She was really cute.
When a girl who looks bright and lovable—warm from the heat, dressed in nothing but light underwear—holds a drink, smiles at you, and invites you to a "party," it's very hard to refuse.
But Li Lin still refused.
"No. You need to sleep," he said righteously, staring down Exusiai's teasing grin with a severe expression. "You haven't slept in two days. If you keep this up, something's going to go wrong."
"Do you remember the last time you stayed up for three days and three nights?" he continued. "Texas was driving, and you suddenly went feral and tried to grab the steering wheel—swearing you'd seen the Lord calling you—then you drove the car into a ditch."
Exusiai crossed her legs on the sofa. For once, she dropped her expression completely and, deadpan, pointed at the top of her head.
Her Sankta halo.
Bright even with the lights off.
And she wasn't wearing an eye mask.
"…Ah."
"You took my eye mask to wash it," Exusiai said, still pointing at her halo like it was Exhibit A in a courtroom. "Don't tell me you forgot."
"Sorry," Li Lin said.
"It's fine. I'll forgive you." Exusiai clapped her hands and immediately brightened up again. "Anyway, this afternoon and tonight—we're talking until we're satisfied!"
"We talk all the time," Li Lin replied. "It's been, what, not even a week? We've only known each other for two months. The last time was when you made apple pie and—nobody knows why—decided to stick char siu in it, then baked it into charcoal."
"Meh! Don't sweat the details!" Exusiai waved it off cheerfully. "I'm going to grab more drinks! Thank goodness the fridge is close. I don't even have to get off the sofa—living like this is amazing!"
"Don't fall," Li Lin warned.
"I'm fine, I'm fine—just gotta try a little bit… heave-ho…"
Li Lin raised an eyebrow as he watched her bend sharply at the waist from the opposite sofa, reaching toward the fridge.
You know what?
A girl's charm shows up in a hundred tiny, ordinary moments—when she isn't trying at all.
Like wearing a loose tank top, refusing to stand up, and simply leaning down from the sofa—her waist curving into a startling line as she stretches for a drink on the floor. That natural, unguarded extension of the body has a kind of breathtaking beauty.
Swire was different—she had that polished, sculpted, "made of cream and craftsmanship" elegance.
Exusiai, though, radiated something else: youth and vitality. The slight hollow of her abdomen, the way gravity pulled everything into a clean, perfect curve—every detail made you feel the life in her body.
And when she braced one hand on the floor and her tank top slid upward, exposing the smooth plane of her back…
It almost made a man feel like his entire life had been worth it.
"I got it!" Exusiai grabbed an iced drink and, as if she'd sensed his gaze, turned her head. "Li Lin? What are you looking at?"
Exusiai's senses were annoyingly sharp. Li Lin answered without even blinking.
"Nothing. I was just wondering if I should steady you."
"If you're thinking that, then at least grab me one," Exusiai muttered.
"Your own problem, you handle it yourself."
"Huh? Stingy."
She shut the fridge, pulled herself back with a flexibility that bordered on unfair, cracked open the can, and took a sip.
It was normal conversation. Nothing unusual.
In a cramped thirty-something-square-meter apartment, what lingered everywhere were the traces of two people living together.
It was only afternoon. The fan droned steadily. Outside sunlight couldn't penetrate the dim little room because of the heavy shade, leaving only mottled, shifting patterns inside—casting a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere across the space.
When you live together, time does this to you.
Unlike the noisy, chaotic rhythm of Penguin Logistics, even the loudest world has quiet pockets—moments like this, where "a party" was really just… talking.
Exusiai leaned into the sofa, both hands cupping her cold drink, head tilted as she asked lightly:
"By the way—can you go shopping with me tomorrow? Just the two of us."
"Hm? Sure," Li Lin said. "What for?"
"I'm running low on rubber bullets. Need to restock."
She started counting on her fingers as she swayed side to side.
"And—gifts for my sister. Souvenirs for everyone back in Laterano. And we need some living supplies here too. Oh, and the laundry pods are almost gone. Shampoo as well. We should buy more."
"The laundry pods are gone, yeah," Li Lin said. "But shampoo? Didn't we still have a big bottle under the sink cabinet?"
"…Ah." Exusiai's eyes drifted. "I thought that was cleaner. No wonder the foam felt weird…"
"So the bathroom being full of bubbles the other day was you?" Li Lin stared. "I thought some gang had done something brainless in the sewers—like they tossed something in the drain and set off a backflow."
"Ahahaha…"
Exusiai laughed awkwardly, holding her drink. Then, as if something else occurred to her, she asked:
"Oh right—Sora mentioned this on the way back. Are you really planning to learn piano?"
"Yeah," Li Lin said. "There's something I kind of want to play."
"Something meaningful?"
"Not really. It's just a tune from when I was in school."
"Eh… I see… Right, you have to go to school too."
"What do you think I am in your head?"
Instead of answering, Exusiai simply tilted her head again.
"When you learn it, will you play it for me?"
"No problem."
They drifted through fragmented conversation—bits of time, bits of talk—slowly dissolving into the dim light and the heat of the room.
Li Lin held a notebook, jotting down plans and to-dos. Exusiai chatted naturally about her stories and thoughts.
This wasn't their first time living like this. For both of them, it had become familiar—almost routine.
It wasn't the thrilling, provocative tension of a man and a woman, so much as the tolerance and understanding of roommates.
At first, Li Lin had blushed and felt his heart race—like it was some incredible situation, something worth anticipating.
But as Exusiai's optimistic, carefree attitude expanded to fill the space, Li Lin gradually got used to this level of "stimulation."
Just like he'd thought before:
He was getting used to it.
Exusiai didn't really have any particular intentions. To her, it was more like having a little-sister sort of closeness—nothing complicated.
"…Hey, Li Lin."
The sun lowered. The room darkened.
Holding the drink can, Exusiai blinked at him from within the crisscrossing shadows and said, very plainly:
"When the day comes that I really track down Mostima and get the truth out of her… I'll take you to Laterano for a visit. Just the two of us."
"…Huh… what?"
Li Lin, who had been writing, jerked his head up—staring at Exusiai's completely casual expression in open surprise.
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