Chapter 196

　Kang Eun-hye made a reservation at a Japanese restaurant.

　　After Shirakawa Natsu and her two companions entered the restaurant, a waiter led them to a private room and opened the sliding door.

　　”Shirakawa-kun.” Yu Mukai stood up to greet him.

　　”Hmm.” Shirakawa Natsu frowned slightly, looking at his energetic expression, as if he had the world in his grasp. What was he up to now?

　　He was just a moment ago acting like a victim whose girlfriend had been bullied.

　　Ryoko Arishima moved a step to the side behind him, keeping a half-step distance from Miyuki.

　　She didn’t want Yuu to think that she was with Miyuki.

　　At the photography exhibition just now, I was just angry that Yutaka Mukai cared more about Kang Eun-hye.

　　Kang Eun-hye knelt on the tatami mat, her emotions unreadable, perfectly embodying the aura of a powerful career woman, making it impossible to tell what had happened before.

　　Shirakawa Natsu took in everyone’s reactions and sighed for Arishima Ryoko, who was still hopeless about Mukai Yu.

　　If it weren’t for him, I would have been tormented by Mukai Yu, who’s like a central air conditioner.

　　Although he himself wasn’t much better, his ultimate goal was also to seduce her.

　　Compared to that, it’s just physical, which won’t hurt her feelings.

　　I don’t know which one would hurt her more.

　　However, Shirakawa Natsu will do her best to help her after she finishes her mission, which will ease her psychological burden.

　　”Have you already ordered?” Shirakawa Natsumi snapped out of her thoughts, put on a smile, and sat down cross-legged at the rectangular dining table.

　　Ryoko Arishima and Miyuki also sat down.

　　”Eunhye and I only ordered some simple things. We don’t know what Shirakawa-kun and your friend’s tastes are, so we dare not make a decision for you.” Mukai Yu smiled, glanced at Kang Eunhye beside him, and handed over the menu.

　　Shirakawa Natsu frowned slightly. His tone was strange, as if he and Jiang Enhui were the hosts and they were the guests.

　　She looked at Jiang Enhui, but remained silent.

　　Shirakawa Natsu asked Kang Eun-hye for help at the photography studio, asking her not to explicitly reject Mukai Yu.

　　The mission description states that you need to be on the phone with Yu Mukai while you are inside her.

　　If the relationship is completely severed, there is a possibility that Yutaka Mukai might not answer the phone when called.

　　Ryoko Arishima’s expression darkened; it was common knowledge that she was the one Yu Mukai was having an affair with.

　　Now that Yu Mukai is clearly close to Kang Eun-hye, it makes her feel very awkward.

　　”Miss Ryoko, what would you like to eat? Please order for me. I’m not very knowledgeable about food.” Shirakawa Natsu handed her the menu so she wouldn’t feel awkward sitting there. It’s really uncomfortable to sit there like this without anyone paying attention to you.

　　”Ah, I… okay.” Ryoko Arishima was looking down in a daze when she saw the menu being handed to her, and her first reaction was to refuse.

　　But upon seeing his smile, she immediately knew that Shirakawa Natsu had come to her rescue, and quickly reached out to take the menu.

　　While watching her order with a smile, Shirakawa Natsu secretly texted Kang Eun-hye under the table, asking what had just happened.

　　Why is Yutaka Mukai suddenly so confident again?

　　Jiang Enhui sat upright, drinking tea, unlike Bai Chuanxia who was secretly sending messages.

　　She naturally took out her phone to reply to the message, her facial expressions suggesting she was conducting a business negotiation.

　　No one would suspect that she was actually whispering to Shirakawa Natsumi at the same table.

　　”The waiter mistook us for a couple, and I didn’t deny it.”

　　Shirakawa Natsu was stunned when she saw the text message. She glanced up at the smug-looking Mukai Yu and typed two words in a daze: “That’s it?”

　　I received another message less than two seconds after sending it.

　　”He just touched my hand on his own initiative.”

　　Shirakawa Natsu frowned and quickly sent a message: “Should we have a serious one?”

　　”He seemed to want to confess his feelings to me, but he didn’t say it out loud.”

　　”Natsu-kun, do you think we need anything else?” Ryoko Arishima pointed out the menu to Natsu Shirakawa.

　　Shirakawa Natsumi took the menu, put away her phone, and her expression returned to a gentle smile: “Well, that’s enough.”

　　After he finished speaking, he handed the menu to Miyuki.

　　He had already guessed the general course of events from Jiang Enhui’s two messages.

　　Because Ryoko Arijima got into Minoki’s car.

　　Driven by a desire for revenge, Yu Mukai entered the restaurant, where the waiters mistook him for a couple.

　　Perhaps he sensed the right atmosphere and wanted to confess his feelings when only the two of them were left in the private room.

　　But the male protagonist in the harem ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say it.

　　That’s exactly the kind of thing Yu Mukai would do.

　　The waiters served the food very quickly; in less than ten minutes, dishes were brought to the table one after another.

　　”I can’t drink alcohol, I’m sorry.” Shirakawa Natsu smiled, picked up the sake bottle, and poured half a cup for each person.

　　When pouring wine for Jiang Enhui, give her a look; I’m sure she’ll understand given her shrewdness.

　　“Miss Ryoko, don’t be fooled by my friend.” Shirakawa Natsumi joked, “He’s the kind of guy who could elope with a girl back in elementary school. If you get drunk in front of him, you might get taken advantage of.”

　　Miyuki smiled, did not refute, and picked up her wine glass to drink.

　　”I…” Ryoko Arishima held her wine glass with both hands, her eyes still fixed on Yu Mukai. This was a plan the three of them had agreed on in the car: she would pretend to be drunk and then let Yu Mukai know that Miyuki was in danger.

　　After dinner, Yu was worried about her, so he naturally took her home.

　　So Ryoko Arishima didn’t leave Mino-Kami; instead, she lowered her head, looking shy.

　　As expected, Yu Mukai put down his wine glass and looked over with concern.

　　Seeing an opportunity, Shirakawa Natsu stretched out her foot on the table and kicked at Kang Eun-hye.

　　Even after she cooperated, this guy still maintained the expression of a powerful business tycoon and an icy beauty.

　　Looking at Jing Yu’s expression, it’s possible he might actually send Ryoko Arishima home. In that case, not only would his plan fail, but he would also become a real matchmaker.

　　He kicked at empty air, and then his foot was caught between a pair of soft thighs.

　　Shirakawa Natsu was taken aback. She glanced at Jiang Enhui, whose face was expressionless, but one of her hands reached under the table.

　　He felt his foot being grasped by a hand and pulled between her legs, his toes pressing against the fibrous fabric.

　　”You son of a bitch!” Shirakawa Natsu cursed inwardly. Was this the time to go wild? He had thought that Kang Eunhye would switch to a serious state when she put on her work clothes, but it turned out she was planning something big.

　　After Jiang Enhui placed the wine glasses in their positions, she withdrew her hand, picked up her glass, and took a sip.

　　He crossed his legs under the table, tightly clamping one of Shirakawa Natsu’s feet and rubbing it rhythmically.

　　Shirakawa Natsu tried to pull it back several times but couldn’t, leaving her speechless.

　　He had heard of women sticking their feet out under the table to help men with their feet, but he had never heard of a man’s foot getting caught in the trap.

　　Or perhaps she took the act of stretching her leg out as some kind of strange play and instinctively played along with him.

　　Shirakawa Natsumi was furious and took out her phone to send her a message.

　　Jiang Enhui placed her wine glass on the table with a soft “thump”.

　　The sound wasn’t loud, but Mukai Yu could hear it just in time.

　　Yu Mukai, whose attention was originally on Ryoko Arishima, suddenly turned around and looked at Eunhye Kang.

　　A faint, unusual blush was visible on her face.

　　Yu Mukai’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Jiang Enhui was jealous?

　　Shirakawa Natsu’s face was equally grim. Had he become a prop for the performance?