“Rustle, rustle…”
In the quiet school library, a clean-looking black-haired young man sat in a chair, seriously reading the book in his hands.
If one ignored the title From Newbie Cook to Master Chef, he looked no different from the other students around him.
Not long ago, Yuji had discovered that the place he transmigrated to was Nagazora City.
The current timeline was after the Second Herrscher had already been defeated.
Originally, he had planned to simply take a plane and run to the Mu Continent.
However, the System activated a quest.
Main Quest: Make Many Friends Quest Description: You have just arrived in this world.
To stay alive, latching onto the powerful is a very good choice.
Reward: For every important figure of the Previous Era you become acquainted with, gacha pulls will be settled based on the level of favorability and importance.
Penalty: If you can’t even make friends, what kind of super social anxiety is that?
There is no real penalty, only the System’s contempt.
So Yuji thought about the various Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era.
Many of them were almost impossible to approach.
He also did not have a photographic memory.
He could not remember many details of the Previous Era, but he remembered Chiba Academy very clearly.
By coincidence, the Random Identity had given him the identity of a transfer student at Chiba Academy, so Yuji directly enrolled there.
His plan was to first target Kevin, MEI, and Su.
Who would have thought that even after the holidays began, he still had not found them.
“Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have finished reading From Newbie Cook to Master Chef. Current cooking level has risen to Lv.3 and has been integrated into Basic Life Skills.”
Knowledge then poured into Yuji’s brain in a rather underhanded manner.
Just as Yuji was idly scrolling on his phone, a teacher suddenly @’ed everyone in the group chat and forwarded a paper.
Yuji immediately spotted the four large characters “Quantum Entanglement.” He opened it and, well, could not understand a single thing.
But he could understand the signature at the end—MEI.
Yuji’s lazy posture suddenly straightened.
He had noticed that the paper had been published not long ago.
In other words, the current precise timeline was half a year before the Third Honkai Eruption.
That meant… Kevin would transfer here in another three months?
Yuji had already guessed this.
The paper written by MEI completely confirmed his suspicion.
So now he had to make MEI his primary target.
But how exactly was he supposed to approach her…
“Classmate, could you let me take a look at the book in your hands?”
While Yuji was thinking, a soft voice came from beside him.
He turned his head and saw a purple-haired girl standing there at some point.
She was wearing the Chiba Academy uniform and holding a book that looked completely incomprehensible at a glance.
But the important part was this girl’s identity.
She was the MEI he had been thinking about all this time!
“Ah, hello. Um… are you the MEI who wrote this paper?” Yuji raised his hand and pointed at the paper still open on his phone.
“…Yes, that’s me.”
“Then could you explain the thought process behind your paper to me? In exchange, I’ll give you the book in my hands.”
“Eh?”
“Isn’t that book from the library?”
“Of course not. I brought it myself.”
“Mm… then it’s a deal?”
The moment Yuji heard MEI’s answer, he directly pulled her into an empty reading room.
MEI clearly had not yet figured out the situation.
She did not resist at all when she was pulled along.
It seemed she had never expected Yuji to be this familiar from the start.
“Hello, Classmate MEI. Just call me Yuji.”
“Alright, Classmate Yuji… ah, no, Yuji.”
MEI placed the book she was holding on the table and then asked Yuji what he did not understand.
“I don’t understand any of it.”
“What? You don’t understand any of it? Then why did you still…”
MEI suddenly realized something.
The body that had just sat down stiffened slightly.
She then spoke in a serious tone:
“Classmate, I currently have no such intentions. I’m sorry, but I cannot…” Before MEI could finish, Yuji interrupted her with his hand.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m just very curious about your paper, but I can’t understand it. I hope you can give me a little tutoring. Besides, I’m very smart. Even if I don’t understand it now, I can learn it after you explain it once.”
What Yuji said was obviously false, yet also true.
Because during this period, the System’s effects had made him understand something: skill levels could completely be treated as “hard work is rewarded by heaven.”
As long as he studied, there would be a return.
The level would rise, and it would never drop.
“Really?” MEI clearly did not believe him.
After all, people without talent simply could not learn certain things.
But she truly wanted the book in Yuji’s hands.
When he had been reading earlier, she had glanced at it once and felt it would be very helpful to her.
“Of course. If you don’t believe me, try teaching me.”
MEI half-believed and half-doubted as she explained some basic knowledge.
She then discovered that the person in front of her really did have a terrible foundation, yet it was obvious that he learned extremely quickly.
He only needed to hear something once to understand it.
Later knowledge could even be grasped by him in advance (in reality, his level-up speed was faster than the speed of MEI’s teaching).
In just one hour, MEI understood that he was a true genius, even surpassing her in certain aspects.
However… why was his foundation so poor?
It was as if he had never come into contact with any of this before.
In the teaching time that followed, Yuji continuously gave MEI pleasant surprises.
In some areas, Yuji’s unique insights benefited her greatly as well.
On the other hand, she had met a friend whose talent was not inferior to her own.
Yes, a friend.
In just half a day, Classmate MEI and Yuji had become friends.
He seemed to understand her very well, and sometimes he could even point out small problems that she herself had not noticed.
But time passed quickly.
After the thoroughly enjoyable study session ended, it was time to part.
Before leaving, Yuji handed From Newbie Cook to Master Chef to MEI.
“MEI, there’s something I want to tell you. If you want to try cooking, it’s best to have someone with you.”
“Why? Are you worried I’ll randomly add seasonings?”
“No. It’s for another reason. For some people, the kitchen is an extremely dangerous place.”
MEI looked into Yuji’s eyes and could tell that he was genuinely worried about something.
“Mm… here. This is my contact information, and also my home address.”
Yuji took the piece of paper with writing on it and asked curiously, “What does this mean?”
“I’m planning to try cooking tomorrow. During these few days of holiday, I hope I can completely learn it. Since you’ve already read this book, you must understand some cooking skills, right? Tomorrow, you come and teach me.”
Yuji was stunned for a moment.
After all, the two of them had only known each other for half a day, and she was already issuing such an invitation.
But after thinking about it, he still agreed.
“No problem, MEI. I’m extremely good at cooking. Let’s set a time for the evening. I’ll arrive on time.”
They chatted for a while at the school gate, then she got into a car that was clearly very expensive and left.
After some time, Yuji returned to the rental apartment he was currently living in.
He lay down on the bed and added MEI’s contact.
Yuji: “MEI, what time tomorrow?”
MEI: “Arrive before 9 a.m. You don’t need to bring anything. My house has everything.”
Yuji: “OK.”
Next, Yuji planned to make some preparations.
After all, he had not forgotten that MEI’s cooking was not much different from poisoning.
But his phone kept making sounds.
Yuji opened it and found that MEI was continuously sending messages.
MEI: “I still have a lot to say about today’s studying. First…”
MEI: “And then we need to use quantum…”
MEI: “From an objective perspective…”
The phone kept ringing.
Yuji could not help but feel a little emotional.
As expected of Dr. MEI.
But it was already getting late, and he could not just tell MEI to stop.
What should he do…
Suddenly, he thought of the System’s side quest.
Side Quest: “Genius and Mediocrity” Description: Is the future of the universe chaotic or determined?
This has always been a difficult problem of the cosmos.
A certain doctor once left behind a formula that would be remembered through the ages.
Quest requirement: Solve the solitary wave algorithm problem.
Reward: Gaze of the Erudition.
Yuji directly copied part of the content and sent a question to MEI.
Yuji: “MEI, have you ever observed the stars?”
MEI seemed not to have expected Yuji to ask her this question.
The phone kept showing “typing…”
MEI: “Of course. Why do you ask?”
Yuji: “I remember it very clearly. That night, I happened to walk to the window and looked up at the starry sky. I suddenly had a strange feeling—as if it was not me looking up at the stars, but the stars looking down at me. Under the vast Milky Way, I was so small, and humanity was so small. Everything around me became insignificant in that instant. At that moment, a thought immediately appeared in my mind—I believe that every star in the sky is our enemy.”
MEI: “?????”
Yuji: “I said too much. MEI, do you know what the universe is like? Do you think the future of the universe is chaotic or determined?”
The other side is typing…
MEI looked at her phone.
When she saw Yuji’s words about the stars, she felt as if she were living in Yuji’s shadow (crossed out).
She felt that Yuji truly understood her.
Then she saw the question he asked.
MEI: “The universe… I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’m not very clear about the answer to this question either.”
Yuji: “Suppose the universe is in this kind of situation (such and such, this and that). In the end, the solitary wave algorithm problem left behind by the doctor is like this (such and such, this and that).”
Yuji sent a file.
MEI: “You mean… you want me to try these formulas?”
MEI did not know whether these things were real or what Yuji’s purpose was in doing this, but the contents of the file truly and deeply attracted her curiosity.
Yuji: “No, that’s not what I mean. These things are still too early for you. The current you has not yet…”
Before Yuji’s message could be sent, it showed that the other side had gone offline.
Ah… it seemed MEI’s curiosity had been completely hooked.
He only hoped she would be able to sleep tonight.