Hello, Arknights

Hiss—Ling Dengxian's hands were shaking slightly as he tore off the old bandage. The double moons outside the window were much brighter than usual. The moon phases in this other world were so magical.

After changing the bandages on his arms, he caught a glimpse of the paper on the simple hand-built platform from the corner of his eye, with a red cross clearly visible on it.

Today's homework has been handed in again... Speaking of which, the only thing that can be associated with high school in my life now is the handwritten test paper of Bagpipe. After complaining in his heart for a while, Ling Dengxian just sighed that homework is indeed unavoidable, it is the fate of students.

"Host, it's so late, why haven't you slept yet?" Xiaoxie said with a tone as if he had just yawned.

"I just changed the bandage." Ling Dengxian was now accustomed to Xiaoxie's unpredictable appearances. He came to the table - this platform was temporarily serving the function of a table - and first corrected all the mistakes that could be corrected on the test paper. Then he took out his diary and started writing for today.

"Ah~ The host has written so much about bagpipes."

"roll."

"Host, are you embarrassed?" Xiaoxie's tone was very annoying. "Yeah, Fengpi is super cute, and he can beat you with one hand."

"I know she is very outstanding... Actually, well, it's nothing." Ling Dengxian's cheeks felt a little hot.

"But it's unlikely that he will be attracted to you, right? Buying him a rice cooker would be more useful than you." The words sounded harsh, but they didn't sound malicious.

Ling Dengxian was silent for a long time, writing non-stop. After a while, he responded: "Xiaoxie, have you...always been doing things based on the value of 'useful or useless'?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask? What does it matter if it's yes or no?"

"If that's the case, then what's the point of you bringing me, who is good for nothing, to this place?" Ling Dengxian didn't even realize how unusually cold his voice was.

"The Buddha said: 'It cannot be explained.'" Xiaoxie chuckled and left silently again.

Do you still have faith? Thinking of this, Ling Dengxian had almost finished writing his diary. He calmed down, did his best to tidy up the desk, and got up to prepare for bed.

I turned my head and saw that the light in Bagpipe's room was still on: "This guy...is he still tinkering with tractor parts at this late hour?"

"We have to get up early tomorrow..." This is not the first time that Fengpi has behaved like this. Sometimes he would do stupid things when he was immersed in something. "Really? You clearly told me to go to bed early." Ling Dengxian put on the coat he had just taken off and planned to go over to remind Fengpi to pay attention to the time.

There were no clouds in the sky, the moonlight was sleeping quietly in the open space, the shadows of trees were swaying on the path outside the house, and the faint sound of insects was brought by the wind, which was rare at this time of year.

There was a small courtyard between the utility room and Fengpi's room. The grass stood sparsely in the courtyard. Ling Dengxian walked by carefully, fearing to disturb their peace. The light in the room came from a desk lamp. The other lights were off. It seemed that Fengpi was actually planning to rest. "What are you busy with so late... Feng--" The boy's words stopped abruptly.

The desk was quiet under the goose yellow light. The Vaifan girl had fallen asleep on the work desk with her hands on her cheeks. Papers were scattered on the desk. Her orange-red hair stretched along her arms on the desk. The girl's shoulders rose and fell with her breathing, and her usual bright smile could be vaguely seen on her peaceful face.

"How can you fall asleep here like this... It's easy to catch a cold." Ling Dengxian used the spare key to tiptoe into the house. When he came to Bagpipe, he was in a dilemma. What should he do? Wake Bagpipe up? Ling Dengxian looked at the bed on the other side again. He was not confident that he could send Bagpipe back to bed without waking her up.

"She should wake up soon. Let's cover her with a blanket to prevent her from catching a cold." Ling Dengxian thought, turned around and took a blanket from the shelf. He tiptoed to put it on Fengpi and covered her carefully.

"Fortunately, I didn't wake her up. She should also make sure to get enough rest." Ling Dengxian was about to go back to his room, but when he looked away, he saw a red cross on the paper.

He looked at it carefully again. On top of the pile of tractor drawings was a handwritten Victorian grammar test paper. Next to the scattered check marks were additions and corrections made with pens of different colors. Some places still had traces of careful revisions.

Ling Dengxian carefully left Fengdi's room and closed the door. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky and fell into silence.

It would be unreasonable for you to have extra thoughts when others are doing their best.

Unable to sleep for a while, Ling Dengxian thought about it and decided to take a stroll around the town. He didn't want to visit anyone or buy anything, but just wanted to relax.

After making sure that the doors and windows were closed, Ling Dengxian set off along the silvery path. It was indeed getting late, but he believed that at least the tavern in the town must still be open, so he planned to sit there for a while.

Because he was worried, he walked into the dark without hesitation. Before long, Ling Dengxian had arrived at the residential area. It was bedtime. Everyone had things to do the next day, so they were probably asleep by now.

But, what is that?

Ling Dengxian saw a black shadow climbing up the eaves and walls at an extremely fast speed, and his hair stood on end immediately, "Is that a monster? What should I do now? Can I run away if that guy rushes towards me..." Unfortunately, there was no place for him to hide, and in panic he accidentally made a little noise. The black shadow quickly turned his head and found him, then jumped off the wall and walked towards Ling Dengxian...?

Huh? Is the speed so slow? Ling Dengxian didn't know whether he should run or not. The distance was shortened, and the black shadow walked out of the shadow under the wall. Under the bright moonlight, he finally saw clearly that the guy was not a demon, but a film man.

Yes, it’s Uncle Buono. At this time…

"Hey, Ling boy, you haven't slept yet? Hehe..." Bu Nuo looked around suspiciously and asked carefully, "Are you alone?"

"Don't worry, Uncle Buno, I won't tell Aunt Rona." Ling Dengxian waved his hand calmly. It was easy to guess what this guy was going to do by sneaking out at this time.

"Let's confirm again, that girl Bagpipe didn't follow us?" The film man pricked up his leopard ears cautiously and looked behind him. He was relieved when he saw that there was no one.

Seeing Ling Dengxian's helpless look, Bu Nuo said seriously: "I don't have any problem with her - it's just that Rona and Fengpi are closer. If I let it slip, I'll be in trouble."

"Then you might as well go and report to Aunt Rona."

"That would be boring, wouldn't it? I can still stay agile if I move back and forth like this—"

"Are you really not afraid that you will get so drunk in the tavern that the 'golden medal of immunity from death' will turn into a 'death warrant' the next day? (Dayan language)"

"Boy Ling, although I don't know much about Yan language, your expression seems to tell me that you didn't say anything nice." Town residents such as Bunoduwa saw from the beginning that Ling Dengxian was a foreigner. Later, when they accidentally heard him speak Dayan language, they determined that he was from Dayan.

What? How did it come about? Why do you care about that?

"Forget it, just consider it as hush money. I'll treat you to a drink tonight. Let's go." Bu Nuo put his arm around Ling Dengxian's shoulders with a heroic attitude.

"...You should drink less. Uncle Bach can't stop Aunt Rona from coming with a knife."

"Go away, your uncle Bunuo is one of the best drinkers."

"Yes, yes, yes, maybe it wasn't you who was drunk under the table by Uncle Du Wa last time." Ling Dengxian had an expression that said "I don't know you yet".

"Duwan's drinking capacity... I am the only one in this town who can compete with him."

"But Uncle Duwa worked late after drinking, and you slept until noon the next day. Aunt Rona sharpened her knife several times."

"…Why are you bringing up that?" Bruno got so angry that he tapped Ling Dengxian on the forehead. The latter jumped away, shouting in pain.

"Speaking of which, Ling, you and Bagpipe have been living together for a while, right? What do you think of Bagpipe?"

"Huh?" Ling Dengxian was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He quickly explained, "No!"

Without waiting for Bruno to ask, the young man spoke again: "I am just staying at Fengpi's place temporarily. She taught me how to use the city-breaking spear. We... are friends." The tone of the second half of the sentence became more and more certain. His previous thoughts unexpectedly came to a conclusion after Bruno's question.

What kind of person is Bagpipe?

"Bagpipe is very cute and beautiful, but before that, she was still a person who could lend a helping hand to a stranger in trouble, run for him, and take the responsibility for her own mistakes... optimistic and sincere, and gave, gave... me hope.

"I seem to be very different now than before..."

Ling Dengxian finally felt relieved after coming to his own conclusion: having a friend like Feng Di is a rare blessing in life.