"Forget it, I won't ask. Tomorrow, I'm going with you." Vermouth said to Chen.
"What? You're coming too?" Chen looked at Vermouth in surprise.
"What, I'm not allowed to go? Chen, are you sick of me already?" Vermouth hugged Chen's arm and looked at him.
"How could that be? If you want to come, then of course you're welcome." Chen told Vermouth.
It would be even better if Vermouth came along. One more person would make things livelier. It was just that Vermouth actually wanted to go shopping, which Chen found a little unbelievable.
"Ai, do you want to come with us?" Chen asked Ai.
Ai was sitting not far away and should have already heard their conversation.
"No, I have things to do." Ai shook her head.
The things Ai spoke of were probably her research.
"Aren't you planning to relax a little, Ai?" Chen asked.
"I've relaxed for long enough. I don't want to keep relaxing, and I'm not interested in shopping." Ai said.
That was the main reason. Ai simply had no interest in shopping, which was why she did not want to go—just like Chen.
"It's perfect if the little girl isn't going." Vermouth glanced at Ai and said.
"I suddenly changed my mind. I'm going tomorrow too." Ai shot Vermouth a sidelong glance and said sharply.
Chen looked at Vermouth, then at Ai, and shrugged. The two of them seemed never to have gotten along, and that was still the case now.
Early the next morning, Chen left the house with Yukiko Kudo, Vermouth, and Ai.
"Wait, are you coming back for lunch today?" Akemi Miyano called out loudly to them.
"We probably won't be back at noon, so don't prepare food for us, Akemi." Yukiko Kudo replied.
"You're planning to shop all day?" Chen