred to her.

"This candy...Bai Jingxuan brings it back every two days." She couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"Yes, after all, she comes every few days." Lin Yun answered quite straightforwardly.

"what?"

Lin Xiaolu's voice suddenly rose several decibels: "Do you come every few days?"

"Well, after all, although I didn't adopt her, it's still possible for me to discuss some magical girl matters with her and provide some life advice as the director of the Strategy Bureau."

Lin Yun nodded: "That girl is quite polite most of the time, there's nothing wrong with chatting with her."

"No, you are my dad?" Lin Xiaolu looked at Lin Yun in disbelief. "I am your dad, what's wrong?" Lin Yun looked at Lin Xiaolu in confusion.

"I can't even come to the Strategy Bureau every few days!"

Lin Xiaolu picked up the chopsticks beside the lunch box and tapped the table hard: "You said something about not bringing family members into the Strategy Bureau, but she comes to you every day to act like a spoiled child? Is she relying on you?"

"…This statement is a bit subjective."

Lin Yun turned his eyes slightly and said, "That kid only comes to chat with me occasionally, saying that he's just acting like a spoiled child or something..."

"I don't know what she can do."

Lin Xiaolu stared at Lin Yun with eyes wide open: "That little girl is like this every day in the base, always sticking to Kusanagi and saying things that make people envious, and then hugging her, and even shamelessly calling her 'Mom' from time to time, which is really enviable... It's unbearable to look at! Anyway, isn't she doing the same thing when she comes to you?"

This time Lin Yun turned his face away completely.

Lin Xiaolu's words were rough but her logic was sound. Although her speech was quite emotional, she did speak the truth.

As the person involved, he actually fully felt how clingy Bai Jingxuan has been recently.

Usually when Cuiqiao was in the base, she always liked to follow behind Cuiqiao, wanting to help with everything. Occasionally, she would obediently ask for some intimate interactions, such as patting her head or giving her a hug... If there was no one in the base and she didn't have to patrol, she would run to the office of the director of the Strategy Bureau and pester Lin Yun to tell her about some little things she encountered in her daily life.

If this behavior is not considered as acting coquettishly... then it is indeed a bit against one's conscience. I have to admit that what Lin Xiaolu said is true.

But Lin Yun also knew that the main motive behind this was because of himself.

After all, considering Bai Jingxuan's physical and mental health, he also hopes that she can establish bonds with more people, and even expressed his desire to become "someone Bai Jingxuan cares about."

It is precisely because of her statement and promise that Bai Jingxuan regards both Cuiqiao and Lin Yun as "people she can act coquettishly with", and the situation has evolved to this point.

"...You can come if you want."

Thinking of this, Lin Yun was too embarrassed to say anything in rebuttal, so he could only speak stiffly, trying to change the subject: "I just didn't know you were interested in the Yi Ce Bureau before."

"I have no interest in the Strategy Bureau. Or rather, I don't have the time to come to you every day like that girl."

Lin Xiaolu said with some dissatisfaction: "In addition to working as a magical girl, I also have to go to school. How can I have so much free time?"

"Then during holidays or when you have free time..."

"Holiday? I'll definitely stay in the base if I have that much time."

Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened: "You know that if this continues, Delphinium will definitely be completely attracted by her! By then, there will be no place for me in the team!"

"Cough cough cough..." Lin Yun coughed repeatedly upon hearing this.

What Lin Xiaolu said was true, he should indeed know about this matter.

Because this was the "fact" that Lin Xiaolu told him in the name of consultation that night a few days ago.

In Lin Xiaolu's opinion, Bai Jingxuan has become a huge threat in reality. She is constantly attracting Cuiqiao's attention, making Cuiqiao pay less attention to her than before.

She has had a sense of crisis about this matter for a long time. She felt it as early as when Bai Jingxuan joined the team, but it was not until recently that she became completely unable to sit still.

It's not just because Bai Jingxuan's abilities develop much faster than his own, but also because she has a huge advantage over him - she can unscrupulously demand more love.

Compared to Bai Jingxuan, who can often act coquettishly and use various methods to enhance intimate relationships, Lin Xiaolu is actually very envious, but she dares not imitate her at all.

Because she was always worried about one thing: whether Delphinium's care for her was a kind of motherly legacy.

This point became even more concerning after he won the competition with Baian City.

If this is true, then it means that Cuique's feelings for her are more of a sense of responsibility. The more she demands love and care like Bai Jingxuan and presses forward step by step, the more she will push Cuique away, until finally she can't even maintain their current relationship.

Rather, if the other person really cares about her because of her mother, perhaps she should behave more strongly and independently, because this is more like her mother Anya's character, and will satisfy Delphinium.

She threw this question to Lin Yun, but obviously, Lin Yun had no way to solve it.

After all, he couldn't tell his daughter, "You are worrying too much and don't need to worry about this kind of thing because you are my only biological daughter."

Unable to say such things, he could only pretend to be a bystander, trying to smooth things over and giving some meaningless suggestions.

For example, "Maybe you should go to her in person to confirm it" or "You should be more confident in yourself", but no matter what you say, it is like scratching the surface and you can't find the real pain point at all.

"It's New Year's Day, there's no point in talking about this now, just eat first."

In the end, he could only continue to change the subject in this way.

Of course, having said that, Lin Yun does have room for maneuver in this matter, but these things can probably only be accomplished by Delphinium.

In his opinion, the most important thing about the whole thing is to help his daughter build up self-confidence.

If Lin Xiaolu herself lacks self-confidence, then even if I use the identity of Delphinium to tell her in person how special you are, it will probably be of no avail.

After all, it’s not like Delphinium hasn’t said such things before.

The victory in the competition with Bai'an City was a good start. It could be said that it was because of this victory that Lin Xiaolu had the courage to put the matter on the table and face her own needs.

Next, let her gain more confidence so that she believes that she is qualified to be treated differently.

What should be done and how to achieve it? This is the question that Delphinium needs to think about in the next stage.

Thus, the director's office returned to silence for a while. Lin Xiaolu was preoccupied and ate her meal in silence, while Lin Yun was silently thinking about future plans. The silence between the two became a tacit understanding.

This atmosphere lasted until Lin Xiaolu finished her meal. The two of them spent some time together in silence before it was Lin Xiaolu's turn to break the deadlock:

--"Where are the restrooms?"

As she asked this, she stacked all the lunch boxes in her hands together, as if she was going to take these things with her.

"Bathroom? The nearest one should be where you turn right at the end of the door, then turn left, walk a few dozen meters forward and look to your right." Lin Yun answered subconsciously.

"Oh." After getting her answer, Lin Xiaolu stood up without any delay, holding the lunch box: "I'll throw these things out by the way."

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked out of the door. Soon, the sound of footsteps gradually faded away in the corridor outside the door.

The heavy atmosphere that had been hanging in the director's office finally began to ease a lot.

No longer having to discuss those embarrassing issues with his daughter, Lin Yun felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. He paused for a moment, cleaned up the table, and then returned to his desk.

The night shift does not mean there is no extra work. At least, now he can process another batch of documents.

——Dong dong.

Just as he picked up one of the stacks of papers, as if deliberately not giving him time to breathe, there was a knock on the door of the director's office.

Is Lin Xiaolu back? Isn't it too soon?
Such a thought flashed through his mind, but Lin Yun did not think too much about it. He just used the magic thread to sense the outside of the door slightly. After noticing any abnormal magic fluctuations, he said: "Please come in."

So the door of the director's office was pushed open from the outside. Also entering the director's office was a guest who was neither familiar nor unfamiliar to Lin Yun.

There is no doubt that the person who came was not Lin Xiaolu, and the appearance of this person seemed neither reasonable nor compliant.

"Oh, Happy New Year, Director Lin."

The visitor was none other than Yuan, a Claw Mark cadre who had met Lin Yun and Cuiqiao several times before and had even fought against them once.

(End of this chapter)