I'm not Yingjie

"……mustard."

"Why only squeeze a little? Such tasteless food needs the seasoning to be as strong as possible."

Before Lin could say anything, Mebius snatched the green mustard paste from his hand and squeezed half of it in at once, turning the entire soy sauce dish into a sticky state.

She has a special liking for the color green.

Anyway, that’s how you eat it.

Lin, who was about to say something, closed his mouth. He stared silently at Mebius as he picked up a piece of sashimi with chopsticks and dipped it into the seasoning dish, letting the indescribably sticky juice stick to it. Then he licked his lips and put the whole thing into his mouth.

Lin closed his eyes and turned off the radio system of his helmet.

Chapter 21 Secret 2: Instant Noodles

"Uh-huh..."

Mebius, who was holding his head and screaming in pain, was held by Lin and his temples, head and throat were kneaded and massaged for half an hour before the burning pain in his throat that had penetrated the cold air through his head was barely gone. He collapsed in Lin's arms, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.

"...How long are you going to hold me? Let me go." Mobius shook himself free from Lin's arms. "What's wrong with you? You're using the same position as when you coax a child and you're massaging me."

"...That's what I did when Kevin and I were in school and he was drunk." Lin spread his hands.

Mebius lifted his long hair and pouted, "That Mei hasn't misunderstood you guys. She is really broad-minded."

"Do you still want to eat?"

Mebius shuddered, looked at the sashimi and the dish of condiments that seemed to be brought out from hell with a look of fear, and shook his head like a bell: "Wasabi... I remember, I will never eat this kind of thing again."

"…Then wait a moment."

Lin picked up the sashimi and walked out of the private office. Mebius vaguely heard the cheers of Danzhu and Cangxuan, and then he walked back empty-handed.

"What to eat? Instant noodles?" In fact, there was no other choice. There was nothing else to eat in Mobius except instant noodles, unless they were willing to try the Honkai beast organs in a glass container.

Mebius opened his treasure trove of instant noodles: "What flavor do you like?"

"Whatever." Lin pondered for a few seconds, and suddenly said, "Instant noodles taste better if they are boiled."

"You know this?" Mobius glanced at him in surprise.

This guy's cooking skills are superb. It can be said that even if he hadn't joined the Fire Moth, he could still live a pretty good life with his skills. How could such a person know the secret that "instant noodles actually taste better when cooked" which is only known to fast food people?

"Kevin, told me that before."

"That's strange." Mobius was not surprised when he heard Kevin said that. "But unfortunately, I don't have a place to cook instant noodles for you."

"Have."

"Ok?"

Lin searched the office and found two alcohol lamps, asbestos nets and a heating bowl that was just big enough to hold two packs of noodles.

"Use local materials...haha, that's not bad." Mobius curled up the corner of her mouth, took these things and put them on the table. She pushed the documents piled next to her to the corner, lit the alcohol lamp and placed the container filled with water from the water dispenser on the asbestos net.

"Cook it."

"I won't."

"……what?"

"I have never cooked instant noodles. Kevin cooked them for me when I went to his house before."

Mebius was silent for a while, then picked up two packs of instant noodles and said, "Tsk, useless guy."

After that, the room fell into a strange silence. Mobius waited for the water to boil completely. It didn't take much time for the alcohol lamp to heat up the hot water, which was already at a certain temperature. As she watched the bubbles at the bottom of the container rise up little by little, she glanced at Lin who was sitting quietly beside her with the pancake in her hand.

The visor of his helmet never lit up.

"You seem to have changed a little."

Maybe he was bored, maybe he had wanted to ask for a long time, or maybe there was simply something wrong with his brain, but Mebius started talking to Lin without her even expecting it.

“…Many people have said so.”

"Who is there?"

"Kevin, Velvet, Alicia..."

"..."

There is an inexplicable feeling of irritability.

Mebius has realized that she has been feeling a little irritated from nowhere recently when she is with Lin, as if there is a light paper man dancing on her heart, a feeling that has never appeared before.

She could only feel a faint aura of death from the previous Lin, who seemed to care about everything yet be indifferent to everything.

Now he seems to have become unhurried, but in fact he is gradually integrating into the life that originally seemed near and far away, and feeling the life he should have.

Is this wrong? Of course, Mobius thinks this is right. She hates the way Lin used to be, as if he was always ready to die, preparing for his own sacrifice 24 hours a day. That doesn't fit her philosophy, and she thinks that he is not a "human" at all.

But where does this feeling of boredom come from?

Mebius thought he probably knew the answer.

Because no matter how Lin pretended to have changed, she could still sense that faint lingering feeling from his words. Maybe he had changed in some ways, but some deep-rooted things could never leave him. Perhaps it was this sense of contradiction that bothered her.

"Gulu gulu..."

While Mebius was in a daze, the water had already boiled. She was brought back to reality by the sound of bubbles. She threw the dough into the "pot" and watched the white noodles gradually spread out, her thoughts also wandering.

"But from the moment you teamed up with that female killer, I can tell that you have indeed changed a lot." Mebius lowered her head, her bangs covering her emerald eyes, and her earrings swayed under the light. "Can you stand teaming up with a killer... No, can you stand being ordered around like a servant here? Should I say that you keep your promises, or that you have a strong endurance?"

"To you, I should be the type you hate the most. After all, the reason you became what you were before was because of scientists similar to me, your parents, and the Speaker's subordinate researchers. Moreover, in many ways, I am more... fanatical than them."

A cruel smile appeared on Mebius's lips.

"..."

But Lin didn't make any movement for a long time.

He seemed to have fallen asleep in his helmet, not moving at all.

Mebius curled his lips coldly and made a half-smile, sarcastic expression that only he knew how to make.

"Feel sorry."

But just when she thought that today's conversation was ending in this deliberately mischievous atmosphere, Lin suddenly said something she was not expecting.

"…Why are you apologizing?"

She asked angrily after coming to her senses.

"When someone died during the sixth collapse, I didn't see what he looked like before he died, but after I woke up, I saw a smile on his body. I think that was probably his most genuine smile." Lin recalled the unique body under the broken dome in the wreckage of the fifth branch. "Under the premise of 'for humanity', you scientists who are seen by others as having given up humanity are forced to bear the infamy in exchange for the progress of mankind."

"Perhaps I was just standing on a moral high ground and making comments to you before. So, I'm sorry."

Mebius turned around abruptly and glared at Lin with gritted teeth: "Don't apologize to me, I don't need it. You are right, and I am right too. I don't need anyone to understand me, do you understand?"

"..."

"..."

"Eat noodle."

Mebius angrily placed the beaker of noodles in front of Lin, and she picked up the other cup and started eating it in big mouthfuls.

"Suck it..."

The sound of eating noodles still made Mebius turn his head slightly and look at Lin. He raised his helmet to reveal his mouth, holding the beaker and chewing noodles. After a while, he said calmly, "It's delicious."

Even without superb cooking skills and fine ingredients, the food can still be delicious.

They just do it differently.

Chapter 22 Secret 3: The smell of unwashed clothes

To be honest, Mebius doesn't think there's anything commendable about the taste of instant noodles. It's full of the strong smell of industrial assembly line friction and the roughness of low-quality fried food. The only advantage is convenience, but whether convenience is an advantage or a disadvantage for food is hard to say.

After tasting countless instant noodles, it didn't make much difference to Mebius whether they were boiled or soaked. There was only the right amount and the same taste of the seasoning packet. It was hard to describe the taste, but it could only be said to be barely edible.

But when she saw the guy in front of her who was a master of cooking eating the instant noodles she cooked with gusto, her appetite increased a little.

Speaking of which, I don’t know if it’s because the private office has been closed for a long time without ventilation, or because the aroma of instant noodles has caused certain smells to stand out, some... indescribable smells began to penetrate into Mobius’ nostrils, and this was also smelled by Lin, who had moved the helmet above his nostrils and lost the helmet’s air filtration system.

"..."

"..."

The closed atmosphere made the two people who were eating instant noodles in silence tacitly not mention the source of the smell.

Mebius was trying to remember what was emitting that energy.

Could it be...her clothes?

Mebius was very clean - except for what he wore.

Lin once helped her clean up the clutter in her private office, and Mebius also kept the entire office tidy for a long time. However, under the pressure of work, even if she wanted to tidy up, she would be forced to put things down and do something else.

Over time, I didn’t even know when the office returned to its original appearance.

Klein would occasionally want to help her clean, but he couldn't handle his own work, let alone find time to clean.

When he was busy, Mebius changed his clothes more quickly than adding reagents to a beaker. It was common for his stockings and underwear to be stuffed into some gap and impossible to find.

It's just that her room is usually filled with various reagents with pungent smells, and the masking effect of those irritating smells is more effective than any perfume. Recently, she would stop what she was doing half an hour before meals so that she could eat without those smells that affect her sense of smell and taste.

It might just be an illusion, maybe some similar smell has not dissipated yet.

They finished their simple meal in an increasingly weird atmosphere. Lin almost instinctively wanted to clean up the beaker and chopsticks, but was stopped by Mobius.

"...I can do it myself." Her barely noticeable nervousness caused her to clench her fingers slightly.

"...Then I'll tidy up the room..."

"Need not."

Mebius and Lin looked at each other subtly through their helmets.

"This is not something to be ashamed of." Lin said slowly, "I know you are very busy, it is normal not to wash clothes..."

"I didn't." Mebius's stocking-clad thighs gradually moved closer.

"..."

"..."

As he became more and more solemn, Mebius turned his gaze away: "This room just looks messy. In fact, I know where everything is placed. I put it like this on purpose. Don't move it. There is no unwashed clothes here."

"What was that smell just now?"

"..."

Seeing that Mebius didn't answer, Lin's gaze gradually turned from the messy environment around him to her, and finally locked onto...the stockings under her white robe.

Mebius said coldly with a cold face: "You don't think it's the smell on me, do you?"

Lin didn't say anything, but judging from the fact that he didn't look away, he probably didn't make any comment.

"impossible."

"You should know better than me the harm to the body of not changing clothes for a long time."

"I already said it's impossible."

"I do not believe."

"You..." All the words of Mebius became pale and powerless after hearing this straightforward "I don't believe it". She bit her silver teeth lightly, making a clattering sound, "What made you believe it?"

Lin spread his hands and threw the question back: "How can you prove it?"

Mebius's brain twitched, and he immediately asked without hesitation: "Why don't you smell it and know?"

Lin Jianmo was silent for a few seconds before saying, "That's not necessary."

"What do you mean? You smell it just because I told you to! Remember what you told me?" Mebius slammed her hands on the table as if she was furious. Lin's disgusted look was a naked mockery of her.

Did he really think she would wear clothes that hadn't been washed for a long time?

Lin was silent for a while, staring at Mebius's stubborn expression, before nodding.

……

"The work is finally done. So, what are your plans for the next vacation, Cang Xuan?"