In the afternoon, Kyoto wasn’t raining, but the sky was overcast, as if countless cotton candy clouds had gathered together.
Su Ze felt somewhat out of sorts until he saw Shen Qingsheng leisurely lighting a cigarette.
“Is that a cigarette? Give me one,” Su Ze ran over and asked.
“You always want one of everything,” Shen Qingsheng glanced at him with a look of disdain and handed him a pack of cigarettes.
Su Ze skillfully pulled one out and held it between his lips. “Lighter… where’s the lighter?”
Shen Qingsheng rummaged through his pocket and handed him the lighter. “Your surgery is tomorrow. You’ve got some time now. Where do you want to go?”
Su Ze lit the cigarette and casually pocketed the lighter and the pack. “I’ve lost my memory. How would I know where to go?”
“You’re quite self-aware. It’s still early. Want to hit up an internet café?”
“Internet café?” Su Ze thought for a moment. It felt familiar yet strange. He nodded. “Let’s go.”
Su Ze turned his head and noticed Uesugi Akizuki, who was holding his hand, covering her nose with a somewhat aggrieved expression. She didn’t like the smell of smoke and could only pitifully bury her face into Su Ze’s back.
Su Ze was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t really thought about the little clinger who followed him around like a pendant. She didn’t talk much, so it was easy to forget her presence.
Su Ze tossed the cigarette away and pulled her out from behind him, pinching her soft, fair cheek. The little shrine maiden’s eyes gazed at him with pure innocence.
“You’re really cute,” Su Ze said, ruffling her face. “If only you had a bit more intelligence.”
The term “intelligence” was both familiar and unfamiliar to the little clinger. Someone had mentioned it before, but she didn’t know what it meant.
But when she saw Su Ze smile, she followed suit with a silly grin, her eyes as clear as a rippling pond, so pure that it made one want to kiss her.
The little clinger reached out to Su Ze, her large sleeves sliding down to her elbows, revealing her slender, pale arms. “Hug,” she said seriously.
“No hug,” Su Ze chuckled, taking a step back to avoid her childlike request for a hug. “You’re too clingy.”
“Not… clingy!” Uesugi Akizuki pouted and pounced on him, wrapping her arms around him.
“You call this not clingy?” Su Ze laughed and hugged her back.
Shen Qingsheng, with a dark expression, silently got into the sports car.
“Stop hugging. I’ll take you to the internet café,” Su Ze said, patting the girl’s head.
The little shrine maiden’s eyes sparkled at the mention of the internet café. She wrapped her arms around Su Ze’s neck and bounced a few times in his arms, her long hair swaying and her wide shrine maiden robes fluttering up and down.
Su Ze thought she was just happily bouncing around, but when she quieted down in his arms, he noticed her pouting slightly, seemingly dissatisfied.
It was because she had tried to kiss Su Ze when she jumped up, but he had leaned back slightly, dodging her attempt.
“I want sese!” The little shrine maiden said without hesitation, her voice soft and fluent.
Su Ze was taken aback. What on earth was “sese”? Why did it sound familiar?
“If you want sese, go find him. Why are you clinging to me?” Su Ze said, somewhat annoyed, as he let go of the little clinger.
Who was this “sese” guy? Did he dare to seduce my girlfriend?
Uesugi Akizuki was clearly confused. She didn’t understand why Su Ze was angry. Was her request too much?
She quickly hugged Su Ze tighter, shaking her head anxiously. “No… no sese… I don’t want sese anymore…”
Uesugi Akizuki thought Su Ze was upset because of her request, so she quickly retracted it, indicating she didn’t want it anymore.
“What is sese?” Su Ze felt something was off.
What was sese?
Uesugi Akizuki was at a loss. Situ Jiajia had told her about it, but all she knew was that sese meant kissing. She didn’t know how to explain it.
But Su Ze wouldn’t let her kiss him…
“Never mind,” Su Ze said, looking at the little clinger’s confused and aggrieved expression. He felt like he might have misunderstood her.
With her silly demeanor, always clinging to him, how could she possibly be seduced by someone else? And so successfully that she would dare to call out his name in front of him?
Still, Su Ze was puzzled. Was sese… a girl?
Su Ze decided not to dwell on it. Would the little clinger ever betray him? Only if the sun rose from the west.
But Su Ze was still curious. What exactly was sese?
After helping Uesugi Akizuki into the back seat, Su Ze walked toward the front. Shen Qingsheng frowned and locked the driver’s side door, rolling down the window just a crack. “Don’t go crazy, alright? You can’t drive right now!”
Seeing Shen Qingsheng’s wary and slightly annoyed eyes peeking through the gap, Su Ze kicked the car’s chassis and leaned down. “Just once! I feel like I’m not only familiar with driving, but with this car too!”
…Of course, it’s your car. How could you not be familiar with it?
Shen Qingsheng coughed twice to hide his guilt and shot him a disdainful look. “Don’t make me beat you up in front of your girlfriend! That wouldn’t look good!”
Su Ze suddenly got excited. “Alright, alright! Let’s spar! I’ve always wondered how strong I was before I lost my memory!”
“…Red light means stop, green light means go. Better to wait a minute than rush a second. Start a second faster, and you’ll avoid a minute of traffic.” Shen Qingsheng got out of the car. “I’m actually much stronger than you, but I just wanted to see if your driving skills had declined after losing your memory.”
Su Ze thoughtfully sat in the driver’s seat and waved to the little clinger in the back. “Come here, sit in the passenger seat.”
The little clinger nodded, her tall frame bending as she tried to squeeze through the gap between the seats.
Soon, Su Ze watched as she got stuck between the seats, her arms flailing as she struggled to free herself.
“…You really are something,” Su Ze said after a long silence.
“But I wish you had a bit more intelligence.”
Shen Qingsheng leaned against the car door, speechless. It’s fine, he thought. Even though he didn’t have a girlfriend yet, he was certain that when he did, even if she wasn’t as beautiful as Uesugi Akizuki, at least… she’d be smarter!
With that thought, he suddenly felt life had a bit more hope.
But… why were silly girls so cute?
Thinking about it, he felt a bit disheartened. Maybe having a silly girlfriend wouldn’t be so bad after all!
Su Ze lifted Uesugi Akizuki up, helping her squeeze through the gap until she was head-down on the passenger seat.
After adjusting her position, the little clinger finally sat properly in the seat.
“Buckle up…” Su Ze thought for a moment, as if recalling something. “Seatbelt… that’s it.”
He didn’t bother thinking too much and straightened out the little clinger’s slightly messy red dress before fastening her seatbelt.
The sports car drove along a somewhat dilapidated road. Shen Qingsheng checked the navigation and confirmed that there was an internet café open for business.
It wasn’t surprising to see a business open just a few days after a disaster.
After experiencing several disasters, the merchants on Blue Star had long since prepared plans for reopening and making profits post-disaster.
…