Chapter 73
"Sorry for the long wait."
After visiting the exhibition, Shi Yu waited for Loren at the door of the store. She shook her head, indicating that it was okay, and then showed the map in her hand to Loren.
"Can we move around in this area? We've already finished the exhibition..."
"Are we going to the park next? Or the holographic theater?"
Their date was not until 7pm, and it was not yet noon, so they had a long time to arrange their own affairs.
After discussing with Loren, they decided to find a restaurant first and make a decision after finishing lunch.
After finding a nearby Western restaurant, Shi Yu struggled with the menu. At home, Lei Yin always catered to her taste, and except for desserts, she actually preferred Chinese food... Of course, it was called Xia Guo cuisine here.
"Loren, come and see what dishes we want to order." Shi Yu lowered his head and called him, but Loren did not respond. Shi Yu could not help but look up at him and asked in confusion: "Loren?"
The seat in front of her was empty; Loren wasn't sitting across from her.
He was standing at a distance from Shi Yu, talking to a waiter. Shi Yu curiously poked her head out to look. The waiter facing her direction noticed her movements and seemed to remind Loren with a smile. Loren looked back at her, then nodded to the waiter and returned to his seat.
"Ordering," Shi Yu handed him the menu, "Is there something wrong? What did you say to the waiter?"
"I asked which of the two nearby holographic theaters had better equipment," Loren said, adjusting his glasses and glancing at the dish she'd circled. "The spicy shrimp balls have a stronger flavor. Are you okay with that?"
"It's okay, I've been trying spicy food lately!"
Loren paused, said "hmm", and then handed the unchanged menu to the robot waiting nearby.
The dishes were served one by one by waiters on a food cart. An intelligent bionic robot in the shape of a Siamese cat followed closely behind, wagging its tail and walking in cat steps, sitting at Shi Yu's feet with a rose in its mouth.
"Meow~"
"Ah, is it for me? Thank you!"
Shigure understood the cat's meaning from its dark face and happily touched the cat's head and accepted it.
Next, as each dish was served on the table, the Siamese cat would bring a rose to Shi Yu. Before she knew it, Shi Yu had received almost seven or eight roses. She didn't bother to eat, but tied the roses into a bouquet and carefully placed it in the vase brought by the waiter on the table.
"This restaurant has this kind of service," Shi Yu said, holding her face with emotion, "It feels so romantic."
Loren: “…maybe not the restaurant service.”
"Hmm?" Shi Yu looked at him puzzledly.
The girl's clear, blank gaze made Loren subconsciously push his glasses up as if to avoid her. He said slowly and thoughtfully, "I just saw the advertisement at the door. Every day, one lucky customer will receive a small gift from the store manager. Maybe these roses will be it."
"Eh...? Does that mean I can take these flowers with me later?"
Loren responded, "Okay."
The boy's quick and confident answer made Shi Yu a little hesitant. She decided to wait until she finished her meal before confirming the advertisement at the door.
Rule 54 of the 100 Love Guides - Loren silently reviewed the knowledge he had memorized before the date. Surprises should start with details. Even if the person you like is not aware of your feelings for the time being, it doesn't matter. Just slowly build up the momentum, and when she notices, the feeling will be more intense than if you said it in person.
During the meal, Loren went to the restroom. After finishing the meal, Shi Yu walked out of the store holding a rose and took a special look at the billboard. Sure enough, there was a small line of words below it: [One lucky diner will receive a gift every day].
Shi Yu left with the flowers in his arms with peace of mind.
Although Shi Yu was very happy about this rare burst of luck, she seemed to be too lucky today. A girl selling flowers on the street saw her roses and praised their bright colors endlessly, and then said that it was fate that gave her two more flowers. A store holding an opening ceremony on the road said that she was the 999th passerby, and this number was the owner's lucky number, so Shi Yu added a few more roses to the bouquet of roses in her arms.
Correspondingly, Loren seemed to be feeling a little uncomfortable and he made excuses to go to the bathroom three times. Shi Yu held the increasingly heavy bouquet in his arms and sat on the chair waiting for him. While waiting, he sighed deeply for Loren.
It's a rare date, so there's nothing you can do if you don't feel well.
But am I really that lucky today? It's a little strange...
Their next arrangement was a holographic cinema. Shi Yu thought to herself, "No way, no way!", but when she entered the venue, she was picked as a lucky audience member and was given a lot of roses. She could hardly hold them all.
Loren came over to help her. Shi Yu breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "This is the first time I know that luck can also be a burden."
Loren pushed his glasses up and said without comment, "I'm really lucky today."
They had already arrived at the dark viewing room. Shi Yu couldn't see Loren's expression, but she seemed to have caught a fragment of his thoughts. In a flash of inspiration, she called out to him in a daze, "Loren!"
Loren stopped and looked sideways at her.
Rule 60 of the 100 Dating Tips: Don't worry if your efforts aren't rewarded. Remember, the other person is your crush. Instead of trying to show off your accomplishments in front of her, focus on making her happy on the date.
Loren remained silent.
Shi Yu seemed to be distracted by her own voice, and the inspiration in her mind drifted away. She scratched her cheek and said embarrassedly: "Forget it... It's nothing. I just felt something was wrong."
"Let's go to the movies!"
Holographic movies represent a 360-degree immersive experience into the movie space. Shi Yu did not feel dizzy from projection or 3D, nor did he feel dizzy on the spaceship to Xia Country. However, he felt dizzy when watching the holographic movie.
This is a film about an Omega girl kidnapped by interstellar pirates, rescued by Federation Marshal Alpha, and the love story that unfolds from there. The film opens with a space battle and a spaceship battle. Explosions and roars are close at hand, and beneath her feet lies the vast darkness of space. Shigure feels as if she's trapped in a small, pitch-black room. After another wave of shaking vision, she removes her holographic glasses and clutches her mouth in pain.
"Do you feel sick?" Loren noticed her abnormality and asked in a low voice.
Shigure nodded pitifully.
After hearing this, Loren took out a small tool kit from his military uniform pocket... Hey, Shi Yu felt that the tool kit seemed a little familiar.
In the dim light from the cinema seats, Shi Yu looked at the bag and suddenly remembered that Loren also brought it with him during training. He took out bandages, gloves and other things from it to treat her and the injured Xia Feng.
"Eat some sour candy, it will make you feel better."
When Loren entered the store, he took into consideration that people who were watching the movie for the first time might feel uncomfortable, and he handed the candy box in his hand to her in good preparation.
Shi Yu took it in a daze, thinking Loren was amazing. What on earth was that bag for?
"Thanks, Loren."
After eating the sour candy, Shi Yu's nausea eased a little. She carefully put on the holographic glasses and took them off when she felt uncomfortable again. She watched the plot intermittently. In the end, Shi Yu felt a little sleepy and fell asleep on Loren's shoulder without knowing when.
strawberry……
Shi Yu vaguely smelled the scent of strawberries in his half-asleep state.
The strange air around her seemed to be invaded, marked, and transformed by her scent. This breath came from far away, hesitantly and doubtfully enveloping her, and finally turned into cool rain, falling on her fluffy and soft forehead hair.
Shi Yu gasped softly and tried to say in a daze: Loren...
When she woke up, the theater was dark. It seemed that the show had already ended. Shi Yu felt dizzy and wanted to cover her head, but she found that Loren was holding her hand. She couldn't help but whispered, "Is the movie over? How long have I slept...?"
"It wasn't long," Loren replied. "Are you still feeling uncomfortable? Do you want to rest for a while?"
Shi Yu uttered an "Ah" and shook his head regretfully: "No, let's go."
The movie was supposed to end at four o'clock, but she slept next to Loren until five o'clock, wasting an extra hour of the date, and Rain would come to pick her up at seven o'clock.
"If only you had called me just now, Loren," Shi Yu sighed on the way to the park, "After all, we don't know how long it will be before we meet again, and I just slept for nothing..." an hour.
Before she finished speaking, Shi Yu suddenly stopped. She sniffed carefully around Loren again. She had felt something was wrong just now.
It seemed that because he slept against him for too long, Loren was also stained with a little of his strawberry smell. Shi Yu remembered that Loren had just bought a bottle of deodorant, and blushed to remind him. Loren calmly asked, "Did you?"
Shigure nodded sincerely, "Yes."
Loren hummed, not minding at all that he was tainted by the strawberry flavor that was too sweet for an Alpha. He pushed up his inexplicably reflective glasses and said, "Don't worry about it."
After walking around the park for a while, Shi Yu and Loren took turns holding the heavy bouquet of roses. Shi Yu looked at the flowers in her arms, worriedly wondering where to put this big bouquet of flowers at home. It seemed that she needed to buy a big vase.
But it seems a bit not worth it, what if these flowers can't be kept for a few days...
Loren seemed to have heard her whispering to herself.
"I've looked it up. These flowers are from Kidd," Loren paused and explained in a subtle way. "They can survive for a while even without nutrients and water. They're very resilient and won't wither easily."
Shigure: "Hmm, I see. That must be very expensive, right?"
Loren: "It's okay, it's not very expensive."
Shi Yu: "But Loren, I'm embarrassed. I'll feel like I've cost you money."
Shi Yu pursed her lips and raised her head, her clear black eyes staring at him silently.
——She discovered it.
Loren's face stiffened slightly. Even though he thought about the possibility that Shi Yu would find out, her reaction was as if she was being deceived and questioning him. This was inconsistent with what he expected. Loren began to quickly recall whether there was any record in the "Love Manual" about how to deal with this situation.
"You did all that," Shigure said, "Did you want to surprise me?"
"……yes."
Loren said.
"If that's the case."
Loren actually admitted it so straightforwardly. Shi Yu felt a little shy. His watery eyes looked at the boy seriously and squeezed out a sentence from his lips: "...I would rather you give it to me directly."
"Those who gave me roses had very deliberate movements and expressions. I could spot that, too."
"I have no experience, sorry." Loren was silent for a moment, as if reflecting. "I just thought this might put you in a good mood and make you happier."
"This is our first date, or maybe..."
Loren said no more.
Shi Yu knew what the unfinished words were. After this date, he didn't know when they would meet again... But even if he didn't do so much, Shi Yu would definitely remember this date with Loren -
Shi Yu turned her head away with a flushed face, muttering quietly with a tone of awkward complaint, or perhaps some joy that someone cared about her.
"...How stupid, Loren."
After strolling around the park, it was almost seven o'clock. Shigure and Loren sat on a bench waiting for Rain to come. She touched her somewhat empty stomach and waited listlessly for her guardian to come and take her to dinner.
"Have some bread to cushion your digestion." Loren took out a small piece of bread from the tool bag, then took out a bottle of drink and handed it to Shi Yu. Shi Yu took it, opened his eyes wide, and suddenly asked curiously, "Loren, I remember you had this bag during training."
"Um."
"What's in there?"
Loren thought for a moment, then looked at Shi Yu with his dark eyes behind his glasses. "You can take it and observe it."
Shi Yu's interest was piqued, and she happily took Loren's small tool bag while biting the bread. However, as soon as she opened the zipper, she was stunned.
A rose that seemed to have been forgotten, of the same variety and color as the bouquet, lay quietly on the top layer of the small bag.
This only remaining flower quietly hid in the darkness. For some reason, it did not bloom in clusters like the other roses. It was deliberately left here. Shi Yu seemed to feel the owner's hesitation, uncertainty, and uneasiness.
So Loren was planning to...give her one in person?
Shi Yu looked at Loren curiously, but the boy just lowered his eyes and looked at the ground without moving.
"Loren," Shi Yu asked him with a smile as he picked up the small bag, "When are you going to give me this flower?"
Loren asked someone to pass the rose to her, perhaps intending to make her feel lucky and in a good mood today, but Shi Yu suddenly realized that Loren might be retreating and avoiding.
If he didn't express his feelings directly, he wouldn't get a clear rejection.
After this date, everything between them can still be the same as before.
…
Ah, Shigure suddenly realized - in that case, it would be better for her not to play such a joke on him, right?
Shi Yu blinked, feeling a little regretful. She wanted to ease the tense atmosphere, "Loren... that."
Loren closed his eyes and straightened his glasses. He seemed to want to say something, but finally called out her name.
"Shigure."
"Uh-huh……!"
Their eyes accidentally met for a moment, but they avoided each other at the same time. Shi Yu clutched the hem of her skirt shyly and lowered her eyes. Loren didn't say anything else. He picked up the flower and carefully put it into the bouquet of roses.
"Kid Star roses don't require much care. Water them every three days, or five days... It's okay if you forget to do it often. If you don't have time, just put them in a vase and place them anywhere."
"It has great vitality and can maintain its current blooming appearance even in a corner."
Loren said calmly, without any fluctuation, "If you are willing to take a look at it once in a while, it is my good fortune."
Shi Yu shook her head, her nose inexplicably sore. She thought, she will definitely take good care of these flowers, it will definitely not be like what Loren said.
But Shi Yu couldn't say anything. She suddenly felt extremely guilty for her impulsive behavior, because Loren was not just talking about these flowers, he was...
Loren silently handed the bouquet of roses to Shi Yu. This bouquet was warm, vigorous and full of vitality, as if it contained the flame of all the hot emotions in the boy's heart. He was willing to give it to the girl. Loren had already prepared to be ignored and forgotten, but at this moment, he hoped that Shi Yu could really see him.
"For you," he said.
The author has something to say:
The next date is with Sister Xia Feng~
My sister thought her best friend was too gender-insensitive and almost got eaten. Xia Feng's true story of staying calm while sitting on her lap (√)
Damn, I originally planned to have one chapter for each person in the dating chapter, but it looks like it’s going to be long again.
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