Knock knock.
Wang Fei knocked on the door and was about to say something when a voice from inside immediately interrupted him.
"Croissant, I told you—I'm not in the mood to go to the mall with you..."
"Miss Exusiai, it's me, Wang Fei," he called out. The voice behind the door suddenly went quiet for a moment, then replied in a clearly annoyed tone.
"Croissant, stop messing around! I'm serious this time—I'll get really mad!"
"Uh... I'm really not Croissant," Wang Fei said, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
How did she possibly mistake his voice for that woman's?
"Don't play dumb! You think using the same trick twice is going to lure me out again?! Don't think I don't know you recorded Mostima's voice on your phone! You won't fool me a second time! I swear, I'm not coming out no matter what!!"
That bread-headed woman... she really went as far as secretly recording my voice? She's definitely planning something shady...
Wang Fei made a mental note to deal with that troublesome woman later before speaking again.
"Miss Exusiai, it's really me—Wang Fei. I even brought you an apple pie—"
Bang! "What?! Apple pie?!"
Exusiai flung the door open instantly. The moment she saw who was standing in front of her, her jaw dropped.
"Modi!! Is that really you?!"
Wang Fei stared at the woman who just moments ago swore she wouldn't come out even if she died, now rushing out the moment she heard the words apple pie.
He had no idea what words to even scold her with...
"Uh... the room might be a bit messy. Sorry about that!"
Exusiai hurriedly entered the room and began shoving all her clutter under the bed in embarrassment.
Wang Fei, who had been invited inside, realized it was the first time he'd ever seen Exusiai's bedroom. Normally, he only visited Croissant's room—for contraband inspections.
Huh... this room's more feminine than I expected, he thought while glancing around. He noticed music band posters, teddy bear decorations, and some strange-looking gadgets on the wall. Then his eyes landed on a photo frame sitting on top of her computer desk.
He picked it up and saw a group photo of Exusiai surrounded by what seemed to be her family or close friends. She was in a graduation gown, smiling brightly as they celebrated with her.
Among them, he saw someone who looked exactly like him—except with a halo and white wings—standing next to Exusiai and hugging a reluctant-looking Mostima into the group.
Mostima, who usually smiled all the time, had a blushing, awkward expression in the photo—one Wang Fei had never seen before.
"Interested in that picture, Modi?"
Exusiai suddenly appeared beside him without warning and pointed at the photo, not even waiting for a reply.
"That was from my graduation from Laterano University. This here is my sister, Lemuel. That's Fiammetta's older sister. This one's Modi, and that's Mostima. This is big bro Haton, this one's stone-faced Federico, this guy is—"
"Miss Exusiai, you're not seriously treating me like I'm Modi with amnesia, trying to reintroduce all your old friends to jog my memory, right?"
"Heh... busted?"
Exusiai chuckled nervously, realizing she'd been caught.
Wang Fei just shook his head slowly and set the frame down.
"It's fine. Call me whatever you like. Just seeing you doing well like this makes me happy."
Seeing that warm, sincere smile on his face only made Exusiai see even more of that man in him. But soon, she realized it was just an illusion—one that faded away, leaving only reality behind.
"...Wang Fei. Your body—are you really okay?" she asked suddenly, looking down.
"As you can see, I'm fine," he replied with a straight face.
"Really...? You're not lying, right? If you're lying, a demon's gonna blow up your house, you know!"
She looked serious.
Blow up my house? That's... a pretty bizarre metaphor.
"Well, I'm not really the type to lie," Wang Fei replied with a grin. And it was true—he hadn't lied about being physically okay. As for other things, well, if they weren't mentioned, they didn't count as lies.
"That so...? That's a relief."
Exusiai sighed, and her initial nervous smile began to fade away—replaced by her usual bright one.
"Alright! Rebirth complete!!"
She threw on her Penguin Logistics jacket and grabbed his hand.
"Wang Fei! Let's go out!!"
"Huh?"
With strength slightly greater than his, she dragged him out of the room. Along the way, they passed Texas and Croissant chatting in the lounge.
"Heyo! Texas! Croissant! Gonna borrow the company car for a bit, thanks!!"
Without waiting for an answer, Exusiai snatched the keys from the table and dashed off behind the building with Wang Fei.
"W-What the heck was that?"
Croissant blinked in confusion, unable to process what just happened.
"..."
Texas, biting a Pocky stick, stared silently in the direction they disappeared. Then she stood up from the sofa.
"I'm going after those two."
"I'm coming too!"
Croissant jumped up without hesitation—she was dying to know where they were headed. Who knows, she might even get a scandalous photo to blackmail the officer with!
After being swept away by Exusiai, Wang Fei was dragged around to various places—the amusement park, zoo, even a famous cake shop.
But since he still couldn't enjoy flavors, the desserts didn't bring him much joy.
Before he realized it, it was already past two in the afternoon.
"Ahh... Today was so much fun!"
Exusiai shouted joyfully, resting in the public park in Lungmen.
"Here, ice cream,"
Wang Fei handed her a cone he just bought.
"Thanks, Wang Fei!"
He looked at her cheerful smile with slight exasperation, then sat beside her.
"You can call me Fei Fei. We've known each other a while now."
"Really? Then call me Lemuel! That's my real name."
"Sure,"
Wang Fei suppressed the urge to mention how masculine that name sounded.
After staring at him for a while, Exusiai suddenly turned away, asking in a strange tone,
"Hey... Fei Fei, have you ever thought about visiting Laterano?"
"Laterano? Hmm... I never did before, but lately I've been thinking I'd like to go there at least once."
Wang Fei answered truthfully. He used to avoid thoughts of travel due to his fear of the outside world.
But now, knowing he was infected and possibly had little time left, he found himself wanting to understand this world more—no, it was more like he wanted to explore the unknown, to see more of the world he'd never known.
"Not just Laterano. Kazimierz, Iberia, Sargon, Kjerag, Victoria—even my birthplace, Yan—I want to visit all of them someday."
"...So that's your dream? To travel the world?"
Wang Fei was surprised by the question and shook his head immediately.
"A dream? No... it's more like a desire. My real dream is much smaller—just for my sister and my family to be happy. That alone is enough."
"...What a cheating kind of answer," Exusiai said softly. Then she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Uh... Miss Exusiai..."
Wang Fei froze a bit, but then she spoke again.
"My dream was coming to Lungmen to ask Mostima the truth about what happened three years ago..."
"That day, she came back from a mission looking like a ghost. My sister didn't say a word, just kept crying. The squad leader ran off and was later declared a fugitive under charges no one would explain. Fiammetta stopped visiting and wouldn't even look at me..."
"I wanted to know... why Modi never came back. Everyone says he died on the mission and his body couldn't be recovered, but I don't believe that. I think something was hidden. But no matter how many times I asked my sister or Fiammetta... no one would tell me anything."
"Only Mostima said she'd tell me the truth one day. She said that... and I believed her. Until I learned she'd run away."
"I investigated for a long time and eventually found out she was working as a delivery girl in Lungmen. That's why I ran off to join the same company. But even now, I haven't seen her—not once. Like she knew I was coming and deliberately avoided me. That... made me really angry."
"But... you know what? After working at Penguin Logistics for over a year, I found that life here is way more fun than back home. Yeah... I made new friends, ate what I wanted, traveled freely—just like Modi once told me how exciting the outside world was to him."
"In the end... just when I thought I was finally able to let go of Modi, you showed up, Fei Fei."
She looked at him with eyes full of longing, though just for a moment.
"Ha ha, you two look so much alike I was seriously shocked. At first, I even thought Modi had faked his death or lost his memory and was hiding in Lungmen with Mostima's help."
"But... it's just coincidence. You're Wang Fei. Modi is Merbil. I think I can finally accept that now."
Exusiai stood up from the bench and turned to him, holding out her hand.
"So, Fei Fei—from today on, I'm counting on you!"
Wang Fei looked at the hand she offered, and took it.
"Likewise."
Exusiai grinned.
"In that case, Fei Fei—how about we go watch a movie—"
Beep beep.
A sudden ring from Wang Fei's pocket made him instinctively pull out his phone.
When he saw the caller, his expression changed.
Old Wei.
"Excuse me, Miss Exusiai. I need to take this call."
"No problem! I'll wait right here!"
"No problem, no problem! I'll wait here then!"
Wang Fei walked a good distance away before finally answering the call.
"Fei, I've got a job for you. Come to the office right now—urgent."
"Sigh... Can I say no?"
Wang Fei felt a bit tired, but his expression quickly turned irritated when he heard the next words from the other end.
"Sure... but Hui Jie might run into a bit of trouble. Is that what you want?"
"Uncle... do you even realize how your words sound more like threats each day?"
"Your answer."
The voice on the other end remained indifferent, forcing Wang Fei into a corner.
"Alright, I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"Make it 5."
The call ended immediately after that.
"Five minutes? That's insane, you old geezer!"
Wang Fei shouted, but seeing that the call had been cut off, all he could do was bottle up his frustration and rush back to Exusiai.
"Miss Exusiai, I'm really sorry! Something urgent came up at headquarters, and I need to get there in five minutes! Can I ask you to drive me there, please?"
Exusiai looked a little down at first when she heard the beginning of his sentence, but her expression quickly lit up with excitement after the second part.
"You can count on me!! I'll get you there in five minutes, guaranteed!"
........
"And that's how I managed to get here in just five minutes, Sister Hui Jie."
Wang Fei, standing in front of a thoroughly wrecked vehicle, gave a sheepish smile to his older sister, who was glaring at him and Exusiai with an icy expression.
"I see... So you got here in five minutes by running 12 red lights and breaking 23 traffic laws. Truly an impressive accomplishment, Fei Fei."
"Uh... Miss, it was my fault, I—"
"Who are you calling 'Miss'!?"
Exusiai quickly pulled her hand back and ducked behind Wang Fei after being yelled at.
"C'mon now, Sister Hui Jie. Okay, maybe part of this was my fault, but this is all because of that old man Wei! If not for him, I wouldn't have had to rush here like this."
Wang Fei tried to placate his sister, seeing that she was clearly annoyed.
"If not for that old geezer, you'd probably still be enjoying your date with your girlfriend, huh?"
Chen said, looking him in the eye, making Wang Fei blink in confusion.
"Date? Girlfriend? Who told you that?"
Chen pulled out her phone and showed him a photo of Exusiai resting her head on his shoulder on a park bench. To an outsider, it'd look just like a couple being affectionate. What made Wang Fei twitch, though, was the name of the person who sent the picture:
"Croissant—Jack of All Trades!"
"Sigh... Sis, you really shouldn't believe baseless gossip like that."
Wang Fei shook his head, looking at her seriously.
"How could I have a girlfriend when I can't even take care of my own sister yet!!"
Chen flinched at his words. Her face flushed lightly, and before she could compose herself, Wang Fei closed the distance and confronted her head-on.
"I'm hurt you'd think of me that way! You've wounded your little brother's heart deeply, you know that?! So you'll have to take responsibility! By cooking for me for the rest of your life!!"
"F-For the rest of your life?!"
Several people repeated the phrase in shock—including Hui Jie herself, who stumbled backward, flustered.
His bold and shameless declaration left nearby officers in awe, some even giving thumbs up to the brave young man. Only Exusiai, standing behind him, muttered under her breath irritably:
"You're a siscon too, huh, Fei Fei?"
"..."
Chen, face still flushed, opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally regaining control of herself. She then reached out and pinched his cheek.
"Stop shouting, you idiot! Have some shame in public!"
"Ow ow! Sister Hui Jie, I was just kidding! I give up!"
Despite his words, Wang Fei couldn't help but smile in relief seeing his sister in a better mood again.
After a moment, she released his cheek and turned behind her.
"Watch your mouth. We're in front of guests right now..."
Chen pretended to be angry as she turned to speak to someone behind them.
"Sorry you had to witness something so embarrassing. My little brother's got a few screws loose..."
"Isn't that a bit harsh, sis—Ah, yes! I'm a severe mental case!"
Wang Fei was about to complain, but instantly switched tones when he saw her glance back at him.
"Hehe, it's alright. We don't mind at all."
The voice came from a young girl with rabbit ears and brown hair, wearing a uniform marked with a tower insignia on her shoulder.
Wang Fei looked at her, and at the same time, she met his gaze.
"Hello, Mr. Wang Fei. I'm a representative from Rhodes Island here to negotiate with Lungmen today. My name is Amiya."
The girl greeted him politely and bowed her head.
"Nice to meet you, Representative from Rhodes. I'm Chen Wang Fei. But... how do you know my name?"
"Of course we know you. You're quite a famous figure, Mr. Wang Fei."
Amiya smiled warmly—like a freshly blooming flower. It was a smile that inexplicably warmed Wang Fei's heart.
"Did you hear that, Sis? She said I'm famous..."
Wang Fei whispered proudly to his sister, who simply shook her head in exasperation.
Then Wang Fei turned his attention to the group of girls one by one, until his eyes stopped at someone standing at the very back. Even though she tried to hide, her striking outfit and distinctive figure made her hard to miss.
Her armor bore the same tower insignia, but it radiated a familiar aura. Her golden hair and stunning orange eyes were unmistakable. Wang Fei had seen her again and again in his dreams recently.
"Margaret..."
He said the name aloud without even realizing.
Little did he know, that single word would make the golden-haired girl's eyes widen—and cause every member of Amiya's group to change their expressions to something far more serious, as though they were ready to draw their weapons at any moment.
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Now : (ZAW)System Acting Zhongli in arknights World? (Now Chapter 50)
Now : (INSL) I Never thought simulating life could screw me up this badly!! (Now Chapter 40)
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Coming soon : Texas Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)
Coming soon : Exusia Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)
Coming soon : Lapland Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)