It looked like she'd been sleeping pretty well lately.
Her not-too-long blonde hair gleamed with a healthy sheen, and the parts touched by sunlight were almost dazzling.
Their eyes met. Fu Qian could tell that the former proprietress Sunny didn't seem too bothered by her fall from grace to serving tables.
Considering he'd helped her face her current situation at the end of their last mission, this attitude was a classic case of making the best of a bad situation.
"Good morning, Professor Fu."
Faced with the unexpected visitor's friendly greeting, Sunny must have had plenty of questions on her mind. But after biting her lip and hesitating for only a moment, she returned the greeting.
She even remembered to tie the belt of her nightgown and bowed respectfully.
"You don't have to be so formal. I just came out for a morning walk."
Fu Qian was easygoing, too. He waved a hand, saying that his title at the Academy was just an empty honorific and that he was only an ordinary person—
"But listening in on other people's conversations is impolite."
Then he immediately changed tack and offered a mild reproach.
It was perfectly normal for Sunny to know who he was.
Lanya's little diner had practically become the designated spot for group gatherings, and people didn't hold back much when chatting over a meal.
Even without a formal introduction, Sunny was a sharp-eared extraordinary. She could easily tell who this person was from the way Liu Shuang and the others addressed him.
Fu Qian also took this as a sign that Sunny wasn't so naïve as to think she could bluff her way through.
Within seconds of him directly calling her by name, she'd decided not to play dumb and had greeted him properly.
Still, no matter