On the way to the arcade, Luo Cheng asked, "Teio, do you want to go to a clothing store later?"
"A clothing store..." Tokai Teio seemed to realize something and smiled, "Could it be that you want to go on a date with me? If you say, 'I want to go on a date with Teio-sama,' I'll go with you!"
"I want to go on a date with Teio-sama."
"I guess I can't help it. My Teio-sama's charm is just too strong. The Trainer must be completely smitten with me. Since you asked, I, Teio-sama, will go with you. Then we can go see a movie, and at night, we can..."
At this point, Tokai Teio rubbed her leg and blinked, the meaning clear.
It felt like these horse girls' desires were even stronger than his. Once, Luo Cheng was the one pursuing them, but now, he couldn't escape. If he gave them an inch, they would take a mile. Although Luo Cheng was relentless in his attempts, his body honestly couldn't handle this kind of pressure from the horse girls. He still hadn't recovered from the strange sleep paralysis he experienced last night. Before he left in the morning, Luo Cheng ran into Cafe and asked her about the previous night, but Cafe shook her head and said she had been in her dorm all night.
So it really wasn't her. Cafe had no reason to lie. If that was the case, Luo Cheng couldn't help but think about Cafe's ghost friend character setting. But if it was a ghost, what was with the warmth? It felt exactly like a real person. That's how it felt when Cafe was in his bed that one time.
Was it a dream after all?
Luo Cheng couldn't be sure until he met Cafe's ghost friend. The person ran off after their fun, without a word, leaving no trace. And the way they deliberately teased him, every time Luo Cheng felt like he was about to break, they would stop, only to resume after he had calmed down a little. Luo Cheng felt like that person was intentionally toying with him and his sanity. If that ghost friend was real, she was definitely a sadist.
The arcade was packed with people. The sounds of beeping and keyboard clacking rose and fell. Six months ago, Luo Cheng would have been quite familiar with this environment, but times had changed, and now he only found it noisy.
Tokai Teio walked up to a dance machine. "This is it!"
"You're going to practice dancing here?"
"This is where all the latest dances are released, Trainer." Tokai Teio gave him a look that said, 'I see you know nothing.' "All I have to do is choose a song, and the moves will appear on the screen. Then I just follow along. After I'm done, I'll get a score. Let me see... ah!"
Tokai Teio let out a scream.
"What's wrong?"
"My score... darn it!" Tokai Teio pointed at the screen. Above Teio's rank was another person named 'Noob Dog,' with a score a third higher than Teio's.
"My record was broken. Darn it, I can't let this happen!" Tokai Teio gritted her teeth.
"Trainer, I'm starting!"
As an idol, Tokai Teio's dance moves were, of course, impeccable. Her flexible body and quick movements made Luo Cheng's eyes widen. He had seen Tokai Teio's winner's stage before. Standing in the center of the stage, she looked like the most dazzling star in the world. At that moment, a strong sense of pride swelled in Luo Cheng's heart—one of the few positive emotions he had in this world.
After the song, Tokai Teio looked at her score, which was very close to the other person's.
"Just a little more practice and I can surpass this person!" Tokai Teio's spirits were high. She scoffed, "Calling yourself 'Noob Dog' and actually being a noob. That's all there is to it!"
No, if she's a noob, doesn't that mean you guys are even worse than a noob?
Just as Tokai Teio was about to take a sip of water to rest, the other person's score suddenly went up, once again leaving Teio behind.
"What?! This person..."
A 'hash' mark appeared on her forehead. Teio crushed the water bottle, and without resting, she stepped back onto the dance machine. Tokai Teio's competitive spirit was fully ignited.
From the moment she entered the arcade in the morning until noon, Tokai Teio didn't stop. Both of their scores skyrocketed, and people filled up the area around them. They watched Tokai Teio's increasingly precise movements and applauded in unison.
When the song ended, Tokai Teio was drenched in sweat. She looked at her score. When it dropped in rank, Tokai Teio hugged her head.
"Why!"
Seeing Tokai Teio's actions, Luo Cheng seemed to understand the meaning of the plot name. The 'Showdown' was this showdown.
This was so interesting. Why did the plot beforehand mention this word? What was this system anyway? It seemed to know what would happen in the future. A word came to Luo Cheng's mind without reason: foreknowledge. And the character that could match this word... God.
Yes, only a god could know what would happen in the future. If his system was related to a god, it would make sense. This was the world of horse girls. Could his system be related to the Three Goddesses?
A god, a system, items, the underlying world... If there were Three Goddesses, how would they view this ability? Or was this the Three Goddesses's...
"TRAINER!"
A sudden voice interrupted Luo Cheng's thoughts.
"I can't go on, I'm finished..." Tokai Teio collapsed to the floor. Luo Cheng pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Teio's face. She angrily puffed out her cheeks, hugged Luo Cheng's waist, and rubbed all her sweat onto his chest.
"Let's eat first. It's already noon. I can't believe you're not hungry after all that. A horse girl's body is truly enviable."
After a little bit of playful pouting in Luo Cheng's arms, Tokai Teio reluctantly nodded. "Trainer, feed me~"
In the restaurant, Tokai Teio sat in front of Luo Cheng, leaning against his chest, and opened her mouth. She closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, waiting for Luo Cheng to feed her. As her mouth was filled, Tokai Teio's mood visibly improved.
"It's so much... Trainer... my mouth can't fit anymore... mmm..."
After swallowing with some effort, Tokai Teio asked, "Trainer, what do you think of my dancing?"
"Super great."
"Really?"
"Really."
From the side, Luo Cheng could see Teio's glistening armpit. All he wanted to say was, 'Good armpit.' Hearing Luo Cheng's praise, Teio's ears twitched quickly. She took a handkerchief from her small bag and handed it to the man.
"Trainer, I'm really sweaty. Help me wipe it. The sweat on my head has dried, so help me wipe my body."
"Your body?"
Luo Cheng looked at her light yellow off-the-shoulder t-shirt, which had two pink straps on the shoulders.
"No one's looking. Trainer, hurry and put your hand inside." Tokai Teio lifted her small head and whispered to Luo Cheng.