Coquetry

Chapter 75 Coquetry

The school leaders' speeches continued, but Bai Yuze was no longer in the mood to listen to them. He looked at the dark mass of people below the stage and the various important figures in the front row standing up one after another, his eyes trying to find his old man's figure.

However, nothing was found.

As the lights dimmed, they slowly came back on.

The school anniversary celebration has ended.

The crowd began to leave; some complained of being tired, others said they were going to get a late-night snack, and still others were discussing the performance.

Bai Yuzhe was changing clothes backstage when a hand patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, junior brother, let's go get some barbecue."

Bai Yuze turned his head and saw Senior Brother Aiwas leaning against the door frame, holding a bottle of sake that he had somehow gotten his hands on. "You played well today, and the teacher was in a good mood, so he rewarded me with a bottle of sake."

Bai Yuzhe looked at the other person, wanting to say that he didn't drink, but he swallowed the words back.

He received two bouquets of flowers from his senior brother today, and besides, his senior brother would never harm him.

"OK."

The barbecue stall is located on the back street of the school.

Senior Brother Aiwas was clearly a regular customer; the boss smiled when he saw him and said, "We've reserved your usual spot."

Three cups and two goblets were set out, and the wine was already poured before the skewers even arrived.

"Come here, junior brother, let me introduce you."

Senior Brother Aiwas gestured to the side with his lip.

Bai Yuzhe then noticed that there was another person sitting at the table. He was very quiet, wearing a dark coat, with neatly combed hair, and a reserved expression on his face, as if he was not used to this kind of occasion.

"Minamoto no Shiro, the eldest son of the Minamoto clan."

Aiwas patted the man on the shoulder and teased, "Junior brother, don't let his honest appearance fool you, he's actually quite sly. After all, there aren't many good people in the Yuan family, and he's a partial exception."

Yuan Cheng smiled and raised his glass to Bai Yuze, "Junior, you played very well today."

"Thanks."

Bai Yuze picked up his cup and clinked it against his.

One bite and her face turned completely red.

He looked at the young man in front of him and was surprised that the young man had actually brought him out to introduce him. He had only mentioned to his senior brother that he wanted to visit the Genji clan, but the young man had actually brought him out to introduce him.

Aiwas picked up the conversation, pointing at Bai Yuze and saying to Yuan Cheng, "My junior brother is a good guy, but he can't hold his liquor. Look, after one drink, his face turns as red as a monkey's bottom. My junior brother told me before that he wanted to visit your Yuanshi Technology Group. You'll have to be his guide then."

Yuan Cheng raised his glass, clinked it with his senior brother Ai Huasi, and said with a smile, "I'm just an ordinary employee, I can't be of much help. But if your junior brother wants to come and visit, I can definitely show him around."

After they finished speaking, the three of them clinked glasses again.

Bai Yuze picked up his cup and took a sip. His stomach began to churn, and something felt rising in his throat.

He forced himself to keep from spitting out a few tentacles.

"Your alcohol tolerance is..."

Aiwas ate a few peanuts from the table, his tone slightly teasing, "Junior brother, how are you going to find a girlfriend with this level of drinking? A girl invites you for a drink, and you're knocked out after just one? So, are you picking up other girls' corpses, or are they picking you up?"

Bai Yuze swallowed and forced a smile.

"Then I'll be on the bottom, and she'll be on top."

Aiwas glanced at him, giving him a look that said, "You're hopeless."

"If you really encounter a woman like that, you'd better run far away."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Cheng glanced at his senior brother and smiled meaningfully.

Once the skewers arrived, the conversation quickly shifted to tonight's performance. "Did you see the first dance? That girl from Bai Cha's family danced really well. The one in the black dress, she spun around like a gust of wind."

Yuan Cheng picked up a mouthful of edamame with his chopsticks and, unusually, remarked, "The one in the white dress next to her is also quite good. She dances quietly, but beautifully."

Aiwas glanced at him and chuckled, "Oh, I thought you wouldn't care about these things after you got married."

"I'm not blind."

Yuan Cheng smiled, picked up a edamame, and threw it into his mouth.

Aiwas's gaze swept over Bai Yuzhe, and then he suddenly smiled.

"Speaking of which, both of them have quite a close relationship with our junior brother. The one in the black dress is the young lady of the Bai Cha family, and she's our junior brother's class monitor. She brings him breakfast every day. The one in the white dress is Su Xue, our junior brother's classmate. She doesn't talk much usually, but when our junior brother went up to give her flowers, she accepted them very naturally."

He took a bite of a chicken wing, his tone slightly teasing: "Junior Brother looks honest, but he's actually quite skilled."

Bai Yuze held the cup, his face already flushed, whether from the wine or something else, it was hard to tell.

"Senior Brother, don't talk nonsense—"

"Nonsense?"

Senior student Aiwass raised an eyebrow. "I've heard about your affairs in the lab. The biology class monitor often brings breakfast to some poor kid. Not to mention the library. Everyone who's ever been to the library knows that Su Xue sits across from you while reading. Are you still trying to deny it?"

"Huh... is it that obvious?"

Bai Yuzhe opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Yuan Cheng glanced at him, then at Aiwas, and sighed softly, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Aiwass paused for a moment, then glared at him.

"What do you mean?"

Yuan Cheng chuckled, ignoring the other person's words, and picked up a edamame from the bowl and threw it into his mouth.

On the other side, although Bai Yuze's stomach was churning violently, his mind was still relatively clear.

Tsk, he seems to have heard something incredible.

But he didn't dare to interrupt. Just then, his senior brother, Aiwass, poured another glass, pushed it in front of him, and changed the subject, "Do you remember the second one who played the guzheng? The one from the Chinese Language and Literature Department, the one in the white shirt."

"have."

Yuan Cheng nodded. "Well played. That piece sounds cheerful, but if you listen closely, it's a little sad."

Aiwass paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.

"You even know about this?"

"don't know."

Yuan Cheng shook his head sincerely: "It just feels a little sad to listen to it, it really touches on my heart."

Bai Yuze picked up his cup, took a sip, and frowned from the spiciness. "Brother Yuan, you're not overthinking it. That song is about unrequited love."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Aiwas, biting into a skewer, glanced at the two men and smiled.

"Okay, they're all quite cultured. I only remember who looked the best on stage just now."

All three laughed, and the atmosphere among them relaxed. Yuan Cheng didn't actually seem as depressed as he appeared.

Every time Aiwas commented on a young lady from a wealthy family, he would chime in with his own comments, offering insightful assessments, sometimes even with the kind of pickiness that only members of the Yuan family possess. "The one wearing pink, the dress is a nice color, but her makeup is too heavy. If the Yuan family were to hold an event like this, they definitely wouldn't allow her to go out like that."

Aiwas laughed so hard he almost fell over.

"You still care about this?"

"My mom takes care of it."

Yuan Cheng said, with a hint of helplessness in his voice, "She wants to control everything."

Halfway through his drink, Bai Yuze couldn't take it anymore. He put down his cup and said, "I'm going to the restroom."

He went around to the alley behind the barbecue stall, squatted down, and waited for the nausea to subside. Then he stood up, dusted off his pants, and walked in another direction.

He returned ten minutes later.

Aiwas was talking to Yuancheng when he saw him return and casually asked, "You were gone for so long?"

My stomach doesn't feel well.

Bai Yuze sat down, picked up his cup, and took another sip.

After drinking for a while, Aiwass checked the time, stretched, and said, "That's about enough for today. I have experiments to do tomorrow, so I'll be busy again."

The three people stood up.

Yuan Cheng left first, shaking hands with Bai Yuze before he left, saying they would talk again when they had time.

Aiwas patted Bai Yuze on the shoulder and asked if he wanted to call a car for him, but Bai Yuze refused, saying that it would be embarrassing to throw up in the car and he would have to pay compensation. He said it would be better to walk on the side of the road for a while first.

Seeing that Bai Yuze was clear-headed, Aiwas didn't press the matter and nodded before leaving.

Bai Yuze stood by the roadside, the night wind blowing into his collar, feeling cool and refreshing.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the churning in his stomach, but the burning sensation rose from there and was impossible to suppress.

He turned around, preparing to find a dark corner to relieve himself.

But then he discovered that, without him noticing, a certain moon was standing behind him.

A fitted black dress hugged her tall figure, and the square neckline revealed a section of her fair neck.

Her long, black hair fell to her waist, a few strands of which were blown by the night wind, making her face appear as white and jade-like.

Her eyes appeared exceptionally green under the streetlights, like two gems immersed in deep water, as she quietly gazed at him.

They remained silent and still.

Bai Yuze's mind went blank for a moment. He suddenly remembered that in his previous life, when he was a child, he secretly went to an internet cafe and was caught by his homeroom teacher, who called his guardian to pick him up.

That's the feeling he had when he stood at the school gate and watched the orphanage director get out of a taxi.

He opened his mouth, as if to explain something...

"Ugh~"

The churning sensation returned, and he bent over, dry heaving, but nothing came out. His face turned even paler, and his forehead was covered in fine sweat.

In a certain month, she looked at him, then slowly reached out and gently patted his back. The movement was very light, like patting a kitten that had stolen some food.

"I remember telling you before that you can't drink alcohol."

Bai Yuzhe wanted to explain, but looking into the other person's eyes, he shut his mouth.

"Okasan, I was wrong."

Mouyue didn't pull her hand back; it was pressed against his back, cool through his clothes.

The next second, Bai Yuzhe felt something seep into her palm, like a quiet stream of water flowing down his spine, through his stomach, through his intestines, through those churning, burning, chaotic places.

Within seconds, the burning sensation suddenly subsided.

Bai Yuze was stunned for a moment, then looked down at his hand, which had begun to mutate, and it gradually returned to normal.

He looked up at Mouyue, and found that she had gently taken his hand without him noticing. The streetlight shone from behind her, outlining her silhouette with a silver edge, obscuring her facial expression.

But Bai Yuzhe knew that Okasan was angry.

It's the kind of person you can't appease in a short time.

On his way home, Bai Yuze tried several methods.

"Oh, how about we go hunting this weekend? I heard that some new monsters have appeared in the Luoshan area. I heard their miasma is quite strong, and it must taste really good."

No response.

"Hey, I'd like to watch the second season of Magical Girl Violet with you this weekend. I heard there will be a new boss and magical girls this season."

There was still no response.

In a certain month, it walked half a step ahead, without speaking, without turning around, and without even sticking out a single whisker.

Bai Yuzhe watched her retreating figure and gave up.

Never mind, I'll talk about it when I get home.

The two walked one after the other. When they reached their front door, Bai Yuze paused for a moment.

He glanced back at the street behind him; the streetlights were bright, the shadows of the trees swayed, but there was nothing there.

But the tip of his nose twitched.

That sweet fragrance wafted by for a fleeting moment, so faint that he, unless exceptionally sensitive to smells, wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

Magical girl.

A magical girl was following him.

Bai Yuze pushed open the door without changing his expression, and after Mouyue went in, he looked back at her again.

But that aura suddenly disappeared.

In the rented room, Lu Zihai's room was very quiet. It seemed that he had been working the night shift lately.

Upon entering the room, I found that Yue was already sitting on the bed, holding the book "Okasan's Study Notes" in her hand, flipping through it without looking at him.

Bai Yuze stood there for a while, then walked up to her, his face full of remorse. "Oh, I was wrong."

Turn the page.

"I shouldn't have been drinking."

Turn the page.

Bai Yuzhe took a deep breath, turned around, picked up his laptop from the table, opened it, and handed it to her.

On the screen was the magical girl video website she frequently visited, whose homepage was full of various magical girl clips and music videos.

Mo Yue's fingers paused for a moment, but she didn't look up.

This was Bai Yuze's last resort.

When he was in his mature, sophisticated state, he was always a man of his word, unless he was struck by lightning again like last time. But this time, he glanced at his phone and saw that the past few days had been sunny and bright. Moreover, he had been caught red-handed by the other party.

"Okasan".

Bai Yuzhe squatted down to be at eye level with her.

"I really know I was wrong."

Finally, she looked up at him, then her gaze fell on the laptop screen before she looked away again, letting out a soft hum.

She reached out and tapped the screen.

Bai Yuze looked down and saw a picture of a cute little girl with shoulder-length black hair, big eyes, and wearing a pink dress. She looked like a piece of candy.

His face stiffened.

"Okasan, could you get a bigger one?"

She looked at him without saying a word.

Bai Yuze was silent for two seconds, then took his laptop and went into the bathroom.

The door closed.

The living room fell silent, with only the ticking of the clock on the wall.

One month, I was sitting on the sofa, flipping through a couple of pages, when I suddenly looked up and glanced in the direction of the bathroom.

The door was still closed.

She looked away and continued flipping through her notes, turning two pages before stopping again.

After a while, the bathroom door opened.

The miasma seeped out from the crack in the door; it was very faint and dissipated quickly.

A little girl in a pink dress walked out, with shoulder-length black hair and big eyes, exactly like the picture on the screen.

To be precise, Bai Yuze is her in her simulated form.

Her small face was filled with unease; her eyebrows were furrowed, her lips were pursed, and she looked as if she were bound by something.

She walked up to a certain moon and stood there.

I didn't look at her for a month, and instead looked down at my notes.

The little girl gritted her teeth, her voice several octaves higher than usual, soft and sweet, "Oka-san, I won't do it again next time."

No response.

The little girl lowered her head, her ears starting to burn.

Obviously, some of these cutesy gestures aren't something you can just do casually, but there's nothing I can do about it, the other person is an old man!

The little girl gritted her teeth, took another half step forward, grabbed the other person's hand and shook it, her voice even lower, so low that only the two of them could hear it.

"Okasan, I promise I'll never do it again—please don't ignore me—please~"

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Then, a hand reached out and patted the side next to her. Mo Yue still didn't speak, she just patted the sofa.

Bai Yuze sighed softly, walked over, lay down beside her, and rested his head on her lap.

A certain month's hand landed on his hair, gently stroking it again and again. The little girl snuggled closer to her, just like when they were little.

The other party didn't speak, but Bai Yuzhe knew that he had most likely passed this hurdle.

Ok.

When Okasan transforms into a cute girl, she likes to act cute towards him, while in her mature, older sister-like state, Okasan prefers to see him act cute.