Want to be human, but cube-like

If she starts blushing even when drinking water because she remembers Alex's kiss, how is she going to explain that?

"Does Aine not like this?"

Alex, who was rejected by Aine, looked somewhat disappointed and asked a question softly.

"Hmm! No, not really..."

Upon hearing this question, Ai Yin was momentarily at a loss for words. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she stammered a reply in a low voice.

"Yes... I like it quite a bit, but... but..."

But Aine herself couldn't say what it was.

After all, it was only the girl's reserve and shyness that made her verbally reject the suggestion; who knows, deep down, Aine was also very tempted.

"Oh! Let's not talk about this anymore!"

Unable to explain herself, Ai Yin shook her head vigorously, forcefully ending the topic.

The two had already left the movie theater and were standing at an intersection in the shopping street. Ai looked around casually, trying to find a new topic to stop Alex from thinking about those things.

"Ellie, look! There's a jewelry store over there, let's go in and have a look!"

Then, Aine saw a jewelry store located not far from the movie theater.

She has always been excellent at regulating her emotions, and in just a few words, she was no longer the shy and timid person she had been just moments before.

Before Alex could say anything more, knowing that the other party would not refuse his love, he immediately grabbed Alex and excitedly went inside.

It's not too late yet, and there are still quite a few customers in the store. Unlike the movie theater where there were so many girls because of the movie schedule, there are both men and women here.

"accessories……?"

It wasn't the first time Alex had accompanied Aine shopping, but this was indeed her first time entering a jewelry store. Looking at the dazzling array of exquisite trinkets in the window, Alex felt a sense of bewilderment, unsure of which to look at.

"Does it do anything?"

She had no choice but to ask Ai-yin a question.

"effect?"

She blinked and Ai Yin returned the same bewildered look.

"Hmm... decorations? Just for looks?"

Then, after thinking for a moment, he answered.

"Oh, I see... That's certainly quite important."

Alex nodded her head in sudden realization and understood.

Her mother would often spend a long time at home figuring out how to match the pretty accessories she collected during her adventures, and would even give up some useful functional accessories in the process.

Although Alex herself doesn't have that kind of aesthetic sense, so she doesn't usually care about whether something looks good or not, she can understand that others spend a lot of time and money on a beautiful decoration.

"Should we buy them all?"

Looking around at the dazzling array of accessories, Alex naturally asked this question.

Once you buy them all, you can slowly put together outfits at home.

"Are you a domineering CEO from somewhere?"

Ai Yin muttered a helpless complaint.

She wasn't surprised that Alex would say such a thing; in fact, it was quite in line with what Aine thought Alex, as a noble lady, might say.

"Two items are enough, one for each of us."

Leading Alex to the cabinet displaying various bracelets, Aine said with a light smile.

These bracelets are not very expensive, generally ranging from two hundred to five hundred yen.

Even though Ai Yin's allowance has been a bit tight lately, she can still afford to spend.

Anyway, it's definitely much cheaper than the two matcha parfaits I treated Lena to.

"This is quite nice, and it's a couple's set!"

She immediately fell in love with a pair of couple bracelets featuring overlapping stars and flowers, with subtle differences in details.

"Here, Ellie, let me help you try it on~"

As she spoke, she took Alex's left hand, put the bracelet on her wrist, and then put the bracelet on herself, before putting both hands together.

"How about it?"

Looking at the two bracelet pendants hanging on her wrists, lightly touching each other, Aine opened her beautiful eyes and asked Alex with shining eyes.

Like a puppy eager for praise.

Meeting Aine's light gray eyes, Alex couldn't resist raising her hand and gently rubbing her little head.

"Well, it's beautiful."

I don't know if she was talking about the bracelet or something else.

"But this feels like being entangled."

The jewelry she wore in the past didn't feel very noticeable to her, so this was the first time Alex had worn a bracelet that made her feel restricted, and she wasn't quite used to it.

"Hmph~ I'm going to stick with Ellie for the rest of my life~!"

Aine didn't seem to care much, just hummed softly and chuckled.

"it is good!"

Alex looked at Aine, nodded, and responded softly.

Her serious expression, however, caused Aine's face to flush slightly.

"Ugh... Ellie's expression is so sly..."

She muttered to herself, but a smile, as if she had secretly tasted honey, appeared on Ai Yin's lips.

…………

P.S. I was woken up early this morning by the sound of a power drill, I barely slept a few hours, so I might as well just update one chapter.

I can't take it anymore! I want to yell at the people downstairs!

To be honest, I'm not sure if these chapters about Alex and Ai Yin's romance will be boring for everyone. After all, I'm a fan of Alex, but I've never been in a relationship myself; I wrote this entirely from my imagination.

Or will you find yourself laughing out loud after watching it?

Volume 1: Chapter 168 The Unfamiliar Sound of Water Stains

Before we knew it, another half month had passed.

It's already early March, which is graduation season for most schools.

It was still a little while before noon, and at this time of day, there were hardly any customers. With nothing to do, Xiangzi sat alone in the hamburger shop, behind the counter, and gracefully yawned, covering her lips with her hand.

Looking at the street

There were fewer students in school uniforms and more young girls in casual clothes, walking in groups, most of them carrying instrument bags.

They truly lived up to their reputation as the era of big girl bands.

Speaking of which, the livehouse across the street that was under renovation for a while, supposedly a branch of [CIRCLE], seems to have finally finished construction a couple of days ago and officially opened.

Its name is [Ring], and as [CIRCLE]'s second branch, its order system is interconnected with [CIRCLE].

As a result, the number of visitors increased rapidly after the store opened.

Thanks to this, the burger joint 【あのね】, located at the opposite corner and directly opposite the high-end and stylish entrance of Ring, has also gained many more customers.

After all, the outdoor tables and chairs in front of the burger shop are often where Lena pulls Alex and Aine up for a few short performances.

This will naturally attract some passersby coming out of the ring.

However, could this be considered as stealing customers from this livehouse?

Even recently, some student bands came to ask if they could hold a live performance here, leaving Xiangzi somewhat at a loss for words.

This isn't a professional livehouse; their performance venue is just an open-air street with sunshades.

There is no ticket revenue, and of course, the band does not need to pay a performance fee.

Aside from the fact that the land belongs to Alex, it's not much different from a roadshow.

Compared to the free performances, most customers come here for the food. As for the music, they mostly just listen out of a "why not?" mentality.

Of course, after learning that Ring had opened, those bands naturally switched to the other side of the street.

So, does that mean Ring also stole customers from their burger shop?

Moreover, at some point, Alex and her nameless trio were also recognized as the resident band at the hamburger joint.

Because it's inconvenient to call them "unnamed band," and Aine and her friends have never officially announced the band's name, or rather, in Aine and Alex's eyes, they probably don't even consider them a band yet. So some customers simply used the name of the burger shop to refer to them.

That is the band [あのね].

A name that made Xiangzi frown.

Aiyin was quite happy, and exclaimed that the person who named her had excellent taste, which suited her perfectly.

If you ask Xiangzi, she's probably only so happy because the name sounds similar to Aiyin.

"what……"

There were no customers in the shop yet, so Xiangzi didn't have to maintain his posture all the time. He relaxed a little, rested one hand on the counter, propped his chin up, and looked through the glass door at Ring directly opposite.

Compared to the bizarre design of the burger joint, the decor of the Ring across the street is undeniably luxurious.

They not only booked an entire building, but also opened restaurants and shopping services inside, turning it into a small shopping mall.

Not long ago, she even considered whether she should apply for a part-time job across the street after the renovation of Ring was completed.

It's the graduation season for junior high students now. In another month, she'll be entering high school. After the start of the new semester, once she receives her student certificate from Yuqiu, she'll naturally be qualified to work part-time legally.

With their musical talent and experience in forming a band, they might be a plus in the job application process.

That was the idea at the time.

However, Xiangzi never expected that not long after, she and Alex would develop a relationship that was both cohabiting and subordinate, which was somewhat difficult for her to understand.

Furthermore, there is a complex relationship that also safeguards the secrets of another world and magical girls.

Accomplice? Kinsman? Or... a keeper of secrets?

All sorts of nonsensical, cringeworthy idioms popped into Xiangzi's mind, making her increasingly engrossed in her thoughts.

A blush of excitement spread across her face, but she didn't even realize it.

However, Xiangzi then let out a soft sigh, dismissing those strange thoughts from his mind.

Speaking of secrets, I always feel that Alex and Aine have been hiding something from her lately.

About two weeks ago, Xiangzi noticed something was slightly off, but she didn't take it seriously. Recently, however, the two have been behaving more and more obviously.

Especially after Ai Yin graduated from junior high school and went on vacation.

With much more free time now, she comes to play with Alex almost every morning.

She rushed over early in the morning, and while there weren't many customers in the store and Alex wasn't too busy, she dragged her upstairs, saying she wanted to practice her guitar skills and English conversation.

"That's weird..."

Xiangzi muttered to himself that he didn't really believe Ai Yin would be that diligent.

I have no idea what they're doing.

Although she was somewhat concerned, Xiangzi was not the kind of girl who was very curious, so she didn't delve into it. She just assumed that Aine was cramming for the upcoming trip to England.

Generally, they would come out from the second floor before the midday rush. After the three of them had their lunch, Alex and Shoko would get back to work, while Aine would mostly sit on the side scrolling through her phone to kill time. Sometimes, when there were too many customers, she would come over to help Shoko.

Until Lena arrives in the afternoon, depending on Lena's mood that day, they might play a song or two at the door, or perhaps go upstairs for a nap, or play a piece of music together for a while.

With a slight smile and a pursed lip, Xiangzi had grown somewhat accustomed to the pleasant days spent living together with the three noisy people at the hamburger shop.

Looking at the time, the two of them should be coming down soon.

Snapping out of his reverie, Xiangzi glanced at the wall clock, then frowned in confusion.

Why are we so late today? It'll be lunchtime soon, and they haven't had lunch yet. We don't have time to waste.