Chapter 478, the night before

"Tonight, from late to early morning, is the best time to watch the Halley's Comet meteor shower—"

During dinner, Zhuo heard the news on the TV which happened to be on. After swallowing the food in his mouth, he exclaimed "Oh".

Zhuo was not a person who often watched TV. He usually turned on the TV to play video games. Otherwise, he would just watch variety shows or news programs that briefly reported what happened every day.

On the various newly emerging social media platforms, he would only glance over recent events, so he didn't find out about the meteor shower information until today.

"It's a meteor shower."

"Because it is believed to be caused by the influence of Halley's Comet, why don't you try it on again?"

After saying this, Ling gave him a helpless look, and Zhuo pretended not to care and drank the miso soup.

Zhuo savored the soup carefully, thinking that today's soup was also delicious. At the same time, he looked at Ling and found that she was still a little dumbfounded and helpless.

However, she didn't seem to intend to say anything more, just sighed quietly.

"Don't you really like leather shoes? Let's not talk about that for now. I heard that although the number of meteors in this shower is less than the three major meteor showers, the weather is just right for observation and it is easy to see in the wild, so Mai and the others should also observe it tonight."

"Come to think of it, I did receive a text message inviting us to come over."

Zhuo was not very well-informed about the outside world and rarely took the initiative to communicate with others unless necessary.

Besides, after the graduation ceremony in March, classmates who were not familiar with each other were almost like strangers. Zhuo had no interest in them. Even if students might have started discussing this topic a long time ago, he would just ignore it.

Zhuo also thought that this was his shortcoming, and that this indifference reduced his opportunities to communicate with others. Although he didn't really want to change.

"You will choose to forget about things that you are not interested in - just like this time, you are unwilling to try on suits and leather shoes no matter what. When you go out, if you can make the other person interested, you can communicate more smoothly. If you spend a little more time, it will be easier in the future."

"I'm not interested in anyone else. You're all I need."

And you have no right to say anything about me—Zhuo didn't say out loud the complaint in his heart.

In fact, although it is not clear when Zero prepared such a suit that is obviously expensive, it must be a private custom-made, hand-made work of a craftsman. Even if many of what Zero said makes sense, and I understand that she did this to make herself more confident outside, she took such pains to build herself up with all her heart and soul. But if she herself is just wearing simple luggage, this is not very convincing, right?

If the person he was going to meet fully armed was a friend's family member or to attend an event like a wedding, Zhuo would probably be willing to give it a try, but if it was just to hear a word or two of praise from someone he didn't know well, Zhuo would not be interested in it.

"Well, maybe this is your style."

"After all, I don't really want to interact with others. I'm not the type to have a wide circle of friends. A few friends worth making close friends with are enough for me."

"I'm not against this, nor do I think that Kiritani Jin and the others are bad. In principle, I share the same opinion as you, but Zhuo, you need some friends who can help you..."

Seeing Ling sitting down with some resignation, Zhuo couldn't help but wonder if he really needed to get to know some "special people". Who were the people that Zero could call "people who could help"? There was no need to ask.

However, this purposeful approach is completely contrary to Zhuo's original character. Zhuo thinks that he can't do such a thing. He understands that Ling is considering him, but Zhuo can't do anything about it.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized the original intention of Ling to prepare these clothes with great effort, so Zhuo drank another bowl of miso soup to hide his emotions.

The TV is broadcasting the best time and area to observe the meteor shower.

According to what was shown on TV, the area where Zhuo and his family live is now within the best viewing range, and the weather forecast is for clear skies, which is perfect for observing meteor showers.

With such good conditions, it seemed as if everything had been arranged, so Zhuo couldn't help but feel excited and wanted to take a look.

"It's quite elegant to watch a meteor shower occasionally."

"After all, this kind of opportunity is very rare, and meteor showers often encounter bad weather during their peak period."

“It may not always be sunny.”

"In fact, the chances of rain are higher because of the ionized electrons that are brought by the meteor. So I think today is a good opportunity."

"In that case, it's late at night... I can resist the urge to sleep, but I'm afraid it will affect my flight tomorrow morning. Anyway, I can sleep on the plane, so it should be okay to look out the window."

We are going to Illinois tomorrow - especially if we have to take a plane or other means of transportation, if nothing unexpected happens, we may have to travel repeatedly. Staying up late the day before will directly affect our physical condition. Zhuo Zhenxin thinks that doing so is an act of suicide.

However, if you can make up for it on the plane, it shouldn’t have much of a problem if you stay up until two or three in the morning.

Although Zhuo is the type who would rather stand than sit, and would rather lie down than sit, things are different now, and Zhuo still feels nervous and uneasy about being involved in such a big thing.

After all, there is a huge gap between the reality of personal participation and the reading of a bystander. Zhuo cannot feel that everything is under control just because he is a time traveler. If he really has to say something, it can only be the feeling of "I can't escape it after all."

Anxiety and nervousness are probably his biggest psychological reflections at this moment.

Zhuo doesn’t think that the ability of “Vector Control” is unsolvable. After all, the original owner of this ability, Accelerator, is also living a miserable life.

By the way, Zhuo can't portray himself as a bad guy who doesn't care about anything like Accelerator, because he cares about many things and people. In this respect, he has too many weaknesses. If his identity is exposed during this operation, you can imagine how much trouble it will be. I'm afraid he can only flee and wander around.

For this reason, Zhuo, who normally never stays up late, thought it was okay to go to bed a little later when faced with this rare opportunity.

If possible, it would be best to watch it in a spacious place like a park; but if he went out too late, not only would he waste a lot of time, he might also be called in by the police for questioning, so the best he could do was watch it from the balcony at home.

Even so, watching from the balcony could also help relieve some of the tension, so Zhuo planned to do so this time.

In this case, he had to prepare for tomorrow and set the alarm early. When Zhuo was thinking about the next arrangements and planning the alarm time, Ling observed that there was a cunning look in his eyes with a hint of intention.

Cunning - if possible, Zhuo really didn't want to use this word to describe it, but based on his understanding of Ling, even if it was the first time he saw him, he could see this meaning from the look in his eyes.

"……What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I want to watch the meteor shower too...but I'm a little hesitant."

"..."

Ling's life is very regular. In fact, even without a clear table, Zhuo can find her daily routine. It is a bit impolite to say that she is as regular as a robot. Since she plans everything during the day very well and full, she always makes sure to get enough sleep.

Once Ling said this, Zhuo, the biggest beneficiary of Zero's time and the one being taken care of, no longer had any reason to refuse.

This is indeed the case... Although Zhuo feels that if Ling has a request, he will definitely agree as long as he tells her, the only thing that can force him to submit in this way is a suit that he doesn't like.

"…If we don't wake up in time tomorrow, we'll miss our flight."

"That's right."

Zhuo also has the awareness that he is woken up by Ling every day.

If Ling also stayed up late tonight, he might fall asleep tomorrow and miss the time to get up and leave. She also mentioned that she wanted to watch the meteor shower together, so she had to dress up and leave. Although she said that she wanted to watch the meteor shower together, she didn't look particularly excited, but looked at Zhuo very straightforwardly. Even so, she still planned to confirm whether Zhuo was really in a difficult situation first, and didn't intend to force Zhuo.

"……I see."

"Ok?"

"I'm going to stay up late tonight, and if you're here watching with me, it'll be a bit troublesome when I get up tomorrow."

"so?"

"So I'm sorry you'll miss this opportunity. As compensation, if you want me to wear those clothes when I go, that's fine too."

Anyway, our goal is for each other, so it doesn't matter even if we give in.

Besides, this was the first time that she had made such a clear request to him, and they had already become family, so it shouldn't matter - Zhuo thought so and turned his gaze towards her, only to find that Ling blinked awkwardly, looking troubled and speechless.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you at all. I just wanted to say... maybe it would be better if I watched it with you... that's all."

"Eh?"

"...Can I stay here?"

Being stared at by her with a look that seemed to see hope, Zhuo, who had previously thought that Ling wanted to exchange for the "suit", felt embarrassed instead.

Even though Ling had no other purpose and really just wanted to watch the meteor shower together, this made Zhuo feel even more threatened.

Maybe it was because Zhuo knew in his heart that no matter how much he persuaded her, Ling, who had stayed up late, would get up early the next morning as usual, and then sort out everything before he found out... This was what Ling secretly did when she was free. Even if she stayed up late, she would definitely continue to persevere.

In this regard, Zero is just so stubborn.

"Hey, but in this case, you will have a hard time tomorrow... Please think more about yourself."

"I can sleep on the plane, too."

"...That's true. You still need to rest for a while."

"I'll take a rest."

Zhuo thought this was definitely a lie, but Ling's cheerful mood was more important. As long as she was forced to rest afterward, it would be okay to force herself to rest for a day.

After all, he was the one who brought up this matter, and he had no intention of forcing Zero's will, so as long as he made up for it afterwards, there would be no problem - Zhuo convinced himself.

"…So, after dinner I'll take a shower, change my clothes, and go to the balcony?"

"Oh oh, I'll clear the dishes too."

Zero had already decided in his mind to come along.

Only then did she reveal a gentle expression of relief and happiness, and she seemed to be completely relaxed. Zhuo simply couldn't look at her.

"Zhuo has that look again."

Hearing Ling's indifferent voice with his head tilted, exposing the little desire in his heart, Zhuo finally answered with great difficulty: "No," and then took a sip of the almost empty miso soup, trying to cover it up.

...

...

"here."

Ling looked at the drastically changed living room in surprise, then found Zhuo who had spoken in the living room and walked towards him.

Zhuo temporarily moved the low table away, leaving space by the window for easier observation, and also placed a cushion that Ling usually liked.

Zhuo originally wanted to drag out the massage sofa that Su Enxi had sent him from the corner, but he gave up in the end. He felt that if he lay on it, he might fall asleep, which would probably put the cart before the horse.

Looking at Ling who was standing right in front of him with her bare white feet and calves, Zhuo raised his head and smiled at her.

Ling observed Zhuo who was sitting on the tatami, tilted his head and thought for a while, then bent down to pick up the cushion that Zhuo had left for her. Instead of sitting on it, he held it in his arms, then adjusted his direction and turned around, and then slowly put it down - that is, he sat between Zhuo's legs again while holding the pillow.

Zhuo was only slightly surprised by this, and he picked up the small blanket he had prepared and covered Ling's legs with it. Seeing that Ling was wearing thin clothes, he took out the large blanket he had prepared in advance and wrapped himself in it. Finally, he put his arms around Ling's lower abdomen and slowly leaned back on the sofa.

“It’s really thoughtful.”

"…Normally it's you who does it, Zero. At least for times like this, I have to be prepared as well."

Zhuo added with a smile: "Do you think I'm so bad at preparation?" and picked up the remote control.

As soon as the lights dimmed, Zero's body burrowed deeper into his arms.

"Sorry, I should have told you before turning it off."

"No...I just don't like dark environments."

Although she said this, she secretly adjusted her body, as if she wanted to put her whole body into Zhuo's arms - it is better not to say this out loud.

"Are you afraid of the dark now? That's why you don't want to go to bed. I don't think you really want to watch the meteor shower."

"Sleeping is still okay..."

"Ok?"

"…Should I say I feel lonely…"

Even Zhuo wouldn't believe that Ling, who had been walking alone for so many years, was afraid of the dark.

In other words, Zero, who has long been accustomed to seeing another person at home and being busy for him as soon as he opens his eyes, would probably lose his mind if he couldn't see him one day.

Therefore, Zhuo, who probably understood Ling's mood, said nothing, but just pressed his body slightly towards Ling without leaving a trace. While hugging her tighter, he also wrapped his legs around her calves and placed his chin on top of her head until she was completely "trapped" before turning his gaze to the window.

And Zero did not put up any resistance and let him do whatever he wanted...

The quiet living room seemed to be completely silent. Perhaps the only thing that could be heard was two overlapping breaths.

At the same time, the war hidden in history finally began again.

(End of this chapter)