“Just kidding, don’t be so tense.”
“Asking a girl you just met about her measurements is a joke?”
“Considering Ms. Sakurajima’s mature personality, shouldn’t she say something like ‘If you want to know, measure it yourself’?”
Sakurajima Mai’s eyebrows twitched, and she was already dialing a number.
Although, with her current state, it was clear she wouldn’t be able to get through.
Even though Yan Xi’s words were crude, they indirectly confirmed Sakurajima Mai’s intuition.
“Who are you?” Sakurajima Mai asked seriously.
“A passing Kamen Rider? Okay, okay, no more jokes.” Yan Xi raised his hands in surrender, intimidated by Sakurajima Mai’s ‘furious’ expression.
“My name is Yan Xi, a student of the private Shuchiin Academy. I took a sick day today, and I had a sudden urge to visit Kamakura.” Yan Xi said.
Sakurajima Mai snorted, “You don’t look sick at all.”
“During student days, you have to sneak out a few times using sick leave, otherwise, you’ll have endless regrets when you graduate.”
“That’s a flawed argument.” Sakurajima Mai commented.
“Anyway, meeting you, Ms. Sakurajima, is purely a coincidence.” Yan Xi raised his hand to assure her.
Sakurajima Mai said, “Call me by my last name, it’s rather long, you see.”
After her parents divorced, Sakurajima Mai took her mother’s last name. Due to a falling out with her mother, she was a little sensitive about it.
“Calling you by your name so soon after meeting is a bit too forward, isn’t it?” Yan Xi said ‘shyly’.
“Who just met you and asked about your measurements?”
Yan Xi had no answer.
“I’ve heard a little about Ms. Sakurajima’s situation.”
“You know about me?”
“What happened just now is enough to explain a lot.”
Yan Xi stood up and invited Sakurajima Mai again.
“So, Ms. Mai, would you be willing to be my tour guide for my Kamakura trip?”
Yan Xi thought, at this point, this was pretty much in the bag.
Sakurajima Mai stood up too and said, “I… refuse.”
Yan Xi: “…”
“Your next line wouldn’t be ‘The thing I enjoy most is rejecting people who think they’re superior by saying NO to them’, would it?”
“What are you talking about.”
Sakurajima Mai didn’t understand the JOJO reference, mainly because the world didn’t have the work JOJO.
“I just don’t like how smug you are, thinking you’ve got this in the bag, so I just want to refuse.” Sakurajima Mai’s lips curled up, showcasing the charm of a mature woman.
“Isn’t that pretty much the same thing?” Yan Xi retorted.
Seeing Yan Xi flustered, Sakurajima Mai felt pleased. She thought, if he begged sincerely, she might not refuse.
However, the response Sakurajima Mai received was a small note.
Yan Xi said, “This is my phone number, you can contact me if you get into trouble. Assuming your phone can still dial.”
Sakurajima Mai: “…”
“Well, this is it. I don’t know if I can complete my pilgrimage today.”
Yan Xi turned and left, as if he had made a resolution, leaving Sakurajima Mai alone in the wind, flustered.
Sakurajima Mai opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.
No matter what, the senior had confirmed one thing, she really didn’t get along with him!
…
Enoden Railway, commonly known as Enoden.
Starting from Fujisawa station where Yan Xi is currently, the destination, Kamakura, is at the end of the line, at Hase station. Along the way, they will pass by the Shichirigahama Beach.
Since it was a weekday, and it was just past noon, the train wasn’t very crowded.
Yan Xi was checking the guide on his phone, when Sakurajima Mai sat down silently next to him.
“Ms. Mai, what a coincidence, you’re on this train too?”
Although it was an expression of surprise, his tone didn’t sound surprised at all, but rather ‘smug’.
Sakurajima Mai clenched her fist, feeling the urge to punch someone for the first time in her life.
“You win.” Sakurajima Mai thought to herself, but she wouldn’t say it out loud.
Admit defeat in front of a younger person?
Impossible!
“I just happened to be going the same way.” Sakurajima Mai said.
“That’s pretty coincidental.” Yan Xi continued looking at the guide without turning around.
“…”
Sakurajima Mai couldn’t understand, was she less attractive than a fictional filming location?
Irritating!
“You’re called Yan Xi-kun, right? That name… Chinese?” Sakurajima Mai took the initiative to start a conversation.
“That’s right.” Yan Xi nodded, finally putting away his phone.
“Ms. Mai is the type who says ‘no’ but actually does the opposite.”
This level of innuendo was ineffective against Sakurajima Mai.
“And you, are you the type who enjoys making snarky remarks?” Sakurajima Mai raised an eyebrow.
“Of course not.”
The train passed Shichirigahama Beach, the azure ocean capturing Yan Xi’s attention.
He had previously lived in an inland city, far from the sea.
Sakurajima Mai asked, “Is this your first time by the sea?”
Yan Xi nodded, “Sort of.”
“Then you should get off at Shichirigahama instead of Kamakura. Consider it a reward for the bread, I’ll be your tour guide for once.” Sakurajima Mai said.
“Then I’ve struck gold.” Yan Xi smiled.
This kind of nonchalant attitude… annoying.
“A-Xi you…”
“As expected of Ms. Mai, you’re already using this kind of address less than an hour after meeting.”
“Are you unhappy?”
“No, I’m delighted.”
Yan Xi wasn’t a traditional Japanese, where you need a certain level of affection to unlock a name address.
Sakurajima Mai deliberately turned the tables on him by addressing him with a familiar term, regaining her confidence as an elder.
“A-Xi, your home isn’t around here, is it?” Sakurajima Mai asked.
“I live in Shimokitazawa.” Yan Xi replied.
“Alone?”
“How can you tell?”
“A girl’s sixth sense.”
Yan Xi exuded an unusual maturity, something familiar to Sakurajima Mai, a similar feeling of being alone.
“Are we playing a question and answer game?” Yan Xi was full of complaints.
“I do have some things I want to ask, but it would be rude to be direct.”
“You already said it.” Yan Xi waved his hand and said, “Ms. Mai, do you know about quantum mechanics?”
“Unless it’s something too complex…”
A typical high school student wouldn’t know quantum mechanics, unless they were a middle-schooler who memorized a few terms to show off.
“No problem, I don’t know either.”
Sakurajima Mai: “…”
“In quantum mechanics, there’s a famous thought experiment called ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’. Before opening the box, you can’t determine if the ‘cat’ is alive or dead. At that moment, the ‘cat’ is in a superposition of both states, alive and dead.”
Yan Xi had been using his phone to check the guide? Of course, he also looked up some basic knowledge of quantum mechanics.
Sakurajima Mai was completely confused, “What does this have to do with me?”
“Of course it’s relevant. Ms. Mai, you are that cat trapped in the box.” Yan Xi said plainly.
Rejecting riddle-makers, starting with you and me.
…
…
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