The villainous magical girl's daily mission is to find fault.

Chapter 500 No Regrets

[Mercury's Secret: I'm truly a warrior of happy-end pure love]

A sunny afternoon.

Xia Taotao stood in the courtyard of the shed, looking at the several steamers piled on the ground.

As always, Mother sat outside the inner room door, silently cleaning the residue left on the steamer.

The younger siblings were gathered in the side room of the dining room, making a lot of noise. Judging from their voices, they seemed to be discussing whether to spread soybean paste or dip the fried bread slices in white sugar.

Looking at those steamer baskets, Xia Taotao recalled scenes from the past.

When I was a child, I would see my father kneading dough in the restaurant every night. He would get up early the next day to steam several trays of steamed buns and sell them all over the street from his little cart.

This is the only livelihood the family has left.

In the years since I ran away from home, my father has continued to maintain the family's meager income in this way, but it has become even more difficult because of my actions when I was emotionally agitated...

In other words, it was his own wishful thinking that harmed everyone.

"Hiss... Huff..."

Xia Taotao took a deep breath, forcing herself to stop thinking about it.

Not long ago, I was pulled aside by my classmate Tianqing for a private chat.

From the fox spirit's mouth, Xia Taotao heard her say that phrase again:

The past is the past; we cannot dwell on its rights and wrongs, but must look forward.

I think Tao Tao, you should have a serious talk with your family and clear up all the misunderstandings.

Leave no regrets.

Yes, we must emerge from the shadows of the past in order to have a brighter future.

But even so... what should I do?

The girl lowered her head, her rabbit ears drooping on either side of her head, unsure how to bring it up.

Will my father really listen to me?

Having done such a thing, can my father really still tolerate me appearing in front of him?

Thinking of this, a nameless fear crept into Xia Taotao's heart, entangled and rose within the girl's mind.

"Hey, what are you standing there for in the yard? Aren't you going to eat?"

A voice reached Xia Taotao's ears.

The girl turned around and looked at the courtyard gate that was being opened from the outside. A gray wolf girl wrapped in a thick down jacket walked in from outside and spoke to her.

Fei Yelan.

Upon hearing that she was going home to say goodbye to her parents, Fei Yelan immediately volunteered to accompany her.

The mother in front of the inner room also saw the gray wolf girl push the door open and enter. Her rabbit ears perked up, and she blinked curiously.

"Hmm? You are...?"

"Good afternoon, Auntie! I'm Tao Tao's friend, and I came along with her." Fei Yelan greeted her with a smile and a wave.

"Oh, you're friends! Have you had lunch yet? Tao Tao, go get your friend some fried bread slices!"

"Ahhh, okay, okay."

Hearing her mother's call, Xia Taotao instinctively responded and quickly rushed into the restaurant.

The restaurant was filled with shouts of "Wow, it's Sister Tao Tao!" and "Sister, I want to see the picture cards!" The noise level rose even higher.

Fei Yelan curiously peered into the courtyard of the shed, feeling that it was somewhat beyond her expectations.

I never imagined that Tao Tao's family was in such dire straits before, and that she lived so far from Chengdu. It's unimaginable how she managed to wander to the south across several provinces ten years ago.

That must have been an incredibly arduous journey, Fei Yelan thought to herself.

"Oh, this gentleman... what's your name?"

"My name is Fei Yelan, Auntie, you can just call me Yelan." Upon hearing the voice at the door of the inner room, the gray wolf girl quickly responded.

"Ye Lan... Oh dear, look at this mess! That unlucky girl Tao Tao, she didn't even tell me she was bringing a friend home. I'll go deal with her later. Why don't you come inside and sit for a bit?"

"The weather is nice today, so I'll just sunbathe in the yard and warm myself up."

"Sunbathing is good, spring is coming soon, and after I get better, maybe that patch of land in the backyard that's been barren for so long can be cultivated into cornfields..."

The middle-aged woman muttered to herself thoughtfully, but before she could speak further, another pink-furred bunny girl emerged from the side room, attracting everyone's attention.

Xia Youyou was carrying a rather heavy backpack and dragging a suitcase as she walked out of the side room of the accommodation.

"...Ah, Sister Ye Lan." Xia Youyou quickly greeted Fei Ye Lan upon seeing her.

"Youyou, are you going to school?" her mother suddenly asked.

Xia Youyou nodded.

"Yes, today is the last day of the holiday. I have class tomorrow morning, so I need to go back to school early."

"Why are you all walking so fast...? Why don't you eat dinner first?"

"There will be no more buses back after dinner."

"Hey, this is another unlucky kid."

Xia Youyou smiled wryly and walked over to Fei Yelan. She peeked into the restaurant and saw Xia Taotao surrounded by her younger siblings, showing a surprised expression.

"Is Sister Tao Tao back too?"

"Yes, our plane tickets are for tonight. Tianqing said she wants Taotao to come over and talk to her parents, so she doesn't want her to leave with regrets."

"Sunny... Hmm, is it that really pretty fox sister?" Xia Youyou pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized and said.

Fei Yelan was certain that if that fox heard those words, it would shake its tail like a helicopter rotor, leaving afterimages.

Xia Taotao went to great lengths to escape from her younger siblings' encirclement, and also managed to scatter a bag of cheap souvenir postcards that she had casually bought in the discount section of a nearby store.

"Sister Tao Tao," Xia Youyou called out obediently.

Xia Taotao walked up to her younger sister, looked at her as she was getting ready to go out, and then exchanged a glance with the two of them. Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she turned and walked towards her mother, who was sitting in front of the inner room door.

Seeing the long-lost girl walk up to her, the mother couldn't help but stand up and calmly gaze at her daughter whom she hadn't seen for many years.

Several wrinkles had already appeared on her face. She was drying her hands on her apron, her movements were very restrained, and her slightly chapped lips moved slightly, as if she had endless things to say but could not say them.

In short:

"...You've grown so much."

"...Sorry, Mom."

"What's the point of apologizing now... Did you and Youyou go for that treatment? Don't end up like your dad and me."

The mother's face showed concern, but her eyes held a hint of doubt.

"Don't worry, we've already received treatment, and it's working very well."

"That's good, that's good. As long as this strange illness is cured, everything will be alright..."

"My flight is this afternoon, and I'll be back in Chengdu tonight. I have class tomorrow too."

"Leaving again in the afternoon... without even eating dinner. Youyou is exactly like you, I don't know where she learned it from."

The mother's face showed a hint of reproach, but she didn't say anything more. She just silently turned around and glanced into the inner room.

"...Go talk to your dad. It's been so many years, he misses you a lot too."

"Um."

The mother didn't say anything more, silently sat back down on the small stool, and continued washing the steamer in the basin.

.

Xia Taotao stepped into the inner room.

The room was brightly lit by an energy-saving light, and there were several bowls of kneaded dough on the windowsill, which looked like they had just been kneaded, as if I had returned to the days of ten years ago.

In front of the stove, the father's back appeared in the lamplight. He was kneading another lump of dough, which thumped and clattered in the basin, playing a long-lost drumbeat.

"……dad."

Xia Taotao called softly.

Hearing the sound behind him, the man stopped what he was doing, leaned on the edge of the stove and turned around, meeting the girl's eyes across most of the kitchen.

He stopped kneading the dough, glanced back at the dough in the bowl that was almost kneaded, casually placed the bowl on the table not far away, turned around and walked back to himself, limping.

"Oh, it's Tao Tao. How have you been all these years? Have you been bullied?"

"It wouldn't be considered a good life, but I've met many kind people and no one has ever bullied me."

"That's good..."

Her father walked up to her, and Xia Taotao mustered her courage to look at his face.

He was wearing a military green cotton-padded coat that he had somehow gotten his hands on. The snow and wind of the snow city had left deep, weathered marks on his face.

Xia Taotao wanted to reach out and support him, but her father waved his hand, indicating that he was not yet at the point where he needed help. He walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), sat down, and patted the empty seat next to him.

The girl sat down next to him.

After years of living in Chengdu, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to sit on a "kang" (heated brick bed), and it felt a little awkward.

"I heard from your mother that you're going back this afternoon to study, right?"

"Yes. I got into Rongcheng Medical College, and I'm a freshman this year."

"University is great, university students are wonderful."

The father laughed and patted the girl's back gently, as if afraid of hurting her.

"Don't worry about things at home. After the treatment today, the illness has been cured. You may not have many younger brothers and sisters in the future."

"The only problem is my leg... Selling some steamed buns isn't a problem, but the plot of land in the backyard can only be done by your mother. I don't know what she plans to build on it."

Xia Taotao paused for a moment, her eyes dimming slightly.

"I'm sorry, Dad, back then I... I really didn't mean to, I just..."

"...I'm still thinking about that."

"Of course, if you hadn't tried to hit me with a bench back then, I wouldn't have—"

"—Should I beat you up with a bench?"

Mr. Xia suddenly froze, his eyes widening as he looked at his daughter with the bewilderment of a middle-aged man.

"When did I ever think of hitting you with a bench?"

"That night, when I stole money from home to pay for Youyou's medical treatment, didn't you get up in the middle of the night with a stool and come looking for me?"

"Hey kid, I remember everything now. I didn't mean to beat you up back then; I just wanted you to sit down and have a proper chat."

"...Huh? Is that so?"

"Of course, you were just crying there, and when I was about to grab you, you snatched the stool from me and gave me a good whack."

"But you didn't tell me!"

.

Some things are always unexpected.

When Xia Taotao came out of the inner room again, she looked up at the warm spring sun hanging high in the sky, squinted her eyes, and unconsciously reached out to shield her eyes.

"Have you finished chatting? It's getting late, we need to catch our train to the airport."

Fei Yelan was sitting in the courtyard, surrounded by chattering children who excitedly showed and exchanged postcards and pictures.

Xia Taotao walked to the gray wolf girl's side, took the rather heavy-looking suitcase from Xia Youyou's hands, and glanced back at the inner room door one last time.

The mother stood up, while the father leaned against the door frame, silently watching her.

After a long silence, the father raised his hand and awkwardly waved it with his flour-covered hand.

"May you rest in peace, and remember to come home often."

"...Okay. I'm leaving, Mom and Dad."

Xia Taotao smiled and waved to them, then stepped out of the courtyard gate without looking back.

Snow City is bathed in sunshine today, a beautiful spring day.