Chapter 242: Precious Dating Time
“Hello, please give me two bowls of tonkotsu ramen.”
Lin Tian said politely with a smile.
“Yes, of course! Would you like it in a large size?”
The waitress replied.
“Yes, please make it large.”
“Got it! Please wait a moment.”
The waitress said while fiddling with the electronic screen.
As Lin Tian watched the receipt slowly emerge from the machine, Gan Yan Yu looked on in surprise.
“Lin Tian, your Japanese is so good!”
“I’ve learned a bit.”
Lin Tian replied.
He felt a bit nervous when speaking, because even though he had knowledge in his head, it was his first time putting it into practice.
To his surprise, communicating turned out to be unexpectedly easy.
“Eh? You’re from Tianchao?”
As the waitress tore off the receipt and handed it to Lin Tian, she looked at them with a bit of surprise.
“Are you international students?”
“No, we’re just here on vacation.”
“I’m also from Tianchao; I’m studying for my master’s here and doing some part-time work.”
The waitress said excitedly, “Your Japanese is way too good, much more fluent than mine! I’ve lived in Tokyo for five years, and if you hadn’t spoken Chinese just now, I wouldn’t have noticed at all!”
“Thank you.”
Lin Tian took the receipt and said.
Soon, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu picked up their ramen at the counter and found a seat.
The ramen, priced at 48 bucks a bowl, had a few slices of meat floating on top, with scallions sprinkled over the chicken broth.
Maybe it was the exotic filter element, but it definitely looked good.
But that’s where it stopped.
Lin Tian picked up the noodles, took a bite, and then grabbed the spoon to sip the broth.
How to put it…
The noodles had a good texture, and the broth was nice and fragrant.
But to say it was good enough to justify the 48 bucks price tag? Nope.
He could still go for the 9-buck luosifen any day.
So much for the exotic filter.
It’s just like pure music; putting classic music aside, even modern instrumental, electronic music, and dance music—
Foreign names just seem to sound fancier.
Just like Alan Walker.
If this dude’s style and stage presence were translated to a local guy, he’d instantly become the king of ‘suburban chic,’ sitting at the same table as Wang Yi Long.
“Slurp~”
“?”
Lin Tian turned around just in time to see Gan Yan Yu slurping in a noodle.
As Lin Tian was about to roast her, Gan Yan Yu was already going to town, and before long, half her bowl was gone.
Seeing Lin Tian’s gaze, the girl turned her face to him, suddenly a bit shy, covering her mouth with one hand.
“I-I’m hungry.”
There was really no need to explain that.
“Teacher Gan,” Lin Tian couldn’t help but say, “Do you really believe there’s such a thing as bad food in this world?”
“Eh?”
Gan Yan Yu stopped her chopsticks, raised her face, and thought for a moment.
“Pomegranate blossom pudding?”
She raised her finger, seriously telling Lin Tian, “I had this new product at a shop before, it was super bad! I can’t believe someone could make pudding that awful.”
“Okay then.”
So she’d committed the sin of ruining pudding—no wonder pomegranate blossoms would be on the hate list.
If even the pudding queen Gan Yan Yu had such an opinion, the owner of that dessert shop probably deserved a serious talking-to!
But hey, as long as it wasn’t about rhododendrons.
Otherwise, Lin Tian would have some serious thinking to do.
After gobbling up the ramen, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu strolled around the shopping district near Ikebukuro.
They visited Japan’s first urban high-rise aquarium, “Sunshine.” Gan Yan Yu surprisingly loved little animals, pointing at a lazy seal resting on the shore and excitedly asking Lin Tian if it was cute.
When Lin Tian nodded in agreement, she stretched out multiple times, looking as happy as the seal, as if his nodding confirmed that “she’s as cute as the seal.”
They also dropped by a retro Showa-style shop that was filled with a sense reminiscent of yellow, old photographs from the last century. Gan Yan Yu loved everything vintage and “story-like.”
She had Lin Tian take several pictures for her, then pouted silently while looking at the photos. She felt a bit regretful she wasn’t in her favorite vintage dress, thinking this place totally called for it instead of her JK uniform.
Afterwards, they followed an online guide to check out Edogawa Rampo’s former residence, then climbed a lookout to gaze over the Tokyo skyline.
They looked just like a real couple on vacation in Tokyo. Gan Yan Yu carried her cello, walking ahead and urging Lin Tian to keep up while he slowly soaked in every street scene, enjoying this time.
Lin Tian thought carefully.
Wasn’t this precisely what he had always wanted?
A casual, music-free duo date?
Sure, they were in Tokyo for an international competition.
But these few work-free days, this carefree afternoon spent alone with Gan Yan Yu—
It made him feel immensely relaxed; that was all there was to it.
“It starts at 7 PM. Is it a bit early to go in now?”
As night fell, Lin Tian arrived at the concert venue, glancing at the electronic ticket on his phone and then looking at the time.
There was still half an hour before it started, but it seemed like they could go in now.
Earlier on the way, he’d passed a good number of livehouses, but this one was the largest he’d encountered.
Clearly, being acquainted with Wei Xiao Xiao showed some real clout.
At that moment, the entrance was already packed with people in line; a portion of them were international students from Tianchao, judging by their Chinese.
What made Lin Tian a bit embarrassed was that…
Everyone was dressed super “trendy.”
The boys all sported the same athletic or ‘rapper’ styles—jeans, headphones, and caps were the standard outfit.
The girls likewise, wrapped in coats, many wore cropped tops and bell-bottoms, radiating full-on ‘young and lively’ vibes.
There were even a few boys with long hair, looking more artsy than Lin Tian—he felt like a total bumpkin next to them.
Lin Tian had a moment of hesitation.
High schoolers like him, generally, had a bit of ‘fashion fear syndrome.’
It wasn’t that he had any stereotypes about dressing.
It was just that the vibes were off.
It felt like they were in completely different worlds.
Gan Yan Yu’s case was worse; she instinctively ducked behind Lin Tian.
Lin Tian initially thought Gan Yan Yu was scared, but then the next second, she leaned into his ear and whispered, “Lin Teacher, we can’t play high schoolers anymore, right? What’s our next role switch?”
(The End of this Chapter)
