"So, Airi, if you only came to laugh at me, then you've succeeded."
In the end, Chang Yuan rolled his eyes at Airi without the slightest courtesy.
"Mm-hmm~? I wasn't laughing at you. After all, I nearly couldn't sleep last night either. I have Himiko to thank for chatting with me."
Airi hummed and laughed at his words.
But then she noticed that Chang Yuan seemed to have gotten stronger.
"So, you trained because you couldn't sleep last night?"
"You could tell?"
Chang Yuan looked at his hands in confusion.
No, even he himself couldn't tell where he had become stronger, yet Airi could actually see it.
Could this be the legendary strength-detecting radar that only the strong possessed?
"Not exactly. It just feels like your aura is different from yesterday's. But with Velvie's potion yesterday, you should have become stronger."
"Of course. Maybe I'll even surpass you."
"Then I'll wait and see. I'm looking forward to the day you surpass me."
Airi smiled at that.
She didn't believe Chang Yuan could surpass her. It wasn't arrogance; she was merely stating a fact.
Perhaps because she was naturally special, she already felt terrifyingly strong.
"You don't believe me? Then just wait and see. I'll definitely show you what I'm capable of."
How could Chang Yuan fail to notice the disbelief in Airi's eyes?
Afterward came Chang Yuan's daily training.
At noon, the two went to the Flame-Chasing Moth cafeteria. It had to be said that the higher-ups had truly spared no expense in this regard.
The cafeteria offered dishes from practically every corner of the world. It even had the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast from Shenzhou, though that had to be reserved in advance.
After casually getting their own meals, the two found a table for two and sat down.
"Mmm, bitter melon. Chang Yuan, you can have it. I'm not eating it."
"Hey, hey, hey. It's braised pork with bitter melon. You ate the pork and gave me the bitter melon—what's that supposed to mean?"
Watching the pile of bitter melon grow on his plate, Chang Yuan's mouth twitched.
Good grief, people really were strange creatures. They could eat braised pork with bitter melon, but they couldn't eat bitter melon itself.
Besides, he wasn't Theresa. He didn't have some bizarre taste in food. He didn't like bitter melon at all.
"But didn't you say we shouldn't waste food? You told me that when I was little. Back then, you even made me eat green peppers."
Blinking her beautiful eyes, Airi stared at Chang Yuan as she spoke.
Chang Yuan was instantly left speechless by her words.
Ah, well... back then, he had only been teasing Airi!
Good grief, had a bullet fired years ago finally come back to hit him?
Wait, no. Back then, he had personally fed Airi.
"No, no, back then I fed you and made you eat it. Those things can't be lumped together at all."
"Oh? Is that the only reason?"
Airi smiled softly upon hearing that, immediately coming up with a countermeasure.
Picking up her chopsticks, she lifted a slice of bitter melon.
Then she slowly brought it to Chang Yuan's lips.
"Mm-hmm~? We can't waste food, you know~?"
"...Sigh."
Looking at the bitter melon already held to his mouth, Chang Yuan knew he no longer had the right to choose.
Sure enough, that bullet from years ago had still hit him.
The moment he bit down, the bitterness of the melon exploded across his taste buds.
But the instant he remembered that Airi was feeding him with her own hand, it became bitter in his mouth and sweet in his heart.
"Hehe~? Is it good? Don't rush, there's still plenty more~?"
Just as Chang Yuan swallowed the first slice of bitter melon, Airi immediately picked up a second slice and held it to his lips.
This time, however, she was at least somewhat conscientious. She was willing to add some meat and rice instead of making him eat bitter melon by itself.
Although their actions appeared very intimate, Chang Yuan knew that Airi only regarded him as family, as a close friend she could fool around with.
After all, Airi had already said so after that time he had pretended to be dead.
So, Chang Yuan's heart remained utterly calm about this feeding.
However, all of it was watched by a certain red-haired woman.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Family? More like her own husband."
Himiko clicked her tongue in wonder as she watched the scene.
Airi had told her just last night that Chang Yuan was only family to her, but looking at this now... tsk, tsk, tsk.
"So in the end, I'm the only single dog. How annoying."
Though she said it was annoying, Himiko's eyes were full of blessings.
After all, she had listened to Airi recount her story with Chang Yuan the night before.
The story was neither particularly thrilling nor especially romantic.
It was simply about a grown boy protecting Airi when she was still a little girl.
That grown boy had accompanied the little girl as she grew up, witnessing everything she went through along the way. Wasn't that romantic in its own way?
And besides Himiko, who offered blessings, there were naturally those who were jealous.
After all, Airi was far too pretty, far too adorable and beautiful. Almost any ordinary man who saw her even once would develop a favorable impression of her.
So, seeing Chang Yuan able to interact with Airi so intimately, everyone wished they could take his place.
"Finally done. Airi, I was wrong. I shouldn't have made you eat dishes you didn't like."
After finishing that meal of bitter melon, Chang Yuan immediately apologized without another word.
"No~? There aren't any dishes I dislike. Or rather, everything you and I ate together back then was something I liked."
"Ah, well, then I guess we really were meant to be."
Seeing that Chang Yuan completely failed to understand the meaning behind her words, Airi lowered her gaze slightly.
This blockhead really was a blockhead.
What she meant was clearly that as long as she was with him, she liked whatever they ate.
Yet Chang Yuan had merely talked about fate, leaving Airi somewhat speechless.
"All right, hurry up and eat. Once you're done, go back for a nap. Then get up and continue training. You can't give up halfway, okay~?"
"Got it, got it. You know me—I'm not someone who likes giving up halfway."
Chang Yuan nodded at her words.
To achieve that goal, he couldn't slack off, and he wouldn't.
After all, as a certain True Lord Erlang of Guanjiangkou once said, people always thought slacking off a little in ordinary times was no big deal, so when the critical moment came, they were always just a little short.
He didn't want to go through something like that. He didn't want Airi to slip away through his fingers because of such a thing, while he was unable to hold her hand.
After lunch, they took a brief walk to digest their food, then Chang Yuan returned to his dormitory to sleep. Yet even now, he still had no roommate.
He was the only person in the entire six-person dormitory, and it felt strangely deserted.
Before you continue