Once, twice...
Didn't pull away.
[You realize that Alicia has no intention of letting you go.]
[You said you wanted to break free from Alysia's embrace, but your movements were not too forceful. You just shook your body to signal her to let go.]
[She is very insightful and it is impossible for her not to guess what you mean. Even so, will she hug you? ]
[Love is as heavy as a thousand pounds, and you are deeply moved. 】
[Then, you pretended not to understand Alicia's feelings and broke free from her embrace.]
[It’s best if you two are just ordinary friends. Anything further will make your relationship awkward.]
[You can still refuse her approach while Alicia doesn't do anything that can make your heart beat fast. If you let her give you a crystal ball or something, you will fall for her.]
[That's it, cats are still more fragrant. ]
[After you broke away from her embrace, Ailishia lowered her eyebrows and looked a little lonely.]
[But she soon turned back into the "flawless pink fairy lady" again, with a faint smile on her lips, which was so unpredictable.]
[She tells you everything about Honkai in detail and invites you to join an organization called "Fire Moth".]
[She knows that if it were you, you would definitely be able to save the world. ]
[She knows that as long as you want, you can lead humanity to defeat the collapse and achieve a happy ending.]
[She doesn’t know, she doesn’t know if you will agree to her…]
Lu Mian looked quietly at Alicia in front of him.
The girl's pretty and flawless face was full of hope, even to the point of being lovable.
Time seemed to flow by, going back and forth again to the scene when the two were about to part.
Lu Mian chuckled softly, and it was a very gentle laugh, so gentle that it seemed as if he would immediately agree to Alicia's request:
"Hahahaha, I'm not going."
His original purpose of getting to know Alicia was to establish contact with the Honkai Organization, which might be strongly related to Alicia.
He had no reason to refuse Alicia's invitation.
That's how it should be.
But he still refused.
Things are different now. He has already understood the purpose of the talent of "God of Games" and is capable of building his own power. He no longer needs to be a moth chasing after fire.
Besides...
Lu Mian looked down at Alicia, who was clearly rejected but still forced a smile to look at him, and felt that the softest part of his heart was deeply touched.
Therefore, he became more determined.
Both Alicia and he should keep a certain distance for a while to calm down.
After sorting out everything, Lu Mian turned around without saying any polite words like "see you off".
But he used actions to express his meaning.
Seeing this, before Alicia could say anything, Pado, who had been watching from the side for a long time, took two steps forward, grabbed Alicia's collar with one hand, and put the other hand around Alicia's knee, and actually carried her all the way out of the company.
It was not difficult to tell from the way her legs were moving so fast that they were almost invisible that she really wanted Alicia to leave.
Maomao herself also had something to say. She was getting along well with her boss. They didn't eat hotpot or sing, but suddenly a fat woman jumped out and hugged her boss, leaving her with nothing but to watch.
In the end, this witch even wanted to kidnap her boss to some crappy organization that was supposed to save the world.
If her boss hadn't refused, she would have become a stray cat again.
Paddo: ╰(｀□′)╯
After happily sending Alicia away before she could react, Padu walked back to the company in a good mood.
Seeing that her boss had a complicated and unclear expression, she put away her expression and slowly walked up to him.
"?" Lu Mian didn't understand why Paduo suddenly became so quiet, and didn't understand why she walked in front of him like this.
Pado didn't explain, but just followed Alicia's example and put her arms around Lu Mian's broad back.
Now, the two can hear each other's heartbeat and breathing.
Paduo buried her head in Lu Mian's chest, "Boss, you obviously don't hate that woman named Ailixia, why are you so cold to her?"
Her voice was muffled and distorted.
Hearing this, Lu Mian, who had just been put into a vulnerable state by Alicia and had taken a lot of "damage" from Padu's actions, came to his senses and chuckled.
He put one hand around Paduo's jade back, and with the other hand gently smoothed the girl's hair which had become smooth from roughness due to her pampered life, and asked:
"Let's do a little survey in class. Padu, what is your dream?"
"Our, our dream?" Padu's voice paused, a daze that could be guessed even though it was invisible.
After a few seconds of silence, her voice was filled with embarrassment and hesitation:
"Speak out, I'm afraid you, the boss, will laugh at me..."
“It’s okay, go on.” Lu Mian encouraged gently.
After a few seconds, Padu spoke slowly, "My dream since childhood is to have enough food and take a nap.
"But these two goals that I thought I would need to pursue for my whole life were easily achieved after I met my boss, so I have a new goal: to stay with my boss forever."
After saying this, the girl, who was afraid of being laughed at, rubbed her head in Lu Mian's arms as if imitating an ostrich burying its head in the ground - as if this would allow her to bury her head deeper.
A long time, a long time.
She got no response.
Feeling puzzled, Paduo looked up at Lu Mian, but saw that Lu Mian was just looking at her with a slight smile, with warmth in his eyes.
"It's a great dream. I will accompany you to make it come true." He said as our eyes met.
[You are very satisfied with Padu's unrealistic dream. You, who never make promises easily, made your own promise for it, a lifelong promise.]
[And just as Padu is secretly delighted by this, you tell her the cruel truth behind the question.]
[You tell her that if her dream is to save the world or sacrifice herself to make everyone happy or something like that, you will give her enough money to last her whole life and then fire her on the spot.]
[After hearing this, the cat successfully completed the emotional transformation from joy to sadness. She was so sad that it seemed as if she had suddenly lost her color and turned into a stick figure cartoon character. At the same time, she cried to you and asked you not to drive her away.]
[In response, you said nothing and tightened your arms around Padu, comforting the crying cat with your actions.]
【At the same time, you smiled happily from the bottom of your heart. 】
[Sure enough, you prefer the cat that cries in your arms to the one who invites you to save the world together.]
[This is very different from when you were with Otto and Kallen.]
[You are the elder of Otto and Kallen, so you sincerely hope that they will walk on the right path.]
[You will use your own methods to restrain Otto's behavior and prevent her from becoming a fool.]
[You will support Kallen's ideals and everything she believes in, regardless of the consequences.]
You can only be proud of them.
[The difference now is that both Alicia and Padu are your peers.]
[You have no right to belittle those noble ideals and actions, nor do you hate Alysia, who embodies them all.]
【But at the same time, you will reflect on whether you are worthy of being with such a person, and feel ashamed of yourself. 】
[You have never been a noble person. Your only wish was for Otto and Kallen to be happy.]
[If you want to save the world, there must be only one reason: you and the people you love still want to live in this world. ]
【That's all. 】
-----------------
[An academic seminar was held in Mu Continent, where talented scholars from all over the world gathered to exchange academic ideas. ]
【You are invited to attend. 】
【What? 】
[Why would a bunch of academics invite you, a game developer, to get involved? ]
[The answer is actually very simple: you are rich, very rich. You like to invest in a few small projects when you have nothing to do.]
[Scholars are not detached from the real world; the research they really want to do also requires investment.]
[A big reason why this academic seminar in Mu Continent was able to take place was because scholars were trying to attract investment.]
[And you’ve been labeled as “very rich” for quite some time.]
[Although I don't know who did the statistics, it is now recognized in all industries that you are one of the richest people in the world. ]
【It's no surprise that you were invited. 】
[You also want to see what scholars of this era can come up with, so you gladly accept the invitation.]
【But since this academic seminar might not be interesting, you did not bring Paddo with you, but chose to go alone. 】
[To be honest, you were not surprised that scholars would invite you to attend this academic seminar, but you were still stunned when you arrived.]
[Are these scholars' admiration for you a little too high? ]
[The red carpet was rolled out, and the streets were lined with people welcoming you. If others were treated in this way, you would not have any doubts.]
[But after your observation, this treatment seems to be prepared only for you. At least when other people came, the scholars were not so enthusiastic. ]
[This is outrageous. Isn't this kind of differential treatment too obvious? ]
[With this thought in mind, you were led into the academic venue and sat in the most dazzling chair in the first row. ]
[Good fellow, is this where you sit on the dragon throne? ]
[You looked around calmly, and only felt relieved when you saw that there was no suspicious person hiding behind a yellow robe or holding a sword or axe.]
[I can’t care about so many things for now, just listen to the academics. 】
[You don’t understand academic research and you don’t want to read reports with dense text and pictures.]
[But a few scholars gave interesting talks, so you just voted for their projects.]
[I don’t know if it’s your illusion, but after you did this, the enthusiasm of scholars seemed to be unprecedentedly high.]
[If the podium wasn't at a certain distance from your seat, you would have no doubt that they would spit at you.]
【Ha people. 】
[However, not all scholars are so crazy. Two of the girls are very calm.]
[They are the ones who attract all your attention. ]
[One is called "Mei", and she looks exactly like the Raiden Mei you remember. ]
[The only difference between the two is that Meadow wears glasses and looks a bit more bookish.]
[She shines, just as you did when you met Alicia, Velvet, and Padre.]
[She was talking about "quantum mechanics". When in doubt, the quantum mechanics of quantum mechanics.]
[This is one of the few things you remember and that you can still remember after hearing it, but your interest in Mei does not come from this.]
[You vaguely remember that Su Mei seems to have a close relationship with Kevin. ]
[My interest, Kevin? ]
【Isn’t the goal clear then? 】
[With this in mind, you try to invest heavily in Mei, but find out that she has only published a paper on quantum mechanics and has not conducted any related research.]
【So you can’t invest in her. 】
[However, even in high mountains, there are always paths for travelers, and even in deep water, there are always ferries. ]
【You changed your investment to private funding, and gave Mei a lot of support. 】
[Mei held the check you handed her and looked at the incredible number on it. She couldn't hold back the dull bookish look on her face anymore and showed a rare hint of surprise.]
[Seeing this, you smiled and shook your head, then turned and left without any hesitation. ]
