69novels Page 301
Page 301
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Chapter 354 Early Cherry Blossoms
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After entering December, Su Qing suddenly had a feeling that everything seemed to be on the right track.
First, there was no need to worry about Yui anymore, and then "Super Beast Force" sold very well in its first week.
For him now, the only thing he needs to pay attention to is Mahiru's birthday in a few days.
As she pondered, Su Qing rested her chin on her hand and turned to Yui beside her.
To be fair, the girl has been quite diligent lately; for example, she's still reading at her seat after class... right now?
"...Isn't this my comic?"
Su Qing frowned slightly, leaned closer to see the comic book the girl was trying to hide under her arm, and said with certainty.
"The school didn't say we can't bring comics to read."
Yui flinched, a blush spreading across the back of her neck.
After being discovered by Su Qing, she suddenly felt like she was going to die.
The original author is right in front of you, shouldn't the other person be the one feeling awkward?
"I didn't say anything," Su Qing sighed, and casually asked, "There aren't many girls who watch this kind of content, are there? What do you think?"
"I can't find any fault with it, I think it's great!" Yui praised generously.
Unexpectedly, Su Qing thought for a moment and said, "Hmm... it is indeed a bit difficult for you to ask such a question."
"What do you mean?!" the girl exclaimed in frustration. "I'll tell your girlfriend and make you kneel on durians!"
Su Qing glanced at Yui and shrugged indifferently, "She won't. You can try if you want."
Yui pouted, said nothing, just snorted and turned her head to continue reading the comic.
That means I'm too lazy to argue with the human-machine Xiaoqing.
Su Qing looked at her with a smile, giving off a feeling of teasing a small animal.
Since Yui wasn't really angry, he asked directly:
"Speaking of which, did you know that Mahiru's birthday is on December 6th?"
"Huh? Really? She didn't even tell me about this!" Yui quickly turned back around.
"Given her personality, it's normal that she wouldn't talk about it; she didn't tell me either," Su Qing explained.
“That makes sense… Today is the 3rd, there are still a few days left. I’ll ask Xiaoxue to go with me to pick out a gift after school this afternoon.” Yui glanced at her phone calendar and counted the days on her fingers.
“Just give her whatever you want. You don’t need to pick something expensive. Actually, anything will do. She’s not picky,” Su Qing said.
"OK." Yui nodded and asked considerately, "Is there anything else I can do?"
Seeing Su Qing's surprised expression, she chuckled and said, "Don't I know you? You must have something you want to ask me for, which is why you brought this up with me, right?"
The girl's smile was like cherry blossoms soaked in milk, gentle and beautiful.
Su Qing's heart suddenly trembled, and her mind went blank for a moment, as if it were an illusion.
What is this strange feeling...?
Without a second thought, Su Qing's face remained expressionless. She simply said, "There is something I really need your help with. On the 6th, I need you to invite Mahiru out under the guise of having dinner with a girl... I need some time to set up the house."
That's the downside of semi-cohabiting with your girlfriend; it reduces the space for preparing surprises.
"You want to go out and have fun? I understand. Don't worry about it, leave it to me." Yui patted her chest and assured me confidently.
Her smile remained unchanged, but a touch of sadness inevitably crept into her heart, though it was quickly buried beneath other emotions.
It's impossible for someone who likes someone not to have any thoughts about celebrating their girlfriend's birthday.
But that was just a subconscious thought. For Yui now, she prefers to watch silently—with a feeling of prayer.
“If you’re not free, don’t force yourself. I have other methods,” Su Qing said suddenly after staring at Yui for a while.
He was telling the truth; he simply prioritized the most suitable method.
"It's nothing. It was a Saturday, and I was just staying home anyway," Yui said with a smile.
“Well…” Su Qing looked away and said softly, “If you… are still interested in the rest of the content, I can give it to you. Writers have that right, so you don’t need to spend money to buy it.”
Yui looked shocked. "Wow, the author is so cunning! You can actually do that?"
"Others may not know, but I certainly can," Su Qing said with a helpless smile. "By the way, your focus is rather strange."
"Tch, then where should I focus my attention! Besides, if it's free, shouldn't it be delivered sooner!" Yui protested indignantly.
"You didn't say you wanted it."
"cut."
Yui pursed her lips, neither saying whether she wanted it or not. She simply lowered her head and silently closed the comic book in her hand, then gently stroked a character on the cover with her fingertips.
After a short while, the girl asked in a low voice:
"Well... since we're going to give it away, do you have any autographed copies?"
"A signature is easy to get, you can just have it if you want, it's not worth much." Su Qing smiled and said indifferently.
"Even if it's worthless, it's still amazing! I can post it online and brag about having a complete set of comics personally signed by [Tibetan Fox]-sensei." When Yui looked up again, a bright, snow-like smile filled her eyes. "Don't you agree, Tibetan Fox-sensei~~~"
"If you keep talking nonsense, I won't give you any more. I'll save the money to make a few more sets," Su Qing said.
"It's fake! Didn't they just expose your identity?" The girl's mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"The two most embarrassing things in this world are being called by your real name online and being called by your online name in real life," Su Qing said.
"But isn't this a pen name?" Yui asked hesitantly.
Is there a difference between a pen name and an online name?
"...No difference, they're all the same."
"Oh, okay." Yui nodded as if she understood, but since she wasn't a writer, she didn't need to think about these things.
"Are you still going to give it to me or not? A comic book like that is really expensive!"
Yui felt a pang of pain when she thought about the price of this manga.
Actually, she didn't want to buy it, but the bookstore just happened to have this one last copy left that day!
Since she still had some pocket money, she bought it with the intention of helping Xiaoqing boost her sales performance.
It was absolutely not because of curiosity or any other strange reason!!
But Yui was quite glad she bought it.
Because it sold so well, even the publisher was caught off guard, and the number of copies printed could not keep up with the speed of sales.
This allowed those damn scalpers to take advantage of the situation and inflate prices several times over.
It's outrageous! Scalpers who inflate prices always raise them exorbitantly when you go out to buy groceries!
"I'll give it to you. By the way, I'll bring this one over for signing too," Su Qing said with a smile. "Anyway, the later parts will only get more and more philosophical, and I don't think you'll understand them very well."
It's not that Su Qing looks down on Yui's intelligence.
For this type of subject matter, the audience is ultimately predominantly male.
Unexpectedly, the girl wasn't angry. She simply hugged the comic book to her chest and quietly watched Su Qing.
"...What's wrong?" Su Qing fell silent under his gaze, her eyes unusually darting away.
He didn't like this feeling; for a brief moment, he couldn't even control his body.
Like a drowning person sinking in the deep sea.
"It's nothing." The girl shook her head, and the pink buns on her head trembled like flowers.
then.
Her smile was serene, and her voice was as gentle as early cherry blossoms in bloom.
"I just feel that Xiaoqing is... pretty good to me~"
Snow was still falling outside the window at that time.
Under a thin mist.
The falling snow, like cherry blossoms, covered the tips of the bare branches, blooming grandly and beautifully.
Will the cherry blossoms next spring be just like this?
Su Qing turned her head in a panic, her heart trembling as she thought this.
……
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Chapter 355 12.6
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With a few days left until Mahiru's birthday, Su Qing was not idle during this time.
Because I was worried about logistics, and also because Ginza isn't that far away.
So he first went to retrieve the necklace he had ordered half a month ago, and then went to a shop to print out the carefully selected photos from the album and compiled them into a booklet in chronological order.
But that's not all; Su Qing had prepared more than just that.
This was the first time Su Qing had celebrated Mahiru's birthday.
It could even be her first real birthday.
So he wanted to make up for the girl's regret of not being able to have him over the past ten years.
……
Days passed by peacefully, like flowing water.
Finally, they welcomed December 12.6th.
Around 2:30 PM, Mahiru changed her clothes and prepared to keep her promise to Yui.
The other party invited her to a certain commercial street today, on the 3rd.
After confirming that Su Qing had no special plans for the day, Mahiru finally agreed.
However, some things could be vaguely discerned from Mahiru's expression at this moment. She seemed to feel somewhat guilty for "abandoning" Su Qing to go play alone.
Are you worried that Su Qing will be too lonely and bored staying at home alone?
—Children who have been hurt are always exceptionally gentle. Su Qing thought.
Seeing Mahiru's hesitant expression, he smiled and said, "Go have fun. It's rare to go out with friends, isn't it?"
"Why use such a strange way of putting it?" Mahiru muttered with slight dissatisfaction. "It's as if I'm some poor kid who can't make friends."
"Of course not, I just wanted to reassure you that I'm not a worry. Besides, you already promised someone else, and I don't want you to break your promise because of me," Su Qing replied.
"That's true... Being late is indeed bad behavior. Since you say so, then I'll go!"
Mahiru's facial muscles relaxed considerably, and she smiled, saying, "I'll bring you a souvenir when I come back."
"A souvenir?" Su Qing chuckled upon hearing this. "It's okay to play a little longer, just come back before dinner time."
"...Can I presume that you're going to prepare dinner for me when I get back tonight?"
Mahiru tilted her head cutely, her fingertips lightly touching her red lips.
The sound, however, was unexpectedly expectant.
Humans are creatures prone to self-delusion.
Even though Mahiru never told Su Qing about her birthday, and even though Su Qing never said that she would celebrate her birthday today.
But the girl will still inevitably look forward to this special day.
This sounds somewhat contradictory and awkward.
But for Mahiru, it doesn't really matter if there are no birthday gifts or birthday wishes.