Interrupting Casts? You've Learned That Pretty Well!

Li Ming took out his mobile phone, added 0086, and started dialing.

"Hello, Grandpa. How are you? Have you eaten dinner?"

"My good grandson! Grandpa just finished eating. How about you, have you eaten? I heard your Uncle Su even sent you abroad. You need to remember this favor. You can't owe people favors; you have to repay them promptly. Study properly and don't think about all sorts of nonsense."

"Mm, I ate. I mainly wanted to ask..."

"One more thing: you're not allowed to bully people outside. But us Lis aren't afraid of trouble either. If someone bullies you, don't chicken out. Just fight them! That's all there is to it!"

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

"One more thing: don't let those foreign women lead you astray out there. If you dare bring one home, see if I don't beat you to death!"

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

Li Ming finally managed to get a word in. Otherwise, with the old man's machine-gun mouth going rat-a-tat-tat, he would never have had a chance to speak.

He had no idea how the original Li Ming had managed not to interrupt during phone calls. The old man was just as good at interrupting casts as Dad!

After Li Ming finished speaking, the other end suddenly went silent. Li Ming almost thought his phone had lost signal, then he heard the old man say in clumsy, accented English, "The number you have dialed is not in the service area. Please try again later. Sorry, the phone you dialed is not available, please redial later..."

"No, Old Man, stop pretending. A call not going through is different from being out of service range. And you actually memorized that? You're definitely hiding something from me. Tell me, now!" Li Ming was truly speechless at his grandfather. The lengths he went to just to change the subject were unbelievable.

"You little brat, just like your father, the moment you went out into the world your wings got hard, didn't they? I haven't even talked about you hanging up on me last time, and you dare yell at your grandpa? You've got some nerve!"

Seeing that changing the subject did not work, the old man began his coercive therapy. But Li Ming was going all out now. No matter what the old man said, he would not back down. He had to figure out some things about the original Li Ming. "Old Man, tell me now, or I'll buy a ticket and go back immediately!"

As soon as he said that, the old man seemed to fall silent. After a while, he finally said, "Come back during the New Year. I'll tell you when you return."

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

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Before Li Ming could finish, the old man hung up. Li Ming was so angry he nearly smashed his phone. Fine, Old Man. You really had mastered interrupting casts!

In the end, he held back. If he broke it now, he would have to spend money on a new one. He was already short on money; he did not want his already impoverished wallet to suffer even more.

With no other choice, Li Ming put away his phone, but he had no idea what else to do. After thinking about it, he decided to make up the diary entries from the past few days. He still had to give them to Susanna later. But honestly, would Susanna collapse when she saw his diary, which read like a running account?

He would not think about that for now. Li Ming was doing his best not to think about all that nonsense, trying to find something else to distract himself.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock suddenly came from outside the door. Li Ming put away the diary he had finished writing and checked the time. It was already eight in the morning. Seeing there was nothing in the room that needed tidying, he went to open the door.

"Ming, going to get breakfast?"

He knew from the voice alone that it was Raiden. When he opened the door, he saw a young man looking at him with resentful eyes. Anyone who saw him might have thought Li Ming had broken his heart.

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

"Nothing. I'm just a little annoyed."

"Hm?" Li Ming was genuinely confused. He had no idea why Raiden looked like a bitter housewife.

Raiden had not actually been that angry at first. After finishing his paper yesterday afternoon, he had gone downstairs to casually buy something to eat. Then, from afar, he saw Li Ming carrying the genius beautiful girl on his back toward the hospital, and later the two of them entered the apartment together.

Raiden suddenly remembered that when he had bet with Li Ming earlier, Li Ming had sworn that he did not know Himeko.

And you called that not knowing her?

The next day, you went to her apartment?

It was only a few bottles of rye whiskey. Did you really have to go that far?!

Raiden had felt so wronged at the time. If he had not forced himself to hold it in, he would probably have rushed in last night and torn that bastard apart.

"Well, I already ate. You go ahead..." Li Ming paused suddenly as he spoke. Hearing that he had already eaten, Raiden turned to leave. Hmph. The fact that he had come over to invite him to breakfast was already more than enough kindness.

"Forget it, I'll go too. Himeko probably isn't up yet. I can bring breakfast back for her."

Crack!

Raiden clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead as a huge cross-shaped vein appeared over his head. He took several deep breaths before calming down. Just then, he had nearly been unable to stop himself from hitting Li Ming.

After saying that, Li Ming seemed to hear something crack. It sounded like bones. He glanced at Raiden, who was secretly clenching his fists.

"Raiden, have you been staying up too much writing your paper lately? I think I heard your bones cracking."

His fists hardened.

"Bastard, I can't take it anymore!" Raiden turned and threw a punch at Li Ming, but Li Ming easily blocked it. What made Li Ming even more curious was what Raiden was so angry about.

Ever since comprehending Xuanwu Guixin Cunxin, he felt that his perception had improved significantly. At the very least, at close range, he no longer overlooked little details he normally would not notice.

Maybe his mental strength had improved quite a bit, Li Ming thought to himself, but his mouth showed no mercy. "Raiden really is pathetic!"

Although Li Ming said it in Shenzhou language, Raiden understood him just fine. Combined with Li Ming's extremely punchable expression, Raiden immediately swung both fists like an unstoppable flaming windmill.

Though the force was tremendous, Li Ming still found it embarrassing. He held Raiden's head in place, then grabbed both of Raiden's hands.

"Alright, alright, I'm done messing with you." Li Ming spoke helplessly and immediately let Raiden go. Raiden seemed to realize how embarrassing he had just been, so he did not continue pestering him. Instead, he hurried toward the elevator, desperate to leave the place where even the air was filled with his embarrassing history.

When the two entered the elevator, it stopped briefly on the second floor.

Sure enough, it was Himeko. She wore light-colored hot pants and a pale blue top, her long red hair tied behind her head. Seeing them, Himeko greeted them warmly.

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

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

"Morning, Miss Himeko." Raiden nodded, his expression calm. No one could have guessed that he was the same person who had been flying into a rage moments ago.

"Morning, morning! I was just about to bring you breakfast!" Li Ming smiled and nodded, then glanced at Raiden.

Raiden had been forcing himself to stay calm, but Li Ming's glance instantly broke his composure. Without a word, he raised his foot and stomped toward Li Ming. But there was no way Li Ming would get stepped on by such a move.

Thud!

Raiden's foot hit the elevator floor with a crisp sound, making the entire elevator shake. Himeko, who had just entered, jumped in fright.

"W-what was that?"

Himeko looked up at the elevator uneasily. Li Ming and Raiden both wore awkward expressions. "Nothing. Maybe the elevator is broken."

"Right, right—ah, no, don't listen to Raiden's nonsense. It should just be some kind of malfunction." Li Ming initially agreed, then realized something was wrong and hurriedly corrected himself.

Himeko looked at the elevator with some concern. "It seems I've been rather unlucky lately. Did I run into Kagutsuchi?"

"It's fine, it's fine. It's probably just old and poorly maintained. Right, Raiden?" Li Ming patted Raiden on the shoulder. Under the threat of Li Ming's force, Raiden could only nod in agreement.

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

The three chatted idly while the television in the convenience store played yesterday's news. Himeko and Li Ming knew at a glance that it was about what had happened yesterday.

"Yesterday, the HK Organization launched attacks across multiple locations and was suspected of using biological weapons. However, through the cooperation of the Guard Corps and ZF, the incident was resolved with extremely low casualties. According to available information, the HK Organization has close ties to the well-known H&K Company. Evidence suggests that the HK Organization was directed by the H&K Company. For the latest news, please follow AM's coverage..."

Himeko and Li Ming exchanged a look, understanding dawning in both their hearts. Himeko, meanwhile, looked greatly relieved. Raiden had not reacted much upon seeing the news, but when he noticed the odd expressions on their faces, he began to form some guesses.

"You ran into them yesterday?"

Raiden's sudden question startled them both. Li Ming thought about it and decided to tell Raiden directly, though he did not intend to tell him everything. "We ran into them yesterday. We got caught up in it on the outskirts."

Seeing that Li Ming was not telling the truth, Himeko did not say anything. She simply nodded in agreement. To be honest, she and Raiden were not that familiar. Li Ming was an exception; there was no need to tell Raiden much about this sort of thing.

But that was not what Raiden cared about. He merely connected it to Li Ming and Himeko going to the hospital. "No wonder. You went to the hospital yesterday. Where were you hurt? Was it serious? Do you need to switch to a more reliable hospital?"

Raiden might hold small grudges, but when it came to matters like this, he would not mock someone. Part of it was because Su Qizhe had entrusted Li Ming to him, but that did not prevent Raiden from appreciating Li Ming.

"It's nothing, nothing. The doctor said yesterday that it was fine." Li Ming merely waved his hand, indicating that he did not care and hoping Raiden would steer the conversation away from that subject.

Seeing that Li Ming did not care much either, Raiden did not say anything more. Still, he noticed the faint reddish mark around Li Ming's right wrist. It formed a circle and looked a lot like a tattoo, but somehow did not feel like one.

Li Ming laughed it off, and Himeko did not want to say more either, so Raiden did not ask. Soon enough, however, the three moved on to a new topic.

"Oh, right, Li Ming. When school starts, remember to help me recruit people for the club!" Himeko seemed to recall something and said it casually.

Li Ming froze when he heard that. "Huh? I still have to help you recruit club members? No!"

Was it related to the HK Organization again? Though he could not be sure. After all, Li Ming did not think that counterfeit Li Ming could be easily controlled by anyone outside Anti-Entropy.

As for what Himeko had just said, Li Ming rejected it without even thinking.

"So you're that heartless. You clearly agreed to it yesterday." Himeko pouted and looked at him with a pitiful expression.

Raiden immediately felt terrible. He had not even vented the anger from this morning, and now this again?

Li Ming, you really deserved to die!

Li Ming, suddenly struck by a magical attack, looked completely bewildered. "No, sis..."

Li Ming reorganized his words. Just then, he had nearly been unable to stop himself from swearing in Shenzhou language.

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

"You clearly agreed last night to join my club, but now you're unwilling to help me recruit members." Himeko pinched her throat and spoke in a pitiful voice, but Li Ming finally understood.

"Fine, I'll go. But since you've already got me, you might as well pull Raiden in too. He studies psychology, after all. You can have Raiden research alien thoughts with you. What do you say, Raiden?"

"Huh?" Raiden had been sitting there with dead-fish eyes, thinking about how to make Li Ming embarrass himself, when the topic suddenly turned to him. He had not yet reacted.

Li Ming wrapped an arm around Raiden's shoulders and said to Himeko, "Anyway, I don't care. If I'm in, Raiden has to be in too. Otherwise, even if you get my body, you won't get my heart. I will never submit to you. I'm serious about Raiden!"

Everyone around them, whether customers buying things in the convenience store or the store employees, looked at them as though they had just witnessed an enormous piece of gossip.

Their expressions looked like this:

Really o.o?

Fake o.OO.o?

Really or fake O.O?

Seeing Li Ming start fooling around again, Himeko could not help covering her face. She had already felt a little embarrassed when she had put on that cutesy voice, but this kind of catastrophic embarrassment was a first even for her!

With no other choice, Himeko could only agree. Raiden, meanwhile, swung his flaming windmill fists at Li Ming. Although he did not know what kind of club it was, he could clearly feel everyone's gazes around them.

He felt like he had somehow been saddled with an enormous blame. Those people were looking at him and Li Ming like they were some kind of faggotry, and his blood pressure immediately soared. "Li Ming, I'm gonna kill you!"

To avoid continuing her public humiliation, Himeko hurried out of the convenience store.

Li Ming followed soon after. Although his skin was rather thick, Raiden suddenly throwing a tantrum had plunged him into a second round of public humiliation, and that was a little too much even for him.

Raiden had completely given up. Swinging his flaming windmill fists, he charged out, determined to fight Li Ming to the death.