My Girlfriend... Is From the Future?

The room lights were dimmed to their lowest setting, leaving only a halo of yellow light that barely outlined the shape of the bed.

Herta lay flat on the bed, her hair spread out on the pillow. Her breathing was not yet fully calm, her chest rose and fell slightly, and her cheeks still had a lingering flush.

She turned her head to look at Bai Luoming beside her.

Bai Luoming stared blankly at the ceiling, his face pale, his lips cracked and chapped, radiating a sense of utter exhaustion. If one had to describe it, one could think of the face of a resident trainee who had worked overtime for more than thirty consecutive hours.

Herta looked at his miserable state with great interest, a smirk playing on his lips, his tone full of triumphant pleasure.

"So, this is the price you pay for your recklessness."

Bai Luoming did not react.

His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, like a salted fish slapped on the beach, too weak to even turn over.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Herta raised an eyebrow, flipped over, and nimbly sat on him. She placed her hands on either side of his chest, leaned down, and her purple hair fell down, brushing against his cheek.

She looked down at him, scrutinizing him, and said, "Not going to answer? Then I'll assume you still have energy to spare, and we'll continue."

These words struck like a thunderbolt, directly piercing Bai Luoming's chaotic sea of consciousness.

He regained consciousness instantly.

His blank expression was replaced by terror. As if electrocuted, he reflexively raised his hands to shield himself, and said in a panic.

"No, no, no! There's really none left! Not a single drop!"

Seeing his expression, Herta finally couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"Can't it talk?"

Bai Luoming weakly pursed his lips, feeling his throat was parched and his voice terribly hoarse. "Could you... perhaps unseal the Stellaron first... so I can catch my breath..."

Herta noticed something was wrong as soon as the long "punishment" began.

The Stellaron placed inside Bai Luoming's body is like an inexhaustible power bank, continuously replenishing his physical strength and energy.

If the Stellaron is left unattended, it won't be considered punishment; instead, it will give Bai Luoming a sense of satisfaction. Fortunately, she has extensive knowledge of these Stellaron aggregates.

In a very short time, while simultaneously controlling the "punishment" and observing the energy flow within Bai Luoming's body, she precisely located several key transmission nodes between the Stellaron and his body.

Then, she decisively cut off the Stellaron's supply to Bai Luoming.

"If you dare to do this again, then continue," Herta warned with a cold snort.

Even so, she still got off Bai Luoming and gently touched his chest with her fingertips.

An invisible shackle has been broken.

The moment the seal was broken, Bai Luoming felt a surge of warm energy erupt from the center of his chest, rapidly flowing through his limbs and bones. His parched body was nourished by the Stellaron, and every muscle and nerve greedily absorbed this power.

The paleness on his face faded visibly, replaced by a healthy glow.

He took a long breath and then exhaled, as if all the fatigue in his body was being expelled with it.

He paused for about half a minute, then stretched his neck and let out a comfortable sigh.

"Hmm... I'm getting into it."

Herta turned his head, looking at Bai Luoming, who was now radiant and completely different from before. A hint of interest flashed in his eyes, and his tone was somewhat probing. "So energetic? Want to do it again?"

Bai Luoming's expression instantly collapsed, and the color that had just returned almost faded again.

He quickly waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "Please let me go, Sister Ta. I really can't take it anymore this time, or I'll really fall apart."

He now understood that a genius is a genius after all, and his own stats were simply no match for the Herta.

The ways the other party manipulated him were far more numerous than one could imagine.

Herta stopped teasing him, silently lay back down next to Bai Luoming, and closed his eyes.

Actually, she was tired too.

After all, she had been in charge from beginning to end, and her physical exertion was considerable.

No one spoke in the room; the only sound was the even breathing of the other person.

The silence lasted less than half a minute before Herta felt Bai Luoming reach out and poke her cheek.

She didn't want to deal with Bai Luoming for the time being, so she continued to close her eyes and rest.

But Bai Luoming persisted, poking her again and again.

When Bai Luoming poked her again, she finally opened her eyes impatiently and glared at Bai Luoming.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Bai Luoming turned to his side, resting his head on his arm, and looked at her with a serious expression.

At this moment, Bai Luoming looked solemn and asked a question he had always wanted to ask, but had never found the right time to do so.

"Herta, I want to know, why are you so good to me?"

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet room, every word was crystal clear.

Herta stopped moving, looked at Bai Luoming, and did not answer immediately.

Seeing that Herta remained silent, Bai Luoming continued speaking, as if he were organizing his thoughts.

"Your attitude towards me has been off ever since we first met on the space station."

"You always have a certain distance from others, even Asta. But with me, your affection for me has been off the charts from the very beginning."

He organized his thoughts and used a metaphor that he could best understand.

"To put it in Galagued's words, it means your starting affinity level is directly inherited from your previous save file, and it's maxed out right away. While others are still struggling to complete side quests and raise trust, you're directly entered into your own exclusive storyline, without even having to meet the prerequisites."

When Herta heard Bai Luoming use the analogy of Gala to describe wood, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

But she did not refute the analogy; on the contrary, she thought it was quite apt.

Herta shifted his gaze from Bai Luoming's face to the blurry darkness of the ceiling.

After a long while, the Herta spoke again.

She spoke calmly and earnestly, "Because I am not the person 'now'."

Bai Luoming blinked, not interrupting her. He could sense that Herta was about to say something very important.

Herta considered his words carefully before continuing:

"Strictly speaking, I am someone who returned to the present from the future with my Remembrance intact."

She paused, turned her head, and stared directly at Bai Luoming with her purple eyes in the dim light.

"In a future timeline, I will be your girlfriend."

These words, like a thunderclap from a flat surface, exploded in Bai Luoming's mind.

He froze completely.

At this moment, the brain was working at lightning speed, forcibly connecting countless fragments and details.

It wasn't just the special inspection conducted in his office before, or the monitoring of his terminal, or even the 'punishment' that Herta is now inflicting on him.

Everything.

All the unreasonable parts.

Everything makes sense when you say something honestly.

"I see... that explains it..."

Although it's a bit far-fetched, everything makes sense. And it seems that Herta isn't the only one who has returned to the present with Remembrance from the future. For example, there's Asta, Evernight, and even Silver Wolf, who played games with him before, and Bronya, who impersonated the Pathstrider of Finality.

That said, is he really that much of a jerk?

Bai Luoming was somewhat confused. He had always been pursuing pure love, so why did he see it this way? It seemed like his future self had become a complete scumbag.

Herta looked at Bai Luoming's expression, which was a mixture of sudden realization and shock, and a slight smile curved his lips.

This is also where Herta's brilliance lies: by telling a lie that is nine parts truth and one part falsehood, they not only explained Bai Luoming's problem but also directly legitimized her status.

She wasn't lying. In that future, she did indeed have a high level of affection for Bai Luoming. In Bai Luoming's words, she had reached the maximum level of affection for Gala.

However, in that timeline, she was actually a complete bystander and never truly succeeded.

She closed her eyes again, her tone returning to its usual calm.

"Now that you know, don't ask anymore. Go to sleep for a while."

As she spoke, she snuggled into Bai Luoming's arms, wrapped her arms around his waist naturally, and buried her face in his chest.

Bai Luoming felt the warmth of Herta's embrace; her warm breath fell directly onto Bai Luoming's chest without any obstruction.

He instinctively raised his hand and embraced the person in his arms.

Soft hair, a warm body, steady breathing.

Everything felt unbelievably real.

His girlfriend... is from the future?