Chapter 76: Little Zhenping Falls into Thought
The weekend get-together was arranged at a relaxed, family-style restaurant. The prices were reasonable, affordable even for police academy students still in training. The food was supposedly quite good, lacking the sophistication of upscale restaurants but offering the warmth of home-cooked meals.
Date Wataru arrived early with Natalie. Natalie was gentle and quiet, with the shyness of meeting her boyfriend's best friend for the first time, while Date Wataru held her hand with affection. Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei arrived shortly after.
A subtle atmosphere of curiosity and anticipation filled the air, especially for Matsuda, who waited with an almost eager anticipation, thinking, "I'm going to see how Furuya's lover will appear today." He still hadn't given up looking for a flaw.
As Date Wataru gently introduced Natalie to his two classmates who had arrived, Natalie smiled gracefully, her gaze occasionally drifting curiously toward the door. Date Wataru had already described the people who would be having dinner with her when they were alone, and she was filled with curiosity about Furuya Rei's mysterious and ever-changing lover, who had caused several outstanding police academy students to misunderstand him.
Kenji Hagiwara was the first to be unable to contain himself: "Speaking of which, I'm still a little curious." He rested his chin on his hand and guessed with great interest, "How will the little cat from the Kofuruya family appear today? If we follow Jinpei's description, there are too many possibilities."
Everyone else just changed clothes, but Miracle Cat Wild got a complete face swap!
Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and snorted, "Who knows? Anyway, it's definitely not what he originally looked like. Last week he was a pink-haired sweetheart, and the week before that he was a black-haired cool guy. Their temperaments and appearances are completely different. If Jing Dan hadn't so confidently assured me, I would never have believed that it was the same person."
Natalie listened to their discussion and chuckled softly, covering her mouth: "Sounds like an interesting person."
Date Wataru also remarked, "The person who can make Furuya fall for someone must be extraordinary. But... since they always meet in different guises, won't they accidentally mistake one for the other?"
This question caused a brief silence in the private room. Oh right, wouldn't they accidentally mistake the faces they're using?
Just as their curiosity was about to reach its peak, "click," the door to the private room was gently pulled open.
Instantly, everyone's eyes turned to the doorway, their anticipation reaching its peak!
Unfortunately, the person who came in was Morofushi Kagemitsu.
"Sigh~" Everyone sighed with regret.
Zhu Fujingguang: ? ? ?
What, you're not welcoming me?
Morofushi Kagemitsu is about to cause trouble! Little Kagemitsu takes a step back, looking aggrieved—just kidding!
Seeing the gazes of everyone in the private room, Morofushi Kagemitsu paused for a moment, then nodded to Date Wataru and the others, and said with a smile, "Sorry, I seem to be late?"
Kenji Hagiwara immediately waved his hand: "No, no, Morofushi arrived just in time! We were too early!"
This is not just polite talk; they genuinely arrived early out of curiosity about Ikuya Nekono's current appearance.
Kenji Hagiwara's gaze involuntarily drifted behind Kagemitsu Morofushi, anticipating the next person to enter: "Little Morofushi, are you alone? Where are Furuya and the legendary...?"
He wasn't sure if the black-haired, blue-eyed Nekono he saw was Nekono Ikuya's true form, so Nekono Ikuya was also a legend to him.
He's not even sure if Nekono Ikuya's name is real now.
Matsuda Jinpei was even more direct. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the doorway, trying to see if anyone was hiding behind Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled knowingly, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible amusement: "Zero went to park the car, he should be here soon. As for Yuya..." Before he could finish speaking, clear footsteps echoed down the corridor, approaching from afar.
Immediately, everyone's attention was drawn back to the doorway.
It seemed unnecessary to say anything more. Morofushi Kagemitsu shrugged helplessly and stepped aside to make way for the doorway.
The first thing that catches the eye is the familiar figure of Rei Furuya. Today he is wearing a simple casual outfit, his blond hair is still as dazzling as ever, but his sharp purple-gray eyes look a little softer than usual.
Then, a slightly unfamiliar figure appeared in front of everyone and naturally stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Furuya Rei.
He was a handsome and gentle young man, dressed in a simple beige knit sweater and khaki trousers, clean and refreshing. His short chestnut hair was slightly wavy, and a pair of thin-rimmed glasses sat on his high nose. Behind the lenses were warm amber eyes, containing a clearly visible relaxed smile.
He exudes a gentle and intellectual scholarly aura, like a kind and approachable older brother next door, with a calm and serene temperament and an innate sense of friendliness. He bears no resemblance whatsoever to the "cool guy with a wolf tail" and "pink-haired sweetheart" described by Matsuda Jinpei, nor is he the "refreshing youth" seen by Hagiwara Kenji.
It's the kind of face that gives people a refreshing and comfortable feeling just by looking at it from a distance, and that has excellent bone structure but doesn't attract too much attention.
The scholarly-looking young man stood next to Furuya Rei, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the private room. He nodded slightly and gave a perfectly timed smile.
To be honest, after just one meeting, without even exchanging a word, Ida and Natalie already felt quite fond of this handsome young man.
Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda are the same.
Rei Furuya glanced around at his classmates, each with their own unique expression, as well as the beautiful and poised Natalie. A smile welled up in his eyes as he casually put his arm around the young man beside him and began to introduce him to everyone. His voice was steady, yet carried a hint of unspoken seriousness: "Everyone, this is my lover, Ikuya Nekono."
Nekono Ikuya smiled, her eyes crinkling into a warm and innocent grin: "Nice to meet you all. I'm Nekono Ikuya, Zero's lover. I've heard Zero and Kei talk about you all before, and I'm so glad to finally meet you today."
He also greeted Natalie separately with politeness: "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Miss Natalie."
His voice and smile were gentle and refined, exuding a timeless scholarly air that harmonized with his appearance and temperament, drawing cheers of increasing favorability from those around him.
Kenji Hagiwara blinked, and Wataru Date and Natalie smiled warmly. Jinpei Matsuda frowned slightly, seemingly trying to reconcile the image of Ikuya Nekono in front of him with his impressions from the previous two encounters.
The blonde Rei Furuya and the chestnut-haired Ikuya Nekono stood side by side, one resolute and dazzling, the other gentle and calm. Their two very different temperaments complemented each other in a strange way, creating an indescribable harmonious aura.
They...they look so well-matched.
Kenji Hagiwara couldn't help but ask, "Original appearance?"
“Of course—no.” Furuya Rei’s tone became unusually lively, with a hint of pride in his voice. He turned to look at Nekono Ikuya beside him, his purplish-gray eyes shining with a bright and smug light. “It’s a disguise version.”
Bright purplish-grey eyes met warm amber eyes with a smile. They didn't exchange any more words; just gazing at each other, an invisible bond and a profound, unspoken understanding flowed through the air.
Nekono Ikuya chuckled and nodded: "That's right, it's the disguised version."
He deliberately broke character, giving the crowd a sly and provocative wink. It was as if to say, "I've revealed my hand; now it's your turn to find flaws in my disguise."
Nekono Ikuya: The challenge has been issued!
Date Wataru was stunned, and Natalie's eyes widened slightly. Matsuda Jinpei's competitive spirit ignited instantly, his eyes sharpening in a flash, while Hagiwara Kenji opened his mouth.
Wow, Kenji Hagiwara said "Wow!"
Is this really Xiao Maoye's personality? You can't tell at all from his disguise today!
In the midst of a stunned silence, only Morofushi Kagemitsu finally couldn't help but chuckle softly; how could he not be surprised?
As they sat down, the atmosphere gradually warmed up, and Nekono Ikuya regained her approachable demeanor, befitting her temperament.
Date Wataru's girlfriend was a gentle and generous girl, quiet but not shy, and quickly became familiar with everyone. Nekono Ikuya was articulate and knowledgeable, and also quickly integrated into the group. Furuya Rei and the others were already friends from the same period, and there was also a social butterfly, Hagiwara Kenji, making the atmosphere at the dinner party quite harmonious.
Although the party included a "spot the difference" game challenge given by Ikumi Nekono, everyone didn't just focus on finding differences and neglect the meal; eating, drinking, and chatting remained their main focus.
I only occasionally glanced at Nekono Ikuya out of curiosity, probably because Nekono Ikuya's disguise skills were so high that it was really hard to find any flaws.
—Matsuda Jinpei is an exception; he seems to have come primarily to find weaknesses in Nekono Ikuya.
Matsuda Jinpei: It's not that he's too obsessed with Nekono Ikuya, but rather, anyone who's been intentionally or unintentionally dragged into the blonde bastard's lover's game twice, and then unwittingly becomes part of their play, would probably pay more attention to them.
Matsuda Jinpei was really scrutinizing Nekono Ikuya's disguise.
It was so natural. His posture, his sitting posture, his unconscious little gestures… his voice, his appearance, the way he looked at Furuya… it was completely different from the wild and unruly wolf-tailed youth and the lively and cunning pink-haired boy; it was the unique gentle and refined quality of the chestnut-haired, scholarly youth. Flawless!
How did he do that? If the difference in posture can be explained by acting skills, and the voice can be attributed to the use of a falsetto, then the change in appearance is truly incomprehensible to Matsuda Jinpei.
He even saw the fine beads of sweat on Nekono Ikuya's face from the spiciness of the spicy food.
As for the other person's height, Matsuda Jinpei compared them. At this moment, the chestnut-haired Nekono Ikuya was shorter than the wolf-tailed youth but taller than the pink-haired boy. However, he could not see any height-increasing insoles on Nekono Ikuya's feet; the other person was wearing flat shoes.
I don't recall either the Nekomata Fumiya with wolf tail hair or the Nekomata Fumiya with pink hair wearing shoe lifts...
No, it seems the pink-haired boy is wearing platform shoes, but the pink-haired boy is the shorter one, Matsuda Jinpei thought in confusion, but wouldn't that make their height difference even greater?
He was certain that it wasn't an illusion caused by the change in Rei Furuya's height, and Rei Furuya wasn't wearing shoes with a significant height difference!
How strange! Matsuda Jinpei's attention gradually shifted from Nekono Ikuya's appearance to his strangely changing height, and he began to look involuntarily at Nekono Ikuya's feet.
Matsuda Jinpei: Completely baffled, staring—
Little Zhenping is deep in thought. (jpg)
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar foot slowly lift up, and then—snap!
Caught off guard by the kick to the shin, Matsuda Jinpei opened his eyes wide: "Hagi, what are you doing?"
Kenji Hagiwara said in a low voice with a blank expression, "Don't you want to look at Furuya's expression next to you?"
Matsuda Jinpei turned his head, and Furuya Rei slowly smiled at him, with black mist swirling in the background.
Matsuda Jinpei: Huh!
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