Chapter 168: The Contrast Combination of Presence
"Hm?"
Kato Megumi stopped and stepped closer to Asagiri. She deliberately put on an offended expression, but her tone was clearly teasing.
"So Utsunomiya thinks shopping with me is boring and torturous. Is that because you think I'm a boring person?"
"Forget you. Even if…"
Asagiri suddenly paused, and Kato Megumi blinked in confusion.
In her impression, Utsunomiya was always sharp tongued. No matter what situation he faced, he could bulldoze through it with sheer absurdity. This was the first time she had ever seen him hesitate, like he genuinely did not know what to say.
Did she take the joke too far? Did she make him uncomfortable?
Thinking that, Kato Megumi quickly changed the subject.
"Um… there's a clothing store I go to a lot…"
"Hm? Why did you suddenly bring that up?"
Asagiri looked at her flustered expression, saw straight through her, and waved a hand with a smile.
"I hesitated, but it's not because of what you just said. Don't overthink it."
Kato Megumi could not help asking, curious.
"Then… why?"
Asagiri answered with a completely serious face.
"Because in that moment, I should've named someone I find more interesting than you, someone I care about more. But I honestly couldn't think of anyone."
"Liar."
Kato Megumi turned her face away and muttered softly.
"Whether it's Kotoko or Asuna, they're more interesting to you than me, right…"
"Listen to yourself."
Asagiri shook his head.
"If I thought you were boring, I wouldn't have agreed to go shopping with you."
"But didn't you say shopping itself is boring, even torturous?"
"And that's exactly why it's right."
Kato Megumi frowned, confused.
"How is that right?"
Asagiri explained, dead serious.
"Shopping is so boring it feels like torture to me, and yet the moment you asked, I still agreed."
He glanced at her.
"Do you really need me to spell out what that means?"
"Eh… when you put it like that, it kind of makes sense."
Kato Megumi murmured to herself, then snapped back to her senses. She stared at Asagiri, her expression turning strangely moved.
"Utsunomiya… your way of dealing with girls is really smooth. Did you train it while handling Asuna and Kotoko?"
...
[TL: Check out my newly Released fanfic]
[TITLE: Starting in One Piece with Vector Manipulation]