Role-playing

"M-March..."

Opening his bleary eyes a fraction, Lin Feng slowly reached out, his broad palm gently stroking her cascading pink hair.

Asta, who had just begun to feel drowsy, was startled awake by his movement. Surprise appeared on her lovely face.

She certainly hadn't expected Lin Feng to call her March 7th.

"Lin Feng, you're awake..."

Shaking her head gently, Asta curled her lips into a tender smile.

"Mm... I'm still a little dizzy, but I should be fine."

"March... you must be tired after staying with me so long, right?"

Lin Feng opened his eyes slightly and spoke in a weak voice, his gaze a little unfocused.

"It's all right. Compared to your heroic deeds, what little I've done hardly counts..."

"Also, Lin Feng, I think you've made a mistake. I'm actually Asta..."

Before the pink-haired girl could finish, Lin Feng cut her off.

"Station Manager Asta asked you to come, didn't she? That makes sense."

"Speaking of Station Manager Asta, she's such a sweet, gentle girl, too. She's composed and decisive, and she always manages to handle everything

properly and perfectly. She's so capable for her age..."

A faint smile appeared on Lin Feng's pale face, his eyes brimming with sincerity.

Having acquired the talent called Love Expert, he had a head full of smooth lines and tricks, to say nothing of his ability to put on an act.

Complimenting a girl to her face would often make her doubt his sincerity. Doing it from a bystander's perspective, though, was another story.

"Ahem... r-really? She's nowhere near as wonderful as you make her sound..."

Asta nodded slightly, a faint blush appearing on her pretty face. She was clearly feeling a little embarrassed.

She was only a girl in the bloom of youth, yet she ran such an enormous research institution.

In truth, Asta becoming the station manager of Herta Space Station had little to do with her professional abilities.

The main reason was... aside from the blueprints and plans supplied by Ms. Herta, Asta alone had provided all the enormous funding needed for its construction and furnishing.

That was right. Her only superpower was money.

So, faced with Lin Feng's sincere praise, offered without any ulterior motive, Asta felt rather pleased with herself.

After all, in his current muddled state, Lin Feng had mistaken her for March 7th, so he certainly wouldn't be lying.

"Mm... Asta really is an amazing girl. Actually, I've been paying attention to her for a long time."

Lin Feng nodded slightly, a nostalgic look entering his eyes as he mentioned Asta.

"Oh? If I remember correctly, you and Asta have never met, have you?"

Led astray by Lin Feng, Asta was no longer in a hurry to explain her true identity. His words had piqued her curiosity again.

"Actually, we have. It's just that I was only a deck cleaner back then, so of course Station Manager Asta wouldn't have noticed me."

"I still remember how Station Manager Asta loved going to Equipment Bay No. 2 alone at midnight and using the Neur-Iman telescope to observe changes in the nebulae."

"Her favorite food is Black Forest cake with double cheese..."

Lin Feng spoke slowly, his expression utterly earnest, without the slightest trace of a lie. He simply described what he knew about Asta in the most matter-of-fact tone.

Of course, he had gathered all this information through various means during his previous Path Simulations.

As for being a deck cleaner, that was complete nonsense, merely something to make the lie sound convincing.

"How... how do you even know all that...?"

After hearing Lin Feng's account, Asta's pupils abruptly contracted, her clear, aqua-blue eyes filled with shock.

After all, everything Lin Feng had said about her was completely correct.

Some of those private details should have been known only to Arlan, and given his personality, he shouldn't have told anyone else so easily.

"Ahem... Lin Feng, you certainly pay a lot of attention to that Asta..."

Pouting, Asta pretended to be unhappy, though inwardly she was secretly delighted.

After all, a boy as handsome and brave as Lin Feng fit her ideal partner perfectly.

And the attention he paid to her was tugging at her heartstrings.

"No, no... March, you've misunderstood..."

Lin Feng frowned slightly, a hint of nervousness appearing on his handsome face. His acting was nothing short of masterful.

"Tell me the truth. Do you... do you, um... kind of like her?"

"C-can I not answer that, March?"

Under Asta's persistent questioning, Lin Feng stammered, looking rather uneasy.

"No! You have to answer!"

"Relax... I'm not that petty. Go ahead and tell me. I promise I won't get jealous!"

Puffing out her cheeks and imitating March 7th's manner, Asta spoke with a haughty little expression.

To coax Lin Feng's true feelings out of him, Asta was throwing caution to the wind.

Since Lin Feng had mistaken her for March 7th, she might as well play the role properly.

Asta had an extraordinary thirst for knowledge about many things, not just astronomy. She felt just as much longing and anticipation toward that fabled thing called love.

"Actually... maybe a little."

"There's always this indescribable fascination in her eyes when she gazes at the sea of stars. A girl like that must have a heart as clear as the starry sky."

"Maybe she doesn't even realize how captivating and elegant she looks when she's absorbed in her research on the stars."

"But a young lady of such noble birth... she and I belong to different worlds, in the end..."

Lin Feng let out a long sigh and spoke slowly, his gaze drifting as though he were lingering over certain memories.

"I-is that so?"

"She's nowhere near as wonderful as you make her sound..."

Clenching her slender, delicate hands, Asta lowered her head shyly, a secretly delighted smile on her lips.

Unprecedented ripples stirred in her beautiful eyes, as clear as lake water.

At that moment, the once-calm sea of her heart was being battered by waves unlike any she had ever known.

Though Lin Feng's confession was meant for March 7th, to Asta's ears, it surpassed even the sweetest words of love.

Her mind raced, and her heartbeat gradually quickened. Asta was utterly flustered.

For a moment, her mind simply froze, leaving her at a loss for how to respond to Lin Feng.

"Ahem... March, you're not getting jealous, are you?"

"It's all in the past. If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have wanted to bring it up again."

"An outstanding young lady of noble birth like Asta is sure to find the man who truly wins her heart..."

"But you and I will eventually board the train bound for the Starry Sky, and she and I will become strangers."

Watching Asta grow bashful, Lin Feng kept talking, making sure to add a few lines to fan the flames.