Pochi-chan was alone in her sadness, unable to get an autograph despite the rare opportunity.
Sakurajima Mai looked at Yan Xi with an inquiring gaze. Yan Xi shrugged and said, "It's okay, she often does this."
Sakurajima Mai nodded and said, "Since it's already this late, why don't we just stay here and eat? I just bought a lot of ingredients."
Sakurajima Mai exuded the aura of a hostess, and Yan Xi couldn't help but feel a little proud inside.
Damn his irresistible charm!
"Ah, I, I…" Goto Ichiri still couldn't speak fluently.
She could communicate normally in other situations, but with Sakurajima Mai, a 'national-level' celebrity, present, she honestly felt like running away!
"Y-yes…"
Goto Ichiri could only utter that single word.
A social phobic who even struggles to decline requests from ordinary people couldn't dare say "no" to someone like Sakurajima Mai, whose level was several magnitudes higher!
"What about Rafiel-san?" Sakurajima Mai asked.
"Since you've invited me, I'll gladly impose on you." Rafiel said with a smile.
She wouldn't miss such a delightful occasion for anything.
"So it's decided then, Axi come help."
"But I want to wait for dinner to be served," Yan Xi grumbled but still obediently followed Sakurajima Mai into the kitchen.
It was as if he was giving Sakurajima Mai enough face in front of outsiders.
After being away from Sakurajima Mai, Goto Ichiri's situation improved.
But since Yan Xi's kitchen was open, it wasn't much better.
"Pochi-chan, Pochi-chan, let's spend some quality time together before dinner!" Rafiel came rubbing up against her again.
Goto Ichiri was heartbroken, wanting to refuse, but her words turned into 'yes' at the last moment.
"Great~"
Rafiel pressed her advantage, hugging Pochi-chan in a chest-to-chest embrace, resulting in a stalemate.
For a moment, it was unclear who to envy.
Yan Xi glanced over, but worried that Sakurajima Mai might notice, he deliberately stopped time.
Don't think he's a silent, lewd creep who abuses his Stand ability for such things.
Yan Xi used his Stand with a testing attitude.
Star Platinum stopped time, and even beings like Rafiel, who were 'non-human', were affected.
Regarding the "time-stopping" ability, Yan Xi had researched it a bit after getting his Stand.
The internet used to often discuss how "The World's" time-stop was different from "Star Platinum's."
Stand·The World dominates the entire world, stopping time across the entire world and even the universe.
While Stand·Star Platinum is just so fast that it stretches a moment of perception to 5 seconds.
This explanation seemed reasonable at first glance, but after actually using his Stand, Yan Xi found that Star Platinum and The World's time-stop were of the same origin.
Otherwise, why would Star Platinum shout "Star Platinum·The World" when stopping time?
Yan Xi saw that Rafiel was also affected by the time-stop, which was both unexpected and expected.
When he awakened "Heaven's Door" later, he'll give these angels a real treat!
Time resumed, and Rafiel continued to get cozy with Goto Ichiri.
Rafiel did like to play pranks, especially on the intellectually disabled demon.
But that was because she knew about Satanya's constitution, and some seemingly excessive pranks were harmless to demons.
Rafiel's pranks had limits… probably.
Like right now, her pranking of Goto Ichiri was limited to verbal provocation.
Sakurajima Mai glanced at the living room commotion and said casually, "You seem to have quite a few friends."
"Not really." Yan Xi answered vaguely.
"Who was it who said they didn't have any friends when we first met?"
"…I think I did say that." Yan Xi smiled and said, "I really didn't have many friends before, but after meeting Mai-san, my luck turned around, and it seems my social circle has improved."
"To be precise, it's your popularity with the opposite sex."
"Such a strong scent of vinegar."
Yan Xi opened a bottle of vinegar, taking a sniff.
Implying something without directly mentioning it, Sakurajima Mai glared at him in annoyance.
Actually, she really wanted to ask, "What are we?" kind of question.
But those words were no different from a direct confession, which was a little too much for Sakurajima Mai's pride.
Yan Xi has to be the one to confess!
Yan Xi's popularity with the opposite sex was terrifying, making Sakurajima Mai feel threatened.
She had planned to wait for Yan Xi to confess, but now she was wavering.
In love, the one who falls in love first is the loser.
Sakurajima Mai was mature and confident, shining like the sun in both life and love.
Yet, she still possessed the usual characteristics of girls her age.
That is, the nervousness, entanglement, unease, and longing for love.
The one who falls in love first is the loser? Wait for the other person to confess?
These were just excuses, she was just afraid of being rejected after confessing.
Sakurajima Mai thought, in the end, she was no different from those love-struck girls whose brains were full of romantic thoughts.
"Mai-san... Mai-san? Are you listening?"
Sakurajima Mai snapped back to reality, her hand already firmly grasped by Yan Xi.
"What's wrong?" Sakurajima Mai asked.
"What's wrong... it's dangerous to space out while chopping vegetables." Yan Xi snatched the kitchen knife from Sakurajima Mai's hand.
"Sorry." Sakurajima Mai apologized, thinking, love really is a poisonous drug, even she was caught, affected.
Ultimately, it was Yan Xi's popularity with the opposite sex that made her feel threatened.
"Alright, I'll do it, you go wash the vegetables."
Yan Xi took over the cooking, preparing a very Chinese-style meal of four dishes and one soup, which in his opinion, was both visually appealing and delicious.
Sakurajima Mai had been learning Chinese cuisine online for some time now, hoping to show off today, but ended up having Yan Xi cook instead.
"Dinner is ready."
Yan Xi carried the soup and dishes to the table, suddenly realizing a crucial problem.
"Uh, the bowls and chopsticks... seem to be not enough..."
That was embarrassing.
Yan Xi's house used to have only his own bowls and chopsticks, then Sakurajima Mai lived here for a while, so they had hers.
"I told you to buy some more last time." Sakurajima Mai whispered.
"I didn't expect anyone to have the audacity to come here and mooch off me!"
He had thought, even if friends came over to play, he would kick them out before dinner.
This situation was a complete miscalculation!
Goto Ichiri felt a surge of joy, thinking she could just skip dinner and go home!
Eating dinner with Sakurajima Mai was too much pressure.
This wasn't eating dinner, it was like being in prison!
…
PS: Today's the first chapter. Updating diligently, please support with monthly tickets and tips.