He and Eriri spent the entire afternoon talking about manga. By the end of it, he left her with several genres to think about. She decided she'd try sketching a few ideas first before settling on what direction to take.
On his way back to the apartment, Lin Zhi stopped by the shopping street to buy some groceries and made himself a simple, not particularly fancy dinner. That evening, he got a call from home asking about his plans for the Golden Week holidays. In Japan, several holidays cluster around May 1st, forming a fairly long vacation period. After telling his family that he'd be coming home for Golden Week, Lin Zhi ended the call.
…Weekend.
Aoyama Apartments, fourth floor.
"Brother Saitama! Left side, left side!"
"Ah, I'm pressing it! But I think this controller's busted!"
"No, Saitama, you pressed the wrong button!"
"GAME OVER!"
As the screen faded to gray and the large words appeared, Lin Zhi sighed helplessly and set down his controller.
Beside him, the bald man looked awkwardly at the controller in his hands.
"Haha, leave the next round to us!"
With a grin, Kobayashi and Umaru, who were sitting nearby, took the controllers from their hands. The game restarted quickly. Their coordination was far smoother than Lin Zhi's or Saitama's—where the two men had stumbled through tense moments, the two women breezed through them effortlessly.
Saitama scratched his head. "Sorry, Lin Zhi, I'm just terrible at this."
Lin Zhi laughed and waved it off. "No need to apologize, Brother Saitama. It's just a game. The point is to have fun, right?"
"Kobayashi! Left side!"
"Got it!"
"Umaru, careful! There's a ninja that jumps out on the right!"
"Mm."
Watching the two advance through the game so smoothly, Lin Zhi couldn't help feeling impressed. He could understand Kobayashi being skilled, but the elegant and refined-looking Umaru too? Her expression was calm and focused, her fingers moving the controller with precision—every jump and attack was fluid and instinctive. "Like an extension of her own limbs," Lin Zhi thought.
"Wow, they're amazing!" Saitama said, staring at the screen without blinking.
Seeing that look on Saitama's face, Lin Zhi couldn't help but think, You're bad at the game, but you've got the spirit for it.
"Lin Zhi!"
"Yes!"
Lin Zhi straightened up instantly, his body tense. For a moment, he thought Saitama had somehow heard his thoughts.
Saitama blinked in confusion at Lin Zhi's suddenly proper posture, but quickly brushed it off. "I remember you've got a girl living next door, right? Haven't seen her much lately."
Aoyama Apartments was an old building, small enough that the neighbors often ran into each other.
"Huh?" Lin Zhi froze for a moment. "Not seen her much?"
He thought back carefully. He always saw Gabriel in the mornings when they left for school together, but outside of that…
He tried to recall. And then it hit him—aside from the first week when they'd bumped into each other a few times, he hadn't really seen Gabriel around at all. In fact, this week he'd barely seen her except at school.
Though… he did often hear the sound of deliverymen knocking on her door.
So she was definitely home. But… where was she?
And now that he thought about it, she'd looked pretty worn out every morning lately.
Could something have happened to Gabriel? Lin Zhi's expression darkened, his brow furrowing.
She was living alone just like him, no relatives around, and he'd never seen her with any friends either. Could she be getting bullied at school?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a flash of realization struck him.
Wait—she's an angel!
How could something like that even be possible?!
Still, as he unlocked his door later that evening, he found himself glancing instinctively toward the apartment next door.
Should he… check on her?
He hesitated outside her door, faintly hearing something from inside.
What was that sound?
He frowned, unsure whether to listen more closely. But eavesdropping like that didn't seem right either…
Just as he was debating with himself, a furious shout came from inside.
"Damn it! What's wrong with this healer?!"
"And this tank—why aren't you up front taking hits?!"
"What kind of useless teammates are these?!"
"I swear, I just want to pull out the Horn of Destruction and wipe them all out!"
Lin Zhi: "…"
His expression went from confusion to horror.
That voice… was Gabriel's?!
And she was raging over losing a game?!
Cold sweat trickled down Lin Zhi's forehead. His mind raced back.
Wait—back when they first met at the mall… hadn't he helped her install a few games on her computer?
Back then, she'd been so pure—an innocent angel who didn't even know what games were.
And now…
Gulp.
Lin Zhi's face turned pale.
No way… He had turned a pure, innocent angel into a game-addicted shut-in?!
Gabriel's current state—furious, obsessed, trapped in gaming—was the very picture of corruption. The pure angel had… fallen.
Damn it!
Would God punish him for this?
He'd never really believed in God before, but after meeting an actual angel, it was hard to doubt anymore. And if God was real…
Would divine punishment be coming for him next?
Heart pounding, Lin Zhi glanced one last time at the door in front of him, his eyes darting nervously. Then he turned away, hurried back to his own door, slipped inside, and shut it firmly behind him.
Lord, please forgive me…
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T/N:
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