Su Miaoyin had just sent the message when she heard Lin Lin's voice behind her.
"Does your head still hurt? Do you want us to stay with you?"
Su Miaoyin's smile froze for a moment.
"No need, no need, you guys go have fun."
"That won't do." Zhao Xiaoman also came over, her expression serious. "This is Japan, after all. We're worried about leaving you alone in the hotel."
"I'm fine--"
"And you said you wanted to go to a hot spring yesterday." Lin Lin looked at her face. "Are you feeling unwell? Should we go buy you some medicine?"
Su Miaoyin opened her mouth, only to find herself in the trap she had dug herself.
She took a deep breath and rephrased her statement. "I'm not sick. I'm... on my period."
The two of them were stunned for a moment.
Then Lin Lin's expression turned suspicious.
"That's not right. I remember your period wasn't around this time. Didn't you say it had just left a few days ago?"
Su Miaoyin's face flushed red instantly.
" Lin Lin!"
"Did I say something wrong?" Lin Lin looked at her innocently.
Su Miaoyin gritted her teeth, but ultimately gave up resisting.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you the truth." She lowered her voice, " Cheng Che asked me to go to Tokyo Tower."
There was a two-second silence.
Then Lin Lin and Zhao Xiaoman both burst out laughing.
Hahahaha!
"You can even come up with an excuse like this just to go out with him?"
"And 'that time of the month'? When did you learn to lie?"
Enraged, Su Miaoyin grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at the person.
Lin Lin caught it and laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.
Zhao Xiaoman was laughing so hard she was squatting on the ground.
"Alright, alright." Lin Lin put the pillow back, wiping away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. "Go ahead. We won't be a third wheel."
Zhao Xiaoman also stood up, patted Su Miaoyin's shoulder, and her expression suddenly became very serious:
"This is so much fun!"
Su Miaoyin snorted and turned to change her clothes.
But when her back was to them, the corners of her mouth were turned up in a wide smile.
Downstairs at the hotel.
Cheng Che, wearing a mask, stood on the steps at the entrance, surveying the surrounding street scene.
Tokyo's streets are narrower than those of Capital City, the buildings are shorter, and the roads are somewhat dirty. Convenience stores and vending machines line the streets.
Several students in school uniforms walked past him, glanced at him, and didn't stop.
He took out his phone and opened WeChat. He had already seen several messages from Guo Xin.
[ Guo Xin: Bring me a photo album of local specialties!]
Cheng Che: That's illegal.
[ Guo Xin: What's illegal? I was talking about scenic photo albums! What did you think I was talking about?]
Cheng Che:...
[ Guo Xin: You're feeling guilty! You were thinking the wrong thing!]
Cheng Che: Get lost.
Then there are the three adopted sons from the dormitory group.
[ Wang Zheng: Brother Che, bring me back some anime/manga stuff.]
[ Zhou Hao: Yes, yes, figurines are fine too. Limited editions would be best.]
[ Li Yuan: Can you help me see if you have any temple amulets from the Kansai? My sister needs them.]
Cheng Che: Okay. I've got it all.
He had just put his phone away when he saw Su Miaoyin walk out of the hotel entrance.
She changed her clothes.
A white short-sleeved shirt paired with light blue jeans and canvas shoes.
Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing a clean section of her neck.
She was carrying a canvas bag when she walked up to Cheng Che and turned around.
"How about it?"
Cheng Che glanced at it, smiled, and said, "Beautiful."
Su Miaoyin nodded in satisfaction, and then the two walked side by side toward the subway station.
In Tokyo, it gets dark earlier than in the Capital City.
One by one, the streetlights lit up, and red lanterns were hung in front of the izakayas along the roadside.
The two walked slowly along the street, occasionally stopping to look at the small shops along the way, and sometimes discussing the Japanese on the billboards.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Su Miaoyin was a little tired.
Let's find a place to sit for a while.
Cheng Che looked around and saw a small shop on the street corner. The storefront wasn't large, the lighting was warm yellow, and several strings of artificial flowers hung at the entrance. The sign read "Café Lumière".
He didn't look closely and pushed the door open to go inside.
As soon as he entered, he paused for a moment.
The shop is decorated in pink tones, with hand-painted cartoon patterns on the walls and lace tablecloths and vases on several small round tables.
Several girls dressed in black and white maid outfits were walking around the store. Their skirts were very short, their aprons were very white, and they wore cat ear headbands.
A maid approached with a sweet smile and said in Japanese, "Welcome back, Master."
Cheng Che was taken aback.
Then he realized where he was.
Maid Cafe.
He chuckled.
I don't reject it at all; on the contrary, I find it quite interesting.
He had read related posts online, which said it was a unique aspect of Japan culture, emphasizing service and atmosphere.
He found a table by the window, sat down, and casually took off his mask.
Su Miaoyin sat opposite him, her expression a little stiff.
She looked around, saw the girls dressed as maids, then glanced at Cheng Che, and curled her lips downwards.
Cheng Che was flipping through the menu and didn't notice her expression.
The menu features standard coffee and desserts, but is accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations by maids, each with a cute name.
A maid approached, knelt beside their table, placed her hands on her knees, and looked up at Cheng Che. She asked in Japanese, "Master, is this your first time here?"
Cheng Che replied in Japanese, "Yes. I heard your desserts are good."
The maid's eyes lit up.
It's probably because very few foreign guests speak Japanese, and this particular foreign guest was quite good-looking.
She couldn't help but glance at Cheng Che a few more times, then lowered her head, her voice even sweeter than before. "Would Master like to try our signature tiramisu? We have a special offer today."
"Good."
The maid nodded, stood up, and walked towards the bar.
After taking a few steps, she turned back and glanced at Su Miaoyin.
That glance was quick, but Su Miaoyin caught it.
She mumbled something under her breath, but Cheng Che heard it clearly.
She was saying, "What are you looking at?"
Cheng Che turned his head to look at her and smiled.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Su Miaoyin flipped through the menu noisily, her expression clearly saying "I'm unhappy." But she didn't say why.
Cheng Che didn't press the matter.
He knew why she was unhappy, but he felt there was no explanation for it.
A maid cafe is just a maid cafe; he came in simply to sit for a while.
However, what he didn't expect was that what happened next would make Su Miaoyin even more unhappy.
After the maid returned to the bar, she whispered a few words to her colleague next to her.
The colleague looked up, glanced in Cheng Che's direction, and then both of them covered their mouths at the same time.
After a while, two more maids came over, and the four of them stood behind the bar, whispering to each other and glancing over every now and then.
Then one of the maids came over with a glass of water and placed it in front of Cheng Che, her smile even sweeter than the previous one.
"Master, this is a complimentary lemonade."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Cheng Che several more times.
Her colleagues covered their mouths and laughed behind her, one of them even nudging the person next to her with her elbow, her eyes saying, "See, I wasn't lying to you."
Cheng Che politely said thank you.
He picked up his cup, took a sip, and then glanced out the window.
Su Miaoyin sat opposite her, pushed the glass of lemonade aside slightly, picked up her own menu and continued flipping through it. She flipped through it very vigorously, the pages rustling loudly.
Cheng Che withdrew his gaze and glanced at her.
Aren't you going to drink?
"I won't drink."
What would you like to order?
"Casual."
Cheng Che sighed. He reached out and called over a maid, who ordered a strawberry cake and a matcha latte for Su Miaoyin.
After the maid made a note of it, she glanced at him again before turning and leaving.
Su Miaoyin closed the menu and placed it on the table.
How come your Japanese is so good?
"I've learned a little."
"You can chat with maids after learning just a little bit?"
Cheng Che glanced at her. Her expression remained the same, neither warm nor cold.
But the tips of his ears were red, and his hands were under the table, gripping the strap of his canvas bag.
He thought for a moment and said, "I brought you out, not them."
Su Miaoyin was taken aback.
Then she turned her face to the window and didn't reply.
But the tips of her ears turned even redder, and her grip on the bag strap loosened slightly.
The Tokyo Tower outside the window was lit up, its orange-red body reflected in the night like a burning candle.