[Fourth day]
Noon.
I finally understood the reason why the blue-haired girl was inexplicably angry last week. It turned out that I had asked her name too eagerly and said something that shouldn't be said.
I just said jokingly, "Are you a celebrity?" But I didn't expect that that joke would offend her.
Anyway, this time I would be careful.
"Thank you for the meal!"
After tasting the delicious eel rice again, I asked carefully—
"...Can you tell me your name?"
"Name, name? That doesn't matter..."
As expected, she had the same reaction as the last time.
"Can't you tell me your name?"
"Not really..."
She seemed to be in a dilemma.
"That's okay. My name is Gaocheng Yuan, just call me Classmate Gaocheng."
I didn't plan to get the answer by force, so I gave her my name first.
"Eh?"
She probably didn't expect that I would give her name first.
"So, just tell me a pseudonym first. Just to make it easier for us to call each other."
From her peculiar personality and the fact that she practiced tennis alone, I guessed that she had no friends in this school.
Therefore, taking a strong attitude or making inappropriate jokes would absolutely be not acceptable to her.
Of course, the above paragraph was not my analysis, but a strategy given by Waning Moon...
"A pseudonym..."
No way, don't tell me that she can't even think of a pseudonym?
"Just call Nana then..."
She could think of a name in just a few minutes… So it was not that she couldn't come up with a name.
"Nana, nice to meet you."
In fact, it didn't matter to me what her name was.
"Classmate Gaocheng, nice to meet you..."
She seemed to be very uncomfortable with me calling her Nana... but it didn't matter, she would get used to it over time.
"Student Gaocheng, will you come here tomorrow?"
That was great. Inviting me to come here tomorrow showed that everything was going well.
By the way, eating her lunch every day was also a necessary condition to start her plotline.
"Of course it will."
I would never refuse free meals.
"I have other things to do, so I need to go first... See you tomorrow, Classmate Gaocheng.""Okay, see you tomorrow."
Why did she still leave in such a hurry? I was confused.
But I wouldn't keep asking strange questions- it would not be good if I touched her sore spot again.
Next, making meals with Ying!
After school.
The sky was clear; there were only layers of white clouds in the distant sky. A gentle breeze swept across my face, like the softest wool swept across my cheeks, with a very refreshing feeling.
Probably this was the value of spring-the sun was not as strong as summer, but it also brought enough warmth to people.
Speaking of which, Ying and I would be on the road was because of the conversation yesterday——
"Does Classmate Gaocheng have any ingredients at home?"
"Unfortunately, there is nothing... But I do have all the species and seasonings."
There were only mineral waters in the refrigerator at home.
"It's okay, we can go buy some after school."
"Does Classmate Gaocheng have a favorite food?"
"Well, let me think... probably beef curry."
She let out a sigh of relief.
"It's great, beef curry happens to be my signature dish. I was worried that classmate Gaocheng would propose a dish that I am not good at. That would be very embarrassing."
Fortunately, the beef curry that I mentioned casually did not embarrass Yuchuan...
"If it's beef curry, what we want to buy is curry seasoning, beef, onions, carrots, potatoes..."
Speaking of which, I haven't bought vegetables since I was little.
Anyway, my parents would be cooking at home, and there was a canteen in the school.
Although the way of buying food in the game was different from reality, it was a novel experience for me.
We came to a slightly larger supermarket not far from the school.
This game was really amazing! Even the goods in the supermarket were so real...
"Because when my father is away, I will cook for my little sister. So when I moved here, the first thing I wanted to find a place was a place to buy ingredients..."
"Classmate Yuchuan will definitely be a good wife and mother in the future."
"...Thank you."
Her cheeks turned pink… she was a person who was easily shy.
However, thinking about it carefully, the number of times I have praised girls since I was a child was really only a handful...Since that failed experience, I never wanted to talk to girls anymore.
Thanks to this game, I actually started to compliment girls.
"Next is curry..."
After buying meat and vegetables, it was time to buy curry.
"Curry, I saw it—over there."
I pointed to the place where the curry was—but there was an old woman hunched over there looking for something.
"Grandma, do you need help?"
Ying saw this scene and immediately walked up.
She was really a thoughtful girl... After all, if it were me, I probably would ask this question.
"Yes, please, I don't know which one I should buy, I want a curry with medium spiciness, but I can't see the words clearly..."
"Medium spiciness, wait a minute... here~"
Ying pulled out a packet of curry seasoning from the shelf and handed it to the old woman.
"Thank you, kind little girl. Do you come and buy the ingredients to cook?"
The old woman probably saw the meat and vegetables I was carrying.
"Yes, I want to make beef curry~"
Ying smiled and answered the old woman.
"I really envy you young people, cooking together, so sweet."
"Huh? We are not in that kind of relationship..."
Ying, who was still smiling just now, suddenly blushed and stuttered.
"Hahaha, it's so good to be young, so good to be young!"
The old woman was selectively deaf, still tacitly accepting that we were lovers...
Poor Ying's face was already pink as if it was dyed with cherry blossoms.
Just walking out of the supermarket after shopping, Ying seemed to act as she had just escaped from hell.
"Classmate Gaocheng why don't you explain it!"
To be honest, it was not that I didn't want to explain it, but I was a little happy to hear that…
"It's just a small misunderstanding, don't take it to heart..."
"But it's... embarrassing."
As if my chest was being shot through by an arrow-- embarrassing, is it embarrassing to be mistaken for a couple with me...?
"My house is over there."
We didn't talk to each other again all the way until my home appeared in sight.
I open the door for Ying...
"Sorry for interrupting you!"
Actually, there was no need to say this; after all, there was no one but me here.
"Meow--"
Meow Chan probably heard the sound of us opening the door and walked slowly over...
"Hello, Meow Chan~"
Ying seemed to be surprised by the appearance of Meow Chan. She walked over and stretched out her hand to try to pet Meow Chan...but was avoided by it.
It seemed like this strange cat not only didn't want me to pet it...
"Huh? Why doesn't it let me pet it..."
I seemed to hear the sound of something shattering... she was just rejected by the cat, was there really a need to appear petrified.
Meow Chan jumped onto the sofa coldly, and then lay there quietly watching us.
"Meow Chan is just afraid of strangers..."
I patted Ying symbolically on the shoulder to comfort her... In fact, this cat was not afraid of strangers, it was cold.
"Let's make meals first."
In the 18 years of my life, I have never thought of having a beautiful girl cook for me at home.
After I chopped the meat in a mess and injured my hand while cutting the potatoes, I was gently persuaded to leave the cutting board...
Now, sitting at the dining table, watching Ying's busy figure, my heart was filled with satisfaction that I have never had before.
Although it was only a virtual character, as long as it looked beautiful.
——This is my (future) wife. It was this kind of satisfaction.
I couldn't help but fantasize about the scene of Ying wearing an apron while being naked.
"Classmate Gaocheng, why do you keep staring at me?"
Ying noticed my gaze, tilted her head, and asked me.
"No...I am just looking at the curry in the pot."
"Is Classmate Gaocheng interested in the process of making curry? Because all the ingredients have been put in, you just need to keep stirring like this."
"If it's just stirring, just leave it to me."
It would be inappropriate to ask her to do everything... although cooking was a bit boring and troublesome.
"Okay."
She handed me the ladle.
"Stir it for another 30 minutes!"
"30 minutes?!"
Was it that troublesome to make curry? Fortunately, it was just in the game...If it were to make curry in reality like this, wouldn't your hands very sore?
"It was a joke. Put the lid on and wait for 30 minutes~"
"..."
Never thought that AI would make a joke.
"...It would be nice if life could be like this forever."
We were sitting at the dining table waiting for the curry beef to be completed, Ying suddenly said softly.
"Why did Classmate Yuchuan suddenly say this?"
"I just suddenly remembered something."
"Can you... tell me what it is?"
I mustered up the courage to ask this sentence according to the strategy I read. Of course, I didn't expect a girl who I have only met for a few days to talk to me about her past...
"Because I don't like moving, and I also don't want to leave my classmates that I finally got to know."
She really said it!
"Oh, it is this..."
But what should I say next to comfort her? Damn it, think! Think!
"Even now, I'm very happy in this class, but I always remember how I felt when I separated from my friends… Ah, I'm so sorry, I said some sad things to you..."
Ying raised her head again, with a smile on her face. However, I always felt that this smile was a bit reluctant...
What should I say at this time?
It seems...
Yes...
...that's it!
"...I can understand how you feel."
"In fact, I am always afraid of losing friends whom I have finally gotten a chance to know, and afraid of being rejected."
"..."
Ying looked at me confusedly.
Right.
Even with complex calculation circuits, and every response was extremely similar to human, and it was impossible for an AI to empathize with real humans.
This was also the main reason people think AI was just code.
But even so, I still had the desire to tell her.
"When I was in junior high school, I had the courage to invite girls to play for the first time. But not only was I rejected, but I was also ridiculed in public, which caused me to be treated like a creep in the following days of junior high school. Since then, I have never taken the initiative to speak to girls. ."
I have never overlooked this point.
"But, Classmate Yuchuan accepted my invitation, even if it was a virtual one... Now I feel very happy to be classmates with Classmate Yuchuan. Wait, I digressed… What I want to say is that, even if it will eventually be separated, the time we were together was still an irreplaceable precious memory, so don't think about the sadness of parting- at least having this beautiful memory is enough!"
She finally responded to my last sentence.
"Thank you for comforting me... I feel a little embarrassed to have such a serious conversation with Classmate Gaocheng."
"Nothing to be embarrassed, at least this is how I really think..."
It was really strange to suddenly speak to the game characters about my past.
Maybe it was because it was a game character? If it were in reality, I wouldn't say such words, because if I really said it, the response I got would probably be "pathetic"... However, the characters in the game would never treat me like this!
"Thank you, Classmate Gaocheng. You are such a gentle person."
"Me?..."
"Well, I knew the moment Classmate Gaocheng adopted the homeless cat."
She said and looked at Meow Chan who was lying on the side. It had already sat in a chair without me realizing it, waiting to have dinner with us.
"Meow..."
Meow Chan licked its paw.
"Okay, the curry should be almost done, let's open it."
She walked over and opened the lid of the pot. A strong fragrance immediately floated from the pot.
"The soup is very thick!"
Ying picked up the ladle and licked it lightly after cooling the soup inside.
"Excellent! Classmate Gaocheng, would you try it?"
"Then I will try."
Without thinking about it, I took the soup ladle and ate the beef in it.
"It's really delicious!"
Well, this beef has been cooked thoroughly! The taste was super good! Better than any curry I have ever eaten in reality!
——Wait, I used the ladle Ying just used!
Wasn't this the equivalent of indirect kissing?
I quickly observed Ying's expression, hoping she didn't notice this...
"Why are you looking at me… I'm going to serve curry, classmates Gaocheng go to serve rice first, Okay?"
I didn't know if it was because the environment was too hot or what, Ying's face was super red. Maybe she didn't see it...
So, I decided to pretend not to know about this. I turned around and prepared to serve rice——
"Meow--"
Meow Chan actually squatted behind me, staring at... the pot full of curry behind me.
"You can't eat curry, go eat cat food."
I pointed to the cat food bowl in the corner.
"Meow--"
It glanced at me and ignored the cat food bowl, but disappeared into the living room...
Was it... was it dissatisfied that I didn't let it eat curry?
How could a cat have such an advanced AI? You know that building an AI was not cheap at all.
...So it was impossible, it must be my brain that thinks too much.
"Meow Chain seems to be interested in curry... it is the first time I saw such a cat."
Ying seemed to be curious about Meow Chain's behavior...
"It is indeed a weird cat... and ah, except for the day I came back while holding it, I can never pet it again... I really don't understand it."
"Probably it doesn't like to be pet?"
Although Ying said so, I have never raised a cat and I didn't know much about cat.
"By the way, the rice is ready."
She took the rice bowl, poured curry on it, and handed it back.
After the curry for both of us was prepared, I used a spoon to scoop the rice and the curry and ate it——
"Well, it's delicious!"
I seemed to have said this at noon as well...
"Why does Ying like to cook?"
"I can't say I like it, it was just a task at first, and then I gradually discovered that cooking can be used as a way to relax."
"I always thought that cooking was troublesome, and instant noodles would be cooked in just a few minutes..."
"Eating instant noodles is unhealthy. Classmate Gaocheng shouldn't eat instant noodles in the future. ... Also because my father always needs to leave home for a business trip, I have to cook for my little sister. So my cooking skill seems to be improved in this process."
She didn't mention her mother, was it accidental or...?
"...In short, Classmate Gaocheng can't eat instant noodles!"
"I already know, there is no need to repeat it..."
I put my hand against my temple.
At this time, my mind was completely filled with the sentence "Instant noodles are unhealthy, you cannot eat them".
After eating, Ying picked up the plate and walked to the sink.
"Just put it there."
I immediately stopped Ying who was about to wash the dishes. "I can't let the guest wash the dishes"
"... Classmate Gaocheng, would you wash it if I leave it here?"
"I will... I will wash it together in a few days..."
I turned my head guiltily.
"Seriously, just what kind of life does Classmate Gaocheng usually live?"
She turned on the faucet and started washing the dishes in her hands.
"No, no, I will wash it now."
I grabbed the dishes and started washing--I usually didn't even want to wash the bowl of instant noodles. But in the dating sim, I actually took the initiative to wash the dishes. It could only be said that the power of the beautiful girl was great.
"Classmate Gaocheng, you can't just wash one side of the dishes!"
"I know, I know."
I looked at myself, whose body got web because the water flow was too big...
"I'm really worried, when will classmate Gaocheng live a healthy life."
In the form of a nagging mother, Ying started the educating mode.
After finally breaking away from my parents' supervision, I ended up being supervised in the game...
However, if it was a girlfriend who supervised me, it was not bad.
"It's finally finished!"
I just wanted to wipe the sweat on my forehead with a hand full of bubbles, but the sliding bubbles actually got into my eyes——
Ah, I can't see!