My Space Connects to the Apocalyptic World

Chi Wan hadn’t expected her friends to be unable to keep their mouths shut, even while eating.

And she certainly hadn’t expected someone to seize the opportunity to put her on the spot.

A glint appeared in her eye as she answered with a beaming smile, "It’s Lili! I was thinking about Lili."

Qi Youyou and the others exchanged confused glances. "What’s a Lili?"

But Li Xingye, who knew Chi Wan’s personality all too well, wasn’t naive enough to think she would obediently give him the answer he wanted to hear.

Sure enough, Chi Wan said unhurriedly, "Lili is my favorite... puppy."

A puppy?

Wen Jing and the others were skeptical until Chi Wan showed them the lifelike mechanical puppy on her phone. When she called out "Lili," it would come over and nuzzle her palm, making them all exclaim how cute it was. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Only Li Xingye, despite having anticipated something like this, still felt his heart race when he heard Chi Wan say the words "my favorite."

When he realized she’d named a mechanical puppy Lili, he found it both exasperating and amusing. "Lili? A puppy? Hmm?"

Chi Wan ducked her head, pretending to send a voice message, and said defiantly, "What’s wrong with it? It’s a very cute name."

Li Xingye chuckled softly and said nothing.

But soon, Chi Wan felt something climb up her neck and then gently "bite" her earlobe.

Chi Wan: !!!

She slapped a hand over her ear but only felt a thin vine. Before she could grab its "tail," it had already slipped away.

The goosebumps on her skin hadn’t even faded yet. Chi Wan rubbed her earlobe and hissed under her breath, "Li Xingye!"

Noticing Chi Wan’s strange expression and sudden movement, the three girls looking at the mechanical puppy asked curiously, "Wanwan, what’s wrong?"

Chi Wan quickly waved her hands. "N-nothing. I just remembered that Lili accidentally bit my ear when I was playing with him today."

The three of them were amazed that Lili was so realistic.

Only Li Xingye responded, his voice the picture of innocence, "What is it, Wanwan?"

’How dare he play dumb!’

Chi Wan felt a helpless sense of having shot herself in the foot. ’Did I really "tease" him too much before? Is that why Li Xingye "went bad" so quickly?’

Exasperated, Chi Wan decided to just ignore Li Xingye and focus on talking with her roommates.

But soon, Yu Chuxue seemed to spot something. She pointed to the hair at Chi Wan’s temple and said, "Wanwan, when did you buy that hair clip? It’s so delicate."

Hearing Yu Chuxue, the others looked over as well.

Chi Wan was confused, but then she heard Wen Jing say, "I’ve never seen a vine-shaped hair clip that looked so real. It even has a little flower on it."

Chi Wan knew exactly who was up to no good.

’Just where did Li Xingye go for advanced training? He’s got one trick after another.’

She ground her teeth. "When we get back, you’d better have an explanation for me, Bro-ther Xing-ye!"

Li Xingye just chuckled, not rising to the bait.

After dinner, they said their goodbyes right at the restaurant entrance since they all had an early class the next morning.

Qi Youyou and the others offered to walk Chi Wan home, but she refused. "You all should hurry back. If you’re too late, you’ll miss the hot water. This whole street is brightly lit, so you don’t need to worry about me."

Wen Jing was about to say something else, but Yu Chuxue nudged her and pointed ahead, smiling. "Her knight has arrived. Our job here is done."

The group looked up to see Zhou Huaijin and another young man walking toward them.

Zhou Huaijin also seemed surprised to run into Chi Wan. He smiled and greeted her, "Wanwan."

Chi Wan pretended not to see her roommates exchanging knowing glances. "Senior, are you guys here for dinner?"

Before Zhou Huaijin could speak, the young man behind him chimed in, "It’s fine, it’s fine! It doesn’t matter if he eats or not. You must be the Junior Sister Wanwan that Huaijin mentioned, right? Hi! I’m in the same department as Huaijin. My name is Qi Jiayou, you can call me Senior, too!"

Zhou Huaijin silently rolled his eyes at him before turning back to Chi Wan. "Wanwan, are you heading home?"

Wen Jing and the other two immediately nodded, putting on troubled expressions. "Yeah, but we have to get back to the dorms. We’re a little worried about Wanwan going home by herself..."

Chi Wan was exasperated by their blatant matchmaking. She whispered, "You guys, that’s enough."

Then she turned to Zhou Huaijin. "Senior, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? You should hurry and go, it’s getting late. I’ve got something to take care of, so I’ll head off first. Bye!"

Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed in the direction of her apartment complex.

Qi Jiayou nudged Zhou Huaijin, but he just shook his head gently and said to Qi Youyou and the others, "You all should hurry back, too. We’re going to go eat."

After they had walked a little way, Qi Jiayou asked, confused, "Why didn’t you offer to walk Junior Sister Wanwan home? I thought you were concerned about her."

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to add that line to the forum post.

Zhou Huaijin said softly, "First of all, Wanwan doesn’t like people making decisions for her. She didn’t want me to walk her home, so I’m not going to force it. Secondly, she’s not your junior sister, so don’t call her Wanwan."

Qi Jiayou: ...

He looked as if he’d discovered a new continent. "Huaijin, are you declaring sovereignty? I’ve never seen you be like this with anyone!"

Zhou Huaijin sighed. "Could it possibly be just basic respect for a woman’s wishes?"

"No, no, no, I’m talking about that last part!" Qi Jiayou suddenly adopted a mock-serious expression. "Secondly, she’s not your junior sister, so don’t call her Wanwan... Huaijin, to be fair, you’re not exactly Chi Wan’s direct senior, are you?"

Zhou Huaijin: ...

Seeing the perpetually calm and collected Zhou Huaijin, who was always unflappable in the lab, have a moment of "tactical retreat," Qi Jiayou howled with laughter.

"Hey, Huaijin, wait up!" He caught up in a couple of strides and threw an arm over Zhou Huaijin’s shoulders. "You still haven’t told me, how did you and Junior Sister Wan—Ow, ow! Let go! Fine, fine! Chi Wan, Junior Sister Chi Wan. How do you two know each other? Why is she living in Qi Garden? Did you set that up for her? Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Zhou Huaijin couldn’t be bothered to answer. He shook off Qi Jiayou’s hand and strode quickly toward the restaurant.

*

Walking back home, Chi Wan felt for the "hair clip" at her temple and removed it.

It was, indeed, a delicate vine. It offered no resistance as Chi Wan plucked it from her hair, then docilely coiled around her index finger. Brilliant little flowers instantly bloomed along its entire length, making it look, at first glance, like a ring made of flowers.

Chi Wan, who had been feeling flustered and annoyed, couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. "Brother Xingye, where in the world did you learn these little tricks? Or... was all that shyness before just an act?"

To her surprise, Li Xingye didn’t try to defend himself. Instead, he sounded utterly innocent. "Wanwan, I swear, I learned all of this from you. So, Teacher Wanwan, was I a good student?"

Chi Wan, who had been ready to call him to account, recalled all the times she had teased Li Xingye and was suddenly at a loss for words. ’Who told you to learn?!’