Interrupting the Incantation, You've Learned It Quite Well!

Li Ming took out his mobile phone, added "0086" to the number, and dialed.

"Hello, Grandpa, how are you? Did you eat dinner?"

"Good grandson! Grandpa just finished eating. How about you, have you eaten? I heard Uncle Su sent you abroad. You must remember this favor and repay it promptly. Study hard and don't think about frivolous things."

"Yeah, I've eaten. I mainly wanted to ask..."

"One more thing, don't bully people outside. But we from the Li family aren't afraid of trouble. If someone bullies you, don't back down. Just fight, that's all!"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Grandpa, I wanted to ask about..."

"One more thing, don't get charmed by those foreign girls. If you dare bring one back, I'll beat you to death!"

"No, Grandpa, listen to me first. Do you remember why I didn't participate in the school's assignment back then?"

Li Ming finally managed to get a word in. Otherwise, with the old man's machine-gun mouth, he wouldn't have been able to speak at all.

He wondered how the original owner of his body managed to not interrupt when calling, the old man's skill at interrupting was just like his father's!

After Li Ming finished speaking, there was suddenly silence on the other end of the line. Li Ming almost thought his mobile phone had lost signal. Then he heard the old man speaking in broken, accented English, "The number you have dialed is not in service. Please redial later. Sorry, the phone you dialed is not available, please redial later..."

"No, Grandpa, don't pretend. 'Call failed' is different from 'not in service.' And you even remembered to write that down. You're definitely hiding something from me, spit it out!" Li Ming was truly speechless with his grandfather; he was desperate to change the subject.

"You little brat! Just like your father, your wings have grown strong after going out, haven't they? I haven't even settled the score for you hanging up on me last time, and you dare yell at your grandpa? You're rebelling!"

Seeing that changing the subject didn't work, the old man resorted to coercive therapy. But Li Ming had made up his mind. No matter what the old man said, he wouldn't care anymore. He had to understand some things about the original owner of his body. "Grandpa, tell me quickly, or I'll buy a ticket back right now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man seemed to fall silent. After a while, he said, "Come back when it's Chinese New Year. I'll tell you then."

"You can't tell me now..."

"Doo doo doo..."

Before Li Ming could finish, the old man hung up. Li Ming was so angry he almost smashed his phone. Fine, Grandpa, you've gotten quite good at interrupting!

He held back in the end. If he broke it now, he'd have to spend money to buy a new one. He was already short on cash, and he didn't want his already meager wallet to become even more strained.

Helpless, Li Ming put his phone away. He didn't know what to do. After thinking for a bit, he decided to catch up on his diary entries for the past few days. He'd have to give them to Susanna later. But honestly, would Susanna be okay after seeing his diary, which was just a stream of mundane accounts?

He decided not to think about it for now. Li Ming was trying his best not to dwell on those frivolous thoughts and find something else to distract himself.

Knock, knock, knock!

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Li Ming put away the diary he had just finished writing. He checked the time; it was already 8 AM. Seeing that there was nothing else to tidy up inside, he walked over to open the door.

"Ming, want to get breakfast?"

He knew it was Raiden just by the voice. When he opened the door, he saw a young man with a resentful look staring at him. One might think this young man had been heartbroken by Li Ming.

"No, what did you do? Why do you look so resentful?"

"Nothing, just a little unhappy."

"Oh?" Li Ming was genuinely confused, not knowing why Raiden was acting like a complaining wife.

Actually, Raiden wasn't that angry. After finishing his thesis yesterday afternoon, he went down to buy something to eat. Then, from a distance, he saw Li Ming carrying a genius beautiful girl towards the hospital, and they entered the apartment together afterward.

Raiden suddenly remembered that when he bet with Li Ming earlier, Li Ming had confidently said he didn't know Himeko.

You call this not knowing each other?

And you went to her apartment the very next day?

It's just a few bottles of beer, is it worth it?!

Raiden felt incredibly wronged at that moment. If he hadn't held back, Raiden figured he would have rushed in and torn that jerk apart last night.

"Uh, I've already eaten. You go ahead..." Li Ming suddenly paused. Hearing that Raiden had eaten, he turned to leave. Hmph, if it wasn't for the fact that I came to ask you to breakfast, I would have done my utmost.

"Never mind, I'll go too. Himeko probably hasn't woken up yet. I can bring her breakfast."

Crack!

Raiden clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. A large kanji symbol appeared on his head. He took several deep breaths before calming down. He almost couldn't resist hitting Li Ming just now.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ming seemed to hear a cracking sound. It sounded like bones. He glanced at Raiden, who was secretly clenching his fists.

"Um, Raiden, have you been staying up too late writing your thesis these past few days? I think I heard your bones cracking."

Hard. My fists are hard.

"You bastard, I can't hold back anymore!" Raiden turned and threw a punch at Li Ming, but Li Ming easily blocked it. However, Li Ming was even more curious about why Raiden was so angry.

Ever since he mastered Xuanwu Guixin Cunxin, he felt his senses had strengthened considerably. At least, at close range, he wouldn't miss the subtle details he usually overlooked.

My mental power must have increased a lot, Li Ming mused inwardly, but he didn't hold back verbally. "This Raiden is so weak!"

Although Li Ming spoke in Schicksal, Raiden understood him perfectly. Coupled with Li Ming's irritating expression, Raiden's fists turned into a "invincible whirlwind."

Even though there was a strong wind, Li Ming still felt embarrassed. He held Raiden's head and grabbed his hands.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore," Li Ming said helplessly and immediately let go of Raiden. Raiden seemed to realize how embarrassing he had been just now, so he didn't continue to pester Li Ming. Instead, he quickly walked towards the elevator, eager to leave this place where the air was filled with his dark history.

As the two entered the elevator, it stopped suddenly on the second floor.

As expected, it was Himeko. Wearing light-colored shorts, a pale blue top, and her red hair tied back, she greeted them enthusiastically upon seeing them.

"Hello, good morning, Li Ming, and Raiden!"

Her face was full of smiles, showing no sign that yesterday's events had affected her at all. After greeting them, she walked into the elevator and stood beside the two of them.

"Morning, Miss Himeko," Raiden nodded, his expression calm, showing no trace of the person who had been furious just moments ago.

"Morning, morning! I was just about to help you get breakfast!" Li Ming nodded with a smile, then cast a glance at Raiden.

Raiden had been forcing himself to stay calm, but after Li Ming's glance, he completely lost it. He subtly lifted his foot to step on Li Ming, but Li Ming wouldn't be caught by such a move.

Thump!

Raiden's foot landed on the elevator floor with a crisp sound, shaking the entire elevator. Himeko, who had just entered, was startled.

"W-what's wrong?"

Himeko looked up at the elevator, her expression worried. Li Ming and Raiden both looked embarrassed. "Nothing, maybe the elevator's broken."

"Right, right, pfft, don't listen to Raiden talking nonsense, it's probably just some malfunction." Li Ming had initially agreed but then realized something was wrong and quickly corrected himself.

Himeko looked at the elevator with some concern. "I seem to be having some bad luck lately. Did I run into Kagutsuchi?"

"It's fine, it's fine. It's probably just old and in disrepair. Don't you think so, Raiden?" Li Ming patted Raiden's shoulder. Under Li Ming's implicit threat of force, Raiden could only nod in agreement.

The three of them sat at a table in the convenience store. Li Ming had already eaten, so he ate less, while Raiden and Himeko ate more.

The three chatted idly, while the convenience store TV played yesterday's news. Himeko and Li Ming recognized it immediately as being about yesterday's events.

"Yesterday, the HK Organization launched attacks across various regions and is suspected of using biological weapons. However, with the cooperation of the Guard and ZF, the incident was resolved with extremely low casualties. According to reports, the HK Organization has close ties to the well-known company H&K Company, and there is evidence to prove that the HK Organization was guided by H&K Company. For the latest news, please follow AM's reports..."

Himeko and Li Ming exchanged glances, both understanding the situation. Himeko felt a sense of relief. Raiden had no particular reaction when he saw the news, but seeing their expressions, he began to suspect something.

"You guys ran into that yesterday?"

Raiden's sudden question startled the two of them. Li Ming thought for a moment and decided to tell Raiden, but not the whole story. "We ran into it yesterday, we were caught in the crossfire on the outskirts."

Seeing that Li Ming wasn't telling the truth, Himeko remained silent, merely nodding in agreement. Honestly, she wasn't that familiar with Raiden, and Li Ming was an exception. There was no need to tell Raiden about this kind of thing.

Raiden wasn't concerned about that at all. He just suddenly thought of Li Ming and Himeko going to the hospital. "No wonder you went to the hospital yesterday. Where were you injured? Are you okay? Do you want to switch to a more reliable hospital?"

Although Raiden held grudges, he wouldn't be sarcastic when it came to such matters. Part of the reason was that Raiden was still entrusted with a task by Su Qizhe, but it didn't prevent Raiden from admiring Li Ming.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. The doctor said yesterday there was nothing serious," Li Ming waved his hand dismissively, wanting to change the subject.

Seeing that Li Ming wasn't too concerned, Raiden didn't say much more. However, he did notice a faint reddish mark on Li Ming's right wrist, a circle, very much like a tattoo, but it didn't feel like one.

Li Ming chuckled, and Himeko didn't want to say more, so Raiden didn't ask. However, their conversation quickly shifted to a new topic.

"Oh right, Li Ming, when school starts, remember to help me recruit for my club!" Himeko said casually, as if she had just remembered something.

Hearing this, Li Ming was stunned. "Ah, I have to help you recruit for your club? No way!"

Did it have something to do with the HK Organization again? But I can't be sure. After all, that bootleg Li Ming wouldn't be easily controlled by anyone outside of Anti-Entropy?

As for what Himeko had just said, Li Ming refused without a second thought.

"You're that heartless? You promised me yesterday." Himeko pouted, looking at him with a pitiful expression.

Raiden immediately felt terrible. He hadn't gotten over his anger from this morning, and now this?

Li Ming, you deserve to die!

Suddenly attacked by a spell, Li Ming was utterly confused. "Hey, sis..."

Li Ming reorganized his words. He had almost lost control and cursed in the Schicksal language just now.

"Can you speak properly? What did I do to you!"

"You promised me last night you'd join my club, and now you don't want to help me recruit." Himeko spoke in a pitiful voice, pinching her throat, but Li Ming also realized something.

"Fine, I'll go. But since you're asking me, why not pull Raiden in too? He's studying psychology, so we can research alien thoughts with Raiden, what do you think, Raiden?"

"Huh?" Raiden, who had been sitting there staring with dead fish eyes, thinking about how to embarrass Li Ming, was caught off guard when the conversation turned to him.

Li Ming threw an arm around Raiden and said to Himeko, "Anyway, I don't care. If I'm there, Raiden has to be there. Otherwise, you can have my body but not my heart. I won't yield to you, I'm serious about Raiden!"

Everyone around, whether they were shopping or working at the convenience store, looked at them as if they had just witnessed some major gossip.

Their expressions were like this:

Really? o.o?

Fake? o.OO.o?

Really fake? O.O?

Seeing Li Ming acting silly again, Himeko couldn't help but cover her face. Although she felt a bit embarrassed when she was trying to act pitiful earlier, this kind of mortifying embarrassment was a first!

There was no choice. Himeko could only agree. Raiden, meanwhile, was already charging at Li Ming like a whirlwind. Although he didn't know what this club was, he could clearly feel the eyes of the people around them.

He felt like he had inexplicably taken the blame for something huge. Those people were looking at him and Li Ming like they were some kind of faggots, and his blood pressure soared. "Li Ming, you bastard!"

To avoid further embarrassment, Himeko quickly left the convenience store.

Then came Li Ming. Although Li Ming had a thick skin, Raiden's sudden tantrum made him experience a second wave of mortification, which was a bit too much.

Raiden, on the other hand, had completely given up. He charged out like a whirlwind, wanting to fight Li Ming to the death.