"Mai-san, did you make a mistake? Kicking the administrator is one thing, but why did you kick me too? I'm a ten-year fan of yours!"
The moment Mori Shinra saw that he had been kicked from the group chat, he immediately pleaded his case.
The honorable Judge Mai, with her clear-as-day judgment, was unmoved by his plea. She even took the time to add him on LINE.
"Accept it."
"Okay."
Faced with her tactic of slapping him and then giving him a sweet, Mori Shinra showed no backbone and immediately agreed.
As for the fan group?
Irrelevant.
He had already added Sakurajima Mai as a friend. What did he need a fan group for?
They were no longer in the same circle. Don't cross the thick barrier!
Besides, his main account was kicked, but didn't he still have a second account?
When he first joined the group, he had used two accounts. He had even played two roles at once to trick a lot of useful information out of that unlucky soul...
"Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me all of a sudden?"
"Because what you said made me figure things out."
"Decided to return to the entertainment industry?"
"Yes. I like the work of filming series and movies. It's fulfilling and fun. I want to continue doing this for the rest of my life. Deceiving myself like this is pointless... What's with that look?"
When Sakurajima Mai saw the gratified expression on his face, she couldn't quite hold it together.
What was with that look, like a father watching his rebellious daughter return to the right path?
I'm a year older than you!
Don't... don't look down on me!
"It's nothing. I just feel like you've suddenly grown up, Mai-san. It's quite gratifying."
"How is a guy a year younger than me putting on airs in front of me?"
"Sometimes, physical age doesn't represent mental age."
"Are you saying I'm childish?"
"I wonder who it was that said yesterday, 'Thank you for accompanying me today. But after this, let's just pretend we've never met.'"
Mori Shinra mimicked her tone, repeating the words she had said before leaving yesterday. You had to admit, the impression was pretty good.
"Ngh..." As if her sore spot had been poked, she was completely unable to refute him. She could only admit her mistake. "I'm sorry for being so stubborn. I apologize. Is that okay?"
"Almost."
"Please forgive me. I'm reflecting on my actions."
"If you could look up at me pitifully, and maybe hug my arm and use your chest..."
Before he could finish, she reached out and pinched his nose.
"Don't push your luck."
"Okay," he said, a little unwillingly and with a nasal tone, since his nose was being pinched.
A satisfied smile appeared on her face. She then turned and walked to the dryer, taking out the clothes that were already dry.
He followed, and with a lack of tact, he whispered, "So they really are white."
Her ears were very sharp. Upon hearing this, she immediately hugged the clothes to her chest, freed one hand, and pointed to the living room. The meaning was self-evident—go wait in the living room, I'm changing.
Even though it was his own home, he was being ordered around by her. What was this?
He grumbled but still walked to the sofa, looking back every three steps.
Click. The sound of the bathroom lock came again.
Before long, Mai-senpai, dressed in her dry school uniform, reappeared before him.
Only, what was different from before was that she hadn't put on her black pantyhose. A pair of beautiful legs were just bare like that. Who was she trying to seduce!
"Why aren't you wearing your black stockings?" he asked, a little annoyed. "You're not Mai-senpai at all! Who are you!"
She rolled her eyes irritably and replied, "Are black stockings some kind of unchangeable part of my character design?"
"Not really. Even bare-legged, you still look good... In fact, it has a different kind of charm."
"Hentai!" she said, her eyes full of undisguised contempt.
This made him feel a little thrilled.
"So, are you heading back now, Mai-senpai?" he asked.
"Yes, but I'd like to trouble you for one more thing," she said, a little embarrassed.
He didn't even ask what it was and directly stated his own demand.
"Then let's have your unworn black stockings as payment."
"..." She hesitated for a moment, then handed the stockings over.
Now it was his turn to be surprised.
"You're really giving them to me?"
"J-just don't do anything strange with them!"
"Don't worry, I'll treat them as a family heirloom."
"So gross. I don't want to give them to you anymore."
Although her words were full of disgust, she still handed the stockings to him.
After getting them, he didn't do anything perverted. In the end, it was just a piece of cloth worn by a beautiful girl, and it had even been machine-washed, so its value was greatly diminished.
The reason he had asked for them was, on the one hand, to tease her, and on the other, to test his current standing in her heart.
Yes, it was just a compliance test. (He nonchalantly put the stockings away.)
"Payment received. Now, give me your orders, General Mai."
"Accompany me home."
"I sell my skills, not my body, General."
"Who's asking for your body," she huffed, then explained, "I need you to help me communicate with the building manager, so they can call a locksmith to help me open my door."
He thought for a moment, then raised a crucial question. "Mai-san, then how should I explain our relationship to the manager?"
She was taken aback, then looked at him and said with some hesitation, "Brother and sister?"
You had to admit, he was quite handsome. If he said he was her brother, probably no one would object.
"Siblings with different last names? I feel like saying we're a couple would be more convincing," he retorted unceremoniously.
"Then let's go with a couple," she said, as if throwing caution to the wind.
"Haha, then another problem arises. How do I prove that we're a couple? And how do I explain why I, the boyfriend, am asking the building manager to call a locksmith to open my girlfriend's door in the middle of the night when the owner isn't home?"
She fell silent, because there was absolutely no way to explain it. And it might even attract the police...
"This is troublesome," she sighed. Why was it so hard for her to just go home?
Next time, I should just get a spare key and leave it at his place.
If I forget my key again someday, I can just come here to get it.
"Since it has come to this, why don't we go outside first and see if your abnormality has disappeared. If people can notice you, then you won't need my help," he suggested.
"I guess that's the only way."