It was the first time a boy had rubbed her head. The feeling stirred something strange within Kazuha.
"By the way, Kazuha, why are you following Ran around? Won't you disturb Ran and her mother?" Chen asked Kazuha.
"You're not disturbing us. We have more fun with Kazuha around," Ran said with a smile.
"Did you hear what Ran said?" Kazuha huffed softly at Chen.
"I heard her. But I still feel like you're a bit in the way," Chen muttered under his breath, so quietly that Kazuha could barely hear him.
Well, Kazuha indeed hadn't heard him. But she had seen Chen muttering quietly, so she now suspected that he had been badmouthing her.
"Were you saying bad things about me?" Kazuha asked Chen.
"No, absolutely not." Chen shook his head decisively.
"Since we ran into each other, how about we shop together?" Ran suggested.
"I don't mind." Chen had no objections. Having a few more people to talk to was nice too.
"By the way, I'm going to sit over there for a while. If you want to buy anything, go ahead."
With that, Chen walked toward a nearby bench. After thinking for a moment, Ai followed him.
Chen had no interest in buying clothes or anything like that, and neither did Ai, so she sat down on the bench with him.
"Hey, I asked you to come out so you could give me some advice. Why are you sitting over there now? No, get over here already."
Yukiko Kudo walked over angrily and called out to Chen.
"Isn't Eri Kisaki here? Let her go clothes shopping with you. I think women are better off asking other women for advice when buying clothes."
Chen refused Yukiko Kudo without hesitation. He really had no advice to offer.
"Come on,