At noon, Gohan and Videl walked side by side in the maple forest on campus.
West City had arrived in Xidu by then, and red and yellow maple leaves drifted down from the sky on the autumn wind.
It occasionally sprinkled onto the heads of pedestrians.
As the top junior high school in West City, the school occupies a very large area.
This maple forest is the only way to the cafeteria.
The bright sunlight shone on Videl's flawless, fair face, giving it a pale golden glow.
Gohan couldn't help but steal glances at Videl's profile, his heart seemingly stopping for a moment.
A gentle breeze swept by, and a maple leaf swayed slightly, breaking free from the branch and slowly drifting down from the sky, landing on Videl's head.
Videl was getting a little impatient. The maple forest was beautiful, but it had this one flaw that always seemed to affect her.
She tried to shake off the maple leaf, but the touch on her head left her frozen in place, a slight blush appearing on her fair face.
"Gohan... Gohan... you..." Videl looked at Gohan tremblingly.
She trembled slightly, her mouth gaping open, her speech a little slurred, and her body went limp as she leaned slightly against Gohan.
What's wrong with me? My face feels so hot!
After Gohan reached out and removed the maple leaf from Videl's head, he stroked her hair.
"Huh? What do you mean, 'I'? I helped you remove it, aren't you going to thank me?"
"There are so many people!" Videl blushed slightly and scolded playfully.
What's wrong with Gohan? Wasn't he always like a blockhead?
Yes, Gohan and Videl are not officially together yet. Although their feelings for each other have surpassed those of most couples, they are still just childhood sweethearts.
Normally, girls are more mature in matters of the heart than boys.
Videl had hinted at it to Gohan before, but Gohan's dense personality at the time made Videl give up.
She decided to take it slow, no rush, what if Gohan suddenly had an epiphany someday?
But she never expected this day to come so suddenly, catching her off guard like a sudden storm.
"What are you afraid of? It was just a pat on the head. Let them sue if they dare. I'll admit defeat if they succeed," Gohan said with a touch of roguishness.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, why he had such thoughts.
It's all this damn puberty's fault!
Gohan recalled the same words Goku had said before.
The passersby, both boys and girls, looked at Gohan and Videl with great envy.
The girls greatly envied Videl; in their hearts, Gohan was like a prince charming.
Which young girl doesn't dream of love?
But he was only close to one girl— Videl.
The boys envied Gohan for having such a beautiful childhood friend; Videl was one of the school's recognized goddesses.
Compared to other goddesses, Videl's personality is more popular with boys.
And it wasn't just Videl; plenty of pretty girls at school also liked Gohan.
Gohan what if Gohan is a little more handsome, a little more rich, a little better at school, and comes from a better family?
Why should I?
There was a time when a boy, quite oblivious to the situation, confessed his feelings to Videl. Although Videl immediately rejected him, Gohan still found out about Gohan.
As for what happened to the boy afterward, he was found tied to a tree when he woke up the next day.
As for who did it? At least the police didn't find out, and even if there were speculations, it ultimately came to nothing.
Of course, they also shared something they envied: Gohan and Videl were the only ones in the entire school who dared to be so intimate in public!
Because nobody cares about them, or even dares to care about them.
The two walked into the cafeteria, leaning intimately against each other without realizing it.
" Videl, what would you like to eat for lunch?" Gohan looked at Videl somewhat awkwardly.
Both of them had slightly flushed faces, clearly embarrassed by the amusing incident that had just occurred to them.
"Crawfish, I guess," Videl said absentmindedly.
She was no longer in the mood to discuss what to eat; her little head was completely filled with what had just happened.
"You sit here for a bit, I'll go buy it and bring it over." The two found an empty table, Gohan gestured for Videl to sit down.
"Mmm!" Videl responded blankly.
Gohan shook his head helplessly at Videl's appearance and walked towards the crayfish stall.
This is even worse than myself.
Thinking back to what Videl had done before, how come there's such a stark contrast? I panic like this the moment I take the initiative.
Isn't this a classic case of high offense and low defense? The type that's easiest to get wiped out in romance anime.
A moment later, Gohan returned to his seat with two plates of crayfish.
He bought one spicy and one non-spicy crayfish. He prefers the spicy crayfish, but Videl can't handle spicy food.
Gohan put down the two bowls of Gohan, grabbed two sets of tableware, and then waved his hand in front of Videl's eyes.
"Stop spacing out, you eat the crayfish first, I'll go buy some other food."
Seeing Gohan waving his hands in front of her, Videl gradually came back to her senses.
Here, take the gloves.
Videl took the plastic gloves Gohan gave him, and as soon as she put them on, Gohan turned and left.
She glanced at the two plates of lobster on the table, and slowly reached out her right hand to grab one of the plates, though the one she was looking at seemed to be spicy.
As the top junior high school in West City, the cafeteria food is outstanding, with a variety that rivals that of a less prestigious university.
One downside to eating at school is that you can't eat too much to avoid trouble.
Thinking of this, Gohan couldn't help but sigh.
Although he is no longer very dependent on eating and can go for long periods without food, this is one of the benefits of his advanced dimensionality.
But Saiyan did more than just fill their stomachs with food!
Gohan still prefers the feeling of eating his fill, not for any other reason than to enjoy it; that's just how genuine he is.
After quickly ordering a few dishes that he and Videl liked, they returned to their seats. The dishes were plentiful but not surprising to anyone.
After Gohan put down the food and settled himself down, he was about to put on his gloves.
The next second, Gohan fell silent. He stared at his utensils, where a small plate of peeled, spicy lobster tails lay before him.
His gaze slowly moved upwards. At this moment, Videl was still peeling shrimp shells, her little mouth was red from the spiciness, and she was occasionally gasping for breath, which was quite adorable.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Hiss... Aren't you going to eat? Hiss..."
Videl noticed Gohan staring at her, and felt a surge of shame and indignation, gasping for breath as she spoke.
"No... no, Videl, what's wrong?"
"Hiss... Why do you care so much? Are you going to eat it or not? Consider it a reward." Videl had her aura firmly under control.
The next second, he hurriedly ate the white rice that Gohan had just handed him.
Ouch~ It's so spicy!
Gohan said no more, picked up a lobster tail with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and savored it slowly.
Is it because of the spicy flavor? Why do I feel a tingling, numb sensation all over my body?
" Videl, be my girlfriend!"
The maple leaves drifted down and landed gently on them, but the two of them didn't react at all. The two of them, who were walking side by side in the maple forest, had their minds completely muddled because of a single sentence.
(Originally, when I first started writing this novel, I planned to write about the relationship between the protagonist and Bulma in such detail, but unfortunately, my writing skills seemed to be lacking at the beginning. This is also why the Dragon Balls story ended in about thirty chapters. This is a way to make up for that regret.)