Chapter 27

At least not in the fitting room!

[Penalty for task failure: Read aloud "I am Nangong Cheng's dog" one hundred times]

Not this either!

Sakura Airi was about to cry.

She really had no choice. She could only tense up, open a crack in the fitting-room door, and cautiously poke her head out with an extremely guilty look.

"Na, Nangong..."

"Hmm? Sakura, what are you...?"

Nangong Cheng was naturally putting on an act.

He had even used his money power to send the sales clerk away in advance, so it was time to do whatever he wanted.

"Um... Na, Nangong, didn't you say you wanted to see... my other appearance?"

"S-so I thought... w-why don't you come in, Nangong...? I-I'll change for you to see... a-and then you can just take, take pictures..."

Sakura Airi lowered her head and stammered out an extremely clumsy excuse, but that was no longer important.

Because she understood Nangong Cheng's ulterior motives.

"Would that... be convenient?"

Nangong Cheng pretended to refuse before graciously accepting, putting on an act like a veteran performer determined to play his role to the fullest.

Sakura Airi nodded with a flushed face, her body honestly making room for Nangong Cheng to enter.

"It's, it's fine... A-anyway, that older sister thinks we're... we're... a couple."

"J-just be quick..."

That wasn't going to happen.

A man couldn't be quick.

Nangong Cheng apologized inwardly, then honestly walked into the fitting room.

His gaze locked onto the stack of uplifting clothes as if he had auto-aim enabled, and Nangong Cheng felt that he was about to lose his composure.

"Then hurry up and choose, Sakura."

Sakura Airi lowered her head and spent a long while choosing before finally picking a relatively conservative cheerleader uniform.

But with her figure...

"Na, Nangong..."

After receiving the clothes, Nangong Cheng turned around on his own.

Rustling sounds soon came from behind him. He knew that if he turned around now, he would see something beautiful.

But haste made waste.

What Mr. Cheng wanted was to feast every day.

"Um... you can turn around now..."

The girl held one arm in front of her chest and the other in front of her lower body, but because of her exceptional endowment, she looked somewhat unable to cover both ends.

Nangong Cheng even noticed a detail.

Wait, she's being this cooperative?

Nangong Cheng froze for a moment, then stopped pretending and pulled out his camera, snapping pictures furiously.

As everyone knew, wardrobes and fitting rooms—small, enclosed spaces—were the perfect settings for this sort of flirtatious, suggestive scene.

In short, everything was understood without words.

"She really is a good girl..."

Looking at Sakura Airi, whose sense of shame had clearly reached its limit yet who still persisted in putting on a dazzling fashion show for him, Nangong Cheng sighed with deep emotion.

Photography was great. He really had to learn photography.

"Sakura, we're done."

"The clothes all look like they fit pretty well, so I'll go out and pay first."

After saying that, Nangong Cheng pushed the door open and left.

He needed to give the girl some time alone to calm down.

[Task completed]

[Task reward: The host obtained 3,000 Points]

Only after the fitting-room door closed and the system announced that the task was complete did Sakura Airi finally come back to her senses.

The girl in the mirror had already taken on Shizuku's form.

A pair of eyes that seemed to hold a pool of spring water and cheeks that looked as if they reflected the rosy glow of a spring sunset formed an incomparably beautiful scene.

She could clearly hear her heart pounding rapidly and violently within her chest, just like the complicated emotions she still found difficult to calm.

"I... got bullied again."

"But... I don't hate it."

I got so lost in writing that my head went blank. Here's the third update.

Volume One: 34. What Exactly Are We Now?

On the way back, Sakura Airi didn't say a word.

Nangong Cheng didn't force himself to find a topic of conversation, either.

The girl was too embarrassed to know what to say, but Nangong Cheng was silent because...

To put it honestly... he was feeling a little too excited.

Sakura Airi's [figure] ranked second to none in Classroom of the Elite. The only ones who could rival her were Ichinose Honami and her best friend Haruka Hasebe.

Who wouldn't lose their head over that?

If his big head hadn't kept his little head under control, things might have already happened in the fitting room...

By the time they reached the foot of the Student Dormitory, Nangong Cheng finally took the initiative to break the silence.

"Sakura, are you still hungry?"

"My treat!"

Sakura Airi wanted to put on a brave front and refuse, but in the end, she still gave a muffled hum.

Not hating it was one thing.

But she was bound to have some little emotions about it.

After all, any girl would have feelings after someone had seen her body and more or less touched her all over—unless she was naturally oblivious.

But then again.

The Points awarded by this task were simply too generous.

If every task gave this many Points from now on, then the Personality Awakening Potion she had been longing for would soon be within reach.

Besides, the task target was Nangong Cheng. Whether as her only friend or her so-called Fated Partner, Sakura Airi couldn't truly bring herself to be cruel to him.

In the end, she could only forgive him.

Although she hadn't really been angry in the first place.

"Then we don't need to go to the cafeteria. Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll buy it for you."

"..."

Sakura Airi casually named something she often ate, then looked up once before quickly lowering her head again. All Nangong Cheng heard was a single sentence—

"Um... Nangong, what do you think... we are... now?"

Of course, Master and...

Ahem!

Of course, they were good friends.

"Before I answer that question... may I call you Airi?"

"..."

Seeing that the girl had once again tacitly agreed, Nangong Cheng pressed his advantage and continued, "Then you should call me by my name too, Airi. I think that's what makes a healthy intimate relationship."

Sakura Airi murmured, unable to get that word out.

She was always like this. Whenever she encountered difficulties, she backed down.

"I won't tell anyone about what happened today. Let's treat it as a little secret between the two of us."

"As for what kind of relationship we have..."

Nangong Cheng deliberately paused. Seeing Sakura Airi's body tremble in sync, he gently flicked the girl's forehead with his middle finger.

"That depends on what you think, Airi."

He had answered, yet he hadn't really answered.

One had to admit, a womanizer's rhetoric really was useful.

More importantly, Nangong Cheng hadn't expected Sakura Airi to suddenly ask him such a question, leaving him unable to answer or not answer.

In the end, he could only throw the ball back to her.

Here, take the pen. You can write the answer yourself—write whatever you want.

"Uu..."

As expected, Sakura Airi became an ostrich again.

You had the chance, and you still couldn't do it? Seriously?

"Then I'll go buy dinner first. Airi, you can either go upstairs or wait here for me."

After saying that, Nangong Cheng went to the cafeteria, got Sakura Airi a deluxe meal, and brought it back. With his current physical abilities, the round trip only took a few minutes.

After watching the girl enter the Student Dormitory, Nangong Cheng opened the panel to check the changes brought by reaching Lv.3.

[Host: Nangong Cheng]

[Core Ability: Master's Task (Lv.3)]

[Sub-Abilities: Beginner Acting, Gene Enhancement (Second Stage)]

[Experience: 0/200]

[Current Number of Available Task Targets: 7 (Horikita Suzune, Kikyo Kushida, Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu)]

[Current Number of Available Tasks: 3/7 (Refreshes at midnight daily; uncompleted tasks do not count toward the total)]

[Current Available Task Types: One-Time Task, Daily Task]

[Items Held: People-Finding Cane]

Aside from the usual increase of two task attempts, this level-up also unlocked a new function—or rather, a new type of task he could issue.

[Daily Task].

As the name implied, it was a type of objective-based task that could be completed once every day.

The tasks he had issued so far were now classified by the system as [One-Time Tasks]. The fundamental difference between the two lay in their duration.

In addition, [Daily Tasks] had several other characteristics.

1. [Daily Tasks] still consumed the general task attempts that refreshed at midnight every day.

2. Aside from the day they were issued, [Daily Tasks] occupied one task attempt every day and could be canceled at any time.