20demayo Chapter 45 Fingel's "Consolation"
Chapter 45 Fingel's "Consolation"
Beyond the Golden Screen: The Real World - Kassel College Square
Lu Mingfei barely managed to save his hair under Nuonuo's "clutches"—although it was now a complete mess. He frantically tried to straighten it, but with little success.
Seeing his disheveled appearance, Nono laughed even harder.
"Alright, alright, stop it." She grabbed his hand. "I'll take you somewhere."
"Where to?" Lu Mingfei asked blankly.
"The dorm," Nono said, "you need to meet your future roommates."
Lu Mingfei then remembered that he came to Kassel to study, to live in the dormitory, and to... have a normal life.
Although this "normal" should be put in big quotation marks.
The two left the square and headed towards the dormitory area. Along the way, students still cast curious glances their way, but Lu Mingfei was no longer so nervous.
Perhaps it's because Nono is around.
Perhaps it was because of the applause just now.
Perhaps it was because... he slowly began to accept the fact that he had come to Kassel, he had become an S-class freshman, and he had successfully confessed his feelings in another time and space.
Although it still feels like a dream, at least it was a pretty good dream.
They arrived at a building that looked quite old. Gray stone walls, an archway covered in vines, and a sign hanging at the entrance: Dormitory Area 1.
"This is where you live," Nono said. "Room 303. Your roommate is Fingel von Frings, the head of the news department, an eighth-grader, a notorious repeat student, gambler, and gossip king—in short, a very interesting guy."
Lu Mingfei nodded, feeling a little nervous.
roommate.
He had never had a roommate growing up. At his uncle's house, he lived in a small room converted from a storage room; at school, he was a day student. Sharing a space with others was a completely unfamiliar experience for him.
What's more, this roommate sounds... quite unusual.
"Don't worry." Nono seemed to sense his nervousness. "Although Fingel is slovenly, shameless, and obsessed with money, he's a decent person. At least he won't harm you."
She paused, then added, "And with him around, you won't be bored."
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the dormitory building.
The interior looks more modern than the exterior. There are marble floors, wooden stairs, and oil paintings and photographs hanging on the walls—not landscapes or portraits, but anatomical diagrams of dragons, schematics of alchemical matrices, and a few photographs that look like ancient ruins.
They went up to the third floor and arrived at the door of room 303.
The door was open, and deafening music and the sound of keyboards clattering came from inside.
Nono knocked on the door, but the person inside obviously didn't hear her.
She pushed the door open and went in.
Lu Mingfei followed behind her and saw his future "home".
The room was small, about twenty square meters. Two iron-framed beds were placed against the wall, and two desks were placed side by side in the middle. The desks were piled with books, instant noodle boxes, empty cola cans, and three old-fashioned computers that were running. The walls were covered with various posters—anatomical diagrams of firearms, genealogical charts of dragons, and several posters of scantily clad women.
The air was filled with a complex mix of smells: instant noodles, sweat, and computer case exhaust.
At the desk by the window, a blond man stood with his back to them, wearing headphones and typing rapidly on the keyboard. He wore his ever-present tattered T-shirt and jeans, his flip-flops tapping idly on the floor.
Fingel.
Even just seeing his back, Lu Mingfei could recognize him—he had seen him countless times in the light screen.
Nono walked over and patted Fingel on the shoulder.
Fingel jumped up in fright, his headphones falling off. He turned around, saw Nono, breathed a sigh of relief, and then his eyes lit up when he saw Lu Mingfei behind Nono.
"Hey! Junior!" He opened his arms, as if to hug me. "I've been waiting for you! Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"
Lu Mingfei subconsciously took a step back.
Fingel didn't mind, withdrew his arm, and looked Lu Mingfei up and down, clicking his tongue: "Not bad, not bad, much younger and more handsome than in the light screen. No wonder Junior Sister Nuonuo likes you."
Lu Mingfei's face turned red again.
Nono rolled her eyes: "Stop talking nonsense. I've brought him to you, take good care of him. If you dare to bully him..."
"Don't worry, don't worry!" Fingel patted his chest. "I, Fingel, know how to take care of freshmen the best! Food and lodging included, plus gossip advice, as long as..."
He rubbed his fingers together.
"Money, right?" Nono pulled a credit card from her pocket and tossed it to him. "There's $10,000 in there, enough for him to cover his expenses for a few months. Be careful with it."
Fingel caught the credit card, his eyes crinkling into slits with laughter: "Junior Sister Nuonuo is so generous! Don't worry, I'll definitely raise my junior brother to be plump and healthy!"
Watching this scene, Lu Mingfei suddenly felt like he was being kept.
"Um..." he said softly, "I have my own money..."
"Save your money for equipment," Nono said. "Training in Kassel is expensive. And..." She glanced at Fingel, "give this guy a little incentive, and he'll be more dedicated."
Fingel chuckled: "My junior sister understands me best."
Nono gave a few more instructions, then looked at Lu Mingfei: "I'm leaving. Pack your things and get some rest. I'll pick you up at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to go to the training ground."
Lu Mingfei nodded: "Okay."
Nono turned to leave, but as she reached the door, she turned back to look at him and smiled, "Don't think too much tonight, get some sleep."
The door closed.
Only Lu Mingfei and Finger remained in the room.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
Then, Fingel grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "Let me formally introduce myself. I am Fingel von Frings, the head of the Information Department, your roommate, senior, and mentor."
Lu Mingfei nodded cautiously: "Lu Mingfei. Please give me your guidance."
"Don't be so polite." Fingel pulled up a chair, gesturing for him to sit down. "From now on, we're family. Come on, tell your senior brother, how did you win over Junior Sister Nuonuo?"
Lu Mingfei's face flushed again: "I...I didn't..."
"No?" Fingel raised an eyebrow. "They've already confessed on the screen, and they've held hands in real life, but still nothing?"
"That is..." Lu Mingfei didn't know how to explain.
"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Fingel patted his shoulder. "But seriously, junior brother, you're something else. Junior Sister Nono is known throughout the academy for being aloof and hard to pursue. President Caesar pursued her for two years before finally succeeding—although they've broken up now. And you've only been here for one day, and you've already..."
He shook his head and sighed, "S-class is indeed different."
Lu Mingfei didn't know what to say, so he remained silent.
Fingel didn't mind, stood up, took two cans of cola from the refrigerator, and tossed one to Lu Mingfei: "Have some to calm your nerves."
Lu Mingfei took the Coke, pulled the tab, and took a sip. The cool liquid slid down his throat, calming him down a little.
"Senior brother," he asked, "Am I really... an S-rank?"
Fingel looked at him, his playful smile fading slightly: "It's what's shown on the screen, but in reality... it hasn't been tested yet. But since Nono brought you here, and since the principal agreed, it's probably pretty close."
He paused, then added, "And even if it's not now, it will be in the future. The light screen has already foreshadowed your future—an S-class freshman, a one-day winner of freedom, a hero of Bronze City, and Nono's boyfriend. These are all set in stone."
Lu Mingfei looked down at the can of cola in his hand.
S-class.
hero.
Boy friend.
These words were too distant from him, as distant as someone else's story.
"I...I can't do it," he said softly. "I'm not that good."
Fingel laughed, a complex laugh: "Junior brother, do you know? When you first appeared on the light screen, you were squatting under the old locust tree in that small Chinese town, waiting for Nuonuo to pick you up. At that time, you were thinking the same thing—'I can't do it,' 'I'm not that good,' 'I'm just an ordinary person.'"
He took a sip of his cola and continued:
"But you still did it. You passed the 3E exam, you won a day of freedom, you completed an SS-level mission, and you... confessed to Nono."
He looked at Lu Mingfei, his eyes holding something deep within that Lu Mingfei couldn't decipher:
"So don't rush to say you can't do it. Your future self has already done it. Right now, you just need to follow in his footsteps."
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
Following in the footsteps of...my future self?
"But I..." He wanted to say "I am not him," but he swallowed the words back.
How can he not be him?
That's him.
The time and experiences are different, but they are essentially the same person.
If he can do it in the future, why can't he do it now?
"I understand." Lu Mingfei raised his head, his eyes becoming more determined. "Thank you, Senior Brother."
Fingel laughed, reverting to his carefree demeanor: "That's more like it! Come on, senior brother has something good to show you!"
He walked to the computer, opened a folder containing hundreds of photos—all images of Lu Mingfei on the screen: taking the 3E exam, firing a gun on Freedom Day, the Bronze City explosion, his confession in the hospital ward…
"An exclusive collection!" Fingel said proudly. "These photos will fetch a fortune when you become famous!"
As Lu Mingfei looked at the photos, at the images of himself in them—sometimes tense, sometimes resolute, sometimes sad, sometimes happy—a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.
That's him.
His future self.
We have already traversed a difficult but glorious path.
And now, it's his turn.
It was his turn to embark on this path, his turn to experience those things, his turn to... become that person.
"Senior brother," he said.
"Um?"
"Can you teach me... how to become stronger?"
Fingel paused for a moment, then smiled, a smile that for the first time contained genuine, unpretentious appreciation:
"Of course. But the tuition is very expensive."
Lu Mingfei smiled and said, "I will pay."
Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the two boys.
A blond, slovenly man with a sly smile.
A man with messy black hair but unusually determined eyes.
It's like the beginning of a story.
It's like the prologue to a legend.
It's as if... fate has quietly turned its gears at this very moment.
Outside the window, the golden light curtain still floated above the square, but the scene had switched to a new one:
[Next scene: Signs of the Dragon King's awakening]
[Jormungandr, King of the Earth and Mountains, is about to enroll in Kassel]
A new storm is brewing.
But Lu Mingfei's journey has only just begun.