At sixteen, Mobius had developed remarkably well.
Compared to the little girl she had been six years ago, she had blossomed into a graceful young beauty.
Perhaps she had even developed a little too well…
Seeing how well Mobius had grown, Ling Yi could take pride in having raised her properly.
But when she remembered how Mobius had developed just as well in her previous life despite eating instant noodles every day, Ling Yi couldn’t quite understand it…
Mobius leaned lazily against the wall in black stockings and a tight miniskirt, then yawned.
“Finally, I’ve submitted all the experimental data those old geezers wanted.
That wasn’t easy.
What are we having for dinner, Ling Yi?” ‘Zhajiangmian.’ Ling Yi considered it for a moment before answering.
“You cook all kinds of things, but I feel like zhajiangmian comes up especially often.” Mobius’s eyes lit up at the sound of Ling Yi’s voice.
She pushed herself away from the wall and began walking home.
‘Zhajiangmian is always the right choice.’ “Yes, yes~ You’re the chef at home, so you get to decide.” Mobius didn’t argue with Ling Yi over this.
No matter whom you offended, you should never offend the person who cooked for you.
That was common sense.
She still remembered the last time she and Ling Yi had argued because she’d stayed up for two days straight.
For the next several days, every meal had been pineapple dumplings.
‘The weather’s nice today.
Let’s go for a walk by the river and watch the sunset!’ Ling Yi sounded rather excited.
“I don’t want to.
What’s so special about a sunset?
Besides, I don’t like crowded places.” Despite saying that, Mobius changed direction and headed outside.
Two years ago, after Mobius once again published research findings that shocked the world, she received an invitation from an organization shrouded in mystery.
The organization was called Fire Moth.
Mobius hadn’t intended to join, but they offered her an annual salary of several million euros.
After discussing it repeatedly with Ling Yi, Mobius decided that their sincerity had won her over.
In truth, before joining Fire Moth, Mobius had already encountered a technical obstacle she couldn’t overcome.
It involved something she had spent years secretly researching behind Ling Yi’s back.
Research into…
consciousness extraction and consciousness sealing.
Of course, Mobius would never tell Ling Yi that she wanted to keep her by her side forever.
She conducted all this research while Ling Yi was asleep.
Unfortunately…
she hadn’t made much progress.
Even Ling Yi couldn’t explain where she had come from or why she would eventually have to leave.
Mobius could only investigate it herself.
However, the appearance of Fire Moth, along with the fields of study they introduced that Mobius had never explored deeply, gave her a new direction.
Honkai Energy.
Could she use the power of Honkai Energy to keep Ling Yi by her side forever?
Mobius wasn’t sure, but it was a new direction for her research.
As Mobius walked through Fire Moth’s grounds, she and Ling Yi chatted idly.
Only when Ling Yi continued responding to her could Mobius feel a measure of reassurance.
“Hey, look.
It’s Mobius…” “Careful…
Don’t provoke her.” “Let’s hurry and leave…” The closer she got to the river, the more people there were.
Everyone edged away when they saw Mobius, whispering among themselves.
Each individual voice was quiet, but together they became painfully loud.
“…” Mobius quickened her pace.
This was exactly why she didn’t like crowded places.
It wasn’t as if she cared about other people’s gossip.
Whose words could possibly get through to her besides Ling Yi’s?
But…
she wasn’t alone.
There was another person inside her head.
They could say whatever they liked about Mobius, but if their words upset Ling Yi…
Mobius wasn’t sure what she might do.
Mobius and Ling Yi had always been one.
“I’m sorry.” Mobius quietly apologized to Ling Yi.
After coming to Fire Moth, she had used plenty of extreme methods to accelerate her research into consciousness.
It was only natural for the people here to fear her.
Not to mention that she would occasionally smile while walking alone and talking to Ling Yi, making her look like a lunatic.
But…
Ling Yi shouldn’t have to endure their gossip.
They only talked about her like this because of Mobius.
‘Huh?
Why are you apologizing to me?
What are you apologizing for?’ Ling Yi sounded angry.
Mobius became flustered, unable to understand why.
“I…
just thought you might blame me.
With all these people gossiping, I was worried you might feel hurt.” ‘This is who you are, Mobius, and it’s exactly how you should be.
You don’t need to apologize to me.
Forcing you to change your personality isn’t what I want.’ As far as Ling Yi was concerned, accepting someone meant accepting everything about them.
It meant accepting both their strengths and their flaws.
After seven years together, Ling Yi had long since accepted everything about Mobius, so naturally, she would bear everything alongside her.
Ling Yi was angry because she believed the bond between them meant Mobius never needed to apologize to her.
“I was worried about you, and now you’re lecturing me.
I’m not talking to you anymore.” Mobius haughtily raised her little head and folded her arms across her ample chest.
‘I was wrong, I was wrong~ My dear Mobius~’ Ling Yi’s voice immediately softened.
“That apology doesn’t sound sincere at all.” Mobius seemed unwilling to let Ling Yi off so easily.
‘I’ll add an egg to your zhajiangmian!’ “That’s more like it.
I suppose I can forgive you!” The corners of Mobius’s lips curled upward.
In truth, they both knew that even if Ling Yi hadn’t said anything, Mobius’s bowl of zhajiangmian would still have come with an extra egg.
‘Thank you~ My great scientist.’ They continued walking through the crowd as the surrounding whispers persisted, but neither of them wasted any more words on it.
Beneath the distant horizon, Mobius walked alone, the shadow beneath her feet following her every step as though she and “her” were the only two people in the world.
As she walked along the river, the constant murmur of flowing water soothed her to the core.
Hearing it eased the tension that had built inside Mobius after years of experimentation.
The sunset’s afterglow had yet to fade completely, and the river shimmered with countless scales of golden light.
‘Doesn’t it feel nice to come out and relax?’ “Not at all.
It’s nowhere near as enjoyable as running experiments in the laboratory.” Even as Mobius said that, she sat down by the river and narrowed her eyes, looking utterly relaxed.
There was nothing unusual about this scenery, nor could it be considered especially beautiful.
It was simply that Ling Yi was still here, and that alone made everything seem beautiful and relaxing to Mobius.
Amid the spring blossoms, she and Ling Yi competed to see who could recognize more flowers.
During the summer rains, she and Ling Yi huddled beneath the eaves, soaked and bedraggled.
Under the autumn moon, she and Ling Yi lay atop a deserted roof while Mobius pointed out the stars one by one and explained what they were.
In the winter snow, she and Ling Yi walked across the crunching ground, reminiscing about the ordinary moments of the past year.
‘Hmph, tsundere.’ “Hmph~ Idiot.” Mobius sat beside the river with her head lowered.
The water was clear enough to reflect her current appearance.
Suddenly, Mobius recoiled from the river as though she had seen something terrifying.
She panted softly, shaken and alarmed.
If she could see herself, that meant…
Ling Yi could see her too.
Which meant Ling Yi once again knew what that damned number above her head was.
★ ★ ★ T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me!
★ ★ ★ Shilling time!