After deciding to give up, I became popular

"Yes, yes, it's, it's that..." Eriri's voice was weak on the other end, and her speech was fragmented.

Xia Chuanzou couldn't help but feel a little curious. When did Eriri become so socially anxious? It was just a voice chat, yet she was so embarrassed.

Uh, could it really be about that...

"Let me guess, is the deadline approaching, but you haven't finished your manuscript yet?"

"Eh? How did Zou know?" Eriri was startled.

She hadn't said anything yet, but Xia Chuanzou seemed to see through her thoughts and brought it up himself.

In her shock, she didn't even notice that she had accidentally reverted to her old way of addressing him.

"Well, you made it pretty obvious. You were hesitant and unwilling to say it directly, so it must be something embarrassing," Xia Chuanzou said casually, shrugging his shoulders.

He had seen Eriri like this before. Back then, Eriri had sought his help to finish her manuscript before the deadline.

Of course, not to help her draw, as Xia Chuanzou didn't have that ability. He just helped her color each finished draft.

The task itself wasn't difficult. The reason it was hard to ask was that Eriri was actually a terrible doujinshi artist, and she loved drawing the kind of humiliation-themed doujinshi, her taste was simply too unconventional.

Although her true identity as a doujinshi artist had long been exposed, Eriri had always been secretive about it and unwilling to mention it much to him. He didn't expect that one day she would suddenly ask him for help.

He naturally agreed.

What followed was simple: Eriri drew, and he colored. With this division of labor, they finally submitted the manuscript one hour before the deadline.

That experience was joyful because he was still pursuing Eriri at the time and longed to be close to her; but that experience was also torturous because he was, after all, a normal high school boy and couldn't suppress his instincts.

Therefore, by chance, he almost did something that would have hurt Eriri.

Thinking about it now, he was lucky that he hadn't completely lost his mind at the time, otherwise, no matter the outcome, he would have found it hard to forgive himself.

"Sorry, Eriri, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, it's just that the situation last time... you know," Xia Chuanzou shook his head, unwilling to recall too much.

Because he was simultaneously recalling their past, his tone couldn't help but become a little more intimate.

"Why don't you go find Katou? She's a very meticulous person, I think she's more competent than me," Xia Chuanzou suggested.

And the key thing is that they're both girls, so there's nothing to worry about if they're together.

"Absolutely not!" Eriri became firm this time.

How could she let Hui help her! Not to mention that she had already finished the manuscript, she couldn't let Hui see those terrible contents!

And most importantly, if it wasn't Zou helping her, wouldn't all her plans be ruined?

"Why not? I really think she's more suitable than me..."

"Because, because... That's right! If Hui helps, wouldn't she know my identity as a doujinshi artist?! That's absolutely not allowed!"

"Katou doesn't know about this identity of yours?" Xia Chuanzou was a little surprised this time.

"Sh, should?" Eriri herself wasn't too sure.

After all, Hui's observational skills were a bit too amazing. Although they had been concealing this, it was possible that she had already figured it out herself...

It's all that fat woman Kasumigaoka's fault! She always likes to mention "Kashiwagi Eri" "Teacher Kashiwagi Eri" in the club, and she never thinks about hiding my identity for me!

"In short, I can't let Hui know about this! Drag it out as long as possible."

She finally met a girl of the same age and gender who could chat about anime, and she couldn't let Hui be scared away by her identity as a doujinshi artist.

"Zou, please help me, I, I trust your character, I, I won't do that, that kind of thing..."

Although he couldn't see what kind of expression Eriri was making now, hearing her tone, which was obviously coquettish, Xia Chuanzou really felt his heartstrings being plucked hard.

Why does it feel like Eriri is so cute today?!

She doesn't have that silly, tsundere kid feeling like before, she's become more like a budding maiden.

Of course, it's not that Eriri wasn't a maiden before, but a maiden who can be coquettish is more lovable than one who is just tsundere, right?

It would be even better if the two could be combined!

"Okay, since you trust me so much," Xia Chuanzou nodded, agreeing.

It's just coloring a doujinshi, can he really become lewd because of that?

He, Xia Chuanzou, will never do anything beastly! He swears on his personality!

"That's great! Cough cough... I mean, then I'll leave it to you."

"Yeah, no problem," Xia Chuanzou nodded, then stood up.

He had been soaking long enough, it was time to end it.

"Eek!"

A strange sound came from the other side of the phone.

So Xia Chuanzou squatted down and picked up the phone.

"Did she hang up?"

The screen of the phone showed that the call had been disconnected, which made Xia Chuanzou feel puzzled. Wasn't it Eriri's call? Then where did that sound just come from...

But it wasn't important. Xia Chuanzou didn't dwell on it and chose to clean up.

On the other side, Eriri, dressed in full makeup, was covering her face with her hands, her face flushed, and she was constantly making "woo woo" cries.

"B, big snake!!!"

Just now, because Xia Chuanzou stood up, she could see his whole body at a glance, and then Eriri happened to shift her gaze down, and then she saw something strange...

Although she is a doujinshi artist, and the doujinshi she draws are all humiliation-themed, in real life, she has never actually seen a boy's body, at most she has only observed the kind of sculptures used for drawing.

But that guy's... that size is just wrong! There's no such thing! It'll break, it'll definitely break!

Completely unaware that Eriri on the other end of the phone had fallen into a strange emotional fantasy, Xia Chuanzou was still in a leisurely and carefree posture.

He dried his body, put on brand new underwear, and then drank a cup of warm milk that had been heated up long ago. As a freeballer, he didn't need to do anything extra, and the day's journey came to an end!

"Good night, me of today."

026. Can't cause a death, okay?

Getting up early the next day, Xia Chuanzou first went to a specialty store to prepare some gifts, and then set off to Eriri's house.

During this time, while using the phone to navigate, he saw a message sent by Kasumigaoka-senpai at 3 AM last night: "Is Kouhai-kun free this weekend?"

He was naturally not free. After all, he had promised Eriri to help her meet the deadline. Although he didn't know if it would last one day or two, since he wasn't sure, he simply declined. If he was lucky enough to have a day and a half free, he would use it to do what he liked.

After all, he is not a time management master. He doesn't need to sacrifice all his personal time to be with girls - at least not now.

"Senpai should pay more attention to rest. Even on weekends, don't always stay up late, it's not good for your health."

After editing this message and sending it, Xia Chuanzou then focused on choosing gifts.

Eriri likes to eat sweets, but when visiting someone's home, you can't only consider her preferences, you also have to consider what the elders like, so with a comprehensive selection...

"Sakura mochi is still the best!"

Although cherry blossoms are not the national flower of Japan, they also represent the flower of the samurai. Using sakura mochi as a visiting gift can also express his respect to a certain extent.

After choosing the gift, he can go directly to Eriri's house. It's not like it's his first time going to her house, but it's been a long time since his last visit. To avoid leaving a bad impression, he should prepare a greeting gift.

Eriri's house is very easy to find. It's located at the top of a large residential area on a high slope. This is a group of villas, each equipped with a large garden. One look and you know that the residents here are rich and powerful.

"Just turn one more corner... ah, I see it." Xia Chuanzou stopped in front of a house with a cherry tree planted in the yard.

It is now early summer, which is when the cherry blossoms are at their most lush. The one in this yard is the same, with falling petals and a riot of colors.

It's 8:50 now, 10 minutes before the agreed time, but Xia Chuanzou is used to arriving early, so as not to give the host the impression of being unpunctual because of arriving at the last second.

"I hope Auntie isn't home right now..." Xia Chuanzou muttered.

It's not that he's afraid of meeting Eriri's elders, it's just that facing that Sayuri auntie who can't wait for Eriri to marry a good man, he's really a little overwhelmed.

If it was when he was still pursuing Eriri, it would be fine, but if he was brought up by Auntie again at this time, he was afraid that he could carve a Magic Castle on the spot in embarrassment.

But I'm afraid it's useless, what should come will still come, Xia Chuanzou rang the doorbell.

"Coming~~"

A crisp female voice came from far to near, and an ominous feeling surged into Xia Chuanzou's heart.

The door was opened, and a woman with a face and figure very similar to Eriri appeared in front of the door, wearing a generous and decent kimono that did not lose its feminine charm, also tied with pigtails, but her hair color was dark brown.

Sure enough, I still can't avoid it, Xia Chuanzou thought.

However, he still showed a polite smile on the surface.

"Good morning, Sawamura-auntie."

"Oh, it's Zou-kun, long time no see, are you here to find Eriri?"

"Yes," Xia Chuanzou nodded, "This is sakura mochi, a little something, please accept it."

From the other party's words, it can be seen that Sayuri-auntie does not know that he is coming to visit today. Did Eriri not say it?

But he couldn't think too much about it, and was actively welcomed into the house by Sayuri.

"No need to be so polite, come into the living room, Zou-kun."

Sawamura Sayuri smiled and accepted the gift.

Gifts are naturally not important, the smile is because the boy Eriri has been thinking about has finally appeared at her door again.

In the past, Eriri was always crying and complaining, which made her mother feel very distressed, but she couldn't help, and could only pray silently every day. Now it's good, the boy has taken the initiative to come to the door.

Grasp the opportunity, Eriri!

"Zou-kun, please wait in the living room for a while, I'll go call Eriri."

After welcoming Xia Chuanzou to the living room and inviting him to sit down, Sawamura Sayuri went to Eriri's room.

Xia Chuanzou nodded and obediently sat in place to wait.

Soon, a slight conversation came from upstairs. Xia Chuanzou couldn't hear it very clearly, but he barely caught a few keywords such as "get up", "go out", "won't", "stupid mom" and so on.

This is... not up yet? Xia Chuanzou was a little puzzled.

Didn't they agree to meet at this time? Why hasn't she gotten up yet, could it be that she forgot to set the alarm?

But it's not a big problem, anyway, he's sitting in someone else's living room waiting, it's not like he's basking in the sun on some street station, there's no need to care too much.

Before long, Sawamura Sayuri came down, but Eriri was not following behind.

"Zou-kun, I still have something to deal with, so I won't entertain you anymore," Sawamura Sayuri held a paper fan and smiled.

"Eriri is already up, but she seems a little shy. Zou-kun doesn't need to care too much, just go up directly."

"However... please be gentle and more considerate to Eriri, that child always looks like she's saying something against her will, which makes me very worried..." Sawamura Sayuri said meaningfully.

She doesn't know exactly what happened between Xia Chuanzou and Eriri, but seeing Eriri's self-blaming appearance, she thinks that her daughter has done something stupid again, but no matter how the process is, she is relieved that the two have made up now.

It would be best if the relationship could heat up in one breath after the reunion! It's not impossible to cook rice into cooked rice, but Eriri hasn't graduated from high school yet, so it's not very good, so she left some treasures for the two, which can be regarded as solving another trace of worries.

"In short, I'll leave Eriri to you, Zou-kun," With that, Sawamura Sayuri bowed slightly to Xia Chuanzou.

Xia Chuanzou was so frightened that he stood up and bowed back.

"Auntie is serious, I will take care of Eriri..."

This appearance of entrusting her daughter's life to him really made Xia Chuanzou feel a little palpitation. To be honest, he really wanted to take the initiative to confess that "Eriri has rejected his confession", but the words came to his lips and he couldn't say it.

What if Sayuri-auntie doesn't have that intention at all? Maybe she just hopes that he can treat Eriri better, let her daughter a little more, and be good friends with her.

Then wouldn't his self-indulgent explanation be superfluous? I'm afraid he can carve Avalon on the spot in embarrassment again.

After Sawamura Sayuri left, Xia Chuanzou sat in place and waited for a while before slowly coming to the door of Eriri's room.

He is determined not to listen to what Auntie Sawamura said about "you can go up directly", after all, the other party is a fun-seeker who can't wait for Xia Chuanzou to encounter some "lucky pervert"-like event, but this would be too rude to Eriri.

Being taken advantage of by a boy you don't like, no normal girl would be happy, right?

In short, let's knock on the door and ask first.

"Eriri, are you ready yet?"