On March 1, 2027, at noon, in a remote bookstore on Hatoyama Shopping Street, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
Anson Lu put the last book in the shelf, turned his head to look at the empty box, and clapped his hands: "Very good, now all the books are arranged."
"Thank you for your hard work." A faint voice came from behind the counter of the bookstore.
“This is our fourth branch.”
Anson Deer walked in the aisle between two rows of bookshelves, passed through the jungle of books, and came to the door of the bookstore. It was snowing lightly in the sky and there were no clouds in the sky.
He raised his brown eyes and looked towards the sky: "Anson Deer and Yuri's bookstore is officially open today!"
"Isn't it called 'Polar Bear Bookstore'?"
“It’s up for discussion.”
“Polar Bear Bookstore is better.”
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Anson Lu put one hand on his waist and rubbed his forehead with the other hand, "So can you have some sense of ceremony?"
"for example?"
"Polar Bear Bookstore is officially open today!" Anson Lu cheered, then quickly put his arm down and turned to look at the white-haired girl behind the counter, "Like this."
The girl was wearing a light blue pleated skirt, and her temperament was very cold and pure. She sat on a swivel chair, lowered her head to play the game console, and whispered, "Open." Her voice was emotionless, as if she was taking time out of her busy schedule to do so. Even the sound effects of the game were louder than this.
"Mr. Yuri, can you read louder like me?" Anson Lu hugged his shoulders.
"But..." Yuri put down the game console and opened a comic book, "Anson Lu, there are only two of us in the store."
Anson Lu said seriously: "Comrade Icelandic girl, do you understand what a sense of ritual is?"
"Comrade Old Chess Player, this is already the fourth branch."
"You, you, you," Anson Lu coughed twice, "Please, I have already sealed the dark history of 'Old Chess Player'. Please, my ancestor, can we not mention it again? Just let it be buried in the long river of history."
Yuri tilted his head and repeated word by word: "Old. Day. Chess. Hand." The light white hair swayed slightly, like drifting snow.
"Hey... Is this the shame you feel when you review your past after your middle school years?" Anson Lu patted his chest and turned to look out the window. "It seems like a guest has arrived."
Yuri closed the comic and looked towards the door. A man and a woman were standing outside the store. The man was wearing a long black coat and the woman was wearing a green windbreaker.
"Polar Bear Bookstore..." the girl in windbreaker murmured softly.
"It looks like a newly opened bookstore. Do you want to take a look?" asked the young man next to him.
"Forget it," the girl paused, "The leader is still waiting for us."
"Really?" the young man said calmly, "Everyone knows our classmate Qingzhu Lin. Whenever he sees a bookstore he has never seen before, he can't help but go in and take a look."
"As expected of a household robot, you really understand me." Qingzhu Lin said.
"Right?"
"However, my Mr. Xia Mingwei, we are really going to be late. The leader said that this banquet is very important and it concerns the appearance of the church..." Qing Zhulin was interrupted by Anson Lu who came over before he finished speaking.
"You two must think carefully, this is a great opportunity." Anson Lu stood in front of the two, winking and squinting, and said seriously, "Today is the first day of opening of our Polar Bear Bookstore. This is already our fourth bookstore. The other three branches are located in Beijing, New York, and Rjukan, Norway! There has always been a rumor about our bookstore that the first customer who walks into our bookstore will be blessed with lifelong happiness," he paused, "especially couples, you two look very affectionate!"
Yuri, who was sitting in the store, put his fist to his mouth and coughed lightly, as if he didn't want to agree with Anson Deer's nonsense.
After Anson Lu's self-praise, Xia Mingwei and Qing Zhulin turned their heads and looked at each other, as if they were exchanging glances.
"Forget it, let's come again next time." Xia Mingwei shrugged, took Qing Zhulin's hand and walked away slowly. The two could be heard laughing.
"What's going on?" Anson Lu watched the two people walk away, holding his forehead and sighing, "Well... although they are not the first customers to enter our store, I also wish them happiness, the kind of lovers who eventually become siblings."
"Idiot." Yuri said calmly.
"The one who calls someone stupid is the one who is stupid."
“Rebound.”
“Are we elementary school students?”
"Asuka is here." Yuri said suddenly.
Anson Lu raised his eyebrows and turned his head away, saying, "It's over. Did this crybaby bring people to mess up our business because we're opening today?"
"Huh? Who are you calling a crybaby?" came a cold voice, and what came into view was a girl with eyes as lively as a bluebird. Her face was pretty, but full of unhappiness.
Anson Lu looked at Asuka, bent down and waved like a waiter, and said lightly: "Hello, hello, please come in, guest, 50,000 yen for a book."
"Oh my, how can a bookstore sell a book for 50,000 yen?" A girl with a charming temperament like a flower walked behind Asuka. She was wearing a light cherry-colored kimono, holding a folding fan in her hand and smiling.
"Sell it!" Anson Lu shrugged. "I'll put up a sign at the door someday saying: Crybabies and green tea girls are not allowed to enter."
Asuka Uesugi said lightly: "Little Liuli, don't worry about him, let's go play with Yuri." As she spoke, she walked past Anson Deer and walked towards the counter of the bookstore.
"Long time no see, Asuka, Ruri-chan." Yuri said softly.
"Long time no see, Yuri."
"Long time no see, Miss Yuri."
Anson Lu exhaled a breath of white air into his palms, rubbed his hands, slightly raised the corners of his mouth, and looked up at the sky where snow was falling.
A year ago, he found all his companions in the Evolution Game and used the ability of the chess species "Black Swan" to transfer some memories to them, memories of that game.
So they became friends again, just like they were before.
"How has everyone been lately?" Yuri asked.
"I just asked for leave from school," Asuka said, "Little Liuli too. Aren't we going to travel around the world together in a few days? Let's take Teacher Chu and the others with us."
Kamishiro Ruri smiled slightly and said, "Yes, I will go with the young lady to prevent her from being kidnapped on the road."
"You don't have to worry about that. That guy named An will keep an eye on us," Asuka said, turning to look at Anson Lu, "Don't you think so?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Anson Lu yawned and walked into the bookstore. "If any unlucky guy really messes with us, I will directly release the 'Galactic Statue' to send him to the moon."
"I feel relieved when you say that." Asuka looked at him with contempt, "But please don't let anyone get killed!"
"Come on, do I look like that kind of person?" Anson Lu looked back at her with the same contempt, "So are you two ready? We're going to get on the plane the day after tomorrow."
"Of course, why else would I come to you? My dad said he will pay for this world trip, so let's have fun."
"He didn't ask two bodyguards to follow you or something?"
Asuka Uesugi snorted and said, "There's no need. Little Ruri is my best bodyguard." As she spoke, she tilted her head and fell on Ruri Kamishiro's shoulder.
"Miss, you are such a jerk," Kamishiro Ruri said with a smile, covering her face with a fan, "You are still like a child even though you have grown up like this."
"You two stop showing off. I know you two are good friends." Anson Lu sighed, "You and I are having hot pot today. How about you?"
"Let's go together." Asuka hugged her elbows.
"Take one for me, thank you for the treat." Kamishiro Ruri smiled.
"Come on, come on, Manager Lu is treating us."
"Ka Ba!" A blue and white kangaroo jumped out. Its style was out of place in the bookstore, as if it was not in the same dimension as the other four.
Anson Deer was stunned, and quickly lowered his voice and said: "Oh my god, Sheriff Kangaroo, you better go back to the chess library. Do you know what kind of occasion this is?!" As he said that, he pressed down the head of the alien kangaroo with his hand and hid it behind his butt. Passersby on the street looked sideways into the bookstore, and he could only laugh dryly and wave his hands.
"Hahahaha——" Asuka Uesugi laughed her belly off, "Why don't you invite it to eat hotpot with you? You're really not doing your job as a host well."
"Get lost!" Anson Lu rolled his eyes at her. "You're getting angry just by saying that. Have you forgotten that you took the alien kangaroo out to play and someone filmed a video of you. It got two million views on Twitter?"
"What are you afraid of?" Asuka snorted, "Everyone thinks it's a prank video anyway, right?"
Kamishiro Ruri smiled and said, "Yes, many people have praised the young lady for looking like a celebrity."
"Is it necessary to say this? Xiao Liuli."
"I think she looks like Takeshi Kitano, the comedian." Anson Lu laughed.
"You don't want to live anymore, do you?"
"I'm sorry." He knelt down firmly.
Yuri squatted down, gently touched the head of the alien kangaroo, and opened his mouth slightly: "Ga Ba." As if greeting it.
Under the winter sky, voices of people talking and laughing could be heard constantly in the bookstore.
The snow is still falling, and people are coming and going on the streets. (End of this chapter)
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