Before becoming a Magical Girl, Bai Ji, or the girl named Qiu Yun, led an unremarkable life.
An ordinary appearance, an ordinary body, an ordinary personality, ordinary talents. The only thing that was not ordinary about her was her mother, who had left home forever after an argument with her husband, and her ever-absent father.
In her mind, these things never affected her too much; after all, her life continued on. Her father, though not often seen, still provided her with living expenses and tuition fees, and she could attend school as usual.
At school, Qiu Yun was considered an excellent student. She studied very hard, which resulted in relatively good grades, and she was obedient, thus being appointed as the class president by her homeroom teacher.
If there hadn't been other unexpected events, Qiu Yun's life trajectory would have probably been to study ordinarily, work ordinarily, and then—using the diligence that brought her a job—leave the family home that lacked even a trace of affection, to find a husband who would love her enough and welcome her own happiness.
That was at least her own plan.
One day, the apartment that was usually only occupied by Qiu Yun suddenly had another person in it, a strange woman accompanied by her own father. The strange woman berated Qiu Yun, calling her a child born out of wedlock, a "bastard," and then declared that she did not acknowledge her right to live in this house, demanding that she leave this home.
During this, Qiu Yun learned for the first time that her mother and father weren't even married, and she was just a product of an affair.
Her father stood by silently from beginning to end. Only after the woman left did he secretly give her some money. He just sighed, gesturing feebly at her.
Qiu Yun tried to call her mother's number, but all she got was the hollow message: "The phone number is not in service."
From that day on, Qiu Yun was forced to leave home.
She moved into a small, dilapidated rental by herself. The man who was her "father" in name continued to give her living expenses secretly, but the amount dwindled until it was barely enough to maintain basic subsistence, not even covering tuition fees.
In order to continue her education, Qiu Yun began looking for part-time jobs, but because of her age, she couldn't find anything decent and was relegated to distributing flyers and tissues on the streets. Struggling to make ends meet, her academic performance also began to slip, and everything seemed to be getting worse.
This lifestyle persisted for quite a while until one day, while she was handing out flyers on the street, she encountered a very special woman.
That woman was beautiful, tall, and had a unique elegance. Perched on her shoulder was a stuffed toy that looked like a little raccoon, making her stand out from the passing pedestrians.
She did not reject Qiu Yun's flyers like most passersby, but took one and then asked a question that sounded almost like an illusion to Qiu Yun:
— "Would you be interested in becoming a Magical Girl?"
Perhaps because life's hardships had numbed her, Qiu Yun's response was an incredibly peculiar question: "... Is there a salary?"
"Room and board are included, and there's a bonus."
From that day on, Qiu Yun obtained another name, Bai Ji.
As a Magical Girl, Bai Ji's talent turned out to be unexpectedly decent. Though not a genius, she was certainly not "ordinary". Because this was her hard-earned "job," she even put more effort into practicing magic than she had into her studies back in school.
Qiu Yun always respected the woman who employed her. She respected the kindness shown in taking her out of misery and also respected her strength as a Magical Girl, so she addressed her as "Mentor."
Out of respect came admiration, and with admiration came aspiration.
To become a Magical Girl as formidable as her Mentor, Bai Ji constantly held herself to a high standard. Due to her hard work and self-discipline, Bai Ji managed to stand out among her peers, achieving first place in the qualification rankings at the beginning of the year with tenth in practical combat and first in written exams.
She believed it was all thanks to her Mentor's guidance.
She believed it was all because of her Mentor's skills.
Her Mentor, Margaret, was the greatest Magical Girl in the world, at least in her eyes; no one could take that place.
So, when her Mentor mentioned going to Fangting City to "meet an old friend" and hinted that "there might be a contest between the young people," Bai Ji agreed without hesitation.
She knew the "friend" her Mentor was referring to and understood that the Magical Girl named Emerald Sparrow was an extraordinary person. She felt she ought to be there to support her Mentor when meeting the latter's student.
At the same time, she hoped to continue to outperform her rivals and become a student her Mentor could be proud of.
Even if the opponent was a trainee from the Inspectorate, she would not get stage fright; even if the opponent had been a Magical Girl for just over half a year, she would not underestimate them.
Especially so, when this rival dared to speak disrespectfully to her own Mentor.
When her Mentor approached her old friend to greet her warmly, that short girl named Bai Mei had the audacity to make a huge fuss, even using phrases like "indecent behavior."
This disrespectful, even contemptuous attitude, pained Bai Ji's heart.
Out of decorum, she couldn't criticize or retaliate in that setting, she wouldn't show rudeness, as that would only embarrass her Mentor in front of the Inspector.