The Secret in the Terminal: Sigelica's Library Date

Linnai's gaze was like two searchlights, fixed directly on Sigelica.

Sigelica was looking down at her personal terminal, a silly smile on her lips that she wasn't even aware of—well, it was just like that orange cat in the Logistics Department's warehouse that had stolen some dried Xiao Yu.

Linnai:(✧≖‿ゝ≖)

I have something to announce.

She cleared her throat, her voice not loud, but everyone in the dormitory stopped what they were doing.

"Just now, our beloved Sunspeakers reserve and Flamebearers' Academy discipline model comrade Sigelica has betrayed us."

Before she could finish speaking, Linnai sprang up from her bed like a cheetah, leaped across the aisle between the beds, and landed directly on Sigelica's bed.

"Caught a cat that's in heat staring at the screen!"

Sigelica was startled and instinctively slammed the terminal screen against her chest, shrinking back.

Sigelica:(╬Ò‸Ó)

"What are you doing! Who's in heat! I... I was looking at tomorrow's training plan!"

Her face flushed instantly, a color even more exaggerated than the cherry jam that the cafeteria had specially prepared that day.

"Training plan?" Linnai snatched the pillow next to her, her smile utterly mischievous. "Is it Dr. Lu Hesi's electrocardiogram training, or lip muscle contact reaction training?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the dormitory immediately perked up their ears.

Dania, who had been nestled in the bear's arms like an ostrich, cautiously peeked out, her purple eyes full of curiosity—she had recovered from her social anxiety and her attention was now completely absorbed by her best friend's gossip.

Aimis sat cross-legged on the ground, about to say what she habitually said, "I have absolutely no interest in other people's private lives," but she swallowed the words back and let out a loud gasp.

Aimis:(;￣Д￣)

"No way, really? Sister Xixi, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes..."

She looked at Sigelica's expression, which was like that of a boiled shrimp, and thought to herself, "My worldview has collapsed again."

"Confess honestly."

Chisaki pushed up her glasses, the cold light from the tablet illuminating her expressionless face. She didn't participate in the encirclement, but calmly sat at her desk, tapping a few times on the virtual keyboard.

Chisaki:[¬_¬]

I'll give you ten seconds.

"Immediately confess to your unusual communication records with Dr. Lu Hesi, or I will put your personal device on the high-risk signal source list and subject you to three days and three nights of battlefield-level network latency."

Sigelica froze.

She had no doubt that Chisaki could keep her word. In this academy, offending the principal might at most result in a tea party, offending the dean of students might at most result in failing a course, but offending Chisaki? You might even have your video lectures lag like a PowerPoint presentation.

"I... we really have nothing going on!" she struggled desperately, her voice growing weaker and weaker, "It's just... normal doctor-patient communication."

Linnai leaned closer, their noses almost touching. "Normal doctor-patient communication makes you laugh like a silly cat that's stolen five cans of food?"

Dania crawled out from behind the bear and came closer, whispering with that innocent concern:

Dania:(｡•. •｡)

"Xixi, are you sick? Doctor Lu is a very nice person; the candy he gave us was delicious."

This final blow shattered Sigelica's last line of defense. She looked into Dania's pure, innocent eyes, then at her three menacing friends beside her, and finally gave up.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" She raised her hands in surrender. "It's just... we agreed to go somewhere together this weekend."

Linnai's eyes lit up instantly. "Where? The haunted house at Starlight Amusement Park? Or the couple's suite at the seaside resort that Zhou Yu took Yaya to last time?"

Sigelica blushed and forced out a few words through gritted teeth:

"... Central Library."

The dormitory was silent for a full three seconds.

Linnai's gossipy fire vanished as if doused with ice water, leaving her completely deflated.

Linnai:_(:з"∠)_

"The library? Are you two going on a date or to a cram school for exams?"

Aimis looked equally incredulous. "OMG, this itinerary sounds even more hypnotic than Professor Moning's Advanced Resonance Theory lecture. Are you two planning to memorize the periodic table behind the bookshelf?"

Sigelica, feeling embarrassed, retorted stubbornly:

What do you know!

"We've arranged to go to the psychology section on the third floor to discuss some in-depth literature on post-traumatic stress disorder in those Resonator."

The more she talked, the more intellectual she felt her plan was, and her voice grew louder.

"At noon, we also booked a lunch at 'Quiet Moments' restaurant next to the library. Their vegetable salads and oatmeal lattes are famous, making it perfect for healthy academic discussions!"

After hearing this, Linnai silently slid off the bed, sprawled on the floor staring blankly at the ceiling.

"It's over, there's no hope."

"I can almost picture you two, each engrossed in a book thicker than a brick, reading from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, with the only exchange being, 'I think the fourth argument of this paper is debatable.'"

Aimis covered her face. "This kind of date is awful. I'd rather help Zhou Yu farm inventory for a month."

Only Dania tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then said seriously:

"The library is great, very quiet. And the strawberry pancakes at that light food restaurant are delicious."

Sigelica nodded vigorously, as if she had found a kindred spirit.

"Exactly! You bunch of people whose minds are full of romance have no idea about the restrained yet sophisticated romance between us adults!"

She retorted forcefully, but when she picked up the terminal again and saw Lu Hesi's message on the screen, "[See you at the library entrance at nine o'clock that Saturday morning]," her heart skipped a beat.

The feeling was more blush-inducing and heart-pounding than running a 5-kilometer obstacle course, and it was like secretly eating a whole can of Skittles that Doctor Lu had given them as compensation—sweet and delightful, spreading from the tip of the tongue all the way to the heart.

Seeing her tsundere attitude, Linnai got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and suddenly remembered something.

"Etc."

Her gaze swept over Sigelica, then over Dania, who was quietly watching the show.

"One of you went to the library to do academic work, and the other got tricked by Zhou Yu into researching some 'strawberry-flavored family planning tool'..."

Linnai slapped her thigh and posed a soul-searching question:

Is there something wrong with the feng shui of our dorm room?