When Fu Li opened his eyes again, the sun outside his window had set, leaving only the afterglow of twilight to paint the horizon a fiery red.
Unconsciously, Fu Li raised his hand, watching the fading light filter through his fingers, and sighed in his heart.
Though this body was not yet an adult, his mindset was already starting to resemble that of an old man.
Gazing at such a familiar scene inevitably made him think of the beautiful sights he had once witnessed on Twilight Street.
But... that was all in the past now.
Although he had failed this time, he had at least learned the secrets of the Herrscher of the End, even if the gap between them was terrifying to the point of despair.
After a moment of quiet reflection, Fu Li climbed out of bed and habitually pushed open his door, intending to check on Klein.
However, the sight that greeted him in the living room made him stop in his tracks.
"What... is this situation?"
Although Fu Li was usually mindful of his apartment's cleanliness, like most boys, there were always some areas he tended to overlook in his daily routine.
Places like the gaps between the sofa cushions and the shelves of unused cabinets were spots he would typically skip, cleaning them only once in a blue moon.
But now, the room was so tidy it looked as if the most professional cleaning service had just left. It was almost absurdly clean.
What surprised him most, however, was Klein's appearance today.
She was wearing a set of loose-fitting loungewear, her short hair tucked behind her ears. The apron he usually wore was tied around her waist as she bustled about in the kitchen, looking every bit the part of a gentle older sister.
Faced with such a gentle, intelligent, and beautiful older sister, any normal person would feel a sense of affection and fantasize about living together with her.
Fu Li, however, had no such thoughts. He just felt that something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He didn't have much time to ponder, however, as Klein had already expertly untied her apron and walked out with the last dish, calling out to him casually.
"Yo, you're up? Just in time to try my cooking."
"Um... thank you."
Since he had been invited, Fu Li couldn't very well refuse. He hurried to his seat, picked up his bowl, and subconsciously put a mouthful of food into his mouth.
In his memory, while Klein wasn't as hopeless at daily life as Mobius, her cooking skills were merely at a "barely edible" level.
Therefore, he had assumed from the start that this meal was less about the taste and more about enjoying a different kind of atmosphere.
However, when the food entered his mouth, he was stunned.
"Eh? Sis Klein, how is your cooking so good?"
"Mhm, surprised? I've often traveled all over the world by myself, so over time, I've developed some decent culinary skills."
"Oh, I see."
Watching Fu Li's satisfied expression, Klein propped her chin on her hand, a brilliant smile on her face.
Fifty thousand years was enough time for anyone to learn how to cook, not to mention she had long wanted to see Dr. Li wear such an expression.
This adorable look of surprise and shock caused by her actions.
It was just a pity that this cute expression was brought about by something as trivial as cooking, and not by some private matter between a man and a woman.
Unfortunately, Fu Li was oblivious to Klein's true thoughts and praised her with genuine sincerity. "Sigh, I feel like Sis Klein is amazing. To be a researcher and still cook so well."
"Mhm, then you should eat more."
Klein picked up a piece of beef and placed it on his rice, then, like a snake that had been lying in wait, she suddenly showed her fangs. "By the way, your complexion is still terrible. Let me take care of you for the next few days."
"Ah, this..." Fu Li was a bit embarrassed and replied helplessly, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you, Sis Klein? You've already paid for your share of the food."
"No, no, this is a special situation. You don't look well, and I've been under your care for so long. It's only right that I take care of you now," Klein said firmly, adding as if afraid he would refuse:
"Besides, you've been calling me 'sister' for so long. Can't you let your sister experience what it's like to take care of her little brother?"
That... was a logical and convincing argument.
Fu Li, who had no experience in matters between men and women, didn't think too much about it and could only helplessly agree.
For the rest of the evening, Fu Li chatted and laughed with Klein while using curiosity as an excuse to subtly probe for information about her research institute.
Klein, naturally, was vague in her replies, but she did seem to "unintentionally" leak carefully prepared fragments of information to Fu Li, allowing him to piece together a half-true, half-false narrative of a laboratory disaster caused by a Honkai Beast.
To be honest, Fu Li usually had an incredibly sharp intuition when it came to lies. When facing the subtle machinations of The MOTHs' high command, he could often nip any rebellious thoughts in the bud.
Strangely, however, this terrifying intuition became exceptionally dull when dealing with people close to him. Perhaps it was because his intuition knew they held no malice towards him, or perhaps it was for some other reason.
In any case, as far as Fu Li was concerned, all that mattered was that Klein herself was safe.
In that regard, the conversation achieved a result that both of them were happy with. After dinner, they agreed to meet again tomorrow. Fu Li went to wash the dishes, while Klein returned to her own apartment to sleep.
As for Fu Li, although he had just woken up, the mental damage hadn't recovered so easily. He simply created a folder on his laptop titled "Plan for the True Body of the Herrscher of the End" before taking a shower and going to bed.
---o---
Meanwhile, in America, inside a private jet, a blonde, blue-eyed woman was carefully carrying a tray with wine glasses, looking at the two beauties sitting opposite each other.
Her name was Elena Hord. She was a perennial top-ten figure on the Forbes list and the current head of the Hord family—a person at the very pinnacle of society.
However, that was only the outside world's perception of her. Only she knew that her entire family was nothing more than a puppet identity for the two women before her.
Eden and Pardofelis.
These two women, who had lived for an unknown number of years, were her family's one and only faith, as well as the masters of their lives and their supreme rulers.
As a puppet used to acquire wealth for them in the outside world, Elena felt both honored and, from time to time, a profound terror. It was an absolute suppression on the level of life itself, making it impossible for her to even think of resisting.
But today, the behavior of these two great ladies left her utterly astonished.
Because these two, who had never shown the slightest interest in any man or woman, seemed to be arguing today over the ownership of a Chinese boy?
How could that be possible? Was she still dreaming from yesterday?