Although he hadn't visited the tenants upstairs, at least Lin Zhi now knew their surnames. For some reason, he felt a small sense of relief. After all, last night had been a bit awkward.
"The Takanashi sisters? Only the two of them live here?" Lin Zhi mused, stroking his chin. Saitama's words carried more information than they seemed at first glance.
Back in his room, he took out the last box of snacks and knocked on the neighboring door.
"Knock knock!"
"Please wait a moment!"
A sweet, melodious voice came from inside, clearly belonging to a girl. Soon, the door opened—and unsurprisingly, a girl stood there, and she was quite beautiful. Her long, flaxen hair framed a graceful, delicate face, and her reddish-brown eyes sparkled with brightness.
"Hmm?"
The girl blinked at the unfamiliar Lin Zhi. "Excuse me… who are you?"
"I'm Yehara Lin Zhi. I just moved in next door yesterday. It's nice to meet you." He introduced himself while holding out the gift box in his hands.
Come to think of it, it seemed like there were far too many beautiful girls living in this apartment.
"Next door?" The girl blinked again and peeked toward the neighboring room. Then her expression brightened as she realized, "Oh, you must be Mr. Yehara who just moved in next door."
"Mr. Yehara?"
Lin Zhi quietly cringed inside. Somehow, that title felt a little… off. Well, in Japan, people had all sorts of weird honorifics—delivery man, fish seller, and so on—so he supposed it wasn't that strange. Still… did he really look that old? She should be calling me a classmate, not "Mr. Yehara"!
Once she understood his identity, the girl quickly bowed and introduced herself, tilting her face slightly to reveal a dazzling smile.
"Hello, I'm Doma Umi."
Oh wow. That blinding smile, combined with that sparkling aura beneath it… this girl was definitely not normal. For some reason, Lin Zhi's mind flashed with that thought. Strange as it was, it felt… instinctively right.
"Hello. It's nice to meet you."
After parting ways with Umi and returning home, Lin Zhi sat at his computer and started going through character profiles one by one.
Nishimiya Shoko—truly deaf and mute. Lin Zhi shook his head in disbelief. Life really had a twisted sense of humor. She seemed like such a sweet girl… the gods who play tricks on people deserved a good scolding!
Next up… Saitama. Huh? His occupation was "hero for fun"? Lin Zhi leaned closer, eyes full of curiosity. What did that even mean? Could it be that Saitama was genuinely kind-hearted? Well… that was at least comforting. He wasn't a villain.
And with that hairstyle, aside from monks, only the Yakuza would usually pull that off. But Saitama was still young—there was no way he'd lost his hair naturally, haha!
Then there was Doma Umi, the sparkling, radiant girl. A strange system, strange evaluations…
A notification pinged.
"Ding dong! You have a new message!"
Lin Zhi, fresh out of the shower, towel-drying his wet hair, noticed his phone lighting up on the bed. Picking it up, he saw a message from the school: a reminder to register and prepare necessary items.
"School starts tomorrow already? Time flies."
He shook his head, tossed the towel onto the bed, and opened his chat software. A familiar avatar was blinking on the screen.
[Renga: Lin Zhi, our website editors are short-handed. Do we need to recruit more?]
He thought for a moment before replying:
[I'll leave it to you. With your connections, it shouldn't be a problem.]
[By the way, I'll be attending the same school as you starting tomorrow.]
The chat window hadn't even closed before Renga sent a flurry of messages, full of surprise.
[Wait, the same school? A private comprehensive high school???]
[Yes.]
Lin Zhi sipped from his cup calmly, typing back:
[Ah?! Then why didn't you tell me earlier?]
Because you're a handful, that's why! Lin Zhi's expression darkened. If he knew I was here… who knew what kind of trouble would follow?
[Sorry, I forgot.]
[Which class are you in?]
[Class A.]
After finishing with Renga, Lin Zhi opened another chat.
[Ryunosuke, how's the app development going?]
A moment passed with no reply. Just as he was about to close the chat, a tiny head popped onto the screen, peeking at him curiously.
What was this?
Lin Zhi widened his eyes. A chibi-style maid appeared on the screen, holding a data cable and bowing slightly. She was ridiculously cute.
[Hello! This is Ryunosuke-sama's assistant, Maid-chan. Ryunosuke-sama is currently in seclusion. How may I assist you?]
"Maid-chan?" Lin Zhi blinked in surprise. Was this AI?
"Ryunosuke is really a high schooler? This is way too genius," he thought. AI was common these days, but for one person to develop an assistant like this alone was truly impressive.
[Hello!] he typed. The maid responded with a slight bow:
[Maid-chan greets you!]
She clearly had recognition and processing capabilities. Lin Zhi marveled, then sent another message:
[Understood. Please notify Ryunosuke-sama immediately once he emerges from seclusion. Is there anything else?]
[No, thank you.]
[Very well. Farewell!]
Maid-chan waved with her right hand, the data-cable tail swaying behind her, and slowly faded from the screen. Lin Zhi stared thoughtfully at the empty screen, lost in contemplation…
----------
T/N:
Joining is completely free. Come check it out!
You'll also get 5 extra chapters just for being a free member!
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon:
[email protected]//animetraveler