The moment she heard Himeko's voice, Bai Ming's heart immediately sank.
She was just about to say something when March 7th covered her mouth.
"Don't speak yet!" March looked up at Bai Ming hovering over her. "If Himeko hears, we won't be able to explain!"
"..."
Though the muffled Bai Ming still wanted to say more, seeing March's flustered expression, she ultimately nodded.
"Little March?" Himeko's voice came from outside the door again. "Why aren't you speaking? Are you busy with something?"
"No!" March replied to Himeko outside the door while still covering Bai Ming's mouth. "I'm not busy at all! Mr. Yang wants to see us, right?"
"That's right," Himeko's reply came from outside. "Mr. Yang asked us to gather in the Express's Parlor Car."
"Okay, got it! I'll be right there!"
"Alright then."
March thought the issue was settled, but Himeko's next words made her tense up again instantly.
"That's good. In that case, I'll go find Little Bai Ming. She probably doesn't know where the meeting is."
"Ehh—?!"
March looked at Bai Ming in front of her. "Himeko, n-no need to look for her!"
"Oh? Why?" Himeko's puzzled voice came through.
"Because..."
March 7th's little brain began spinning frantically at five thousand revolutions per second. Her processing power had reached thirteen thousand points! The answer was on the tip of her tongue!
"Because I'll go find her later! I'll bring her over, so you don't need to trouble yourself. Besides, I remember... you don't have Bai Ming's phone number, do you? Finding her wouldn't be easy."
"Hmm... You're right about that," Himeko responded. "Well then, Little March, I'll leave it to you this time. You bring Little Bai Ming over."
"No problem!"
"Alright, I'll head off first."
As Himeko finished speaking, the corridor outside gradually fell silent. It seemed she had really left.
Only then did March 7th truly let out a sigh of relief. Her gaze shifted back to Bai Ming on top of her. "You heard that, right? We need to get going quickly! So— Bai Ming, get off! Stop messing around!"
"March!" Bai Ming clutched her chest, putting on a pained expression. "I've suddenly contracted another illness. An illness where I can't get up unless you give me a kiss. If not treated promptly..."
Before Bai Ming could finish, she felt her lips being covered. It was the taste of March's lips—sweet and pleasant like candy. However, the feeling didn't last long. March quickly pulled away from Bai Ming's lips, her face flushed as she spoke. "There! That should do it! I still need to put my panties back on!"
"Ehh—!"
With March's words, Bai Ming immediately snapped out of her daze from the fleeting kiss. "I'll help you put them on!"
"N-no, it's fine!"
"Come on, don't be shy~ Who are we to each other, after all~"
A few minutes later.
Bai Ming withdrew her hand from under March's skirt, then spoke with a serious expression. "March! You've been re-armed!"
"Don't describe it with such weird words!"
"Hehe~ I'm just happy!" Bai Ming touched her own lips, her body wiggling involuntarily. "This is the first time March has actively kissed me in the truest sense~"
"You..." March originally wanted to retort, but then suddenly felt it might not be appropriate. "Alright, then let's hurry up and go! Don't let Himeko start suspecting something's off!"
"Mhm~ Whatever you say!"
Without waiting for March's reply, Bai Ming grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.
But it seemed all their luck had been used up dealing with Himeko earlier. The moment the two of them stepped out of the room hand-in-hand, they ran straight into Dan Heng, who was emerging from the adjacent Data Bank.
Six eyes met between the three of them. The reasonably spacious passenger carriage suddenly felt a lot more crowded. An awkward atmosphere permeated the corridor, thick enough to be painted a dull color.
Finally, Dan Heng was the first to speak. He sighed, then looked at Bai Ming and March before him. "I didn't see anything. Please act as if you didn't see me either." Having said that, Dan Heng walked straight towards the Parlor Car connected to the other end of the passenger carriage, leaving Bai Ming and March staring at each other. In the awkward silence, neither knew what to say for a moment. But at least it probably wasn't a bad thing... Hopefully.
Fortunately, the atmosphere was soon broken. Because an announcement came over the intercom. It was Pom-Pom's voice.
"Testing—testing, one, two—"
"Attention all passengers, attention all passengers."
"The Astral Express New Passenger Welcoming Ceremony is about to begin. Please gather in the Parlor Car."
"I repeat, I repeat!"
"March 7th, who's wandering around, get over here immediately. Dan Heng, who's buried in the Data Bank, stop what you're doing, Pom."
"And Himeko, stop making coffee! Pom-Pom can smell it from here!"
"As for Mr. Yang... oh, right, he's the one who requested this."
"In short, Pom-Pom wants to see everyone in the Parlor Car within five minutes!"
Just from Pom-Pom's announcements, Bai Ming could imagine what daily life on the Astral Express was usually like. But— it didn't seem bad at all!
"March! Let's go! Don't keep Pom-Pom waiting!"
"Eh, oh..." As soon as March finished speaking, Bai Ming grabbed her hand and pulled her along, running forward.
The sound of the two girls' footsteps echoed in the carriage corridor.
Within five minutes.
The Parlor Car.
March and Bai Ming arrived. The moment the door opened, Bai Ming saw Pom-Pom. It seemed to have just finished some kind of speech. Judging by Himeko's suppressed smile, it must have been something rather amusing.
"Conductor! My dear Conductor!" Bai Ming's exaggerated voice immediately caught Pom-Pom's attention. It turned around to look at Bai Ming and March, its eyes immediately landing on their joined hands.
"Progress is rapid, Pom," Pom-Pom muttered quietly, then looked up at the two of them. "You two are a bit late! Be more punctual next time, Pom!"
"Yes, sir!" Bai Ming answered with a smile. How to put it? At first, Pom-Pom might seem a bit strict. But after a while... you realize it's actually quite cute. Come to think of it... there's a plushie of it in March's room!
Pom-Pom nodded. "Mhm, good attitude towards correcting mistakes. You two..." Pom-Pom's gaze, as if pre-ordained, moved to where everyone was gathered. A spot that very conspicuously stuck out—a space large enough for two people to sit side-by-side. Pom-Pom raised a little finger and pointed to that spot. "...go sit over there!"
"Mhm!" Bai Ming held March's hand, and they both sat down in that spot together.
But the moment she sat down, Bai Ming froze completely. Because directly opposite her wasn't anyone else—it was Welt Yang. She could be so sure because his face was far too similar to the image in her memory. You could even say... if the Welt Yang from Honkai Impact 3rd were just a little older... he'd be practically identical to the man before her now!
As Bai Ming stared at him, Welt Yang's gaze also happened to shift over. Their eyes met. Immediately, Bai Ming guiltily averted her gaze. However, her grip on March's hand tightened slightly.
"Bai Ming..." March, feeling the unusual tightness of Bai Ming's grip, felt momentarily at a loss. She glanced at Bai Ming, then at Welt Yang across the table, completely clueless about what was happening. She could only sense there seemed to be some indescribably strange tension between the two of them. But they... hadn't they just met for the first time?
On the other side, seeing Bai Ming avoid his gaze, Welt Yang merely adjusted his glasses without saying a word. In his heart, he also harbored no small amount of concern.
"Alright, Pom!" Pom-Pom stood on the table, hands on hips, looking at everyone present. "The earlier announcement should have been clear enough. Today is the day we welcome a new member to the Astral Express! Everyone, be happy about it!"
"That's right," Himeko was the first to agree. "Little Bai Ming has really earned quite a bit of face for our Astral Express this time."
"Exactly, Pom!" Pom-Pom pointed at Bai Ming beside it. "Even though this one looks blockheaded and talks like a fool, she's contributed a lot to our Astral Express. Therefore, Pom-Pom has decided to accept her as a passenger on our Astral Express. Who agrees? Who opposes?"
The moment Pom-Pom finished speaking, March 7th was the first to raise her hand. "I agree! I absolutely agree!"
Following that, Himeko's voice came through. "I agree as well." She elegantly raised her hand from beneath her commandeering coat. "Little Bai Ming joining us is a very important matter."
"Indeed," Dan Heng, who had intentionally taken a seat away from March and Bai Ming, slowly raised his hand as well. "Although we encountered many strange things along the way, I also agree to let her join."
With Dan Heng's statement, all the pressure shifted to Welt Yang. Everyone except Bai Ming looked at him, awaiting his decision. Clearly, on the Astral Express, Welt Yang commanded great respect.
However, even under the gaze of so many, Welt Yang did not panic. He adjusted his glasses as if considering something. After a period of not-too-long but extremely quiet time, Welt Yang slowly stood up. He didn't raise his hand, but he spoke. "I agree. I'm going to change the CD now. You all continue." With that, Welt Yang walked towards a corner of the Parlor Car. Many vinyl records were stored there. In this age of space travel, these remnants of a bygone era seemed especially precious. Soft music began to fill the Parlor Car, so refined it sounded like a game's BGM.
"Ahem." Pom-Pom cleared its throat. "Very good. Pom-Pom's opinion happens to align with all of yours. So the result of this vote is—unanimous approval! Bai Ming!" Pom-Pom turned to look at her beside March. "Rejoice! You are now officially a member of our Astral Express!"
"Ehh—?! Oh!" Bai Ming started clapping for herself. At that moment, Pom-Pom spoke up. "Who's going to go get the cake from the table outside? Pom-Pom wants to eat... I mean, everyone has been wanting to eat it for a long time!"
"I'll go," Dan Heng stood up.
"Good." Pom-Pom nodded. "Then Pom-Pom will go pour the juice." The two figures, one tall and one small, left the Parlor Car.
Meanwhile, Himeko sat down next to Bai Ming. With a gentle smile, she asked softly, "Little Bai Ming, what's wrong? You've seemed a bit off since we started. Don't you want to join us?"
"No, no, no!" Bai Ming waved her hands hurriedly. "Miss Himeko, how could I not want to join?"
"Then why..."
"Um..." Bai Ming's brain scrambled for an answer. "Ah! I'm just depressed!"
"Depressed?" Himeko was a bit surprised. "About what?"
"It's just that I still haven't gotten Miss Himeko's phone number yet!"
"Oh, is that it?" Himeko looked towards March on the other side. "Little March, did you forget to add Little Bai Ming to the group chat?"
"Add to the group..." At Himeko's reminder, March clapped her hands. "Oh! Right, I really didn't add her yet!"
"Then do it now," Himeko said. "Among us, it seems only you have Little Bai Ming's phone number."
"Ehh—!" Suddenly realizing her importance in an unexpected area, March's face flushed slightly. But she still knew what she had to do. Without another word, March immediately sent Bai Ming an invitation.
A prompt soon appeared on Bai Ming's screen: March [Pending Girlfriend] has invited you to join [The Astral Express Family].
"The... Astral Express Family?"
"What's wrong? Do you not like the name?" Himeko looked at Bai Ming and asked.
"Uh... It's okay. It just has a bit of a..."
"A bit of a what?"
"Nothing! Let's not say anything more, or it might be rude!"
Bai Ming quickly changed the subject, then clicked on March's invitation and sent friend requests to everyone one by one. But when it came to Welt Yang, she hesitated again. Should she add him or not...
Before Bai Ming could finish her thoughts, however, Welt Yang walked over first. He looked at Himeko and asked, "How does one add a friend on this thing?"
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
Honkai Impact 3rd, I Can Transform into a Valkyrie!
patreon.com/deadlygoober