Fujiwara Chika continued to chat with Tanaka Masao.
"Tanaka-kun, what grade are you in now?"
"First year."
"I'm a second-year, so come on, Tanaka-kun, call me senpai."
At this moment, Fujiwara Chika had already regarded Tanaka Masao as her little fan.
Being called a senpai or upperclassman by a little fan would greatly satisfy Fujiwara Chika's vanity and give her a strong sense of accomplishment.
Looking at Fujiwara Chika's sparkling big eyes, Tanaka Masao made his choice.
"Kotowaru (I refuse)."
He didn't want to be inferior to Fujiwara Chika for no reason, and most importantly, Fujiwara Chika really didn't have the aura of a senpai.
"Nandai! (Why?)"
Fujiwara Chika instantly became unhappy and insisted on an explanation.
Tanaka Masao's reason was also very simple.
"We're not from the same school, so you're not my senpai."
This was a great reason, but Fujiwara Chika didn't care about his reasoning; at this moment, she only wanted to hear Tanaka Masao call her senpai.
So, she used a pouting tactic.
"Oh, what does it matter? Is there any law that says you can't call someone senpai if you're not from the same school?
All students in Neon are classmates, so anyone older than you is a senpai."
Fujiwara Chika held up a finger and spoke earnestly, attempting to persuade Tanaka Masao.
"As expected of Fujiwara student, that makes a lot of sense."
"Hehe, then Tanaka-kun..."
Seeing that Tanaka Masao agreed with her, she once again looked at him expectantly.
"But there's also no law that says you *must* call a senpai 'senpai' or 'upperclassman', right?"
Defeated by Tanaka Masao using magic to defeat magic, Fujiwara Chika's smile stiffened.
She puffed out her cheeks, a little angry.
"Tanaka-kun is mean, teasing me! I don't care, I don't care, I just want you to call me senpai."
Seeing that both the pouting tactic and the reasoning tactic failed, Fujiwara Chika resorted to another tactic: throwing a tantrum.
Her voice grew louder, and she shook her head wildly, as if she couldn't hear anything except the words "senpai."
Seeing Fujiwara Chika act shamelessly, Tanaka Masao felt a little helpless.
[As expected of someone who dreams of becoming the Prime Minister of Neon, has she already shown her potential?]
Tanaka Masao could clearly feel that the other two people in the shop were already looking their way.
This situation made Tanaka Masao a bit embarrassed, and his ears were turning red.
[Damn it, why do I feel ashamed when Fujiwara Chika does something so embarrassing?
Is it really because I'm too shy and innocent?]
Helplessly, Tanaka Masao reluctantly called out.
"Se... senpai."
"What? I didn't hear you."
Tanaka Masao took a deep breath, closed his eyes as if resigned to his fate, and slightly raised his voice.
"Fujiwara-senpai."
This time, Fujiwara Chika was satisfied, a benevolent smile on her face, as if looking at her own younger brother. She even lightly patted Tanaka Masao's head and said,
"Very good, very good, Junior Tanaka."
Tanaka Masao clenched his fist.
[I'll remember this grudge!]
While the two were chatting, the ramen shop owner had already finished making the ramen.
The three of them had entered the shop and ordered one after another, so their ramen bowls were brought to the table almost simultaneously.
Looking at the exquisite ramen placed in front of her, Fujiwara Chika's dangling feet swung back and forth, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
"It smells so good, I'm going to dig in."
She broke apart her disposable chopsticks, ready to enjoy the delicious food.
Tanaka Masao, smelling the rich aroma emanating from the ramen, couldn't help but swallow.
He broke apart his disposable chopsticks, and a good idea suddenly popped into his mind, a wicked smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Tanaka Masao used his disposable chopsticks to pick up the char siu from his bowl, making a gesture as if to give it to Fujiwara Chika, and at the same time, asked with a smile,
"Fujiwara-senpai, do you eat char siu?"
Fujiwara Chika, who was about to enjoy her ramen, turned her head at the sound and looked at the char siu in Tanaka Masao's bowl.
Although she really wanted it, she was a senpai after all, and how could she snatch food from a junior? So she said,
"I don't eat it. You eat it yourself, junior."
As she spoke, she even showed what she considered a very mature and steady smile, fully displaying the charm of a senpai to him.
"Then I'll eat it."
Tanaka Masao, who was well-prepared, unhesitatingly extended his chopsticks and moved the char siu from Fujiwara Chika's bowl into his own.
Fujiwara Chika: (??? )?
Fujiwara Chika just watched, wide-eyed, as her char siu was taken away. Her brain momentarily froze and didn't react.
She looked at the ramen in her bowl, now without char siu, and then at Tanaka Masao's ramen, which had two servings of char siu.
Facing Tanaka Masao's polite smile, Fujiwara Chika finally realized that she had been tricked.
[I need to get revenge.]
This was Fujiwara Chika's first thought. She spoke up.
"Junior Tanaka, do you eat eggs?"
Besides char siu, the best part of ramen was the half soft-boiled egg.
"Ah, I do, thank you, senpai."
Tanaka Masao once again showed a polite smile and took the soft-boiled egg from Fujiwara Chika's ramen.
Fujiwara Chika: (??? )?
She once again looked at the smiling Tanaka Masao, at his full bowl, and then at her own bowl.
Only a few side dishes remained, such as ginger slices, chopped green onions, and seaweed.
The atmosphere in the ramen shop became extremely quiet. Except for Tanaka Masao, the other three seemed to be under a spell, holding their positions motionless.
Ota Jima Saburo was already stunned.
He had actually been observing the situation, seeing the two strangers engage in an enthusiastic conversation almost instantly.
He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, [Youth is truly wonderful.]
When the ramen arrived, and he saw Tanaka Masao tricking Fujiwara Chika out of the char siu and egg in her bowl, his eyes nearly popped out.
[To take away the char siu and egg, the soul of the ramen is gone! This kid is definitely a heretic among heretics, an enemy of ramen.
Oh, the poor girl is probably about to cry. Kid, how will you resolve this?]
As a ramen lover, he couldn't even enjoy his freshly made delicious ramen; his attention was entirely on the two, wanting to see what would happen next.
The always steady and serious owner was also slightly turned to the side, paying attention to the situation.
No one can resist a good show, especially one playing out right in front of them.