One wasn't enough to eat, but two didn't taste as good.
"What a coincidence. We meet again."
Suddenly, the girl heard a somewhat familiar voice behind her.
"Hm?"
The girl immediately turned around warily, then froze. "You?"
Seeing the person behind her, the girl's expression did not seem very pleasant. The moment she saw him, she thought of her breakfast bread.
"Uh... about this morning, I'm really sorry!"
The person standing beside the girl was naturally Ling Xi. He had just been about to head out for lunch when he saw the girl standing at the bakery entrance. Remembering what had happened that morning, he came over to apologize.
"Hmph. I told you, you don't need to compensate me."
The girl pursed her lips and turned back to look at her bread. After all, she was hungry now. Very hungry.
"Uh..."
Ling Xi awkwardly rubbed his nose. "How about this? To show my apology, I'll treat you to lunch. Besides... what happened this morning really wasn't intentional."
"No need. Go away."
The girl still chose to refuse.
"But... aren't you hungry? You probably didn't eat this morning..."
Naturally, Ling Xi could not just leave so easily. This was a great chance to apologize and earn her forgiveness. If he missed this opportunity, getting forgiven later would probably be even harder.
"Hmph, what does that have to do with you? Besides, I'm not hungry right now..."
The girl still looked cold and said she was not hungry, but...
"Grrr..."
The moment she finished speaking, Ling Xi heard the sound of a pigeon cooing...
Ling Xi: "..."
The girl: "..."
"Ahem!"
The girl's face reddened slightly as she said seriously, "If someone hadn't ruined my breakfast this morning, I wouldn't be like this. Hmph..."
"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong. I'm willing to repay the debt from this morning with a hearty lunch, so..."
With a hint of helplessness on his face, Ling Xi deliberately smiled. "May I ask this cute junior, would you honor me by having lunch with me?"
"Could this have been your plan all along..."
The girl pursed her lips, seemingly suspicious of Ling Xi's motives. This time, however, she did not refuse outright.
"My plan?"
Ling Xi froze. What plan did he have? He had only come specifically to apologize because he felt bad about what happened that morning.
"You wanted to ask some girl out for a meal, but thought she might refuse if you asked directly. So you deliberately made her drop her food, then used compensation as an excuse to invite her properly."
The girl watched Ling Xi while nodding thoughtfully.
Ling Xi: "..."
"Just kidding. Let's go."
Seeing that Ling Xi had been rendered speechless, the girl smiled and turned toward the cafeteria. But when she saw that he had not moved, she called out, "Hey, didn't you say you were treating me to lunch? What, having second thoughts?"
"Uh... no, no. Let's go."
Only then did Ling Xi snap out of it. Still, why had this girl suddenly agreed? But... this was fine. There was no conflict a meal could not solve. If there was... then two meals!
"Wait."
Suddenly, Ling Xi seemed to think of something.
"Hm?"
The girl turned back, looking at Ling Xi curiously.
"The cafeteria is already packed right now. Even if we line up and buy lunch, there probably won't be any seats."
Ling Xi spread his hands slightly as he explained, then pointed toward the school gate with a smile. "So how about we eat outside? Don't worry, it's not far. It's right next to the school."
"Mm... okay."
The girl did not object. The cafeteria was indeed rather crowded at noon. Lining up was fine—the line looked long, but it moved quickly enough—but not having anywhere to sit was miserable.
"Then let's go. Eat whatever you want. My treat."
Seeing that she did not refuse, Ling Xi sighed in relief. He had really been afraid she would insist on eating at the cafeteria.
"Oh? Anything I want?"
A meaningful smile appeared on the girl's face.
"Yep. A man's word is his bond. Order whatever you like. I'm the wallet!"
Ling Xi nodded decisively. It was an apology, after all. Besides... although he knew she was not Seele, other than her hair and eye color, she looked exactly like Seele. He would just treat it as...
Having a meal with his wife Seele.
"Heh... you said it. Then I won't hold back."
After receiving Ling Xi's promise, a sly smile appeared on the girl's face. People like this deserved to be fleeced properly.
"By the way, my name is Ling Xi. I'm a third-year high school student. What about you?"
As they walked toward the gate, Ling Xi took the opportunity to ask her name. Honestly, aside from her hair and eye color, this girl looked almost exactly like Seele. He just did not know what her name was.
"Mm..."
The girl hesitated for a moment before smiling. "I'm a first-year high school student. As for my name... you can call me Seele."
"Pfft... cough, cough..."
The moment she said that, Ling Xi nearly choked. This girl... what had she just said?
"What did you say your name was?"
Ling Xi felt that he might have misheard, because... that was impossible. Seele could not possibly exist in this era!
"Are you an idiot?"
Hearing Ling Xi's question, Seele seemed a little displeased. But for the sake of lunch, she repeated herself. "I said, my name is... Seele!"
Ling Xi: "..."
Half an hour later, the two of them returned to the academy gate, full and satisfied...
"Although this morning was indeed your fault, still..."
Seele looked at Ling Xi and smiled. "Thank you for lunch. It was delicious."
"You're welcome. So, Seele, can you forgive me now?"
Ling Xi smiled at Seele as well. Although he did not know why she was also called Seele, that... was not important.
"As for that... we'll see later. But at least my stomach has forgiven you!"
Seele winked at Ling Xi, then waved with a smile. "Well, that's it for today. I'm going home now. See you another day."
"Mm, see you another day."
Ling Xi waved back at Seele, still thinking about her...
However, when he had eaten with Seele earlier, he had assumed she would order expensive food to vent her anger. But she had not. Aside from a serving of the locally famous roast duck, she had only ordered ordinary dishes. And although she had previously declared fiercely that she would not hold back, she had ultimately ordered only three dishes. The total cost was less than a hundred...
Watching Seele's retreating figure gradually disappear, Ling Xi smiled...
"Seele... she's not quite the same, but she's pretty cute."
Ling Xi rubbed his chin, feeling very pleased. No matter what, getting to see Seele today had been worth it. Although she was not quite the Seele he had imagined, the Seele of the Pre-Collapse Civilization was still Seele, wasn't she?
"Mm, time to go to the lab."
After yawning, Ling Xi headed toward the Flame-Chasing Moths base.
First Meeting with Cangxuan and Danzhu!
"Ugh..."
Elsewhere, in the laboratory, Mobius looked at the data analysis before her, appearing rather frustrated.
"Doctor, it's time for lunch."
At that moment, Klein walked in carrying a box of nutritious cafeteria food. Seeing Mobius still sitting where she had been that morning, she sighed. "Doctor, research may be important, but you still need to eat lunch. Mm..."
Then Klein spotted the instant noodle cup on the laboratory table...
Klein: "..."
"Doctor, how many times have I told you not to eat nutritionally unbalanced food like instant noodles? The cafeteria clearly has staff meals."
As she spoke, Klein picked up the instant noodle cup to throw it away, while placing the staff meal on the table.
"Klein, tell me... why are Ling Xi's blood test results exactly the same as an ordinary person's?"
Mobius looked at Klein, seeming somewhat dejected. "I clearly saw Ling Xi holding an electric current in his hand that day. That kind of power definitely isn't something an ordinary person could possess, yet the test results say he really is just an ordinary person."
"Could it be that you were too drunk that day and saw it wrong?"
Klein raised a reasonable question.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Mobius immediately refuted her. "Even if I was drunk that day, I would never remember something like this wrong. Anyway, I definitely saw it."
"Mm..."
Klein began thinking as well. After all, she did not think Mobius would joke about something like this. When it came to professionalism in research, no one took it more seriously than Mobius.
"Then why not ask Ling Xi?"
Klein suddenly came up with an idea. Rather than studying it alone, why not ask the person involved?
"This..."
Mobius looked troubled. "Klein, I originally planned to ask Ling Xi directly. After all, he's such a rare test subject. But... Ling Xi joined our laboratory so readily yesterday, and now he's considered a member of the lab. If..."
"If I ask him directly, what if he thinks we invited him only because of his power?"
"Hm? Isn't that why?"
Klein asked in return. Hadn't the Doctor invited Ling Xi because of this power in the first place?
"Well... that is true."
Mobius smiled. "But now he's a member of our laboratory, isn't he? It's rare for someone to join our lab, so I don't want him to leave. I also hope he'll stay willingly, so... Klein."
"So?"
Klein suddenly had a bad feeling...
"So, Klein, you need to help with this too."
Mobius said with a beaming smile, "Ling Xi doesn't have class this afternoon. Let's call him over, and when the time comes, follow my lead."
Klein: "..."
"Beep..."
As the automatic doors to the laboratory hall opened, Ling Xi calmly walked in from outside, then just as calmly took out his ID card and scanned it at the attendance machine by the entrance...
"Beep..."
The indicator light on the attendance machine then turned red, indicating that he was late.
Ling Xi: "..." Whatever. It didn't matter.
Klein had told him yesterday to remember to clock in and out, since it affected his perfect attendance.
Before you continue