The sun was shining brightly. Wearing a fitted mermaid-style dress and black patent leather high heels, Gadelia strolled leisurely along a bustling commercial street in Yu City.
Zhou Ming had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, after only a two-day stay. He seemed to be in a hurry to register for school and report to the Jingquan Union. So, Gadelia had no choice but to endure the noise in her ears and return to her own residence, waiting for another opportunity.
Gadelia genuinely enjoyed chatting with Zhou Ming, setting everything aside for a while to simply enjoy life.
However, once she got closer to Zhou Ming, such opportunities would probably become rare. After all, she was approaching him with an ulterior motive.
Gadelia overlooked one thing: she had lived for a very long time but had very few friends. Her understanding of the nuances of interpersonal relationships wasn’t very clear.
Therefore, she found it difficult to gauge the closeness of her relationship with Zhou Ming and could only confirm it by asking him directly.
The problem was, Zhou Ming was no expert on emotions either. How could he possibly judge it clearly!
This commercial street was located in District Fifteen.
According to current law, to facilitate the Lantern Bearers in performing their duties, every city was divided into several districts to delineate the jurisdiction of each Lantern Bearer group.
District Fifteen was the jurisdiction of Zhou Ming’s team. Each Lantern Bearer group was further divided into two squads of four people each, taking turns on 24-hour duty. Additionally, there was one squad stationed at the Jingquan Union for emergencies and rotation breaks.
Gadelia remembered that Zhou Ming’s squad was on duty from 8 AM to 4 PM. She wondered how Zhou Ming managed the conflict between his identities as a Lantern Bearer and a student.
“Miss Gadelia!”
A robust voice called out. Gadelia turned towards the sound and saw Zhou Ming, dressed in the black Lantern Bearer uniform, walking towards her with two teammates, following the tall figure of Zhang Chuanlei.
They spotted me from five hundred meters away? It seems my careful dressing up had an effect.
Gadelia stood still, waiting for them to approach, a gentle smile curling at the corner of her lips.
“It’s been a while, Zhou Ming. And Captain Zhang Chuanlei.”
Zhang Chuanlei shot Zhou Ming a look of exasperation, then spoke politely to Gadelia.
“Miss Gadelia, please don’t mind him! This kid actually cares about you a lot, he’s just not very good at expressing it.”
“It’s alright. I took care of him for a few days, so I have some understanding of his personality. Right, Zhou Ming?”
Gadelia gave a slight wave of her hand, steering the conversation back to Zhou Ming.
Through their interactions over the past few days, Zhou Ming had also gained a basic understanding of Gadelia—28 years old, from a noble family in Usanka, well-off, graduated from the Yuanyuan Municipal Feiwenyi Academy. Both parents deceased. After facing ostracism from her family in her hometown, she came to Yu City alone to start anew.
All this information concentrated on her person made Zhou Ming feel somewhat pressured.
He didn’t dislike Gadelia. It was just that when facing her, he always felt an intangible sense of distance.
The education he had received, the stratification of the world—everything reminded him that someone like her didn’t belong in his world.
And yet, he couldn’t completely resist her allure.
So, he could only subconsciously maintain his distance.
Gadelia had thought she could attract Zhou Ming’s attention, but she seemed to have failed. Watching Zhou Ming look up and space out, she felt a pang of disappointment.
She had subtly released a bit of the allure that came with her own ‘Energy Conversion’… it clearly worked on others…
“I hope I’m not disturbing your work?”
Seeing Zhou Ming’s lukewarm reaction, Gadelia proactively changed the subject.
“No, not at all. We were just about to go for lunch when we happened to run into you.”
“Really?” Gadelia covered her mouth with a light laugh, a flicker of joy in her eyes. “That’s perfect. I haven’t eaten either. Why don’t we go together? My treat. There’s a nice restaurant nearby.”
“In that case, we gladly accept your kind offer.”
Zhang Chuanlei pulled Zhou Ming along and signaled for the other team members to follow.
Walking ahead, Gadelia felt a bit frustrated inside.
She hadn’t slept a wink all night, originally waiting for Zhou Ming to contact her first. But there wasn’t a single message.
Aren’t you supposed to be getting revenge?! Is this how you do it?!
Zhou Ming finally snapped out of his daze. Looking at his teammates who were clearly enjoying the drama, he felt awkward for a moment.
“I don’t mind these things, but was someone looking for you last night?” Gadelia took the initiative to help him out of the awkward situation.
“Yeah. I went out to eat with my friend Li Ning. Then I got pestered by my childhood friend Jiang Jialie, who just got out of the hospital. I didn’t climb back over the dorm wall until two in the morning.”
Zhou Ming’s voice was a bit hoarse, clearly indicating a lack of sleep.
Hearing “childhood friend,” Gadelia’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Jiang Jialie. Survived the Energy Beast Tide like Zhou Ming, but stayed in the hospital a few more days because she’s not an Ability user. Cheerful, enthusiastic personality. Extremely possessive of Zhou Ming.
“Childhood friend, huh?”
A slightly chubby young team member behind Zhang Chuanlei perked up, whispering excitedly:
“I’m on Team Miss Gadelia. ‘Youth doesn’t know the goodness of a wealthy lady, mistakenly treasures the childhood friend as a treasure!'”
“This kind of setup, I’ve only seen it in novels!”
The two other team members nearby nodded in agreement.
“My wife and I are childhood sweethearts.”
Another person added, instantly killing the mood.
“Shut up.”
Everyone unanimously reached a consensus.
Gadelia didn’t mind at all. Instead, she smiled generously.
“We’re here.”
Everyone looked up to see a restaurant with a red signboard hanging at its entrance—Seaside Gathering Pavilion.
“Yu City is inland, so it’s hard to get fresh seafood. This restaurant has channels to ship it in from the coast. The taste is quite good,” Gadelia explained.
Guided by the waiter, they ordered lobster, crab, squid, as well as salmon and oysters, and began their meal.
“Captain Zhang, I recall Zhou Ming is still a student, right? Won’t his classes conflict?” Gadelia asked.
Zhang Chuanlei, peeling a shrimp, answered:
“That’s simple. I’ve already submitted a report to get his military training canceled. At least for this month, he can focus on work and learning the basics of being a Lantern Bearer. We’ll adjust things later. If it doesn’t work out, we can postpone his formal induction.”
He said it casually, clearly having arranged everything long ago.
This meal was considered a luxurious expense even for the Lantern Bearers, who had decent incomes. They might come here once every month or two.
“Gadelia, here.”
Zhou Ming picked up a peeled shrimp and offered it to her.
He remembered Gadelia mentioning the ‘secret path for Ability users to grow stronger’ before. Combined with his own goals, he decisively decided—better start buttering her up first.