He didn't want to owe anyone a favor; a meal was the best way to settle it.
Besides, with Ruan Mei's indifferent personality, there was a 99.99% chance she would refuse.
"Alright, when?"
???
Qi Zhimu was stunned for a moment, doubting if he had heard correctly.
But meeting Ruan Mei's indifferent gaze, which held a flicker of interest, he confirmed he wasn't hallucinating.
...She actually agreed.
After thinking seriously for a moment, Qi Zhimu suggested a time.
"How about after work in two days?"
By then, Herta should be back from the IPC. Last time, she mentioned treating Ruan Mei to a good meal, so this worked out perfectly.
He just hadn't expected that Ruan Mei, who had clearly refused even Herta's invitation, wouldn't refuse him.
Maybe... she finished her research?
He couldn't figure it out, and he didn't intend to.
Don't try to guess a genius's thoughts, and definitely don't try to guess a woman's.
Herta was better; she said whatever was on her mind and never made him decode anything.
The high-blood-pressure scenario of a wife sulking and making her husband guess frantically wouldn't happen to him.
"Alright," Ruan Mei nodded slightly, suppressing the joy in her heart.
...
While Qi Zhimu took his leave and headed to the Master Control Zone to find Asta and contact Herta to help settle the Space Station's unrest, what was Ruan Mei doing?
—She was looking up information.
What should one prepare for a first visit to a student's home?
What kind of clothes would make the other person's heart race and leave a good impression?
From the romantic psychological warfare of past geniuses to the films and literature under Interastral Peace Entertainment, she took in every reference she could find.
In the field of biology, Ruan Mei was a genuine genius.
But in the field of interpersonal relationships... [Please enter text].
If she had spared even a bit of attention to the Space Station's trending topics and combined it with the video she recorded herself, she would have known the truth immediately.
Unfortunately, obsession clouded many things.
...
The chaos caused by Duke Inferno resulted in no casualties and gradually subsided in a short time.
In the past, the gossip staff members discussed most in their spare time was almost always related to Herta and other geniuses.
Now, there was an additional name: Qi Zhimu.
Only a very few people knew that Ms. Herta's lover was actually a doctor who was very popular in the Medical Department and had an excellent reputation for his medical skills.
On the eve of Herta's return, Qi Zhimu prepared to head home after work as usual, sending his address to Ruan Mei in advance.
It couldn't be helped; only after experiencing it does one realize that polite pleasantries really shouldn't be said casually.
Once someone takes them seriously, you can't take them back.
However, Qi Zhimu didn't care much. Anyway, Herta's invitation to Ruan Mei last time was nothing more than wanting to... show him off to Ruan Mei.
A classic act of asserting dominance seen in literature and daily life.
Why not cooperate to ease Herta's worries?
By then, Herta would know that he, Qi Zhimu, wasn't actually some hot commodity.
Other geniuses hadn't shared life-altering experiences with him, and their acquaintance was as thin as a drop of water. Who would take an interest in him?
It was impossible for anyone to take an interest in him.
Sending the address was actually a signal to Ruan Mei:
Though he wasn't an unattached bachelor, he was taken.
Assuming Herta's past worries were true, and the indestructible curios on him were indeed linked to women he had established important bonds with in his past lives, then...
Being "taken" probably involved more than one person.
As for whether those unknown individuals could withstand the pressure applied by Herta, that was another matter.
[Ruan Mei: The address you gave... is it correct?]
Following yesterday's invitation, the two had exchanged contact codes.
Seeing Ruan Mei's reply, Qi Zhimu was puzzled.
[Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon: It's correct. Don't you know what this address means?]
Herta had said she'd known Ruan Mei for a long time, so she likely knew where Herta lived.
[Ruan Mei: I know. The reason I asked if you wrote it wrong is because my residence on Azure Star happens to be right next to yours.]
[Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon: /Pom-Pom Question Mark.jpg]
Seeing the message, a row of question marks appeared above Qi Zhimu's head.
On second thought, it didn't seem strange; Herta probably arranged it.
But then, another thought revealed a contradiction.
If Herta had arranged it, how could Ruan Mei not recognize the address?
People whose brains have failed don't become geniuses, unless all of Nous's computing units were stuffed with a massive amount of cyber-viruses by Aha, specifically targeting a certain glance.
That wouldn't be called Elation; it would be a hellish joke.
So Qi Zhimu was at his wit's end, his left and right brain rarely battling each other, popping up a triple threat of questions.
Ruan Mei and Herta are supposed to be friends, right?
So, she doesn't even know where her friend's house is?
Or did Herta never reveal where her home on Azure Star was, only claiming that the tower at the edge of the galaxy was her home?
[Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon: Just a bit of gossip, Ms. Ruan Mei, have you ever been to fellow genius Herta's home?]
[Ruan Mei: When discussing the Simulated Universe architecture plan, I went once with Screwllum. It's very far, located at the edge of the galaxy.]
Immersed in the pleasure of knowing Qi Zhimu's address, Ruan Mei didn't even notice that Qi Zhimu's way of addressing Herta didn't include honorifics.
Her heart was occupied by other thoughts, causing her to miss many subtle details.
As long as they were staff members of the Space Station, no one dared to call Herta by her name. If other staff members found out, they would be scolded for disrespecting the great Ms. Herta.
Yet Qi Zhimu called her by name directly.
[Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon: Seems your relationship is okay then?]
[Ruan Mei: It's not that great. At most, we're half-friends. "Partners" would be a more appropriate description.]
Qi Zhimu tactfully Shut Up and stopped probing.
What was there to probe?
One hermit genius, one efficiency-driven genius—visiting each other's homes to bond in their spare time was, for them, likely just two words.
—Pure fantasy!
Using an ordinary person's mindset to gauge a genius's mindset—wasn't this, in another sense, a case of trespassing into the celestial realm?
Qi Zhimu replied to messages idly, and before he knew it, he reached the platform to return to Azure Star.
When he arrived home, he found someone already standing at the door.
Who else could it be but Ruan Mei?
"...Good evening, Ms. Ruan Mei."
"What a coincidence."
"Yeah... what a coincidence." Qi Zhimu really wanted to cover his forehead.
After exiting the internal battle between his left and right brain, he roughly deduced the sequence of events.
Most likely, Herta was too lazy to worry about such trivial matters and left the arrangements for Ruan Mei's residence to Asta.
Ruan Mei's status was not only prestigious to the Space Station but she was also Herta's partner.
Considering the convenience of academic discussions, Asta naturally arranged Ruan Mei's temporary residence next to Herta's home to make visiting easy.
"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Qi Zhimu immediately regretted it.
Oops... how did I end up using that polite catchphrase from my hometown...
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