Aidan had that smile on his face specifically for coaxing children.
How nice.
If only time could stop forever at this moment.
"You're really beautiful today."
Aidan suddenly said.
"Eh...?"
This sudden direct hit interrupted March 7th's 'rebuttal' skill bar. March brain seemed to suddenly jam, with only a single syllable popping out of her mouth, her face burning hot.
"You-you-you-you-you—"
March 7th stammered 'you' for a long time, but in the end, she couldn't come up with anything.
"Me what?"
"How can you say things like that!" March 7th finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"What kind of things?"
"Just... those kinds of things!"
"The kind where I complement your beauty?"
"Yes! Exactly those!"
"What's wrong? Is it not okay to compliment your beauty?"
"No! Of course not!" March 7th finally recovered some of her verbal ability. "Why would you suddenly say that! And why so suddenly! I didn't have any mental preparation at all!"
"You need mental preparation for a compliment?"
"Of course! At least... at least there should be some build-up or something! Like saying 'the weather is nice today' or 'this outfit you're wearing looks great,' and then... then..."
As she spoke, her voice grew smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.
Aidan nodded thoughtfully. "So, you want me to compliment your clothes first?"
"No! That's not what I meant!"
"Then you want me to compliment the weather first?"
"Not that either!"
"Then how should I compliment you?"
March 7th opened her mouth, only to find she couldn't answer the question.
"Anyway... anyway, it can't be so sudden!" She covered her still-burning cheeks with both hands, only her eyes glaring at him through the gaps in her fingers. "What is wrong with you! You were talking about important things just now, and then you suddenly veered off over here!"
"Because you really do look good."
"No, no, no! Stop! Stop talking!"
"Why can't I say it?"
"Because—because—you're doing it on purpose!"
"Yeah, I am doing it on purpose."
Aidan admitted it quite bluntly.
"You—"
March 7th lowered her hands and glared at him huffily, but the look in her eyes wasn't so much anger as it was...
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?"
"No." Aidan shook his head, his tone very serious. "Senior March 7th is indeed very beautiful. You're usually beautiful, but today you're especially beautiful."
Hearing this, March 7th's face turned another shade redder.
"I!—I'm going back to my room!"
March 7th was flustered, but Aidan caught her arm.
"Alright... but there's one more thing I haven't said, which is..."
Aidan said a few words, and March 7th looked at him quite skeptically.
"For real?"
"I'll be a puppy if I'm lying to you."
Aidan vowed solemnly.
Another red-eyed version of herself...
March 7th was deep in thought.
Does this lady actually have some hidden power?
"What are you thinking about?" Aidan waved a hand in front of her eyes, interrupting her fantasy. "You're about to drool."
"Am not!...You said that red-eyed me is really powerful?"
"Yes, extremely powerful."
"Then... then is she easy to get along with?"
March 7th hesitated.
"She likes you."
"?"
"She likes me?"
March 7th pointed at her own nose, her expression quite a sight.
"You're saying that particularly powerful, particularly mysterious, red-eyed version of me... likes me?"
"More than just likes, she likes you very, very much."
"Likes... me very, very much?"
"Right... I can't say much more, I'm afraid she'll jump out and hit me."
"You mean... she's inside my body right now? She can hear us talking?"
"She can hear, she can see, she can even feel what you feel right now. She is the obsession of your Memory. You can understand her as... a sister who super dotes on you? Or a family member always ready to take a blade for you? Anyway, if you suffer even a little grievance, she could probably flip the world."
"Saying it like that... it's actually quite nice."
"Then what's her name?" March 7th's eyes held some anticipation. "She should have a name, right?"
"Well..." Aidan thought for a bit. "I think it's better if she tells you herself. If I tell you too much, she'll think I'm overstepping. Even though she didn't hit me today, it doesn't mean she won't in the future."
"She even hits people?"
"She won't hit you, but she has no mental burden about hitting me."
The two bickered a bit more, and the atmosphere lightened significantly. Seeing March 7th looking shy but clearly in a good mood, Aidan felt relieved.
— — —
Aidan tiptoed into the Astral Express kitchen.
Search.
[Himeko's New Recipe]!
Wow, there's even a big red mark.
After finding it, Aidan quickly replaced Himeko's recipe with a normal one and took Himeko's new recipe out with him.
"Dan Heng, Dan Heng, this is Aidan. Himeko's new recipe is in hand."
"Received, hurry up."
Aidan went to the Data Bank and locked the door.
"Phew... truly terrifying. I really don't want to eat this kind of food."
"Got it?"
"Got it." Aidan raised the recipe in his hand and shook it. "The process was thrilling; I almost got caught by Pom-Pom. Luckily, the Conductor was distracted by the new vacuum robot."
"It must be destroyed," Dan Heng handed down the sentence. "It cannot be allowed to exist on this Astral Express. If Himeko actually makes it... the consequences will be unimaginable."
Recipe: All those things in the past, do you truly not remember?
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at the recipe. It's asking me if I truly don't remember all those things in the past."
"What kind of past could you even have with it?"
"True, let's destroy it quickly. Immediately, right now, complete destruction... how do we do it? Burn it? Or tear it up?"
"Burning it will create smoke and trigger the smoke alarm, then Pom-Pom and Himeko will both come over," Dan Heng analyzed calmly. "If we tear it, the scraps will be hard to handle. The best way is..."
His gaze fell upon the paper shredder.
"That's the one."
A knock sounded at the door.
Aidan and Dan Heng froze simultaneously. Aidan's hand was still in the position of feeding paper, while Dan Heng's hand was pressed on the shredder's power switch.
"Dan Heng? Aidan? Are you in there?"
It was Himeko's voice.
"Sister Himeko! We're here! We're discussing... discussing academic problems!"
"Academic problems?" Himeko outside seemed a bit puzzled. "I see. I originally wanted to ask if you've seen a recipe I left in the kitchen."
"Recipe? What recipe?" Aidan played dumb. "Haven't seen it. Is your recipe missing, Sister Himeko?"