"Wooo! Nothing beats cracking open a beer after work!"
Exusiai sprang to her feet and started yelling loud enough to draw eyes from across the restaurant. Croissant couldn't bear to watch—she grabbed Exusiai and forcibly dragged her back into her seat.
"Keep it down! It's hard enough finding a place that won't kick us out. Stop fooling around."
"Aww… fine."
Even after being shut down, Exusiai's bright grin didn't fade. She drained her beer in one go, then immediately launched into complaints.
"Ugh—these last few days have been awful. People keep picking fights with us at work… and even when we try to eat outside, someone still shows up looking for trouble."
"Even Sora got hauled off by her manager. Said Penguin Logistics has been 'unstable' lately, and she needs to keep her distance from us."
She turned to Texas.
"Texas, what do you think—did we offend someone we really shouldn't have?"
Crunch.
Texas snapped the Pocky between her teeth, swallowed, and answered calmly, her ears flicking once.
"Did you already forget that delivery we made to District 19?"
Exusiai scratched her red hair, puzzled.
"Of course I remember. That 'Fire Dragon' guy, right? That gorgeous pretty-boy—I still remember exactly what he looks like."
"It's because of him," Texas said.
She swept her gaze across the noisy diners around them. Only after confirming nothing seemed off did she continue in that cool, even tone.
"Penguin Logistics—big name, big reputation—got forced to back down in front of other gangs because of one man stepping in. The street dogs who saw it aren't going to resist the urge to come sniffing around and test us."
Texas glanced at Croissant, who looked strangely awkward for some reason, but she didn't press it.
"Beat us, and they get fame and profit. Whether the rumors are true or not—whether we're really some 'paper tiger'—they'll still come probe us."
Now Exusiai got it. She lightly punched her right palm with her left fist and nodded in sudden understanding.
"That explains it! I was wondering why those punks who used to take one look at us and detour like their lives depended on it suddenly started charging at us like they were pumped full of adrenaline."
"And we've been blacklisted by so many restaurants because of it."
She rubbed her chin and muttered under her breath.
"But we can't exactly beat up every gang in Lungmen, can we? They're like cockroaches—wipe out one batch and a whole new swarm pops up."
"Ugh, whatever. Forget it! Eat faster. Otherwise some annoying idiot will come ruin our meal again."
"No need to worry," Texas replied. "We're close to the Lungmen Guard Department. They won't dare cause trouble here."
She glanced out the window at the LGD building—tall, imposing, and unmistakable—then took another Pocky stick between her lips.
"And I heard the boss is already figuring out how to deal with this. For now, we just wait."
Then Texas turned and, without warning, asked Croissant—who was practically burying her face in her bowl while shoveling down rice—
"Croissant. You have that man's contact info, right?"
Croissant's body jerked.
…Busted?!
But thinking about it, she'd been making deliveries to District 19 whenever she had free time lately. It would've been hard not to notice.
Exusiai was probably the only one who hadn't caught on—her head was basically filled with sweets.
After a long pause, Croissant finally lifted her head, scratched her cheek, and admitted it with a reluctant nod.
"I do. And… we actually get along pretty well."
"Relax," Texas said, her expression as indifferent as ever—no hint of irritation despite all the recent harassment. "I'm not interrogating you."
"That man is trouble. If possible, don't keep getting involved with him so easily. I—"
"Wait, what?!" Exusiai cut her off, eyes blazing as she slammed the table and shot to her feet. She leaned so far over Croissant that the halo behind her head practically stabbed Croissant in the eye.
"Croissant! You have that gorgeous guy's number?!"
"Don't tell me you got yourself a boyfriend before the rest of us?!"
"What are you even talking about?" Croissant shoved Exusiai's excited face away. "We're just friends!"
If she could actually land a boyfriend like Chen Mo, would she really be sitting here eating with two grown women right now?
Once Exusiai backed off, Croissant explained everything—how, after the other two left that day, she'd ended up meeting Chen Mo, the coincidences, the run-ins, and everything that followed.
Texas listened with her usual blank expression. Exusiai, on the other hand, was completely enthralled.
When Croissant finished, Exusiai declared with absolute conviction:
"I knew it! Someone that pretty has to be a good person!"
"And that 'good person'," Texas replied flatly, "is exactly why we had to come all the way out here just to eat."
Even so, none of Penguin Logistics actually felt hostility toward Chen Mo.
After all, the man who'd been strong enough to seem like a monster had been unexpectedly polite when speaking with them.
If anything deserved blame, it was the gangs—people who loved rumors and bullied the weak—making their daily life and work inconvenient.
But that was all.
Exusiai was just about to ask Croissant to introduce her to Chen Mo. If she could stop being single, that would be perfect.
Heh. Even if a high-quality man like that looked down on a woman like her—no money, no house, dangerous job—well, what if it worked anyway?
If it did, she'd be the first woman in Penguin Logistics to find a man!
Lost in daydreams, Exusiai's eyes suddenly flicked to the side. The moment she saw a familiar figure, her courage instantly evaporated. She shrank down and tugged at Texas's sleeve, whispering in alarm.
"W-Whoa… Texas. It's Officer Ch'en and them."
Texas looked over—and immediately spotted the eye-catching man walking with them.
"…Him. Was he arrested?"
But watching Chen Mo strolling along with Lungmen's "dragon, tiger, and ghost," chatting and laughing, Texas discarded the thought at once.
Setting aside Swire and Hoshiguma, the fact that a man from the underworld could talk casually with the famously stern Officer Ch'en—and that Ch'en even seemed to be subtly shielding him—
Not only was he powerful… his background was unfathomable, too.
Trouble, just like she said.
"Let's go," Texas said, standing up immediately.
This time, Exusiai didn't dare approach Chen Mo at all. Like a turtle retreating into its shell, she grabbed Croissant—who was about to step forward and greet him—and hurried after Texas.
Compared to a beautiful man, she absolutely preferred not catching Officer Ch'en's attention.
After all, they'd once sped like maniacs right in front of her.
Exusiai could still remember Ch'en's terrifying, dark expression—like she wanted to personally chase them down and "out-speed" them right back.
That woman was definitely not going to let them off easy.
Unfortunately, the moment they tried to slip away, Chen Mo noticed them.
"Well, what a coincidence," he said, smiling. "You're here to eat too?"
The instant he spoke, Exusiai and the others felt Officer Ch'en's icy gaze slice straight through their bones.
Huddled behind Texas, Exusiai nodded so hard her neck nearly snapped. Chen Mo could only see Texas's halo bobbing up and down behind her.
"Y-Yeah! What a coincidence… um, we're done eating, so we won't bother you. Enjoy your meal!"
"Wait."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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