Noshiro sat on the sofa with her back to Lu Chen. Lu Chen held her soft, black long hair, drying it little by little with the hairdryer. She had changed the white shirt she wore earlier for one of Lu Chen's black T-shirts.
Since Lu Chen was unwilling, she decided to let things take their natural course. After all, the girl was shy to death and had only endured the embarrassment to say what she did. She was willing to go that far for Lu Chen, but that didn't mean she had an exhibitionist streak.
Noshiro made conversation. "Hmm, what program are you watching? An idol group—it's them."
Only now did Noshiro realize that the girls on the TV screen were some of her close comrades. That was the idol event they had organized at the base, and at least half of them weren't doing it out of love for music. Their true purpose was to—please the Commander.
Although saying that carried a connotation of devaluation, those girls simply didn't care about that. Akagi, Taihou, Roon—especially those three—were willing to do anything for the Commander.
"You know them. Oh, they're a national idol group, so it would be strange if you didn't," Lu Chen said.
"Not only do I know them, but you know them too," Noshiro chuckled softly. "Sheffield, the ivory-gray-haired one, is actually a maid, and she's even done housecleaning here. A few others are students at our academy. You might have seen them today but didn't remember."
"An idol girl comes here to clean?" Lu Chen looked puzzled. Did that feel like some kind of act?
"Being an idol is her side job; her main job is being a maid," Noshiro said. "And their relationship with you is more than just a passing acquaintance. As for the specifics, I'll keep you guessing for now. Let them tell you themselves."
Senior Akagi isn't someone easy to deal with, so it's better for her to tell him herself. Noshiro stuck out her tongue where Lu Chen couldn't see. Commander, you'll forgive me, right?
Wait, does this body have such great luck with women? Why does every beautiful girl have an ambiguous relationship with me? Oh, not just beautiful girls; even the older sisters are like this. Good thing I haven't run into a Loli yet, or I'd probably be taking a trip to the police station.
"Why is my luck with women so good? Is it possible there are no other men besides me?" Lu Chen murmured to himself.
Noshiro stiffened and stammered, "Ah, ah, well, as far as I know, the male population is greater than the female population in the world."
"Then why am I so popular? Honestly, this is beyond my imagination," Lu Chen pressed.
Noshiro calmed down and said, "I think it's far from enough. You deserve more."
"In that case, let's just… Ugh, even though I feel overwhelmed, I still want more beautiful girls to like me…" Lu Chen suddenly realized the girl in front of him was his girlfriend, and his words sounded like openly cheating. "Uh, I didn't mean that."
"Is there something wrong with that? Isn't that human nature?" Noshiro smiled. "I fully support you in doing that."
Right, I forgot my girlfriend is messed up.
Lu Chen put down the hairdryer. "Alright, it's dry now."
Noshiro reached back and touched her black hair. Looks like he might have been a bit rough, but fortunately, she was a Ship Girl. Lu Chen could mess with her all he wanted. Looked at this way, the Commander could only find Ship Girls as partners, because human girls would have all sorts of issues, and only they could accept everything about him.
"Nice touch," Noshiro praised without changing her expression. "Alright, you go do what you want to do. I'm going to organize the clothes and ingredients for tomorrow morning."
"You're preparing tonight?"
"Of course," Noshiro stood up. "Breakfast and lunch are prepared at the same time. If I don't prepare beforehand, I'd have to wake up extremely early tomorrow. Ugh, that would be painful."
Lu Chen wanted to feel involved. He asked, "Is there anything you need help with?"
Noshiro thought for a moment and said, "Then put up the clean clothes to dry. Remember to put my school uniform and skirt in the dryer."
Lu Chen acknowledged her, went into the bathroom, and soon emerged carrying a basket of clothes to the balcony, hanging them up one by one.
The basket, of course, contained Noshiro's intimate wear, but Lu Chen wasn't very interested in them. If they weren't on her body, what was the point of looking? Other than the "original scent," any garment separated from the girl's body held no special value.
Therefore, when he held the girl's white cotton panties, his mood only fluctuated slightly.
Because the panties, along with the beautiful view he had just seen, reminded him of one thing: the girl was currently commando, and being so defenseless in a man's room was, in itself, an attitude.
After organizing the laundry, Lu Chen sat on the sofa full of anticipation, thinking about what position he would hug Noshiro in when they slept.
He wasn't planning on doing anything out of line, but sleeping while hugging his girlfriend wasn't too much for the two of them now. Just thinking about the fragrant, soft Noshiro made him feel utterly comfortable.
After a long time, Noshiro finally emerged from the kitchen.
"Phew, ingredients are all prepped. Just need a quick final prep tomorrow morning." She pulled out a paper towel, dried her hands, and then said to Lu Chen, "Time's almost up. It's time for bed."
"Sounds good," Lu Chen said, full of expectation.
"You sleep in your bedroom, and I'll sleep in this one," Noshiro pointed to the other bedroom and explained softly, "The reason I'm not sleeping with you isn't that I don't want to; it's that I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself. But if you insist…"
"No, I'll sleep alone," Lu Chen said. This was probably for the best. He could organize his thoughts. Having sex with his girlfriend on the first day would be too fast; only a complete scumbag would do such a thing.
Well, I, a person who cheated on the first day, probably don't have much right to judge others.
"Whatever you want to do, just ask," Noshiro walked up to Lu Chen and opened her fair hand. "But before that, hand it over."
"What?"
"Your phone," Noshiro tugged at her shirt hem, feeling a bit chilly. "Don't forget the purpose of me being here: to supervise your schedule. I'm worried you'll play with your phone late at night. Oh, right, you don't have a habit of playing on the computer at night, do you?"
"No, I don't have that habit." Lu Chen didn't even have specific memories of games, so why would he play on the computer late at night? He took out his phone and placed it on Noshiro's palm.
But the next moment, he instantly snatched the phone back.
Those photos were still saved on the phone! If Noshiro found out, he was completely doomed!
"What's wrong?" Noshiro asked.
"Uh, ahem, if possible, could you not look through my phone?" Lu Chen said. "A young man's phone usually hides unspeakable secrets, you know."
Noshiro looked confused. "Did you collect hentai comics? Since when? Didn't you only have everyone's private photos before?"
???
You know about this?