"I bought a present for the grandmother," Luo Cheng said to Mejiro McQueen and the others while they were eating pastries.
"Oh my, Trainer bought a gift? You really didn't need to go to such expense."
"I couldn't come empty-handed, could I?"
Actually, Luo Cheng had casually seen the words 'bride price' (caili) while scrolling on his phone, which reminded him to bring a gift. He didn't know much about the Mejiro family's matriarch or what she liked. Furthermore, most of his salary was spent on items for the horse girls, leaving him with little spare cash. So, he just randomly bought a souvenir from a street gift shop. He figured people living in a mansion like this probably wouldn't care for it and might toss it in the trash, but Luo Cheng didn't mind; he was just going through the motions.
Mejiro McQueen got up, preparing to deliver the gift, while Mejiro Dober picked up a piece of cake and placed it near Luo Cheng's mouth.
Quite a few people had come to the Mejiro family birthday party. The busy footsteps of the attendants frequently echoed outside as they ushered guests in and out.
"Luo-chan, will you come to my room later?" Mejiro Dober whispered in Luo Cheng's ear. "I bought a few new outfits that are perfect for Luo-chan."
"No need."
"Luo-chan..."
Even if you look at me with those pitiful eyes, I still won't.
This was the first time Luo Cheng had refused to go to a girl's room; normally, he'd be eager to share a bed with them. With Mejiro Dober, however, Luo Cheng was wary. Her invitation was clearly not driven by the idea of mutual pleasure; it was about pleasing her first, and then maybe mutual pleasure later.
He remembered that Mejiro Dober's affection level was at '84' when he last checked, and it had increased significantly after that support card storyline. It was strange why her affection changed in the main story just because he did something in the support card story.
Is affection bidirectional and interlinked?
Not only that, Luo Cheng noticed that the higher the horse girl's affection, the faster it grew, and the lower it was, the slower it grew—it wasn't a fixed few points per event like in the game. Initial affection below ten was painfully slow, usually just one point, sometimes none. From twenty to sixty, the growth curve was slightly more normal, with general gains of about two or three points, excluding hard-to-resist methods like Touch/Injection. The fastest growth was at seventy and above. Not only were the growth conditions simpler, but the points gained were also double what they used to be. Even without deliberately grinding, casual meetings could easily boost affection to eighty or ninety.
Rudolph and the others had all been unintentionally pulled into the mid-eighties range. Air Groove had even broken the ninety mark because she cut her hand while picking flowers, and Luo Cheng bandaged and healed her, instantly increasing her affection by 6 points. This rate was now comparable to Luo Cheng's Injection method.
It felt like he would soon have another maxed-out horse girl.
Speaking of max affection... Luo Cheng looked at Mejiro Bright sitting quietly, eating sweets.
Since they met, she had been extremely quiet, calmly eating cake and drinking black tea. In contrast, Mejiro Dober and Mejiro Ardan, with affection levels of '84' and '81' respectively, were both engaged in a feeding game.
"This cake is also delicious, Trainer Luo Cheng." Ardan put a piece of cake in his mouth. Mejiro Dober was not to be outdone: "Luo-chan, have a candy."
"Trainer, drink some black tea."
"There are also dango here."
Luo Cheng was pinned into his seat, his struggling hands trapped by the two girls, making it impossible to move. His mouth was continuously being stuffed with food.
"Dober, I thought you weren't good at dealing with Trainer-san."
"Luo-chan is special. But what about you, Ardan? Aren't you with Trainer Nase? Why are you seeking out Trainer Luo Cheng?"
"Aside from the fact that Trainer Nase and Trainer Luo Cheng are friends, I've also been looked after by Trainer Luo Cheng many times before, so I want to repay him."
The two spoke, their hands never stopping their actions.
"Trainer, Grandmother asked me to—what are you doing?" Mejiro McQueen returned and looked at Mejiro Dober and Mejiro Ardan. She couldn't help but interject, "What have you done to the Trainer? Don't cause trouble for him! Are you alright, Trainer Luo Cheng? Drink some water first."
"Th-thanks, McQueen..." After swallowing the food in his mouth, Luo Cheng let out a sigh of relief. He regretted not bringing the alarm clock with him.
"Oh my~ Trainer has such a good relationship with everyone," Mejiro Bright said, gently clapping her hands and smiling, acting as if nothing they did concerned her.
"If the relationship is good, then you should pay more attention to the Trainer's feelings," Mejiro McQueen said, wiping the corner of Luo Cheng's mouth with the air of a true matriarch. "By the way, Grandmother said there's a business meeting soon, and we need to go and say a few words. Trainer, you should go back to a room first. Let me see... who should accompany you..."
"My room, perhaps," Mejiro Bright offered. "Grandmother said I don't have to attend the meeting, so I can stay in my room with the Trainer."
"Wait, I'm not going either! Luo-chan can come to my room!" Mejiro Dober raised her hand.
"Where do you want to go, Trainer?"
"Bright's place."
If he went to Dober's room, there was a ninety percent chance he would suffer her "poisonous hands."
"Fine, then go to Bright's room."
"Luo-chan!" Mejiro Dober pouted. Is playing with me even once so unwilling?
"Then I'll take the Trainer away first." Mejiro Bright stood up, took Luo Cheng's hand, and walked out.
"Bright, the meeting isn't for a while yet!"
As if she hadn't heard Mejiro McQueen's warning, Mejiro Bright pulled the Trainer out of the room.
"Finally... it's just the two of us, Trainer." Mejiro Bright held both of Luo Cheng's hands, kneading the man's palm. Her clear, golden eyes radiated a strange glow.
Luo Cheng had thought Mejiro Bright's max affection was a fake max, but it turned out she was waiting for him right here.
"Come with me, Trainer. Let's go to my place first."
Mejiro Bright's room was a standard girl's room, with a lovely pink bed adorned with several plush toys.
"Bright, do you like dolls very much?" Luo Cheng sat on the bed. He had seen them in her dorm room as well.
"Yes, they are all my friends. My favorite thing to do is make clothes for these children. Oh, since the opportunity is rare, why don't you have a tea party with them, Trainer?"
After settling Luo Cheng in the room, Mejiro Bright left to fetch some sweets. Luo Cheng sat on the bed, touching the girl's bedsheet, which had a lovely floral scent, just like Mejiro Bright's body.
"Sorry for the wait, Trainer."
Mejiro Bright brought the sweets over.
"This one is yours, this one is yours..." After placing all the sweets on the table, Luo Cheng looked at his own empty plate.
"I brought the Trainer's as well."
Mejiro Bright smiled softly as she picked up a bottle of honey. Then, under Luo Cheng's gaze, she opened the honey bottle, tilted her head back, untied her clothes, and poured the honey down her own neck.