Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

“I think Blanca is more likely, after all, she and Doll are really close.” Paddo and Desdobia rolled around on the big bed in the back of the car, laughing and saying, “They’re so close… hehe, I almost let it slip, but I can’t let you, an outsider, know.”

"How am I an outsider? Aren't all nine of you considered outsiders? Blanca is an outsider too! What secrets are you hiding from me? Tell me the truth!"

"Don't ask, don't ask! Some secrets are so outrageous that spreading them around could cause big problems! You know, not everyone is as single and carefree as us, so please understand." Pado stuck out her tongue.

Shen Liang vaguely felt that what they were talking about was related to her, so she casually tapped the screen, and the vehicle drove automatically towards the seaside.

During their time in Pattaya, the three of them either stayed in hotels or lived in a rented campervan, allowing them to travel wherever they felt like. The three of them rushed around various tourist attractions, took photos, bought local specialties, and ate them on the same day, just like a three-person tour group led by Pattaya.

Taking this opportunity, a cat that had been hoping to steal some meat every day finally caught the meat that was right in front of it.

"But if you ask me, you guys need to be quiet tonight. It's really uncomfortable for me to sleep next door, okay?" Daisy Dobia pouted. "We're sleeping in the campervan tonight, so no more recklessness! I don't want to be kicked out to the beach in the middle of the night to be exposed to the sea breeze!"

"Envious?" Paddo turned around, casually taking off her coat. She was wearing a revealing crop top, easily reduced to just her underwear. Then she stepped into the RV's bathroom. "No way! Tonight, Dobiya will practice surfing!"

"Hey!" Desdobia snapped, "You... Fine, fine, I'll go out after dinner to give you some privacy... What time will I be back?"

"Come back at dawn!"

Are you really going to leave me standing outside all night?!

While complaining, Desdobia also knew she was helpless. Paddo was her best friend, and she knew better than anyone how excited Paddo had been these past few days. In essence, this mission was just a honeymoon trip for Paddo and Shen Liang, and she was just a backup plan in case something really happened.

However, being both a tool and a third wheel is really tough. Although she was complaining, the conversation just now wasn't a joke. As a fusion warrior, Desdovia could stay awake for days without sleep, so when the RV is parked on the beach, she'll most likely have to spend the night outside. Besides going surfing, she can't think of any other way to pass the time. The sea is pitch black and cold tonight… it's kind of boring.

That damn Padma! She's all about the opposite sex! She promised to share her precious pet, but she's such a selfish person! Even though she can't handle it herself, she doesn't share at all!

She jumped out of the car, went barefoot to the back seat to rest and play with her terminal, and less than two minutes later a message popped up.

From: Kosmo.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Whatever the doll hopes I am, that's what I can be.

"You've arrived in Pattaya?" Kosmo typed.

While modern audio and video communication have become mainstream, text-based communication remains prevalent, and Kosmo is the kind of person who almost exclusively communicates via text. Desdobia actually liked this about him; in modern society, very few people still retain the habit of writing. Technology accompanies a person from birth to death, and even the postal service no longer provides letter-sending services. Although Kosmo was silent, he had once given her a handwritten postcard.

Although he wasn't very sociable, quite a few girls in the base liked him. Desdobia had overheard several girls who liked Kosmo gossiping: "That outsider with the harmonica around his neck is so cool, I really want to date him!" "These artsy, handsome guys are becoming increasingly rare these days. If you want to experience the kind of romance described in books, only Kosmo can do it, right?"

Desdovia and Kosmo actually had a very good relationship. Once, she asked Kosmo why he insisted on using handwriting input. Kosmo said that Moth Chaser was a very advanced place, so advanced that nothing traditional had been left behind. Everyone pursued convenience and efficiency, and life was fast-paced, while he hoped that life would be slower.

Perhaps it was this very nature that allowed Kosmo to live a life seemingly detached from worldly affairs.

Desdobia once admired his indifferent attitude towards life, until he applied the same attitude to her.

"Who are you?" Desdobia answered succinctly, unwilling to utter a single extra word.

She crossed her long, smooth legs and rested them on Shen Liang's right hand, her shoes off, revealing black mid-calf cotton socks on her calves—after all, she was only wearing her regular JK school uniform. She was actually a little annoyed because Kosmo had only just sent her a message.

She and Pattaya have been in Pattaya for three or four days. If Kosmo had been thinking about this business trip, he would have known. It just means that he only realized he needed to find her today. He hadn't thought about her for even a second these past few days!

So angry!

At this moment, the terminal vibrated again to remind me.

"No notes? I'm Kosmo."

Of course I know you're a scumbag! I was just pretending not to care! To annoy you! To let you know what it feels like to be ignored!

She was about to type when she suddenly saw the black-haired, red-eyed boy in the driver's seat turn his head. "Are you chatting with someone?"

"No! No!" Desdobia immediately sat up straight and subconsciously responded loudly.

She regretted it as soon as she finished speaking, because Shen Liang saw the chat box on her terminal screen. The boy tilted his head, seemingly puzzled as to why she would lie about such a small thing.

The two looked at each other in silence.

"Damn it, why am I so scared, like I was chatting with another man and got caught by my boyfriend?" Daisy Dobia thought bitterly. She didn't even know why she was flustered. It was just inexplicable. She really didn't want Shen Liang to know that she was communicating with another boy.

"Boyfriend?" Shen Liang asked.

"No, of course not!" Daisy Dobby immediately denied. "Don't worry, baby! I'm still single!"

Then she regretted it again.

What do you mean by "don't worry"? What makes me feel at ease? Emphasizing that you're single and telling people to feel at ease makes me seem suspicious. What's wrong with you, Miss Dobia?

But at this moment, the blonde high school girl suddenly thought of how to make Kosmo angry, and let this guy know that she is actually not important in other people's eyes!

This arrogant man!

She quickly typed on the virtual keyboard.

"She's taking a shower."

That hurts! It really hurts!

As Desdobia expected, even the indifferent Kosmo paused for a few seconds. She could almost imagine how Kosmo felt at a loss over there!

Her initial reply was "Who are you?", which could be interpreted as the person holding her terminal not being her. But now she's replying "She's taking a shower," and in an instant, her image is established.

The scene of Daisy Dobby taking a shower, while her boyfriend waiting outside to emerge from the bath, uses his phone to mock other suitors, is vividly portrayed!

"Who are you?" Kosmo asked.

Desdovia thought for a moment, still unsure how to respond, when Kosmo blurted out, "Eve?"

For some reason, Desdobia felt a slight surge of excitement.

But after the initial excitement, she felt a bitter taste in her mouth.

She bit her lip and continued typing away.

"What do you need Dobiya for? It's getting late, we need to rest, Brother Kosmo."

Continue stabbing.

Breaking someone's defenses is incredibly easy; all you have to do is keep poking at their weaknesses with a soft knife. Desdovia didn't know if she was Kosmo's weakness, but she stubbornly wanted to prove it. She wanted Kosmo to experience the taste of being ignored.

Kosmo: Ha.

Kosmo: You're not a doll.

Kosmo: Paddo, I like dolls. I've known them for almost as long as you have, so pretending won't work. Dolls never call me "brother," nor do they call Daisy Dobia "sister." They haven't learned those social etiquettes yet, so they only instinctively use honorifics for distant people.

Then came some further deductions to prove it. Kosmo, as expected of one of the most perceptive fusion warriors, figured it out just from the conversation.

Before becoming a fusion warrior, Kosmo was a vigilante in a remote town, often punishing evil in place of the law. He naturally possessed a strong ability to reason and discern right from wrong. Desdobia found it difficult to fool him, but she wasn't entirely unsuccessful in doing so.

For example, right now Kosmo thinks Paddo is joking, and he probably doesn't believe that his best female friend, Desdobia, would test him in this way.

Why don't you think it's me sending these messages?

Do you really think I'm just born... destined to always actively pursue and chase after you? Do you think I'm only moved by you and only attracted to you?

Desdobia held up the terminal, recorded the sound of running water in the car bathroom, and then sent the audio over.

Daisy Dobby: "She's finished washing."

Kosmo: "What's the point of still lying to me?"

What a stubborn trust! Is it trust or confidence?

The blonde girl took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and took off her coat, revealing only a thin vest and short skirt. She adjusted her posture and said, "Doll, come here for a second."

Shen Liang turned around in confusion and obediently flipped from the front seat to the back seat. The back seat where Desdovia was sitting was folded down, because usually one person would drive while the other two would lie down in the back. It wasn't that there wasn't a bed in the bedroom, but on road trips, everyone liked to be close together; otherwise, it would be quite uncomfortable for two people to sleep in the back bedroom while one person drove in the front.

Desdovia stretched out in the back seat, leaning against the window, patted her long, white legs under her short skirt, and whispered with a slightly flushed face, "Sit here."

Shen Liang glanced at the bathroom where the washing was still going on.

"Hurry up, sit on my lap while Paddo's not around. Don't worry, I don't have any weird ideas, I'm just posing... Don't ask why, just cooperate with me, okay? Good girl, darling girl, I'm begging you! Cooperate!" Daisy Dobia clasped her hands together. "This is my lifelong request!"

Shen Liang frowned, sitting on the blonde girl's lap in confusion. Then, he habitually wrapped his arms around Desmondia's neck, nestled in her arms, and skillfully buried his face in her soft, fragrant chest.

"Hey! Doll, I just wanted you to..." Daisy Dobia was shocked and was about to resist when Shen Liang looked up at her, confused: "Can't Dobia do it?"

What do you mean I can't? Who's so... Desdovia wanted to remind him of that, but the warmth of being hugged by the little wolf, the tenderness of being relied upon by him, and the genuine confusion in his eyes, made her unable to speak... Yes, in Doll's eyes, this was just a normal display of affection. Almost every girl he'd met could tolerate his slightly overstepping boundaries of intimacy, because he probably didn't know what a sense of distance was...

Who could resist the embrace he wanted when gazed upon by such innocent and clear eyes?

Desdovia hugged the little wolfhound that was lying on her body with its eyes closed, and she roughly knew what it was like for Pado to be having sex with Shen Liang in the back seat all the time...

She suddenly understood everything. So that's how it is! So this is what it's like to be single! Every day they cuddle and kiss, rolling around and feeling each other's body heat. In the back seat, they chat like glue, whispering in each other's ears… If it doesn't rain tomorrow, how about we go for a walk on the pedestrian street… Dobiya's a third wheel, let's avoid her and find a restaurant for a candlelight dinner, okay?… I bought you a little rooster for a nice treat tonight, but remember not to bully your sister too much… We're at the beach, I want to see your swimsuit, darling…

They immersed themselves in their own world, traveling together, witnessing the blooming and fading of flowers.

It was so sweet, so sweet it made my throat feel like it was choking on sugar. The air in the car felt sticky, completely different from those people I could only communicate with coldly via text messages.

Leaning back in the back seat, Desdobia stroked Shen Liang's soft, long hair, casually untied her own headband, then levitated the terminal to capture the scene of the two embracing warmly and sent it out.

A cold smile curled her lips.

From the perspective of the terminal, the two are a young couple sleeping in each other's arms, a perfect match.

This time, Kosmo finally stopped replying quickly and arguing with her; the silence lasted for an indescribable amount of time.

As Desdovia felt the boy's warm breath in her arms and watched him habitually rest his terminal on her chest while playing games, she silently began to think... Many things were churning in her mind.

On Christmas Day, when she and Kosmo went out to buy gifts for everyone at the base, they both tacitly agreed not to buy anything for each other. After the gifts were distributed, before leaving, Desdovia pulled a beautifully wrapped harmonica from behind her back as a surprise and blessing for him. She was delighted by Kosmo's surprised expression, seemingly sensing a slight flutter in his heart. She naturally expected Kosmo to give her a long-prepared surprise in return.

But Kosmo hadn't prepared for it; he simply hadn't considered that the person making the purchase would also need a gift.

One night, at a gathering of the original Fusion Warriors, a drunk Desdovia was left in Kosmo's care by her colleagues, who were in perfect sync with her. She pretended to be drunk, thinking that she would lean on Kosmo's shoulder all the way back to the dormitory, and then pretend to be unconscious so that she could not pass through the pupil verification and enter the room. In that case, Kosmo would have to carry her to his room and then they would naturally do this and that.

Then, Kosmo, disregarding the intoxicated lady's feelings, paid the bill and left in a taxi, leaving Desdovia alone in the private room until midnight. At midnight, her group of girlfriends asked her if she had gotten it yet, and she almost laughed as she walked down the pouring rain-soaked street carrying her high heels.