Chapter 132. Sirin's Thoughts
"Eh, eh?!
Why did my peas get eaten!!"
Stage 1.
Watching the two Peashooters she'd planted in the very front get completely eaten by the zombies entering from the right, Sirin—recalling some "dating guide" she'd seen who-knows-where—pretended to panic and asked Xander.
In her heart, she began to look forward to it.
Would Xander gently explain things to her, or just take her hand and help her operate?
Either way, she was going to profit big time!
Seeing her raise her brows, Xander instantly understood.
Was she deliberately playing dumb for stream content?
Giving Sirin a look that said he got it, Xander folded his arms and replied with a hint of sarcasm: "Relax. To prevent dummies doing exactly this, Stage 1 is set so that zombies only appear after you plant two Peashooters. And even if zombies eat your plants, before they reach the end, the Final Wave still triggers. Look."
As he spoke, he pointed at the screen.
With the appearance of the big red words "Final Wave," the lead zombie soon reached the leftmost Lawn Mower.
Shoo—
A whole lane of zombies was wiped out by the moving mower.
Stage 1 cleared.
The glowing Sunflower seed packet rose into the center of the screen.
Sirin: "..."
Looking at the smile on Xander's face, Sirin fell silent.
Was this what she'd wanted to see?!
Huh??!!
She let out a tiny breath and reminded herself there would be many more chances.
Don't rush.
Don't rush.
She began to play seriously.
But whether it was because Xander was sitting right beside her, or because the warmth from his arm kept pressing into hers while his voice filled her ears, Sirin's operations from then on became… a bit abstract.
Xander showed no mercy and started roasting her.
"Why did you use four Wall-nuts to surround a Potato Mine?
Ultimate four-protect-one, huh?
You really are the eternal god, aren't you?"
"I've seen people plant Wall-nuts, but I've never seen anyone plant three full rows.
Are you trying to feed the zombies first so they're too full to eat your brain?
As expected of you.
So smart!"
"No, the game has no bug.
The zombies are in the first column.
How could a Kernel-pult you planted in the second column possibly hit them?
You're the one who's dumb—don't slander my game.
Cease-and-desist letter warning, awooo!"
"...."
[So bold!
You can say that out loud?!!]
[Hiiiii, I'm stuffed!!!!]
[Pufferfish is so lively today.
I laughed so hard I ate three big bowls of rice.
I'm dying.]
[These two really have some kind of catalytic reaction.]
[My roommate asked why I was laughing.
I showed him the stream, and now we're laughing together.]
[...]
After who-knows-how many times her brain was eaten, Sirin finally closed the game and exhaled.
It wasn't that she'd cleared it.
It was just nighttime, so the stream had to end for dinner.
Recalling the whole afternoon, Sirin felt a surge of heat rush to her head, and she nearly blacked out.
She was just… too, too, too, too embarrassing!!
If the floor hadn't been wood, she might have dug a hole and buried herself.
Xander, however, exhaled in pleasant surprise.
He looked at Sirin, still with a spark of first-stream excitement in his eyes.
"Sirin, you were great today."
"Huh?"
Hearing the heartfelt praise from Xander, Sirin froze.
Forgetting her shame, she looked up at him in surprise.
"Aside from Stage 1, I honestly couldn't tell the rest was an act for content.
Your emotional immersion was too natural.
It was just like a real idiot."
As he spoke, Xander clicked his tongue in wonder.
"...A-ahaha, y-yeah, you saw through it!!"
Sirin's voice trembled.
Hands on her hips by force, she endured the shame in her heart as she spoke.
She is not an idiot!!!
"No wonder you're a top streamer.
Your on-stream act is really on point.
Feels like we don't even need to edit the VOD.
Upload it as is and it'll be a hit."
"Haha… ha..."
Inside, Sirin had already started roaring.
Stop it.
Please stop.
She felt like her shame gauge was about to explode!!!
After a few more lines of small talk, Xander finally moved past the topic, and Sirin let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Gotta say, doing a live stream like this occasionally is pretty fun."
While helping Sirin tidy up, Xander commented.
"Then you...?"
Sirin's eyes immediately lit up with surprise, gazing at him with boundless expectation.
"What are you imagining~"
He lifted a hand and gently tapped Sirin's purple little head.
Watching her puff up into a pufferfish again, he smiled.
"I still have work to do.
Streaming is something I'll do once in a while.
Can't do it often, of course."
"Oh."
Her emotions were really too easy to read.
Noticing the obvious dejection, Xander moved his fingers, and after a moment sighed, rubbed her head, and softly said, "If it's only once in a while, keeping you company isn't out of the question."
"Really?!"
Her glacier of gloom melted instantly into a warm sea.
Seeing that, Xander could only smile helplessly.
"Of course.
Why would I lie to you?"
"Pinky swear!"
"Pinky swear~"
Their pinkies hooked together.
Listening to Sirin chant the children's "terrifying oath," Xander only withdrew his hand after she finished and said, "Well?
Do you believe me now?"
"Mhm!"
After tidying the room, Xander picked up Kiana's chair.
He had just opened Sirin's bedroom door when—thunk—
The door seemed to hit something and bounced back.
"Kiana?
Why are you hiding behind the door?"
Opening it carefully again, Xander looked at Kiana sitting on the floor, rubbing her forehead, and asked in confusion.
Ignoring her cry of pain, Kiana noticed Sirin's wary gaze shoot over.
She immediately forced a grin.
"I was just passing by.
Just passing by, hahahaha..."
Shifty eyes.
Dopey grin.
Obviously lying.
"Didn't you say you were helping Bronya today?"
Squeezing in front of Xander, Sirin frowned at Kiana.
Help Bronya and then watch while you steal her man?
Muttering to herself inwardly, Kiana said aloud, "I—I came back early.
I just got home."
"Really?"
Seeing that Sirin clearly didn't believe her, Kiana quickly diverted the topic to Xander, who was watching the show.
"By the way, Xander, how did it feel today?"
"Me?
Streaming was pretty fun."
"Didn't… didn't anything special happen?"
Kiana probed carefully.
Separated by two doors, she couldn't hear anything inside just now.
"Anything special?"
"N-no, nothing."
His unfeigned puzzled look made Kiana breathe a sigh of relief, which only made Sirin even more guarded.
As expected, she knew it.
Kiana definitely has feelings for Xander.
Turning down Cecilia's dinner invitation, Xander headed home alone.
Only when he rounded the corner and Sirin's house was out of sight did he look back with a complicated expression.
She was far too obvious.
A girl like Sirin—simple in nature, cute, like a little angel—of course he liked her, but...
Forget it.
There's plenty of time.
Take it slow.
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