"Sorry, Na-chan, have you been waiting for a long time?"

In an ice cream cake shop called "GCiel" in Shibuya District, Tokyo, Takayama put aside the small bag he brought with him and softly apologized to Nishino opposite him while sitting down.

"No, I just arrived not long ago." Nishino waved his hands and said softly.

The time they agreed on was two-thirty in the afternoon, and it was still ten minutes before the time. To be precise, Nishino arrived early.

"I didn't expect that Na-chan would take the initiative to ask me out." Gao Shan smiled and arranged his hair, "Na-chan rarely goes out, if she doesn't have any activities."

"I have a body that sweats easily, so I don't want to go out unless I have a job."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Gao Shan nodded sympathetically, "I used to be in the kendo club too. I practiced until I was sweating every day. Summer is even more disastrous. Even if the air conditioner is turned on, it won't help much."

The air-conditioning in the store was turned on, and it took a while for Gao Shan to calm down. The clerk came over and handed over menus, a variety of drinks and ice cream cakes. Gao Shan was here for the first time, and he didn't know what to choose. He was a little undecided for a moment.

.

"What would you like, Na-chan?"

"Mixed juice and raw strawberry ice cream." Nishino said quickly, apparently knowing something about this store.

"Then I'm as good as Na-chan." He said and handed the menu back to the clerk.

"Let's change the Xiaoshisheng ice cream to other flavors. We can change what we eat." Nishino said at this time.

Gao Shan didn't think much about it and switched to other flavors according to the clerk's recommendation.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

It didn't take long for the ice cream and drinks ordered by the two people to be served. The ice cream was served in a wide-mouthed short glass and placed on a white porcelain plate. The drinks were layered according to the category of fruit.

"...The raw ice cream here is delicious," Nishino explained. "Manatsu recommended it and said he must come and try it."

"The relationship between Na-chan and Manatsu has improved. Have they ever hung out together?" Takayama asked casually.

The raw ice cream is indeed very delicious, delicate and soft, with a cool touch that melts in the mouth, and the fragrance of milk is very rich.

"I've done it a few times, not too many, buying clothes and the like," Nishino said with a helpless smile at her, "You know Xiaomi, you, Ikoma, and Xiaoxiao are not interested in this.

interest."

"Sorry," Gao Shan apologized subconsciously, "I have a bad sense of fashion. Most of my clothes are matched by my mother."

"It doesn't matter, I have Manatsu with me anyway. Ah, sometimes Manatsu will bring her sister over during holidays... um... what is her name?" Nishino frowned and thought hard.

"Mafuyu?"

"Yes, Mafuyu. Hehe, Mafuyu Manatsu, the names of the two sisters are really interesting."

Seeing Nishino smiling happily, Gao Shan also found it interesting.

"He's a pretty cute kid," she said, taking another small bite of the ice cream. "I heard from Xiaoxiao before that he even queued up for her handshake."

"Really? I'm not very sure." Nishino said with some surprise, and then frowned again, "What about the kid? He looks like Wen Wen is quiet, but he has quite a bold personality."

"What's the meaning?"

"When choosing clothes," Nishino said, "Mafuyu-chan always chooses some bold clothes for Manatsu and I to try on, such as particularly short skirts, the kind that show off the shoulders or have empty backs.

There are so many big pieces of clothing... very mature styles."

"That is indeed quite bold." Gao Shan was a little dumbfounded. He could probably imagine Nishino's embarrassed expression at that time. He was troubled and helpless. After all, she was the sister of a good friend, so it would be rude to refuse directly.

"That is to say, Manatsu hit her on the head several times in confusion." At this point, she chuckled again, maybe thinking of the scene at that time.

Takayama secretly watched Nishino's reaction while eating ice cream.

This is the first time this year that she and Nishino have gone out alone for a party, even though they received a sudden invitation last night. Most of the time, they accompany Ikoma around Akihabara, either in comic shops or peripheral stores.

Otherwise, it's just a men's clothing cafe.

It seems good for two people to come out and chat alone occasionally like this, she thought.

But she also knew about Nishino's character. If it wasn't for something important, she might not receive an invitation from a homebody like her.

"Na-chan, why did you call me out today? You didn't explain the reason clearly in your email yesterday. It shouldn't be as simple as going out for shopping."

When shopping for clothes, Akimoto would accompany her, not to mention Takayama's limited sense of fashion. Her comments on Nishino's try-on clothes were either "cute" or "very cute", and there were no effective suggestions at all. Color matching, personal style, etc. were completely useless to Takayama.

Talking to Duck, this is the same for Wu Geng

"There's something going on..."

For some reason, Nishino was a little nervous. He hesitated for a long time before softly calling her:

"Xiao Shi."

"Um."

"...Does what you said before still count?"

Before? Gao Shan was confused and asked aloud:

"What words?"

"...That's it," Nishino took a breath and looked up at her secretly, "If you want to help me..."

Gao Shan still didn't know why, and he searched back and forth in his memory. When did it happen? It seems that he had never said such a thing during this time.

"Valentine's Day..." Nishino reminded in a low voice.

"...!"

Only then did Gao Shan remember that more than a month ago, on the ramp in front of Wu Geng's house, Nishino's body was trembling slightly in his arms, curled up desperately as if seeking a moment of warmth in the cold wind.

She did say similar words at that time. If Nishino hadn't mentioned it deliberately, Gao Shan would have packed them up and stuffed them into the dusty corner of his memory.

"Na-chan... we haven't talked about this seriously after that time... I feel like I have been avoiding it consciously. Is it okay now?" She asked with some worry, for fear that she would not be able to do anything.

Be careful to touch forbidden areas that Nishino doesn't want to recall.

Nishino held the spoon and poked a small hole in the soft ice cream.

"……perhaps."

"Then...can I ask?"

Seeing Nishino nod hesitantly, Gao Shan felt slightly relieved. Countless questions that she wanted to ask flashed through her mind. Too sudden might scare Nishino. She carefully considered the words and finally chose a comparison.

It's not such a sharp question.

"So Na-chan, what's going on between you and Xiaoxiao?"

"..."
Chapter completed!