Chapter 135

Page Twenty-Eight

Kamehameha Manga Cafe

“Is underwear really that reassuring?”

I could understand Senior Li’s sentiment!

With Xiao Lei’s company, she bought a set of B-cups, and Senior Li seemed less reserved, perhaps due to the sense of security that came with it.

However, the feeling of security provided by underwear varies from person to person. Everyone has different levels of openness or modesty.

For example, Yan Liuyuan transformed into Yan Yao and felt that underwear was unnecessary, no… this person probably thinks all clothing is unnecessary.

Thinking about it, being able to easily accept wearing just a plain T-shirt and white shirt like I do seems quite remarkable.

Senior Li’s hand trembled as she held the receipt, and she sighed again, “But women’s lingerie is really expensive!”

“Because of the location and rent, everything here is more expensive.”

Even though I said that, the prices in this underground shopping street were already the cheapest in the entire Balance Commercial District.

Listening to me, Senior Li asked, “Zhao Zhao mentioned that shop, right? Is it also expensive there?”

Although I had never been there, many students from school had gone, so I had heard some things: “It’s said to be very high-priced, so much that we poor students can’t even step inside without gritting our teeth.”

“Really that expensive?”

As one of the only two “women” among us four, Xiao Lei stepped forward and hugged Senior Li’s shoulder, consoling her,

“Senior, you should think about it differently. Because it’s expensive, part-time job wages must be higher, right? Otherwise, how would we earn money per hour?”

Xiao Lei’s hug made Senior Li feel uncomfortable, and she struggled to get away.

“I’m a man, Xiao Lei.”

So she was struggling with this. Senior Li didn’t know that Xiao Lei was actually the senior student’s avatar.

“No, no, no. Senior, you’re a girl now. Please adjust your mindset, or you won’t pass the interview.”

Zhao Zhao, who was pushing my wheelchair, sternly warned Senior Li and then brought up the topic again, defending the manga cafe:

“Besides, the prices are high, but they’re worth it—”

“—That’s nonsense!”

She was interrupted again by Xiao Lei: “Senior, don’t listen to him. Spending money there is like throwing it in the water.”

They say this manga cafe has a hidden area for high-level VIPs, filled with adult content. Xiao Lei’s reaction confirmed the truth of this rumor, and it was easy to imagine why Zhao Zhao, this pervert, would go there.

Speaking of which, the nature of this shop was a bit problematic, making it seem inappropriate for Senior Li to work there…

I raised a question: “Zhao Zhao, wouldn’t working at that place be problematic?”

After all, with such high wages, it would be hard to refuse if customers asked for something strange. Maybe the boss hired female servers to do “touch tea.”

Zhao Zhao didn’t understand my point and asked, “Problematic? What do you mean?”

“That shop doesn’t allow women, and there’s that hidden area with such content…”

He finally understood.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve already checked. It’s normal work for Senior. The high-level VIP area isn’t their responsibility, and the female servers only need to handle the main hall. Plus, the boss is quite upright and won’t make things difficult for her.”

Upright, secretly doing lewd business?

Listening to our conversation, Senior Li was confused: “I don’t understand. Isn’t it just a coffee shop for reading manga? Why is there a VIP area?”

Explaining this was awkward, so I said, “You’ll understand when you get there.”

This kind of shop can’t operate openly, so it’s tucked away in this labyrinthine underground shopping district like the Lost Moonlight Bar. Fortunately, with Zhao Zhao as our guide, we didn’t take any wrong turns.

“We’re here.”

Since half of it is a manga bookstore, the interior is well-lit. As the automatic door opened, two distinct smells hit us—the aroma of coffee beans and the scent of comic ink.

A large sign stood prominently at the entrance.

“This shop does not admit women.”

This is too direct. Even I felt uncomfortable looking at it.

If this shop wasn’t located deep within the underground shopping district, it would probably have been vandalized by feminists.

Zhao Zhao pushed me around the sign and into the shop. Senior Li came in for the interview, but Xiao Lei hesitated at the entrance.

Upon entering, there was a bar counter, and window-side seats were lined with sofa booths. Between the booths were bookshelves, naturally stacked with comics. This structure, combining a manga bookstore with a coffee shop, is what makes it a manga cafe.

Since it was after school, there were already many customers, mostly students around our age, except for their school uniforms. This suggests that the shop’s reputation extends beyond our school.

“Boss, I’ve brought the person over!”

“Brat, I’ve told you many times, no talking inside!”

Only then did an old man in a Hawaiian shirt scold from behind the bar.

Now I understood why the shop was called “Kamehameha”… bald, white beard, and sunglasses. This old boss was almost like Master Roshi from Dragon Ball—except why is the boss an old man?

The boss took off his sunglasses and scanned us all.

“It’s been a summer since I last saw you. You’ve grown, haven’t you? Complaining about not having a girlfriend, and now you bring three?!”

I frowned. What was he talking about? Three? Was I included? With eyes that could see through my disguise, yet treating me like Zhao Zhao’s girlfriend, I wondered if he was blind.

“No, they aren’t my girlfriends—”

Zhao Zhao’s explanation was cut off by the boss again.

“Don’t say anything else. I understand. To keep harmony in the harem, you don’t want to get involved with anyone, right?”

You must have read too many harem manga. In reality, there’s no such thing as a harem. Anyone who does that is surely a scumbag.

“Boss, let me speak first… This guy in a wheelchair is my classmate, a male.”

“A male? Oh, even better.”

Huh? Nothing this old man says sounds pleasant.

“The short-haired one is my cousin, and the barcode-like hair is my senior, who’s here for the interview today.”

“Hmm?” The boss stroked his beard and asked, “Your school has female seniors?”

“… From the girls’ school next door.”

“You can recognize students from the girls’ school next door?”

Zhao Zhao was speechless, but the old boss laughed it off.

“Never mind. If you don’t want to tell the truth, don’t. For work, I only care about ability, not background.”

Though his earlier words were annoying, he was surprisingly open-minded at this moment, saving a lot of trouble.

“Let me introduce myself. Old man is Yǔwén Shēnyáng, the boss of this shop. You can call me Boss like this kid.”

The surname Yǔwén sounds familiar.

The boss stroked his beard again, sizing up Senior Li, and praised her,

“Not bad figure. Before the interview, let me explain the job duties… Xiao Jiu, come here.”

“Coming!”

In response to the boss’s call, a tall, ponytailed female server walked out from inside. She smiled warmly and bowed, saying, “Welcome back, everyone, masters!”

Given she said something so embarrassing, the uniform must be a maid outfit. For a manga cafe, it fits perfectly.

But… “Gua!”

After Xiao Jiu finished bowing, she looked up and made a strange sound, her smile completely collapsing. Her gaze toward Xiao Lei and Zhao Zhao was like seeing a ghost, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead.

I turned to Zhao Zhao, who was pushing my wheelchair, and asked, “Do you know her?”

“I’ve seen her somewhere before… but can’t recall where.”

He rubbed his chin, thinking hard, but shook his head. Xiao Lei nodded slightly, looking equally puzzled.

Seeing these two idiots not recognizing her, Xiao Jiu relaxed and restored her professional smile, asking, “Which one of you is here for the interview?”

Senior Li, who should have responded, didn’t. When I turned back, I found her staring blankly at Xiao Jiu.

Great, even Senior Li is stunned?