"Cheers!"
"OHHHHHH!!"
That was just how Penguin Logistics worked. Do something, and they'd celebrate. Do nothing, and they'd still make it loud and lively. In short: they loved parties.
Emperor was still busy messing with his assets and didn't show, but Croissant had already wrapped up her stall for the day. She and Sora officially got to know each other.
The private room was a riot of noise.
Texas sat calmly unwrapping a small gift in her hands—something Li Lin had promised her before: a delicate-looking bracelet. Exusiai was treating her gun like a microphone, singing something with deep emotion. Croissant laughed herself silly while slapping down cards completely off-beat.
Sora, the newcomer, looked a little restrained at first—glancing around, unsure where to put her hands—but she quickly melted into the chaotic atmosphere.
Her idol instincts kicked in. She hopped into the center of the room, ready to show off.
"Good evening, everyone! I'm your idol, Sora! And the next song is—Fiery Love!"
"OHHHH!!"
The mood hit its peak. With Exusiai cheering and Texas watching, the professional idol spun in place, flashed a radiant smile, and started to sing.
Of course she fit in here. It was only natural—this was what the scene was supposed to look like.
Li Lin's presence had merely nudged the "inevitable plot" around a corner, just enough for him to get what he wanted.
Without a sound, he slipped out of the room, pulled open the door, and climbed the creaking metal fire stairs toward the roof.
On the way, he spotted a vending cabinet someone had left by the stairwell. He bought two cans at random and continued upward along the cold steel steps until he reached the top floor.
The night was clear, the stars sparse. Terra's twin moons hung high above.
Li Lin stood on the balcony, tilted his head back toward the sky that seemed unchanged since time began, and slowly sipped from the can while the din from downstairs rose and fell. A Lungmen breeze brushed his face, and he closed his eyes.
Because Lungmen was a top-tier mobile city, the building they'd found wasn't especially tall. The tightly packed lights around them were so bright that even with his eyes shut, color still seeped through—soft and shimmering.
Like a kaleidoscope: countless points of light gathered into the flame of civilization, staining the night sky into a hazy wash.
Maybe this was the overture to a happy life. Maybe this wasn't so bad.
Yeah. It should be good.
When he opened his eyes again, Lungmen's sleepless city filled his view—interlocking streams of neon and lamplight, layers of color braided together.
It felt like if he stepped off the edge, he could dissolve into that gorgeous world and never separate from it again—never lonely, never alone.
"Hah…"
His breath turned to a pale mist in the night, spreading outward and vanishing into the multicolored glow.
Finding a place of your own in a city like this. Having a little corner that belonged to you. A few friends who were interesting—and pretty. For an ordinary person, that was about as lucky as life got.
But the gang problem, and the fact that he still hadn't found a real "cute girl" for himself, were honestly hard to swallow. And then there was retirement. The future. The whole mess. He wasn't even a Lungmen resident.
Sure, Emperor might help with insurance…
But Emperor helping with insurance was probably not going to happen.
Too real. Forget it. Drink first.
He cracked open another can and leaned against the iron railing, letting the breeze wash over him. The strange flavor—something he absolutely would not have tasted two months ago—spread across his tongue, and he let out a slow breath.
And that small motion, that simple turn of his head, let him catch a swaying silhouette in the corner of his vision.
"…Senior? Can I bother you for a moment?"
"Sora?"
He crushed the empty can in his hand, turning in surprise toward the blonde girl standing in the doorway.
"Why are you up here? Shouldn't you be talking with Texas?"
"You're the one who's up here, Senior. Why are you hiding out?"
Still on the staircase, Sora looked at Li Lin curiously. With a little "heave-ho," she hopped over the shadow of the partition and stepped onto the balcony, bathed in moonlight and the glow from neighboring high-rises.
And as he looked at her—wearing the Penguin Logistics uniform, breathing a little fast as if she'd just been moving—Li Lin leaned back against the cold railing and smiled.
"Honestly, I don't really like crowds. They make my skin crawl. Sometimes I prefer being alone."
"Oooh. That doesn't really match your 'dream life,' does it?"
"People are full of contradictions. Ideals and reality never line up."
He popped open the second can and took a long swallow, turning slightly to watch the familiar-yet-completely-different traffic far in the distance. The odd taste rolled over his tongue as he spoke offhandedly:
"The person I wanted to be and the person I am were never going to match. When I was a kid, I wanted to become a great scientist. Now I'm delivering packages. Sometimes that's just what people are—contradictory, pulled in opposite directions."
"Is that so? Heave-ho."
Sora braced her hands and hopped up beside him, sitting naturally at his side with an unopened can in her hands.
The breeze on the balcony teased her hair into her face, and she instinctively tucked it behind her ear. Catching Li Lin's gaze, she flushed a little in embarrassment—then still lifted her chin, almost defiantly.
"If you're not going back down, then I'll stay up here with you. That's what a junior should do."
"Penguin Logistics doesn't really do seniority like that. And I'm not up here because I'm being excluded or because I'm lonely. You're overthinking it."
"I'm not. I just wanted to be up here, that's all."
"But aren't you supposed to be with Texas?"
Li Lin glanced at her, genuinely puzzled.
"Or are you not going to talk to Texas anymore? She's actually pretty easy to speak with. I think you've got a real shot."
"It's not that… I wanted to talk with you more. To understand what Texas thinks and how she acts—kind of from the side. Down there, in that atmosphere… I can't think clearly. I feel like I'll mess up."
She looked at him, hugged the can with both hands, and sighed, a little dejected.
"And… it feels like I can't really squeeze into the way they talk to each other…"
"Is that so? That makes sense. Their relationship is close."
"Ah… so it really is like that…"
Sora blinked, swinging her legs lightly. She took small sips from her drink, even lifting her pinky in an unconsciously cute gesture.
Cute.
Looking at Sora in a pleated skirt and a Penguin Logistics jacket, Li Lin forced down the restlessness in his chest and kept drinking the strange-tasting beverage.
Then, with the wind brushing past them, Sora stared out at Lungmen's nightscape and suddenly spoke in a quiet voice:
"…Actually, Senior… you don't really know me that well either, do you?"
-------
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