Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 610

However, just as she was preparing to spend the whole morning in a dreamlike state, someone sent her a message on her phone.

[Delete: Are you free this afternoon?]

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 821 Sleeping

Although he received a message from Del, Xiangzi did not immediately abandon Miaomeng. He stayed at the bar with her and let her get drunk and act crazy for a whole morning. Only when Miaomeng got tired and fell asleep on the table did Xiangzi hand her over to the bartender.

I went home for a while, and Mu stayed with me during this time, making the small house feel more lively.

At this time, Mu should be taking a nap.

After Xiangzi entered the room, he tiptoed to the bedroom, opened the door a crack, and met the eyes of a pair of eyes peeking out from under the covers.

"Am I bothering you?" Xiangzi said softly.

Mu, curled up in bed, immediately shook her head.

“I’m not asleep yet,” she said.

Whether she was truly still awake or woke up after hearing the door open, only she knows.

"I'm going to the experimental floor later, do you want to come with me?" Xiangzi opened the door, walked to Mu's side, and lay down.

"Del, have you achieved any results?" Mu blinked.

"She messaged me, so it must have been successful." Xiangzi hugged Mu's waist like a large doll. "But before that, I want to take a nap."

Mu placed her hand on Xiangzi's hand, feeling her body temperature.

"Xiang smells of alcohol."

"I didn't drink it, it was Miaomeng who drank it."

"......"

"......"

"......"

"I feel like it's all over," Mu said softly.

"Yes, these past few days have been so relaxing." Xiangzi closed his eyes, relaxed all his muscles, and pressed himself tightly against Hemu. "I even thought it would be great if it could stay like this forever."

“I think so too,” Mu said softly.

Xiangzi shook his head.

"But no, I still have things to do."

“…I know.” Mu grasped Xiangzi’s hand. “I won’t stop you, but…you must come back.”

"Mmm." Xiangzi buried his face in Mu's hair. "I promise..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it became even breathing.

Mu knew that Xiangzi had fallen asleep, so he relaxed his body, leaned against the person behind him, and closed his eyes peacefully.

===========================

Xiangzi forgot one thing before closing her eyes: she set an alarm. She thought she would only be dozing for about ten minutes, but when she opened her eyes, the simulated sunlight outside had already turned golden, and there wasn't much time left before nightfall.

The room was dark when I first woke up, giving me a feeling of being forgotten by the world.

Mu must have woken up long ago, lying quietly in Xiangzi's arms without moving.

"Oh no, did I oversleep?" Xiangzi blinked.

She remembered Delete saying it was in the afternoon, but now it's almost evening. Also, she wondered if she had been holding Mu like this for three or four hours straight without her moving an inch. Wasn't Mu uncomfortable?

"I'm sorry to have kept you lying here for so long."

Mu shook his head, indicating that he didn't care.

Xiangzi got up from the tatami mat, scratched his messy hair, and picked up his phone.

The shelter uses a local area network, so information on your phone can only be received by the shelter's staff.

I checked my phone and, sure enough, saw a message from Delete with an angry emoji. The message said, "You stood me up all afternoon, and I'm really upset. You need to treat me to a meal." It included the address of an izakaya (Japanese pub).

Xiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Mu tilted his head.

"It's nothing," Xiangzi shook his head. "Let's go out to eat first."

===================

After tidying themselves up a bit, Xiangzi and Hemu walked out of the house together. The moment they stepped out, the artificial sky overhead began to appear in waves, turning the sunset-tinged sky into a starry night.

Although the refuge is underground, there are many plants growing there, and the air is exceptionally fresh.

Xiangzi stretched lazily after a good night's sleep, walked on the asphalt road that was no different from the satellite cities surrounding the reed plain, cleared his mind, and enjoyed this hard-won leisure.

If only it weren't just shelters, if only the world on the surface were like this too.

Xiangzi looked up at the projected starry sky and couldn't help but think.

If everyone could live such a life... perhaps that's what the lamp truly hopes for.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the izakaya that Delete had specified. It was a small shop, with lights shining through the door and some lively sounds coming from inside.

Xiangzi lifted the cloth in front of the door, and the noise became even more lively.

A group of men who had just finished work gathered in a corner of a cramped izakaya, with towels tied around their heads, holding sake cups, and eating grilled meat in a carefree manner.

A group of young people dressed in work clothes, who looked like they worked in offices, gathered in another corner and clinked their beer glasses, which were overflowing with foam.

The seats in front of the bar were empty, except for a little white ball of fur huddled there, holding a glass of juice, with his back to Xiangzi.

Several seats next to the white fluffy dumpling had signs saying "Seats Reserved".

Xiangzi walked over and sat down in the seat next to Delete.

"Wow! Why aren't you making a sound?!"

To everyone's surprise, the simple act of pulling out the chair startled the guy.

"What have you done wrong this time?" Xiangzi raised his eyebrows.

"No!"

Why would someone be startled if they haven't done anything wrong?

"You're asking me now?! Aren't you the one who's scary?"

"Isn't it only those who have done something wrong who get scared?"

"How did we end up back here again? I was just thinking about something, and you interrupted my train of thought and startled me. This meal is on you!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Xiangzi sighed helplessly, "Anyway, all my 'money' comes from you."

The concept of money in the shelter has long since disappeared; it's now based on credits. Yes, those credits used at the original gatherings have become the currency we know today.

Xiangzi's credit points were the same ones that Del had allocated to her when she applied for the card.

Del handed the menu to Xiangzi in a bad mood. Xiangzi glanced at it quickly and then passed it to Mu, meaning that Mu was to take care of everything.

Then, she rested her chin on her hand and looked toward Del.

"Delete, you didn't call me here just to have a meal, did you?"

"Of course, it's so you'll treat me—just kidding." Del rolled his eyes. "I've made some progress on my end, and I wanted to discuss it with you, since it's quite important."

"Beyond causality?"

“Not only that.” Del shook his head, his gaze turning serious. “There’s also a time machine.”

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us - Chapter 822 Eating

Just then, the dishes Del had ordered in advance arrived. A platter of freshly fried tempura was placed in front of them. The aroma of the fried food and the fluffy, oily batter under the light provided a double stimulation to their sense of smell and taste, making it impossible to think about anything else.

"Well."

Del's expression suddenly relaxed again, and he picked up the juice on the table and took a sip.

"Let's eat first, we can talk about it after we finish eating."

"Alright, there's no rush." ​​Xiangzi nodded, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of tempura shrimp, and put it in Mu's bowl.

"Wow—!" Del exclaimed in surprise.

"What are you doing now?" Xiangzi looked at him with disdain.

"This is what I wanted to eat the most, and there's only one left on the platter!"

click-

The batter made a crisp sound, and half of the shrimp meat was put into my mouth.

"Ah—!" Del let out another heart-wrenching scream, as if it wasn't tempura that had been bitten off, but herself.

"You can just order more if you want." Xiangzi casually picked up a lotus root from the plate and threw it into Del's bowl. "You're making such a fuss, I thought you'd been shot and collapsed."

“But…I…” Del said with tears in his eyes, “That was the first bite I wanted to eat the most. If it wasn’t the first bite, it would have a different meaning, you understand?”

"..." Xiangzi looked at her with disdain, "She's a bit too human in terms of emotional richness, even a bit too anthropomorphic."

“I can tell you’re insulting me.” Del’s eyes narrowed into two equal signs. “So what if I have my own hobbies?”

"So your hobby is eating."

"Food is the most important thing for people. Humans need food to survive. This is something that incubators can never understand. So what if I like to eat?" Del grinned, revealing his slightly pointed but not very obvious canine teeth.

"Nothing, just asking." Xiangzi picked up a piece of tempura and waved it in front of her twice. "So, are you going to eat it or not?"

"Ouch——!"

Del opened his mouth and bit into the food on the chopsticks.

Then Xiangzi slightly raised his hand, and she missed.

"Ouch——!"

Del opened his mouth and stretched his neck.

Xiangzi raised his hand again, and Del missed again.

"You're kidding me!" Del roared, his mouth agape. "Let me tell you, I'm not that good—ugh!"

Just as her anger was about to reach its breaking point, Xiangzi stuffed food into her mouth.

Del unconsciously began to chew, her expression instantly shifting from furious to thoroughly enjoying herself, as if she were eating some kind of delicacy rather than vegetarian tempura.

"Well, never mind." Del licked his lips with satisfaction. "I forgive you."

"Tch." Xiangzi clicked his tongue when he saw Del's blissful expression and looked away. "It's like you're teasing a cat... I have no intention of getting on your good side."

"What did you say?" Del tilted his head.

"It's nothing." Xiangzi picked up another piece of tempura and threw it into her bowl. "Go eat yours, and then we'll get down to business."

"~"

Del picked up a piece of tempura and popped it into his mouth, his face beaming with joy.

Xiangzi turned his head again and looked at Mu's expression.

Although Mu's face remained expressionless, it was clear that she was enjoying her meal.

So Xiangzi curiously picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.

The dishes on the table increased over time, and then gradually decreased.

After eating and drinking his fill, Xiangzi wiped his mouth.

“Not bad,” she said.

"But actually, it tastes quite different from what we used to eat. The artificial breeding in the shelter is not very mature yet, and the quality is hard to control."

"There are some," Xiangzi nodded in agreement, "but they're also quite impressive."

The taste was indeed quite good. Although the texture and other aspects were definitely not as good as the ingredients he used to eat, Xiangzi found it incredible that he could eat this level of food every day in this kind of environment.

“You might think the taste is just average, but for me it’s already delicious,” Del said. “Especially after eating compressed biscuits and dry food for over ten or twenty years, being able to eat these things now is really satisfying.”