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nXiao Qin pestered me to commemorate the anniversary of 46 days of being together. She kept following behind me even after school ended.

nIf it was our 100 day anniversary, then I might go eat dinner with her. But what meaning does the 46th day hold?

nBesides, I already had an appointment with He Ling at Traktirr Pushkin (I also have to apologize to her), then she would return Auntie Ren’s lost necklace.

nEven though I wasn’t looking forward to the meal with He Ling, there was no better way of getting back the necklace.

n“I have work tonight, so stop following me.” I urged Xiao Qin to return home.

nThe ‘work’ I referred to was eating with He Ling. I wasn’t trying to trick Xiao Qin, I simply treated the task of eating and retrieving the necklace as work. If I was going to dinner with the class leader tonight, there was no way I could look Xiao Qin in the eyes while saying it was work.

nHe Ling gave me a call as I was still entangled by Xiao Qin.

nI told Xiao Qin to quiet down while I picked up the phone, “Hello.”

n“Ye Lin, did you forget about our appointment tonight at eight? Did you make a reservation in advance?”

nHe Ling asked directly without reservations.

nXiao Qin frowned when she heard a young girl’s voice from the phone. I put out my left arm to block Xiao Qin to prevent her from hearing the conversation. It’s actually fine even if she does hear it, but I do care about it to an extent.

nXiao Qin immediately latched on to my left arm with her two front paws like a cat.

nThe good thing was she only perked her ears up to eavesdrop, but she didn’t make a sound.

nI then responded to He Ling’s question.

n“I already made the reservation yesterday afternoon. Don’t forget to bring the necklace.”

n“Tsk, all you care about it the necklace. Make sure to take a shower and wear a clean set of clothes. It’s best if you could also use some cologne, got it?”

nGot what? I’m treating you to an apology dinner, I’m not taking you on a date then going to a hotel.

n“I’ll wear clean clothes and take a shower since it’s hot, but no cologne. Real men don’t use cologne.”

n“Hmph, then you better not sweat. Last time, when we on the stage at the dojo, the stink of your sweat almost made me faint…”

nI could imagine her look of disgust even on the phone.

nOf course, since I was still wearing Qing Zi Academy’s uniform without removing the inner shirt. Then I fought a large battle with young master Xu and was dead tired, so it would be strange if I wasn’t sweating. You were the one who saw I was tired and wanted to take the opportunity to beat me in front of the other disciples, so it was really your own fault.

n“Also, to show your sincerity, you have to call me ‘sis He Ling’ during the meal, okay?”

n“Okay, fine.” I could only agree to get back Auntie Ren’s necklace.

n“It looks like your quite obedient. Will you even bark like a dog to get back the necklace?”

n“Hey, our fathers might get along well, but don’t go overboard.” I was a bit angry.

n“Oh, an irritable little brother! Don’t forget I still have the necklace. I won’t return your mother-in-law’s treasure if you’re not on your best behavior.”

n“You…”

n“Apologize to me for what you just said. Hurry up, silver is quite soft, so I don’t know what will happen to it…”

nI could only squeeze out a few words with clenched teeth: “I was wrong… don’t break the necklace.”

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nHe Ling then said with satisfaction: “That’s more like it. As long as you apologize properly, I’ll return the necklace to you. Let me re-emphasize, it’s not a date. Once I calm down, I won’t look for you anymore, okay?”

nHmph, she makes it sound like I’ll look for her.

nAfter I hung up, Xiao Qin’s paws were still hooked onto my arms while waiting for an explanation.

nHe Ling’s unreasonableness made me furious, but I got a great idea when I looked at Xiao Qin.

n“Xiao Qin, do you want to commemorate our 46th day of being together?”

nXiao Qin nodded desperately.

n“Then, I’ll treat you to a Western meal. How does dinner at Traktirr Pushkin sound?”

nXiao Qin widened her eyes in disbelief.

n“Hey, don’t get excited too early. I did make a reservation, but we’re eating with three people.”

n“Three people?” Xiao Qin was a bit confused.

nThus I summarized the entire situation where Auntie Ren brought me to the dojo and lost her necklace, and about how He Ling picked up the necklace.

nOf course, even though I mentioned the fact I beat He Ling, I never told Xiao Qin I had her pressed under my body.

n“So that’s what happened… I thought Ye Lin classmate was going on a date with a girl he met outside of school, and my heart almost broke.”

n“Nonsense, I don’t feel anything towards He Ling. She also emphasized the fact that it wasn’t a date. Since it’s not a date, I could bring you along. That way you can take the necklace back to Auntie Ren when you head home.”

n“Then… how will you introduce me to He Ling?”

n“A normal introduction. Since your Auntie Ren’s daughter, it would be normal for you to try to get your mom’s necklace back.”

n“No, I meant….” Xiao Qin hesitantly twiddled her thumbs, “I meant will you tell her that I’m your girlfriend?”

nI pondered for a while.

nHe Ling doesn’t go to 28 Middle nor does she have any other relations to me. And Auntie Ren already announced she was my mother-in-law at the dojo, so if I introduce Xiao Qin as Auntie Ren’s daughter, then He Ling would already know she was my girlfriend.

nIf that’s the case, there’s no need to try and be secretive. I could also take this opportunity to make it clear to He Ling: I have no interest in you, I’m already taken, and my girlfriend is very beautiful.

n“Yeah, I will say your my girlfriend when we meet He Ling. You don’t have to be a secret girlfriend in front of her.”

n“That’s… great…” Xiao Qin sniffled and I quickly told her to calm down. I would be in trouble if she started crying in public.

nBut what would He Ling think if I brought someone along? Will she take offense to it and refuse to return the necklace?

nShe was the one who stated over and over again that it wasn’t a date. So I would be showing my sincerity if I apologized to her in front of my girlfriend.

nWell, I’m not worried about the necklace as long as she brings it with her.

nMy confidence comes from the fact that He Ling attends the Thousand Crane girls school and she even looks up to the Rose Group. If the first leader of the Rose Group arrived, then He Ling would be shocked.

nHe Ling was older than me by one year, which meant when Xiao Qin was attending Thousand Crane, He Ling was in her first year. It’s possible she’s even met Xiao Qin before.

nBut Xiao Qin’s appearance has changed a lot, so He Ling might not recognize her anymore.

nWell, who cares. It’s all good as long as she returns the necklace. If I apologized and treated her to a meal, but she still refuses to be reasonable, then don’t blame me if I resort to extreme measures.

nI could only ask Xiao Qin to have a ‘chat’ with her.

nEven if it was a weird ‘three person date’, Xiao Qin was still really excited. After she asked for the time and address, she quickly headed to the subway station.

n“I have to hurry home to change into some good looking clothes. Ye Lin classmate, let’s meet in across from Traktirr Pushkin at 7:30. I’ll be happily waiting for you on the pedestrian street.”

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nI headed home after temporarily parting ways with Xiao Qin. Since I sweated a lot from playing basketball, I thoroughly washed myself with a lot of soap.

nPlease don’t be mistaken that I was doing this because of He Ling’s order. It shouldn’t be because of Xiao Qin either… Spartans also need to take showers and keep themselves clean.

nI put on a starry skies t-shirt my dad bought me from a boutique store and a pair of Camel brand long pants. Then I strapped on a belt with the Transformers logo and wore a pair of breathable canvas shoes. I’ve never worn these four items together and I felt like I was dressed like a male protagonist from a drama.

nNo, wait, I have to hide my eyes, maybe wear a pair of sunglasses.

nThough I wasn’t sure if I would look more like a gangster with or without the sunglasses.

nAt around 6:40, I brought my cellphone, keys, wallet, and headed out.

nXiao Qin said she would be waiting for me at 7:30, but based on the experience from the last when we went to the movies, I’m afraid she might arrive very early and waiting for me happily.

nI didn’t want her to wait too long. Since I was already done changing, I might as well head out earlier, and she might be pleased if she sees me ahead of the arranged time.

nI haven’t really prepared any presents for Xiao Qin, but it was easy to make her happy.

nI remembered something my dad once told me:

n“How do you judge if someone loves you? If you can easily make her happy or sad, then she loves you without a doubt.”

nI called a taxi to head towards the central pedestrian streets and I began to think about the word ‘responsibility’.

nIf a girl gave you control of her emotions, doesn’t that also give you the corresponding responsibilities?

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