Chapter 225: Pen Pal and Meeting
The next day, at eight in the morning.
Lorne Disenk was sitting alone in a rented carriage, preparing to go to the address marked on the letter.
'The divination results show that everything will go smoothly today.'
Before setting off, he specifically performed a divination for today's visit, just in case any unexpected accidents occurred. Although the result was good, for some reason, he still felt a bit uneasy.
"A sunny, enthusiastic, and cheerful Author—"
Among the ladies he had encountered before, the ones with a more literary style were only Edwina and Cattelya. But these two Pirate Generals were both the extremely aloof, distant type.
They were the complete opposite of the words "enthusiastic and cheerful."
"Sigh—I hope nothing goes wrong today."
After about half an hour, accompanied by a crisp neighing sound, the rented carriage steadily stopped by the roadside.
"Sir, we've arrived." The coachman's voice came from the front seat.
"Understood." Lorne Disenk paid the fare, took a deep breath, and pushed open the Door to get out.
"Let me see, it's at—"
He searched the street for a while, and finally, he locked his target on a very ordinary-looking two-story detached house.
Since this time he was meeting his pen pal, he didn't deliberately disguise himself.
He lowered his head and glanced at his attire for today: a clean white shirt, a neat black jacket, and a common black top hat. It was a relatively common young man's outfit for this era.
Originally, he had planned to wear a more luxurious and formal suit. But after thinking about it, he gave up.
He was here to meet a pen pal, not to discuss business. If he dressed too formally, it might backfire.
Clutching the recovered gift, he hesitated for a few seconds at the Door before reaching out and knocking on the Door with a moderate force.
"Hoo~"
Inside the room, Fors was holding a slender lady's cigarette and exhaling a smoke ring with a hint of decadence.
She hadn't closed her eyes all night to meet her deadline. The two large dark circles under her eyes were clearly visible.
To perk herself up, she lit a cigarette, enjoying the temporary energy and comfort brought by nicotine.
"Rushing deadlines is really troublesome," she murmured, her voice a little hoarse.
"I feel like I'm—about to burn out."
Fors reached out and rubbed her messy, tangled hair, smiling bitterly, "Why—is there still so much left to write!"
"My inspiration! Where has all my inspiration gone?!"
She despairingly held her forehead with her hand: "It must be because I was 'too diligent' a while ago and used up all my accumulated inspiration prematurely. If only inspiration could come knocking on its own."
"Thump thump thump!"
Just then, a crisp knocking sound suddenly rang out.
Fors frowned slightly, made especially irritable by her lack of sleep.
"Who is it? So early in the morning."
"Is it a salesperson?"
She glanced in the direction of the stairs. Xiu had only returned in the early hours of the morning and should still be resting now.
"Ha—..—"
She let out another long yawn, habitually took another puff of the cigarette, then shuffled in her slippers, slowly walking towards the Door.
"Thump thump thump."
Strange, is no one home?
Seeing that no one came to open the Door for a long time, Lorne Disenk was a bit puzzled. However, a moment later, he heard a somewhat dragging footsteps from behind the Door.
"Click."
The Door was opened from the inside.
This—
!!!
The moment they saw each other, the two people inside and outside the Door simultaneously froze.
Fors's bloodshot eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape, and the fingers holding the cigarette stiffened in mid-air.
And Lorne Disenk also felt an indescribable strangeness.
"Lo—Lorne Disenk?! He—he actually came?!" Fors's brain was blank from the shock of this astonishing fact, almost ceasing to think.
The good news was, inspiration had arrived.
The bad news was, it came knocking in an extremely stimulating way!
The next second, Fors instantly realized how terrible her current state was!
Dark circles from a sleepless night, bird's nest-like messy hair, a wrinkled nightgown, and the lit cigarette between her fingers—a perfect image of a languid, decadent, socially detached female smoker.
This was definitely not the best time to meet her pen pal!
On the other side, Lorne Disenk looked at the familiar yet somewhat dishevelled lady in front of him and began to ponder.
That's right, she was the lady who, along with that short person, sought my exorcism at Mr. A's gathering!
It's truly a small world to meet her again.
After a brief moment of surprise, Lorne Disenk was the first to recover. He bowed slightly, performing a very standard Rei.
"Madam, I apologize for the intrusion. I am here to see Miss Fors Wall. May I ask, are you—"
"Ah! Uh, I—"
As soon as Fors opened her mouth, a strong smell of smoke directly assailed Lorne Disenk's face, causing him to instinctively cough a few times.
"No—I'm sorry!"
Fors instantly realized she had done something stupid again, her cheeks flushing crimson as she apologized in a panic. Immediately after, she almost instinctively slammed the Door shut with a "thud," leaving Lorne Disenk alone on the cold steps outside the Door.
This—Lorne Disenk's smile froze as he stood rooted to the spot, somewhat confused by the situation.
"Please—wait a moment! Just a moment!"
"What do I do?! What do I do?!" Fors leaned against the closed Door, trembling slightly with anxiety.
"That's right! Clothes! I need to change!"
"And I need to wash my face! Cold water! What about my dark circles? It's over, it's over—my image is completely ruined! Totally ruined!" Fors almost hysterically clutched her hair.
People often say that first impressions are the most important in human interactions.
And she, Fors Wall, in her pen pal's first impression, was probably already permanently fixed as a lazy, decadent, smoking bad woman!
"Fors! What's going on downstairs? Why are you so noisy?" Xiu came downstairs, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She was clearly woken up by the loud commotion her friend made.
"Xiu! It's all your jinxing mouth!"
"Huh?"
Xiu, not fully awake yet, was cursed at without context, making her even more confused.
"What—what happened?"
"My pen pal! He—he actually came! And he saw me like this!"
"This—"
Xiu rubbed her eyes, fully waking up. She surveyed her friend's current disastrous state—messy hair, nightgown, dark circles, and even a faint smell of smoke—then she couldn't help but lower her head and hold her forehead, feeling a sense of powerlessness.
"Fors Wall!"
The next second, Xiu, who was only one meter five tall, suddenly erupted with an imposing aura comparable to someone one meter eight!
"Now is not the time to complain! Immediately, go and tidy up your attire! Hurry!"
"Yes!"
Perhaps awed by Xiu's sudden imposing manner, Fors seemed to find her backbone, temporarily suppressing her collapsing emotions, and quickly walked towards the washroom.
"Sigh—when will Fors stop making me worry so much?"
Xiu shook her head, straightening her small frame with a resigned air.
"It seems I'll have to accompany you today."