Down North Zeke's pedestrian commercial street, a group of one male and three females attracted attention.
"Is it alright to go out like this? I feel it's pretty obvious."
Yan Xi whispered to Sakurajima Mai, who was disguised next to him.
Although they used suspicious equipment like masks and sunglasses, their hairstyles, figures, and most importantly, the black stockings clearly pointed to 'Sakurajima Mai'.
"Is it that obvious?"
Sakurajima Mai, when her popularity was at its peak, also wore this outfit when going out, and rarely got discovered.
Yan Xi shrugged and said, "Maybe I'm just too perceptive about Miss Mai."
"It's heartwarming that you can say something so thoughtful." Sakurajima Mai said with satisfaction.
"Huh?" Yan Xi was stunned.
He just spoke from the heart, without much thought. Sakurajima Mai's hairstyle, figure, and black stockings really were quite distinctive!
Could it be that Sakurajima Mai thought he was the kind of person who would 'immediately recognize Sakurajima Mai, even after a complete makeover'?
Was her 'filter' set too high!
"Don't say it out loud, I'll feel embarrassed too."
Although Yan Xi didn't know what Sakurajima Mai was thinking, it was best to just agree with her!
Two more people stayed overnight at Yan Xi's place today, well, one was an angel.
Since there were no pajamas for Raphiel and Goto Ichiri, they decided to go to a 24-hour department store to buy some.
Considering cost-effectiveness, they chose disposable pajamas, the kind that look similar to those provided by foot massage and bath centers.
After buying the pajamas and returning to Yan Xi's place, Goto Ichiri suddenly remembered that she hadn't told her family about staying over.
'Staying at a friend's place' is quite common in Japan, across all age groups, and it's even frequent in Japanese-style action romance movies.
Well, anyway, many Japanese people have experience staying at a friend's place.
However, for Goto Ichiri, this was truly the first time.
Goto Ichiri thought sweetly, what would her mom and dad think? They would surely be so happy, crying and saying things like 'Our daughter has finally grown up' and so on.
Ah, how embarrassing!
With these thoughts, Goto Ichiri dialed home.
The phone connected, and this time, it was her father who picked up.
"Hello, Ichiri-chan? Not home yet? Do you want Daddy to come pick you up?"
"Ah no, that is, well... I'm not coming home today." Goto Ichiri said.
"What!?" Goto Naoki's reaction was huge, his voice could even be heard by Yan Xi who was sitting next to her.
Yan Xi understood completely, any father with a daughter would be like this, worried that their daughter would be out too late, and then be taken away by some random blonde guy.
Yan Xi is still single and childless, but men's empathy in this regard is way too strong.
"Your voice is too loud!" Goto Ichiri quickly covered the phone and whispered, "I'm staying at a friend's place today."
"I see."
The other end of the phone suddenly became calm, but it was the calm before the storm.
"Ichiri-chan was kidnapped, right! How much is the ransom? Daddy will go to the bank to get the money! Ah, I don't know if the savings are enough, should we just sell the house?"
Goto Ichiri was shocked, don't sell the house so casually!
"Honey, come quickly, Ichiri was kidnapped!"
Even with her hand over the phone, the exaggerated voice still came through.
Raphiel comforted her, "Pocchi-chan has good parents."
Goto Ichiri: "..."
To prevent the house from being sold tomorrow, Goto Ichiri quickly said, "I'm not kidnapped! I'm really staying at a friend's place, the one from the band I told you about!"
Actually, it wasn't.
But the band friend is next door, so it's pretty much the same.
"Listen, Ichiri really was kidnapped."
"Indeed, Ichiri, don't be afraid, Daddy and Mommy will figure something out, no matter how much the ransom is, we'll buy you back!"
The conversation between Goto Ichiri's parents could be heard from the phone.
They'd rather believe their daughter was kidnapped and sell the house for ransom than believe she was staying at a friend's place.
Yan Xi thought, that's definitely their own flesh and blood.
Goto Ichiri was about to cry from anxiety, tomorrow she wouldn't really have a house to go back to!
Yan Xi couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Just do a video call."
"Oh, right, video!" Goto Ichiri realized and used Line's video call to communicate with her parents.
The phone screen lit up, showing Goto's parents and sister, as well as a dog.
And on Goto Ichiri's side, besides her, there were Raphiel and Sakurajima Mai.
Goto's mother and sister were fans of Sakurajima Mai, and seeing her in the same frame as their daughter, they were even more suspicious.
It's not anything malicious, just pure confidence in their daughter, that their daughter could never reach Sakurajima Mai's level.
Someone must be impersonating her!
They've heard that video forgery technology is very advanced nowadays, they definitely can't underestimate it!
Seeing the misunderstanding grow deeper, Sakurajima Mai tried her best to explain, and after much persuasion, she finally convinced Goto's parents to stop selling the house.
"So, you really are Sakurajima Mai?" Goto's mother asked.
"...Yes."
Proving 'she is Sakurajima Mai', this kind of thing was a first for her too, it felt strange.
Goto's mother shed tears of relief.
"My daughter is actually in the same frame as Sakurajima Mai, it's so heartwarming!"
Goto Ichiri thought, you're moved, but your daughter is about to cry from embarrassment!
Sakurajima Mai had seen all kinds of scenes, she'd also encountered emotionally excited fans before, Goto's mother was still too small-time.
"Ichiri-chan is a very cute kid." Sakurajima Mai said with a smile.
A simple compliment made Goto Ichiri elated, her facial expression looked like it was going to melt.
"No no, hehe..."
Pocchi-chan would giggle silly whenever she was praised, she was really easy to understand.
Both sides started a heated discussion centered around Pocchi-chan... although in reality, it was more like Goto's mother was taking this opportunity to chat with Sakurajima Mai.
"Right, I think I heard a male voice just now!"
Goto's father, who had been disconnected from the conversation, suddenly spoke up.
Before, they thought their daughter was kidnapped, so it was normal for the kidnappers to have men.
But if she was staying at a friend's place, it's not normal for there to be a boy!
"Ah, that was... a friend from the band." Goto Ichiri stammered, her eyes dodging.
Her expression and demeanor were too easy to understand, even a stranger could tell she was lying!
...
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