Chapter 152 Honesty and Exploitation

Day 11 of the road survival game!

"Heh... I can't deny it!" Hagiwara couldn't help but laugh as he said this.

Despite their limited Chinese proficiency, they consistently spoke in Chinese, a language they weren't fluent in. This suggests they are both very considerate and thoughtful of those around them. Chinese people are generally generous, tolerant, and humble.

Unlike others who get angry if they can't speak their own language or dialect well, the junior high school girl could still feel the thoughtfulness the two men showed her so that she could understand and not feel excluded, even though their Chinese wasn't very good.

What started as a simple expression of gratitude for their courageous act turned into a genuine desire to befriend such individuals who stand up for others, are considerate of those around them, and are mindful of others' feelings, even strangers.

Even without parents, she has never suffered because of outsiders, thanks to her all-around brother's upbringing. Basically, all the hardships she has experienced in her life have come from her all-around brother's 'education' o(╥﹏╥)o.

This meant she wasn't the type to be overly introverted and unable to initiate conversations, so after making her decision, she immediately took the initiative: "By the way, my name is Feng Xing Shou, what are your names?"

"Wind-Star-Guardian? It's quite different from the style of Japanese names, rather unique!" Japanese people tend to be more introverted, which means that Hagiwara's social skills are top-notch even in Japan.

After hearing what Feng Xingshou said, the man from the company, quite naturally and even sincerely, praised her name before introducing himself with a grin: "My name is Hagiwara Kenji. Hagiwara is my surname, and Kenji is my given name!"

Isn't your name a bit too ordinary compared to mine? This guy next to me is my childhood friend, Matsuda Jinpei. Matsuda is his surname, and Jinpei is his given name!

"Tsk! I can introduce myself." Matsuda clicked his tongue and complained when he heard him say that, but judging from his expression, he didn't really care at all. He was just casually teasing his friend, which actually showed the close and uninhibited relationship between the two.

Upon hearing Hagiwara's words, Kazesei-no-Kami paused, then looked at Matsuda with some interest: "Jinpei, which Jin?"

It can't be such a coincidence that her name has the same character as her brother's, right?

"It's the 'zhen' in Chinese characters for battle formation! What's wrong?" Matsuda was a little surprised when she asked this.

Upon hearing this answer, Feng Xingshou couldn't help but smile brightly, replying frankly and straightforwardly, "Haha... My brother's name also has this character! It's like having the same character as my brother's name, it feels like I'm being protected by him even in a foreign land!"

Although it was her brother who brought her from her homeland, where she had no language barriers, was safe enough, and adapted well to the environment, to this unfamiliar country where she had mixed feelings and was quite resistant to studying abroad! -_-||

They completely ignored my refusal and forcibly arranged everything. So domineering! o(￣ヘ￣o＃)

"Hey! It's Jinpei who's protecting you, don't transfer the credit to your brother just because of a name!" Hagiwara teased her while thinking to himself that this Fusang must have a very good relationship with her brother and admire him a lot, since she mentioned her brother several times in just a few sentences!

Environments vary greatly from country to country. In Japan, even elementary school students engage in flirtatious behavior, exchanging love letters and chocolates on Valentine's Day. Generally, if someone hasn't dated someone of the opposite sex by middle or high school, they're considered an oddball, a weirdo, or an outsider by others...

In China, primary and junior high schools are the opposite. Boys and girls rarely talk to each other. Boys play with boys and girls play with girls. Even if the teacher assigns them to sit together, a line is drawn between them to keep them apart. They try not to talk to each other if they can.

Although I could speak in middle school, my conversations were limited to studying together at school and participating in school-organized activities. I made very few friends, let alone dated anyone. After all, just saying a few words would lead to teasing from other classmates or gossip about whether we were dating.

In China, where dating in high school is considered puppy love and parents will ruthlessly break them up, dating in junior high school is practically asking for trouble. This is also due to the influence of this mainstream view.

Feng Xingshou has rarely spoken or communicated with men her own age or older, let alone been teased by someone so familiar. In addition, the two of them had an unexpected close encounter before, which made her somewhat concerned about Hagiwara.

Now, being teased by him in such a familiar and intimate tone made her blush. Not knowing that this was a common social skill used by socialites to build relationships with others, she couldn't help but have some thoughts running through her mind.

He laughed a lot when he talked to me. Does he enjoy talking to me? His tone was so intimate. Could he have feelings for me? If he wants to be my girlfriend, how should I respond?

Although he's tall, handsome, and slim...quite charming, he's Japanese! And I'm only in middle school. If I date now, won't my brother throw me into the pine forest to race a bear again? -_-||

Thinking of her domineering older brother, Feng Xingshou quickly shook the pink water out of her head and tried hard to figure out the meaning behind Hagiwara's awkward Chinese. Once she felt she had figured it out, she quickly apologized, feeling embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I just thought it was too coincidental, that's why I said that, I didn't mean anything else!"

"Pfft... Feng Sang, do you not get many jokes with you?" Hearing her serious apology, Hagiwara was frozen for three seconds before he reacted and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Matsuda blinked his crescent-shaped eyes and said with a roguish grin, "Hagi was just joking with you! You don't need to apologize to this guy. At a time like this, you should tell him not to take it out on your brother, or on your friend who's fighting while you're flirting with girls!"

"Hey! Jinpei, don't wrong me like that! I just believed in your skills!" Hagiwara's grinning face made him look neither serious nor sincere.

But this unserious demeanor was particularly striking to Feng Xingshou, perhaps because he was nothing like his brother, which made him stand out even more! On the other hand, his friend Zhenping seemed rather fierce.

In some ways, he does resemble his brother. Does this mean that people with "Zhen" in their names all look particularly fierce and don't seem like good people at first glance? Even though both this Zhenping and his brother have handsome faces?

She didn't know why she had these random thoughts at this time, but while her mind was a mess, watching the two of them bickering back and forth, a smile involuntarily came out of her mouth.

When she realized she had laughed, worried about being misunderstood, she quickly shook her head and waved her hands to explain, "I wasn't making fun of you! It's just that you two seem to have a really good relationship."

My male classmates from my old school were just like you guys; they never really got angry about what we said, we just joked around... It was so enviable!

This feeling of envy is genuine. Feng Xingshou doesn't know why, regardless of gender, he has never made any particularly close friends since childhood. Even though he is not a dull or withdrawn person, why can't he make any good friends who would be willing to go to the toilet with him?

"What good friend? It's a cursed relationship!" Matsuda retorted without any politeness when she heard her say that. "If I didn't know that his family owns a car repair shop and that being friends with him would mean I could go to his house to have my car dismantled, I would never befriend such a cunning guy!"

"Haha... I really enjoy being friends with Xiaozhenping! He was very fierce and arrogant when he first entered elementary school, and all the classmates were afraid of him. After becoming friends with him, no one has fought with me anymore!" Facing his childhood friend's 'frankness'.

Hagiwara didn't mind revealing his secret of "using" his friend at all. After they finished talking, they looked at each other. Instead of creating any distance between them because of this "frankness" and "use", a smile that only they understood appeared in each other's eyes.

Okay! Boys' friendships are always baffling. For example, I had two friends in elementary school who used to fight all the time, but they ended up becoming best buddies and even insisted on going to the same junior high school...

Faced with this situation she didn't understand, Feng Xingshou really wanted to sigh and facepalm, but being proud, she tried her best to nod as if she understood, and then ruthlessly changed the subject: "By the way, where are we going to eat? You haven't given me any recommendations yet!"

"Hey! You still remember this?" Matsuda was a little speechless. "I just taught a few troublemakers a lesson. It's not like I have to treat them to a meal to thank them!"

In Japan, people aren't that particular. Generally, they don't run away immediately to avoid getting into trouble. If they can't tell if the gratitude is genuine or insincere afterward, then offering a few words of thanks is considered quite humane and shows a sense of gratitude.

Most people just leave to avoid getting involved in a fight. How come Feng Sang's words of thanks for the invitation weren't just polite formalities? Shouldn't it usually be a few polite words of feigned generosity, and then the matter is dropped once they back down or avoid the topic?

Hagiwara was quite surprised to hear this, and unusually, he was stunned for a moment.

Coming from the warm and hospitable North of China, the phrase "treating others to a meal" is never an empty promise. Hearing Matsuda say this, Kazesei was even more surprised than they were: "How could it not be? You guys are really doing a heroic deed!"

"They're not police officers with a duty to protect the public. These are ordinary citizens who acted bravely, so of course we should treat them to a proper meal to thank them. It would be impolite not to give them a banner! By the way, where in Japan can I order banners? How about I send you two?"

"Stop, stop! Let's talk about treating everyone to dinner instead!" Seeing that if they continued talking, they would end up presenting a banner of appreciation, Matsuda Jinpei quickly stopped this trend.