Chapter 735 - 735: Chatting Before Dinner

After the wedding banquet ended, the four of them left the hotel and went to meet up with Eriri and the others.

Since Ichin had drunk a little alcohol, Yukino took over the driving. She had already obtained her driver's license in China, so driving here was no problem for her.

At around three in the afternoon, Eriri and the others had already spent hours shopping and were now sitting in a Fresh Hippo dessert shop, enjoying shaved ice and other cold treats.

Even though it was already November and autumn had arrived, that didn't stop them from eating ice cold desserts.

As soon as he entered the shop, Ichin spotted the five girls chatting cheerfully together.

Quite a few customers were secretly stealing glances at them.

That was hardly surprising.

Each of the five girls was exceptionally beautiful in her own way, covering almost every type of beauty imaginable.

Their presence had noticeably increased the number of male customers in the shop.

When Ichin walked in with Utaha, Haruno, and Yukino, they immediately attracted just as much attention.

After all, there was one man accompanied by three stunning women. Yukino and Haruno even looked enough alike that it was obvious they were sisters.

Taking off his sunglasses, Ichin looked at the desserts spread across the table and laughed.

"I saw the photos you girls posted at lunchtime. You had authentic Shanghai cuisine for lunch, and now, just a few hours later, you're already eating dessert again?"

"Aren't you worried your bridesmaid dresses won't fit in a few days?"

Eriri glared at him.

"As if!"

"There's no way they won't fit!"

Hajime Shinoda nodded firmly.

"Exactly!"

"We've been working out every morning in the hotel's gym."

"And guess what? One of the trainers there even tried to hit on me!"

"Hit on you?"

Ichin raised an eyebrow.

"Or was he just trying to sell you a gym membership?"

"Huh?"

Hajime blinked.

"How did you know?"

Ichin replied confidently,

"You said he was a gym trainer."

"If he wasn't trying to sell you a membership, then what else could he possibly want?"

"Your beauty?"

"I don't think you're gullible enough to fall for just anyone."

Hajime laughed sheepishly.

"Hehe... that's true."

"The moment I realized he was trying to get me to buy a membership, I rejected him without even thinking."

Ichin nodded.

He wasn't worried about Hajime.

Although she was usually carefree and a bit absent minded, she wasn't the type to get fooled by something like that.

Besides, she'd been going to gyms regularly in Japan for years.

She had probably encountered similar sales tactics plenty of times already.

Since the dessert shop didn't have many empty seats, Ichin and the others didn't bother ordering anything.

Once Eriri's group finished the last few bites of their desserts, everyone left together.

The male customers inside all watched them depart with expressions full of envy.

One guy...

Accompanied by eight beautiful women, each with her own unique charm.

What kind of life was that?

Was he deliberately trying to make everyone else jealous?

...

After leaving the mall, the group headed to Ichin's house.

They were all having dinner there that evening.

After resting the following day, the real wedding preparations would begin.

"Auntie's cooking..."

The moment Momiji heard that Ichin's mother was making dinner, she couldn't help swallowing.

Narumi sighed helplessly beside her.

"Come on."

"We only finished dessert a little while ago."

"Can you think about something other than food for once?"

Momiji immediately put on an unusually serious expression.

She shook her head firmly.

"Not this."

"Good food is my life."

She was remarkably steadfast when it came to her principles.

...

While waiting for dinner, everyone chatted about the wedding Ichin and the others had attended earlier that day.

Utaha and Yukino went into the kitchen to help Ichin's mother cook.

The rest gathered around Haruno, looking through all the photos she had taken.

"Wow..."

Narumi sighed while looking at a picture of the bride.

"She's so beautiful."

"I wonder when I'll finally get to wear a wedding dress."

Yun smiled.

"Our company doesn't prohibit office romances."

"You could always try dating someone at work."

"I know..."

Tsubame rested her chin on both hands and sighed.

"But there's no one I'm interested in."

"I went back to my hometown for a blind date recently, and we couldn't hold a conversation at all."

"I honestly don't know what my mom was thinking."

"She set me up with someone so unbelievably dull."

Everyone already knew about Tsubame's blind date.

It had ended almost immediately after the first meeting.

There had never been a second date.

Unfortunately...

According to Tsubame, her mother had absolutely no intention of giving up.

She had already started searching for new candidates and planned to arrange another blind date when Tsubame returned home for the New Year.

It seemed she had no intention of letting her daughter enjoy a peaceful holiday.

After hearing her complain, Ichin thought for a moment before asking,

"So... what kind of guy are you actually looking for?"

"I think you should tell your mom more clearly."

"Otherwise, no matter how many blind dates she arranges, they'll all end the same way."

"My requirements?"

Tsubame thought about it for a moment before answering.

"I've actually told my mom before."

"First, he has to be hardworking and have a stable job."

"He can't be boring."

"He shouldn't be overweight."

"He definitely has to be taller than me."

"A university degree is the bare minimum."

"As for housework..."

"I don't really care."

"I don't mind doing chores myself, and I'm pretty good at cooking."

"The most important thing is personality."

"So..."

"Do you think my standards are too high?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

Not at all.

She barely even had any requirements regarding appearance.

Haruno rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Your standards aren't high."

"But relationships really come down to compatibility."

"There are plenty of couples who are both wonderful people individually, yet still don't work well together after living together."

"A lot of those things only become obvious after you've known each other for a long time."

"So when it comes to love, it's better to be cautious than to rush things."

Everyone wholeheartedly agreed with Haruno's conclusion.

Eriri immediately chimed in.

"We're all still young anyway."

"There's absolutely no need to rush."

"I still want to spend a few more years playing games."

"If I ever get married..."

"I probably won't have nearly as much time for gaming anymore."

Hajime laughed.

"I seriously doubt that."

"With your family background and your personality..."

"Even after getting married, or even after having kids, there's no way you'd give up your hobbies."

"Not to mention that you already work in the gaming industry."

"There's no chance you'll quit that."

"Oh, right."

"Eriri, don't you have to inherit your family's business?"

"Our family business?"

Eriri shook her head repeatedly.

"Nope."

"I have absolutely no talent for that."

"My mom hired a reliable professional manager to run the company, and she's always keeping an eye on everything herself."

"I just get to do what I love."

In that regard, Eriri and Ichin were surprisingly alike.

Neither had any interest in taking over the family business.

They were perfectly happy pursuing the careers they loved instead.

Still...

Hearing Eriri say it out loud somehow sounded just a little too much like a humble brag.

...

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