"Ruan Mei, do you want to take a bath?"
"If you do, the bathroom is over there."
Led by Lumina, the two finally arrived at the hotel after quite a while.
What? You're asking why it took so long to reach such a nearby place?
You'll have to ask Lumina about that.
No one knows what she's scheming.
In any case, Ruan Mei herself didn't seem to mind.
Back in the room, Lumina continued to hold Ruan Mei's small hand, as if she had no intention of letting go.
Before Ruan Mei could say anything, Lumina spoke first, asking if she wanted to bathe after her long day. Then, she immediately began explaining the bathroom facilities.
"I..."
"Come, come, let me familiarize you with the bathroom first."
Hearing Lumina's enthusiastic words, Ruan Mei hadn't even managed to open her mouth when she was pulled into the bathroom.
"This turns it on, this turns it off..."
"And these are for the bath..."
"Here's a disposable bath towel."
"And this is a disposable nightgown. Since I don't have any spare clothes, you can wear this after your bath."
"Then put your clothes—both inner and outer layers—into that machine. They'll dry quickly."
In the bathroom, Ruan Mei couldn't tell if Lumina had lost her mind. Under Lumina's machine-gun-like explanations, Ruan Mei found no opportunity to speak.
Realizing this, Ruan Mei closed her mouth and quietly listened to Lumina's rapid-fire instructions.
After a while, Lumina finally finished.
Releasing her tight grip on Ruan Mei's small hand, she said, "Ruan Mei, I've explained everything you need to know."
"You take your shower first. I'll shower after you're done."
Just as before, without waiting for Ruan Mei to react or say a word, Lumina left the bathroom with a resounding Bang... as the door slammed shut, leaving Ruan Mei alone inside.
"Hmm... that was a bit... too enthusiastic," Ruan Mei muttered, her gaze fixed on the tightly closed bathroom door.
"I'm not very good at dealing with people like that."
She shook her head, her expression remaining as placid as ever.
Even after Lumina's overly enthusiastic behavior, Ruan Mei merely muttered a few words. Her eternally unchanging expression remained completely unchanged.
Ruan Mei withdrew her gaze, took a few steps, and approached the mirror. She gazed at her reflection and gently touched the glass.
Retracting her hand, she glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door.
Instead of locking it, Ruan Mei calmly averted her gaze and began undressing.
She hadn't initially planned to bathe, but Lumina's enthusiastic descriptions of the bath had sparked the idea in her mind.
Rustle—
Ruan Mei's movements were neither hurried nor slow, the friction of fabrics against each other sounding unusually loud in the otherwise silent bathroom.
Before long, a body capable of enthralling most of the Cosmos was completely exposed to the air.
Unlike Ruan Mei's eternally unchanging face, her skin lacked this timeless quality.
Moments after being exposed to the air, a faint blush began to spread across her skin.
Recalling Lumina's earlier descriptions of the bathroom's amenities, Ruan Mei moved to the bathing area.
She turned on the tap and began her shower.
The moment the hot water streamed from the showerhead and cascaded over her body, a faint "holy light" gradually coalesced within the bathroom.
-
Splish-splash, splish-splash, splish-splash...
Although the room's doors were well soundproofed, for someone with Lumina's power, the isolation was practically nonexistent.
Thus, as she listened to the continuous rush of water from the bathroom, Lumina clutched her phone, but her thoughts had already drifted far, far away.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong...
Just as Lumina's mind wandered across vast distances, the ringtone for her phone's "Special Group" suddenly blared, instantly yanking her scattered thoughts back to reality.
Snapping out of her reverie, Lumina focused her gaze on the phone screen.
[ Herta is initiating a video call with you. ]
"Ugh..."
Seeing that the message was not only from Herta but also a video call, Lumina glanced at the tightly shut bathroom door. Her small face flickered with a mix of speechlessness, hesitation, and internal conflict.
Herta likely didn't know that Ruan Mei was currently on the Luofu, let alone that Ruan Mei was showering in Lumina's bathroom.
So, it shouldn't be a problem.
Hmm... Besides, even if Herta did find out, what would she do?
There was absolutely no reason to fear Herta, so...
Connect!
"Why did it take you so long to answer this time?" Herta's voice blared through the phone the instant the video call connected, even before her face appeared on the screen.
"I was a bit far from my phone just now, so it took me a moment to walk over and pick it up," Lumina replied with a smile, completely unfazed by Herta's possessive tone.
Her exquisite, flawless face showed not the slightest hint of unease.
"Hmm... alright," Herta nodded.
Even Madam Herta, across the screen, couldn't detect that Lumina was lying.
However...
"Have those girls been discharged from the hospital?"
Lumina had previously told Herta about the girls' experiences on the Xianzhou Luofu. Therefore, when Herta heard the sound of someone showering in Lumina's bathroom again, she naturally assumed it meant the girls had been discharged.
The sound of running water, which had been absent for days, suddenly returned today. What other explanation could there be besides the beautiful girls' discharge?
Hmm... It couldn't possibly be another beautiful girl suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
"Yes, they were discharged today," Lumina replied calmly, knowing what Herta meant but deliberately answering the question she hadn't asked.
If Herta had asked, "Who's showering in there?" Lumina might have revealed a slight flaw in her facade.
But since Herta only asked if March 7th and the others had been discharged, Lumina could maintain her flawless act.
After all, I'm just telling the truth. What's there to be nervous about?
Absolutely nothing.
Lumina thought to herself, feeling neither nervous nor guilty.
"I see. Alright then," Herta nodded slightly, not dwelling on it further.
Then, in her usual sardonic tone, as if recalling the nights when Lumina brought beautiful girls to her room, Herta asked with a hint of sarcasm, "Planning to spend another intimate evening with your lovely companions tonight?"
"Madam Herta, what are you implying?"
"We all sleep in separate beds. Aside from sharing the same roof, there's absolutely nothing else going on."
Although Herta had asked this question every time she found Lumina with a beautiful girl, this time, when the words came from Herta's mouth, Lumina's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Fortunately, Lumina had been prepared for this, so she managed to maintain a calm facade, revealing no hint of her inner turmoil.
Herta didn't seem to notice anything amiss.
"That same old line again? Can't you come up with something new?"
"I'm tired of hearing the same old excuse. Give me something different."
Herta responded to Lumina's explanation by demanding a fresh approach.
"Hmm... let me think." Lumina nodded, pretending to take Herta's words seriously as if pondering a new trick.
And indeed, Lumina was genuinely brainstorming a new tactic, just as her outward demeanor suggested.
"Ah, I've got it!"
"Excellent. Begin your performance," Herta nodded, gesturing for Lumina to continue.
"Little Herta, think about this for a moment," Lumina began slowly, carefully organizing her thoughts.
"Are all the people on the Space Station under one roof?"
"If that's the case, then according to your logic, they must all be sleeping together, right?"
"How can you compare that?" Herta's lips curled into a sneer at Lumina's absurd explanation.
How many people are on the Space Station? How many people are in Lumina's room?
For Lumina to describe her room as being the Space Station—that's just... astounding.
Beyond saving. Just bury her already.
Herta's face was a mask of speechless exasperation.
If it weren't for the fact that this was Lumina, Herta would have terminated the video call long ago.
After all, stupidity is contagious. Talking to a fool is like downgrading your own IQ.
But since it's Lumina... fine, let it drop.
My IQ is infinite anyway. Lowering it a bit won't matter~
Madam Herta declared proudly.
"Why can't you compare them?" Lumina retorted, bristling at Herta's dismissal of her idea. "Then tell me, aside from having more people and a bigger space, what's the difference between the Space Station and my room?"
"And I'll ask you this: if you scaled down the Space Station's space and population to match the proportions of my room, wouldn't you end up with the same result as mine?"
Herta: ...
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right," Lumina said.
With Lumina, the station's genius, agreeing, what could Herta possibly do?
She's a fool. Trying to reason with a fool is utterly pointless.
After all, she's already a fool. What more can you expect from her?
To show compassion for the fool, Herta had to pretend to agree, which was honestly exhausting.
"Ah, you're being so dismissive," Lumina said, her eyes downcast, exasperated by Herta's perfunctory tone.
"Dismissive? Not at all!" Herta shook her head. "If I were truly being dismissive, I wouldn't even bother responding."
"Then should I feel honored to be the first person you've ever been dismissive toward, yet still bother to give a long explanation to?" Lumina asked.
"Indeed. Being my first, you should feel honored," Herta said, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder, her words carrying a subtle double meaning.
"Wow! Then thank you so much, Madam Herta!" Lumina replied, completely oblivious to the double meaning, showering Herta with exaggerated praise.
"..."
With the appetizer of their video call concluded, they began their proper conversation.
-
Time flowed ceaselessly as the two continued their video call, seemingly without end.
Every evening, Lumina would chat with Herta for extended periods.
Well... perhaps "extended periods" wasn't quite accurate.
When Lumina was alone, their conversations truly stretched on for a long time.
But when someone else was with Lumina, Herta would keep the call short, usually ending it when the other person came to find Lumina.
In this case, it was after the beautiful girl Lumina had brought to her room finished her shower.
Once the girl emerged from the bathroom and approached Lumina, Herta would offer a simple greeting before ending the call.
Hmm... if multiple beautiful girls were in the room at the time, Herta would skip straight to the final step: a quick greeting followed by ending the call.
Lumina, well-versed in Herta's habits, genuinely enjoyed these video calls.
With only one beautiful girl present, chatting with Herta was pure indulgence—something Lumina could never refuse.
And with multiple beautiful girls around, Herta would swiftly end the call, ensuring Lumina wouldn't be disturbed.
Given Herta's impeccable sense of propriety, who could possibly dislike her?
That's what Lumina thought to herself.
But this time... after chatting with Herta, Lumina had clearly forgotten who the beautiful girl in the room was.
Creak...
While Lumina and Herta were chatting, Ruan Mei emerged from the changing room, dressed in a disposable pajama set and carrying several pieces of clothing.
"Hmm?" Ruan Mei noticed Lumina engrossed in her phone conversation. The perpetually unchanging expression on her face flickered with a subtle shift.
After pausing for a moment, Ruan Mei realized Lumina was lost in her own world and hadn't noticed her. Without a word, she scanned the room, locating the machine Lumina had mentioned earlier.
She placed all the clothes inside, briefly familiarized herself with the controls, and activated the machine.
This Xianzhou high-tech machine operated silently once activated.
Ruan Mei's expression remained unchanged as her Jade Feet glided across the dust-free floor, each step bringing her closer to Lumina.
"Hmm?" As Ruan Mei drew nearer, Lumina finally noticed her.
Her expression shifted abruptly. Just as she was about to speak, Herta's voice cut through the screen from the other end.
"Hmm, it seems the beautiful girl in your room has finished her bath."
"In that case, I won't disturb you any further."
"Have a pleasant evening."
Herta's words dripped with her usual sardonic wit.
Under normal circumstances, Lumina would have cheerfully bid her farewell. After all, she was accustomed to Herta's barbed remarks.
But tonight, though Lumina smiled, there was an unmistakable hint of "hang up now" in her expression.
Forget it, I'll hang up first!
Watching Ruan Mei approach, clad only in a nightgown, Lumina decided to strike first. She prepared to end the video call with Herta.
While it wouldn't have mattered if Herta knew Ruan Mei was the visitor, Lumina felt an inexplicable discomfort about the situation...
"Are you chatting with Herta?"
Unfortunately, Ruan Mei's voice traveled faster than Lumina's finger could reach the disconnect button. Before the video call could disconnect, Ruan Mei's voice clearly reached both Lumina and Herta's ears.
Lumina: ...
Herta: ?