A Man with Skills

Shuichi really wanted to criticize Ishikawa Tatsuki's idea, but he swallowed the words back.

If you put yourself in his shoes, you'd know he would definitely do everything in his power to pursue what he wants.

However, it's not appropriate for outsiders to interfere in matters of the heart. If that commoner girl is a perfect match for Ishikawa Tatsuki, wouldn't it be a shame to miss out?

"So you're planning to reject her on this date?" Shuichi asked tentatively.

Ishikawa Tatsuki replied somewhat awkwardly, "I do have that thought, but who says that on the first blind date? That's so impolite."

"Besides, I can't handle my mom's side either. I might run into other people at the store frequently in the future, which is just too..."

Shuichi darted around, her mind racing with terrible ideas. Then, she smiled slyly and said, "Since that's the case, I recommend a more sophisticated approach. You can have two relationships at the same time, but the specific methods are quite advanced. You'd better buy a Romance Story or something to read."

Ishikawa Tatsuki and Akane stared wide-eyed. "Two-timing?"

"Yes, that's it—attack from both directions simultaneously, so you can choose the best one!" Shuichi got more and more excited as he spoke, transforming into a dating expert with spittle flying everywhere. "Don't rush to reject that girl at the sushi restaurant. When you go there, maintain a friendly attitude first, talk about dreams, hobbies, and so on. Besides, everyone needs time to get to know each other better."

"We need to speed things up with that girl who works at the hospital, launch a fierce offensive, and try to win her over in the shortest possible time!"

Shuichi continued to explain in detail, "For example, if you want to find out her personal information, you can secretly observe her social circle, and then give gifts to these people to find out more about them."

"You know, we're ninjas. To kill someone with a single, swift strike during a mission, we need to gather enough intelligence, even for a romance mission."

"After that, you need to find opportunities to create chance encounters. Going directly to her door is too blunt. You can target her hobbies and arrange an unexpected meeting when she's doing something she enjoys."

Then they would simply exchange pleasantries like, "What a coincidence!", "You like this too?", and "Thank you so much for taking care of me last time."

"As long as she doesn't dislike you, after a while you'll launch a full-scale offensive," Shuichi said, looking at the dumbfounded Ishikawa Tatsuki.

"Send flowers, pick her up from get off work—do anything that shows your presence, in short, fill her world with your presence!"

"Once you succeed, things will be much easier; you can choose whichever you want. Of course, pursuing two fronts simultaneously is quite challenging, as this method requires a certain level of time management skills..."

Yūhi Kurenai couldn't stand it anymore, her face flushed as she retorted, "You're being so unfair to the girls! Can't you be a little more honest? Tatsuki, don't listen to Shuichi-kun's nonsense..."

Ishikawa Tatsuki was already intrigued, her eyes darting around, completely absorbed in her perfect fantasy. She gave a somewhat perfunctory reply, "Y-yes, yes... I understand..."

His behavior infuriated Yūhi Kurenai, who stomped her feet in anger and quickly ran away from the spot towards the village.

Ishikawa Tatsuki became a little more sober and asked Shuichi with some doubt, "Do these tricks really work? You don't seem to have tried them, have you?"

"It'll definitely be useful to some extent, don't you know how many books I've read!" Shuichi smiled mysteriously, "As for myself, I don't need it at all. This face I have is the strongest routine."

Ishikawa Tatsuki: "..."

A few days later, quite a while after the end of the workday, there was still a considerable amount of people on the streets of Konoha.

The Ishikawa Family's small sushi shop closed early today, precisely because Ishikawa Tatsuki's matchmaking event was held at a large, quiet restaurant that was more expensive.

"Seriously, what's there to be nervous about!" Shuichi looked at her childhood friend, who was dressed in a kimono and occasionally stomping her feet, and was speechless. "Don't treat the routine like a formula to memorize. The key is to observe the other person's expression..."

"Stop talking!" Yūhi Kurenai complained helplessly, then turned to Ishikawa Tatsuki and suggested, "As long as you speak gently, girls generally won't mind. She definitely wants to know what you're really like, so you might as well relax."

Ishikawa Tatsuki swallowed hard and said, "Alright, I know... Uh, she's here, I've already seen her!"

Shuichi and Kurenai looked in that direction and saw a young woman in a light yellow kimono walking towards them. She had a pretty face and her hands were clasped together and placed flat on her stomach. They knew from their childhood friend that her name was Saori.

As she approached, everyone quickly began to talk. Saori politely asked, "Ishikawa-kun, I apologize for keeping you waiting. May I ask who these two are?"

"They are my best friends who grew up with me, and I'm introducing them to you today!" Ishikawa Tatsuki said in a serious tone.

Shuichi and Kurenai weren't there to steal the spotlight. After a brief greeting, they said they had other things to do and wished them a pleasant evening.

After watching Ishikawa Tatsuki and Saori enter the restaurant, the two moved to a slightly secluded spot across the street and soon saw the couple sitting down at a table by the window on the second floor.

"Here we go!"

They could barely see Ishikawa Tatsuki's profile. This wasn't out of curiosity to spy on him; it was at his own request. He said that having a partner's mental support from afar would make him more relaxed. Shuichi didn't know why his childhood friend was so eccentric.

"Miss Saori, thank you for your presence..."

"You can take a look at what you'd like to eat first..."

"The weather's been a bit chilly lately, so please remember to keep warm..."

"..."

"Sigh, my mom just loves to meddle, she's always criticizing me..."

"This is fucking..." Shuichi almost peed his pants from watching it. "It's just awkward conversation, so incredibly low-class!"

Kurenai thought that Ishikawa Tatsuki and Saori were having a pleasant conversation, since she could barely see the face. However, Shuichi used his X-ray vision to reconstruct their conversation from their lip movements, which made him extremely frustrated.

"Why bother with all that mundane stuff? Hurry up and fawn over her!" Shuichi roared inwardly.

He had even given Ishikawa Tatsuki a special analysis over the past few days, suggesting that if he wanted to have his cake and eat it too and gain the upper hand, it would be best to make both girls like him enough, thus giving him a choice.

Simply put, when dealing with Saori, you need to be gentle and playful, keeping her in suspense and showing a relaxed yet intriguing attitude. For example, you could say something like, "You look beautiful today," during a break after she's finished ordering.

If you want to quickly win over the girl in the Medical Unit, you need to start "licking" her again. In short, you need to control the level of "licking" skillfully. How can you cultivate a good backup plan without putting in some effort...?

"It's hopeless, completely beyond saving!" Shuichi expressed his anger at his son's incompetence. After hanging out with me, Purple Aurora, for so long, he can't even pick up a girl properly.

"There's no other way, I have to demonstrate myself, lest Tatsuki blame me for not teaching well." Shuichi soft sigh, squinting as he secretly glanced at Hong beside him. "It's time to show off the real skills!"