What is a Boyfriend

Outside, Lu Mingfei was suffering from inner turmoil. Erii really didn't treat him like an outsider at all; this was the first time he'd ever seen a girl stand before him completely naked.

Her shrine maiden outfit was still on the bed, so she would likely have to come out to put it on soon.

Sighing, Lu Mingfei tidied up Erii's clothes and walked to the bathroom door.

He knocked.

"Erii, I've left your clothes by the door. You can change inside; no need to reply, just clap your hands if you hear me."

Lu Mingfei called out toward the bathroom.

"Clap clap!" Erii clapped her hands obediently. Seeming to find it amusing, she clapped a few more times, only stopping reluctantly when Lu Mingfei told her to.

Over half an hour later, Erii walked out with a Little Yellow Duck perched on her head, now fully dressed.

Seeing that Lu Mingfei looked a bit off, Erii sat on the bed, picked up her notebook, and wrote: "What's wrong, Sakura? You don't look so good."

"Has your family never told you that you shouldn't just strip in front of a strange man? Actually, scratch that—you shouldn't strip in front of any man."

Lu Mingfei said gloomily.

"Why can't I just take my clothes off?" Erii raised the notebook to ask.

"Because that's the rule of this world. A girl shouldn't let other men see her body just like that."

Since her family hadn't told her, Lu Mingfei decided he would be the one to teach Erii this common sense.

Erii nodded, looking as if she half-understood.

"Then who can see?" Erii raised the notebook to continue her inquiry.

"Girls are fine. As for guys, it has to be your future partner."

"What is a partner?"

"It means a boyfriend."

"What is a boyfriend?"

"A boyfriend is someone who will walk with you until the end, grow old with you, love you, spoil you, take you to play fun games, take you to eat delicious food, never leave your side, and eventually marry you," Lu Mingfei explained.

"Want one. A boyfriend." Erii held up the notebook right in front of Lu Mingfei's eyes.

"That depends on your own efforts. The prerequisite for finding a boyfriend is making a boy like you, and you having a very good impression of him as well. Only with a mutual pursuit can you have a so-called boyfriend."

Several men flashed through Erii's mind. First was Gen Chisaki; although her brother was very kind to her, she always felt a bit afraid of him.

Then, Sakura's face crossed her mind. Sakura was interesting, very capable, and treated her well. Could he be her boyfriend? Erii just let her imagination run wild; she often thought about storylines from anime.

She fantasized about sailing with Luffy or becoming best friends with Naruto. Since Naruto was also a monster, she didn't find these fantasies strange at all.

Lu Mingfei gently stroked Erii's hair as he explained these things to her. He didn't want this girl, who was as blank as a sheet of paper, to get hurt, so he could only explain it this way.

Feeling the warmth on her head, Erii rubbed her head against Lu Mingfei's hand like a kitten.

"Alright, enough of that. Time to sleep."

He had thought about it for a long time while Erii was bathing; he didn't want to sleep on the floor after finally going on a trip.

"Do you mind sharing a bed with me?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"I want to sleep with Sakura," Erii held up the notebook.

"In that case, you sleep on the inside and I'll take the outside. The bed is quite large, so we can just sleep separately."

Lu Mingfei then placed his Kujo Jotaro notebook in the middle of the bed.

"We'll use this as the boundary. Neither of us can cross this line while sleeping. Whoever crosses it has to give half of their bowl of food to the other person tomorrow."

Erii nodded repeatedly; the thought of giving away her food was too terrifying.

Turning the lights down to a soft glow, the two sat on opposite sides, leaning against the headboard.

"Does Sakura have a Stand?" Erii passed over the notebook.

"Stands are only in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. That's anime; we don't have those in the real world," Lu Mingfei explained.

"Oh." Erii looked a little disappointed.

"What about you, Erii? Why can't you go out at home?" Lu Mingfei asked.

He truly didn't understand. Why couldn't such a normal-looking girl go outside? She didn't look like she was suffering from a serious illness.

Erii fell silent. She had heard from people in the family that her bloodline wasn't very stable, and that she was like the monsters in Ultraman—going out would only bring trouble to others.

The reason she had always wanted to run away from home was simply because she wanted to see the world.

After a long while, Erii wrote in her notebook: "Because I am a Little Monster. Going out would be bad for others. I need the doctors to treat me every so often."

"What monster? You're such a silly girl. How could you going out possibly affect anyone else?"

Lu Mingfei reached out and ruffled her hair, his movements very gentle, as if he were pitying this girl.

He understood now; Erii probably needed treatment at regular intervals, and if she didn't get it, she would have an episode.

"Then when is your next treatment?" Lu Mingfei asked softly.

"In half a month."

Then there's no problem; Lu Mingfei will be staying in Japan for three more days, so just take her home on the final day.

"It's getting late, Erii, go to sleep early. We still have other places to visit tomorrow," Lu Mingfei said softly.

Erii nodded vigorously.

They used two separate quilts. Lu Mingfei tucked Erii in and smoothed out her covers, warning her not to kick them off because he wouldn't be held responsible if she got cold.

Erii just blinked at him. It was the first time anyone had ever fussed over her like that; Sakura was so gentle.

Lu Mingfei fell asleep on the outer side, hugging his Asahina Mikuru body pillow with a blissful smile on his face. Erii lay on the inside, clutching her C.C. body pillow with the Little Yellow Duck placed beside her head, her eyes wide open as she wondered about who knows what.

Seeing that Sakura was asleep, Erii studied his eyelashes carefully, counting them one by one.

After a while, a finger poked Sakura's cheek.

Sakura didn't react, so Erii poked his nose, then his forehead.

Her finger was suddenly caught. Lu Mingfei said with his eyes still closed, "Go to sleep properly. If you don't, I'll throw you out to feed the wolves!" He then released Erii's finger.

Erii scooted inward and tucked her head under the quilt, not daring to poke Sakura again. Sakura was so scary!

Happy New Year, everyone!