A great philosopher once said, "There's nothing a good barbecue can't fix."
For Steven, though, there's nothing like sharing a drink to bring people closer.
After several rounds of toasts and exchanges, the once sowhat reserved operators gradually let go of their initial caution towards Steven, the outsider, and beca noticeably more enthusiastic.
"Let tell you sothing, Steve," Ace, the usually mature and reliable man, now slightly flushed from drinking, hooked an arm around Steven's shoulder and whispered conspiratorially. "Don't be fooled by how Outcast looks now. Back in her younger days, she had a ton of admirers. But she was too focused on work, and now that she's beco an auntie, nobody's chasing after her anymore."
Steven glanced at Outcast, whose expression had subtly darkened.
"Yeah, I can see that," Steven, who showed no signs of getting drunk despite the crowd's best efforts, could only offer an awkward smile and avoid engaging too much in the conversation.
He valued his life too much to step on that landmine.
"Hey, that's not fair," Scout, the sunglasses-wearing operator who usually carried an air of mystery, chid in. He leaned over, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone. "You know Misery still has feelings for Outcast. How can you say nobody's interested in her?"
Then, as if sharing a deep understanding, the two middle-aged n clinked their glasses with knowing smiles.
What they seed to forget, however, was that Outcast wasn't nearly as drunk as they were. While their voices were lowered, they weren't exactly whispering either.
"Oh? Funny, I don't rember anything about that. Why don't you both enlighten in detail?"
With an ominous smile, Outcast wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders and dragged them toward a corner, leaving Steven standing there with his drink, dumbfounded.
Before he could consider joining in on the fun, two other elite operators—both of whom appeared to be around Outcast's age—sidled up to him.
"Ignore them. They get mouthy when they're drunk. A little punishnt will do them good. But hey, Steve, how old are you? Do you like your job? How much do you make per month? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Though slightly tipsy, these two at least seed to handle their liquor better than the previous duo. However, their questions felt… oddly specific.
Steven hesitated. Their questions felt oddly familiar—like the nosy relatives he used to deal with back in his first world.
"Uh, well, I guess I'm not that young anymore. But I don't have a girlfriend for now. I suppose you could say I'm single."
As soon as he answered, he couldn't shake the feeling that these two weren't looking at him like a proper colleague.
Rather, their expressions were more like… in-laws inspecting a potential son-in-law.
"That's fine, that's fine! You're such a handso young man, with a great deanor too. I doubt you'll have any trouble in that departnt. Interested in getting a girlfriend?"
A shorter elite operator chid in, but her question left Steven completely unsure how to respond.
"Um… Not at the mont, I guess?"
He scratched his head awkwardly, suddenly feeling like this gathering of elders wasn't as enjoyable as he'd imagined.
"My disciple is quite nice! Let tell you, the operator benefits at Rhodes Island are amazing. Want to introduce you two?"
Clearly, Steven had underestimated their level of intoxication. Just monts ago, he had thought they were the more reasonable ones—now, all he wanted to do was escape.
This felt just like those New Year gatherings from his first world—where aunties would swarm him, eager to set up blind dates.
"Thanks, but I think you might've had too much to drink. Maybe take a break instead?"
Steven's mouth twitched as he shot up from his seat like a rabbit, swiftly making his escape. Behind him, the two elite operators burst into laughter, thoroughly amused.
He had never expected that, after all the tis he had enjoyed teasing others, he would one day beco the one being teased.
But he had to admit—it was pretty fun.
As he took small sips from his drink, savoring the mont, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. Looking over, he realized that the beautiful cat-eared girl nad Blaze had appeared beside him at so point. She had an arm draped over his shoulder and was pouring more alcohol into his glass.
"Keep drinking! They're all down for the count, but you still have ."
The warmth radiating from her body was noticeably higher than that of an average person, but Steven wasn't fazed by it. Instead, he simply smiled and clinked glasses with her.
"You all are elite operators of Rhodes Island… Why do you trust this much?"
After a brief hesitation, Steven finally voiced his thoughts in a low tone.
He truly didn't understand why these seasoned elites, many of whom were well past middle age, were being so friendly toward him.
Blaze chuckled. "Knew you'd ask that."
As if she had predicted this question all along, Blaze downed her drink in one gulp and flashed Steven a dazzling smile.
"First off, like I said, you're Outcast's guest. She trusts you, so we trust her judgnt."
"Then?"
Blaze gave Steven's shoulder a firm pat with her pale hand.
"Second, well..." She playfully slapped his shoulder. "You noticed I'm infected as soon as you walked in, didn't you? But you didn't hesitate to take the drink I offered, and there wasn't a trace of disgust in your eyes. That told you're soone worth knowing."
"That's when I knew—you're soone worth getting to know."
"What I can see, those old-tirs can definitely see too. For people like us, these two reasons are enough."
After laying out her reasoning, Blaze locked eyes with Steven, her beautiful blue pupils glimring.
"The rest? Just intuition. We're elite operators, after all. What do you think? Good enough for you, Steve?"
Steven's response was a broad, carefree grin.
"More than enough. But you clearly forgot one important factor."
Blaze tilted her head, eyes flickered with curiosity. "Oh? And what's that?"
Blaze tilted her head. "Oh? What's that"I'm handso," he said with mock seriousness. "People are naturally drawn to good-looking faces. Being good-looking is like having a built-in charisma boost."
With a smug expression, Steven playfully ran a hand through his hair, speaking with absolute confidence.
Blaze burst into laughter, clinking her glass against his again.
'Coming here with Outcast had definitely been the right choice.'
'These people… they were such a joy to be around.'
User Comments
0 comments from readers