NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The White-Haired Girl Appears.
"Why are there two masks? What are they for?" Fu Lin stopped his hands from teasing the Herrscher and looked at the two masks in her hand, checking the information.
Looking at the introduction on the system screen, Fu Lin's expression became strange, unsure of how to start. "These two masks are indeed impressive, but their names are a bit odd."
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[Fatui's Mask – Aether/Lumine: This is the mask worn by the Teyvat siblings during their travels. When you wear this mask, no one will be able to recognize you.]
"Why is it called Fatui instead of Traveler? Is this a knockoff?" Fu Lin looked at the name, filled with sarcasm.
"Wow~ With this mask, I can stand right in front of the Old Antique, and she won't even recognize me."
The Herrscher, not caring about the item's name, excitedly imagined herself standing boldly in front of the Old Antique, wearing the mask and teasing her.
"Even if you don't wear a mask, she wouldn't know who you are. You haven't even been born yet at this point. Of course, you'll need the mask to show your form, and it seems like I need it too."
Fu Lin reminded the silly Herrscher that the timeline hasn't reached the point where she appears yet.
"Oh, right! Haha~ I can't wait to see the Old Antique's expression when she sees the two of us together. The thought alone is too perfect."
"Hey, Lin, how about you come with me to prank the Old Antique? We'll steal all her clothes."
The more the Herrscher thought about it, the more she wanted to rush into St. Freya Academy.
"Okay, okay, you're drooling already. When the time comes, I'll help you get your revenge. Now, it's my turn to draw." Fu Lin used a tone as if coaxing a child to appease the Herrscher.
"Although I haven't known you for long, I already approve of you." The Herrscher patted Fu Lin on the shoulder, for the first time feeling the comfort of being protected.
Fu Lin rubbed his hands together, confidently reached into the magic bag, and shouted, "Come on, give me something!"
[Try again]
Fu Lin: ? (Why is it "try again" in here? This isn't scientific.)
[Try again]
[Try again]
[Try again]
...
[Try again]
Fu Lin : "What the ****? You ****!"
"Hahahaha~ Can you even do it, Ming?" The Herrscher burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as she saw the continuous "try again" messages on the system screen.
"A man can't admit defeat! Next time, I'll definitely draw something good."
He silently prayed, 'Heavens bless me, Jade Emperor bless me, I'm willing to sacrifice my author's friend's ten-year single status to get something good.'
Fu Lin murmured in his heart as he tremblingly reached into the bag again. Unsurprisingly, his friend was about to stay single.
[Time-Stopping Broken Pocket Watch: Although the exterior is a bit worn, it has the ability to stop time. It stops time for five seconds and has a cooldown of one hour. Op... oops, wrong script.]
"Whoa! A time-stopping prop."
"You understand how valuable time-stopping (series) items are, right?" Fu Lin, surprised, looked at the pocket watch in his hand, then proudly waved it in front of the Herrscher of Sentience with an exaggerated expression (referencing the character Brain from Kamen Rider Drive).
Of course, the Herrscher, who never held back, punched him right in the face.
"Are you hungry? Here, eat my punch."
"Ouch, why did you hit me~?" Fu Lin held his nose, legs sprawled on the ground, as he looked at the Herrscher twisting her wrist with a pouty expression.
"You had such a punchable face."
"..."
The Herrscher picked up the magic pouch from the ground, shook it a few times, and pulled out a button.
[Style Change Button Trial Card: After use, you'll adopt a JoJo art style for one hour.]
"What does a JoJo art style look like?" The Herrscher threw the button at Fu Lin, curious.
In Fu Lin's mind, he suddenly envisioned JoJo's Bizarre Adventure from his previous life, and then imagined a JoJo-fied Fu Hua. He immediately shook his head.
"I have no idea..." Fu Lin covered his face, feeling too guilty to answer the Herrscher's question.
He couldn't possibly say it would turn him/her into a burly man, with rippling muscles and an average height of 1.9 meters. That would be too... socially embarrassing.
Fu Lin prided himself on being a handsome man; turning into a muscular giant would only attract other men. Thankfully, it's just a trial card.
As the sky outside darkened, Fu Lin packed up the items, got up from the floor, patted his butt, and headed toward the kitchen, which was stocked with food.
"There's plenty of ingredients; it's time to show off my cooking skills."
...The kitchen roared with a lot of noise...
"Are you sure these black lumps are edible? Even the soulium body of Otto would malfunction if he ate these," the Herrscher poked at the food on the table with her hand. Some were still emitting black smoke, and the pungent smell filled the room.
"Ah!" The Herrscher threw one piece of food on the floor, only for it to bounce back and hit her in the face, causing her to scream.
"...It's been too long since I last cooked. Let's just order takeout, haha... haha... (?°3°?)" Fu Lin turned his gaze away, unable to look directly at the food on the table.
"Even Old Antique's pickled spring vegetables are better than this." The Herrscher rubbed her forehead and rolled her eyes at Fu Lin in disgust.
"Let's just order some Shenzhou cuisine." Fu Lin ignored the Herrscher of Sentience and skillfully opened the food delivery app on his phone.
"Braised beef, roast duck, chicken with mushrooms, rice noodles, boiled pork slices, almond tofu."
"That should be enough. Emmm, and let's add some spring vegetables." Since the Herrscher of Sentience mentioned spring vegetables, Fu Lin kindly ordered a portion.
Little did he know that the Herrscher's most hated food was spring vegetables. After inheriting Fu Hua's memories, having eaten it for five thousand years, no one would be able to eat the same thing again.
"Alright, once the delivery arrives, we can eat." Fu Lin sat down on the sofa and began to reflect on his identity in this world.
Fu Lin, 18 years old, from Shenzhou, currently a senior at Chiba Academy, serving as the class monitor...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before Fu Lin could finish reminiscing, there was a knock on the door.
"Wow, the food delivery came so fast. This deserves a five-star rating!" He looked at the time on his phone— it had only been eight minutes since his order. Fu Lin got up to open the door.
Standing outside was a white-haired, blue-eyed girl, panting and holding the food delivery in her hands.
"Huh? Class monitor, so it was you who ordered all this food." The white-haired girl looked up at the boy who opened the door, recognizing him as her usually silent class monitor, and smiled foolishly.