Absolute Zone Zero: As a corpse, elegance needs no words

"Haha, what Nekomata said is indeed right. You are more susceptible to this. It's worth all my special practice..."

“Ugh…it hurts, stop…ouch…wait, stop hitting me, or I’ll become stupid…”

"Wrong, wrong, this time it's really wrong!!!"

……

"It's all your fault. How can I face people like this?"

Nicole bent over and looked at her red forehead in the mirror, feeling helpless.

Seeing Xuan Li's gaze behind her, Nicole quickly stopped complaining and subconsciously said

"I really know I was wrong!"

Xuan Li shook his head slightly, said nothing more, and walked towards the orphanage not far away with the box in his arms. In this area full of low buildings, an orphanage is quite conspicuous.

The orphanage is not big, but not small either. When Xuan Li gets closer, he can still hear the voices of the children inside.

"This is it."

Xuan Li glanced at the little white cat and the little black cat following behind him, raised his hand and knocked on the door in front of him.

"Who?"

A female voice sounded from behind the door, and after a moment the door was opened. A beautiful face appeared in front of Xuan Li. It was a woman about the same age as Nicole.

She was wearing a simple work suit and was looking at Xuan Li with curiosity, a hint of surprise and confusion in her eyes.

This person...isn't a former child from the orphanage...

"Hello."

Xuan Li said hello, and the little black cat behind him poked its head out and looked at the scene in the orphanage curiously.

A big yard, a crooked tree, and a few children gathered together in the sunshine, looking warm.

"Excuse me, are you..."

The woman asked slowly, but before she could finish, Nicole's voice sounded behind Xuan Li.

"Xiaoying, it's me!"

Nicole put her hands on Xuanli's shoulders, poked her head out from the side, and said with a smile,

"Hey? Boss Nicole?"

When Xuan Li heard these words, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He looked at the woman in front of him, and then at Nicole.

Why does everyone call Nicole "Boss"?

"Hey, this is Xuanli, my friend. He came back with me this time."

Nicole patted Xuanli on the shoulder and introduced him to Xiaoying.

Upon hearing this, the latter looked at Xuan Li carefully again, a flash of understanding flashed in his eyes. No wonder he came here with Nicole, so he must have gone home...

He looks quite handsome, but I don’t know what his character is like. But since we can come here together, he should be good, right?

She felt that with Nicole's intelligence, her vision should not be bad.

She nodded and said to Nicole

"Don't worry, Boss Nicole, I will take good care of him."

"Oh, no need to be so formal. Xuanli doesn't like this. Just be like usual..."

Nicole didn't understand what Xiaoying meant. She waved her hand and walked into the yard. When the children saw her, they were obviously surprised and happy and gathered around her.

Another child ran back, apparently to give a tip-off.

"You two, go and bring the little ones over here."

Xuan Li cast his gaze on the two cats beside his legs and spoke softly.

The little black cat and the little white cat understood what Xuanli meant, so they went to where the car was parked and called all the kittens in the car down.

Seeing a group of cats coming towards him, Xuan Li no longer waited and walked into the orphanage.

"Leave the things to me."

Xiaoying stretched out her hands to Xuanli, intending to take the box from Xuanli's arms, but Xuanli shook his head and refused him.

"There's still a lot in the car. Tell me where you put it. We need to move it here later."

Hearing this, Xiaoying nodded and pointed to a half-empty house with an open door in the corner.

"That's where supplies are stored. Nicole's things should be the same as before, so just put them there."

Following Xiaoying's words, Xuanli started to get busy, and Xiaoying also followed to help.

"Boss Nicole, who is he?"

Next to Nicole, a little girl looked up at Xuan Li who was carrying things back and forth, and asked curiously.

"He, you can call him Brother Xuanli. He's my friend, a very good person."

She smiled and began to explain.

"Hey? Are you a friend?"

The little girl tilted her head. She remembered the robot Uncle Billy and Sister Amby who had come with Boss Nicole.

It seems that the uncle and sister are also friends of Nicole's boss.

"Okay, let's go help too."

Nicole reached out and patted the head of the child next to her, her tone showing a rare tenderness compared to usual.

Her words were obviously effective, and several children, along with other children, ran out of the house to help, forming a huge group.

"Sister Ying, we are here to help too!"

Xiaoying did not refuse the enthusiasm of the children and directed them to take some lighter and smaller things.

However, a considerable number of children had their way "blocked" by the cats, and sounds of surprise and joy were heard continuously.

"Haha, it seems that bringing the cats from the Tanuki House here was the right decision."

Nicole and Xuanli walked side by side with their things in their hands, looking at the scene in front of them and chuckled.

Xuan Li nodded slightly, looked at the little black cat who didn't like being touched but still walked slowly there, letting the children mess up its fur, and asked curiously:

"It's fine if that girl named Xiaoying calls you 'Big Boss Nicole', but why are these kids calling you 'Big Boss' too?"

"Shouldn't I call you sister?"

Xuanli and Nicole are of the same generation. Nicole calls her Xiaoying, so it's just right for him to call her that.

Nicole blinked her watery eyes, feeling uncomfortable with the box in her arms, so she changed her position and placed it on the box. Then she looked at Xuan Li and smiled softly.

"Oh, because I used to be the head of the orphanage. Even though I'm older now, I'm still the head of the orphanage."

Although she was the one who asked the children in the orphanage to call her that, they had no objection.

"Just like you and the cats, although the little black cat is more like the boss, you, the human, are actually the real boss."

"That's a pretty apt metaphor."

Xuan Li's eyes flashed with a trace of thought, and he caught a message from Nicole's words and said in surprise

"So Xiaoying was actually a member of the orphanage back then?"

"uh-huh."

Nicole nodded, walked into the house, put down the things in her arms, and a hint of reminiscence flashed in her eyes.

Back then...

"Xuan Li, do you want to hear about my past?"

Nicole stood up and smiled at Xuanli. Now that they had come to this point, she also felt the urge to continue.

I just don't know if the person in front of me is willing to listen...

"Okay, it's an honor."

Xuan Li nodded. For him, this trip was just to accompany Nicole as a friend, so it was not a big deal.