The next morning, Fu Zhu opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and invigorated. Although he and Bronya had "battled" until four in the morning, stopping only when she repeatedly begged for mercy, his Steve-like constitution meant he felt no physical fatigue at all.
During the course of the "battle," his hunger meter would deplete, but thanks to the Satiety effect granted by the [Trailblaze] blessing, he was completely fine.
Fu Zhu turned his head to look at Bronya lying beside him. He reached out and gently pinched her nose until her brow furrowed in annoyance, only then letting go.
"Don't forget, today is the Sun-Soaring Festival."
Bronya mumbled drowsily, "Let me sleep a little longer... so tired."
"Alright. I'll leave a few Golden Apples here for you. Remember to eat them. I'm getting up."
Fu Zhu took a few Golden Apples from his inventory and placed them on the bedside table. With their restorative effects, they were more than enough to replenish some stamina and health.
After Fu Zhu got out of bed, Bronya, with a frown, blindly reached out from under the covers. After fumbling around for a moment, she pulled the pillow that still smelled of Fu Zhu into her arms and hugged it tightly. Her furrowed brow immediately smoothed out, and a moment later, she was breathing softly again.
Fu Zhu smiled at the sight, then went into the washroom to freshen up before heading out. He walked to the room next door and pressed the doorbell.
After a good while, there was finally some movement inside. Fu Zhu expected it to be March 7th or Xing, but the one who opened the door was Seele, sporting two dark circles under her eyes.
The moment Seele opened the door and saw Fu Zhu standing outside, she let out an annoyed grunt, her face full of resentment.
"I'm surprised your stamina is this good. You can still wake up this early."
"You seem angry. Did I do something wrong?" Fu Zhu could hear the anger in Seele's voice, but he had no idea what he had done to offend her.
Seele pointed a finger into the guest room behind her. "Guess what kind of noises I was listening to all night long?"
Her words made it instantly clear to Fu Zhu. Even with his thick skin, he couldn't help but blush. He peeked furtively past Seele into the room and then asked in a low voice, "You all heard it?"
Seele huffed, folding her arms. "You should thank me for covering for you. Remember to treat me to a meal."
With that, Seele turned and walked back into the room. A moment later, she emerged carrying a half-asleep Hook in one arm and Clara in the other.
"I'm taking them to get breakfast. They've been talking nonstop about going to the Sun-Soaring Festival today. The other two, plus Bronya, are your problem now."
After watching Seele leave, Fu Zhu entered the guest room and saw Xing and March 7th sprawled out on the bed. Xing was even frowning in her sleep, muttering, "No more... I'm never playing pillow fight again..."
Hearing her sleep-talking, Fu Zhu couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head, walked over, and pinched both of their noses.
After a moment, their faces turned red and they shot awake.
"Mmph! Ouch, what are you doing?!"
Xing slapped away Fu Zhu's mischievous hand and flopped back onto the bed, closing her eyes again.
Fu Zhu stood beside them, shaking his head in exasperation. "Are you two getting up or not? After the Sun-Soaring Festival today, we have to go back to the train. Hurry up."
"We knooow..." came the dual reply.
Fu Zhu shook his head helplessly and left the room.
After waiting by the door for a while, a freshly washed Xing and March 7th emerged, and the three of them went downstairs together.
Xing and March 7th had just sat down at an empty table in the dining hall when they noticed Fu Zhu had no intention of sitting down at all. They couldn't help but look at him with curiosity.
Seeing their gazes, Fu Zhu casually explained, "You guys go ahead and eat. I've got something to do."
He then turned, got a takeaway breakfast, and went back upstairs, leaving a stunned March 7th and Xing behind.
"Is Old Bro disgusted by us two beautiful girls? He's not even eating breakfast with us?"
"Didn't he say he has something to do? Let's just eat first." March 7th glanced at Fu Zhu's departing back, feeling a faint sense of strangeness.
Fu Zhu returned to his room with the breakfast. As soon as he entered, he saw Bronya sitting up in bed, defensively clutching the blanket to her chest. Only when she saw it was him did she finally relax, her gaze inevitably shifting to the breakfast in his hand.
"Didn't you leave me Golden Apples? Why did you bring breakfast too?"
Fu Zhu walked over, placed the breakfast on the bedside table, and reached out with a smile to ruffle Bronya's hair. "Golden Apples are effective, sure, but it's not good to have just that for breakfast. You should eat more if you can."
"Aren't you afraid I'll get fat?" Bronya took the breakfast with a light laugh, winking at Fu Zhu.
"A little pudge is good. More comfortable to hold." Fu Zhu teased as he walked into the washroom.
Bronya flushed and huffed. A moment later, she saw Fu Zhu emerge with a basin of warm water and a towel. He pulled up a chair, sat beside her, soaked the towel, and began to gently wipe her face.
Bronya instinctively closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling as she let Fu Zhu tend to her.
When he pulled the towel away, she opened her eyes and said softly, a blush on her cheeks, "Right now, I still feel like I'm in a dream."
"A dream?" Fu Zhu put the towel down and raised an eyebrow at Bronya. "How about another round, then? To prove you're not dreaming?"
"Hmph! You brute! I still have to attend the Sun-Soaring Festival! Get away, get away!"
---o---
Half a system hour later, March 7th and Xing, who were sitting in the lobby, still hadn't seen Fu Zhu come back down. They were both looking at the time with some confusion.
"What's Old Bro doing up there?"
"Not sure. I'll go give him a shout."
March 7th stood up. Just as she was about to head upstairs to find Fu Zhu, she saw him and Bronya exiting the elevator side-by-side.
"Bronya? How come you..." March 7th looked with surprise at Bronya, who was walking alongside Fu Zhu. When did she get here?
Although Bronya had known March 7th and Xing were downstairs and had mentally prepared herself, she still couldn't help but avert her gaze a little unnaturally when she actually met them.
"I... I was afraid you'd all miss the Sun-Soaring Festival, so I came over specially to wake you up. I just didn't expect to not see you upstairs."
"Is that so..." March 7th was a little suspicious. "That's probably because you came while Xing and I were having breakfast, right?"
"I suppose so..."
At that moment, Xing also got up and walked over. Seeing Bronya, she didn't think much of it and simply waved her hand with a flourish.
"Alright then, let's hurry up and go to the Sun-Soaring Festival!"