The bloom rested against Firefly's chest. She instinctively picked it up and held it in her hand.
Looking at Pei Guang, then at Stelle, she thought for a moment, then handed the flower to Pei Guang. "You like it. Here, it's for you."
Neither Pei Guang nor Stelle had cared much about winning the flower, it was just their daily habit of competing over silly things, a kind of seasoning in their lives, the Trailblazers' unique sort of play.
But Firefly giving the flower to Pei Guang? In that instant, Stelle's alarms for March 7th went off at full volume!
She knew it: Pei Guang kept buttering people up, and sooner or later it was bound to backfire.
And now? Trouble had arrived. An adorable girl was actually giving him a flower?!
Stelle suddenly realized something: Pei Guang hadn't even gone out of his way to gain Firefly's favor. She was just offering it because she thought he'd like it? At most, it was a kind of "affection reward."
And really, why was she worrying on March's behalf, anyway?
Her emotions flipped several times in the span of a second. Pei Guang, on the other hand, didn't think much of it. Since Firefly was giving it, he simply accepted. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelFɪre.net
"Thanks~ Mm~ Is this your affection gift?"
"Affection gift?" Firefly blinked.
Stelle explained, "It means you like Ah Guang, so you give him a gift."
Hearing that, Firefly nodded firmly. "Yes, a gift. To thank you for letting me have so much fun, for showing me so many interesting things."
She felt like she had soaked up Pei Guang's luck.
In all her time in the dreamscape, she had never stumbled upon a proposal. Yet with him, she'd not only been chased in a street race, gone to the movies, but also witnessed a wedding proposal.
She herself might never have the chance to experience something like that, but she wanted to share the gratitude and happiness with the person who had shown it to her.
"Then I'll accept it~ Thank you~ You're such a good girl~" Pei Guang smiled.
"Mm~" Firefly beamed brightly.
The newly-engaged couple finished giving out the flowers and departed—they had to return to their homeworld and prepare for the wedding.
After watching the proposal, walking down Glaux Avenue, Stelle raised her arm high. "Mm~ That was worth the trip! Where to next?"
She was already looking forward to what else they might run into. Firefly, still smiling, turned toward Stelle and Pei Guang. "Next, we'll go see the Clockie statue. It's a landmark here~ Look, just across this street, up ahead."
The proposal site was a bit of a distance from the Clockie statue. They needed to cross a large road and then climb several long flights of stairs to reach it.
If nothing unexpected happened, the three of them would cross the road and, after about ten minutes of walking, arrive at the square to admire the landmark building of Golden Hour.
The three of them walked together toward the crosswalk. In the dreamscape, there were plenty of vehicles, so they had to wait for the right moment to cross.
After waiting a short while, when no cars were coming, the three crossed the street together.
In theory, in Penacony one didn't need to follow traffic rules: being hit by a car didn't really hurt, and unless the impact was strong enough, the person wouldn't even be ejected from the dream.
Of course, since dream physics were peculiar, a hard enough collision could still cause an accident, even damaging the vehicle.
Normally, the worst accident while crossing would just be getting hit, but while they were in the road, Stelle's sharp eyes suddenly noticed something flashing faintly on the ground.
Without thinking, she dove forward and sprawled on the pavement, searching for what it could be.
She wanted to see what exactly was glinting there.
"Huh? This is… a coin?"
Seeing Stelle really had found something, Pei Guang got excited and was about to dive forward too to check it out. But before he could, a luxury car came barreling down the street.
Neither he nor Stelle had time to react before the car slammed straight into her and sent her flying.
That's right: Stelle got sent flying.
In the real world, maybe the car would have gone flying instead, but here in the dreamscape, it was different.
Whether it was because of her prone position making the angle just perfect, or simply because dream cars hitting people always sent them flying, Stelle now clutched an arcade token in her hand as she was launched high into the sky.
And she wasn't flying slowly either: within the blink of an eye, she vanished in a flash of light from Pei Guang and Firefly's view.
Pei Guang's eyes went wide.
Just a moment ago Stelle had been standing there, perfectly fine, even finding treasure. And the next, she was gone, blown away by a car?
He quickly pulled out his phone and messaged the group to check on her.
Pei Guang: "Stelle! How are you feeling?"
Stelle: "I've ascended, feeling good. Ah~ it seems I'm flying pretty far?"
The car had sent Stelle clear to the edge of the zone.
She could teleport back, but to save her limited teleport uses, she decided not to waste one and would just run back instead.
But since she'd been blasted so far away, running back would take quite some time. After estimating, she replied to Pei Guang: "It'll take me a while to get back. You go on ahead and have fun!"
Seeing this exchange, March 7th curiously asked, "Huh? Did you two find anything interesting?"
Pei Guang: "Yeah! A dream bubble and a luxury shop. We even did a quest at the shop, so now we get discounts on everything there. By the way, how's your shopping going?"
March 7th immediately perked up at the question. "Let me tell you, this mall is huge! I've been shopping for so long and only finished the first floor. The clothes are so pretty~ eheh~"
That little "eheh~" was her secret signal for Pei Guang.
Thanks to her storage space, March could bring the clothes straight back to her room. She was already planning to surprise him with her haul once they were done in Penacony.
She genuinely loved the goods sold in Penacony too. She was determined to buy as much as she could before the Opera House's opening—time for some serious spending.
Pei Guang: "Buy! Everyone should shop all they want. If we run out of money, I'll just ask Jing Yuan for more! Don't be shy, that money's for everyone!"
He was referring to the revenue share from selling access to the Echo of War. Most of it he sent back to Earth, but if his companions wanted things here, he'd set some aside for them.
Weekly payouts weren't limitless, but letting everyone splurge in Penacony was no problem.
March 7th: "Eheh~ I've got my own little stash too, don't worry~"