Saturday morning.
In Miura Yumiko's room, an obnoxious alarm blared. A slender white arm emerged from under the covers and slammed down on the clock.
After a moment, Miura sat up with the groggy look of someone who hadn't slept enough. Normally on a day off, she'd sleep until she woke naturally. But not today—today she had a little 'date' with Mio.
The meeting spot was the park near school. Time: 9 AM.
Honestly, despite how she might appear, she'd never actually been on a proper date before. Let alone one where her date was a pretty girl.
The whole thing felt kind of weird.
With a light shake of her head, Miura rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
By the time she finished dressing and doing her makeup, it was already 8 o'clock. Grab some breakfast, and she'd arrive at the meeting point about half an hour early.
Originally, Miura thought she'd be the early one. But when she got close to their meeting spot, she discovered Mio had apparently been waiting there for a while.
Mio spotted Miura too, but instead of waiting for her to approach, she jogged over, threw her arms around Miura's arm, and flashed a sweet smile: "Good morning, Yumiko~"
"M-morning." Even Miura didn't quite know how to react to Mio like this. Today's Mio seemed... different from usual somehow.
Especially those red eyes looking at her—there was something almost... tender in them.
"Do I seem different today?"
"How did you know I was thinking tha—I mean, yes, you do."
"I dressed up specially for our date, you know~"
Now that Mio mentioned it, Miura noticed that Mio—who usually wore no makeup—had actually done light makeup today. Her outfit was clearly carefully coordinated too, making the already beautiful Mio look even more captivating.
If she could have a girlfriend like this, maybe it wouldn't be so...
Realizing her thoughts were going somewhere weird, Miura quickly averted her gaze. "You're usually rushing into class right as the bell rings. How come you're so early today?"
"Because I wanted you to scold—ahem! I mean, because today I'm your girlfriend~" Mio gazed at Miura with those tender eyes.
She'd almost blurted out what was really on her mind. No, wait—that wasn't what she really wanted. It was just a thought influenced by the [Masochist Constitution].
Originally, Mio figured today's date with Miura would be pretty relaxing. Who knew last night's [Schrödinger's Card] would stick her with [Masochist Constitution]? Even though it only lasted a day, it was torture for Mio.
Like just now—the thought of wanting Miura to scold her had actually crossed her mind. Good thing she caught herself in time, or that would've been mortifying.
Though Mio's earlier words felt a bit strange, being gazed at so tenderly made Miura feel shy. But she didn't want to show it in front of Mio.
So she put on a nonchalant expression, but the faint blush on her cheeks undermined her composure. Still, it made her look way cuter than usual.
"So where should we go first?"
"Anywhere is fine with me, as long as I'm with Yumiko~" Mio felt like she was getting better and better at playing someone's girlfriend.
Good thing Miura wasn't on the System's panel. Otherwise, if a task triggered right now, who knows what would happen.
"Even if you say that, I don't have any ideas either."
Hearing this, Mio seemed to notice something. A delighted smile curved her lips. "Yumiko, could this be your first time?"
"First time what?"
"First time going on a date~"
"H-how could that be! I just... didn't plan ahead, that's all!" Miura instinctively put on her haughty expression, trying to cover up her slip.
Feeling her heart rate spike, Mio decided she'd better stop provoking her. After all, now that the [Schrödinger's Card] had been upgraded, the cards it generated were also stronger.
If Miura kept going, who knows if Mio might lose control and embarrass herself right here in public.
"Since Yumiko doesn't have a plan, how about we head to the mall first? The weather's about to get colder anyway, and I want to buy some winter clothes."
"Sure." Honestly, Miura wanted to check out new clothes too.
Decision made, they soon arrived at the mall.
Two beautiful girls with completely different styles, plus their intimate behavior—they instantly drew plenty of attention.
Even Miura couldn't ignore all the stares. She glanced at Mio and whispered, "Mio, could you maybe let go a little?"
"Nope~"
Mio gave Miura a disappointed look. "Don't worry so much about what others think. Didn't I teach you this before? Be bold. Especially when the other person is trying to avoid you—that's exactly when you should take initiative."
Of course Miura remembered what Mio had told her. It's just that she didn't think she could be as unfazed as Mio about it.
After some internal debate, Miura let Mio keep holding onto her arm and led her into a clothing store she frequented.
Because of the seasonal change and the weekend, there were quite a few customers inside.
Once they entered, Mio finally released Miura's arm and started browsing.
But before Miura could relax, Mio's sweet voice drifted over again: "Yumiko, do you think this would look good on me?"
Under Mio's expectant, trusting gaze and her spoiled-girlfriend act, Miura started helping her pick out clothes.
How strange. She was starting to find Mio a bit annoying, but she couldn't bring herself to actually dislike her. In fact, when Mio acted cute, there was even a small part of her that felt... pleased?
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