"I have some good news!"
Zane returned to the club in high spirits, wearing gold Chelsea boots, a Blue Enchantress shirt, and ripped winter leggings. However, Stella's sharp eyes immediately noticed that the makeup she had so carefully applied had been altered.
The lipstick shade was wrong.
The foundation was clearly some cheap off-brand product, and it had caked badly.
Zane had definitely changed clothes. He had only put the original flamboyant outfit back on before returning to the club, probably to make Lingwind feel a little better.
Stella pulled the visibly nervous Lingwind over to Zane.
The moment she saw how cheerful he looked, Lingwind already had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Still, she stared at him, clinging to the faint hope that a miracle had occurred. Perhaps Lily Zhao had rejected him, and then something else had happened to put him in such a good mood.
Though the chances of that were slim.
After all, just look at what Zane was wearing.
Honestly, it was almost impossible to look at.
Lingwind could hardly imagine what kind of mutant would find it attractive.
Zane did his best to avoid her eyes and announced loudly, "Lily Zhao accepted my confession!"
Stella widened her eyes and pretended to be astonished.
Lingwind froze.
The color gradually drained from her once rosy face, and her clear eyes blurred with tears. She forced a strained smile.
"Oh... I see. Master, congratulations on winning her heart."
Before Stella or Zane could say anything, Lingwind turned, covered her face, and ran away. Faint sobs echoed behind her.
Zane pursed his lips, unsure of what to do.
He was the last person who should try to comfort Lingwind right now.
Fortunately, Stella immediately glanced toward Purple Lightning, who was sitting on the sofa. Purple Lightning understood at once and hurried after Lingwind toward the top floor.
The hallway fell silent again.
Still dressed in that ridiculous outfit, Zane exchanged a glance with Stella, then immediately lowered his head.
"You just came out and said it?" Stella rolled her eyes. "You didn't give Lingwind any warning at all. You should've at least eased her into it."
Zane wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed.
"What was there to ease her into? Better to get it over with than drag out the pain. Keeping her hopes alive wouldn't do Lingwind any good. Feelings have to be mutual."
He hardened his heart.
"One-sided feelings won't get you anywhere."
Stella knew he had a point, so she could only shake her head helplessly.
"All right. Purple Lightning is with Lingwind, so leave her to us.
"But I'm warning you now. You're not allowed to lead Lingwind on again. She's your Mecha Girl, and that's all.
"If you start getting any other ideas, I'll tell Master on you!"
Instead of becoming upset, Zane let out a sigh of relief, as though a heavy stone had finally been lifted from his chest.
"Don't worry. I'll never think of Lingwind that way. I'm not that kind of man."
Stella nodded without saying anything and stepped aside.
Zane headed back to his room to change.
To be honest, that outfit attracted far too much attention. Countless people had pulled out their phones to take pictures of him along the way. Anyone without nerves of steel would have crumbled under the pressure.
Before Mecha Island appeared, he probably could have become an internet celebrity just from wearing it.
"Oh, right. Tell Lingwind something for me."
Zane suddenly turned around.
"Lily Zhao didn't accept me because of this outfit. What I look like doesn't really matter. She likes me for who I am."
Those words would undoubtedly have dealt Lingwind another crushing blow, which was why Zane had not said them in front of her.
As for why he was telling Stella now, it was actually to clear her of any blame.
Zane was not stupid.
How could a simple girl like Lingwind have come up with so many schemes on her own?
Stella must have been behind it.
Lingwind might mistakenly believe the outfit was what brought Zane and Lily Zhao together. If that happened, Stella would become the one responsible for her heartbreak.
That would not be fair.
Stella silently watched Zane's hunched figure walk away.
She understood the meaning hidden in his words.
"People really do get shrewder with age. The novels weren't lying."
She clasped her hands behind her back and shook her head with a sigh.
Her own Master was still better. He was young, innocent, and not nearly so calculating. He always told her exactly what was on his mind.
...
In her room, Lingwind lay facedown on her pillow, sobbing uncontrollably.
Her room was right next to Zane's.
When Zane came upstairs, she had even cried a little louder on purpose.
But after hearing the door next door close, her cries gradually weakened until only quiet sobs remained.
Perhaps she knew that nothing she couldn't make the man in the next room change his mind.
Purple Lightning entered and closed the door behind her.
She looked at Lingwind crying into the pillow, but had no idea how to comfort her. Purple Lightning herself had endured plenty of painful experiences. No one had comforted her back then. She had borne everything alone.
But Lingwind was different.
Lingwind had people who cared about her.
Their situations could not be compared.
Purple Lightning looked around, hoping the style of Lingwind's room might give her some idea of what to say.
Unfortunately, Lingwind's room was just as simple as Absolute Shadow's. The only difference was that she kept several small cacti on the windowsill.
Purple Lightning scratched her head, leaned close to Lingwind's ear, and whispered, "Lingwind, stop crying. Later, I'll buy you a few enormous cacti to put on the windowsill."
Lingwind immediately began crying even harder.
Stella arrived a moment later and nearly fell over when she heard that.
Lingwind did enjoy raising small cacti.
But that was because she liked watching them bloom. She found the process comforting.
That did not mean she wanted enormous cacti taller than a person.
Besides, tropical plants like those could not grow properly in Tianyuan City's climate.
"Lingwind, don't be sad."
Stella walked to the bed and gently patted Lingwind's back, soothing her in a soft voice.
"You can't force something like this. Zane didn't choose Lily Zhao because you weren't good enough. Humans need to reproduce, after all, and having children matters a great deal to them. We Mecha Girls may have bodies similar to humans, but we can't reproduce. Besides, Zane might genuinely prefer older women..."
"Great King, d-does that mean I'll never have a chance?"
Lingwind looked at Stella through tear-filled eyes.
The miserable sight made both Stella and Purple Lightning ache for her.
"Not necessarily."
Stella rubbed her chin as she tried to comfort her.
"All I can say is that you definitely don't have a chance right now. But human relationships are complicated. Dating and marriage are completely different things. There's a large age gap between Zane and Lily Zhao, so they might not work out in the end.
"More importantly, I think we should just focus on doing our jobs as Mecha Girls. We can let everything else happen naturally."
Clutching her pillow, Lingwind sniffled and nodded.
For now, she could only accept that she had been rejected.
It was not as though every Mecha Girl inevitably developed feelings for her pilot. Zane had simply treated Lingwind very well.
Even during the period when he pushed her through race after race, he never installed any illegal modifications on her. His concern for her could be felt in countless small details.
Zane had only been too desperate to achieve results.
And at the time, Lingwind had lacked the ability to replace Broken Moon.
...
Stella spoke while Purple Lightning stayed beside Lingwind.
They continued comforting her until one or two in the morning. Once Lingwind finally fell asleep, the two of them dragged their exhausted bodies back to their respective rooms.
Stella opened the door to Derek Su's room.
Sure enough, the light was still on.
Derek Su was sitting at his desk, staring at the computer as he searched for information on Eternity-01. Hearing the door open behind him, he did not turn around.
"Stella, could you grab me a can of coffee from the fridge?"
Stella silently walked over to Derek Su, her lips pressed tightly together and her eyes red.
Sensing something was wrong, Derek Su turned his chair around.
"Stella?"
He did not get his coffee.
Instead, a petite, sweet-smelling figure threw herself into his arms like a kitten.
Derek Su froze.
Then he heard Stella's muffled, tearful voice against his chest.
"Master, I feel awful."
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.