In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 3

"Miss Huang Quanchuan..." Higashino Yu's muffled voice came from behind the cushion, "I feel I need to explain... why you suddenly attacked me!"

"Explain what? Explain why you were drooling over a legal loli? Or why you suddenly opened your eyes to peek?"

Huang Quanchuan was already sitting on the sofa at some point, and one of the two cushions on it was missing, becoming the culprit that hit Dongye.

Xiao Meng, who had already changed her clothes, tilted her head in confusion: "Huang Quan, you're too harsh! This gentleman clearly didn't do anything. Besides, doesn't this prove he's very charming? Dongye-kun has excellent taste!"

Higashino Yu quietly moved the cushion down, just in time to meet Xiaomeng's innocent gaze. The curious light sparkling in those big eyes made his heart skip a beat.

What's with this feeling of guilt...?

"Speaking of which," Xiao Meng suddenly leaned closer, her scent of shower gel making Dongye's heart flutter.

"Is Mr. Higashino encountering some difficulties?"

Huang Quanchuan came out of the kitchen and slammed the chilled beer down on the coffee table: "This guy said he's a new doctor in Academy City and lost his apartment key."

This is what Higashino told her on the way back.

"Oh dear, that's terrible." Xiaomeng cupped her face in her hands, looking at Dongye with pity. "If you don't mind, you can sleep on my sofa tonight."

Higashino Yu's gaze unconsciously drifted to Xiaomeng's long pink hair, which swayed slightly with her movements. Suddenly, Huang Quanchuan shoved a beer can in front of him, the cold can pressing against his cheek.

"Young man, don't have any unnecessary thoughts."

Huang Quanchuan originally planned to have dinner at Xiaomeng's house before taking Dongye to her place, but since Xiaomeng had said so, she gave up her previous plan.

However, she decided to sleep with Xiaomeng tonight, since she wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Dongye alone.

Higashino chuckled dryly as he accepted the beer and clinked glasses with Huang Quanchuan.

"Speaking of which," Xiaomeng skipped over to the refrigerator, putting on the apron hanging on the wall as she went, "want some late-night snacks? I recently learned how to make tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelets)."

Huang Quanchuan's expression suddenly turned horrified: "Wait! If I remember correctly, your tamagoyaki..."

"No problem at all." Xiao Meng interrupted Huang Quanchuan, confidently picking up the spatula. "I'm very confident this time."

Dongye gazed at the petite figure bustling about in the kitchen, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face. At that moment, he hadn't realized the gravity of the situation. In his memory, Xiaomeng's cooking didn't seem to be bad.

Huang Quanchuan sighed heavily from the side, "You...you'd better be mentally prepared."

What preparations?

"Preparing for food poisoning." Huang Quanchuan took a large gulp of beer without expression. "The tamagoyaki she made last time really..."

Before the words were finished, a muffled "bang" came from the kitchen, followed by the clanging of a pot lid hitting the ground.

Higashino Yu and Huang Quanchuan exchanged a glance and rushed to the kitchen at the same time.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Xiao Meng stood in front of the kitchen counter, covered in soot, holding a charred piece of something that could barely be identified as an egg.

"It's...it's a success!" She forced a bright smile, though her voice trembled slightly.

Looking into those big, teary eyes filled with the smell of cooking, Higashino Yu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach, not because of the horrible "dish," but because of that ridiculously cute expression.

What kind of heavenly punishment is this...?

Huang Quanchuan rubbed his forehead: "I knew it..."

Little Meng pitifully held up the "tamagoyaki" (Japanese rolled omelet): "At least try a bite..."

Higashino took a deep breath and, under Huang Quanchuan's shocked gaze, accepted the charred object: "Since it was Xiaomeng's kindness..."

The moment his teeth touched that piece of carbonized material, Higashino Yu finally understood what it meant to experience "pain and pleasure at the same time".

Chapter 3 Xiaomeng's Family Meals

"vomit--"

Higashino Yu covered his mouth and rushed into the bathroom, behind him came Xiaomeng's frustrated mutterings and Huang Quanchuan's gloating laughter. The cold tap water washed over his burning cheeks, and he looked up at himself in the mirror, where suspicious black powder still lingered at the corner of his mouth.

This isn't tamagoyaki, it's a biological weapon... I absolutely can't be fooled by Xiaomeng's big, watery eyes next time!

He never expected that the tamagoyaki made by Xiaomeng, whose cooking skills he remembered were decent, would be comparable to a biological weapon.

After vomiting for a while, Higashino walked out of the bathroom and found that the atmosphere in the living room had become much more relaxed, as if his ordeal had never happened.

Huang Quanchuan was sitting cross-legged on the floor, heartily chugging beer, while Xiaomeng curled up in a corner of the sofa like a kitten, sipping honey water.

"Sorry you saw me looking so disheveled."

Higashino scratched his head with a wry smile, deliberately avoiding the "deadly dish" on the coffee table; he truly couldn't stomach it.

"But seriously, Teacher Xiaomeng, your cooking skills... are quite unique."

Xiao Meng's face immediately turned bright red, like a ripe apple: "Waaah... I clearly followed the recipe step by step..."

Huang Quanchuan chuckled and took a big gulp of beer: "The tamagoyaki she made last time almost made it impossible for me to go to work the next day."

"Yellow Spring!"

Xiao Meng angrily waved her little fists, as if to prevent Huang Quanchuan from continuing.

"That...that was just an accident!"

Higashino sat down on the carpet, facing the two men.

Huang Quanchuan's gaze swept over him, and he suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, Mr. Higashino, are you an ability user?"

So you finally remembered to ask these questions...?

Higashino picked up his beer and took a sip: "Well, actually I'm a Primal Stone user. I awakened naturally not long ago, and that's one of the reasons I came to Academy City this time."

"Raw stone?"

Xiao Meng immediately perked up, her eyes sparkling as if she had discovered a new toy.

"This is extremely rare! There aren't many Genji users in the entire Academy City! What type of ability is it?"

"It's kind of...mental intervention."

After thinking for a moment, Higashino explained the most basic aspects of his abilities.

"However, it's very faint, at most only causing a dazed state for about five seconds."

Huang Quanchuan's beer can was suspended in mid-air. The combination of a mental ability user and two single women looked rather dangerous.

I've brought a dangerous guy home!

"Want to show me?"

Huang Quanchuan was somewhat curious about the extent to which Higashino could achieve this.

Higashino looked around, his gaze landing on the fruit platter on the coffee table: "Then let's use this apple for the demonstration."

He picked up a bright red apple and, under the watchful eyes of the three, slowly said, "Please look intently at this apple. When I count to three, you will temporarily forget what kind of fruit it is."

"One, two..."

The moment the word "three" was uttered, Huang Quanchuan and Xiaomeng's eyes simultaneously turned blank.

"...What is this...again?"

Xiao Meng tilted her head in confusion, carefully examining the unfamiliar object.

Huang Quanchuan frowned, staring at the apple: "What was that red...round object again?"

Five seconds later, their expressions returned to normal.

"Ah! It's an apple!"

Xiao Meng exclaimed, clapping her hands together unconsciously.

Huang Quanchuan was also somewhat surprised; this was no ordinary mental ability: "Interesting, this level of mental interference..."

"It's pretty useless, isn't it?"

Higashino chuckled self-deprecatingly and put the apple back in the fruit bowl.

"It's not even at the Level 4 level."

Xiao Meng jumped up and down excitedly on the sofa: "No way! Primal Stone users are incredibly rare! Mr. Higashino, would you like to teach at our school?"

"Hey, don't say anything out of line!"

Huang Quanchuan tapped Xiaomeng's head lightly with a beer can to stop her from trying to undermine him.

"You're not the principal; you don't have the authority to hire people."

Higashino noticed that although Huang Quanchuan said that, he seemed somewhat interested. He seized the opportunity to say, "Thank you, but I plan to think about the work issue for a while longer. Besides, the greatest use of this ability is in deep hypnosis, helping students with insomnia fall asleep and reducing psychological stress."

"I see."

Xiao Meng nodded in deep agreement, but she became increasingly curious about Dongye's abilities.

"Mr. Higashino, could you show me what deep hypnosis looks like?"

Huang Quanchuan immediately became alert, like a mother leopard protecting her cubs: "Xiao Meng!"

"It's okay."

Xiao Meng tugged at Huang Quanchuan's sleeve playfully, her adorable appearance making it impossible to refuse her request, "It's only five seconds anyway."

Higashino feigned hesitation: "This...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Please.

Xiao Meng clasped her hands together, her big eyes shining with anticipation, looking just like a little kitten begging for food—she was incredibly cute.

"People are most interested in special abilities, and anyway, Higashino-kun wouldn't hurt me, would he?"

Huang Quanchuan sighed and rubbed his temples: "Really... your curiosity is too strong. Fine, whatever."

Higashino nodded and took a coin out of his pocket: "Then watch this coin. When it falls, you'll dream of your favorite dessert."

The coin traced a silver arc through the air. As it fell, Xiaomeng's eyes became misty, and a sweet smile spread across her lips, as if she had truly tasted something delicious. Huang Quanchuan stared intently at his watch; when the hands moved past five seconds...

Xiao Meng blinked sharply, tilting her head in confusion: "Huh? I think I just saw beer..."

Huang Quanchuan stroked his chin thoughtfully: "It is indeed precisely controlled within five seconds... but it feels a bit different from ordinary mental abilities."

Higashino had already prepared his explanation: "Perhaps it's because the power of the Primal Stone is unique and different from other abilities. By the way..."

He deliberately changed the subject, turning his gaze to Huang Quanchuan.

"Teacher Huang Quanchuan, would you like to give it a try too?"

"No thanks." Huang Quanchuan refused decisively, crushing the empty beer can in his hand. "I've already witnessed your capabilities firsthand; I don't want to embarrass myself."

Xiao Meng pouted in disappointment, her cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish: "Huang Quan is so boring."

The three chatted for a while longer, as night deepened outside the window. Huang Quanchuan got up to tidy up the beer cans: "It's getting late, you can sleep on the sofa for the night."

Higashino bowed politely: "Thank you so much."

He also got up to help clean up the remaining scraps, and soon the living room was cleaned up by the group.

As Huang Quanchuan led Xiaomeng towards the bedroom, she suddenly turned back and said meaningfully, "By the way, no night raids, okay?"

"Forehead..."

In the middle of the night, Higashino lay on the sofa, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Of course, it wasn't that he wanted to launch a night raid while the two were sound asleep; after all, with his abilities, he could easily have them launch a night raid on him if he wanted to.

More than such pointless thoughts, Higashino was concerned about his situation in this strange time and space. It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid, but fortunately, he was an orphan, so at least he didn't have to worry about his family suffering because of his sudden disappearance.

"Mr. Higashino..."

A barely audible call came from beside the sofa. Higashino, who was pondering his future, slightly opened his eyes.

Xiao Meng appeared in front of the sofa at some point and knelt on the carpet, her hands nervously clasped in front of her chest, like a little girl waiting for a gift.

"Xiao Meng?"

Higashino was a little puzzled. What was Xiaomeng trying to do by sneaking over here so late?

"It's so late..."

"Shh——"

Xiao Meng put her index finger to her lips, glanced nervously in the direction of the bedroom, and spoke so softly that it was almost inaudible.

"Could...could you do me a favor?"

Higashino followed Xiaomeng quietly into the kitchen. Xiaomeng quietly closed the sliding door, her cheeks flushed as she turned around, looking like a little girl who wanted to do something naughty but was also a bit embarrassed.