The moment Willow Ran opened the browsing history, I lunged to block her view of the screen.

"What are you doing?! I can’t see anything!"

"Ahhh—w-wait! Don’t look!"

"W-why can’t I look?! AHHH—I think I saw something about *inserting*—y-you really *do* have that kind of stuff?! You perverted teacher!"

Willow Ran suddenly shrieked, her face twisting as if she’d bitten into a cockroach, her whole body trembling.

*Seriously, how does a simple character like "insert" make her think of* that*?*

"Y-you idiot! It’s because of filthy minds like yours that *he* took advantage and wrote such disgusting things!"

"N-no… that’s not related at all!"

"How is it not?! An author’s thoughts reflect in their work! Your perverted ideas have completely infected him!"

Willow Ran was genuinely furious. She seemed to harbor a special hatred for anything lewd—and for "Cha-laoshi."

*Maybe this girl’s surprisingly innocent.*

"I don’t know what you’re imagining… but what’s on this computer absolutely cannot be shown to you!"

"N-no! I *will* see it—and destroy every trace of your sinful collection!"

Willow Ran shoved hard to pull me away from the screen, distorting my features.

"No! You can’t look!"

"Fool! How dense can you get?! Now I get it—you can’t understand a girl’s heart because your mind’s too filthy to write something pure!"

*Look, what you watch and what you write aren’t that connected! Besides, my writing block isn’t because of some trashy reason like that.*

Willow Ran gritted her teeth, ready to annihilate me from the screen at any cost.

This was critical.

"*Insert* OO—"

"Huh?"

She froze, startled by my sudden H-word.

"If you insist on looking… steel yourself!"

Only sheer audacity could stop Willow Ran now.

Reasoning was useless with this innocent yet violent girl. I had to crush her spirit with overwhelming force. Given her purity in *this* area, poison must fight poison!

"Know this—you’re about to open the gates to a new world! A realm of *Insert* [BEEP—], of Oh-OO, of little XX! A misty sanctuary of romance and peach-blossom haze! If you truly dare to enter… shout first: ‘I adore little XX!’"

*The "actually" part was key!*

And it worked.

Willow Ran’s expression was priceless. If before she’d swallowed a cockroach, now she was choking on it—unable to spit it out or swallow it down.

*Wait… blurting this stuff in broad daylight, to a girl… isn’t this a crime? Sexual harassment?*

*Damn. Another bargaining chip for Willow Ran—if she doesn’t call the cops.*

The silence grew heavy.

"W-Willow Ran…?"

As I raised my hand to wave in front of her eyes—

A blur shot toward me.

*Slap—!*

*…Guess I should be used to getting slapped by now.*

*Sigh. Expected.*

…

The next day dawned clear and bright. Dressed like I’d stepped out of a fashion magazine, I waited at the spot Yao Star妍 and I had agreed on.

The appointed time passed. Yao Star妍 didn’t appear.

*Is she standing me up?* The thought flickered, then vanished.

Cruel as her personality was, she wouldn’t do *this*—she’d reject you outright if she disliked you. That was the bitter lesson from my string of rejections.

Besides, girls running late on dates was normal.

I’d just wait.

Bored, I wandered toward the nearby Mini-Care Convenience Store.

Catching my reflection in the glass, I touched my cheek.

Had the slap mark from Willow Ran faded? She’d put her full strength into it.

Though the "Cha-laoshi" incident had blown over, the misunderstanding with Willow Ran lingered. If this kept up, rumors of "that perverted old man" might spread among my fans.

But—

*Damn, I look good.*

Tall and slender frame, hair meticulously waxed for the date, sharp yet gentle brows and eyes radiating intelligence and grace.

*AAAAH!*

*Why am I so handsome?!*

This stunning, popular guy at school—who’d spent so long preparing for a single date—truly at the whims of fate.

But now, every effort felt worth it.

Even standing casually, my presence made passersby pause mid-stride.

Five minutes later, Yao Star妍 arrived.

"Sorry I’m late. Wait long?"

"N-no! Just got here."

*Damn it, why am I nervous?*

"Good!"

She took my polite lie at face value—utterly composed, or perhaps just indifferent?

The conversation stalled.

"By the way… you feel different today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

I smiled.

Out of her uniform, Yao Star妍 carried a distinct aura.

"But… what’s this? You act so experienced, yet you don’t know ladies need time to prepare for dates?"

*I know that. Just didn’t expect you—reluctant as you were—to care this much.*

"So you admit this is a date?"

She rolled her eyes, shooting me a glare layered with meaning.

"Foolish… I’m just taking pity on you. And verifying how shallow you really are."

"I’m happy to be on this date with you."

"Are you even listening?!"

Another eye-roll. But I no longer cared.

"Can you stop smiling like that? It’s creepy!"

"Sorry, sorry."

*Damn. Slipped again.*

"So… anywhere you’d like to go?"

"Aren’t men supposed to plan dates?"

*Scorned again!*

Now I understood why Yao Star妍’s disdainful glares were so polished.

Practice makes perfect.

The reins were in my hands. Time for—

—Dating Cliché #1: The cinema!

Let’s go!