Nannan and her grandmother left to go buy padded coats.
The diners who had just been shouting slogans a moment ago also dispersed, as if the storm had passed—each returning to whatever they were doing.
After they left the fast-food place, Su Yi walked home. Behind him, Ch'en Hui-chieh still looked as though her soul hadn't quite found its way back into her body.
Then—a bouquet of fiery red roses abruptly filled her view.
Ch'en Hui-chieh: ¿
"You can't exactly toss them into a trash can, can you? And you're the only woman next to me… so just take it as a memorial for my first kiss," Su Yi said.
"What do you mean, memorial… That's such an awful way to put it." Ch'en took the roses with one hand—and with the other, shoved the flower basket into his arms.
"Hm?"
"You're allowed to 'memorialize' your first kiss, but I'm not allowed to 'memorialize' mine?"
Ch'en hadn't planned on taking the basket in the first place, but before Nannan's grandmother left, she insisted on giving it to her.
Dragging it back would be a hassle—so she might as well dump it on him.
Su Yi laughed, at a loss. "Fine, fine—thanks for the roses… though it'd be better if this were a bit more romantic."
"Having them at all is already good enough," Ch'en replied.
"Fair point."
…
Naturally, the four Penguin Logistics girls tailing them saw everything.
"Su Yi… should know what roses symbolize, right?" Sora asked quietly.
"With marketing these days? Even an amnesiac would figure it out in three months." Croissant shot a sideways look at Exusiai, who wore the wounded expression of a love story dying before it ever lived, and patted her shoulder to console her. "Besides, even if Su Yi didn't know, do you think Officer Ch'en wouldn't?"
"It's not your fault. Who could've guessed Su Yi would hide it from all of us and secretly start dating Officer Ch'en?"
Exusiai shook her head. "It's fine. If I think about it carefully now… I don't even like Su Yi that much. Even if I did get together with him, maybe it really would be like Texas said—there'd be endless difficulties…"
"And honestly, I was so stupid. Why would I fall for some man with an unknown background?"
"If my big sister found out, she'd definitely break my legs and make me sit in a wheelchair with her."
Exusiai felt she had achieved sudden enlightenment—seen through worldly desire—her spiritual realm soaring to the level of Laterano's saints throughout the ages.
"I'm glad you've come to your senses," Texas said with genuine relief.
The process wasn't what she wanted, but the outcome was, at least, good.
To be clear: Texas had no issue with Su Yi as a person. If she did, she wouldn't have picked him up from Chernobog in the first place.
The core problem was that Su Yi's origins were unknown. Nobody could guarantee he wasn't a ticking time bomb.
How could she gamble Exusiai's entire future happiness on that?
"Alright, let's head back," Exusiai said.
She led the way, taking a shortcut back to headquarters. The others followed close behind.
…
On the way out, Ch'en had been talking nonstop.
On the way back, she was unusually quiet—just silently trailing behind Su Yi, both hands idly toying with the roses.
Only when he was about to reach home did she finally speak, breaking the silence that had lasted the whole way.
"Su Yi… how do you view the Infected?"
"Patients, obviously. How else would I view them?" Su Yi answered without hesitation.
Oripathy—also known as "Multiple Originium Infection Syndrome"—was a common incurable disease across Terra. Like pneumoconiosis: stay too long in high-Originium environments and you catch it.
People who had Oripathy were commonly called the Infected.
Perhaps Terra's basic education was inadequate; perhaps people simply couldn't view Oripathy correctly. Or perhaps they feared that the Infected, on average, were stronger than ordinary people.
And once an Infected collapsed and crystallized, they would release huge amounts of Originium dust—dust capable of infecting others.
So the Infected were always discriminated against.
In terms of social status, they might as well be sitting at the same table as Jews in Nazi-occupied territory during World War II.
But the Infected didn't choose to contract Oripathy. Most were lower-class laborers—infected after long-term exposure to Originium products, or after working in the mines extracting Originium.
As an ordinary person with a normal moral compass, Su Yi sincerely pitied them.
"Patients?" Ch'en looked as though she didn't trust her own ears.
Objectively speaking, the Infected were patients—but the public treated them as pathogens, plagues, bringers of calamity. When people encountered them, they wanted them dealt with as quickly as possible.
"They've got Oripathy. If they're not patients, what are they?" Su Yi said as if it were self-evident.
"You don't discriminate against the Infected?"
"Why would I? You know what Terra's like. For all I know, one day I'll become Infected too."
"Then… if one day you encountered an Infected person, what would you do?"
"I'd buy them some supplies and Oripathy suppressants, then help them leave the city. My capabilities are limited—that's about all I can do."
As he spoke, Su Yi suddenly laughed. "So many people dedicate their whole lives to keeping mobile cities running—then the moment they get Oripathy, their contributions get wiped to zero. Terra is both heartless and ridiculous."
"Even if you're lying, any Infected person who heard that would still be genuinely happy," Ch'en said.
The corner of her lips lifted—so faintly it was almost unnoticeable—then she immediately pressed it down again. "But the correct procedure when you encounter an Infected is to notify the LGD at once! The LGD will dispatch professionals to handle incidents involving the Infected!"
"Yes, ma'am. Understood, ma'am," Su Yi replied perfunctorily.
If one day you learn that I'm Infected… will you really do what you just said—understand me and help me?
Ch'en shook her head, threw the stray thoughts aside, and asked again.
"You truly have no intention of joining the LGD?"
"Of course I'm serious. I practically got 'Gan'nan navel-oranged' by you—I'm traumatized. How would I dare go work at the LGD?"
"'Gan'nan navel orange'… what is that?" Ch'en asked, confused.
"A fruit," Su Yi said with a bad grin, "and also… a position."
A position? A navel orange?
Ch'en wasn't some sheltered little girl—she instantly understood what he was implying. Her cheeks flushed hot. She lightly punched him and cursed, "Pervert! Degenerate! Shameless lecher!"
"Thank you for your hospitality… Alright, I'm home. I'm sorry I made you come all this way for nothing—please head back now~!"
"I haven't given up." Ch'en's tone turned crisp again. "As an LGD reserve officer, from this moment on, if you discover any suspicious individuals or incidents in Lungmen, you must report to me. This is my card."
She tossed the business card into the rose basket, then left with practiced swagger.
"So overbearing…" Su Yi muttered.
He pocketed the card and pushed the door open.
The moment he stepped inside, he sensed something was off.
Texas, Exusiai, Croissant, and Sora were seated in the living room—silent, every one of them.
Strange. They could play cards all day in detention, but at home they suddenly turned into monks.
Were they doing some "Try Not to Laugh" challenge?
Before Su Yi could ask what was going on, Croissant beat him to it.
"Su Yi—when did you get together with Officer Ch'en? You even brought the roses back. Are you planning to make it official?"
-------
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