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Chapter 41: Good Taste
"What about you, Rei?"
Suyan completely ignored Saya Takagi's internal meltdown, shifting his gaze to Rei Miyamoto.
"W-What?"
Rei nervously twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. Suyan's blunt rejection of Saya had made her feel a little awkward.
Was it her fault?
It was that pink-haired, four-eyed girl who misunderstood the situation all on her own.
And she actually tried to proposition Suyan right in front of her!
Was it a crime to be a little defensive?
But when Suyan actually called her by her first name, a jolt of electricity ran through Rei's body. The awkwardness vanished instantly, replaced by a warm flutter in her chest.
Suyan tilted his head, genuinely curious. "Don't you want to go back and check on your family?"
If he remembered correctly, Rei was deeply attached to her family in the original story.
Since Saya had already asked him to take her home, why wasn't Rei making a similar request?
"It's fine. I already called them before dinner to let them know I'm safe," Rei replied, shaking her head.
The zombie outbreak had started less than twelve hours ago. The television networks were still broadcasting, so naturally, the phone lines were still operational.
While Suyan had been busy preparing dinner, Rei had used the time to call her parents and update them on her situation.
Because Suyan had warned her in advance, her father had taken time off from the police department to stay home with her mother.
Unlike the anime, where she spent the entire beginning of the apocalypse agonizing over her missing father and isolated mother, her family was currently safe and together.
With the heavy burden of her family's safety lifted, Rei felt entirely at ease.
She had finally managed to secure a spot living under the same roof as the boy she liked.
Why would she ever give that up?
Rei offered a playful, almost teasing smile. "Or what? Are you trying to kick me out?"
"Not at all. You can stay as long as you want. It's not like I can't afford to feed you."
Suyan shook his head. As a man sitting on an entire commercial warehouse full of frozen meat in the middle of the apocalypse, he had the absolute confidence to back up that statement.
"Really?"
Rei's smile widened. She disguised her true feelings behind a layer of playful banter. "Then it's a promise! As long as I don't want to leave, you can't kick me out."
Without waiting for his answer, she spun around and skipped away like a happy rabbit.
Rei unilaterally refused to accept any potential rejection.
As long as he didn't verbally say no, it counted as a yes.
After all, this was exactly the kind of situation where a girl was allowed to be a little unreasonable, wasn't it?
Suyan scratched his head. Since Rei wasn't going anywhere, that meant he only had to make one delivery tonight: Saya Takagi.
He turned back to the pink-haired girl, who was still frozen in a state of absolute, petrified embarrassment.
He reached out and lightly flicked her forehead. "Earth to Takagi. Are you with us?"
"Ah?!"
Feeling the flick on her forehead, Saya stumbled backward several steps.
She clapped her hands over her forehead, her face somehow turning an even deeper, more impossible shade of red than before.
She clamped her eyes to the floor, staring intensely at her own toes as if they contained the secrets of the universe.
If Suyan had touched her head right then, he probably would have felt physical steam radiating from her scalp.
"Let's go, Takagi."
Suyan took a few steps toward the door. When he noticed she wasn't following, he called back over his shoulder.
"O-Oh. Right."
Startled out of her shame spiral, the pink-haired girl practically sprinted to catch up with him.
However, even though he was walking ahead of her, she kept her eyes glued firmly to his heels, not daring to look up even a fraction of an inch.
It was as if she was terrified he might suddenly turn around and make eye contact with her.
After changing into his outdoor shoes, Suyan led Saya down into the house's subterranean garage.
The Takagi estate was quite far away.
Unless he was a complete masochist, he was definitely going to drive.
He walked up to one of the vehicles covered by a heavy dust tarp and pulled it off in a single, sweeping motion.
A sleek, incredibly aggressive-looking motorcycle was revealed beneath.
Suyan wasn't exactly a gearhead, and he couldn't identify the specific make or model.
But the sheer, unapologetic coolness of the bike's design made his eyes light up.
He ran a hand appreciatively along the chassis.
The aerodynamic lines, the cold metallic frame, the pitch-black leather seat...
Every single curve of the machine radiated raw, mechanical power.
He had to admit, that woman Rika Minami had excellent taste.
"You'll do!"
Suyan nodded in satisfaction.
He swung a leg over the bike and settled into the seat. He patted the pillion seat behind him, gesturing to Saya. "Hop on!"
"Um... isn't there a car over there? Why can't we take that?"
Saya let out a shaky breath, finally finding the courage to speak up.
As a sheltered rich girl, she had never ridden on a motorcycle in her life.
But that wasn't the main reason she wanted to take the car.
The real issue was that if she rode on the back of the motorcycle, she would have to press her body flush against Suyan's back and wrap her arms tightly around him for the entire trip.
Just imagining the prolonged physical contact made her skin prickle with nervous electricity.
"Why are you so demanding?"
Suyan rolled his eyes. "Get on or don't. I don't care. If you don't want to ride, I'm going back to bed."
Yes, there was a heavily modified Humvee in the garage. But it was a zombie apocalypse. The roads were undoubtedly clogged with abandoned cars and debris.
In these conditions, a two-wheeled vehicle was infinitely more practical for navigating gridlock than a four-wheeled one.
But he didn't feel the need to explain his tactical reasoning to her.
"Wait! I'll get on! I'll get on!"
Panicking that he might actually leave her here, Saya scrambled onto the back of the motorcycle.
"That's more like it. Hold on tight, and try not to fall off."
Suyan reached back, grabbed Saya's hands, and forcefully pulled them around his waist, interlocking her fingers against his stomach.
Instantly, he felt two distinctly soft, heavy sensations pressing firmly into his back.
He hadn't really paid attention before, but Saya Takagi was genuinely blessed in that department. He felt like they might actually be larger than Saeko's.
But he wasn't the type to intentionally take advantage of the situation.
The distracting thought vanished from his mind in less than a second as he turned the ignition.
The cold mechanical beast instantly roared to life.
As the exhaust pipes spat out turbulent streams of air, the tires bit into the concrete floor with a low, aggressive growl.
Suyan released the brake and twisted the throttle. The massive motorcycle shot forward like a bullet, carrying them out into the night.
Saya clung to Suyan for dear life, pressing herself as tightly against him as physically possible.
No matter how cold the night wind was, it couldn't extinguish the burning heat radiating from her skin.
She buried her face in the space between Suyan's shoulder blades, feeling the warmth of his body and greedily inhaling his scent.
Suddenly, a realization struck her, and her breath hitched.
An impossible, terrifying thought bloomed in her mind: Am I actually falling for him?
Suyan, naturally, remained completely oblivious to the turbulent emotions of the girl behind him.
After they had been driving for a while, another motorcycle suddenly roared up from behind, effortlessly matching Suyan's speed and pulling up alongside him.
Suyan glanced over, but the rider was wearing a full-face helmet with a dark visor, obscuring their features.
A deeply magnetic, undeniably sexy female voice carried over the roar of the engines. "Nice taste, kid. I've got a bike back home just like that. Wanna race?"
"I'm in a good mood today. If you manage to beat me, I might even give you a little reward~"
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