What should I do? Should I ask the owner for a glass of water? That kind of extra service would add to the bill, however small. Evan had said it was his treat, so even if it was just a small expense, she should probably ask for his opinion first.
But this is so embarrassing. Choking on your food isn't something a lady would do, right?
As Mei, who had received a strict upbringing, was struggling with her dilemma, she suddenly heard Evan's voice.
"Two glasses of juice, please."
A restaurant like this naturally wouldn't list a glass of water on its menu with a price tag, so Evan ordered juice instead.
Did he notice her predicament, or did he just want a drink? Mei wasn't sure. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling lucky, she heard Evan whisper in her ear.
"How many days has it been since you last ate? You're eating in such a hurry. Should I order another set meal for you?"
His teasing tone made Mei blush with a mix of shame and annoyance.
"Of course not!"
She knew he was teasing her again and didn't bother with a clumsy explanation. Evan, for his part, had just been speaking casually.
After drinking the juice, Mei felt much better. Recalling Evan's earlier joke, she was now certain he had ordered the juice because he saw her choking. His perceptiveness and thoughtfulness were somewhat similar to her own.
For Mei, this was a novel experience. Although many people had gathered around her when she was the young lady of ME Corp, they were just ordinary high school girls with little experience in worldly affairs. Besides some empty compliments and clumsy attempts to get close, Mei hadn't gained much. She had always been the one taking care of others. Being cared for by a peer, this was honestly the first time.
It felt... very heartwarming.
"Are you out with someone you like, little fella?"
After serving their meals and juice, and with no new customers coming in, the owner had a moment of leisure. She stood inside the U-shaped counter and asked Evan with great interest, hoping to see the shy expression of a young boy whose secret had been discovered.
Of course, the owner had observed them carefully before speaking. She had noticed the slight restraint in Mei's gestures and the caring way Evan had ordered a drink for her, confirming they were more like close friends or a couple than relatives. Otherwise, if she had said something that didn't match the facts and made the customers unhappy, she would have failed as a restaurant owner.
"Yes. I'm not very familiar with the area. Could you recommend any good places to go? The kind of place that would make a girl happy."
To the owner's surprise, not only did Evan not show the shyness of an innocent teenager, he took the opportunity to ask for her advice. This calm and composed demeanor made her sigh internally with a little regret, but she didn't let it show and answered immediately.
"Since you've already enjoyed a happy meal at my restaurant, after satisfying your appetite, you should buy a small gift for the girl. About twenty meters down this street, there's an accessory shop. Just like my restaurant, it's good quality for a good price."
While making a recommendation, the owner didn't forget to brag about her own business, and she did it twice. This made Evan unsure whether to laugh or cry. As for Mei, from the moment she heard the owner say "someone you like," she had been at a loss for what to do, silently eating her meal and drinking her juice, pretending not to hear the conversation between Evan and the owner.
After finishing their meal and paying the bill, Evan naturally followed the owner's recommendation and led Mei towards the accessory shop. The girl hesitated for a moment, then spoke up.
"You don't have to spend so much money on me..."
Mei, who had always been the one taking care of others, was not used to Evan's attentiveness. To be honest, after losing her status as the young lady of ME Corp, she was even a little overwhelmed that a boy would be willing to do so much for her.
"It's not a big expense at all; it barely cost anything. Besides, you were willing to practice swordsmanship with me and even made me strawberry daifuku. A simple dinner or a small gift is hardly enough to repay that. Speaking of which, what kind of accessories do you like?"
"I... I don't know. Anything is fine."
Mei was at a loss. Even when she was the young lady of ME Corp, no classmate had ever given her accessories; at most, they would give her food. And not long after, her father's incident happened, and even that level of interaction disappeared. And before that, because of her strict upbringing, she hadn't had much contact with girls her own age, let alone boys. As for fatherly love, Raiden Ryoma, the president of ME Corp, was always busy.
"Then let's go take a good look."
Evan led Mei into the accessory shop. It wasn't a luxury store, but sold more common, everyday trinkets. As the owner had said, it was a shop with good quality for a good price. Of course, that was relative to other accessory shops; a store on such a prosperous street wouldn't have street-stall prices.
Mei looked as if she was leaving the choice entirely to Evan. To avoid giving him the wrong idea, she even paid special attention to where she looked. Seeing this, Evan shook his head, sized her up for a moment, and then took a white hairband from the shelf.
"How do you feel about this one?"
Seeing that Evan seemed to have chosen something for her, Mei's first reaction wasn't to look at the item, but at the price tag on the shelf. When she saw a number that clearly didn't match her idea of "good price," she began to formulate her refusal.
But before she could speak, she heard Evan continue as if talking to himself.
"Is this hairband suitable? For a young lady like you, Mei, isn't the quality a bit too low? Maybe we should..."
Hearing that Evan intended to escalate things, Mei, who was about to refuse, quickly cut in.
"This one is fine! Don't change it, and don't buy anything else... Also, I haven't been a 'young lady' for a long time. You don't have to think of me as so high and mighty."