The lunch that lasted an hour finally ended.
Aiden beat Athena to paying the bill, and then everyone left the restaurant together.
After leaving the restaurant, Chin Gentsai and Sie Kensou took a taxi on their own, saying they were going to pick up Terry and the others, leaving Athena alone to stay with them.
"What do you all plan to do this afternoon?" Outside the restaurant, Athena asked softly.
"Stroll around, go shopping," Yuri said.
"Then let's go together!" Hearing those two words, Athena's eyes lit up. As an idol girl, she was naturally very interested in strolling around and shopping.
After all, Sie Kensou and her master Chin Gentsai had no interest in such things, and going alone felt boring. Hearing Aiden's group's afternoon plans, she instantly became eager.
"We can, sure, but…" King pointed at the fans around them, ever since they came out of the restaurant, they had been surrounded on all sides.
"This is easy, just disguise a bit." Athena snapped her fingers. "First, let's find a place for me to change."
But what Athena called "finding a place to change" was actually preparing to take a taxi back to where she was staying. However, getting a taxi here was troublesome, so in the end Aiden had King drive his car to take her back.
Not long after, in the mall they agreed on, Aiden saw Athena after she changed.
A classic celebrity disguise, baseball cap, black mask, and her dress had been changed into a sailor uniform very suitable for her identity.
So, she was clearly a high school idol girl, not some old woman at all.
After observing her for a moment, Aiden thought silently.
A sailor uniform was really great.
And of course, if it were a JK uniform, that would be even better.
Athena naturally noticed Aiden's gaze. She didn't act shy like most girls. After all, she was an idol singer, and she was wearing a mask too. She simply stood there generously, letting Aiden look.
"If you like it that much, why don't you just become Elder Chin Gentsai's disciple already," Mai said from the side, jealousy flaring.
'Yes, yes!'
Athena nodded like crazy in her heart, but Aiden had already withdrawn his gaze.
Accompanying women while shopping was always a tiring job. And now Aiden had to accompany four women. Fortunately, he didn't have to carry their shopping bags like an errand boy, so aside from being mentally tired, everything else was fine.
So he simply followed behind them, holding a cola in one hand and snacks in the other, admiring their graceful figures from behind.
And thus, his heart stopped feeling tired, after all, these women were really pleasant to look at.
And after going through several women's clothing stores in a row, Aiden gained a new task, evaluating the girls' outfits.
The whole afternoon passed in strolling and shopping, and soon it was evening.
Then idol girl Athena received a call from her master Chin Gentsai, saying the place was ready and telling them to hurry over.
With no choice, even though they were reluctant to stop, the women ended their shopping trip and took a car to the restaurant Chin mentioned.
At this moment, Mai began getting nervous again. She kept glancing at Aiden in the driver's seat, restless, clenching her fists tightly.
Sitting to her left and right, King and Yuri both found it strange. Each quietly asked what was wrong.
But she only shook her head silently, so they didn't ask any more.
Not long after, the car stopped in front of a restaurant.
Once Aiden and the others got out of the car, they immediately saw Sie Kensou squatting at the entrance, waiting for them.
"You're here." Sie Kensou lazily stood up, turned, and pushed open the restaurant door. "Master and the others are already inside."
Aiden and the others followed him into the restaurant. At that moment, Mai suddenly pressed close to Aiden's side, naturally linking her arm with his. The conflicted look on her face vanished and was replaced with a faint smile.
And when they entered one of the large private rooms, they saw Chin Gentsai chatting with three young men. These three were none other than the three protagonists of Fatal Fury.
Chin Gentsai laughed and said, "I was just talking about them, and they showed up, what a coincidence. Come, Terry, Andy, and Joe, let me introduce..."
But before he could finish, Terry's younger brother, the blond long-haired Andy, interrupted him.
"Mai… who is he?"
The moment Andy saw Aiden's group enter, he noticed them. And when he saw Mai holding onto the arm of a strange man, his face showed utter disbelief. So when they came closer, he couldn't help speaking.
Aiden said directly, "I'm her boyfriend. And who are you?"
Then he pulled his arm out of Mai's grip and directly wrapped it around her waist.
Seeing this, Andy froze for a moment, then shouted in anger, "Impossible! I'm her boyfriend!"
"Oh!"
The people beside them, who still didn't understand the situation, let out cries of surprise. Even Chin Gentsai looked at them with great interest.
Gossip was human nature, no one could avoid it.
At this moment, King and Yuri finally understood why Mai had been so uneasy in the car.
Yuri whispered to King, "Is this person maybe Sister Mai's ex-boyfriend? But Sister Mai never mentioned him…"
"Idiot, if he's an ex-boyfriend, of course she wouldn't bring him up," King glared at her and whispered back.
But even though they lowered their voices, the private room had gone silent because everyone was watching the scene unfold, so their words naturally entered everyone's ears.
Andy heard this and instantly glared at King. "Damn it, shut up! I'm not the ex-boyfriend!"
King had been roaming society for many years. Facing Andy's furious stare, she snorted coldly and shot back without reservation, "If you're not even an ex-boyfriend, then you must be a complete nobody. Otherwise, why has Mai never mentioned you?"
"That's because…" Andy began, but then didn't know how to continue.
His attitude toward Mai used to be extremely harsh. He only wanted to push her away, obsessed with nothing but revenge. He had never considered romantic feelings.
But that didn't mean he had never felt anything for Mai. He even thought that once his revenge was complete, he would accept her feelings then.
But now, seeing the woman who once liked him leaning into another man's arms, he felt like the sky had collapsed. Yet when it came to explaining himself, he didn't know what to say.
"Then what is it because of?"
Seeing Andy start speaking only to stop halfway, King continued coldly.
Mai had always restricted her, so she rarely had a chance to repay kindness. But now, she was determined to stand on Mai's side.
"Damn…"
Unable to answer King, Andy turned toward Aiden instead.
"It must be you, you must have deceived Mai's feelings!"
"You're the one not making sense." Aiden curled his lip. "Go on then, tell me exactly how I deceived her."
In his arms, Mai said calmly, "Aiden didn't deceive me… and even if he did, I wouldn't mind."
"What?" Andy's eyes widened, and he stared at Mai in disbelief. "Impossible! You must be lying! You must be blaming me for not accepting you before!"
'Oh!'
The onlookers let out another gasp of astonishment.
At that moment, behind Andy, the ridiculously strong and handsome blond Terry sighed. "If you knew it'd become like this, why did you act like that back then?"
He had warned his brother before, revenge was revenge, but don't miss out on other things. 'Look, the goddess ran off with someone else. Now you regret it, huh?'
Hearing Andy's words, Mai frowned. Anger rose within her, but before she could speak, Aiden said, "Why would she lie to you? For fun? And you know exactly how awful you used to be. Tsk, someone this good and you didn't cherish her. Even if you regret it now, it's too late."
Saying that, he lowered his head and kissed Mai on the forehead. This gesture made everyone gasp again, and made Andy's eyes go bloodshot.
"You bastard…" Andy stepped toward Aiden, his fists cracking loudly.
"Andy."
Seeing Andy ready to attack, Terry immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't do anything rash."
"Big Brother Terry, I can't stand this…"
"If he wants to fight, let him fight."
King, Mai, and Yuri stood in front of Aiden. The three women glared coldly at the brothers.
"Sorry," Terry pushed Andy behind him and had Joe watch him. Then he bowed slightly toward Aiden's group as an apology.
Terry was actually a good person.
Aiden nodded behind the three women, then spoke. "Your name is Andy, right? Don't rush. We'll have a chance to fight. I'll be joining this KOF tournament too. When the time comes, let's settle it in the ring."
"Then you'd better be ready for a hospital bed!" Andy shouted angrily.
"Then I'll send you to the hospital too, Andy," Mai said coldly.
"Mai, you.."
"Alright, alright, save this for later. Don't argue here," Terry cut Andy off. "Today Elder Chin Gentsai is treating us to dinner. Do you want to embarrass the elder host?"
"Sorry, Brother Terry." Andy still listened to Terry. Then he turned and bowed to Chin Gentsai. "I'm sorry, Elder Chin."
"It's fine, it's fine." Chin waved his hand indifferently. He only thought this was entertaining.