Chen felt his brain grind to a halt, smoke practically pouring from his ears.
He opened his mouth, but the words simply wouldn’t form.
He couldn’t very well say, “You have the face of a girl, you’re dressed exactly like a girl, and you sound like a girl—who in their right mind would ever guess you were a man?!”
Scrambling for an out, his mind latched onto the first flimsy excuse it could find.
“N-no!
It’s not that!
It’s just…
you’re so good-looking, I was taken aback for a second!
And I’m from somewhere else, you see, so maybe our local aesthetics are a little different from what I’m used to!”
“Somewhere else?”
March 7th’s eyes lit up, the keyword snagged from the air.
The playful teasing vanished in an instant, replaced by a curiosity that burned even brighter.
“You’re not from the Herta Space Station?
Then where are you from?”
Beside him, the silent, cold-eyed Dan Heng watched him with a new level of scrutiny.
Even the Trailblazer, Stelle, tilted her head a little further, her blank expression now tinged with obvious interest.
A cold knot formed in Chen’s stomach.
‘Bad,’he thought,’this is very bad.’ His desperate, off-the-cuff explanation had just painted him into a corner.
As his thoughts raced, frantically trying to find a way to salvage the situation, a single word slipped past his lips, almost a reflex.
“I…
I’m from Earth.”
“Earth?!”
It was as if he’d flipped a switch.
March 7th’s eyes practically glowed.
“You’re from the same planet as Aunt Yang?” he exclaimed, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to share this monumental discovery.
“Aunt Yang got a message earlier saying they’d found someone from Earth.
She was so excited!
We’ve never seen her like that before!”
A wave of deep relief washed over Chen.
Wonderful!
He didn’t even have to invent his own backstory!
He immediately leaned into it, nodding vigorously and arranging his features into a mask of feigned, heartfelt emotion.
“Y-yes!
I can’t believe I’d meet a fellow countryman all the way out here…
Is Ms.
Welt really from Earth, too?”
“Of course!” March 7th affirmed with a sharp nod.
“Aunt Yang has told us so many stories about Earth!
Though, some of them sound a little strange…”
Before he could finish, the automatic doors to the Master Control Zone hissed open again.
Two figures entered, walking side-by-side.
The man in the lead carried himself with a tall, straight posture that radiated a gentle, reassuring aura.
He appeared to be in his late twenties, his face handsome and soft. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
He wore a crisp, well-fitted white suit vest with a bowtie, over which he had casually draped the Astral Express’s iconic coat with its gold-trimmed shoulders.
His entire presence exuded a mature and dependable charm.
Following a half-step behind him was a woman with an intellectual and elegant air.
She was dressed in a proper dark suit skirt, her long brown hair neatly tied back.
In one hand, she held a cane.
Unlike the man’s composed stroll, her pace was clearly hurried, her gaze locking onto Chen the moment she entered.
The look behind her glasses was one of barely contained excitement.
“Aunt Yang!
Uncle Himeko!” March 7th greeted them cheerfully.
“What are you two doing here?”
Uncle Himeko offered the boy a gentle nod, his voice tinged with a hint of fond helplessness.
“Little March, what else could it be?
A certain lady here was getting a bit impatient to learn more about her hometown.”
Ms.
Welt Yang, however, completely bypassed the pleasantries.
She strode directly up to Chen, her words tumbling out with an urgency she couldn’t suppress.
“Mr.
Chen, please forgive my forwardness.
But…
please, you must tell me, the Earth in your memory…”
Before Ms.
Welt could finish her question, Chen took a deliberate step forward, his expression utterly solemn as he extended his right hand.
“Ms.
Welt!” he interrupted, his voice firm.
“In our hometown, there is an ancient etiquette observed between countrymen who meet after a long separation—the handshake.
Please, allow me…”
The motion was fluid, practiced, as if it were a deeply ingrained, instinctual reaction.
Ms.
Welt Yang was visibly stunned by the sudden, formal gesture.
She looked from Chen’s sincere, unwavering eyes to the hand suspended in the air between them, a symbol of their shared, distant home.
Her guard, which had been on high alert, lowered just a fraction.
Subconsciously, she raised her own white-gloved right hand and gently took his.
“Of course…” Her voice was a shade calmer now.
“This is…
the proper etiquette.”
The instant their hands touched, Chen saw it.
In the back of his mind, the grayed-out character icon representing [Welt Yang (Five-star • Imaginary • Nihility)] was flooded with energy.
It flashed with a steady, heavy golden light, then solidified, brilliantly lit.
‘Success!
Suppressing the triumphant shout that threatened to erupt from his chest, Chen maintained a polite smile.
He gave her hand a light, respectful squeeze before releasing it, the picture of good manners.
Without missing a beat, he immediately turned to Uncle Himeko, who had been watching the exchange with a gentle, amused smile.
Chen extended his hand with the exact same solemnity.
“And you, Mr.
Himeko!
I have long heard of the great navigator of the Astral Express.
Seeing you in person, your bearing is truly extraordinary!
Please allow me to pay my highest respects to you as well, with the etiquette of my homeland!”
Uncle Himeko was clearly a little surprised.
He raised an eyebrow, glancing at Ms.
Welt, whose emotions were still settling.
Then he looked back at the young man’s clear, admiring gaze and couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
He elegantly transferred his coffee cup to his left hand and extended his right.
He shook Chen’s hand firmly, his own grip warm and strong.
His deep, gentle voice held a note of teasing.
“An interesting custom.
It seems your hometown is a place that values a sense of ritual.
Welcome aboard, Mr.
Chen.”
The moment his fingers closed around Uncle Himeko’s hand, the second icon in his mind, [Himeko (Five-star • Fire • Erudition)], burst into radiant light!
‘Two five-stars!
Both of them lit up!’
Chen felt his heart hammer against his ribs.
He forced himself to remain composed as he withdrew his hand, his face a mask of gratitude and excitement.
“Thank you both so much for your understanding!
To meet you in this foreign place is truly my greatest fortune!”
Ms.
Welt Yang seemed to have recovered from her earlier emotional surge.
She regarded Chen with a complex gaze, her urgent line of questioning temporarily softened by the unexpected ritual from their shared home.
She took a deep breath, reclaiming some of her usual composure.
“Now, Mr.
Chen,” she began, her gaze becoming focused once more.
“Can we continue our conversation from earlier?
About Earth…
and everything you know…”
“Of course!” Chen nodded immediately, feeling refreshed and ready for anything.
[Elysian’s Note:
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