"Don't touch my head..."
Emotions of shyness, nervousness, panic, and happiness intertwined within her heart. On the surface, Sephie pretended to be calm and took a step back.
She looked up at Lin and said, "I heard that if someone pats your head, you won't grow tall anymore."
"Grow tall..." Lin raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this. He looked Sephie up and down. "I feel you're just fine as you are right now."
By visual estimation, Sephie's height was currently about 1.6 meters.
"No, I still want to grow taller." Although hearing Lin say that made Sephie feel a little happy inside, she still wanted to grow a bit more.
"Alright." Lin couldn't help but smile. "Since you want to grow taller, then hurry up and eat. If you don't replenish your nutrition properly, you really won't grow tall in the future."
"Mhm, thank you." Sephie nodded in thanks.
She then walked to the dining table and sat down. Reaching up, she removed her veil. Looking at the table full of sumptuous food before her, although she was craving it, for a moment she didn't know what she should eat. It had been too long since she had eaten anything delicious.
Lin sat down opposite Sephie. Seeing her hesitation, he asked with a trace of curiosity, "Why aren't you eating?"
Sephie's fair cheeks reddened slightly. "I'm a bit unsure where to start; everything looks delicious."
Lin smiled at this. "Eat whatever you like. If you really can't decide, just have some rice first."
Speaking, he produced a bowl of white rice. Wisps of steam rose faintly from it. He then created a pair of chopsticks and placed them in front of Sephie along with the rice.
"Do you know how to use chopsticks?" Suddenly thinking of something, Lin looked at Sephie with some curiosity.
"This? Yes, I can use them." Sephie picked up the chopsticks and nodded. She then added, "On our planet, this thing is called 'Food Wood'. It refers to wood used for eating."
"Is that so..." Lin raised a brow slightly, then gave a casual smile. "Where we're from, they're called chopsticks, but it doesn't matter. I thought you didn't know how to use them and was thinking of teaching you hand-in-hand."
As he spoke, he feigned a bit of disappointment.
Hearing Lin say this, Sephie's gaze flickered involuntarily. Shyness flashed past. She blinked, her cheeks slightly flushed, and said with a smile, "Then can I take back what I just said?"
"...Of course you can." Lin was slightly stunned, then the corners of his mouth lifted as he nodded.
A gleam of slyness flashed through Sephie's eyes. "But since the words have already been spoken, let's forget it."
"Huh???" Lin couldn't help but blink.
Seeing Lin looking somewhat speechless, Sephie gently hooked up the corners of her mouth, a beautiful smile blooming on her face. Seeing her charming smiling face, Lin also gently curled his lips. The two looked at each other and smiled.
Faintly hearing a protest from Sephie's stomach, Lin smiled and said, "Alright, hurry up and eat. If you don't eat soon, your stomach is really going to start cursing."
As his voice fell, Sephie's stomach very cooperatively let out a growling sound, appearing to agree with Lin's words.
"Okay..." Sephie's face couldn't help but turn red. She blinked, a strange color emerging in her expression.
Consequently, she put down the chopsticks. She didn't rush to eat the rice, but instead picked up a red bean bun and took a bite. The outermost crust was crispy, but the inside was extremely soft and fluffy. This bite didn't reach the filling.
Lin smiled slightly and introduced, "This is a red bean bun."
"Red bean bun..." Eating the crust, Sephie nodded gently. She swallowed what was in her mouth and took another bite of the red bean bun. This time, she reached the filling.
The red bean filling was sweet, glutinous, and delicious. Although sweet, it wasn't cloying. Combined with the crispy and soft crust, the unique and delicious texture made Sephie's eyes widen slightly, her gaze brightening. Sweetness makes people feel happy. She felt very happy right now. Especially looking at Lin across from her.
Seeing Sephie's expression of enjoyment, Lin smiled faintly. He created a pair of chopsticks for himself, picked up a steamed dumpling that had just come out of the steamer, dipped it in sauce, and put it in his mouth.
About a minute passed. Sephie finished the apple-sized red bean bun in her hand. She pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands, picked up the chopsticks, and said, "Lin, I don't know how to use chopsticks. Can you teach me?"
She blinked her beautiful big eyes. Expectation emerged in her gaze, her face full of innocence, as if it were true.
Lin met her gaze. The two looked at each other for a moment like this before Sephie's eyes moved. She slightly shifted her line of sight away. Dots of pink surfaced on her cheeks, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing this, the corners of Lin's mouth tilted up. He stood and said with a smile, "Sure, I'll teach you how to use chopsticks."
Saying so, he arrived behind Sephie. He held her right hand with his right hand. Her skin was white, tender, and smooth; her fingers were slender.
When Lin gently held her hand, Sephie's heartbeat involuntarily accelerated, and she felt her face heating up a bit. There was no repulsion in her heart, only shyness and happiness.
Under Lin's attentive, hand-in-hand guidance, Sephie very quickly learned the method for using chopsticks.
"Lin, what is this?" Sephie ate the food on the table she hadn't eaten before, seeming to transform into a curious baby, asking Lin a question every now and then. And Lin introduced them one by one.
Under the shine of the sunset's afterglow, the two enjoyed their dinner. Half an hour passed in a flash.
When Lin and Sephie had just about finished dinner, Gid, who had prepared himself, walked out of his room with a face full of excitement. He arrived not far from Lin and said, "...Lin, let's go. Fight me."
After reviewing the previous battles, he felt he had become much stronger. He had summarized some experiences. Now that he had the theory, he needed actual combat to verify these theories.
Seeing this, Lin smiled and said, "Fine, you go in first."
As he spoke, he created a sub-space, and a spatial gate unfolded nearby.
"Hurry up." Gid glanced at Sephie, said a word to Lin, and then walked toward the spatial gate, full of eagerness to try.
Lin looked at Sephie and smiled. "I'll be back in a flash. If you're full, you can go back to your room to rest first. I will set up a barrier nearby, so you don't need to worry about danger."
"Okay, you be careful." Sephie nodded upon hearing this. A trace of worry emerged in her eyes; she seemed afraid Lin would get hurt.
The corners of Lin's mouth hooked into a confident arc. "Don't worry, I am very strong. He can't hurt me yet."
"Mhm, good luck." Hearing this, Sephie looked at the confident smile on Lin's face and chose to believe him, clenching her right hand into a fist to cheer him on.
"Okay." Lin smiled at her. He stood up and walked into the spatial gate.
Before entering the spatial gate, he covered this temporary residence area with a barrier to prevent anything from intruding.
Sephie watched the spatial gate disappear, then sat on the chair admiring the lake surface reflecting the moonlight, waiting quietly.
Five minutes passed in a flash.
The spatial gate appeared. Lin walked out first with a smile on his lips. Behind him followed Gid, who had been beaten black and blue. Especially that pair of panda eyes—it made Sephie want to laugh involuntarily when she saw them.
When he arrived beside Lin, Sephie looked him up and down. Seeing his clothes weren't even dirty, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. It seemed Lin's strength really was very great.
After Gid walked out of the spatial gate, he strode directly back to his own room with wide steps and began to review the battle just now. He felt he had learned a bit more again. Moreover, after his body took Lin's beating and was healed, he felt his physical constitution had become a bit stronger than before.
Getting beaten makes one stronger. It made him feel painfully happy.
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