Chapter 28

Damn it, why do I feel like crying? There goes my living money for the next few days! (?д?; )

The Eve of the Date

"Lingmeng, I'm begging you. For my sake, please go on one date with Shido. Whatever happens, at least you'll both have tried."

Tohka looked at Lingmeng with such pleading eyes that Lingmeng had no idea how to respond.

Why does everyone want me to go on a date? Are you all mothers desperate for grandkids because your daughter's nearly thirty and still doesn't have a boyfriend?

The corner of Lingmeng's mouth twitched at the thought.

"Uh... well..." Lingmeng faltered.

"...You won't?" Tohka asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

Damn it! How am I supposed to say no when a girl this cute is begging me? ╰(‵□′)╯

Lingmeng was screaming inside.

"Fine. I guess going on a date with Shido isn't out of the question." Lingmeng sighed helplessly.

"Really!? ⊙ω⊙" Tohka perked up at the hint of agreement.

"Well, I suppose." Lingmeng scratched her cheek awkwardly. "But you'll have to offer me something tempting in exchange, Tohka."

Lingmeng raised an index finger and smiled.

"Mm-hmm! If you agree, I'll do anything!" Tohka nodded eagerly. "What would you like me to do?"

"Uh... well... You could call me 'big brother,' give me a hug, nuzzle me, something like that. But if you don't want to, forget it."

Lingmeng lowered her head shyly. Asking a cute girl to do those things felt mortifying.

"Big brother!" Without another word, Tohka threw her arms around Lingmeng, rubbed her cheek against Lingmeng's, and kept calling her that in a sweet voice.

Tohka didn't mind Lingmeng's requests. As far as she knew, Lingmeng was a girl, and apart from Shido, Lingmeng was the most important person in her life.

Besides, if Lingmeng agreed to date Shido, he would feel better too. None of it was much trouble for her.

She didn't understand why Lingmeng wanted to be called "big brother," but it was no great matter, so she went along with it.

To Lingmeng, though, it was a different story. She might look like a woman, but she was a man on the inside. How was she supposed to withstand Tohka doing that out of nowhere?

Oh my god, Tohka's so forward! Σ(|||▽||| )

Lingmeng was beside herself with excitement. She had never imagined that, as an otaku, she would one day be held so closely by a beautiful girl who kept calling her "big brother." Her HP hit zero in an instant.

Then Lingmeng felt something warm trickle from her nose. She touched it and checked her fingers. Sure enough, it was red.

"Lingmeng, why is your nose bleeding all of a sudden? Are you hurt?!"

Tohka panicked at the sight of the nosebleed.

"I-it's nothing..." Lingmeng took out a handkerchief and wiped her nose. "It's just a date with Shido. Tomorrow, I, Qian Lingmeng, am going all in!"

"Yay! That's wonderful!" Tohka bounced with the joy of a child.

Well, if I treat Shido like an ordinary friend, the way I always have, it shouldn't be a big deal.

That was what Lingmeng told herself. Looked at that way, the date would be nothing more than two same-sex friends hanging out.

"Mm! Thank you, Lingmeng!" Tohka came up to her.

"I snuck out without telling Shido or the others. He'll worry if I don't get back soon, so I'll see you later. Bye, Lingmeng!"

Tohka waved to Lingmeng and left.

Looking at the now-empty alley, Lingmeng muttered to herself.

"Yesterday I was swearing up and down that I'd never date Shido, and today I agreed. Guess 'never say never' really does apply to everyone."

With that, Lingmeng left too...

"Kotori, where on earth did Tohka go?"

Shido was at home, anxiously questioning Kotori beside him.

According to Kotori, Tohka had suddenly left the house Ratatoskr had arranged for her that morning and vanished without a trace.

"Relax. Tohka will be fine," Kotori replied, a Chupa Chups in her mouth.

"You say that, but..." Shido was about to continue when a voice rang out.

"Shido, I've got good news!" Tohka ran in from the hallway, her face alight with excitement.

"See? I told you she was fine." Kotori smiled.

"Tohka, where did you go? I thought something had happened to you."

Shido was visibly relieved to see her back.

"Sorry, Shido..." After apologizing, Tohka went on. "I went to see Lingmeng this morning."

"You went to see Lingmeng? Why?" Shido asked, puzzled.

"To ask her to go on a date with you!" Tohka puffed out her chest proudly. "And after I asked, she agreed!"

"What? Lingmeng really agreed?" Shido stared at her in surprise.

"Of course she did! Pretty impressive, right?"

"Well, that's an unexpected bonus." Kotori looked surprised too.

She hadn't expected Tohka to be so good at helping him. Lingmeng had turned Shido down flat, yet Tohka had managed to get her to agree.

"By the way, Tohka, did Lingmeng say when and where the date would be?"

Shido waited for her answer.

"Uh... I don't think I asked her that. I think she said tomorrow..." Tohka's expression froze at his question.

"I see..." Shido's mouth twitched. If they didn't know the time or place, Lingmeng's agreement wouldn't do them much good.

Ding! As Shido wondered what to do, his phone suddenly chimed.

He took it out and saw a text from an unknown number.

Who sent this? Curious, Shido opened the message. It read—

Meet me at the Hachiko Statue in front of Tengu City Station tomorrow morning at eight thirty. —Qian Lingmeng

"Is this from Lingmeng? How did she get my number?"

He knew the time and place of tomorrow's date now, but he couldn't help wondering how Lingmeng had found his phone number.

"She probably used her powers to look it up. Either way, we need to get ready for tomorrow's date, Shido," Kotori said after reading the message.

"Yeah... I know..." Shido answered softly. At the thought of dating Lingmeng tomorrow, a strange pressure settled over him.

"Relax. You've got Ratatoskr backing you up." Kotori bit down on her Chupa Chups and grinned confidently.

"Now, let's begin our date!"

Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

"Where is Shido? He isn't standing me up, is he?"

Morning came in the blink of an eye. Lingmeng had arrived at their meeting place early and was waiting for Shido.

What irritated her was that he still hadn't shown up, even though their agreed time had passed more than ten minutes ago.

Well, if he doesn't come, that's fine too. Saves me the trouble. Maybe I should head back?

Just as Lingmeng was thinking of returning to the Hotel to enjoy some video games, she heard the voice she least wanted to hear.

"Sorry, Lingmeng. Something came up, so I'm late."

Shido came running toward her with long strides, apology written all over his face.

"You've got some nerve, Shido. You invited me, and you still showed up late? Isn't being late for a date supposed to be the girl's privilege?"

Lingmeng frowned at him.

In a sense, this was the first proper date of Lingmeng's life. Even if she didn't care much about it, his lateness still made her angry.

"I'm really sorry. Tohka kept insisting on coming along, so it took a while."

Shido looked aside and scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Huh? Why did Tohka want to come?" Lingmeng tilted her head, baffled.

"She seems to think a date means two girls and one guy hanging out together..."

"Oh, so that's it. I wondered why Tohka suddenly begged me to date you. She had her own little plan after all?"

Lingmeng sounded as though a mystery had been solved. She recalled getting dragged along on one of Tohka and Shido's dates. No wonder Tohka thought a date involved two girls and one guy.

"So did you manage to talk Tohka out of it?"

"More or less... Kotori sent some Ratatoskr people to take her out for food. She's settled down for now."

"Ah, good."

Just then, Kotori's voice came through the earpiece in Shido's right ear.

"Hey, Shido. Lingmeng seems pretty annoyed that you were late."

"What should I do?" Shido asked under his breath.

"Start by saying something nice. Compliment her clothes or tell her she looks pretty."

"Got it..." Shido muttered, then spoke up. "Um... Lingmeng, your outfit looks great today. Did you pick it out specially for our date?"

"Huh? Dream on. Why would I go to all that trouble picking out clothes for you? Besides, this is just a tracksuit I grabbed from a street stall."

Puzzled by the strange compliment, Lingmeng gave him a disdainful look.

"Idiot, Shido! Those were just examples. Who compliments someone's tracksuit on a date? Think before you open your mouth, you dumb pig!"

Kotori glanced at the affection meter on the big screen and sighed. "Lingmeng's getting more suspicious of you. Make up some excuse."

"That's easier said than done..." Shido looked at Lingmeng and said awkwardly, "Oh... is that so? That's just like you, Lingmeng. You look good in anything."

"Even when you compliment me, I can't bring myself to feel happy." Lingmeng sighed too.

"Well, that helped a little. Lingmeng's affection level seems to be back to normal."

"I-is that so?" Shido's mouth twitched, but he managed to keep smiling.

"Anyway, let's get this date started. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. I've got a game to grind when I get back."

Lingmeng headed straight down the street, and Shido hurried after her.

Lingmeng and Shido had been walking for more than ten minutes when Shido tried to make conversation.

"Is there anywhere you particularly want to go, Lingmeng?"

"Not really. You're the one who invited me, so you must have something planned, right?" she replied casually.

"Uh... yeah." Shido tapped his earpiece and muttered urgently, "Kotori, what do I do now?"

At that moment, Fraxinus's AI automatically displayed three options—

① "Go see a movie."

② "Go to the aquarium and impress her with your knowledge of fish."

③ "Skip the chatter. Get a room at an adult Hotel and go all the way!"

"Hold on. We'll discuss it now." Kotori rose from the Command Seat and called to the crew, "Everyone, pick an answer within five seconds!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the crew replied in unison. Five seconds later, all their choices appeared on the screen at Kotori's Command Seat.

Option ① received four votes, option ② got two, and even option ③, which looked as if it was only there to make up the numbers, received one.