"Sorry, I got a bit too excited just now."
Yui pulled away from Mio slightly, looking a bit embarrassed. When she'd heard Mio agree to teach her how to make cookies, she'd gotten so excited that she'd just thrown her arms around her.
This was the kind of thing she did all the time when messing around with other girls, but for some reason, whenever she hugged Mio specifically, her heartbeat would suddenly speed up.
Maybe it was a side effect from that accidental kiss last time.
Then again... Mio was so soft and smelled so nice. Hugging her felt really good—so good that it made Yui want to fall asleep in her arms.
"I don't mind at all. If you want to hold me while you sleep, I'm totally down for that~"
Hearing Mio say this, Yui's expression froze imperceptibly for a moment before she quickly waved her hands. "S-sleep together and all that—I wasn't thinking about it!"
"I'm just teasing. Why are you so nervous, Yui? Don't tell me you were actually thinking about it?" Mio narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to Yui. Right now, she looked like a mischievous little fox.
"N-no, I wasn't." Yui avoided Mio's gaze. She was starting to suspect Mio had some kind of mind-reading superpower—how else would she know what Yui was thinking?
Of course, it was just a passing thought. She wasn't actually going to do it.
Yeah. That's all it was.
"Alright, alright, enough teasing. I'm gonna go change. Just wait here for a bit."
For Mio, being hugged by a beautiful girl like Yui was something she didn't mind at all—in fact, she wouldn't mind more of it.
After changing clothes in her room, Mio pulled Yui along to a nearby supermarket.
Having read the original story, she knew Yui had zero talent when it came to cooking. To make sure she could actually teach her properly, Mio was preparing plenty of materials.
Besides ingredients for making cookies, she also grabbed various other groceries.
Just as Mio was thinking about what else to buy, the System's voice suddenly echoed in her ear like a devil's whisper.
"Host, you must've thought about what it'd be like to go grocery shopping with a girlfriend before transmigrating, right?"
"Before you leave the supermarket, find a way to make others perceive you and Yuigahama Yui as a couple. Success may reward you with a Yuigahama Yui series card or item. Failure will result in drawing a penalty card."
"What kind of task is this? How exactly do you determine success?"
"I'll be the one judging, of course! Don't worry, Host, just leave the task details to me~"
"That's exactly why I'm worried."
After letting out a small sigh, Mio started thinking about how to make the people around them perceive her and Yui as a couple.
The task itself shouldn't be too difficult—she just needed to act more intimate with Yui.
The hard part would be Yui's reaction. If Yui showed any resistance, it'd be really difficult to create that couple vibe.
So she needed to be close with Yui, but not too close.
Seeing Mio suddenly stop walking with a somewhat complicated expression on her face, Yui asked in confusion, "Mio, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing. Just wondering if there's anything else we should buy. Want to browse around a bit more?"
"Sure!" Yui agreed without thinking twice.
Mio pulled out her phone to check the time. It was exactly 10 AM. Even if she dragged things out, she figured she could last maybe another hour at most. She needed to hurry.
The System hadn't specified who needed to perceive them as a couple—meaning the task would be easier in a more crowded area.
Luckily it was the weekend, so the supermarket was pretty packed. She remembered passing by the household goods section earlier where they seemed to be having a sale—that area was crowded too. Might as well try her luck there first.
With that thought, Mio led Yui, pushing their shopping cart toward the household goods section.
There were indeed quite a few people here. Mio naturally moved closer to Yui's side, pressing right up against her before finally stopping.
Now came the question—how to create that intimate feeling?
Just then, a couple walked past them pushing their own cart, chatting and laughing. Mio glanced at them, then asked casually, "Yui, do you think anyone might mistake us for a couple?"
"Huh!?"
Yui stared at Mio in shock, completely blindsided by the question. After a long moment, she finally said quietly, "Probably not? I mean, we're both girls. Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Just curious what it'd be like to be someone's girlfriend." As she said this, Mio seemed to think of something. She turned to look at Yui with an expectant expression, even using a slightly coquettish tone: "Yui, can I hold your arm? You know, like that couple just now?"
Yui's instinct was to refuse, but hearing Mio's expectant tone and seeing that hopeful expression, the words of refusal suddenly caught in her throat.
That's not fair! Even as a girl herself, how was she supposed to refuse Mio when she acted like this?
After an internal struggle, Yui finally said helplessly, "Just... just for one minute."
"Yay! I knew Yui was the best to me~" Mio didn't control the volume of her voice—in fact, she deliberately raised it a bit so people around them could hear.
As she spoke, Mio was already putting on a performance. A sweet smile bloomed on her face as she tightly hugged Yui's arm, looking every bit like a girl in love.
As a perpetually single dog in her past life, Mio had imagined countless times what it'd be like to have a girlfriend act cute with her like this. What she never imagined was that one day, she'd be the one acting cute with someone else.
What a turn of events...
With her mind entirely focused on the task, Mio didn't notice that after she'd wrapped herself around Yui's arm, Yui's body had gone slightly stiff. Even a faint blush had appeared on her pale cheeks.
Though Yui kept silently reminding herself that Mio was a girl and she was a girl, so there was no need to be nervous...
But feeling the faint fragrance emanating from Mio's body, and the soft sensation of Mio's arm pressed against her chest, her heartbeat couldn't help but accelerate out of control.
Even her thoughts started drifting toward strange ideas—like, if Mio were my girlfriend, that wouldn't be so bad...