Chapter 142

Page Thirty-Five Flower Names

“Then everyone, how about giving this little girl a flower name?”

A flower name is like “Little Jiū,” a nickname used in the store, written on name tags for customers to see. When facing customers, one’s real name should be hidden to avoid troublesome guests.

In the end, it’s not much different from things like “Resonance Destruction,” “Evil King True Eye,” and “Night Feather.”

“How about ‘Little Speck’?” Xiǎo Lěi blurted out, being the first to offer an opinion.

Clearly, she said this because Senior Chāngpú’s hair stripes reminded her of a zebra. This person’s thoughts were too easy to guess.

Miss Jiū immediately objected: “No, no, no. The name ‘Little Speck’ is neither cute nor cool. Think again.”

Xiǎo Lěi suggested another idea: “Little Panda?”

This person was just thinking of black and white animals! Moreover, little panda is different from panda; it’s a completely different animal!

Miss Jiū continued to object: “It’s a bit cute, but it won’t do.”

Let’s find some references, like “Little Jiū.” I asked: “Why is Miss Jiū called ‘Little Jiū’?”

She scratched her head and answered with her ponytail swaying back and forth: “Hmm? There’s no special reason. My name has the character for autumn, so it started as Little Autumn. Then the shopkeeper thought ‘Little Jiū’ was cuter, so they changed it.”

The characters in the name?

If we follow this line of thinking to choose a name, should it be Little Chāngpú, Little Pu, Little Creek, or Little Lotus?

Hmm, Little Lotus seems nice, but revealing the trick too soon would make Miss Jiū suspicious. It wouldn’t be convenient for Senior Chāngpú to work later.

“What do you think, Senior Chāngpú?”

Senior Chāngpú pushed her middle finger against her eyebrow as if adjusting imaginary glasses, then replied:

“I don’t think we need to stick to the ‘Little X’ format. How about something like Condensation Smoke, Dream Jade, Evening Mist?”

What kind of names are these? Are you a courtesan from a brothel?

From this, we can see that Senior Chāngpú is a non-fan who doesn’t understand otaku culture at all. Working in such a place must be tough for her.

Sure enough, Miss Jiū also objected to Senior Chāngpú’s suggestion.

“No, no, Senior Chāngpú, this is a manga café! How could it accept such old-fashioned names?”

“No, no,” Xiǎo Lěi complained: “Stop just rejecting others’ ideas. Give us your own suggestions!”

Miss Jiū propped her chin and thought for a while, her brows gradually furrowing… then suddenly relaxing, clapping her hands and smiling: “Oh, I have to attend to the guests. Keep discussing!”

Without any conclusion, she simply walked away…

Seeing this, Xiǎo Lěi stuck out her tongue at her retreating figure, a very childish action.

Miss Jiū ran off, and Shopkeeper stopped participating in the conversation. Xiǎo Lěi and Senior Chāngpú were unreliable. As expected, when it comes to critical moments, I, the wise protagonist, have to step up.

I analyzed: “Although Senior Chāngpú’s names don’t work, her approach is correct. We don’t need to stick to the ‘Little X’ format… how about ‘Felis Meow Meow’?”

Xiǎo Lěi commented: “While it might be great as a maid’s name, it’s completely from another world, isn’t it?”

“Then how about ‘Miss Black and White’? It fits Senior Chāngpú’s character, right?”

Xiǎo Lěi slammed the table and pointed her finger at my nose: “Is that a robot idol? You’re just picking your favorite characters based on your mood?”

She actually saw through me trying to use character names. As expected of Xiǎo Lěi, her knowledge of otaku culture is formidable.

I argued: “As long as it’s not obvious, right? Besides, maids in a manga café calling these names wouldn’t seem out of place, would they?”

“Then choose something less recognizable!”

“How about Sakiko?”

“Oh! That sounds nice. But what is Sakiko?”

Despite not understanding what Senior Chāngpú said, Xiǎo Lěi genuinely praised, and even Shopkeeper’s eyes lit up.

Senior Chāngpú, who had been flipping through the comics on the nearby shelf, suggested the name.

The cover read “Monthly Girl Wild Dachizuki,” which I didn’t know since I wasn’t interested in shoujo manga. “Sakiko” was probably the main character’s name. (Mizumori Sakiko is actually the male protagonist’s pen name.)

Notably, Senior Chāngpú’s pronunciation was in Japanese. Despite knowing nothing about otaku culture, she understood Japanese.

I asked: “That’s good. Does Senior Chāngpú know Japanese?”

She nodded and scratched her head bashfully.

“Hehe, I know a little bit, but it’s not something I can boast about! I read some business Japanese books during bookstore work, and I passed a job interview at a Japanese restaurant using it.”

Huh? Is it that easy to learn to the point where it can get you a job? Just a little bit?

Senior Chāngpú continued explaining: “Isn’t it better to directly borrow from the manga to match the café’s atmosphere?”

Silent Shopkeeper finally spoke: “Yes, this flower name is good. It also implies ‘flower bloom,’ so let’s call her Xiao Saki!”

He nodded and clapped his hands, finalizing Senior Chāngpú’s flower name.

“Hold on, Xiao Saki? Isn’t it Sakiko?”

“Boy, don’t you think ‘Sakiko’ sounds like ‘Filial Son’ in Chinese?”

Indeed, it doesn’t sound good, but ultimately, it still ends up in the ‘Little X’ format!

Shopkeeper patted Senior Chāngpú’s shoulder: “From today, you’ll be Xiao Saki in the store. Alright, go work with Little Jiū.”

“Yes, Shopkeeper!”

Senior Chāngpú straightened her clothes and went to work. With her experience in the food service industry, serving guests came naturally, but something felt missing.

Turning around, Xiǎo Lěi pointed at herself and asked: “What about me? What’s my flower name?”

“Let me think, Entai Ai, Kiriruno, Aqua, Quincy?”

“Chairman Stupid, aren’t these all stupid names?”

Well, it looks like this girl lacks self-awareness.

“You don’t need to think so hard. Miss Jiū simply took a single character from her name, right, Xiǎo Lěi?”

“I already have a single name! This is exactly the same! Isn’t a flower name supposed to hide the real name?”

Silent Shopkeeper spoke again: “Yes, this flower name is good. It also implies ‘bud,’ so let’s call her Xiao Lei!”

I looked at Xiao Lei’s chest, where it would forever remain a bud.

“Hey! Why was it decided so casually?”

Afterwards, Xiao Lei reported the measurements for the custom maid outfit to the Shopkeeper, and the key to the apartment was already given to Senior Chāngpú. It was time to leave.

Seeing us prepare to leave, Senior Chāngpú, dressed as a maid, chased after us, her new leather shoes clicking on the floor.

“Are you leaving?”

Xiǎo Lěi nodded: “Yeah, I’m taking Chairman home. I won’t familiarize myself with the work today.”

“Then I’ll call you later under the bridge.”

“Good luck, Senior. You need to create value worth more than the hundred yen hourly wage.”

Though Old Shopkeeper has questionable judgment in naming, he’s not a philanthropist but a businessman. He certainly wouldn’t run a loss-making business. In short, he wants to attract more repeat customers, sell more drinks, and issue more membership cards.

The manga café is located deep in the underground shopping street, relying less on the limited foot traffic. Online marketing and word-of-mouth among otaku are the main sources. In short, although the prices are high, it’s a reputation-based business—V Zhao’s enthusiasm as a shareholder shows this.

The next Friday after school, Zhao Zhao and I didn’t go with the seniors. He went smoothly, called me when he arrived at the “changing room” under the bridge, changed clothes, and went to work on his own.

However, regarding attending university as a woman, he still hadn’t given me an answer.

But there’s no rush. After working for a while, once she adapts to her female identity, she will surely have new considerations on this matter.