I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 527

"... There haven't been any good game releases lately, have there?" Delta casually leaned back on the sofa, her ponytail tucked behind the backrest, and glanced at the handheld console on the table. "You play games?"

In Delta's memory, Lin had no hobbies other than reading, and he would only drink when he wanted to. He was so quiet that he didn't seem like a young man who matched his appearance.

"Actually, I can also do magic tricks, fish, cook, give massages, play the piano, play tennis, and paint." Lin stroked his chin. "Thinking about it, I'm pretty versatile."

"Really? Isn't your persona that of a bookworm and a pervert?" Delta murmured in utter confusion.

"What's the point of having such a contradictory persona? Besides, I've always wanted to know what happened with the pervert. You were the one who grabbed my leg and wouldn't let me leave. Give me back my virginity!"

"So annoying..."

Delta tossed her hair and muttered a complaint.

"Why do you prefer those books to classics?" Delta picked through the shelves, picked up a game box, looked at it, and put it back. "They're dry and boring, as if they were written only for people like you who are just looking for novelty."

"Others have also told me why I don't read better and more profound books, but I've already finished reading all the so-called good books." Lin picked up the game she had put down and carefully read the words on the packaging box. "Words can usually express the author's personality. Reading a book is like reading a person. Even bad books have their merits. Some parts of them are not necessarily completely bad."

"It sounds like an explanation that one's bad habits are actually some kind of healthy habit."

"You'll know once you try it."

Lin picked out two infamously bad games and waved them in front of the expressionless Delta.

That night.

The two women covered their faces and collapsed onto the floor. The screen was playing the game's end credits. Delta wanted to drag everyone on the list out and beat them up. In just one day, she had experienced what it meant to be a collection of the worst games ever made.

Delta took the game disc out of the console and casually tried to throw it in the trash. "This is torture..."

Lin quickly stopped her. "But there are still some good parts, like the middle..."

"It's like eating excrement and finding corn kernels in it," Delta retorted mercilessly. "Finding the chewy part in a dish is completely different from finding the edible part in a pile of indescribable things. The premise of 'the good outweighs the bad' is that most of it is good, not that most of it is shit."

Lin Cong the plastic bag.

"There's one more game, are we going to play it all night?"

Do you really have some kind of unusual fetish?

That's what they say, but since they bought the game, they're determined to finish it, even if it makes them cry. And out of curiosity about "how bad it can get," they were surprisingly quite enthusiastic.

Before they knew it, while playing games and Delta was complaining about them, they finished their drinks, leaving only the wine in the refrigerator. They didn't mind and drank it all.

With a soft hiccup, Delta's cold and beautiful face flushed slightly as she stared at the double-image screen in front of her and mechanically pressed the controller.

The man next to me was very close; I could feel his body temperature and breathing.

The atmosphere is a bit off.

"Whoosh..."

"Um..."

The room was pitch black, with only the faint light from the monitor illuminating it. The girl's skin appeared noticeably fair and rosy under the screen's glow, and the white mist from her breath was even more prominent against the backdrop of the paused game screen.

Delta gently bit her wrist, letting out a comfortable groan as she gazed hazily at the man so close to her.

In the end, it still turned out like this.

The first time was the same; it all happened in a daze...

A few hours later, Delta, wearing only a coat, stared at the end credits of the game with utter despair, as if she had burned out completely. "What a piece of garbage."

Wearing a shirt and shorts, Lin crossed his arms and commented with lingering relish. "It felt like being pinned to the ground and fed dozens of tons of fertilizer."

"I really shouldn't buy this kind of thing next time; it's a waste of time."

"Then I remember a few obscure masterpieces..."

Delta glanced at the man who seemed to have become more talkative, shaking the bottle and listening to the clanging of water inside.

"Hmm... this feels so strange..."

Should we stop?

"No... it's still possible..."

The floor was littered with bottles and clothes. A girl wearing only a large men's shirt sat at the table assembling a model. She was carefully sanding the parts with pliers and sandpaper, while the tail behind her was looking for the next part plate. The man was searching for something among the mess on the floor.

"Was it stolen by the floor sprites?" Lin picked up the empty wine bottle and rummaged around in it.

Delta snorted, "It's all your fault for knocking off the repaired parts."

"Please, you bit too deep, ouch, your neck is bleeding."

"Isn't that because you used too much force?"

"Okay, okay, it's my fault. I'll be more careful next time."

"Tch... next time..."

"Haa... haa..."

"Your legs are too tightly pressed together..."

"It's none of your business..."

Anyway, he was just drunk and not fully conscious.

It's understandable that they couldn't control themselves.

"What... are you doing?" Lin's eyes twitched a few times as he stared at the strange mixture on the table. He turned to the person who was pretending to cough and questioned them with his eyes, "Is this the result of you making a mess of the kitchen?"

Delta, wearing only an apron, scratched her face, a hint of embarrassment appearing on her usually aloof expression. "Didn't you make cherry-flavored ice cream last time? I'd like to try making it too."

Lin swallowed hard, then scooped up a small spoonful of the "ice cream" that looked like the color of poisonous mushrooms and put it in his mouth.

"..."

"How about it?"

Lin took a bite and froze, then swallowed what was in his mouth. "It's actually... not bad."

"Really?" Delta snatched the spoon from Lin's hand, excitedly scooped up a spoonful, and put it in her mouth, then...

His expression changed drastically.

His expression was priceless, as if he had been pinned down in bed and beaten up.

"Vomit..."

She grabbed the trash can and vomited it all out, then viciously wiped her mouth and glared at the man.

"Hmph." Lin's face remained expressionless, but a hint of amusement could be seen in his eyes. "You've fallen for it."

Delta glared at him with bared teeth, but didn't know what to say. After a long while, she finally managed to say, "You have to finish it. You can't waste it."

"If you eat half, I'll eat the rest."

"If you can't eat half of it, I'll use a strainer to pour it in for you."

The noise seemed to have added a subtle, unnoticed warmth to the otherwise quiet room.

Special Feature: Beer, Cherries, and Alternatives (Part 2)

Would you like some alcohol?

"Shall we try a new position today?"

"Kneel down and then from behind... just enough for your feet and butt..."

"Are you an idiot?! Don't grab my tail!"

"Hmm... this... ah... I like it..."

After another "party," the pink-haired girl with her hair down watched with interest as Lin, who was shirtless, sat at the table typing on his keyboard. She was amazed that he still had the energy to write a novel.

"Are you planning to write one yourself?"

"Well... because I have different opinions on certain plots in some books, I decided to write one myself."

"You've read so many bad books, isn't it normal to have different opinions? A normal person wouldn't even be able to finish the first one."

"It's different. If someone disagrees with me, I'll at most think that there are differences in human cognition. But if someone's cognition is completely opposite to mine, then I'll think that they have a problem and need to correct it." Lin pondered for a few seconds. "Of course, it's also possible that I'm wrong, but if they can't provide evidence to convince me, then there's no way to prove that I'm wrong."

"... You really are an arrogant person."

Delta leaned silently against the table, watching Lin intently typing away.

Would you like some alcohol?

Today, Delta changed into a dark-colored outfit and wore a mask. The hood perfectly covered her horns, a style she had never tried before.

"Is this Jirai Kei fashion?"

"Hmm... I saw it... Haa... I just wanted to try it... Haa... Slow down, idiot..." The girl's expression was obscured by the mask, but it added a touch of mysterious allure to her.

"You're really... full of energy today... You wouldn't... like... this style, would you..."

"Who knows?"

Would you like some alcohol?

Delta silently counted the bottles on the table as she drank glass after glass of alcohol, noticing that their alcohol tolerance seemed to have decreased compared to before.

She used to need to drink at least fifty bottles of beer to get drunk, and she didn't know how the two of them could hold that much. But now they've only drunk a dozen bottles and they're already tipsy.

"I guess I saw you as a substitute." She was probably drunk, but do drunk people really not know what they're doing? No, her mind was very clear, even clearer than usual. "A substitute for my sister."

"I know," Lin replied casually, silently drinking his wine.

"That's good."

Delta cannot take this seriously.

This is simply an irresponsible act towards herself and others, but she doesn't want Lin to take responsibility for her, as that would leave her helpless.

She still sees this as a way to vent and find a substitute, and it would be best if Lin could see it that way too.

Would you like some alcohol?

"... Drink it."

After a few drinks, Delta held her glass silently, staring blankly at the orange-yellow liquid inside.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

She raised her glass and drank it all in one gulp. The wine, which was originally sweet and bitter, now had a strong dry taste.

The two spent more and more time together, but the total amount of alcohol they drank was less than half of what it used to be. Until one day, Lin, unusually, took the initiative to ask that question:

Would you like some alcohol?

"... I won't drink it."

This was the first time Delta had refused.

Lin was taken aback. "Why?"

The girl's cool, pretty face was expressionless, her pupils reflecting the image of the person in front of her. "Because I don't want to continue doing this anymore, let's end it."

"So what exactly happened? You can tell me..."

"That's enough," she snapped, stopping Lin from speaking.

"..."

Delta's fingers dug into her palm, her mind filled with images of Lin gently licking the wound on her shoulder, a jumble of memories swirling in her head.

She stared at Lin, biting her lip lightly. "You know very well that I want to treat you as a substitute for my sister to heal my wounds, but I still can't completely see you as her. You are not the same person at all, not even the same kind of person."

His sister can't cook, makes cherry juice, reads bad books, drinks with her, and stays up all night playing bad games. He doesn't even have the most basic smile for his sister.