"I'm in love." Liu A'dou said it seriously to the two girls standing in front of him.
Their faces instantly flushed red. They were on the school rooftop—the birthplace of countless sweet stories, a classic stage for many romantic dramas.
The breeze swept through their hair.
Sonoko and Ran didn't know what to say. They were both pure at heart, and when it came to love, they still got shy. But they hadn't expected Liu A'dou to bring it up right in front of them.
"I've fallen for our new chemistry teacher." Liu A'dou dropped the bomb without hesitation.
"…" The two of them looked at each other. If at first they had been shy, now they were stunned. This wasn't what they had imagined at all. They thought Liu A'dou was going to confess to one of them, or maybe say he liked some other girl in class. But a teacher? That they hadn't seen coming.
"Uh, A'dou-kun, what did you just say?" Sonoko asked uncertainly.
"I like Ada-sensei. I even want to have kids with her." Liu A'dou said it bluntly.
Gross. Cold. Sonoko shivered. Sometimes being too direct just made you sound disgusting. Ran was speechless—this was less believable than Mount Fuji disappearing.
"A'dou-kun, you know… love is something that takes time. Are you really sure your feelings for Ada-sensei are love?"
Liu A'dou's expression was deadly serious, eyes sharp like Abe Takakazu's, enough to give the innocent girls goosebumps. They couldn't understand how a handsome guy could suddenly act like this. Then they heard him say, "I think this is love."
"The moment I saw her, I decided she was the one I'd marry. To spend the rest of my life with her, grow old together. 'Until mountains crumble and the heavens and earth unite, only then would I part from you.'" Of course, Liu A'dou had a reason for coming to these two specifically. "That's why I want your help. I'm a guy, I don't really understand what women like. So I need you two to be my love advisors, to help me win over Ada-sensei."
"…" Sonoko and Ran's hearts collapsed. Who plays like this? From each other's eyes they saw hesitation. Liu A'dou's behavior had overturned their whole impression of him. Then again, they weren't actually that close to him. Maybe this really was his true nature.
"A'dou-kun, you're really bold." Sonoko forced a laugh.
"Of course. We're not fifteen or sixteen anymore. With love, you should be honest and straightforward. Bold and direct. Just like how I want to have kids with Ada-sensei—that's me being serious. I'm already planning that after marriage, we'll buy a cozy little house. We'll decorate it together, paint our daughter's room together."
"…" The air got colder. Sonoko clung to Ran, silently hoping Ran would just kick him already. They're not even dating yet and he's talking about marriage and kids? Liu A'dou, you're thinking way too far ahead!
But what Sonoko and Ran didn't know was that this was just a game between Liu A'dou and Ada Wong as husband and wife.
In this world, Liu A'dou wanted to pursue Ada all over again. Here, there was no "life and death, never leaving each other" bond. He planned to take the warm, ordinary route, to move Ada's heart like a normal woman's. He needed Sonoko and Ran's help, because sometimes you needed someone to play matchmaker.
But Liu A'dou's blunt words only made Sonoko and Ran feel like he was a delusional maniac—worse, a disgusting delusional maniac. Just like those creepy guys who spend all day fantasizing about goddesses, except he was even worse.
Sonoko's impression of him shifted from handsome to handsome maybe, but way too gross.
"Will you two help me?"
Sonoko flinched. "That's something we can't help with…" She scrambled for an excuse. "Because, because… we don't even know Ada-sensei that well."
Ran nodded quickly. In her heart she was screaming a thousand refusals. Liu A'dou was overthinking everything, and he was saying way too much.
"That's no problem. I already talked to Ada-sensei. You two said you wanted her to tutor you after class, and she agreed. So tonight, you'll both be going to her house." Liu A'dou had arranged everything. "You two will be my keima."
keima—the knight in Japanese shogi. Like the horse in Chinese chess, there's a saying "shoot the horse before the man." In shogi, the keima is the only piece that can leap over others. Liu A'dou's meaning was clear: Sonoko and Ran would secretly pass messages to Ada for him.
Sonoko and Ran were defeated. He had set everything up so neatly they had no way to refuse. Which only made him seem even scarier in their eyes—an irredeemable pervert.
At last, Liu A'dou gave them a thumbs-up, tossed them a "like," and walked off coolly, leaving the two girls completely rattled in the evening breeze.
By dusk, Ada arrived as promised to pick up the two "tutoring" students. "Mōri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, you two come with me."
Sonoko and Ran exchanged a glance, then stole a look at Liu A'dou. He was watching them with that annoying grin, like he was saying, I'll leave everything to you.
A chill ran through them both. They clung together, goosebumps covering them from head to toe.
The sports car had only two seats. Ada said, "You both have good figures. Just squeeze in, it'll be fine."
So Ran sat on Sonoko's lap, though it wasn't too cramped. Ada stepped on the gas, and the car roared like a beast, shooting out of the school gate. From the classroom window, Liu A'dou smiled faintly. He hoped to pry loose information Ada had never told him.
Though they were married, their knowledge of each other wasn't complete. Likes, dislikes—those details were rough at best. He wanted to use this chance to learn more. Ada never liked talking about such things, and his own observations weren't always certain. The best way was to let someone else ask indirectly.
For example, Liu A'dou often saw Ada with red lipstick and wearing red jackets, but he couldn't be sure she truly liked red. When he asked, she'd only smile faintly and dodge the question. That left him frustrated. He wanted to know her real preferences—did she like things sweeter or saltier? Such things he could never get out of her directly, since she always held up that strong "onee-san" image in front of him. But he genuinely wanted to know. Maybe having others probe would bring an unexpected surprise.
Meanwhile, Sonoko and Ran were anything but calm. Their nerves were stretched thin. Honestly, they had no idea what to do. Part of them thought they shouldn't help Liu A'dou, but they couldn't think of a solid reason to refuse. In the end, they sighed inwardly. Forget it. Just chat casually, then go back and tell him Ada-sensei would never like him. That'll make him give up, and we can finally relax.