"..."
Faced with the call screen, Shirou fell into a silence so stifling it could suffocate.
"Shirou? Was that a girl's voice I just heard next to you? Don't tell me I'm mistaken — was that Nono? Shirou, that voice doesn't sound like hers... And why are you just breathing into the phone without saying anything?"
"I... I was just out jogging, so I'm a bit out of breath."
Shirou responded like he was preparing for war, carefully choosing his words to counter the sudden triple-question ambush from Wazhu. He truly hadn't thought through how to explain Melusine's presence. What was he supposed to say? That she was an innocent, harmless little dragon girl living in modern society?
Or maybe say she was a fairy from the Lostbelt, a Servant named "Fairy Knight Lancelot," real name Melusine, a dragon fairy gifted with that title... Oh, and how exactly was he supposed to explain the entire Lostbelt lore?
"Actually, that was Nono..."
Shirou, wearing a tense expression, tried to bluff his way through, but unfortunately for him, Nono chose that moment to stroll over.
She casually whipped off her dust-stained oversized coat and tied it around her waist. Beneath, her leather crop top clung tight to her chest, leaving her shoulders and midriff exposed to the cool, damp sea breeze. In an instant, she looked like a fiery beach girl straight out of a summer poster.
"What do you mean, 'what happened to me'? You two aren't done talking yet? I ran all this way for nothing — what a pain."
Great. Now all three of them were here.
Shirou looked like a man resigned to doom. You know what they say — three women make a drama. Could he just... step back and let them duke it out?
Sure enough, as soon as Wazhu heard Nono's voice, her volume instantly doubled. Shirou had her on speakerphone, so Nono clearly heard the woman's voice spilling from the device:
"Nono's there too? I was just about to ask. Has the typhoon passed over there? What are you all doing at the beach at this hour?"
"The last time we spoke, you were still investigating the aquarium incident. I heard that trio took over follow-up duties again. Are you sure it's okay to let them handle it alone this time? Don't make it another Odin-level disaster! I've been worried sick!"
"And isn't there a new girl on your team? Doesn't sound like anyone I know. Is she a temporary teammate or someone's friend? Mind introducing her?"
Wazhu's rapid-fire barrage was like a machine gun, leaving Shirou numb. She sounded like she was just chatting, but every word was a finely honed blade aimed squarely at Melusine.
Feeling how complicated Melusine's background was, Nono glanced at Shirou. He shook his head in silence — clearly no easy explanation. Annoyed, Nono furrowed her brows, then quickly improvised:
"We're fine, really! What is there to report? We've just been... you know, partying a little too hard the past couple of days, so we didn't get around to calling you. Besides, we're doing great now. You're not our mom or something — why are you trying to police our fun?"
Her tone wasn't too different from how she usually spoke to Wazhu, though her account was... a bit skewed.
Yes, they did party all night in the Zero Overpass — and happened to slay a dragon while they were at it.
"Party?" Wazhu seemed to be mulling over the term. She clearly wasn't convinced.
But Nono didn't flinch. She even doubled down.
"Yup! Late-night parties are all the rage among young people these days. And yeah, we picked someone up while we were out — nothing shady. She was just passing through. More people, more fun, right? You probably wouldn't get it, stuck at home in your big old house all the time."
"...I guess I wouldn't. So let me get this straight: you went out to party, and brought back a new girl? Am I hearing this right? Or are you still... partying even now?"
Wazhu's voice came cool and slow — but icy cold, like a serpent's hiss.
At that, Shirou's hand trembled slightly as he held the phone.
Oh no. Nono, why did you have to provoke her? This kind of long-distance duel is going to explode sooner or later.
He'd originally just planned to brush things off and figure out an explanation later. But now Nono had gone and spun the whole thing into a full cover story — and not a great one! Shirou could feel the tension rising. Wazhu might now suspect they were off somewhere having some... wild group outdoor activity.
He looked at Melusine, the center of all this drama. She blinked innocently, clearly not grasping the implications of "partying at night" in human society.
So she just pulled a face like this: "@▽@"
"Oh! About that new teammate — I can explain that too, Wazhu. It's a little complicated..."
Nono, ever the silver-tongued negotiator, jumped right back in.
"Actually, the girl with us is my distant cousin. She just happened to be traveling and we ran into her while out. Total coincidence, right?"
"Oh, a distant cousin!" Wazhu's tone was even more chilling now, like cold air seeping from the phone screen. "You all seem awfully cozy — calling each other sisters and all."
"Exactly! Just so you know, she's from France, so she's got a bit of a French accent. Her Mandarin isn't great either, so don't hold it against her if she says something weird. Hey, Melusine! Say hi into the phone!"
Nono waved her over and shoved her face in front of Shirou's phone.
"Zhi?" (She didn't know what "say hi" meant, so she took it literally and made the sound.)
"See? Isn't my cousin just adorable?"
Nono laughed like she was showing off a cute younger relative.
Wazhu laughed too — but hers sounded more like daggers behind a veil.
Shirou forced a smile. The air around him was thick with invisible blades clashing between the screen and the space beyond. He felt like he was about to be caught in the splash zone.
"?" Only Melusine seemed completely lost, caught in the cheerful beachside atmosphere and not knowing what to do.
———
"You seriously told her Melusine is your French cousin? Is that gonna hold up?" Shirou asked as they drove back. He glanced into the backseat, where Melusine was still poking around curiously at the car interior, intrigued by the human invention she'd dubbed the "metal box."
"What could go wrong? You know my Indian mom's background already. My Chen cousins are all mixed anyway. Our bloodlines stretch across the globe — you name it, we've got it."
Nono stuck out her tongue, clearly bored. The dim light filtered through the windshield, highlighting the faint curves beneath her leather crop top.
"Most of our generation was born through surrogacy. Of the fifty-something kids, the rest were raised in care facilities... basically mass-produced. But the generation before us? That was all political marriages, properly recorded in the family registry."
"I'm not even making it up. We've got British, American, German, Austrian, Japanese... and yes, even French relatives. I remember there was a Chen girl who married into France over a hundred years ago. She had a daughter named Charlotte Chen."
"..." Shirou listened as Nono rattled off ancestors' names one after another. The Chen family's marriage and breeding strategies were something else. He couldn't help but suck in a breath.
Your Chen family really is like the Habsburgs!
The Koenigsegg sped forward, finally reaching the outskirts of the coastal city as dusk fell.
Technically, they were entering the newly developed zone — distinct from the older CBD where most of the commercial centers were located.
This so-called new zone had been built as affordable housing in the suburbs. The roads were still half-paved, and the recent typhoon and heavy rains had left large patches of mud.
Nono looked annoyed as she carefully picked out fully paved roads to speed along. She still had to cover some distance before reaching the CBD where the Regent Hotel stood.
Bored, Shirou stared out the window at the receding scenery and distant street vendors calling out to customers — until a familiar figure caught his eye.
"Why is Old Tang over there?"
———
At this point in time, Lu Mingfei wasn't some depressed loser. He hadn't yet met Chen Wenwen in high school, and he hadn't fallen into despair from years of being mistreated by his aunt.
He was currently attending the junior high division of Shilan Academy, a well-known private school in the city. Though he lived with his aunt and uncle and barely ever saw his parents, he would occasionally receive money sent from overseas.
Most of that money ended up as fat on his cousin Lu Mingze's pudgy frame, or in his uncle's knockoff designer wardrobe, or lost in his aunt's habitual gambling on mahjong.
But still!
Lu Mingfei was proud of his archaeologist parents. He firmly believed that whatever big project they were working on would one day make global headlines — like when Sven Hedin discovered the ancient city of Loulan.
No one is born a loser. They only fall when they go too long without seeing hope.
Right now, Mingfei still had a spark of courage and initiative. He even tried to read archaeology books now and then, hoping to impress his classmates.
But in truth, that wasn't his strong suit. What he really excelled at was gaming — he was so good he could practically "dominate the local eSports scene."
This was a fact recently proven by his showdown in StarCraft at the internet café, where he and his online buddy Old Tang had just finished a "peak duel."
(End of Chapter)
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