Just as Chen Ze was pondering whether this "Hikarigaoka" had any connection to the "Hikarigaoka" he remembered, Renamon had silently appeared behind him at some point.
Perhaps out of curiosity—or simply innocent ignorance…
Looking at Agumon, who barely reached her waist, Renamon couldn't help but gently reach out and pat his head.
"Huh? What are you doing?!"
Feeling the unexpected touch on his head, Chen Ze jerked his head upward, only to see Renamon clearly attempting to act as if nothing had happened.
"Mm… Patting your head?"
Slightly tilting her head, Renamon realized pretending ignorance wasn't going to work, so she murmured softly, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"I know you're patting my head! I'm asking why you're patting my head!"
Driven almost mad by Renamon's inexplicable behavior, Chen Ze completely forgot what he had been thinking moments ago, raising his voice in exasperation once more.
Maybe it was due to developmental delays or excessive brain use in childhood, but Chen Ze in this life lagged behind his peers physically.
Especially in height—he was half a head shorter than others his age. As a result, he was constantly treated like a child—particularly by his shameless parents.
To use their words: he was clearly just a kid pretending to act grown-up, which triggered an irresistible urge to tease him.
Consequently, after reincarnating, Chen Ze became extremely sensitive about his height.
"Because I wanted to?"
Entirely unaware that height had always been Chen Ze's taboo, Renamon innocently spread her hands and replied with absolute sincerity.
"Don't you know a man's head and a woman's waist are the two places in the world you absolutely can't casually touch?"
After hearing Chen Ze's loud complaint, Renamon nodded thoughtfully—as if suddenly enlightened—and openly admitted her ignorance.
"But… aren't you just a boy?"
As if understanding something yet also understanding nothing, Renamon first thoughtfully scratched her chin, then cautiously touched her waist. Finally, as if making a huge decision, she bent down and said earnestly to Chen Ze:
"Then… you can touch my waist! That way you won't be angry, right?"
Chen Ze was now completely dumbfounded.
Just what kind of logic is this?
Though Chen Ze had already sensed that the hacker who invaded his private computer was naive, he never imagined they could be naïve to this degree.
Could a hacker with such advanced skills truly be this lacking in common sense?
Wait a second—common sense?
As if suddenly recalling something crucial, Chen Ze, still in Agumon's form, abruptly took two steps backward and lifted his head to carefully study Renamon.
"You're… not human?"
The words escaped his mouth, perfectly expressing Chen Ze's current emotions.
He had initially assumed the hacker who invaded his computer was merely a technical genius lacking social skills, hence all those previous "provocations" that a normal hacker would never attempt.
Yet now, Chen Ze realized things were far more complicated than he'd imagined.
"No—you're a Digimon?"
Quickly correcting his earlier slip, Chen Ze stared intensely at Renamon, his face revealing emotions he couldn't quite put into words.
Once he'd discarded his initial assumptions, Chen Ze understood clearly—Renamon was entirely different from himself. She wasn't some hacker disguised behind a Renamon-shaped digital avatar.
Even the hacking skills she'd displayed earlier might all have been one huge misunderstanding.
"But… didn't you already call out my name?"
Now it was Renamon's turn to be confused. Earlier, Chen Ze had clearly shouted her name, so why did he suddenly seem so shocked?
"You really didn't recognize me?"
Her mood visibly dropped. Renamon had purposely loaded Chen Ze with "Agumon" data this time precisely to communicate more intimately with him.
And when Chen Ze had accurately called out her name, she'd mistakenly believed she'd finally met someone "in the know."
Although she'd wondered how Chen Ze recognized her identity, Renamon's inner joy had outweighed her surprise.
After all, Chen Ze's private computer was her only window into the human world from the Digital World. If he knew something about Digimon or EDEN, that would've been perfect.
But reality proved Renamon had hoped too much. Chen Ze might indeed possess some knowledge about Digimon and the Digital World, but clearly not because of her.
Like all foxes, Renamon enjoyed playing small tricks on others and despised anyone who gave her false hope.
"Well… I do recognize you…"
"Wait, that came out wrong. I recognize you—but not Renamon specifically."
Chen Ze watched Renamon's increasingly disappointed expression, caught between laughter and tears. He opened his mouth, attempting to explain his earlier overreaction, but struggled to articulate clearly.
"Argh! What I meant is, I recognize the fox hacker from before, but I don't personally know Renamon."
"I just happen to know some things about 'Digimon'!"
At this point, Chen Ze finally understood the greatest mystery in his heart—why that fox hacker always managed to log into his private computer ahead of him.
It turned out the other party was actually a digital lifeform, a being who'd never left his private computer in the first place.
From this perspective, his earlier reaction really had been excessive.
After all, for a Digimon confined entirely to digital space, grasping terms like "chuuni" or "tech geek" was already impressive enough.
Expecting such an entirely non-human entity to fully grasp the subtle differences in human interactions would indeed be asking too much.
Chen Ze only disliked being treated like a child—he didn't actually resent Renamon's actions, which were purely out of innocent curiosity.
"In other words, you don't really mind me patting your head?"
Sensing Chen Ze's shift in mood with surprising sensitivity, the elegant and calm Renamon quietly stretched out her paw again, revealing a barely-concealed eagerness.
"I mind!"
Promptly dodging Renamon's approaching paw, Chen Ze firmly retorted.
"At any time or place, touching someone without their consent is extremely rude!"
He emphasized deliberately:
"Especially for me—I hate anyone touching my head without permission."
"No, wait! I wouldn't allow anyone to casually touch my head!"
Listening to Chen Ze's entirely contradictory explanation, Renamon nodded slowly, half-understanding, half-confused.
"So… as long as you give permission, it's fine, right?"