In a restaurant in Minato Ward.
Luo Shu wiped his lips, reddened by Origami Tobiichi, before turning to look at Mai Sakurajima fiddling with her phone beside him:
"Has your mother not arrived yet?"
"She should be here soon." Mai put down her phone with a sigh, then pointed at Luo Shu, who was sitting close to her: "You're too close."
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, smiling ambiguously:
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't I supposed to be playing the role of your crazy admirer?"
"No, my request was only for you to pretend to be my boyfriend."
Mai immediately denied this statement because she knew full well that if this were acknowledged, Luo Shu would likely take advantage to do something inappropriate.
Especially after she'd agreed to Luo Shu's 'additional conditions'.
With a smirk, Luo Shu leaned even closer to Mai and whispered:
"So I'm a fake boyfriend now?"
"No, you're a real boyfriend."
Mai tried to create distance, but since she was seated against the wall, she couldn't move far. She glanced sideways at Luo Shu's profile before saying helplessly:
"A fake boyfriend turned real boyfriend - satisfied now?"
Originally, Mai had only wanted Luo Shu to pretend to be a fan pursuing an idol. Behind the scenes, they would naturally maintain their Chief God and Familia relationship.
She'd thought Luo Shu would agree to this small request from his Familia, but instead, he'd demanded 'the price needs to go up', and even insisted on escalating from the forced 'obsessive fan' act.
At this point, even someone as slow as Mai could guess Luo Shu's intentions.
This man still hadn't given up on that pillow business idea.
What frustrated Mai most was that she'd begun to feel this was merely a matter of time.
'Familia serving the god and Familia coveted by the Chief God...'
Mai Sakurajima sighed, then leaned slightly towards Luo Shu, whispering in explanation:
"If we're too close, it'll seem fake. On the surface, my setting is 'forced to accept your pursuit due to your fanatical behaviour', so we can't appear too intimate, understand?"
After speaking, Mai Sakurajima glanced furtively around before raising her hand to cover her lips as she murmured into Luo Shu's ear:
"Once we've stabilised things with my mother, I'll permit you to hold my hand."
"Just holding hands?" Luo Shu turned his head, looking utterly shocked.
Mai Sakurajima's expression immediately became awkward.
Wasn't progressing to hand-holding on the first day already fast enough?
Seeing Luo Shu's dissatisfied look, she felt irritation rising, but there was no helping it—she needed to keep this guy steady for now.
With an internal sigh, Mai Sakurajima lightly punched Luo Shu's arm and whispered:
"Fine, hugging is allowed too. Satisfied now?"
Luo Shu immediately opened his mouth to respond, but then caught sight of a mature woman who had just entered and promptly closed it again.
Receiving no reply, Mai Sakurajima blinked in confusion before leaning closer in frustration, murmuring:
"How about... a peck on the cheek? Will that do?"
Luo Shu didn't answer, merely clearing his throat.
At this sound, Mai Sakurajima's face flushed. After a moment's hesitation, she gave his cheek a quick, bird-like peck, then instinctively pinched his waist as she complained:
"There. Surely you're satisfied now?"
"Mai?"
The sudden, surprised female voice froze Mai Sakurajima's expression.
She turned her head to see a woman standing behind the lattice partition—carrying a coffee-coloured handbag, with facial features 70% similar to her own but more mature and sensual.
Instantly, Luo Shu felt like he'd heard either an 18th-century train whistle or a screaming kettle.
Meanwhile, Ms Sakurajima, having witnessed her daughter's bold behaviour, wore an astonished expression:
"What exactly were you just—"
"You must be Ms Airi Sakurajima?" Luo Shu quickly interjected during Mai's moment of panic, diverting the mother's attention.
"And you are?" Airi Sakurajima examined the boy sitting beside her daughter with instinctively scrutinising eyes.
Luo Shu smiled politely as he said:
"I'm Mai's friend."
Mai Sakurajima nudged him lightly with her elbow.
Luo Shu glanced at her before amending:
"Well... actually her boyfriend."
Frowning slightly, Airi Sakurajima nevertheless said courteously:
"May I sit here?"
"Please do." Luo Shu gestured to the opposite seat.
Airi Sakurajima walked around the partition and took the seat facing Luo Shu and Mai.
Once seated, Luo Shu signalled the waiter to begin serving before turning to address Ms Sakurajima:
"Forgive my bluntness, but I'd prefer it if you didn't interfere with Mai's and my relationship."
"What?" Airi Sakurajima, having just sat down, was utterly dumbfounded by this statement.
Luo Shu tilted his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips:
"Is it really so hard to understand?"
He looked at Airi Sakurajima with the gaze of a teacher observing an unruly student, his face wearing a seemingly gentle yet undeniably oppressive smile:
"Then let me rephrase it in simpler terms."
"Oko Shinomiya is currently working for me."
Mai Sakurajima froze upon hearing this, then gradually everything became clear to her, her mouth slightly agape.
Mai Sakurajima wore the exact same expression.
The mother and daughter pair now mirrored each other perfectly, like reflections in a looking glass.
Only, Airi Sakurajima was shocked to realise that all her recent humiliations had originated from this young man standing before her.
While Mai Sakurajima was astonished that Luo Shu wasn't following conventional tactics at all.
No, it wasn't that he wasn't playing by conventional rules—rather, Luo Shu was completely adhering to the character she had given him.
After all, behind the persona of 'obsessive fan' she had assigned him lay the hidden setting of 'someone who could command the Shiomiya family's influence, wielding immense power'!
At this moment, Luo Shu watched as Airi Sakurajima gradually shifted from comprehension to fearful eyes, and couldn't help but smile:
"Yesterday, Mai proposed a game to me."
"She volunteered to act as my girlfriend, and in exchange, I wouldn't force her into anything without her consent."
"I thought it was quite an interesting game. What do you think, Ms Sakurajima?"
"...That is... indeed... very interesting." Airi Sakurajima could only force an awkward smile as she repeatedly cast questioning glances at her daughter.
After receiving a blushing nod from Mai Sakurajima, her mother's expression turned incredibly nuanced.
Could this actually be true?
Luo Shu had hinted that his subordinates had gone to great lengths to obtain her daughter, only to give up so easily?
Come to think of it, how had her daughter managed to propose such an outrageous demand in that situation?
And the key point—she had actually succeeded?
In that instant, Airi Sakurajima suddenly wondered if she was getting old, unable to keep up with the younger generation's thought processes.
Had she... fallen behind the times?
Was she living in some kind of idol drama world?