A wild Fu Xuan appeared!
Qingque entered a state of panic!
She subconsciously hugged her head, her movements incredibly practiced:
"I'm sorry, Lady Fu Xuan, I was wrong, I'll never slack off at work again, I'll go back and make up for my hours right now, please don't dock my pay..."
"Hey, what are you panicking about? It's break time, isn't it?" Chu Ze, beside her, couldn't help but speak up.
Reminded by him, Qingque finally came to her senses.
She immediately scratched her head with a dry laugh:
"Sorry, sorry, it's a habit."
"...It must be tough on you to have such a habit."
Chu Ze was still marveling, but Fu Xuan's gaze had already fallen on him:
"So what are you two doing? On a date?"
"Seeing you two so intimately buying oranges together, you look quite lovey-dovey."
There was an indescribable emotion in Fu Xuan's voice.
It sounded as calm as usual, but upon closer inspection, one could faintly detect a strange undertone.
So Chu Ze quickly spoke up:
"Ah Fu, let me explain."
"Go on." Fu Xuan raised her chin slightly.
Then she saw Chu Ze take out the fruit:
"We didn't buy oranges, we bought honey oranges."
"???"
Who asked you to explain that!
Is there something wrong with your train of thought!
"Hmm? Are you concerned about my relationship with Qingque?"
Chu Ze blinked and suddenly said to Qingque beside him: "Qingque, I like you."
Qingque didn't have time to think and instinctively pushed him away, refusing: "I'm sorry, senior, you're a good person, but we're not suitable."
"There you have it." Chu Ze spread his hands:
"Our friendship is pure and innocent, not the kind of relationship you're thinking of."
Fu Xuan & Qingque: "..."
One move, and both girls were silenced.
Although this explanation was indeed efficient, and Qingque's subconscious reaction was enough to convince Fu Xuan...
But something still felt strange!
"Um, a weak question."
Qingque slowly raised her hand: "What if I had subconsciously agreed just now?"
Chu Ze gave a thumbs-up: "Wouldn't that be even better?"
Qingque thought he was talking about them getting together.
But then she saw his eyes light up:
"If my confession succeeded, you'd definitely be too embarrassed to ask me for money, and then I could get a new phone for free."
"????"
So that's what you were concerned about!
What do you take a girl's love for, you idiot!
"Pay me back, pay me back right now!"
Qingque extended her small pink fists and repeatedly pounded on Chu Ze's muscular arm.
And Fu Xuan, who had witnessed everything, after a moment of stunned silence, shook her head with a light laugh.
It seems she had been overthinking it.
Chu Ze had once said that his type was mature older sisters with long legs, and he wasn't interested in the pure, neighborly girl type.
So he probably wouldn't make a move on Qingque.
...Probably, right?
...
...
Back at the office, sitting at their workstations.
There was still some time before work officially started.
Qingque skillfully opened the online version of Imperial Jade Hall, put on her headphones, and started playing mahjong.
Chu Ze also logged back into his chat software and saw a series of message boxes pop up.
The most messages were still from his blind date, Herta—
[Herta]: Talked to your mom, got nothing.
[Herta]: Maybe it was really just some passing Emanator of Joy who randomly set us up.
[Herta]: I'm not interested in this matter anymore, so don't bother me in the future, and I won't bother you either.
[Herta]: That's all, bye.
This was a message from last night.
But not long after, probably around the time Chu Ze and Silver Wolf were kicking each other's butts, Herta sent another message.
[Herta]: Wait, your mom told me you lived on the Azure Star as a child, and you lived next door to me?
[Herta]: You're Chu Ze? That muscle-brained idiot Chu Ze who only thinks about working out?
[Herta]: Reply.
[Herta]: Stop sleeping, reply.
[Herta]: Type 1 and I'll send you a selfie.
[Herta]: Reply quickly.
[Herta]: [Started a voice call, unanswered]
[Herta]: [Started a video call, unanswered]
[Herta]: ...
[Herta]: Reply when you wake up.
They had been friends for two days, and this was the first time Chu Ze had seen so many messages from Herta.
Seeing her attitude change so quickly, it was clear she had learned his identity from his mom.
After thinking for a moment, Chu Ze didn't hide it and started typing his reply.
[Chu Ze]: My phone was broken, I just got a new one.
But before he could finish typing the second line, a message box popped up from the other side.
[Herta]: [Started a video call: Accept/Decline]
The call ringtone was abrupt and loud.
Several colleagues who were napping at their desks were woken up and looked at Chu Ze with sleepy eyes.
Although Chu Ze had a thick skin, he still had basic manners.
While apologizing to everyone, he quickly clicked the decline button.
[Chu Ze]: I'm at work, it's not convenient for a video call.
[Herta]: Oh.
[Herta]: Are you the Chu Ze who lived next door to me as a child?
[Chu Ze]: I guess so.
[Herta]: You guess so?
[Chu Ze]: Well, I have some memory problems.
[Chu Ze]: Due to an accident, my memories of the Azure Star have become a bit blurry.
[Chu Ze]: So I have an impression of you, but it's just a faint impression. I don't remember what happened between us at all.
This happened after Chu Ze was reincarnated, before he grew up.
His father and mother were both from the Xianzhou, so he also had authentic Xianzhou blood flowing through him.
But his father had encountered a galactic storm when he was just born and passed away regrettably.
His mother worked for the Interastral Peace Corporation. Her salary was high enough, but she needed to travel frequently for business.
When he was young, his mother had an assignment on the Azure Star, so he also lived on the Azure Star with his mother for a period of time.
At that time, the person living next door was Herta, who was now chatting with him.
However, Chu Ze was a child after all, and his brain was not fully developed.
Although he retained a deep memory of his past life, his new memories of the new world were not saved very smoothly.
In addition, he later encountered an [accidental event whose cause was forgotten].
Chu Ze was locked in a cryogenic pod and drifted aimlessly in the universe.
His memories of the Azure Star gradually faded with the long-term cryosleep.
After that, he unconsciously drifted to the territory of the Xianzhou Alliance and, by a great coincidence, returned to his old home.
And he was discovered by Fu Xuan, who was then weak and being pursued by her enemies.
Fu Xuan took a desperate gamble, opened the pod door, and released the long-trapped Chu Ze.
Chu Ze also saved Fu Xuan, and they officially met and formed a bond.
And then, there were his experiences serving on the Luofu Xianzhou for the past few decades.
[Chu Ze]: What do you think, isn't it a tortuous story?
[Chu Ze]: Especially the part where I was frozen at low temperatures, forced into hibernation, and then drifted in the universe for a hundred years.
[Chu Ze]: If I had a Stand system and awakened the ability to stop time, I could shout 'Za Warudo' while cosplaying as Dio.
Since it wasn't time for work yet, and he was idle anyway, Chu Ze directly shared his experiences.
Herta didn't reply immediately, but seemed to be brewing some words.
After a while, just as it was about to be time for work, a message suddenly popped up from the other side.
[Herta]: 「Transfer to you: 1,000,000,000 credits」
[Chu Ze]: ?
[Chu Ze]: ???
[Chu Ze]: ...Huh?