Chapter 33 Blind Date 2 (Bonus Chapter) Helping the Gentleman Finish His Act (or Mess It Up)...
Inside the "Bamboo Between" private room on the third floor of the Yinniang Pavilion.
Yagyu Hiroshi sat upright, while Shimizu Kazuko knelt quietly to the side, her eyelashes lowered, her posture gentle and graceful.
Opposite the two were their parents: Yagyu's father looked calm, while the elders of the Shimizu family wore smiles. Both sides were clearly quite satisfied with the matchmaking.
Just as the atmosphere was getting along well, the door to the private room was suddenly pulled open—
"Hiroshi!" The girl's eyes reddened, her voice trembling slightly, "You...you really were here!"
Yagyu's father frowned: "Hiroshi, who is this child?"
Risa bit her lip, looking hesitant, but finally bowed deeply as if she had made up her mind: "Uncle, I am Matsuno Risa, Hiroshi's...girlfriend."
"—?!"
The elders of the Shimizu family immediately changed their expressions.
Yagyu adjusted his glasses, stood up, and shielded Risa behind him: "Risa, stop fooling around. I'll explain when I get back..."
"I'm not making a scene!"
Risa instantly got into character, her eyes reddening and choking back tears as she said, "I know you can't go against your family's arrangements, but... but I really can't pretend I don't know..."
She turned to Shimizu Kazuko, bowing deeply. "Miss Shimizu, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bother you, and I know I shouldn't do this, but... matters of the heart are beyond my control. The thought of Hiroshi marrying you... I just..."
Kazuko Shimizu opened her lips, then lowered her eyelashes.
"Yagyu-kun, so you already have a lover." She put down her teacup and sighed softly. "You know, the Shimizu family never forces anyone to do anything against their will. If we had known you already had someone you loved..."
"No, she just..."
Just as Yagyu was about to "explain," Risa grabbed his tie.
"Hirosuke, how could you do this? Last week in the infirmary... you clearly said..."
The girl covered her face in anguish, tears streaming down her face: "You clearly said that I was the only person you truly loved..."
"The infirmary?! You, you actually..." Liu Sheng's father's voice suddenly rose.
"Have you forgotten our 'promise'? You said you'd wait until I graduated—" She choked up, unable to speak, tears streaming down her face like a broken dam.
Yagyu's father's face turned ashen: "Hiroshi, what exactly is going on?"
Yagyu remained silent.
Finally, he sighed softly, "...I'm sorry, Father."
As for leaving it blank, let the elders present use their imaginations.
—It's a perfect match.
The elder of the Shimizu family stood up, his face turning pale with anger: "Mr. Yagyu, it seems that the marriage between our two families needs to be reconsidered."
Kazuko Shimizu also stood up, and as they passed each other, she whispered "Thank you" in Risa's ear.
After the Shimizu family left, a brief silence fell over the private room.
Yagyu's father rubbed his temples: "Ms. Matsuno, could you please explain?"
Risa wiped away her tears, about to speak—
"Father, the responsibility lies with me. It was my oversight. But Risa and I..."
Yagyu grasped Risa's hand, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "We're serious about dating. She's the only person I want to spend my life with."
Risa was startled and glanced sideways at the boy.
(Wow...that acting!)
(Are all the main characters in this world monsters? Even the gentleman in the tennis club can instantly become an Oscar winner?)
How terrifying!
Wouldn't she, a three-time Best Actress winner with memories of her past life, be completely out of the loop in this world after being reborn?
Risa clutched her chest, caught off guard and stabbed hard by an invisible knife.
Yagyu's father's gaze fell on their clasped hands.
After pausing for a moment, he suddenly said, "Since things have come to this, let's bring her home for dinner next week."
Risa's eyes widened: "...?"
The gentleman nodded without hesitation: "Okay."
"I'm sorry, child." Yagyu's father patted Risa's shoulder, his tone softening. "I'm sorry you had to go through this."
Risa forced a smile.
(The performance is almost over, it's time to wrap it up...)
"Don't worry," Yagyu's father suddenly said seriously, "Once you graduate, I will bring Hiroshi to formally propose marriage. The men of the Yagyu family never break their promises."
Risa: "???"
Acting is fine, but marriage is absolutely out of the question.
"Uncle, actually we were just acting—"
Risa was about to reveal her true feelings when Yagyu Hiroshi covered her mouth halfway through her sentence.
“Father,” Yagyu said apologetically, “Risa was frightened today, I’ll take her home first.”
Liu Sheng's father glanced at his son and said meaningfully, "Go."
Before leaving, she added, "Remember the family gathering next week."
"Understood, Father."
After saying that, Yagyu grabbed Risa and pulled her outside without another word.
-
After leaving the Ginjo-tei, Risa shook off Yagyu's hand.
"Yagyu Hiroshi! This isn't what we agreed on!"
"Are you crazy? Didn't we agree that it was just a fake couple to sabotage the blind date? How did it suddenly turn into attending a family dinner? And even getting married?!"
In the afterglow of the setting sun, a rare crack appeared in the gentleman's expression: "My father... is rather traditional. Your performance just now caused him to misunderstand."
"Misunderstanding?" Risa spread her hands exaggeratedly.
"Just because I implied we were alone in the infirmary? Isn't it normal for high school students to date these days?"
Yagyu explained, "In the Yagyu family, premarital intimacy is seen as a commitment to take responsibility."
"...premarital intimacy?"
Risa's pupils contracted: "Wait! I only said in the infirmary... I didn't imply anything to us..."
The sound suddenly stopped.
"Your father wouldn't think we...?"
Yagyu calmly adjusted his glasses: "To be precise, he thought we already..."
"ah--!"
Risa covered her ears and squatted on the ground.
"Stop! Don't say any more."
"What kind of living fossil of feudalism is your Yagyu family?! Who says that having sex means you have to get married?!"
Passersby turned to look, and Liu Sheng coughed awkwardly, reaching out to help her up: "Anyway, now..."
Risa slowly looked up, her eyes glistening with tears: "Then, what do we do now? Your father isn't going to force us... to get married because we're pregnant or something..."
Liu Sheng's hand froze in mid-air, and the lens cracked open with a "snap".
"...You're thinking too far ahead."
"It's all because your family's thinking is too terrible."
Risa jumped up and took several steps back, like a startled rabbit.
“I’m warning you, Yagyu Hiroshi.”
"Although I like to joke around, I would never make a mistake that is so fundamental..."
"I—Matsuno Risa! Have absolutely no interest in underage boys!" She made a big X with her hands in front of her chest. "And I've never planned to get married! This matter..."
"Shut up!" Yagyu covered Risa's mouth and lowered his voice, "Everyone around is watching. You're not ashamed, but I am."
Risa couldn't make a sound, she could only glare at him angrily and make "uh-uh" sounds while cursing very filthy.
Liu Sheng closed his eyes; his temples were throbbing.
He reluctantly let go: "If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off seeking out the King of Benevolence..."
"Now you know you regret it?" Risa angrily straightened her messed-up bangs. "It's your own fault for not letting me tell you the truth."
“Because my father is very stubborn,” Liu Sheng said calmly.
“If I tell him the truth now, he’ll arrange a new blind date for me tomorrow.”
Risa crossed her arms and sneered, "So?"
“So…” Yagyu rarely showed a hint of embarrassment, “I might need to pretend for a while longer.”
"How long is a period of time?"
"Until...he gave up the idea."
"So, what about your family gathering next week?"
"You don't need to worry about it, I'll handle it when the time comes."
“That’s fine too. When the time is right, I’ll be the one to break up with you. You can tell your father that I’ve dumped you.”
Yagyu: "...Okay."
On the way to the station, Risa crossed her arms and glanced sideways at Yagyu: "Hey, Yagyu, that last line of yours, 'I'm the only person you want to spend your life with'... was that just acting?"
Liu Sheng looked straight ahead, his tone calm: "What do you think?"
Risa squinted, about to tease him, when her phone suddenly rang—
[Shimizu Kazuko: Risa-san! My family has given their approval to my partner and me! Thank you so much! Please come to the shop next time, I'll treat you to our special daifuku!]
Risa looked at the message from Shimizu Kazuko and couldn't help but smile: "Looks like the plan was a great success!"
Yagyu breathed a sigh of relief: "Mm."
On the train back, Yagyu asked Risa, "Why do unnecessary things? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just mess things up at Shogetsu-an?"
Risa was chatting with Shimizu Kazuko when she heard this. She looked up and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, I can't do anything to hurt a girl."
Unless, of course, the other party has repeatedly provoked her.
"And," Risa chuckled, waving her phone, "in terms of the outcome, wasn't it a perfect solution? Ms. Shimizu wasn't hurt at all, and I even made a new friend~"
“Most importantly,” she added, “you won’t have to queue at Qingshuixuan anymore, and you can even get a 20% discount!”
Yagyu: "...How come I never knew you loved sweets so much?"
Risa: "There are many things you don't know."
Yagyu: "..."
“By the way—” Risa rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head to look at him, “I’m going to have to sacrifice my reputation to play your virtual girlfriend for a while, shouldn’t I get some kind of reward?”
Liu Sheng glanced at her: "What do you want?"
"Hmm... next time we have a holiday..." she winked mischievously, "how about you dress up as a woman for me?"
"......turn down."
"Tsk, stingy."
Looking at the fleeting scenery outside the window, Liu Sheng suddenly spoke:
"We could consider having Niou dress up for you."
Risa: (○·д·)ノ
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Author's note: I just checked and there are over 1300 bottles of nutrient solution! What a huge number! (○·д·)ノ
Thank you for your support, everyone! [heart emoji]
A new map will be available tomorrow. I saw so many people in the comments saying they hope the two of them get together soon, haha. It might take a little longer though, because... they've only known each other for less than two months! (screams like a groundhog)
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