Ho Fei-yu placed his phone beside him. He sat up, and a piece of bread and a carton of milk appeared in his hands from nowhere. He finished his lunch as if chewing on sawdust.
He lay back down, resting his head on his hands, looking at the empty ceiling. Recalling Auntie Mitsuko's cooking, he realized staying out for lunch was a huge loss. But he needed to calm down and give Auntie Mitsuko some time to cool off too.
Drowsiness crept in. He set his alarm, closed his eyes, and started resting.
Ding-ding—
Time flew by. Ho Fei-yu shot up like a carp, put on his shoes, and turned off the alarm. He reopened the store door. A thick, hot blast of air hit him. Even with his body far exceeding that of an ordinary person, he felt a slight sense of irritation. He took a deep breath, calmed down, stood at the register, and began his afternoon shift.
Before long, the two girls joined him. The afternoon passed like that.
Around 5 p.m., Ho Fei-yu noticed beads of sweat rolling down the girls' foreheads occasionally, so he made a decision that went against "ancestral" traditions.
"Cough, cough." When the store was empty, Ho Fei-yu fake-coughed a few times, firmly capturing the attention of the two girls.
"Heh heh, I've decided to close the store at 6 p.m. from now on."
"Of course, the pay will remain the same."
"Long live Fei-yu-kun~" Yui Nakaizumi didn't know why Ho Fei-yu was doing this, but the thought of getting two hours of free time with the same pay—since they usually closed at 8 p.m.—made her jump up and happily thank Ho Fei-yu with a joyous smile.
Shiori Fuyutsuki, standing beside Ho Fei-yu, also smiled but didn't show it as overtly as Yui Nakaizumi. Her purple-brown eyes looked at Ho Fei-yu's gently smiling profile. Her girlish affection was spreading. Suddenly, she felt that closing at 6 p.m. wasn't so great. An extra two hours of time with the young man, even if nothing happened, was enough to make her happy.
"Why?" Thinking this, a hint of disappointment crept in, and she couldn't help but ask the reason in a slightly dejected tone.
"Heh heh, isn't Shiori-chan preparing for the entrance exam?"
"Eh, Yu-kun?~" Shiori Fuyutsuki was first surprised, then touched by Ho Fei-yu's words. She was surprised because she didn't know how Ho Fei-yu knew about it. She guessed that Yui Nakaizumi, the big mouth, must have mentioned it during their chat yesterday afternoon. She was touched because she didn't expect Ho Fei-yu to make such a decision for her sake.
The spreading affection, which was already like a dam about to burst, immediately erupted like a flood. Shiori Fuyutsuki's delicate body rose and fell, her breathing slightly rapid. Her purple-brown eyes were slightly hazy, covered by a thick mist of deep affection. She was on the verge of losing control.
When she saw Yui Nakaizumi turn her back, bending over to organize the shelves. She could no longer restrain herself.
She quickly walked in front of the young man. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his lips, leaving a faint moist mark.
Once her feelings were vented, her sanity mostly returned.
"Thank you, Yu-kun." Thinking of her bold move, she grabbed the hem of her skirt with both hands, fidgeting, and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito.
Ho Fei-yu was stunned, touching the corner of his lips. There was still a slight moistness on his hand. He hadn't expected Shiori Fuyutsuki to react so strongly. He actually had a selfish reason, too: he wanted more time to spend with Hanako Tenkawa.
Shiori Fuyutsuki fidgeted for a while, then looked up at Ho Fei-yu's stunned expression, finding it slightly amusing. She glanced at Yui Nakaizumi, who wasn't looking their way, and her courage grew a little.
She reached out with her small hand to touch Ho Fei-yu's hand. As soon as the young man's warmth reached her palm, the girl couldn't help but gently draw on his palm with her finger, as if teasing a lover.
Ho Fei-yu felt the ticklish sensation on his hand. He instinctively gripped Shiori Fuyutsuki's hand to stop her from misbehaving. To his surprise, Shiori Fuyutsuki took it as acceptance. She immediately opened her palm, found the gaps between Ho Fei-yu's fingers, and intertwined their hands. Seeing Yui Nakaizumi still not looking, a thrill of excitement surged in her heart.
For a moment, there were two slackers idling in the convenience store, while only Yui Nakaizumi, who wanted to go home, was diligently working. It was her repayment for Ho Fei-yu letting them off early.
—Click— Ho Fei-yu locked the convenience store door, turned around, and saw two lovely JK beauties staring at him.
"Huh! Aren't you two leaving yet?" Ho Fei-yu looked at them, confused. For a moment, he forgot that the three of them could walk the same route. But today, he was going to Hanako-chan's house, and since it was in the opposite direction, he said this.
"Eh? Isn't Fei-yu-kun going home with us?" Yui Nakaizumi, holding Shiori Fuyutsuki's arm, asked in confusion. Ho Fei-yu had walked with them for a while just last night.
"I have something else to do today, so..."
"Oh, okay then. Bye-bye, Fei-yu-kun." Yui Nakaizumi nodded with a look of realization after hearing Ho Fei-yu's words. She then waved the hand she had around Shiori Fuyutsuki's arm as a farewell.
"Mhm." Ho Fei-yu nodded in response.
"Airhead, did you forget something?" Shiori Fuyutsuki looked at her best friend, feeling a little speechless. When they went home for lunch, Auntie Mao had specifically told Yui Nakaizumi to invite Ho Fei-yu for dinner at their house this Saturday evening as a thank you. Yui Nakaizumi had sworn to deliver the message, but now, they were almost parting ways, and she hadn't made the invitation. If Shiori hadn't kept it firmly in mind, Auntie Mao would probably lecture her best friend severely when she returned tonight.
"Eh? What thing?"
"..." Fine. Shiori Fuyutsuki completely gave up. Her best friend was truly clueless yet adorable, which, in a way, was accurate.
"Fei... Fei-yu-kun, w-well... that is... could you please come to our house at seven this Saturday evening? We'd like to treat you to dinner."
"To thank you for your help, Fei-yu-kun, you must accept!" As she spoke, Shiori Fuyutsuki's expression was one that said, If you don't agree, I'll hug you until you do.
"This..." Ho Fei-yu hesitated because he had received a message from Jinn Takanotori that he planned to target a female student at 6 p.m. this Saturday. He didn't know if he would make it back in time.
"Yu-kun~" Seeing the hesitant look on Ho Fei-yu's face, Shiori Fuyutsuki quickly pleaded in a sweet voice, behaving completely out of character. Shiori Fuyutsuki would only do this for Ho Fei-yu. If it were anyone else, she would have turned her head away or looked down her nose at him, not caring whether he came or not. Shiori Fuyutsuki was planning to show off her cooking skills on Saturday evening, make delicious food, and capture Ho Fei-yu's stomach. While she wasn't interested in romance dramas, Yui Nakaizumi loved pulling her into watching them. She had learned a few dating tips, one of which was: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Yui Nakaizumi, who was holding her arm, was surprised that her best friend would make such an expression. In the years they had known each other, her best friend had been pursued by boys, but she had rejected every one of them with a stand-offish, tsundere expression. This pleading expression appearing on Shiori Fuyutsuki's face was like a collision between worlds.
"Yu-kun~" Yui Nakaizumi saw the awkward look on Ho Fei-yu's face, which showed he couldn't refuse. She quickly inwardly cheered for her best friend, then imitated Shiori Fuyutsuki's tone and also pleaded sweetly.
"Okay..." Ho Fei-yu was completely overwhelmed by them. A tsundere and a clueless-yet-adorable girl making out-of-character expressions made him uncomfortable. But seeing their attitude—that they would keep it up until he agreed—he had no choice but to accept.
"(??w??)y Yay!" Yui Nakaizumi's lips curled up high in a smile of pure delight. She wanted to celebrate this news with Shiori Fuyutsuki, but when she looked over, her best friend had returned to her usual expression, as if the person a moment ago wasn't her. She also noticed Ho Fei-yu looking at her strangely. Even her simple-minded self felt the awkwardness, wishing she could dig a hole and hide.
The atmosphere suddenly became strangely quiet.
"Well, I'll be going now~" Ho Fei-yu broke the awkward silence first.
"Mhm, goodbye," Shiori Fuyutsuki replied softly.
"Goodbye."