"Let's work together to form the best band, and stay together forever."
"To be able to say such embarrassing things without any reservations, it really is you, Tanaka-kin."
Tanaka Masao scratched his head and said a little shyly, "Hehe, I'm not as good as you say, Xuezhixia Classmate."
"Oh, Xuezhixia Classmate, huh?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's lips curled into a faint, cold smile.
"I remember just now outside, you didn't call me that, did you?
You dared to do it in public, but not when you're alone with me?"
Tanaka Masao pinched his chin, deep in thought.
"So you mean for me to just call you Yukino?"
"What do you think?"
Tanaka Masao shrank his neck.
"I think it's fine. What do you think, Xuezhixia Classmate?"
"I think it's fine too."
Watching their interesting interaction, Ijichi Nijika couldn't help but exclaim,
"Yukino is amazing, she has that scoundrel Tanaka completely under her thumb."
"When did I become a scoundrel?!"
Goto Hitori was also a little emotional.
"Exactly, it feels like Tanaka's attitude towards Yukino is completely different from his attitude towards me. He seems to be very afraid of Yukino."
[When will I be able to have Tanaka completely under my thumb and achieve an upset?]
Yamada Ryo extended her finger to explain,
"I know this. There's an old saying in Huaxia: 'A wise man submits to circumstances.' Although I don't think Tanaka is a wise man."
Tanaka Masao retorted, somewhat unconvinced.
"Hey, hey, why does it sound like I'm so afraid of Yukinoshita?
Masao afraid of snow, that's a rumor.
A little snow, what's there to fear?
Gather your courage, knock her down.
Everyone's prejudice, must be overturned."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Ijichi Nijika started clapping.
"I didn't expect Tanaka-kun to have such talent; he could even write songs."
"Oh, no, no, you flatter me, you flatter me."
Tanaka Masao waved his hand very modestly, indicating that a doggerel poem was nothing remarkable, nothing remarkable.
"Tanaka-kin doesn't need to be so modest, after all, I'm rarely impressed by you, in every sense of the word."
In the cheerful atmosphere, Goto Hitori couldn't help but think,
[Originally, I could only lurk in dark corners, like a rat in a gutter, peeking at this happy life.
But now, I am finally one of them.]
"Bocchi-chan, what are you still waiting for? The performance is over, let's go get some drinks and relax."
"O-okay, coming."
…
Ijichi Nijika showed everyone the items in the store and asked,
"Come on, everyone, what would you like to drink? Order anything."
"Then I won't be polite."
Tanaka Masao sat down and began to order.
"One free glass, two cups of free ice, and a cup of free purified water. Stick in a free straw, and I'll sip it."
?
Ijichi Nijika tilted her head, her big eyes full of confusion.
Tanaka Masao saw that she didn't react and asked, "What, can't you do it?"
"It's not that I can't do it."
Ijichi Nijika shook her head.
"Rather, what you ordered is correct; these things are indeed all free.
It's just, why does it feel so strange to combine them and say it that way?"
Yamada Ryo's eyes also lit up, and she gave Tanaka Masao a thumbs-up.
"Oh, so you can order like that. Tanaka, you're really amazing, I've learned something.
This way, I won't have to eat grass when I'm out of money in the future."
She began to imitate him.
"One free orange juice, one free rice bowl, and one free cake, for my after-meal dessert.
Oh, right, and give me some free pocket money. Give me a lot, don't give me too little to start with."
"No!"
When Ijichi Nijika heard Yamada Ryo's words, she couldn't help but want to hit her. This was her store, not a charity.
Even if it were a charity, they might fulfill the previous requests, but they wouldn't give you pocket money.
As she spoke, she handed Tanaka Masao the items he had ordered.
Yamada Ryo immediately became indignant.
"Why does Tanaka get it and I don't? Nijika, you're playing favorites."
Ijichi Nijika rolled her eyes.
"It's not that I'm playing favorites; it's because the things he ordered are indeed free."
Yamada Ryo glanced at the items in front of Tanaka Masao. Since she also worked at the store, she was very familiar with its offerings.
She had only heard Tanaka Masao order a bunch of things, but with the word 'free' added before them.
Upon closer inspection, it really didn't cost a single cent.
Yamada Ryo thought for a moment.
"Nijika, give me the same thing."
"You should still drink this."
Ijichi Nijika poured Yamada Ryo her favorite drink.
"This… this isn't free either. Can this even be called a drink? I won't pay if I drink it, you know."
She said it, but Yamada Ryo drank it faster than anyone else.
"Don't worry, you don't have to pay. I'm treating today.
Everyone's share is on me. Tanaka-kun, let me get you something else."
Tanaka Masao shook his head.
"No need, this is fine for me. I'm on a diet recently, so it's better to drink fewer beverages."
"Oh, I see. Indeed, drinking purified water is healthier."
"By the way, where's Hiratsuka Sensei?"
Tanaka Masao suddenly realized that someone was missing from their group.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked around and pointed in one direction.
"Over there."
Following the direction of Yukinoshita Yukino's finger, Hiratsuka Shizuka was drinking with two people around her age.
One was the somewhat melancholic beautiful sound engineer older sister they had seen before, and the other was the owner of this store, Ijichi Nijika's older sister, Ijichi Hoshika.
She was a mature, beautiful woman with long golden hair, like an enlarged version of Ijichi Nijika.
Three single women in their twenties, almost thirty but never having been in a relationship, gathered together, and the topics were plentiful.
"Damn it, you can't find a good man in this world."
"Yes, the guy I met on a blind date last time, when he heard I owned a store, he actually asked me to give him pocket money every month to support him. What a good-for-nothing."
"Do you know what else he said?"
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'You're already this old. If it weren't for the fact that you're pretty, have a good figure, and are rich, I wouldn't even look at you.'
Sigh, I was so angry at the time that I directly splashed the drink in my hand on him and left without looking back. Since then, I've never gone on a blind date again."
"Well done! If it were me, I would definitely beat him up to vent my anger."
"So, we don't need to find men at all; we can still live a very relaxed and happy life."
"Exactly, I agree."
"Cheers!"
"Let's stay single forever!"
"Long live singlehood!"