This was the first time in my life I'd ever been so smitten with a girl.
Ali was different. She was gentle, beautiful, and especially kind.
Last week, I saw her feeding a stray kitten with a fishing rod by the roadside. The look in her eyes practically melted his heart.
With both hands clasped over his chest and a blissful expression on his face, Tokikake left Mu Chen utterly stunned.
Actually, Mu Chen really wanted to say that the first girl Tokikake had fallen for should have been Qi Yuan, shouldn't it?
But he didn't want to bring up that dark chapter of Tokikake's history and discourage him.
I'm telling you, I'm serious this time. Maybe I'll settle down with her in the Sabaody Archipelago someday. We'll open a little tavern—she'll sell bubbles, I'll brew wine. Wouldn't that be perfect?
Watching him fantasize about the future, Mu Chen suddenly found this goofy Vice Admiral rather adorable.
He didn't argue anymore. He merely took a small black hair tie from his pocket, handed it to Tokikake, and said, "Flatten that tuft of hair sticking up. It looks ridiculous."
Tokikake froze for a moment, then took the hair tie and fussed with it in front of a mirror for ages. He finally managed to secure the stubborn lock of hair on his forehead, then grinned. "Hehe, brother, you really give me confidence."
The ship slowly sailed into the harbor of the Sabaody Archipelago, where the air was filled with the fresh scent of seawater and bubble solution.
Tokikake dragged Mu Chen toward Island Twelve, introducing the shops to him as they ran past rows of dazzling bubble stores. "Look, that one sells glowing bubbles. That one's even more amazing—it can blow bubbles shaped like people."
Ali's shop is right up ahead.