At sunset, on a deserted street, a white portal glowing with white light suddenly appeared.
"A figure, elegant and distinguished, seemingly dignified, an old steed in the stable, young and promising, as if an exiled immortal had descended, suddenly emerged from the portal."
"It truly could be said..."
"Host, that's enough. It's one thing to narrate your own story, but the crucial thing is, don't embarrass yourself with that vocabulary, okay? The sentences are not smooth, and the meaning isn't even clear!"
"Ahem, anyway, there's no one else around, so what's wrong with saying it?"
Zhong Chen pouted, muttering softly with dissatisfaction.
"Is this system not a person?"
"Are you a person?"
"Is this system not?"
"Is it?"
"Host, if you keep asking, you'll be suspected of padding the word count..."
"..."
Zhong Chen, giving up on padding the word count, looked at his surroundings. With a sweep of his divine sense, he immediately found his target, and his figure instantly vanished from his original spot.
"The tram for Line 1, towards the Academy, will depart soon. Please be careful as the doors close."
As the announcer's voice echoed through the subway station, many students, who had been leisurely strolling, hastily quickened their pace.
"Wait!"
A long-haired girl in a black school uniform, exceptionally cute, was running towards the carriage with an anxious expression, a certain part of her chest bouncing up and down with her movement.
Just as the girl was about to step into the carriage, a hand suddenly grabbed her school bag, causing her entire body to abruptly halt.
She could only watch helplessly as the tram doors closed, while the boy standing at the carriage door, seeing the girl shut out, secretly thought it was a pity.
Then, through the window, he looked at the man behind the girl with a hint of resentment.
The girl who missed the tram turned around with a look of disappointment, gazing at the guy who was whistling.
"Um... sir, could you please let go?"
The girl looked at the man holding her school bag, a flash of admiration in her eyes. What a charismatic boy.
"Oh, my apologies. My hands were a bit itchy for a moment. Please forgive me!"
Although the boy said this, there was no trace of guilt on his face.
"Well... let's just forget about it this time, but please don't play such pranks again in the future; people might report you."
The girl was a little angry at what he said, but being someone who was never good at communicating with people, she still gave up on continuing the entanglement and planned to quietly wait for the next train.
What she didn't expect was that this handsome young man, who looked to be in his twenties, was still standing there, smiling at her.
"Um, do you... do you need anything else?"
The girl, feeling a bit unnerved by his gaze, couldn't help but ask timidly.
The handsome young man raised his right hand, pointing towards the tracks, and shrugged as he explained:
"No, I'm waiting for the tram too."
"Ah? Oh, oh, I'm sorry..."
"It's fine. The tram's here, let's go."
After saying that, the young man was the first to walk into the carriage, found a seat, and sat down.
The girl also followed closely, looked around, and found that there was only one seat left next to the young man.
After a moment's thought, she silently walked over and sat down next to the young man, her eyes unconsciously glancing at him as he looked at his phone.
"If you want to look, just look freely and boldly. I won't charge you, after all, you won't find a man as dashing as me in the entire Neon."
The girl, who had been secretly observing the young man, was suddenly startled by his words. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to look at her phone, her cute little face instantly turning crimson.
"Mmm mmm mmm..."
The young man turned his head to look at the girl beside him, a teasing smile on his lips, and deliberately said:
"Oh, young lady, being so introverted won't do; you'll be bullied."
The girl, who had been shy, suddenly froze when she heard the young man's words.
Because the young man was right; she had always been targeted by other girls at school, even though she had done nothing wrong.
"What? I hit the mark, didn't I? Let me ask you again, is your academic performance particularly good, but you don't have a single friend?"
The girl suddenly looked up, astonished, when she heard the young man's words.
"How... how did you know?"
The young man showed an expression of 'I've been there before,' and explained with a smile:
"Heh, do I even need to know? I can guess it. You're pretty, you're good at your studies, you're introverted, and boys like you."
"If I were a girl, I'd be jealous of you too. If you were a little weaker, I could bully you to death. That's human nature."
Hearing the young man's words, the girl seemed to suddenly understand something.
"Are you saying everyone is like this because I'm too outstanding...?"
The young man nodded gently upon hearing the girl's words.
"Although you're bordering on self-praise, you've basically guessed correctly."
After receiving the accurate answer, the girl was first a little downcast, then looked up at the young man with a serious expression:
"Um... I haven't asked your name yet?"
"Me? My name is Zhong Chen. You can call me Zhong, the Master of Psychological Counseling, Chen!"
After hearing Zhong Chen's self-introduction, the girl finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Heh heh, who calls themselves a master? You're really joking."
Seeing the girl laugh, a hint of a smile flashed in Zhong Chen's eyes.
"Oh, young lady, remember to smile more in the future. Always looking so melancholic will bring bad luck."
Hearing Zhong Chen's words, the girl suddenly froze. She suddenly realized that he was deliberately trying to make her laugh.
The girl suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Zhong Chen, immediately drawing the attention of all the surrounding passengers.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Zhong Chen. My name is Katsura Kotonoha. Could you add me as a friend?"
After saying that, Katsura Kotonoha looked at Zhong Chen with a nervous expression, tightly clutching her phone in her hand, afraid that Zhong Chen would refuse.
"Of course! A beautiful girl wants to add me, how could I refuse? You can do it yourself."
Zhong Chen extended his right hand and handed over the retro flip phone.
Katsura Kotonoha took the phone, operating it while muttering with a smile:
"Mr. Zhong Chen, really, I'm not a beautiful girl at all."
After finishing the operation, Katsura Kotonoha handed the phone back to Zhong Chen. The moment their fingertips touched, Katsura Kotonoha suddenly realized a problem.
That was, her androphobia had not acted up; she could touch Zhong Chen normally.
Upon realizing this, an indescribable feeling suddenly surged in Katsura Kotonoha's heart, and her expression towards Zhong Chen became increasingly gentle.
"All right, sit back down. From now on, I'll call you Little Kotonoha."
"Mr. Zhong Chen, I... I'm not little."
Zhong Chen lowered his head and looked at the girl's chest, muttering to himself:
"Indeed not small, but I'm sorry, I'm a man who has seen even higher peaks!"
"Speaking of which, Gabriel seems quite happy teaching at the orphanage..."
Gabriel (picture)