"A life decision?"
Texas was completely lost.
But Croissant spoke as if Texas obviously understood, then turned and told Exusiai, "Back at the bar, the boss said he's going to find Su Yi a fixed partner. Your chance is here!"
"If you don't grab it tight, happiness will slip right through your fingers," Sora added, smiling.
"I told you, you don't need to worry about me. I've got my own rhythm," Exusiai insisted.
"What rhythm? Explain it in detail," Croissant pressed.
Exusiai didn't want to say it, but Croissant and Sora wore her down with relentless coaxing. In the end, she awkwardly and shyly announced her grand plan to the world:
"I want to chat with Su Yi more first, raise his affection for me, give him little gifts sometimes, invite him to hang out, and then—on special days like New Year's Eve, Qixi Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival—have special interactions with him. After that, during some mysterious emotional event in his heart, I'll confess. And once he agrees… I'll steal his first kiss!"
"Achoo!"
A sneeze suddenly came from outside the kitchen.
Su Yi.
All the girls pushed the door open. "What's wrong?"
Su Yi rubbed his nose. "Nothing. Probably caught a chill. I'm going to put on another layer."
With that, he went back to his room to get dressed.
The kitchen door shut again.
Croissant frowned, struck by a strange familiarity. "Why do I feel like this 'process'… sounds kind of familiar?"
Sora nodded. "Same. It feels weirdly like a game."
"Huh? You've never played galgames? That's exactly how galgames work! I've cleared a bunch of them!" Exusiai said.
Croissant and Sora exchanged a look.
So what you're saying is: you want to use dating-sim "攻略" tactics to capture Su Yi? Come on. If you're just feeling thirsty, say you're thirsty—don't wrap it in such a twisted excuse.
"And isn't it strange?" Croissant continued, piling on. "Su Yi clearly looks like a romanceable character, but when you get close to him, there's no dialogue box pop-up, no affection meter you can see. Don't worry—because on this land, there are no boys!"
"I can tell the difference between games and reality!" Exusiai snapped, cheeks puffing.
What else was she supposed to do? Laterano high school only had health class—there wasn't exactly a "how to date" course.
And she'd spent her earlier years blowing up schools and getting into fights. Now she'd suddenly met someone she actually liked—if she wasn't going to learn from galgames, where was she supposed to learn?
"Let me interrupt," Texas said.
She'd been drifting outside the conversation the entire time, not understanding a word. Now she finally caught up.
"Exusiai… likes Su Yi?"
Sora: …
Croissant: …
Exusiai: …
That tiny kitchen instantly erupted.
"Wait—so you really didn't know this whole time?"
"Croissant, you never told Texas?"
"I thought Exusiai told her!"
"Huh? You all started talking right here in the kitchen—I assumed Texas already knew!"
"Also—'likes Su Yi' is not the same as just 'likes.' Texas, the way you said it is ambiguous!"
They talked over each other until, inevitably, the blame landed on Exusiai's head.
After all, that innocent, apple-scented girl was painfully easy to read. In the entire Penguin Logistics outfit, the only person who didn't know her feelings for Su Yi was the boss, Emperor.
And now they had to add one more: Texas.
As for Su Yi himself?
Let's not demand too much from an amnesiac. He was still struggling to learn the difference between Draco, Vouivre, and "dragon," and hadn't reached the chapter titled "Romance" yet.
"So even a Lupo can be this out of the loop, not just airhead Liberi," Exusiai mused, impressed.
"Whatever, whatever. Small problem. Texas was going to find out sooner or later," Croissant said. "Continue—where were we?"
"Galgames," Sora reminded her.
"Oh right, galgames… actually, forget it. That topic's already done. Let's give Texas—now that she's back in the conversation—a chance to speak." Croissant raised her right hand like a reporter holding a microphone. "Miss Texas, any good advice for Exusiai's love life?"
"I oppose it," Texas said.
"Oh? You oppose it? Why?" Croissant asked.
"Don't tell me Texas actually likes Su Yi too?" Sora chimed in.
"But we eat together, live together, sleep under the same roof—there's no way we wouldn't notice signs."
"Texas is usually quiet and expressionless. Even if there were signs, you wouldn't be able to tell."
Croissant and Sora played off each other so hard the conversation derailed completely—until even Exusiai started believing it.
"Texas… is that true?" Exusiai asked anxiously.
Texas fell silent, visibly offended by the insult to her intelligence. She plated the cooked macaroni and refused to dignify the question with an answer.
"Of course it's fake. Sora and I just made it up," Croissant said.
"But why?" Sora asked. "Texas, why are you against it? You get along with Su Yi pretty well, don't you?"
"That's a different matter," Texas replied. "As a coworker, Su Yi is beyond reproach. But as a partner, he's a ticking time bomb."
Then she explained her reasoning, slow and deliberate:
"None of us know his past. None of us know what country he belonged to, what his status was. Most importantly, we don't even know what race he is.
"No memory. No nationality. No race. If you push Exusiai toward a 'triple-nothing' like that, it's irresponsible to her.
"Who can guarantee that if Su Yi's memories return one day, he'll still be the same person he is now?
"And if they end up having a child—what then? The child would be innocent."
Croissant and Sora stared at each other.
"Didn't think Texas was the traditional type," Croissant said.
"What?" Texas replied, puzzled.
"Croissant and I are thinking something simple," Sora said. "Try dating first."
"Besides, it's not like there's even a start yet. Exusiai's still trying to '攻略' Su Yi with galgame tricks—whether they can get together at all is still an open question. Texas, you're thinking way too far ahead."
"And even if they do get together, maybe they'll break up before his memories ever come back."
They'd known each other for years, close as family. They didn't need to dance around things—if they had something to say, they said it. Nobody took offense.
If anything, hesitating and refusing to speak honestly would make the others feel like you didn't trust them as friends.
Hearing it put that way, Texas also felt she'd gone too far into the future.
Who could predict what would happen later?
Just like she'd never predicted that one day—someone from the Texas family—she could start a new life in Lungmen.
Look at it positively.
Maybe before Exusiai even "clears" Su Yi, Su Yi will already be with some other girl.
"Exusiai," Texas asked, "what do you want?"
Exusiai twisted the corner of her skirt between her fingers, her mind blank.
"I didn't think that far. I just like him… and I want to be with him."
In the living room, Su Yi saw the four of them finally come out. He smiled.
"You've been hiding in the kitchen talking for so long—don't tell me you were isolating me?"
-------
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