Chapter 82: Making Friends

Upon receiving a satisfactory reply, the two girls immediately burst into joy.

“You haven’t eaten yet, right? How about we eat together?” Kamiya Suzune proposed to Luo Quan.

“Sure.” Luo Quan nodded in agreement; at least now she wouldn’t remain an outsider anymore.

The three girls entered the cafeteria, and with Luo Quan’s arrival, the already lively cafeteria grew even noisier.

Miyano Natsuko volunteered: “You two find a seat first—I’ll order for you.”

Luo Quan looked up: “Omelette rice, please.”

“Akamon ramen,” Kamiya Suzune said, then found a nearby four-person table with Luo Quan.

They sat facing each other; Kamiya Suzune still seemed excited—excited from being this close to her idol.

“Luo Quan-san, I never expected you to be so gentle and easygoing in private—I thought idols were all like Hoshino Sakura, cold and aloof.”

Luo Quan’s lips curved into a smile: “It depends on personality. Hoshino Sakura is just as cold in private as she is on camera.”

“You know Hoshino Sakura well!” Kamiya Suzune was startled, then scratched her head: “Then again, you two interact often on Twitter.”

As they chatted, a commotion erupted around them.

Luo Quan looked up and saw a large group of boys approaching in a tight circle.

Perhaps because they’d just returned to campus, the students’ minds were restless—this kind of unusual scene had already happened multiple times today.

Luo Quan initially thought the boys were coming for her, but soon realized she’d overestimated her own importance.

The circle of boys parted, and a young man in a white suit, holding a bouquet of roses, leapt out from within.

“My dear Suzune-chan, today marks one hundred and eighty days since we met—and this is my eighteenth proposal. Will you accept my love?”

No sooner had he finished than the surrounding “bystanders” erupted in cheers.

“So romantic—he even remembers the exact number of days!”

“If it were me, I’d say yes to Sato-kun’s proposal.”

“Sato-kun is so outstanding—who could possibly refuse him?”

The amateur performance made Luo Quan barely suppress a laugh.

Kamiya Suzune frowned at the boy: “Sato Shuichi, I’ve told you before—I have no intention of dating in college. Why do you keep bothering me?”

Sato Shuichi’s gaze was tender: “Suzune-chan, how can you know how beautiful love is if you’ve never experienced it?”

“What kind of guy pursues a girl like this?” Kamiya Suzune avoided his electric gaze, lowering her head in exasperation.

To be fair, Sato Shuichi wasn’t bad at all.

He had a refined face, stood above average height, his fashion sense was questionable, but his eyes truly radiated charm—and his skin was thicker than most; he’d been rejected seventeen times and still didn’t give up.

As the saying goes, even a virtuous woman can’t withstand persistent pursuit. Kamiya Suzune didn’t seem to hate Sato Shuichi—just troubled, likely because public proposals made her uncomfortable.

If Sato Shuichi kept at it a few more times, he might eventually wear her down.

But this proposal would surely end in failure: Kamiya Suzune firmly rejected his roses and invitation to visit Provence for lavender fields, leaving Sato Shuichi deeply wounded.

Fortunately, Miyano Natsuko’s arrival eased the awkwardness.

“Lunch is here~~~” Miyano Natsuko placed the trays on the table, and the three girls each took their own meals.

Kamiya Suzune’s lunch was the Tokyo specialty “Akamon ramen.” Though authentic Akamon ramen was served at the Hongō campus, it was also available at the Komaba cafeteria—though the taste certainly wasn’t as good.

Miyano Natsuko and Luo Quan both had omelette rice—a Japanese specialty. There was a famous restaurant in Tokyo’s streets that specialized in it, but Luo Quan had never eaten there.

Seeing the girls begin eating, the rejected Sato Shuichi turned and quietly left; his entourage was also preparing to depart when another boy stepped forward.

“Hello, may I get to know you?”

The boy looked at Luo Quan, his smile like quiet moonlight, extending his hand.

I knew it… Luo Quan, whose cheeks were still full of rice, felt excruciatingly embarrassed. She chewed quickly and swallowed—but choked, then burst into violent coughing.

Kamiya Suzune, seeing this, handed Luo Quan napkins from beside her tray and placed her untouched juice in front of her.

The boy realized his timing was terrible, his face flushing with embarrassment: “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have spoken to you now.”

“I’m… fine…” Luo Quan covered her mouth, coughing and waving her hand.

She picked up the lemon juice and drank deeply—the cold liquid finally soothed her constricted throat and burning trachea.

“Nice to meet you.” Luo Quan wiped her hand clean, then finally grasped the boy’s outstretched hand.

“I’m Keimiyama Masaku,” the boy said, his smile restrained yet radiating an indescribable noble air.

“Such a rare surname—I think I’ve heard it before,” Luo Quan murmured, sipping her lemon juice.

Miyano Natsuko whispered in Luo Quan’s ear: “He’s the eldest grandson of Emperor Akihito.”

“Cough! Cough! Cough!” Luo Quan choked again—this time on the juice.

“I’m so sorry… Your Imperial Highness!” Luo Quan immediately released his hand, her face filled with astonishment.

“Don’t be so formal. On campus, I’m just an ordinary student—we’re classmates, equal in status.”

That might be true, but how could she not be formal?

Yet Luo Quan reconsidered: even if this Imperial Heir was powerful, he couldn’t command a citizen of Huaxia. Besides, the Qing Dynasty had fallen over a century ago—she had no reason to cower before foreign royalty.

With this thought, Luo Quan’s expression gradually calmed.

“Keimiyama-kun, besides wanting to meet me, you must have another reason, right?” Luo Quan noticed everyone watching her, their expressions tense—she didn’t know why.

Keimiyama Masaku spoke slowly: “I heard your name at the Imperial Palace. The Prime Minister praised you for saving Japan with a single song. I was curious what you were like in person—and I’d like to be friends.”

“If you were a girl, it wouldn’t be a problem. But as a boy, I can’t accept so quickly—we’ve just met.” Luo Quan’s reply was a polite refusal of Keimiyama Masaku’s request to be friends.

Come on—this was the Imperial Heir. What beautiful female classmates couldn’t he find on campus? He wanted to be friends with her the moment he saw her? Any fool knew his true intentions.

Call it love at first sight if you're kind; call it lust at first sight if you're blunt. She'd heard Japanese men had a white-girl fetish—she thought it only existed among girls, but didn't expect boys to be the same.

Fortunately, this Imperial Heir still had some dignity—he didn’t copy his buddy Sato Shuichi’s antics. If he’d launched a hundred-and-eighty-day campaign of random public proposals, that would’ve been a disaster.

Hearing Luo Quan’s refusal, Keimiyama Masaku froze—clearly unexpected. He hadn’t imagined even a simple friendship request would be turned down.

The onlookers all exhaled in relief: girls were glad their idol hadn’t been taken; boys were glad their goddess hadn’t been stolen.

Perhaps embarrassed by the public rejection, Keimiyama Masaku hurriedly left the cafeteria—but before going, he still politely bid farewell, maintaining his composure.

After Keimiyama Masaku left, Kamiya Suzune stared in disbelief: “Oh my god, Luo Quan—that was the Imperial Heir! You refused just because he wanted to be friends?”

Luo Quan ate her omelette rice slowly: “We don’t know each other, and I don’t plan to make any opposite-sex friends anytime soon… By the way, when Sato Shuichi first met you, didn’t he say he wanted to be friends too?”

“Yes.”

“Did you agree?”

“Of course!” Kamiya Suzune nodded matter-of-factly. “It’s just being friends—it’s not unreasonable.”

Luo Quan smiled slyly: “Do you really think he only wanted to be friends back then?”

“……” Kamiya Suzune fell silent, then clenched her fist in anger: “That guy proposed to me on the third day we met! I didn’t think much of it then—but now that you mention it, he was never just being friendly!”

“Don’t say it like that. Men are naturally drawn to beautiful girls. If he’d proposed right away, you’d have thought he was shallow. But if he just asked to be friends, you’d have said yes.”

Miyano Natsuko asked curiously: “Then why did you refuse Keimiyama Masaku?”

“I already said—I don’t want any opposite-sex friends right now. And I know exactly what Keimiyama Masaku wants. Rather than face the same endless trouble you do every day, it’s better to shut it down early.”

Though this might seem harsh, we Huaxia have an old saying: short pain is better than long pain. So… you understand.”

Kamiya Suzune still looked regretful: “But it’s such a waste—being friends with the Imperial Heir? That’s such a status boost!”

Luo Quan smiled: “In Huaxia, it’s more prestigious to be friends with the richest man’s son—because our emperor’s been dead for decades.”

“So it’s a cultural difference. In Japan, the richest man doesn’t hold much status,” Miyano Natsuko recalled the Chinese-born Japanese billionaire, whose reputation had always been poor—young people online disliked him, accusing him of stealing Japan’s wealth.

“Exactly,” Luo Quan nodded lightly, ending the topic.

Ps. Power outage today—Chapter Two will be late. Also, please vote and subscribe…