"Nom... Nom..".
Kai kept eating while staring toward Chloe's group. From where he sat, they were truly the loudest among all the groups in the cafeteria.
He glanced to the side. There she was, a goddess, the last 'boss' capture target from this dating-sim game, the route with the most RNG among all four heroines, Lily Campbell.
But no matter how he looked at it, Lily's character was truly beautiful. That shoulder-length blonde hair, that cute face with a little touch of rosy color on her cheeks, those plump lips. No wonder people in the game's community always adore her even though her route was the hardest things ever on that game.
Come to think of it, the challenge of a difficult route gave its own satisfaction to many who had completed it. Yeah, maybe that was the reason the community liked Lily. But... Lily wasn't on my radar yet...
"Mmm... you're Kai, right?"
Kai snapped out of his thoughts. He had been staring deeply at Lily without realizing it. Seeing Lily smile, Kai returned the smile before apologizing for staring rudely.
Lily giggled sweetly. She sure was sweet like honey. Taking a small bite of her hashbrown, she chewed slowly before swallowed.
"Hehehe... this is my first time eating with a friend."
Eating with a friend? Him? Kai think about since when were they friends? He had only sat with her maybe five minutes ago.
"Umm... by 'friend,' do you mean me, Miss Campbell?"
"Uh-huh, you're the first person to sit with me," Lily said with a smile and a face that shone like it could outshine the sun itself. Indeed, a pretty girl smiling had a very powerful damage effects. "Oh, and of course I know you too from yesterday's midterms. You got first place, right? Hehehe, I got second."
Uwaa... this girl is really innocent.
Maybe because she grew up in a home that was too sheltered, with an overprotective family, so she didn't really understand how to socialize.
"Hmm? Don't you recognize me, Kai?"
"Ha? Oh, of course I know you, Miss Campbell."
Of course I know you, more than you know yourself but it's all based on games though...
"No need to be so formal like that. Call me just Lily, not my family name." Lily then wiped her mouth with a napkin. She really was like a princess. Looking back at Kai, she rested her palm on her cheek. "Hihihi, I'm happy I can talk to someone else. You're the first person in... how long, eight months since the first semester."
"Hmm... yeah, I'm also happy to talk with you, Miss Campbell—I mean, Miss Lily."
Kai felt a little awkward. Not because he was shy talking to a pretty girl, nor because he heard murmurs from people around him—he could hear chats like, 'Hey, that boy is talking to Miss Campbell,' 'are they onto something...' and so on. Honestly, those comments annoyed him.
He looked toward Chloe's group, who were about to leave. Kai wondered, why wasn't Chloe leaving too? Her face also looked a little sad? Huh, did she realize that she only had fake friends?
"Kai? What are you looking at?" Lily looked toward where Kai was staring. One girl sat alone, eating her lunch quite heartily. Nothing strange about that sight. "Hmm? Is there something wrong with that student?"
Kai shook his head, then finished his drink. "Nothing, just looking at some people. Well, I'll head out first, okay?"
Kai stood up, carried his tray, and handed it in at the tray return area. Today Reva wasn't the one handing out milk, so Kai couldn't ask for a carton.
He glanced at Reva, who was still taking the queue of students looking for lunch, then left the cafeteria.
"-She really eats like a pig, you know~"
Not far from the hallway leading out of the cafeteria, Kai's steps halted again. He heard a familiar voice. Gossip session from girls that was totally worth listening to.
Kai opened his straw and poked it into the milk carton hole, then leaned against the wall, listening to what insults they were saying about their 'queen'.
"UGH... I can't stand with her."
"Yeah, me too..."
...
Kai glanced to his side. While continuing to sip through his straw, he shifted a little to let the girl next to him join in listening to the chatter from those somewhat pretty girls.
Their words grew crueler and very savage as time pass.
"Want to leave?" Kai asked the girl beside him. Seeing her just stare blankly, no sad or disappointed face. Just a faint smile, as if she had known everything from the start. The girl and Kai then left, leaving behind the ironic voices of her 'friends' or maybe not. Who knows. Only that girl could give her own perspective.
"Erm... my name is Kai. Kai Clove from class 10-A."
"Chloe, Chloe Kalani. Class 10-C."
Without introductions, he actually already knew who this girl was. But again, that was only from the game, not from the real world like this.
"Mmm... your friends are really something, huh..." Whether a sarcastic remark or a fact, Kai hit the bullseye. Yeah, he wasn't going to sugarcoat what they just heard and saw. "...Sorry for say that..."
Smack.
Chloe slapped her own cheek hard, then her entire face lit up again like nothing had happened. Looking at Kai, she smiled and patted his back quite hard, which surprised him a little.
"Hee~ that's normal, you know. A future idol has to have thick skin to survive in that industry."
Future idol, huh... yeah, in the end your scandalous photos will be sold by your own manager.
"Hey, what's with that look?" Seeing Kai's unimpressed expression at her words, she nudged him with her elbow. "You really doubt me."
"No, I believe in you."
Kai's words made Chloe stop nudging him. She fell silent, then smiled. Chloe looked genuinely delighted, as if hearing that phrase for the first time from someone else. She reached for Kai's hand and gripped it tightly.
"Do you like idols?"
"Not really? I'm not into people lip-syncing and dancing at the same time."
Chloe squeezed Kai's hand harder after hearing his slightly sarcastic remark. Then she launched into a long explanation about what an idol is.
Kai, of course, only listened to part of it and didn't pay too much attention to her, until the bell rang. Lunch break was over. Chloe let go of Kai's hand and pointed at him.
"We'll continue talking after school. Oh, and give me your number."
Chloe took her phone out of her pocket. Kai also took out his phone. After exchanging numbers, Kai saw Chloe send a weird animal emoji sticker. She probably wanted to make sure it was really Kai's number.
"Okay. I'll meet you again after school. Don't run away. Ciao~"
Kai watched Chloe leave down the hallway until she disappeared around the corner on the second floor stairs. Kai also followed in the same direction as Chloe. Meanwhile from afar there's a woman watching Kai with smile.
"Heee... you've already started moving toward next capture target~" said someone with a mop in their hand. From their pocket, they took out a shoe brooch with a kalanchoe flower pattern.
"Persistence, eternal love, and resilience... I do hope you find that type of girl is not annoying and worth to save, Ryan Anemone."