20demayo Chapter 257 He will definitely come back!
Chapter 257 He will definitely come back!
When Qiong, exhausted, disembarked with Anna, it was already completely dark.
Adhering to the principle of not bringing work into the evening, Anna stretched.
"Want to go out for dinner together?"
Qiong hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
"Let's let it go this time, senior. I'll treat you next time?"
Just kidding, he's been having a ton of worries lately, how could he possibly be in the mood to put on a smiling face and have dinner with Anna? And he couldn't exactly have a sour face either, wouldn't that be disgusting?
Anna felt a little disappointed.
"Okay... alright, if you can't handle Auntie's requests, I can do it for you~"
Yes, help Qiong explain things to Mei. She believes Mei isn't the kind of girl who makes a fuss, and she'll understand and accept it.
To be fair, based on Anna's own investigation sources (Kiana Kaslana) and Himeko's description, Raiden Mei is not only likable but also an absolute model student among this year's reserve team. Her abilities, personality, and even her cooking skills are all excellent; it's precisely these shining qualities that attracted Sora and brought the two together—unfortunately, her relationship with Sora doesn't seem to have a positive effect…
"No need, but thank you anyway, senior."
The two parted ways at the crossroads, and as soon as they separated, the smile on Qiong's face was replaced by sorrow.
What kind of atmosphere should we create, and under what circumstances should we make things clear to Mei? Or should we continue to postpone it? Should we prioritize resolving Mei's hostility towards March 7th?
Qiong dragged his feet toward the cafeteria—given his current physical and mental exhaustion, neither seeing Mei nor March Seven would be a good choice. He decided to go eat first!
Sora has done her best today; let's leave the rest to Sora tomorrow!
Unfortunately, sometimes things are destined to go against our wishes. For example, as soon as Qiong stepped into the cafeteria, her phone vibrated.
It was Mei calling.
"Hey, Mei."
"Sora, I heard everything from little Coralie. Himeko-sensei and Anna-san are really something, forcing you to work overtime at this hour... I made you something delicious. How can you work on an empty stomach? Should I bring it to you, or do you want to come over after get off work? I'll wait for you."
On the other end of the phone, Mei's voice was gentle and sweet. Even though the cafeteria was right there, after hearing Mei say "I'll wait for you," he opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to say a word of refusal.
"okay."
Just as I hung up the phone and was about to turn and leave the cafeteria, the phone rang again.
"Hello, who is it?"
"Of course it's us!"
"March?"
Qiong was somewhat surprised. He wasn't surprised that March 7th got his number, but rather how March 7th knew he was off work, and by such a coincidence, he and Mei were leaving one after the other. Could it be that Coralie? Did she somehow calculate that he would be disembarking at this time, so she told both Mei and March 7th that he would be off work around this time, deliberately forcing him to make a choice?
If that's really the case... Qiong will find a way to give that despicable Ms. Planck a good beating in front of everyone.
"Qiong, let me tell you, Danheng and I found an amazing restaurant today! Danheng even made a reservation for all of us—Uncle Yang and Sunday will be coming too! Hurry up and come over, or all the good food will be gone!"
Qiong: ...
At that moment, Sora suddenly regretted refusing to have dinner with Anna—she should have just gone and eaten with Anna! Senpai, I regret it!
But there's no going back in life, and the bewildered Sora has to face reality: on one hand, there's the gentle and considerate Mei who's cooked and waited for her, and on the other hand, the lively and enthusiastic Mitsuki invites her to eat the delicious food they've discovered...
Which side should I choose?
He was about to refuse March 7th, but then swallowed the words back: Refuse March 7th? It didn't feel right either…
"I might be a bit busy in March..."
The thought of "I want both" flashed through Qiong's mind, meaning he would go to a restaurant first and then eat at Mei's place, but he rejected this option after only a few seconds: his stomach couldn't hold it all!
Since I can't have it all, I'll go to Mei: after all, I already promised Raiden Mei, so I can't go back on my word, right? I'll just have to make do with March 7th.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a puzzled voice from March 7th: "Are you very busy? But we heard you just got off work?"
Qiong: ...
Calm down, calm down! Qiong took a deep breath, trying to use exhaustion to cover up her guilty conscience.
"Yes, yes, I'm off work, but I'm still busy after get off work! By the way, who told you I was off work?"
"Danheng told us. Look, let me ask him for you... Danheng said he found out from the Star Core Hunter, that is, Silver Wolf and Liu... beep—"
"Hey, hey, hey? March, can you hear me? Answer me! Could it be..."
Does "流" refer to fireflies?
Qiong's head buzzed. Why would March 7th mention Firefly? Wasn't Firefly absent because of something? Wasn't it Kafka and Silver Wolf who came?
No, that's not right! Yesterday, when I called Walter from the rooftop for help, the call ended here, right? The reason I thought it was Silver Wolf and Kaffa who came was because I saw "Kaffa." But that "Kaffa" kept rejecting his physical contact. Would Kaffa really deliberately keep her distance from him to the point of rejecting even the most basic physical contact? What if…
Qiong felt she had guessed the correct answer; perhaps the truth was about to surface...
Just then, Qiong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly turned around and saw a projection of a silver wolf standing behind him with a half-smile.
"Oh, what a coincidence!"
Qiong was startled, but before she could speak, the silver wolf continued to complain.
"Alright, alright, I give up! It's all because this place is too backward. I just played the game a little longer, and the Prometheus information transmission was a beat slow. You probably heard that, right?"
Qiong shook his head at lightning speed.
"What did you hear? I didn't hear anything!"
Just kidding, how could I possibly admit it? Even if I knew perfectly well, wouldn't admitting it now enrage Silver Wolf and have him kidnapped with an Ether Editor? The best option is to play dumb and create an informational advantage.
Silver Wolf crossed his arms and looked at Qiong with a mocking expression.
"You really didn't hear me?"
"I really didn't hear it."
Silver Wolf rolled her eyes. Whether Qiong heard it or not was no longer of any significance. After that part of the high-latency real-time communication this afternoon, the urge to watch Qiong interact with so many people was completely overwhelming. She could accept Qiong's contact with Mei and the others, but she could not accept Qiong being affectionate with so many girls at the same time!
Anyway, the two have already agreed that "Kafka" will be played by Silver Wolf. Tomorrow, his childhood friend Samuel, nicknamed "Firefly," will appear in front of everyone and gradually eliminate the pests with unparalleled pressure and aura. In the chance encounter created by Silver Wolf, he will reveal everything to Qiong. Tonight, Firefly is already making the final preparations.
Thinking of this, Silver Wolf's lips curled into a smile. If life were a visual novel, Sora had undoubtedly reached the turning point of the first playthrough. Aside from the supporting characters, there were three main characters. How would Sora continue to struggle?
Or should we give up the drawn-out confrontation and choose to confront them directly?
Even if Qiong chooses to confront them directly, the others won't let it go easily. At least adhering to the belief of "treating colleagues with the warmth of spring and enemies with the ruthlessness of winter," the Star Core Hunters will not hesitate to tear off the mask and continue clearing obstacles; it's just a matter of whether it's dignified or not.
However, right now, it's not a three-way tug-of-war yet; it's only a two-way tug-of-war.
"Qiong, what are you doing?"
Qiong stood awkwardly in place, trying to play dumb in front of the silver wolf, when suddenly someone put a hand on his shoulder from behind, and the voice was male! It could only be…
"I did not do anything!"
Qiong turned to look at Bai Ji, who was standing next to Song Que staring intently at him.
"Hello, Ms. Bai and Ms. Maria!"
"Qiong, have you eaten?"
"not yet."
"Then... together?"
"it is good!"
This was a golden opportunity! Qiong nodded quickly, taking the opportunity to get rid of the silver wolf who was pretending to be her best friend but had actually sided with Liuying, and also escaped the awkward situation of Mei having to choose between March and Qiong. Perfect!
After greeting Silver Wolf, Qiong quickly left with Baijisongque.
"This guy, does he really think he's hiding it well?"
Watching Qiong flee in panic, Silver Wolf shrugged helplessly, and a moment later the projection disappeared into thin air.
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"He's not available?"
"Um……"
In the restaurant, March 7th responded dejectedly. Perhaps Dan Heng was right; Qiong truly had her own life now. Compared to the train, Miss Mei was more important to him. Perhaps they shouldn't keep bothering Qiong; they should respect and offer their blessings…
How could that be! She couldn't accept being replaced by some girl who popped out of nowhere! Qiong was just confused for a moment! He will definitely come back!
"Little March, don't be angry."
"Uncle Yang, I'm not angry at all! It's just a meal, I won't eat it if I don't want to!"
But her slightly drooping head and the occasional glances at the empty seats beside her betrayed her mood.
"No way, I have to drag him into a pillow fight tonight! Otherwise, I'll personally go to his room and have a pillow fight myself!"
Although March 7th recovered his composure in just three seconds, he successfully swayed the atmosphere.
Realizing the atmosphere was a bit off, Walter tried to lighten the mood and change the subject.
"Ahem, it's rare for us to get together, so why don't we all chat about where we went today and what interesting things we did? Sunday, how about you start?"
March 7th is clearly inappropriate. Danheng is not good at speaking, and Coralie and Helia are somewhat reserved. Besides himself, isn't Sunday the only other day?
Unfortunately, Lao Yang's proposal was politely rejected on Sunday.
"No, Mr. Walter, I have nothing special to say."
Recalling how he answered that he was just an outsider and a friend of Qiong, the Valkyries insisted on taking him around, and how they coaxed him into playing seven or eight pieces after he casually mentioned that he could play the piano, and how he briefly lost his composure when someone recommended his favorite singer to him, blushing and arguing that "the robin's voice is unparalleled in the world," ultimately succeeding in getting the girls to accept a copy of his robin album that he always carried with him (hopefully this planet has a reading device)... Even as the sociable former head of the Oak family, he was unwilling to discuss those hospitable girls with everyone.
"Mr. Walter, you're asking this because you must have done something today, right?"
Worried that Walter would be embarrassed, Helia decided to join in—she would be fine with it, but it would be too strange if Coralie dragged her along to spy on everyone!
"Yes, yes, Uncle Yang, what did you do?"
On March 7th, his eyes lit up, and he became interested as well.
Walter smiled.
"What can your Uncle Yang do? Work, that's all! There's really nothing to talk about."
"It must be something big, right?"
"That's it."
However, the negotiations have made very little progress.
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As I typed this, I suddenly remembered I hadn't used my redemption code yet...
blood loss.