Thinking about it carefully, I can't believe I had a bit of a tug-of-war with her even during our little pudding phase... uh, fortunately, I held my ground.
Lucy didn't speak, just let him hold her hand, and they took the elevator upstairs. At this time, others were either sleeping in their rooms, entertaining themselves, or working out in the gym. Only V was in the kitchen, humming a little tune while preparing lunch materials ahead of time.
Seeing the two holding hands, she raised an eyebrow and teased, "Yo, that's rare."
Lucy didn't say a word, while Mercer gave her a look. Although V felt a bit unaccountably uncomfortable, she still played the role of a righteous friend, nodded knowingly, and didn't ask further questions.
Mercer and Lucy went to her room and saw that a poster of lunar immigration taken by aerospace photography had appeared on her wall at some point.
"An immigration poster? Didn't you say you're not interested in going to the moon?" Mercer took the initiative to break the silence.
Lucy simply picked up her coat that she had casually thrown on the sofa, set it aside, and asked, "Cola? Or would you like some coffee?"
"If it's your hand-brewed coffee, then I'll choose coffee." Mercer smiled.
Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Do you want me to plant some coffee beans at the base for you too?"
"That's not necessary; hand-brewed is good enough." Mercer chuckled lightly, sitting on the sofa, eyeing her room.
There weren't many of those cute elements belonging to a girl, nor were there various display racks of shotguns and submachine guns like Rebecca's, nor did she have boxing posters on her walls like V.
The moon poster was the only decoration worth mentioning, the rest were practical items like books, chips, a laptop, and the Super Dream Device.
Even Qiwei would have some nice lingerie and little toys in her seemingly simple room... ahem, in short, Lucy's room seemed like the type that could be packed up in a single suitcase if she were to move.
"Okay." Lucy picked up the cup and went straight to the coffee machine. This kind of instant coffee machine could make a cup of instant coffee with just one button, highly convenient.
Lucy made two cups of coffee in just over ten seconds, placed the coffee on the table, and then sat on the opposite end of the sofa next to Mercer, crossing her legs and gently blowing on the coffee cup.
The aroma of coffee and the white mist of steaming hot water filled the air, and Lucy's eyes looked at Mercer through the mist from the coffee cup.
"Um..." Mercer suddenly felt a bit at a loss, mainly because he hadn't figured out how to talk to her—he had always planned to stall, thinking that a solution would eventually come to mind.
Moreover, in Mercer's eyes, she needed to wait a couple more years before they could talk about feelings.
But the fact is, nobody can keep waiting for him when it comes to feelings. Rebecca can shamelessly cling to him, but Lucy isn't that kind of girl.
She can only watch silently, sulking, and eventually digest these emotions herself, unknowingly reaching the limit of what she can bear.
Lucy knew that if she waited for Mercer to start talking, it would just be more evasive nonsense, so she straightforwardly asked, "What exactly do you think of our relationship? Family? Friends? Someone you like? A flirting partner?"
"You and me? Or... everyone?" Mercer confirmed.
"... Let's talk about you and me first." Lucy sighed, put down the coffee cup, then turned sideways, half-leaning on the sofa, supporting her cheek with her hand, "How do you view our relationship?"
"It's family, also friends, and I guess... someone I like." As Mercer's words fell, Lucy couldn't help but frown slightly, her gaze turning a bit repressed, "You guess?"
"Because I don't want to say I like an underage girl, but I think I do... quite like you."
Mercer sighed, honestly saying, "Plus, you've indeed grown a lot now. When I interact with you, I actually no longer see you as the little girl from the past."
These words made Lucy feel a bit secretly delighted, but she tried hard to keep a straight face, not letting it show, "Oh..."
"You always like to keep your emotions bottled inside, I know all about that, including how you... quite like me. Well, I think everyone is aware of that; I am indeed the most popular good man in the team."
Mercer tried to lighten the mood, while Lucy couldn't help but say softly, "Most popular might barely be right, but good man... to some extent, even Pira might be more reliable than you in this area."
Mercer raised an eyebrow, "Anything else is okay, but Pira is better than me too? Hey, be reasonable, okay?"
"At least he doesn't get emotional outside, fair trades, and most of the time enjoys himself in Mewtwo."
Lucy looked at him with some disdain, "And you? I won't even talk about your relationship with Qiwei, but what about Rebecca and V?
You know I like you, Rebecca likes you too, and maybe V has some feelings for you as well, but what did you choose to do?"
Lucy mercilessly exposed what he'd done, "You say you like me, but you must have told Rebecca that you like her too, and even with V, you've definitely said some flirty things at times...
You don't think everyone can't see through your little playboy intentions, do you?"