Knowing that there might be a problem with the train schedule, Lu Mingfei stopped waiting and dialed Professor Guderian’s number.
That professor had managed to get his allowance bank card in just a few words, so he must be a powerful figure at the College, and calling the professor about this kind of thing would definitely be fine.
Who knew that the professor also panicked, quickly saying that he would contact the College immediately and have them dispatch a train.
With the confirmation, both of them felt much more at ease and continued to enjoy the delicious Angus beef burgers.
Lu Mingfei had never eaten other fast food, so he had no comparison in his mind, only feeling that this fast food restaurant truly deserved its name, Burger King; the beef burgers were incredibly delicious.
He looked out of Burger King’s floor-to-ceiling window.
The skyscrapers under the setting sun were bathed in a faint golden glow, bright sparks flew from the elevated railway as trains passed, pedestrians hurried by, and neon lights gradually began to flicker on.
The professor had told him to wait at the VIP lounge, where there were leather sofas and hot coffee.
Lu Mingfei suddenly wanted to experience what a leather sofa felt like and turned to ask Fingel to take him to the VIP lounge.
A bell chime suddenly came from above his head.
It sounded like a church bell.
The surroundings quieted down, and Lu Mingfei realized something was wrong; no matter how good Burger King’s soundproofing was, it shouldn’t be able to block out the station announcements.
He stood up from the stool, a fiery red sun slowly setting, pouring in golden light, like fuel splashing onto a canvas.
The entire waiting hall was bathed in a golden-red glow, the shadows of the window grilles cast on the back of a stool opposite, where a boy sat silently, quietly watching Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei looked around but couldn’t find Fingel, and the service staff at the entrance were also gone.
The entire Burger King was like a closed shop, deathly silent.
He didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, afraid of waking some incredible creature, or the boy in front of him.
The boy looked Chinese, about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in a pure black tuxedo, with a glowing, youthful face.
Lu Mingfei didn't know why such a young child's face showed such a silent and sad expression of having lived for thousands of years, and he just kept looking at him, as if waiting for him to speak.
The boy’s eyelids moved up and down, his beautiful eyelashes fluttering.
Lu Mingfei’s attention was drawn to him.
“Isn’t it strange?” the boy said softly.
“Strange what?” Lu Mingfei replied along.
“Very strange,” the boy said to himself.
“Of course I’m strange, otherwise how could Kassel College have taken a liking to me.”
“Actually, you don’t know either?” The boy blinked again, and this time, when he opened his Golden Eyes, a fiery light suddenly flowed within his golden pupils, like a mirror reflecting fire.
Lu Mingfei saw his own startled expression within them and instinctively placed both hands on his cheeks.
He trembled all over, his eye sockets burning, and something seemed to escape from his heart, rushing straight to his brain.
【Lu Mingze】
Three words appeared clearly before Lu Mingfei’s eyes, and Lu Mingfei, enlightened, opened his mouth.
“You are… Lu Mingze?”
Two pairs of Golden Eyes met, and the boy opposite slowly turned back into Fingel, leaving only one sentence in Lu Mingfei’s mind.
“It really is strange.”
“I can’t even guess why you would do these things.”
“Junior Brother?” Fingel’s voice pulled Lu Mingfei back to reality, “My name isn’t that hard to remember, is it? You had to confirm it again.”
Fingel was sucking on his fingers, savoring the fragrant beef burger.
Noisy sounds came from outside: footsteps of pedestrians, car horns, the friction of wheels on tracks, all the sounds of a metropolis were present, the service staff were still calling out queue numbers, and the Burger King below was still open for business.
“I’m back?” Lu Mingfei thought to himself.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.
Why was that boy named Lu Mingze? Lu Mingze didn’t look like that when he was a child.
“Junior Brother, repeat after me, it’s easier to remember if you say it once,” Fingel said, “Fingel von Frings.”
“Fingel von Frings.”
Lu Mingfei, in a daze, repeated after Fingel.
“Remembered it? If you remember, let’s quickly go to the VIP lounge, Senior Brother here hasn’t enjoyed the service there in a long time.”
Fingel rubbed his hands impatiently, looking just like a mosquito about to bite human skin.
Lu Mingfei chuckled and followed Fingel to the VIP lounge.
The two walked through the VIP lounge, leaving the noisy crowd behind, and stood before the ticket gate.
“Mr. Lu Mingfei, I apologize for the mistake in your train schedule.”
The train attendant called out Lu Mingfei’s name in one breath, apparently having done his homework.
Suddenly being called “Mister,” Lu Mingfei became flustered, “Ah, ah, yes, it’s me, I am Lu Mingfei.”
“Mr. Lu Mingfei, no need to be nervous. Every student of A-rank and above enjoys this treatment. The Fingel behind you was also called ‘Mister’ by me for four years.”
“It’s just that he’s now dropped to F-rank, so his priority, oh no, it can no longer be called priority, it’s a transfer.”
Fingel’s face instantly fell; the contrast between before and after was no different from that between a young master and a mule.
“I finally get to use the VIP lounge once, can’t you show me some respect just this once?”
“Fingel, even if you consider accumulating GPA to graduate this year, I still won’t call you ‘Mister’ again.”
The train attendant said while taking Lu Mingfei’s ticket and swiping it on the card reader. The green light lit up, and the sound was joyful and light.
“It really is S-rank, you actually made an S-rank wait this long?” Fingel, emboldened by Lu Mingfei, showed displeasure on his face.
The train attendant glared at Fingel, “F-rank, shut up.”
Fingel pouted and swiped his own ticket.
“I hope there won’t be a new ringtone next year. Rearranging ringtones every year greatly increases my workload.”
“So I’m quite special, someone actually customizes music just for me.”
“Not only is your rank hitting new lows, but your shamelessness is also hitting new lows, comparable to the Great Wall,” the train attendant said.
He sighed, no longer bothering with Fingel, and turned to apologize to Lu Mingfei again:
“I am very sorry. Previously, there were only a few S-ranks, and this time a new one was suddenly added, so there was a problem with the scheduling.”
“Are there many S-ranks?” Lu Mingfei asked curiously.
“No more than ten,” the train attendant said, “I don’t have permission to check more than that, but Mr. Lu Mingfei might.”
“However, you can only check these once you arrive at the College, Mr. Lu Mingfei, Professor Guderian has been waiting for you for a long time.”
Lu Mingfei nodded and followed the train attendant onto the platform.
The high-speed train stopped on the tracks, its headlights glaring.
The train was black, with a streamlined body, and dazzling silver-white vine patterns unfolded on the black paint, as magnificent as a work of art.
Outside the only sliding door, a familiar figure stood—Professor Guderian.