"It's not bad," Hiko said, giving the answer he had prepared earlier.
Ai frowned. "Just not bad?"
This was not what she had expected; if it was only to this extent, there was no need to buy it.
"At least it looks better than what you chose just now," Hiko replied calmly.
Ai spun in place, letting the skirt hem flare out a bit, then stopped and asked again, "What do you think now?"
"You look very… good… now…" The sight of Ai spinning in that dress made Hiko feel she was particularly beautiful, and he couldn't help but blurt out a compliment.
But he still tried to suppress his excited feelings and said calmly, "Very… good… not bad."
"If it's just 'not bad,' then forget it." Not hearing the praise she wanted, Ai gave up her original intention of enduring it and buying the dress.
She pulled the curtain back to cover herself, began changing her clothes, and prepared to end this shopping trip.
"Phew…"
Hiko, whose view was blocked, let out a long breath.
If she had stayed a little longer, spun one more time, it would have been very difficult for him to keep saying something ordinary against his true feelings.
Although he hadn't maintained much rationality just now, he had almost blurted it out.
Ai quickly changed back into the clothes she had been wearing when they met. She held the black T-shirt and black trousers in her hands and took them to the checkout.
At this point, she was angry that Hiko had made her try on the dress but then didn't praise it. As she walked out alone, passing by Hiko, she muttered, "Baka."
After that, she paid no attention to Hiko.
Hiko didn't mind Ai's quiet curse. He quickly walked into the fitting room, folded the dress, placed it behind him, and took it to the checkout.
"That will be three thousand yen," the shop assistant said with a smile after calculating the price of the clothes.
Ai took out a 10,000 yen bill from her wallet and handed it over.
"Receiving 10,000 yen, here is 7,000 yen in change," the shop assistant said politely, handing the money to Ai with both hands.
Hiko only walked over after Ai had finished paying.
Ai, still sulking, walked to the door, making it look as though she was leaving in a fit of pique.
But in reality, she hadn't left the vicinity of the store at all. In fact, she was just thinking, 'If Hiko-kun…'
…
Hiko saw Ai leave in a hurry.
He quickly ran to the counter, put down the clothes he had hidden behind him, and asked the shop assistant to start the checkout.
He took out a 10,000 yen bill and placed it down. "Hurry up. After it's settled, send the clothes to this address."
Hiko pulled out a few slips of paper from his pocket, found the location he needed to go to today, placed the 10,000 yen and the slip of paper together, and then added a time with a pen.
Then he immediately chased after her. He was worried that Ai, being in a bad mood, would go straight home. However, as soon as he reached the door, he saw Ai waiting just outside.
"I thought you would have gone back already," Hiko sighed with relief internally.
If preparing a gift caused Ai to feel unhappy and leave directly, it would be a case of penny wise and pound foolish.
"No way~ I said I wouldn't leave you alone and go first," Ai said, leaning against the wall and looking at Hiko.
"You're talking like you're confessing," Hiko teased casually.
"Confessing? That's just your imagination." Ai quickly denied it, already thinking of heading to the train station. "Let's go. We've finished buying things, let's hurry back."
"We rarely get out. Why are you in such a rush to finish and go home?" Hiko tried to dissuade her, urging her not to go back so soon.
Hiko still wanted to wait for the clothes to be packaged, then take Ai to pick them up together. He imagined her surprised and delighted expression when she saw them.
Unfortunately, this surprise had to wait until a specific time to be revealed.
"Even if we're not shopping, it's a rare day off. Let's go buy some delicious food," Hiko urged again.
"Where to? Are you treating?" Ai asked, still a bit sulky.
"Yes, I'm treating. How about we rest for a while at that Starbucks we passed earlier?" Hiko remembered there was a Starbucks on the way.
"Starbucks? Alright then, I'll check it out," Ai nodded in agreement.
Delayed successfully.
Hiko estimated the time; the note he gave earlier would instruct the shop assistant to deliver the clothes to the specified location at the designated time.
To stall for time and make Ai happy, to improve her mood.
Hiko felt that Ai would probably only feel happy when eating delicious food right now.
He recalled the location of the Starbucks, holding Ai's small hand and walking slowly, hoping time would pass a little slower.
Ai, considering that Hiko was the one treating, didn't resist. She just stared at him, trying to find the reason for his eagerness.
Unfortunately, Hiko was focused on leading the way and didn't notice the subtle expressions on Ai's face.
After the two entered Starbucks, Hiko handed the menu to Ai.
Ai quickly decided what she wanted to eat.
However, she didn't order immediately. Instead, she asked Hiko, "I feel like you're hiding something. Even if you said we're coming here, your steps are way too slow."
"Are you unwilling to treat?" Ai stared at Hiko's face, carefully watching his reaction.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to treat; it's just that I realized I haven't done today's homework yet, so I'm a bit upset and feel some self-reproach and guilt, that's all." Hiko casually told a lie to brush off Ai's question.
"My intuition tells me you're lying. That statement is a lie." Ai had been observing him and immediately noticed the unnaturalness in his expression.
"Alright, I actually finished my homework…" After several attempts, Hiko still honestly gave the answer.
"I don't think what you're hiding is that," Ai said, finding Hiko far too transparent. "Tell me quickly, or I'll really go back."
Ai was just bluffing by saying that.
Hiko didn't dare to gamble on that possibility, so he could only honestly admit that he had secretly bought the dress earlier and asked the store to send it over later.
Everything he said was true, but Hiko still concealed one thing: when he was choosing the dress, he had already calculated that this price was just right for Ai, it would feel expensive, but she would be willing to buy it if she gritted her teeth.
He only needed to disparage it a little, and Ai would no longer want to buy it, and might even get angry because of it.
He had originally planned to give it to her as a surprise, as her first gift.
But Ai still sensed something was off, and it all came to nothing.
---
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Hiko x Ai - 68: So Big
Hiko x Ai - 69: Sleep
Hiko x Ai - 70: Accident
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