After deciding to give up, he started to gain popularity

"Yes, yes, just, that..." Eriri on the other end spoke weakly and intermittently.

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

Uh, don’t tell me you really want that…

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

"Huh? How did Zou know that?" Eriri was startled.

Even though she hadn't said anything yet, Natsukawa Zou took the initiative to bring it up as if he had seen through what she was thinking.

I was so shocked that I didn't even notice that I accidentally used my old name.

"After all, you've made it very obvious. You're hesitating and unwilling to say it clearly. It must be something difficult to talk about." Xia Chuanzou spread his hands and said casually.

He had seen Eriri like this before. At that time, Eriri came to him for help in order to finish the draft before the deadline.

Of course, he was not helping her draw, after all, Natsukawa Kanade didn't have that ability. He was just helping her color each draft.

This matter itself is not difficult, the reason why it is difficult to talk about it is that Eriri is actually a terrible comic book artist, and she loves to draw comic books that are about humiliation. Her taste is simply too bad.

Although the true identity of the artist of the book had been exposed long ago, Eriri had always kept it secret from him and was unwilling to talk about it. Unexpectedly, one day she suddenly came to him for help.

Of course he agreed.

Things were very simple after that. Eriri drew the picture and he colored it, and with such a division of labor, they finally submitted the manuscript an hour before the deadline.

That experience was a happy one, because he was still pursuing Eriri at the time and was eager to be close to her; but that experience was also torturous, because after all, he was just a normal high school boy and could not suppress his instincts at all.

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

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

"I'm sorry, Eriri, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that the situation last time... you know about it." Natsukawa Kanade shook his head, not wanting to think about it too much.

Because they were recalling their past at the same time, their tone couldn't help but become closer.

"Why don't we go find Kato? She is a very careful person, and I think she should be more capable than me." Natsukawa Kanade suggested.

And the key thing is that we are all girls, so there is nothing to worry about when we get together.

"Of course not!" Ying Lili now became firm.

How could she possibly ask Hui to help? Not to mention that she had already finished the draft, the terrible content alone could not be allowed to be seen by Hui!

And the most important thing is, if she didn’t let Zou come, wouldn’t all her plans be ruined?

"Why is that? I really think she is more suitable than me..."

"Because, because... That's right! If Hui comes, won't she know who I am as a manga artist?! That's absolutely not okay!"

"Kato, doesn't she know your identity?" Natsukawa Kanade was really surprised this time.

"Should, should?" Ying Lili herself was a little unsure.

After all, Hui's observation ability is really amazing. Although they have been hiding this fact, it is possible that she has already figured it out herself...

It's all the fault of that fat woman in Kasumigaoka! She always likes to mention "Kashiwagi Eri" and "Kashiwagi Eri teacher" in the club, and she never thought about hiding her identity!

"We can't let Hui know about this! We have to delay it as long as possible."

I finally met a girl of the same sex and age with whom I can chat about the second dimension, but I can't let Hui be scared away by her identity as a book artist.

"Please help me. I, I believe in you. No, you won't do that kind of thing..."

Although he couldn't see what kind of expression Eriri had at the moment, but hearing her tone that was obviously a coquettish one, Natsukawa Kanade felt as if his heartstrings were being plucked.

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

He no longer has the feeling of a silly and tsundere boy, and has become more like a budding young girl.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Eriri wasn't a girl before, but if she knows how to act coquettishly, she will be more lovable than a girl who is just tsundere, right?

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

"Okay, since you trust me so much." Xia Chuan Zou nodded and agreed.

It's just coloring a book, can he really become indecent because of it?

He, Xia Chuan Zou, would never do anything worse than an animal! He swears on his character!

"Great! Ahem... I mean, I'll leave it to you then."

"Well, no problem." Xia Chuan Zou nodded and then stood up.

It's been soaking long enough, it's time to end it.

"babble!"

A strange sound came from the phone.

So Natsukawa Zou squatted down and picked up his cell phone.

"Bye?"

The phone screen showed that the call was disconnected, which puzzled Natsukawa Kanade. Wasn't it Eriri's voice? Then where did the voice just now come from...

But it doesn’t matter. Xiachuan Zou didn’t worry about it anymore and chose to pack up.

On the other side, Eriri, who was dressed in a gorgeous dress, was covering her face with her hands, her face was flushed and hot, and she kept making a "woohoo" sound from her mouth.

"Big, big python!!!"

Just now, because Natsukawa Kanade stood up, her entire body was visible, and Eriri happened to look down, so she saw something strange...

Although she is a book artist, and all the books she draws are about humiliation, in real life, she has never seen a boy's body. At most, she has observed the sculpture models used for painting.

But that guy's... that size is totally wrong! How can it be like that! It will break, it will definitely break!

Completely unaware that Eriri on the other end of the phone had fallen into a strange emotional fantasy, at this moment Natsukawa Kanade still looked comfortable and relaxed.

Dry your body, put on new underwear, and drink a cup of warm milk that has been heated up. As a sleepy person, you don’t need to do anything extra, and the day ends here!

"Good night, today."

026. Don’t let anyone get killed

The next day, Kanade Natsukawa got up early and went to the specialty store to prepare some gifts before setting off for Eriri's house.

While using my phone for navigation, I saw a message from senior Kasumigaoka at around 3 o'clock last night, "Junior, are you free this weekend?"

Of course he was busy. After all, he had promised Eriri to help her finish her manuscript. Although he didn't know whether it would take one or two days, he might as well just refuse since he didn't know. If he was lucky and had a day or half a day free, he would use it to do what he liked.

After all, he is not a master of time management and does not need to sacrifice all his personal time to accompany girls - at least for now.

"Senior sister, you should pay more attention to rest. Don't always stay up late even on weekends. It's not good for your health."

After editing this message and sending it, Natsukawa Kanade then focused on choosing a gift.

Ying Lili likes sweets, but when visiting someone, we can't just consider her preferences, we also have to consider the elders, so if we make a comprehensive choice...

"Sakura cake is better!"

Although cherry blossom is not the national flower of Japan, it also represents the flower of samurai. Using sakura cake as a visiting gift can express his respect to a certain extent.

After choosing the gift, he could go directly to Eriri's house. It wasn't the first time he went to her house, but it had been a long time since his last visit. In order to avoid leaving a bad impression, he decided to prepare a gift.

Ying Lili's home is very easy to find. It is at the top of a high slope in a large residential area. There are a number of villas here, each with a large garden. It is obvious at a glance that the residents here are either rich or noble.

"Turn another corner...ah, I see it." Natsukawa Kanade stopped in front of a door with cherry trees planted in the yard.

It is now the beginning of summer, when cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The one in this yard is one of them, with fallen petals all over the place and flowers blooming in profusion.

It is now 8:50, and there are still 10 minutes until the agreed time, but Natsukawa Kanade is used to arriving early so as not to give the host the impression that he is not punctual by entering at the last minute.

"I hope my aunt is not at home right now..." Xiachuan Zou murmured.

It's not that I'm afraid of meeting Eriri's elders, but I'm really overwhelmed by Aunt Sayuri who wishes Eriri could marry a good man as soon as possible.

It would have been fine if it was when he was pursuing Eriri, but if his aunt brought up something again now, he would probably be so embarrassed that he would dig out a magic fairy castle on the spot.

But it's useless to be afraid. What is coming must come. Xiachuan Zou rang the doorbell.

"Here I come~~"

A clear female voice came from far away, and a bad feeling came over Xiachuan Zou's heart.

The door was opened, and a woman who looked and had a figure very similar to Eriri appeared in front of the door. She was wearing a kimono that was elegant and decent yet feminine. She also had twin ponytails, but her hair was brown-black.

As expected, there is no way to avoid it, Xiachuan Zou thought.

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

"Good morning, Aunt Sawamura."

"Ah, it's you, Sou-kun. Long time no see. Are you here to see Eriri?"

"Yes." Natsukawa Kanade nodded, "This is Sakura Mochi. Please accept it as a token of my appreciation."

From the other party's words, it can be seen that Aunt Sayuri didn't know that he was coming to visit today. Didn't Eriri tell her?

But he didn't have time to think about it, as Sayuri took the initiative to welcome him into the house.

"Don't be so polite, come into the living room, Zou-kun."

Sayuri Sawamura accepted the gift with a smile.

Of course, the gifts are not important. She was smiling because the boy that Eriri had been thinking about finally showed up at her doorstep again.

In the past few days, Ying Lili always cried and complained about herself, which made her mother very distressed. However, she could not help her and could only pray silently every day. Now, the boy came to her door on his own initiative.

Seize the opportunity, Eriri!

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

After welcoming Natsukawa Kanade to the living room and asking him to sit down, Sayuri Sawamura went to Eriri's room.

Xiachuan Zou nodded and sat there obediently waiting.

Soon, a faint conversation sounded from upstairs. Xiachuan Kanade couldn't hear it clearly, but he managed to catch a few key words such as "get up", "go out", "no way", "stupid mom", etc.

This is... not getting up yet? Xia Chuan Kanade was a little confused.

Didn't we agree to meet at this time? Why haven't you gotten up yet? Did you forget to set the alarm?

But it wasn't a big problem. After all, he was sitting in someone's living room waiting, not basking in the sun at some street station. There was no need to worry too much.

Not long after, Sayuri Sawamura came down, but Eriri was not following behind her.

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

"Eri is already up, but she seems a little shy. Don't worry about it, Zou-kun. Just go up to her."

"But... please be gentle and more tolerant to Eriri. That child always seems to be insincere and it makes me worried..." Sayuri Sawamura said meaningfully.

She didn't know what had happened between Natsukawa Kanade and Eriri, but seeing Eriri looking remorseful, she thought her daughter had done something stupid again. However, no matter what the process was, she was relieved now that the two had reconciled.

It would be best if they could reconcile and warm up to each other! It's not impossible to make it a done deal, but it's not good for Eriri to not graduate from high school yet, so she left some treasures for the two of them, which solved another worry.

"Anyway, I'll leave Eriri to you, Kanade-kun." After saying that, Sayuri Sawamura bowed slightly to Kanade Natsukawa.

Xiachuan Zou was so scared that he stood up quickly and bowed back.

"Auntie, you're too kind. I will take good care of Eriri..."

This look as if he was entrusting his daughter's life to her really made Natsukawa Kanade feel a little uneasy. To be honest, he really wanted to confess that "Erriri has rejected his confession", but he couldn't say the words when they came to his lips.

What if Aunt Sayuri didn't mean that at all? Maybe she just wanted him to treat Eriri better, be more considerate of her daughter, and be a good friend to her.

Then wouldn't his self-conceited explanation be unnecessary? I'm afraid it would be so embarrassing that he would have to dig out Avalon again.

After Sayuri Sawamura left, Natsukawa Kanade sat there and waited for a while before slowly coming to Eriri's door.

He would definitely not listen to what Aunt Sawamura said about "you can just go up directly". After all, the other party was a fun-loving person and hoped that Natsukawa Kanade would encounter some "lucky pervert"-like incident. However, this would be too rude to Eriri.

No normal girl would be happy if a boy she doesn't like took advantage of her, right?

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

"Eri, are you okay?"