Book 3: Chapter 18: Childhood Friend Loses to Parachute Romantic Interest?
Chen Heng had been slowly sipping tea earlier. When he heard Jeanne d’Arc’s reply, the tea in his mouth came spurting out. Fortunately, no one sat across from him.
“Owner? Little Heng, come over here. Let’s have a private chat.”
No, no, no! I don’t want a private chat with you. Elder Sister Raven, your expression right now is terrifying. Oh no! Don’t come over!
“Just kidding. I consider Ah Heng the only person in the world who holds any special meaning to me.”
There was nothing wrong with saying that. To those who understood the situation, Chen Heng was Jeanne d’Arc’s only remaining family. To both Jeanne d’Arc and Chen Heng, it referred to Chen Heng being the only person connected to her previous world, the one she transmigrated from. After all, Fafnir was not a human but a dragon.
“Miss Jeanne d’Arc, I’m sorry for your loss.” The perfect maid Raven chose this suitable moment to offer her condolences.
“Huh? Oh, it’s fine.” Jeanne d’Arc felt a little stunned at Raven’s words. She only just remembered her current legal identity, where her parents had died and her maternal grandmother passed away a few days ago, a tragic story. Chen Heng had told Jeanne d’Arc this before coming here.
“Elder Sister Raven, how did you know Jeanne d’Arc’s maternal grandmother passed away recently?” Chen Heng noticed a key point. Even if Jeanne d’Arc had such a setting, it did not mean everyone would know about it.
“I find out everything I can to prepare for eventualities. This is basic for a maid.”
“Oh, I see.” My ass! Chen Heng had never heard of this before. This was more like being a special agent.
However, Chen Heng could sort of understand. After all, he was her neighbor. Furthermore, they were so close. The Mo Clan would definitely investigate thoroughly. As Mo Qingtong’s personal maid, Raven was also an expert in the hidden world, functioning as Mo Qingtong’s bodyguard at the same time.
However, just because he knew did not mean he did not need to ask. If Chen Heng did not ask, it would appear strange.
“Have a seat first. I have to go to the kitchen for a moment.”
“Huh?” Chen Heng felt Raven was acting rather strange today. Elder Sister Raven was usually not this gossipy.
Raven became anxious after entering the kitchen. “This Jeanne d’Arc is a great enemy for the young miss.” She took out a notebook from her spatial storage and wrote on it. Let’s see, the contents were:
Jeanne d’Arc vs. Young Miss
1) Jeanne d’Arc has silver hair. This is appealing to the Chinese, +5 points. The young miss has straight, long, black hair, +3 points.
2) Jeanne d’Arc’s bust measurement is estimated to be 85, but it is not confirmed. In any case, it’s larger than the young miss’s, +2 points.
3) Jeanne d’Arc falls under the parachute romantic interest category, +3 points. The young miss belongs to the childhood friend category, -1 point.
4) They looked equally pretty, both beautiful, +3 points for both.
5) Family background. Jeanne d’Arc is an orphan and does not have much money. However, Little Heng does not care about these things. Who knows, such a setting might even incite a man’s protective instincts, +3 points. The young miss comes from an illustrious family, a rich beauty. This inspires a desire to conquer her, +4 points. However, it would put tremendous pressure on the man the young miss loves, -4 points. However, Chen Heng is the sole inheritor of the Chen Clan and is half a Ji Clan member, so the reduction of points can be lowered by 3 to -1 point.
6) Character: It looks like Jeanne d’Arc is the languid type, giving her a unique attraction to men, +3 points. The young miss is the carefree type; this is called…candid? +1 point.
7) …
Erm… Raven felt some despair upon seeing the tabulated points. Young Miss…Young Miss…
[TL Note: Mud failing to stick to the wall is a Chinese idiom meaning useless, inferior, hopelessly inept, or so incompetent no help would save that person. It’s an analogy of the mud being too thin and watery that it cannot stick.]
“How is she going to stay in the game? She is too disadvantaged. However, fear not; she still has me. The young miss will have a chance at victory with me assisting her, right? We will only know after the college entrance exams.”
A perfect maid had to learn how to control her expressions, so Raven’s expression returned to calm after she put the notebook back in her spatial storage. Then, she carried out the fruits she had prepared.
“Have some fruits. We can go to the store to buy swimsuits after we finish them. It is about time.”
After finishing the fruits, Raven brought the three to the shopping district southwest of Vast Sea City, about a 15-minute drive from Fantasy Sea Villas.
[Author Note: I followed the map of the city where the Valkyries worked in the Honkai Impact 3rd game for Vast Sea City (likely Souhai City or Sapphire in the English version).]
-----
In the swimsuit store:
The store had just opened, and it was a Tuesday. The students were at school, and the working class was at work. Hence, few people came to the swimsuit store. At the moment, there was just Chen Heng’s group of four.
“Elder Sister Raven, you should bring Sirin and Jeanne d’Arc to pick swimsuits. I’ll wait here.” Chen Heng immediately sat in the customers’ lounge after entering the store. He had no intention of picking swimsuits with them.
“How can that do? Women dress for the one they like. Without you, the male, how can they determine if their swimsuit is suitable?”
“…” What do you mean, the one they like? Stop linking us like that. You will create misunderstandings in others like this.
“Just come on in. There’s nothing to worry about; there’s no one in the swimsuit store. Don’t be shy.”
“Alright.” Chen Heng finally gave in to Raven’s endless persuasion and Sirin’s expectant gaze.
After entering the women’s swimsuit section, Chen Heng felt dazzled. This section was much flashier than the men’s.
This illustrated the difference between genders. The men’s section just carried a few variations. However, the women’s section had all sorts of patterns and types. There were one-pieces, bikinis, low-backs, two-pieces, swim skirts…
Merchants who cheat females are trash.
After entering, Raven got the shop assistant to take Sirin’s and Jeanne d’Arc’s measurements. Although Chen Heng already knew their measurements, he could not say so. If he did, he would be seen as a pervert.
It might be fine for Jeanne d’Arc. However, if Chen Heng stated Sirin’s three sizes, then…
It went without saying that he would suffer social death.
After the measurements, Raven brought Sirin and Jeanne d’Arc around to pick out swimsuits.
Chen Heng followed behind. When Raven occasionally asked for his comment, he would answer with grunts or half-hearted answers like “Looks good” or “Suits you.”
What else could he say? “The lines of the swimsuit fit you to a T, perfectly accenting your curves”? If he said such a thing to Sirin, he would appear even more like a pervert and a scoundrel. If he said that to Jeanne d’Arc, he might get beaten to death.
Chen Heng saw all sorts of women’s swimsuits today. Raven even picked a swimsuit for Sirin in the style frequently seen in Japanese comics: the one-piece school swimsuit, the kind that had the name written on the chest.
Ah! This…
Foll𝑜w current novels on fre(e)w𝒆bnovel