Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Though Lin Cuimei was outwardly enthusiastic, Eve soon realized that despite her composed demeanor, she was completely lost. As they ventured further off course, Eve, having lived at the Oliver estate for nearly half a year, knew that unless the manor had undergone a complete reconstruction, they would wander until dawn without finding anyone.

“Wait, hold on,” Eve said, grabbing Lin Cuimei, whose intentions seemed increasingly suspicious. “Did Mrs. Luo tell you where we’re supposed to meet them?”

“Yes, the dining room on the east side of the second floor,” Lin Cuimei replied with a smile.

The Oliver Castle’s main banquet hall for guests was on the first floor, while the core family dined on the third. The second floor was primarily workspace, though it did include a small banquet hall on the east side, used for smaller gatherings. It was where Head Oliver often dined with colleagues or subordinates after discussions, being less formal than the first floor’s banquet hall but more spacious than the third.

Mrs. Luo’s choice of venue was perfectly reasonable, but the problem was—

“If you insist on going this way, neither of us will eat tonight,” Eve said. The manor’s internal layout was complex, and though they were on the right floor and direction, explaining the wrong corridors to Lin Cuimei was no easy task. “Never mind, just follow me.”

They had already moved from the outer castle to the inner area. To return, they needed to go up a floor and cross an open-air corridor back to the second floor of the outer castle. Lin Cuimei seemed to like Eve, making small talk aimlessly as they walked. “Are you familiar with this place?”

“More than you, at least.”

“What’s your relationship with Head Oliver?” Lin Cuimei tucked a loose strand of hair from her temple. “No particular reason—it’s just that tonight is a family dinner. I’m Mrs. Luo’s distant niece, so I’m curious about your connection.”

Her tone remained light, as if making casual conversation. Eve glanced at her sideways before replying, “This is the first I’ve heard Mrs. Luo had a niece all the way in the Alliance.”

“Oh...”

Lin Cuimei paused, then smiled, unoffended. “So you recognized me.”

Normally, it shouldn’t have been that easy. The Old Era language was a minority language in the Interstellar Era, even if it had once been the most widely spoken. Eve didn’t mention that just before their encounter, she’d met someone else who’d disguised their identity by anagramming their name in the same obscure language.

Their thinking was likely similar: assuming no one would connect the dots to such a niche language, they hadn’t bothered with thorough disguises.

“If you hadn’t used that fake name, I might not have recognized you,” Eve said honestly.

For security reasons—and to hype up the inter-school tournament—the government had tightly guarded the exchange students’ information. Even Eve had only received a name-only list.

She hadn’t expected Lin Cuimei to have free rein, nor was she sure if Lin Cuimei had reported her visit to the Oliver residence to her superiors. As for the “niece of Mrs. Luo” claim—Eve knew the Luo family had started as merchants and, among the four great families, had the widest influence. It wasn’t surprising if they had branches or distant relatives in the Alliance.

Just as Lin Cuimei seemed about to explain further, Eve cut her off.

“I’m really hungry,” Eve spread her hands. The round trip with Alice to Louis’s Alchemy Tower and the castle hall had drained her energy. Even if Lin Cuimei wasn’t hungry, it was impolite to keep the hosts waiting. “Unless what you have to say is as important as your interstellar bank account password, I suggest we go greet our hosts first.”

It was only proper. Lin Cuimei’s ability to slip out of the embassy was partly thanks to Mrs. Luo’s leniency, so she ought to pay her respects to the lady of the house upon arrival.

Lin Cuimei raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Alright then.”

-

Thanks to Lin Cuimei, they were indeed the last to arrive at the dining room. But Eve appearing simultaneously with an unfamiliar girl was more surprising than their tardiness.

Aside from Mrs. Luo and the forewarned Head Oliver, no one else knew Lin Cuimei’s identity—not even Lorca or Ludwig. The former glanced at her, assessed her as non-threatening, and turned back to his quiet conversation with Head Oliver. The latter tapped Luo Wenqing with the handle of his enamel cutlery. “Your relative?”

“What’s wrong with you? Just because she has black hair, you assume she’s from my family? Did you know 23% of the Empire’s population has dark hair and eyes?” Luo Wenqing rolled her eyes and viciously cut into her mythical beast steak. “Then let me ask you—aren’t you my relative too? Why is your hair blond?”

Taken aback by the sudden scolding, Ludwig withdrew his hand sulkily, wondering why Luo Wenqing had become so irritable after just two months in the military.

The seats and tableware had been arranged in advance, leaving only two spots: one beside Lorca, with its back to the door, and the other beside Mrs. Luo. She and Head Oliver sat at opposite ends of the long table, with her favored niece Luo Wenqing on her left.

Whichever seat Eve took, she’d have to pass Head Oliver first. Just as Lorca heard footsteps approaching, he casually pulled out the chair beside him. When Head Oliver finished assigning him tasks for the coming days, he turned and pretended to be surprised. “Xiao Fu.”

...Hadn’t he just pulled out that chair half a minute ago?

Who was he pretending to shock with those wide-eyed theatrics?

It seemed he had indeed overdone the act, to the point that after calling her name, he couldn’t come up with anything else to say.

Eve gave a noncommittal hum in response, while Mrs. Luo was speaking softly and warmly, introducing Lin Cuimei to everyone. When they entered, she probably hadn’t intentionally meant to mislead Eve, as Mrs. Luo was also referring to her by the pseudonym "Cui Mei." Their original identities were too sensitive, and it seemed they had agreed not to reveal them—though things had taken an unexpected turn, such as Eve figuring out the real identity after hearing the pseudonym.

Thinking this, Lin Cuimei couldn’t help but glance toward Eve, only to be met with the back of a round head.

Eve multitasked, cutting the food on her plate while intermittently listening to Mrs. Luo’s words, silently pondering why Mrs. Luo would risk bringing Lin Cuimei home. Given her personality, it didn’t seem like something she’d do to blur the lines between family and work. When Lorca leaned in, she paused her movements: “Why is there a wet patch on your shirt?”

The dampened edge of his bluish-green shirt had turned into a conspicuous stain, hanging beside the snow-white tablecloth, standing out noticeably.

Instead of answering, Lorca asked in return, “Where did you go with that Miss Cui earlier? Alice arrived long before you two.”

“...Just walked around the castle. She got lost, so I brought her here,” Eve gave him a puzzled look. “What else could we have done?”

Surely he wasn’t this hostile toward women too?

On the other side, Lin Cuimei had already struck up a conversation with Luo Wenqing. The two social dynamos together created an explosive uproar of laughter and loud discussions. For someone like Eve, it was hard to understand how anyone could be so naturally sociable. She couldn’t help but cast a few curious glances their way, only snapping back to attention when Lorca spoke again: “I went to wash my face earlier. Maybe some water splashed on my shirt then.”

“Why did you wash your face?”

“Luo Wenqing kept plying me with drinks. I went to sober up.”

Eve said “oh,” remembering the incident.

Seeing that she showed no intention of initiating conversation, Lorca glanced at the cheerful duo nearby, who had steered the topic toward siblings. When Lin Cuimei mentioned having a younger sister, her expression softened noticeably. Luo Wenqing seemed quite interested, even expressing a hint of envy, as if she wished Luo Wenzhou could undergo a gender change.

As the only one present with both younger brothers and sisters, Lorca was caught off guard when Luo Wenqing suddenly turned the topic to him.

“Speaking of which, Lorca, you have both a brother and a sister now, right?” Luo Wenqing asked with a grin. “Which do you prefer, having a brother or a sister?”

What a pointless question. Lorca took a sip of wine. “Both are good.”

“Such a diplomatic answer,” Luo Wenqing pouted. “That’s no fun.”

The conversation returned to just between her and Lin Cuimei, but Lorca took the opportunity to lean closer to Eve again. “Alice said you’re sharing a room with her tonight?”

Eve didn’t quite understand what it had to do with him but still responded with an “Mhm.”

After a moment, Lorca asked, “Then what about your original room?”

Was the bedroom opposite his, which had been tidied up for nothing, just going to stay empty?

“It’ll stay vacant for now,” Eve said, unsure why he was asking such a simple question. After a moment of thought, she suddenly had an epiphany and smugly assumed she understood his intention. “If you want to invite Luo Wenqing and the others to stay, you can use my room. It should’ve been prepared in advance, right? There’s no need to feel awkward about asking me. I’m happy to help reduce Mrs. Rui’en’s workload!”

“......”

Lorca looked as if he didn’t want to talk anymore. His green eyes fixed on Eve with inexplicable melancholy before he silently turned away.

In the end, however, Luo Wenqing and the others didn’t stay at the Oliver Family manor. The Luo residence was not far from the Oliver Family’s estate, and she mentioned that since it had been a long time since she’d been home, she wanted to spend more time with her family before the league matches.

Mrs. Luo didn’t press them to stay and arranged for a car to take them back. Lin Cuimei was also sent back—being allowed to leave the embassy was already an exception, and staying overnight outside was impossible. Mrs. Luo likely intended to introduce her to the younger generation of her family, but without being too deliberate, just to familiarize them. It was unclear what her background was to warrant such an introduction.

The night wind rustled, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse. The distant forest seemed to slumber. Only after watching the hovercar leave the Oliver Family’s territory did Mrs. Luo wearily adjust her collar and gently call the children to go back inside. Before she could finish speaking, family head Oliver had already draped his coat over her shoulders.

“Let’s go, Eve!” Alice naturally looped her arm through Eve’s again, cheerfully saying, “The rest of the night is time for just the two of us. I’ll tell you all about what happened in the Legion.”

Ludwig couldn’t resist interjecting, “Don’t stay up late right after coming back. Get some rest.”

“I know!”

After being stared at for so long, Eve couldn't take it anymore. She turned her head and asked Lorca as sincerely as possible, "What exactly do you want to say to me? Just say it directly—don’t look at me with that pitiful, hesitant look. Is there really anything between us that’s too awkward to talk about?"

To be frank, they had already hugged, held hands, and even brought up the topic of engagement twice. Eve truly couldn’t understand what could possibly make him stare at her all night without having the courage to speak up.

No matter how strong her mental fortitude was, she couldn’t stand this kind of timid, hesitant behavior hovering behind her like a ghost.

"It’s nothing else..."

Lorca lowered his eyes, his voice so faint it was almost pitiful, as if it would scatter with the slightest breeze. And indeed, he himself seemed on the verge of drifting away with the wind, making people feel an inexplicable tenderness.

"You should get some rest early too," he said, still looking down. "The league matches start next week—you need to be well-rested... If you haven’t figured out how to handle the stand-in situation, you can always ask me."

So he was worried about that. Eve breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was something earth-shattering.

"I already have a plan. As for what it is, you’ll find out when the time comes," she said, unable to resist flicking Lorca’s forehead. She complained, "Next time, just say what’s on your mind. Anyway, don’t stare at people from behind like that anymore—it’s really unsettling."