When the words from the receiver settled, Luo Yang was stunned for half a second. His mind began to automatically filter through sentences Qiu Shubai might say in such a tone, but not a single one matched.
The other end of the line was very quiet—so quiet that he could hear her breathing, which was slightly more hurried than usual. The person on the other side was clearly waiting for him to respond.
Luo Yang ran his tongue behind his teeth. For some reason, a surge of playful energy welled up in his chest, and he couldn't stop himself.
“For me?”
He deliberately made his tone lazy, with a slight upward tilt at the end.
“When did our Miss Chief become so enthusiastic?”
There was a very faint intake of breath on the other end before she replied.
“No... it’s not about being enthusiastic. It’s just to express my gratitude for you giving me Crimson Abyss.”
Qiu Shubai’s voice was lower now, her words a bit rushed. She was speaking much faster than usual, yet every word was enunciated with extreme clarity.
Whenever this girl started trying to act tough, she was like this.
Luo Yang could hardly suppress his smile.
“Oh—”
“Let’s set that matter aside for now. Gratitude is one thing, but to make such a grand display right under everyone’s noses... what were you trying to do?”
A few more seconds passed.
“At the time...”
Qiu Shubai finally spoke, but those three words were as far as she got before getting stuck. She couldn't manage the second half of the sentence for a long time.
Luo Yang heard her take two sharp breaths, as if she were scouring her brain for the right words, but after a long while, she still hadn't found them.
“I didn’t think that much at the time,” she finally squeezed out.
“Besides... outsiders couldn’t tell anyway, could they?”
When that sentence came out, Luo Yang’s expression froze first.
Holding his phone, he blinked.
Outsiders couldn’t tell.
Outsiders?
Then... what did that make him?
Logically, there was nothing wrong with what she said. The fireworks were in the sky, and the entire academy could see them. Indeed, no one could have read into those fireworks and realized they were a private gift for a specific person.
But the subtext of her words... wasn't she saying that he, Luo Yang, wasn't an outsider?
In that instant, Luo Yang’s mind went down a rather ridiculous path.
The opposite of an outsider is an insider.
Was he the Miss Chief’s “insider”?
In the old vocabulary from Earth, that specific term—Neiren—was a humble way to refer to one’s wife.
The moment that thought arose, he was so startled he nearly dropped his phone.
Pah, pah, pah.
Luo Yang quickly uprooted that train of thought and cast it to the back of his mind. She was just using a common figure of speech; in other words, “other people couldn’t tell.” This “insider” business was purely his own overactive imagination.
Nonsense, total nonsense.
He pressed the phone back to his ear and took a deep breath, suppressing that inexplicable embarrassment.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat, returning to his usual nonchalant tone, though he was much better behaved than before.
“Just kidding,” he said. “Those fireworks were really beautiful. Thanks.”
He said this seriously, for once without adding any weird remarks.
The other end went silent for a beat, and Qiu Shubai’s breathing seemed to steady.
“Mm.”
“You played the match well, too,” Luo Yang added. “It’s clear your strength is far beyond the opponents’.”
“...The team coordinated well.”
“That’s not wrong. For instance, that Li Qiang guy is indeed very good at finding positions.”
“Mm.”
Luo Yang: “...”
Fine, he pretty much got the picture. Qiu Shubai didn't intend to say another word. Every reply was a dismissive “mm,” like throwing stones into a pond.
The girl was definitely still trying to compose herself.
He didn't call her out on it and simply chatted about the weather for a bit. Qiu Shubai responded with a few more obedient “mm’s,” finally getting her breathing rhythm back to normal.
Just then, a loud voice suddenly erupted from the receiver.
“Captain!”
It was Tang Xuan’s voice.
The sound was close to Qiu Shubai’s microphone, coming through loud and clear. In the background, he could hear the sound of tables and chairs being moved, mixed with the chaotic chatter of the audience dispersing.
“Why did you run off here to make a call? the three of us have been looking for you for ages!”
On the other end, Qiu Shubai clearly tilted the phone away. The voice became a bit muffled, but it was still audible.
Luo Yang could even imagine Tang Xuan’s casual, swaggering posture as she approached.
“...I’m hanging up now.”
Qiu Shubai returned to the microphone, her voice becoming soft again.
“Go ahead.”
Luo Yang took the phone away from his ear and flopped back onto his pillow.
“Whew...”
The breath held in his chest finally escaped.
He raised a hand to rub his face. His plain glass spectacles were pushed up to his forehead before sliding back down to the bridge of his nose.
This girl, honestly.
...
In the corridor outside the temporary rest area backstage at the arena.
The bubblegum Tang Xuan had been chewing for a long time was blown into a pink bubble the size of a palm before popping with a snap. She reached up to peel the sticky gum off her lips, rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it back into her mouth to keep chewing.
“Who were you calling?” She leaned in incredibly close, her nose almost brushing against Qiu Shubai’s phone. “Being all mysterious.”
“A friend.” Qiu Shubai put her phone in her pocket.
“Oh~?” Tang Xuan drew out the word but didn't press further. She turned to shout toward the other end of the corridor, “Li Qiang! Stop dawdling!”
Li Qiang was crouching by the wall, organizing his equipment bag. Hearing the shout, he looked up, slung the bag over his shoulder, and followed them slowly.
Chu Zimo had already appeared at the window at the end of the corridor at some point. He leaned against the window frame, no weapons visible on him, as quiet as a shadow.
Ignoring him, Tang Xuan grabbed Qiu Shubai’s arm.
“Captain.” Her voice carried an irrepressible excitement. “This opening victory is a good omen! Today’s matches are over, so how about we go celebrate? Like, find a place for a team meal or something!”
Qiu Shubai was taken aback by the suggestion.
She usually didn't participate in such activities. She couldn't remember how many victory banquets, birthday parties, and various large and small gatherings she had declined over the past two years at the academy. Even she was used to saying the word “no.”
She glanced at Tang Xuan, then at Li Qiang, who was looking up at her from the wall, and finally, her gaze rested for a second on Chu Zimo’s calm back by the window.
For some reason, the refusal simply wouldn't come out.
“...If you all want to.” She spoke, her voice even colder than usual as if she were forcefully trying to hide something. “I can go.”
As she spoke, there was an unconscious hint of uncertainty in her eyes, as if she were asking if she would be rejected.
Tang Xuan was stunned for a beat. She probably hadn't expected Qiu Shubai to agree, and her bubblegum sat unchewed in her mouth.
The next second, she snapped out of it, jumping up as if a fuse had been lit.
“You said it! No taking it back!”
As Tang Xuan spoke, the hand that had been gripping Qiu Shubai’s arm moved to hook around her shoulder, leaning her entire weight against her.
Qiu Shubai stiffened.
The posture brought Tang Xuan’s body heat and the scent of her shampoo right up against her. It was a fruity, floral scent, completely different from the woody, cool-toned fragrance Qiu Shubai usually used.
She instinctively wanted to push her away, but her hand stopped halfway and dropped back down.
She wasn't used to this kind of proximity.
When she was a child, she had been forced to learn etiquette by an old nanny in her family, and no one was allowed within three inches of her shoulders. Later, after coming to Yuanxing City, the aura she projected kept the vast majority of people at a distance.
But right now, Tang Xuan was hugging her, not caring at all about the coldness she radiated, and even leaning in closer.
Tang Xuan reached out her other hand toward Li Qiang.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Li Qiang, you’re not allowed to say you’re busy today!”
Li Qiang was dragged forward, frantically trying to straighten the straps of his equipment bag.
“I didn't say I was busy,” he defended himself in a small voice.
“Then walk faster!”
Chu Zimo walked over from the window without a word, automatically following half a step behind the three of them with a distinct NPC-like vibe.
The four of them headed out of the venue. The corridor lights passed over their heads one by one as Tang Xuan chattered away, listing restaurant names.
“I know a barbecue place. The owner is a Yuanxing City local, and the meat is incredible...”
“I don’t eat spicy food,” Chu Zimo added flatly.
“They have non-spicy options!”
“...”
“What does the Captain like to eat?”
Qiu Shubai turned her head, her grey-white hair brushing against Tang Xuan’s shoulder.
“Whatever.”
“Then it’s up to me!”
...
Luo Yang’s home, Third Ring Road, Yuanxing City.
The sky had completely darkened. The curtains weren't fully drawn, leaving a narrow gap where the streetlights of the neighborhood peeked through, casting a thin sliver of warm light on the floor.
Luo Yang didn't get out of bed after finishing his chips. His phone rested on his lap, playing a classic anime he was halfway through. The plot had reached the part where the protagonist was trying to talk the villain down; the music was swelling with emotion, but his eyelids were growing heavier.
Yan Zhi was in the living room, and he didn't bother her. Ever since Yan Ya left, that girl had treated the living room as her personal domain. She was likely clutching a cola and watching anime right now.
He rolled over, planning to nap for a bit. In his daze, he felt the air near the head of the bed shift.
It was as if something had just appeared in that spot, displacing the air that originally belonged to that space.
The string in Luo Yang’s mind snapped taut in a fraction of a second, and he snapped his eyes open.
At the head of the bed, less than half a meter from his face, a dark shadow had appeared out of thin air.
The shadow quickly took on a solid form. A short, sharp curse escaped Luo Yang’s throat as he practically bolted upright, his head thumping against the headboard with a crack that made his vision go white with pain.
Night Owl-Slash was snatched directly from his space ring, the scabbard thudding against the quilt.
He remained in a half-sitting, half-leaning posture, blade held across his body, his pupils locked onto the shadow.
The shadow became even more solid than before.
The brim of a jazz hat, the collar of a white shirt, straight suit trousers, and a half-mask with interlacing black and white patterns covering half the face. The other half of the face was smiling at him.
The mask slowly dissolved, revealing a glamorous face.
Si Zhen.
Rate on N.U.
