Chapter 60: Luo Shaotian Arrives at the Door

When Lin Yu walked out of that office building dripping with the “decadent aura of capitalism,” he felt as though he were treading on clouds woven from forty-thousand-yuan monthly salaries.

His steps were light, unsteady—almost floating. He didn’t even bother squeezing into the crowded subway. Instead, he indulged himself and hailed a taxi straight back to his new apartment.

“…Gotta make the most of tonight. Need to polish my magical girl skills…”

In the backseat, he mentally replayed Manager Qian’s long list of exam instructions while pulling up the love-hate manual that had both saved and humiliated him countless times—《The Witch’s Training Handbook》.

(Last time, those two moves—【Don’t Touch Me☆Hmph】 and 【Heart Bombardment】—really did save my life…
Yeah, they’re embarrassing as hell, but they actually work.)

He could feel motivation burning in his chest.
(Alright. No hesitation.)

Back home, Lin Yu didn’t even bother taking off his shoes. He casually ordered a deluxe takeaway meal, then dove headfirst into “skill practice mode.”

A flash of pink light shimmered across the room—
and standing there again was the cute girl in a blue sailor uniform.

This time, she had chosen to practice a technique known among office survivors as the “Ultimate Workplace Lifesaver Skill”—

【Triple Apology☆Please Forgive Me!】

“Huff… huff…”

The girl in the mirror pressed a trembling hand to her chest, trying to steady her heartbeat.

“Again… just one more time…”

She took a deep breath, forcing a mix of guilt and innocence onto her face.

Then, she bent slightly at the waist, placed her hands over her knees, and—using that soft, syrupy, almost tearful voice—chanted:

“I’m so sorry, boss! It’s all my fault! Please forgive me!”
“Mmpah~ ❤ Mmpah~”

As the last word fell, a shimmering pink emoji bubble appeared above her head—
large, adorable, and so pathetic that no one could possibly stay angry.

【Ding~ ❤ Congratulations, trainee!】
【Skill practice complete: “Triple Apology☆Please Forgive Me!”】
【Your sincerity nearly overflowed from the screen!】

The Contract Bracelet chimed cheerfully, its tone filled with exaggerated excitement—like it was congratulating the birth of a Tea Ceremony Master of Begging for Forgiveness.

Lin Yu straightened, staring at the girl in the mirror—eyes teary (purely from effort, not emotion)—and let out a long, complex sigh.

(Alright… I guess that counts as a pass.)

Her inner monologue was grumbling non-stop, but her cheeks were still faintly red.

(“Triple Apology☆Please Forgive Me”? Seriously? Which bored programmer came up with that name?)
(And what’s with the floating emoji bubble?)

She rubbed her stiff cheeks and sighed.

(Still… as ridiculous as it is, maybe it suits me. After all, I’m great at screwing things up.)
(If tomorrow’s test goes wrong, and I pull this move in front of Senior Su Xiaoli… maybe she’ll actually go easy on me?)
(Yeah… with this cute face and this pitiful look, she probably won’t have the heart to scold me.)

Her thoughts were spiraling rapidly down a very dangerous shortcut called “Degenerate Efficiency.”

And right then—

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang.

Lin Yu blinked, startled. She pushed back her soft gray hair irritably and glanced at the bracelet display.

“Huh? That’s weird. The delivery app says it’ll take another twenty minutes. Why so fast today?”

Muttering, she padded barefoot to the door, pressing one eye to the peephole out of habit.

And froze.

The hallway light flickered dimly.
Standing there was a man she knew far too well—
and the last person she wanted to see right now.

The moment her eyes met his, Lin Yu felt her face go numb.

“…Luo Shaotian.”

(Him?! Manager Qian said he was still in the hospital, basking in his ‘Top Ten Most Inspirational Officers of Xin Hai’ award!)
(Wait—didn’t both his legs get shot through?! It hasn’t even been a hundred days! What is he, a regenerating boar?!)
(And why is he here?! I never told him where I live! Don’t tell me… the memory wipe failed?! Damn it! Did the cleanup team seriously botch that step?!)

A creeping dread spread through her chest.
(No, no… he mustn’t suspect me…)

“…Whatever. I’ll just pretend I’m not home.”

She whispered to herself, slowly taking a step back.

But fate, of course, had a cruel sense of timing.

Riiiiing—!

Her bracelet suddenly lit up, flashing an incoming call screen:
【Luo Shaotian】.

Her heart plummeted.

She’d sold her old phone for 2,000 yuan after getting this new Contract Terminal—which, apparently, had a way better speaker.

Outside, the doorbell went silent.
He’d heard the ringtone.

So much for “pretend no one’s home.”

Plan: Play Dead — Failed.

“Tch—!”

Lin Yu slapped her own cheek in despair, squealing internally like a trapped marmot.

“—Transformation cancel!”

A faint pink glow flickered, and the magical girl Gray Crystal vanished.

In her place stood the disheveled young man in a white T-shirt and beach shorts—Lin Yu.

He took a deep, guilty breath, forcing a strained smile as he opened the door.

“Eh? Oh—oh, Luo Shaotian! Long time no see, long time no see!”

He emphasized “long time no see” so hard it was practically hypnotic.

(Please don’t remember that night. Please don’t contradict me…)

At the door, Luo Shaotian blinked at Lin Yu’s overenthusiastic greeting—then broke into a helpless smile.

“Hahaha, Ah Yu! Don’t be so formal. What do you mean long time no see? We just met last month at that barbecue stall in the Hive District!”

“Ah… r-right, right! Hahaha. Wait—how did you even find my address?!”

“Your address?”

Luo Shaotian chuckled, waving his phone.

“I didn’t stalk you or anything. I just happened to see your movement record in the city’s police system—noticed we ended up in the same apartment complex, so I thought I’d drop by.”

He lifted a foil-wrapped parcel in his hand, grinning.
“Brought some barbecue too.”

Lin Yu’s eye twitched.
(Oh no. He’s right upstairs? Seriously?)

“Y-you live… in the same complex?”

“Yup! Right above you!” Luo Shaotian laughed, pointing to the ceiling.
“My hands are getting tired—aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Ah—oh! Of course, of course! Come in!”

Lin Yu scrambled aside, trying not to look like he was about to have a heart attack.

(Stay calm, Lin Yu. He looks normal. Just treat him like any other classmate dropping by. Do not let him notice anything.)

The two sat down. Luo’s barbecue spread filled the room with the intoxicating smell of grilled meat and fat.

“Come on, Ah Yu, eat while it’s hot.”

He pushed a plate of sizzling pork belly toward Lin Yu, speaking casually, like old college days.

“I was gonna bring beer too, but they’ve cracked down hard after that recent incident. Now we get breath-tested every morning. No drinking during workdays or you’re publicly shamed. It’s miserable, man. So I thought I’d use visiting you as an excuse to relax a bit. You know I can’t stay idle.”

“Mm.”

Lin Yu grabbed a skewer of grilled chives, biting hard—anything to keep his trembling lips busy.

“Mmf… I think that rule’s… great!”

After swallowing, he forced a bitter laugh.
“Alcohol’s poison anyway! I had this professor back in college—made his students drink from six to eleven during their graduation dinner! Said it was a ‘lesson in social survival.’ Bah! That’s why I swore I’d never work anywhere with that kind of drinking culture. And well… you can see how that turned out. I stayed unemployed for a long while.”

“Hahaha! So that’s why you vanished back then. You got PTSD from social drinking?”

Luo laughed, picking up a chicken wing.
“You remember sophomore year? The mixer with the foreign language department? You tried to impress your crush and downed a whole bottle of Spirit of Life. Ended up vomiting like a fountain—I had to carry you out of the girls’ bathroom!”

“Cough cough cough!!”

Lin Yu nearly choked to death. His face went bright red.

“T-That was ages ago! Don’t bring that up! Anyway, my new job has no drinking culture. Just… tiring. Early mornings, late nights, you know.”

“Early mornings and late nights?” Luo caught onto the words instantly, chewing thoughtfully.
“What kind of job is that? Sounds tougher than being a cop.”

“Uh… j-just… a collaboration with SkyDome Group…”

Lin Yu’s brain worked overtime to fabricate something plausible.

“Oh? SkyDome? Big company. No wonder you can afford this apartment.” Luo smiled, teasingly.
“Not bad, Ah Yu. You’ve come a long way. I still remember when you used to calculate every date budget down to the last yuan. Now look at you, living in a luxury complex. So, what exactly do you do? I heard their hiring standards are sky-high. I even applied once—they said only certain universities qualify.”

“Ahaha! No, no, it’s not that fancy!” Lin Yu waved frantically.
“I’m just… an outsourced contractor. Temporary gig. The company’s good, but it’s not stable. One canceled project and I’ll be back in the Hive.”

He used self-deprecation to shut the topic down.

Luo watched him for a moment, then smiled, letting it go.
“Alright, no work talk. Too depressing. Come on, eat. Tell me if this still tastes like old times.”

Lin Yu bit into a chicken heart skewer, tension finally easing a little.

But just as the warm, nostalgic mood began to settle, he suddenly remembered something.

“Hey, speaking of work… I saw the news about that factory explosion in your district. They said a cop got injured. Did you guys go visit him?”

He spoke casually, but his eyes were sharp, watching every flicker of Luo’s face.

At that, Luo’s chewing stopped.

After a moment of silence, he said quietly, his tone heavier than before:
“Actually… that injured officer in the news—was me.”

“What?!”

Lin Yu widened his eyes in just the right amount of shock.
“You?! Are you okay? Where were you hurt? Is it serious?”

He even leaned forward, pretending to check for wounds.

“Hey, hey, stop it.” Luo pushed him back with a laugh.
“I’m fine, see? Just recovered faster than expected. The higher-ups still won’t let me return to duty though—forced vacation. But I can walk now. You know I hate staying in bed all day.”

The explanation sounded reasonable.
But to Lin Yu, it screamed impossible.

(Recovered fast? FAST?! You got both legs shredded by bullets! What are you, Wolverine?!)
(Something’s off. Seriously off. I need to tell Manager Qian about this—now.)

He started discreetly typing a message on his bracelet—
when Luo suddenly said,

“By the way, Ah Yu… since you brought it up, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

“Yeah?” Lin Yu didn’t stop typing.

“Do you… remember that night?”

“Which night?”

Luo’s voice grew low and serious.

“The night I saved you… from the Red City Gang.”