Chapter 2
As he stood there, wondering what the girl was saying, he heard her speak again. "Never mind" Then he turned around and ignored her too. He decided to take out his phone and check for any messages and notifications. He scrolled around for a while and by the time he was done, the train had already arrived. After waiting for it to stop and the previous passengers to exist, he decided to enter as fast as he could so he might secure a chair.
As soon as he got in, he found out that most of the seats have been filled and he almost couldn't find any empty seat. That was until he peered at the end at the row for the empty seat. That was when he noticed something peculiar, someone was just holding onto the JDM tsurikawa. Except that person didn't even seat in the empty seat. Thinking it was weird, he decide to go closer and check out the situation. As he turned to look at the clock on top nailed on the train's ceiling, he noticed it was 9:16 am. One minute earlier than the girl told him, he thought maybe her watching was behind or something. At least better behind than front, am I right?
He noticed that was weird. Shaking off the strange thoughts, he moved towards the empty seat and decided to just seat in it. As he did, he looked again at the person standing in front of him and holding onto the train handle. He noticed it was the girl, strangely grinning at him again. That prompted him to look away and fidget on his phone. Just the idea at that some cute girl was grinning while looking at him intently terrified his poor little heart and he couldn't find a hole to dig his head into.
As he tried to take his mind off it, he saw an old woman holding the train handle and coughing, looking a little sickly. As a self proclaimed good person, he decided to do the bare minimum and tell her to walk over and sit in his place while he stands up. The old woman smiled at him and accepted his proposal. After she had walked over, he stood up and grabbed the tsurikawa near him. That made him have no choice but to look at her again. Except this time he decided to ask her why she was grinning at him.
"Wh-What....time is it?"
Dang it, he said to himself. He got so nervous that he randomly couldn't speak out the words and ended up asking her about the time again. That was when he got a weird answer.
"I've already told you. 9:17 am"
Noticing she was still referring to the broken watch of hers, he tried to correct her but suddenly got dumbfounded. He looked once again at the train's clock, and it was really 9:17 am. Then he thought again about something peculiar. Her watch looked smart. A bit too smart, like it's from the future. Maybe it was a custom made watch or something but that wouldn't explain how an obviously expensive looking watch would be broken. That means she was sure about the time. Also, she just happened to stand near the empty seat, that is somehow close to the train's clock and you can see at the same time.
During his thinking, he also thought about how he took the seat comfortably, and felt no sense of guilt while she was standing there and then the next moment he gave up his seat to the old sick woman. And decided to stand next to the girl.
It's like she predicted all this.
He suddenly felt his palm getting sweaty, his knees getting weak and arms getting heavy- Hmph Hmph i mean he got cold sweats on his back, and spoke out slowly.
"H-How did you know?"
She replied with the same smile.
"Hey, aren't you a bit too dramatic. Like some anime character"
He answered her immediately.
"I don't watch anime, but I know I'm as dramatic as those side characters in detective animes."
Seeing his refusal, she asked again.
"You don't watch anime? Then probably Chinese webnovels."
He got surprised again and asked inquisitively.
"What makes you say that?"
She replied almost at the same time.
"Was I wrong? "
He spoke again.
"I mean you're not wrong, after all CN novels are more immersive than Japanese ones and anime. "
She rebuked him immediately.
"I don't agree. You just don't like them as much."
He replied without thinking.
"Hooo. What makes you think you know me?" And then regretted it. He somehow sounded aggressive when he was just chatting normally.
Ignoring his confusion, she answered him almost immediately.
" I just did a simple deduction on you based on your behavior. Atleast I know all I need to know about you. I can also tell that you prefer fantasy world novels as opposed to urban world. Also you're a martial arts Xianxia fan, but hate tragedy."
He replied knowingly.
"Who doesn't? After all, martial arts are freakin fun when put in a world where put in a world where people freakin split planets with their pinkies or entire realms.....whatever that means. I find tragedy novels bad since I get emotionally invested in characters for hundreds of chapters, only for the female lead to die tragically or separated forever. While that only prompt a small revenge arc from the MC and I've had to deal with endless close calls of the female lead almost killed or abused. Therefore when she finally dies, you would only think the author ran out of plot armors for her. "
She replied with a grin.
"Then why don't you like urban world CN novels?"
He thought for a while and spoke.
" They are usually full of double standards. The characters are too patriotic and extremely racists against foreigners or "westerners " as they call them. Whereas they ignore the corrupt government and their young masters who break every rule in the book. It makes you think that the common people in China are being slaughtered left and right by young masters who don't like them or didn't get enough face. "
She laughed jovially and covered her mouth. Except, her pearly whites were showing through her fingers. She spoke again.
"You're very funny. It seems you get too invested in these novels. You should get a life or different hobby. They can ruin you. They almost ruined me too."
He spoke, a bit suprised.
"What do you mean?"
She answered him by saying.
"I found a good CN novel with almost 1000 chapters. I couldn't stop myself from reading it everyday, and I even extended my break times and got fired for it. And the weird thing about it? I never regretted "
He spoke with doubt in his eyes.
"Does that make you some kind of addict? "
She replied with some annoyance.
"No. Just irresponsible. Anyway my favorite novels are always transmigration or reincarnation."
He asked again with some curiosity, with almost shining eyes.
" Is it because they are normal people with extremely life changing experiences? Like warehouse worker to god slaughtering freak?"
"That sounds too chuunibyou." She replied with a grin,and spoke again. "It's true though. Even the very idea that a common random atheist guy gets to use freaking magic and do some supernatural stuff amazes me. Anyway, about you. Is it your first time going to work in this city?"
He became suprised at how she changed the topic to him. Except he now ignored that thought.
" Yeah, I just moved her last month. And I've graduated with almost no social or working skills. I didn't know how long could survive. So I chose to get a little job part time. "
She replied knowingly.
"Oh, it's obvious from your attire and behavior. Don't ask me how I noticed, I'm not Conan and won't point out the wrinkles in your $40 dollar shirt that screams of old age or the way you're clutching tightly the bag that's full of your personal documents and the confidence you exuded when entering the train. Like you want people to know you've taken it before. That proves you have taken the subway at least less than 10 times in your lifetime. That points to you coming from a place without subways. Like the central states and the South. I apologize. I usually get into it when I start showing off my excellent deductions."
He spoke again while knowing what she thought.
" I am actually surprised. You managed to glean the truth from those impossible clues and nonsense straw man fallacy, and somehow the conclusions were correct. It's like you don't want to tell me what you actually noticed that lead to your answers. Now please tell me, how did you know all that?"