Silly Josephine

Li Wei quickly returned to the apartment building where he rented a room, then hurried up the creaky old wooden stairs and across the squeaky floorboards of the hallway back to his pigeonhole of a home.

He pushed open the door, but no one was inside. He checked again—Lina's schoolbag wasn't on the bed or the chair either.

"Looks like she's already gone to class."

"With the walls of Piltover University protecting her, she should be fine."

Li Wei relaxed a little and hurriedly packed up the things he needed to take for his escape.

At the same time, he carefully washed his face and changed out of his blood-soaked work clothes, so he wouldn't be running around covered in blood and mistaken for a freshly-minted psycho killer.

Once everything was in order, Li Wei looked for his notebook:

"The notebook really is gone."

"Looks like Lina took it to school."

He didn't know the details, but thinking back to that mysterious believer who had popped up out of nowhere, he could vaguely guess that it had something to do with the article he'd left behind.

So Li Wei sped up his preparations, intending to head to Piltover University.

First, to find his sister there and warn her of the danger.

Second, to see what was actually going on over there—whether that mysterious believer was really there or not.

But just as Li Wei was ready, having thought everything through and about to set off, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Someone was coming.

Heading straight for him.

"Iron Fist Gang? They're already on my tail?" Li Wei instinctively tensed up.

But he quickly realized: "No, that can't be."

He'd only been back a short while; even the Iron Fist Gang couldn't move that fast.

Besides, he now had a faint divine power to sense the airflow around him.

Li Wei could feel that there was only one person breathing outside the door, and that person's breathing was rapid, erratic, and out of rhythm—like someone physically weak and not used to exercise.

Sure enough, the next second he heard:

"Um, excuse me, is Mr. Li Wei home?"

A soft, lark-like female voice sounded from outside the door. She might have run all the way here, her breath unsteady, so her voice carried a delicate, charming tremor.

Li Wei stayed on guard and didn't answer for a moment.

"Huh, did I get it wrong? Did the uncle who gave directions give me the wrong room number?"

"Mr. Li Wei, are you there?"

"Who is it?" Li Wei didn't recognize the voice. But it was so soft and delicate that it didn't sound like a bad person. If a villain's voice sounded like that, they'd probably have no face left to run with the crowd.

So he opened the door, and there stood outside—

Little leather boots, white stockings, a princess dress, pink long hair, silk gloves, jeweled hair ornaments, rosy lips, white teeth, bright eyes, and a charming smile—a rich young lady?

Seeing her, Li Wei felt like time and space had gone haywire.

Because this girl was so beautiful that her whole vibe didn't fit.

She belonged at a high-society banquet in London, a fashion show in Paris, a luxury hotel in Dubai, or an idol stage in Tokyo. The last place she should be was this rundown apartment building in the Zaunite community.

Too jarring, too out of place.

And what made it even weirder for Li Wei was that he'd never seen this girl before, yet he inexplicably felt she looked familiar.

But there was no trace of her in the original owner's memories either.

"Wait." Li Wei suddenly snapped to attention.

It wasn't the original owner who found her familiar—it was him!

"Hey, isn't that the—"

"Hello, my name is Seraphine!" Before he could ask, Seraphine excitedly introduced herself.

It really was her!

A League of Legends champion, SP Sona!

Ahem, no—

The Starry-Eyed Songstress, Seraphine.

Right, she was from Piltover too, wasn't she?

But why would Seraphine come looking for him on her own? When had he ever had any dealings with her?

Li Wei was baffled, but Seraphine, as if possessed, lit up the moment she saw him and rushed over.

She grabbed Li Wei's hand, clutching it to her chest with excitement, and said:

"Li Wei, the song you composed is absolutely beautiful. It's simply heavenly!"

"Shall we sing together? Come on, sing with me! Let's be music idols together!"

Li Wei: "..."

What the hell is this?

Back when he played the game, he never noticed Seraphine being a lunatic.

"Um." He awkwardly pulled his hand free from Seraphine's grip. "Excuse me, do we know each other?"

"Hmm." Seraphine finally calmed down a bit. Remembering the ladylike education she'd received over the past decade, she couldn't help blushing with shyness. "Mr. Li Wei, allow me to introduce myself:"

"My name is Seraphine. Seraphine Ervin."

"My father is your boss, Mr. Ervin, who runs the audio workshop."

"This..." Li Wei really hadn't expected that.

So the boss's daughter, who according to the original owner's memories always hid at home and never went out, was actually Seraphine!

"But even so, we've never met, right?"

"Yes, we haven't had the fortune of meeting before this."

"You might not know me yet, but Mr. Li Wei—" Before he could say much, that infatuated tone crept back in. "Actually, our souls have already been deeply intertwined!"

Li Wei: "..."

He was even more convinced this girl had something wrong with her head.

"Can I come in? I'd like to have a good chat with you."

Even as Seraphine asked this, her head was already poking in through the doorframe like an old friend.

She curiously looked around Li Wei's little nest:

This shabby rented room was less than five square meters. It held just a narrow bed and a simple washstand, leaving almost no space to stand.

Though the room was kept clean, the constant conflict between the tenant's growing pile of daily clutter and the unchanging cramped space made it look messy and crowded.

"Mr. Li Wei."

Seraphine asked instinctively:

"Is this your family's storage room?"

"This..." Li Wei's mouth twitched violently. "This is my home."

"Huh?" Seraphine didn't believe it. "Really?"

"How can anyone live in something so small?"

Li Wei: "..."

"It's livable. Two people can live here." He shot the young lady a sour look. "My sister and I have been here for over two years."

"You and your sister? Two people?"

"With just one bed, how do you manage?"

"I only work night shifts and sleep during the day. She goes to school during the day and sleeps at night. One bed is enough."

"Hmm." Seraphine seemed utterly unable to imagine what that kind of life was like.

So she couldn't help asking again: "What about weekends and holidays? Do you siblings sleep together?"

"You're overthinking it. I don't have weekends or holidays."

"Not a single day??"

"Not a single day."

"How can there not be a single day? Don't all workers in Piltover get two days off?"

Li Wei: "..."

Why don't I have any days off?

You should go ask your dad about that, you fool!

"Mr. Li Wei." Seraphine suddenly pouted with a hurt look. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Do you... think I'm stupid?"

Hey, you figured that out?

How'd her IQ suddenly spike?

"No, no." Li Wei smiled with polite courtesy. "Miss Seraphine, how could I think you're stupid?"

After all, she was the daughter of Mr. Ervin, who had kindly helped him before. He'd spare her feelings and not curse her out.

She was already dumb; no need to bully her.

"Mr. Li Wei." At some point, her hand touched his again.

Skin meeting skin, it felt like their souls connected too: "Is it because you're sparing my father's feelings that you're not scolding me?"

"Huh?" Li Wei was suddenly startled.

You can read minds?!

"Yeah, I can."

Holy shit, you actually can?

"Yes. I usually can't control it well, but if there's physical contact, I can 'hear' clearly."

Holy crap, she really can!

Li Wei quickly stepped back, pulling his hand away from Seraphine's.

"Also, Mr. Li Wei?"

"What is it?"

"Could you stop bringing up my mother? She's not here."

Li Wei: "..."