You know how, in films, when a stunning girl or handsome boy enters a building, there's always a gentle breeze that perfectly tousles and glorifies their hair?
Neo had finally witnessed it for himself.
As Mary walked into the café, Neo's breath caught in his throat.
Damn! She was too stunning!
Her gorgeous brown hair flowed behind her like that of a fairy. It billowed gently, accentuating her delicate face, making her appear both cute and glamorous at the same time.
Her lithe yet petite figure was clad in a simple hoodie crop top and jeans, but those plain clothes could not hide the exquisite figure beneath them.
Neo watched as she clumsily removed the strands of hair that had found their way into her mouth, and he found himself chuckling at how adorable she was.
He felt a bit more at peace after seeing her, despite having just lost a whopping amount of money only minutes ago.
That was the power of a beautiful woman. And the reason why Neo was determined to have his own harem...
He'd have no problems... At least, the problems would feel lighter.
As Mary stepped into the café, every man paused for a moment to stare at this goddess who had accidentally descended into the mortal realm.
They all held their breath as she scanned the area with her gaze.
Despite not knowing her, every man present hoped they were the one she was looking for.
Even the ones with their girlfriends!
Neo raised his hand and waved gently. He saw her glance at him, and he smiled at her. His smile faded, however, when she casually glanced over him as though she didn't recognise him.
Neo was about to faint from shock when realisation dawned on him.
'I get it now… It's my new look,' Neo thought inwardly and decided to call her.
"Mary! Over here!"
Mary, who had been intending to give Neo a call, suddenly paused when she heard her name.
'Wait! That voice...' Her brows shot up as she hurriedly searched for the source of the voice. When she finally saw him, her mouth formed a perfect 'O'.
Neo smiled gently and waved her over to his table. As she walked over, he pressed a tiny button in the middle of the table and ordered a 'Pokenoir' for her as well.
"Oh my spirit! Who is this?" Mary gasped, staring intently at Neo as she sat down opposite him.
"Surprised?"
"Who the hell are you?" she asked again. The only reason she was even able to imagine that this was her best friend was because of his unmistakable voice.
"Who do you think I am?" Neo asked, taking a sip of his drink. He was enjoying this.
"Are you Neo's long-lost twin brother?"
"Cliché, but no."
The tiny button in the centre of the table flashed, and a plastic cup containing a dark yellow drink appeared.
"Then are you an ancient ascendant who's taken over my best friend's body and soul?"
Neo's brows rose. He thought she was getting a little too wild with her imagination.
"This is real life, girl, not some relic."
Neo was also a fan of relics, which were the webnovels of the old age. They both had the same favourite author and read the same genre of relics.
"Wait! Did you stumble upon a mysterious pendant that later turned out to be a system?"
Upon hearing the words 'mysterious pendant', Neo's mind went to the Immortal Pendant around his neck, and he almost laughed.
What system? His own mysterious pendant wanted to kill him by thoracic explosion!
But he obviously couldn't tell her that, so he smiled calmly and said, "Seriously, Mary, go easy on the tropes."
All of a sudden, Mary gasped. Her big brown eyes widened as she stared at Neo incredulously.
"You bought a beauty potion?"
Pfft!
Neo couldn't help himself. Hearing what Mary said made him want to laugh so hard. The laughter came so intensely that he almost spat his drink all over her face, but he managed to reflexively twist his head to the left.
The drink drenched a poor old woman wearing a crusty old crochet blouse. Neo wanted to apologise, but when he saw her sneakily lick off the drink around the corners of her mouth, he shuddered and instinctively pushed his chair away.
That was a damned poor sugar mummy!!
Focusing back on Mary, Neo couldn't help but be amazed. Her imagination was truly wild.
In fact, borderline crazy!
Did she know how rare and expensive beauty potions were? Only five had ever been sold in the past 100 years!
Neo was so sure of this because he had personally researched the topic back when he was still pupil-less.
He gently placed his drink down and smiled. Then he pointed at his face.
"Come on, Mary, this is natural."
"It's hard to believe!"
"I know, right? I'm too handsome now."
"It's quite... shocking."
Her face was slightly red. She was giving Neo a very intense and deep stare that made his heart almost leap out of his chest.
Neo could be very calm and cool around Mary and all, but that was only when they were joking around and having friendly banter. The moment that spark of sexual tension was lit, he turned into a nervous wreck.
To prevent that from happening, as it always had before, Neo smoothly changed the topic.
"What's really shocking is that you haven't touched your drink. We both know that cold Pokenoir turns into 'Puke-now'."
Pokenoir was one of Neo's favourite drinks. It was cheap, refreshing, and quite delicious.
When hot, that is.
Hearing his words, Mary picked up the drink and sipped it, all the while still staring intensely at him.
It was like she was trying to burn his face into her memory. He was just too good-looking.
"Besides, aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.
Mary scratched her chin in puzzlement. What was she forgetting?
Neo decided to give her a clue since she still hadn't remembered.
"Where is my birthday gift?!"
Neo's clue was to just ask directly.
"Umm, about that…" Her face turned so red at this point it almost looked like she was bleeding. "I got outbid."
Neo's nostrils flared, and his body trembled. He was trying to hold in his laughter, struggling intensely.
Seeing his reaction, Mary hurriedly explained herself, thinking he was angry.
"I tried to make them stop bidding on it, but they were too stubborn and wouldn't let me have it! Don't worry, I'll get you something even better!"
Neo smiled and finally calmed himself. He placed a hand on hers and leaned in a little.
"It doesn't matter whether you give me gifts."
'Unless it's a bloodline spirit and dozens of formation pills,' he added mentally.
"As long as you remain my best friend, nothing else really matters."
'Except being my girlfriend,' he added mentally once again.
Mary blushed after hearing this and looked away shyly. Her heart was beating so fast she feared it was echoing in the café. She stared at him after a few seconds and patted her chest.
"Don't worry, I'm all yours for today! Let's go to Spiral and buy you some trendy clothes!"
Neo was shocked.
"You paying?" he asked.
"Pfft! No, of course, you're paying!"
"Then I'm fine with my wardrobe."
Neo realised trendy clothes were all vanity.
"Then we should go watch the S.F.A. junior league finals live tonight!"
Neo frowned slightly before speaking in a calm, righteous voice.
"You have no idea how expensive they are."
"Oh, come on! It's just five credits!"
"Imagine!! Those bloody shylocks!!"
Neo didn't even have a tenth of a credit. Five was just an insane amount for him to spend on a single game!
Seeing that she was getting frustrated, Neo hurriedly made his own offer.
"Okay, let's go play Deck Battleground!"