"It wasn't that I was bad with firearms. It was only relative..." A mischievous smile appeared at the corner of Bai Jun's lips, and an inexplicable delight seemed to radiate from him.
"Hmph, you didn't beat me either. At most, we tied." Although Elena had vaguely begun to feel that she was no match for Bai Jun, she still haughtily turned her face away for the sake of her pride.
Just then, the adjudication machine, having counted the blue markers hit by both sides' pistols, coldly and steadily announced the result: "Position One: 9 points. Position Two: 11 points."
Elena's expression instantly froze. She lowered her head and looked at her pistol. The number displayed at the muzzle was a glaring 9.
Clearly, each person's range only had ten light points. Why was there a difference in score... Wait!?
"The final objective is to shatter the blue light points, right?"
Bai Jun's words before the match seemed to echo beside Elena's ears once more. She gradually understood everything—Bai Jun must have secretly shattered one of the blue markers on her range while she wasn't paying attention!
"When did you..."
Yet she still found it unbelievable. When she turned her head, she saw Bai Jun casually pick up his pistol and spin the trigger guard around his finger with a flourish. The stabilized muzzle displayed a large 11.
"Probably when you were shooting the obstacles in the last round." He set down the pistol and smugly snorted. "Times have changed. I won this time."
"Doesn't count, doesn't count, doesn't count!" Elena shook her head hard, refusing to acknowledge Bai Jun's victory. "My internet lagged just now... No, that's not it, my hands were cold! Anyway, I wasn't in good condition, so that round doesn't count! And you were way too underhanded!"
"Huh? Now you're just being unreasonable, Miss Elena. Didn't you tell me to go all out?"
This was the first time Bai Jun had seen the usually mature and composed Elena reveal such girlish behavior. Her flushed cheeks looked adorable, but Bai Jun still felt it was better to judge matters fairly.
"I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! Compete with me again! This time, you're not allowed to shoot at my targets!"
Elena put on an expression that said she would cry if he dared refuse. She forcibly dragged Bai Jun back to the range and very unsportingly imposed restrictions on him.
"Fine, fine, fine. We'll do it again, we'll do it again."
Bai Jun had no choice but to move away from Elena and return to his position to reload.
"Don't blame me for being underhanded. I absolutely won't lose again this time!" Elena summoned 120% of her focus, took a deep breath, and fixed her eyes tightly on the targets fifty meters away.
10, 9, 8, 7... 3, 2, 1—!
Another piercing horn sounded, and familiar blue markers gradually appeared on the targets on both sides.
This time, Bai Jun can't shoot my targets. At worst, it'll be a tie. You can do it, Elena, you definitely can... Huh!?
Elena's original plan was to shatter all the blue markers on her side. Even barely tying with Bai Jun would be enough.
But after she had shattered only two blue markers, just as she was about to fire her third shot, she saw a bullet flying precisely toward her side.
With a bang, the bullet struck Elena's muzzle with perfect accuracy, successfully knocking her third bullet several centimeters off its intended trajectory...
Beep. One round ended.
Bai Jun: three points. Elena: two points.
"H-how..." Elena staggered back several steps in disbelief, then plopped onto the ground in a duck-sitting posture.
"Hehe, I have to win."
Bai Jun smoothly holstered his pistol and, like a proper knight, extended a helping hand toward Elena, who was sitting on the ground questioning her life. "Don't mind it. Losing to me isn't anything shameful—Ow!"
This time, Elena took a chomp out of his arm.
Something's Strange. Take Another Look
"Sigh, now I know who Zhang Zhang takes after."
After leaving the shooting range, Bai Jun rubbed his arm, which still bore clear teeth marks, and looked resentfully at Elena.
"Hmph, who told you to keep playing dirty?"
"Please, Miss Elena, you were the one who told me to go all out. How did it become me playing dirty now?"
Elena held Zhang Zhang in her arms. Though her puffed-up cheeks made her look angry, her entire body gave off an unusually relaxed feeling. She turned her little face to the side, yet kept sneaking glances at Bai Jun. When she saw his miserable state, she burst into laughter. Her feigned seriousness immediately vanished, and she stepped forward to lightly pat his shoulder.
"Alright, I'm not joking with you anymore. I really am no match for you when it comes to shooting."
Elena was very frank when it came to admitting that others were stronger than her. Or rather, in a pressure-cooker environment like the Interstellar Peace Company, overly petty people simply couldn't get by.
"Good that you know." Bai Jun accepted Elena's praise just as frankly, then shamelessly asked, "Want to learn my Glock jump-shot technique?"
"Hey, don't push your luck. And what even is a Glock? If it's something bad, watch out or I'll set Zhang Zhang on you." As she spoke, Elena suddenly brought Zhang Zhang close to Bai Jun's face.
"I was only joking. Don't do that." At the sight of Zhang Zhang, Bai Jun instinctively shifted a step aside. He quietly changed the subject. "I'm hungry. Do you have anything planned?"
"Hungry?"
Elena first raised her head to look at the sun hanging directly overhead, then glanced at the time on her wrist. The hands of her delicate watch were pointing exactly at 11:24. This surprised her greatly, as she was usually extremely sensitive to the passage of time. She had never subconsciously lost track of it before.
"Whoa, I didn't realize it was already this late..." Elena's gaze returned to Bai Jun, and her tone carried a trace of apology. "Sorry. I know a pretty good restaurant around here. Let's make do and eat there."
Bai Jun nodded to show that he had no objections. He was not particularly picky about food; as long as it was edible, that was enough... Though cheaper would be better, if possible. His finances had become a little tight lately.
"Come to think of it, Bai Jun, why are you so good at shooting? At your level, you'd be considered among the best even in the Company. But judging by how you look... do you use a sword?" On the way, Elena, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned back curiously and pointed at the saber hanging from his waist.
"Strictly speaking, a sword isn't actually the weapon I'm best with. As for this one, at most it's some kind of ceremonial tool. I usually just wear it around for show." Bai Jun lightly stroked the exquisitely carved hilt and the sheath engraved with flame patterns, as though reminiscing about something.
"Oh? That sounds like there's another story there. Can you tell me about it?"
Upon hearing him say that, Elena became interested. Unable to suppress the curiosity tickling at her heart like a feather, she moved close to him and listened attentively.
"Mm, there's nothing much to say about this sword. If I really have to say it, the weapon I'm actually best with is a greatsword." Skillfully avoiding the topic of his saber, Bai Jun shrugged and made a pose as if holding a greatsword in both hands.
"A greatsword? That really is uncommon..."
"The swordsmanship styles of different regions within the Xianzhou Alliance each have their own characteristics. Luofu swordsmanship values nimble, graceful movements. Zhuming swordsmanship, meanwhile, emphasizes broad, sweeping strikes—unrestrained as drunkenness, suddenly slow and then swift, powerful and fierce like a tiger's charge. Yaoqing swordsmanship values clean decisiveness, continuous flow, distinct strength and weakness, and the interweaving of points and lines, pursuing artistic meaning. You only think greatswords are uncommon because you haven't been to Zhuming."
"Zhuming's craftsmanship is advanced. What its artisans enjoy most in their daily lives is taking unfinished sword blanks and competing to see whose materials are more formidable. If you saw that scene, you would probably understand what broad, sweeping strikes truly meant..."
As they walked, Bai Jun explained in detail like a professional interstellar tour guide. Elena listened with great interest, nodding from time to time as though she could truly picture Zhuming before her.
"I see. I used to think the Zhuming Xianzhou was a clumsy giant forge, with sparks flying everywhere and muscular master craftsmen hammering away at their anvils. Now that I think about it, I must have visited too many low-civilization planets and completely forgotten that Zhuming was a renowned school of craftsmanship on par with Pier Point and Screwllum."
"If you never see the fires of Zhuming, then even crossing the sea of stars would be in vain. If you get the chance someday, you can go take a look. I think it's pretty fun." Bai Jun gave that evaluation.
As they spoke, the two arrived at the restaurant Elena had mentioned. It was mealtime, and the restaurant was packed, but luckily there were still soundproof private rooms available. With a wave of her rich-lady hand, Elena extravagantly demonstrated her financial strength to Bai Jun once more.
The kitchen fires were burning brightly. The aroma of seafood broth, shrimp, and rice gradually flowed out from the kitchen, filling the entire space. At the moment the scent became most intense, a server brought over two plates of seafood fried rice and fish soup.
"Bai Jun, you know Zhuming so well. It doesn't seem like you merely visited there. Could you be a native of Zhuming?" Elena handed a spoon to Bai Jun across from her, then stuffed a few gemstones into Zhang Zhang's mouth to keep it from making a fuss.
"Mm, more or less."
He picked up the spoon, scooped up a mouthful of steaming rice, and put it in his mouth. Then he silently sped up, clearing the rice from his plate at almost whirlwind speed. When he was especially satisfied, he even praised her through a mouthful of food. "Mmm, delicious. Elena, you picked a good place..."
Watching Bai Jun wolf down his food, a gentle smile appeared at the corner of Elena's eyes. She picked up a tissue and gently wiped away the grains of rice hanging from the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad you like it. Eat slowly. We can order more if it isn't enough."
Buzz buzz—
The sound of a Jade Omen suddenly rang out. Elena almost subconsciously reached for the phone in her pocket, only to discover it was not hers.
"Cough, cough..."
Perhaps because he had been eating too quickly, or perhaps because of the Jade Omen in his pocket, Bai Jun suddenly began coughing. Elena hurriedly handed him the seafood soup. Only after gulping down half a bowl did he finally let out a satisfied breath.
"Sorry, I need to step outside to take a call."
He took the Jade Omen from his pocket with slight displeasure. When he saw the name displayed on it, he sighed. Then he took off his coat, stood up, and walked toward the restaurant entrance.
Elena watched his figure gradually leave the restaurant. Just as she was about to resume eating, she caught sight of Zhang Zhang, which should have been beside her eating gemstones, darting over to Bai Jun's seat. It had even pulled a notebook decorated with a crow pattern out of his coat pocket.
"Zhang Zhang! Don't rummage through other people's things!"
Hearing Elena's angry voice, Zhang Zhang immediately obediently released the notebook from its mouth and returned to its chair.
Elena hurriedly picked up the notebook from the floor and flipped through it to see whether Zhang Zhang's teeth had torn it. But when her gaze moved to the contents of a certain page, her pupils suddenly trembled.
"Wait... This, this is!"
Why Are You Such a Caterpillar? Why Is Your Imagination So Good?
At the restaurant entrance, Bai Jun looked at the name displayed on the Jade Omen's incoming call screen, his expression somewhat helpless.
Being interrupted halfway through a meal was an extremely unpleasant thing, but he still chose to patiently tap the answer button. As expected, the moment the call connected, someone's incessant rambling came from the other end of the Jade Omen.
"Ah, you finally answered. So slow. Why were you so slow today? I thought you had overslept, or simply forgotten about this entirely. But fortunately, it seems those worries were unnecessary."
"How could I possibly forget something I agreed to yesterday by today? So please tell me, what instructions do you have for me this time, esteemed Lady Hanya?" Bai Jun rubbed his eyes, finally squeezing out a little rationality from his groggy state.
The voice on the other end of the Jade Omen sounded almost cheerful. "Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong? Or do you not want to talk to me and simply think I'm too talkative?"
"Get to the point."
Hearing Bai Jun's voice turn cold, Hanya on the other end of the Jade Omen realized that continuing the joke might be a little excessive. She cleared her throat and said, "I mainly wanted to notify you that my sister's Return to Life will be around six in the afternoon. The meeting place will be Sanyu Bookstore. Don't forget what I taught you yesterday. You absolutely have to make sure my sister enjoys her Return to Life Day."
"Leave it to me. Anything else?"
"No, but if you want, we can chat a little more—"
With a beep, Bai Jun hung up the Jade Omen and turned to walk back into the restaurant. Compared to meaningless chatter with Hanya, he still found eating more worthwhile. But when he reached the private room entrance, Bai Jun noticed Elena sitting with her head lowered, staring blankly at something in a daze.
"What are you looking at?"
"Ah... Y-yeah, sorry, I wasn't looking on purpose!"
The sudden voice made the engrossed Elena cry out. She covered her flushed cheeks, and the notebook fell to the floor with a slap.
Bai Jun was somewhat confused as to why she was so panicked. Looking down, he discovered that it was the notebook Hanya had stuffed into his pocket for use when he ran out of things to talk about with Xue Yi. He must have accidentally dropped it when he took off his coat.
He had roughly flipped through a few pages of its contents. They were all just meaningless nonsense... Thinking about it, Elena was probably panicking because she was afraid he would think she was scum who peeped into others' privacy.
What an innocent girl.
He bent down to pick up the notebook, looking utterly unconcerned, and smiled to reassure her. "It's fine. I won't care about something this minor."
"Y-you don't care!? You don't care even about that!?"
Elena's face visibly reddened further. A layer of pink spread across her fair cheeks. Her fingers anxiously twisted her sleeve, and her eyes gradually began to spin.
"Why would I care..."
Looking at her reaction, Bai Jun felt an inexplicable sense that something was strange. He secretly opened the notebook again and flipped through a few pages, only to find Hanya's usual meaningless complaints. Only then did he gradually relax. "Alright, I won't hold it against you. Hurry up and eat."
"O-okay..."
In any case, lunch ended in a rather strange atmosphere. Even after they had finished eating, a faint blush remained on Elena's face. It was cute, but it also made Bai Jun feel even more puzzled.
"Let's call it a day, Bai Jun. I-I still need to go back and feed the little ones at home. See you next time~" Elena waved to Bai Jun, then hugged Zhang Zhang and trotted away.
"See you."
Standing at the restaurant entrance, Bai Jun rubbed his chin and watched Elena's flustered retreating figure with a subtle expression.
This girl was foolishly adorable...
As Elena hurried through the streets, her heart pounded as though it were about to leap from her chest. The contents of the notebook from earlier remained vivid in her mind, reappearing before her eyes whenever she tried to forget them.
Ah, Huo Huo has become rather cute lately. She's grown into quite a lovely young lady, though she still needs to work on being so afraid whenever she sees people.
Do Foxkin ears all change with their moods like Huo Huo's? They perk up when she's happy, and droop limply when she isn't... Super cute.
I brushed Huo Huo's fox ears today. They were incredibly soft. I liked it. Too bad I can't brush her tail.
I discovered Huo Huo's true charm point. It isn't her fox ears, nor is it her tail—it's her dark circles. They look especially alluring on that fair little face... It's a little embarrassing to say, but every time I see them, I get excited!
Her footsteps stopped in a secluded alley. With no one around, she shyly crouched down and buried her face against Zhang Zhang, rubbing back and forth. "Ahh, Zhang Zhang, does this count as a fetish? Dark circles and stuff... Why is his fetish so strange!? No wonder he had such heavy dark circles today!"
"Grr?"
"N-no, that's not the most important part! The important thing is that he actually said something like, 'I won't care about something this minor'! Could it be... was he hinting at something!?"
He had deliberately shown her the notebook's contents, then acted as though nothing had happened and said something like, "I won't care about something this minor." Could he have been hinting that she should keep dark circles under her eyes from now on?
That had to be it! Otherwise, she could not think of any reason why someone would do something so shameless!
Elena seemed to realize something. She suddenly raised her crimson face and stared intently at Zhang Zhang as though seeking confirmation. "S-so does that mean Bai Jun actually likes me?"
Buzz buzz—
Watching Elena get a nosebleed over some scene she had imagined in her head, Zhang Zhang was also rather helpless. It nudged Elena's calf, then pointed at her pocket. Only then did Elena notice that she had a call.
The displayed name belonged to her team leader and senior colleague—Francisco De Bisky.
The chaotic thoughts in Elena's mind, stirred up by excitement and embarrassment, instantly cleared. She hurriedly tapped the answer button. Before she could speak, the elderly, steady voice from the other end spoke first. "How has your vacation been, Elena?"
"Mm, it's been wonderful! Uncle De Bisky."
"Ah, wonderful is good... Next, I need to announce something very important to you."
Before you continue