Otto: Welcome to Canghai City.
The next day.
Theresa watched the storm raging on the forum with a complex expression, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
Yesterday, she simply posted the news that the two of them were going back to Shenzhou together on the forum, but after being stirred up by a few people with ulterior motives, female students who like to ship couples started making increasingly strange comments, which eventually turned into the two of them fast-forwarding to an engagement.
"I thought you, Himeko, wouldn't care about this, but it turns out you were the one who started it all."
Using her access rights, Theresa found the initial comments that had stirred up trouble. She couldn't help but smile. Although it wasn't the result she had initially wanted, it wasn't bad at all.
The reason I was so looking forward to the two of them returning to Shenzhou yesterday, besides the gossip and the strange mentality of elders, was mainly because I wanted Su Qing'an and Fu Hua to get a good rest. I doubt those two would actually rest properly while they were at the academy.
"Every day is just meditation, nothing but meditation. Running a coffee shop as entertainment? This is clearly overtime!" Theresa felt deeply distressed. She knew the torment of overtime all too well, but even if she said this to Su Qing'an, he would just dismiss it with a curt rebuke. So...
Then let's all just go on vacation!
This way I can at least have some fun, cough cough.
Suppressing some unscrupulous thoughts, Theresa murmured to herself with a hint of worry:
"Although I set up those routes, I still handed over the specific details of the implementation plan to the Logistics Department. There shouldn't be any problems, right?"
"Hopefully they can have a few weeks of enjoyable relaxation."
For some reason, Theresa suddenly recalled the smile on her grandfather's lips when he said he had approved Su Qing'an's leave.
Why does she always feel guilty, as if she did something wrong, when she recalls that scene?
Never mind, Grandpa isn't so bored as to go to the point of making a big fuss about a vacation for the two of them.
Having secretly put aside her doubts, Theresa, unusually, picked up a quill pen and looked at the mountain of documents on the table with a troubled expression, letting out a long sigh.
Damn it, why do people need to work?
Shenzhou, Canghai City.
When Su Qing'an stepped out of Hongqiao Airport with mixed feelings, it was already close to 5:30 pm.
The cloudless sky had lost its original azure blue; the sun gradually sank, while the moon, in contrast, had already set in a corner of the unobstructed sky, its outline barely visible.
The weather was exceptionally clear today, as if even the heavens were welcoming the two of them on their journey home.
Fu Hua stood beside him, dragging her suitcase. Today, she was dressed in clothes more suited to urban life, and her long hair was styled into a single ponytail for convenience, revealing a dazzlingly fair complexion on the back of her neck.
Compared with Su Qing'an's mood when she returned home, her heart was also mixed with some complicated meanings at this moment. As an immortal who has guarded this land for five thousand years, looking at the city that has become so prosperous after the passage of time, even though she has long been used to it, she cannot avoid feeling some emotion.
Su Qing'an arrived empty-handed. He had quite a few clothes in his house in Canghai City, and even his usual [Calming the Tempest] was confiscated due to the special nature of Shenzhou and Theresa's outrageous remark about what weapons to bring on vacation. As a result, he only had a mobile phone on him.
The boy said as he walked towards the exit:
"My home isn't far from the airport. I could have just taken a taxi from the previous underpass, but Headmaster Theresa said we're here on vacation and that Schicksal's Logistics Department would handle these things, so there will be someone to meet us at the entrance."
Fu Hua looked at the bustling crowd ahead and said:
"So in this situation, how do we find the person in charge of making contact?"
Su Qing'an thought for a moment and replied:
"This shouldn't be something we need to worry about. There should be clear signs outside the gate, like the St. Freya Academy emblem or the symbol of Schicksal."
After stepping out the door, the two were speechless at the completely unexpected sight before them.
Su Qing'an had excellent eyesight; he noticed almost immediately that all the scenes that should have shown advertisements had been replaced with...
A photo of the two.
The incredibly clear photos resemble large posters of runway models and celebrities, meticulously selected and retouched before being displayed on the screen. These bizarre "advertisements" thoughtfully switch to the next image every few seconds.
The game automatically plays photos from various angles, each unique, and even photoshops the two people's names into all sorts of corners.
For example, the way Fu Hua, dressed in a formal gown, whispers in Su Qing'an's arms; the scene of the two sitting together watching the sea at dusk; and the scene of them almost simultaneously putting away their boxing stances after finishing their practice.
The perpetrator practically crammed in every photo of the two that could be considered even remotely ambiguous and played it on an endless loop.
Most passersby would probably think this is a rich person's domineering way of showing affection, completely unaware that the person in question is actually unaware of it.
Through some of these scenes, we can understand that Otto did indeed obtain a lot of material during that mission, and he is now making good use of it.
After the atmosphere became so tense that the photos had automatically switched three times, Fu Hua silently lowered his head and put on his sunglasses. Clearly, even someone as composed as an immortal couldn't remain unmoved by this action.
Su Qing'an entered stealth mode expressionlessly. Using this move in an extremely densely populated area actually requires a lot of energy, and it also allows one to slip out of everyone's subconscious. Even Rita, whom he had secretly learned, could not use it at will for an extended period of time.
Therefore, this practice has begun to deviate from the original purpose of a vacation.
Fu Hua rarely showed a girlish side; she wrinkled her delicate nose and frowned as she said:
"So where's the agreed-upon rendezvous point?"
Su Qing'an said quietly:
"Hua, turn around and look behind you."
Fu Hua suppressed her bad premonition and turned to look behind her, where two huge, flowing red banners almost blocked her view.
Before even stepping out the door, the two could see a corner of the banner through the glass door.
Su Qing'an had secretly complained back then that the two pieces of fabric that floated down looked like some kind of strange slogan advertisement.
Such a rough and direct art style is clearly unsuitable for such an important public building, but due to the angle, the two of them couldn't see the writing on it at all before, so neither of them, who disliked meddling in other people's business, had the habit of dwelling on it.
But now it seems that this banner is not only not unrelated to me, but is actually very relevant.
[A warm welcome to Ms. Fu Hua and Mr. Su Qing'an to Canghai City.]
[Please move to the taxi with license plate number Shanghai D60S88 underground at the airport. Considering that the two of you do not like to attract attention and be disturbed when vacationing, we only reimbursed the fare. Please forgive me.]
Su Qing'an was speechless.
You're telling me this isn't attention-grabbing?
Does that mean we need a 24-hour radio broadcast, buy coverage from several news channels, and include their names and photos in the nine-year compulsory education textbooks to truly attract attention?
He was beginning to doubt the purity of this vacation. Headmaster Theresa was a bit gossipy and might occasionally have a wicked sense of humor, but she probably wouldn't do something this outrageous.
As for the mastermind behind this, we can rule out all possibilities.
That leaves only that person.
Su Qing'an and Fu Hua almost simultaneously recited the name of the instigator.
Otto Apocalypse.
What exactly is your purpose?
Both feeling that the other must be confused, the two tacitly chose an escape route that deviated from normal thinking.
To be precise, the two of them landed silently on the remaining streets from the layers of elevated highways.
The scene of the girl dragging her suitcase, her hair flowing in the wind, was incredibly beautiful.
The drop of more than ten meters was like walking on flat ground for the two of them. After successfully getting into a taxi half an hour later, Su Qing'an finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He's already wearing a baseball cap and a mask. If Su Qing'an were wearing a hooded sweatshirt, he would probably put the cap on as well.
He bought this at a shopping mall, naturally to cover his appearance.
Using stealth techniques is not a bad approach.
But to appease a short-lived, joke-like advertisement, a hat and a mask are enough.
The advertisement automatically switches between the walls of skyscrapers and loops on LCD TVs in shopping malls; it can be described as ubiquitous.
Of course, Fu Hua prefers to describe it as a lingering ghost.
Su Qing'an knew that this time wouldn't last long. He had asked the people in the mall, and they said the advertisement would only last until six o'clock.
This was clearly a prank used by the other party to simply tease the two of them. They calculated the time the plane would land and played the recording on a loop for half an hour in the vicinity, presumably just to see the two of them react.
Su Qing'an asked softly:
"Do I need to throw away my phone and hide my whereabouts?"
The girl pulled her mask up a little, covering her high, delicate nose. Looking out the car window at the darkening sky, she leaned closer to the boy and whispered in his ear:
"No need, the other party is a sensible person."
"If not, I will teach him."
Fu Hua spoke her last sentence in a seemingly nonchalant tone, but Su Qing'an, who knew her well, detected a hint of gritted teeth in her voice.
Although the two were in the same position, Su Qing'an strangely felt no annoyance or anger at all; in fact, he even felt a sense of pleasure and smugness.
That feeling is probably like when you're paired with a girl you like in a three-legged race during PE class. You feel the tightness of the rope binding your calves together, and the inevitable closeness of your skin and the sound of each other's breathing. These little details are all reasons why your heart beats faster than usual.
Su Qing'an felt just like that. Fu Hua from 50,000 years in the future seemed too distant to him. Only the occasional expressions and gestures she showed made him truly feel that this person had not completely left him.
So even if it's just getting a little closer to her in this way, he's happy.
And... she didn't seem unhappy at all.
Su Qing'an secretly glanced at the girl's slightly reddened earlobes, and felt as if the speed of blood flow was clearly heard in her ears.
On the bustling streets, taxis slowly drove through the leisurely twilight, the lush greenery and the occasional school campus filling the air with a peaceful atmosphere.
At this moment, the two felt that time was passing both very slowly and very quickly.