There once was a place—
In this place, it was crowded with countless hungry young men and women. They were pushing and shoving, their faces anxious, all vying for a portion of food that was never enough and always unexpectedly different, crowding in front of narrow windows. This scene was like the last refuge for humanity after a great catastrophe...
Yes, this place was the legendary—cafeteria!
Qianqian, Pandora, and I were sitting in a relatively empty corner, with meals in front of us that were clearly more generous than others'. Watching our classmates still in battle around us, I felt a sense of satisfaction.
"Lili, you're really my lucky star!" I sincerely praised, reaching out to stroke the hair of the little loli beside me. Though she still maintained a cold expression, I could tell she was quite happy—nothing could have delighted a Xyrin Apostle more than praise from a high-level authority.
Qianqian snorted and said with disdain, "You have the nerve to say that, making your blind sister fetch food—it's not like she can see anything. Without others' help... aren't you afraid she might get hurt?"
"If it weren't for Lili's pitiful charm, could you have gotten food so smoothly?"
"...Anyway, it's you whom they call a beastly brother behind your back, I just take advantage."
Setting aside her disdain, Qianqian took the few remaining pieces of meat from my bowl and put them into Pandora's bowl.
"...Are the two ribs in your lunchbox just for decoration? Also, aren't you afraid of gaining weight eating ?"
"You know Lili doesn't like ribs. As for gaining weight—whatever I become, you'll still want me, so why should I worry?"
...Is my taste similar to Zhao Hang's?
"Speaking of which, Qianqian," I suddenly grew serious, "are we really a couple?"
Qianqian's face flushed almost imperceptibly, and then she said, "Haven't we established that? Or is there something you're unhappy about with me?"
"Of course not!" I hurriedly denied, "It's just, I feel everything is so strange and inexplicable, I don't even know when we started..."
Qianqian stared at me with a gentle expression I had never seen before, "I don't know either, maybe it's always been —Ah Jun, you know, sometimes I get a very strange feeling, as if in this world, if I, Xu Qianqian, were to spend my life with a man, it could only be you. Even when we were little kids who didn't understand anything, I naturally thought that—Isn't it strange?"
"Maybe it's fate. Who said we both have such strange personalities?"
Pandora's calm analysis broke through, "Fate... a baseless theory, involving mysticism and divination but choosing the most unfounded explanation..."
"Ah..." Qianqian's face turned red, "Lili is here, be careful not to corrupt young minds!"
"Well, you're the one discussing this in public."
"It's all because you brought it up!" Qianqian protested discontentedly.
"Yeah, this guy really is a jerk." A somewhat familiar voice came from behind us. Turning around, I saw a bright yellow figure.
"Lin Xue?" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Yo!" Lin Xue waved casually at me in greeting, then blatantly sat beside me and took the unopened bread I was saving for the afternoon, "I haven't eaten yet!"
Qianqian looked at us suspiciously.
No matter what, the relationship between Lin Xue and me seemed too close for people who had only known each other for a few days. Even if Qianqian was usually carefree, she couldn't help but mind.
"Ah Jun, I'm starting to suspect there's something going on between you and that Lin Xue... confess honestly!"
I couldn't help but smile bitterly; it was obvious that Lin Xue was here to cause trouble. Why else would she come specifically when Qianqian was around and act so casually? It seemed Pandora's punishment made this Superpower Person hold quite a grudge against me.
"Miss Lin Xue, could you please stop messing with me... why aren't you at your noble school and came to our place?" I said to Lin Xue with a long face. By now, many classmates had noticed us. Qianqian was already a pretty girl and quite eye-catching; now, with Lin Xue, who was equally attractive, it looked like a love war over a plain-looking guy (could we drop the 'plain-looking' part?).
So, the gossip began to spread, with some observant classmates noticing the exceedingly cute little loli sitting quietly between Qianqian and me, leading to even more explosive rumors: Could it be that the adorable little loli also fell victim to this guy? Could he be the legendary supreme scoundrel, combining all unscrupulous traits into one super villain?
Probably feeling it was meaningless to keep messing with me, Lin Xue quickly finished the last bite of bread and said, "I wasn't in that school to study. Today, I came to you for business—Xu Qianqian, right? Don't worry, I'm not here to steal your boyfriend. My relationship with him isn't what you think. Lili can testify."
"I can testify." Pandora nodded, quietly finished her food, and stood up.
"If you still don't trust us," Lin Xue pointed to her head, "you can come with us."
Qianqian looked curiously between Lin Xue and me, "Come with you guys... hey, where are you going?"
" and you'll find out. Do you think I'd harm you?"
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Ten minutes later, we were in a black sedan heading to the outskirts.
Sitting in the car, Qianqian worriedly asked, "Hey, Lin Xue, where are you taking us? We have class this afternoon!"
"This afternoon's class... I've already taken leave for you—long leave."
"You... what are you planning?!" Qianqian finally seemed scared. Though usually carefree, she was still an ordinary girl and couldn't compete with Lin Xue, who was used to life-and-death missions. She nervously clutched my hand, seeking reassurance.
"Relax, I'm not a bad person. It's just that the place we're going is a bit special—hmm, why do I feel like someone's watching us? Little Feng, speed up."
Hearing Lin Xue's words, I curiously looked out the window, catching a glimpse of a man dressed like a future soldier in black squatting at a corner selling pirated discs.
Thinking back, I realized I had seen quite a few familiar faces on the way.
"Our people have been following the car since we left the school," Pandora relayed through a mental link, "We've been hiding our intentions and constantly switching monitoring personnel. We even got Kaos to activate junior level Mind Interference to hide our presence. But, this carbon-based life named Lin Xue can still sense us instinctively. If my analysis is correct, her Superpower should be relying on exceptionally strong intuition for detection, an auxiliary information-gathering ability."
"Lin Xue, can you tell me what you're planning now?" Though Pandora and the Xyrin Commanders were protecting us, I still asked Lin Xue, hoping to ease Qianqian's worries and stop her from pinching my arm every three seconds.
"Remember what you promised me a few days ago?" Lin Xue didn't answer directly but asked me this.
A few days ago? That was when Lin Xue tried to persuade Pandora and me to join her organization under the guise of an apology. I recalled, at that time, I even saved the world from a little future soldier less than four feet tall.
"You promised that if we ran into trouble, you and Pandora would help."
"So you're in trouble... wait, you're involving Qianqian?!" I realized with a start that Lin Xue probably sought our Superpowers to solve some problem but bringing Qianqian along?
"Well, not exactly involving..." Lin Xue explained, "This issue also concerns Xu Qianqian. In fact, to resolve it, we'll need her help."
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Today's update came early. Starting tomorrow, I'll be working overtime, so the next update might be a few hours late.