She took out her cosmetics.
Eiriri smiled foolishly as she carefully sculpted her flawless face.
Still unsatisfied, Ying Lili took out an eyebrow pencil and carefully drew her eyebrows.
There was no doubt that she loved Kitahara Kaede to the extreme.
But when asked when she fell in love with Kitahara Kaede, she actually didn't know.
Falling in love with someone is something that happens unconsciously.
Sometimes she thought it was when Kitahara Kaede first gave her companionship.
Other times, she thought it might have been their first in-person meeting, when Kitahara Kaede didn't mock her for being a doujinshi artist and even praised her work enthusiastically.
But she felt the most likely moment was.
When she had confessed her overly ambitious dream, and Kitahara Kaede didn't dismiss it as a joke but instead vowed to help her achieve it—at that moment, she clearly felt her heart racing.
None of that matters.
In any case, she likes Kitahara Kaede very, very much.
But the more she likes him, the more she fears losing him, afraid that if she reveals her feelings, Kitahara Kaede will distance himself from her. After all, many relationships in real life break down after a confession, don't they?
To avoid being distanced, she keeps her feelings hidden.
She tried to act like a "best friend," cherishing this hard-won friendship.
She even used the excuse of being an "assistant" to meet with Kitahara Kaede alone every week, asking him to help her read manga and give feedback, hoping that as the number of meetings increased, sparks of romance might fly.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen!
After so many meetings, their relationship remained purely professional, with no progress made. Instead, their friendship grew even stronger, and in Kitahara Kaede's heart, their bond had reached the level of "ultimate best friends."
The higher the friendship value, the lower the romance value.
She understood this principle, so today she tried to break through this barrier and make their relationship more ambiguous. She had planned the "indirect kiss operation" since Monday, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Saturday.
She got up early in the morning and spent two hours carefully getting ready, then another hour picking out her outfit.
After finishing all that, she sent a message to Kitahara Fuyu, asking him to wait at the usual spot early, so she could pretend to be thirsty and drink his drink, resulting in an indirect kiss.
But when she asked,
She found out that Kitahara Kaede was actually at a family restaurant in Shibuya Station?
She thought the plan was going to fail, but when she arrived, she saw that Kitahara Kaede had a half-drunk drink on the table. She didn't hesitate and followed the original plan, pretending to be thirsty and downing Kitahara Kaede's drink in one gulp.
Seeing Kitahara Kaede's surprised expression, she knew—the indirect kiss operation was a huge success!
Unfortunately, she wasn't bold enough at the time...
If she had been bold enough to say, "Do you mind?" maybe the atmosphere could have been even more ambiguous.
But today was just the beginning, and she was already satisfied with what she had achieved.
With a cheerful mood,
Eriri returned to her seat, her face showing no emotion: "Kitahara, how's the revised manga?"
"The art style is as精致 as ever."
Kitahara pushed the manuscript back to Eriri: "But I've told you so many times before, why are the female characters still so sexy? 'Doraemon' is a children's manga, not an adult comic! Listen to me for once!"
"Next time, I'll definitely change it."
"You said the same thing last time... and the time before that..."
"I promise this is the last time."
Eri innocently blinked her eyes, wondering if she had made this mistake too many times. Maybe making it again would arouse Kitahara's suspicion. She decided to make a different mistake next time in a different place, so she could keep having "dates" indefinitely.
"By the way, you still haven't told me why you came here."
"To buy this and attend the signing event."
Kitahara pointed to the light novel on the table.
"Love Rhythm? You really like Kasumi, don't you?"
Eriri's eyes darted around as she thought of an excuse for their next meeting: "Why don't you lend me volumes 1 to 7 of this novel tomorrow? If I like it, maybe I'll accompany you to the book signing next time."
"Should I bring it over tomorrow?"
"No need. We'll meet at our usual spot tomorrow… I'll just come to your house to pick it up." Eiriri dared not meet Kitahara Kaede's eyes as she spoke these bold words, fearing her proactive approach might make him uncomfortable.
But she simply couldn't contain her feelings any longer, which is why she suggested going to Kitahara Kaede's house tomorrow.
"Alright, alright... Come over tomorrow."
Kitahara Kaede clearly didn't notice Eiriri's inner thoughts and responded with a helpless sigh.
Thinking about it carefully.
Going to someone else's house to borrow light novels—isn't that something only close friends would do?
Originally, Eiriri had some reservations about the gender dynamics and dared not go to his house alone. Every time, they would meet at a café near his house. This time, choosing to go directly to his house effectively signaled that their friendship had taken a significant step forward, either directly or indirectly.
What he wanted was love, not friendship!
So he couldn't bring himself to be happy about Eriri's suggestion, but he dared not refuse her, fearing that a refusal might ruin the hard-won relationship. He could only reluctantly agree.
"Then it's decided."
After getting his consent, Eriri looked very happy: "It's already 12:25 PM. You probably haven't had lunch yet, right? Why don't we have lunch here together?"
"Well..."
Kitahara Kaede was caught between a rock and a hard place, as the time he had agreed upon with Kasuga Shiori was fast approaching.
Eriri noticed the hesitation on Kitahara Kaede's face and was immediately alarmed: "Today, there was an indirect kiss, and then she suggested going to Kitahara's house tomorrow. Could it be that her advances were too aggressive, causing Kitahara to feel repelled... What should I do?"
Eri was about to cry from anxiety.
"Forget it!"
Eri stood up abruptly: "I suddenly remembered I have something to do. Let's call it a day for today."
Saying that, Eri hurriedly left the family restaurant.
Kitahara Kaede was completely taken aback by Ying Lili's sudden actions. What was with that cold expression and dissatisfied tone just now? He hadn't even refused yet, so why did she leave so abruptly?
It's over...
Leaving without even saying goodbye, Ying Lili is definitely upset!
They say women change their minds faster than turning a page, and while Kitahara Kaede didn't believe it before, he now fully believed it.
Just a moment ago, she was smiling happily, but the next moment, she was as cold as ice. It seemed unlikely that Eiriri would come to his house tomorrow, and how would he mend their relationship afterward?
Kitahara Kaede suddenly felt a headache coming on.
However, he didn't have much time to think about it. As soon as Eiriri stepped out of the family restaurant, Shiori Kasuga sat down across from him: "Kitahara-kun, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."