Sharkie, You Scoundrel!
3: Chapter 3: Too Unfair!
Sharkie, You Scoundrel!
The morning breeze carried a faint chill, gently swaying the curtains and the wind chime by the window.
Buyuan’s dainty fox ears twitched.
Before long, he opened his eyes and twisted around on the bed with some difficulty.
“Mmm~~~ ah~” He reached back to scratch his rear.
Something felt off.
He checked the time — just about six-thirty.
Perfect timing to grab breakfast and head to school.
He got up, freshened up a bit, and hurried out the door.
In his room, a purple figure flickered briefly and then vanished.
“Yo, old man Enzo.” “You little rascal, you’re off to school now?” Uncle Enzo took a rather worldly drag of his cigarette.
“Yeah.
Now that I’ve finally pulled myself together, gotta face the days ahead with a smile, right?” Buyuan waved at Uncle Enzo.
“Heh, quite right, you little punk.” Uncle Enzo blew out a smoke ring, looking pretty pleased.
Buyuan glanced at the video store and saw the Wise-and-Belle siblings weren’t up yet, so he headed towards Waterfall Soup.
“Chop, one Iced Fresh, please!” Buyuan decided to try the flavor Miss Shark was so fond of.
“Haha, just yesterday I heard from Enzo that you’d finally come out of your shell.
Didn’t expect you’d show up here today.
Here, let me show you what I can do!” As he spoke, two mechanical arms suddenly extended from behind Chop.
They kneaded the dough with fluid precision, and in no time, the springy noodles were cooked and scooped into a large bowl.
“Here, try it, quick!” After setting the noodles in front of Buyuan, Chop returned to his station, prepping the ingredients he’d need for the morning rush.
Buyuan replied sporadically to Chop’s chatter between bites.
He had to admit, the old man’s skills far surpassed the kid Chop’s.
Absolutely exquisite!
After paying, Buyuan was about to leave when he happened to see Wise opening the video store door and hanging up the “Open” sign.
“Yo, Wise, you’re up early.” “Morning, Buyuan.” Wise greeted him back.
There was no need to guess — Belle was definitely still in bed.
So after that quick greeting, Buyuan headed off to squeeze into the metro.
Don’t ask why he didn’t just drive when he had a car.
The car was a branded supercar, practically a luxury item.
Driving it to school would attract way too much attention.
Nothing particularly interesting happened on the way, though he did spot Qingyi on the metro.
No interaction occurred, of course — if it had, that would’ve been a serious problem.
“Morning, Ellen.” Right at the school gate, he spotted Ellen and the Ruby crew.
“Morning.” The group returned his greeting.
Buyuan didn’t join their cluster.
That would probably be troublesome for both sides.
As soon as he reached the classroom, he saw a brand new set of textbooks sitting at his desk.
He casually stuffed the books into his drawer, pulled out his phone, and idly browsed the novel recommendation charts.
Reincarnated as a Void Hunter, Gave Up Luxury Life Forever I Am the Ultimate Sugar Daddy of a Virtual Idol Growing Stronger by Rejecting Hoshimi Miyabi’s Confession “Nice.
So they’re all light novels, huh.” The corner of Buyuan’s mouth curved up.
He had no intention of plagiarizing any great masterpieces.
He couldn’t remember the details anyway.
So he planned to write light novels himself.
With the novel knowledge from Earth, he could absolutely dominate the light novel scene here.
Just imagine it — writing novels in his free time, singing without showing his face as a little streamer, his Bangboo coding and building games for him…
Becoming the richest man in New Eridu was just a matter of time!
“You…
okay there?” Ellen looked at Buyuan, whose eyes had narrowed into a smile, a bit weirded out.
Judging by this guy’s expression and that tail swaying nonstop, he seemed really happy.
And had this guy just grown his tail or something?
Getting this excited and wagging it so broadly, with absolutely zero control.
“Hm?
Oh, Ellen, you’re here.
Nah, just thought of something happy.” Buyuan shoved his phone into his drawer and looked up at Ellen.
“Looks like someone’s in a good mood today.” Ruby popped her head out from behind Ellen, followed immediately by two more heads.
“Yep!
Got some plans for daily life sorted out, and custom-ordered a cute Bangboo.” Buyuan’s mood was indeed very good today.
“Wait, you adopted a Bangboo too, Buyuan?” Monna was a bit surprised.
She’d always assumed he was one of the disaster-stricken.
“Nope, custom-ordered~ Designed the appearance myself.
Only one like it in all of New Eridu.” Buyuan wagged a finger rather proudly.
“I’m not some disaster victim, you know.” Seeing their expressions, Buyuan realized they’d misunderstood him.
After a brief chat with Ellen and the others, Buyuan turned his attention back to his phone.
He planned to hash out a title and a rough outline before class started.
Ehehe, what should I write…
let me think.
Ah, got it!
Ride the Starlight Knight hype!
Become a Kamen Rider and Then Save the World …
Elsewhere, within what should have been an illusory space, seven fluffy tails hung suspended in the air as if drained of their luster.
Among them, one particularly lively tail was watching its owner’s phone.
The tail seemed to receive some kind of special signal.
It wiggled a bit, as if resigned.
Then it dove headfirst into a mountain of piled-up treasures.
Wiggle wiggle wiggle~ (Kamen Rider?
Seems like we’ve got one of those~) Wiggle wiggle wiggle~ (Without me, the main soul would fall apart~) The fluffy tail now had a voice changer perched on it and whooshed out from the pile of treasures.
Wiggle wiggle~ (Find a chance to toss this out.) The tail wiggled with sentient grace.
When the bell rang, Buyuan and Ellen, with practiced union, laid their heads down on their desks.
Not long after he’d put his head down, Buyuan’s phone gave a soft buzz.
“Hm?” He opened it to find a message from the Bangboo store.
Customer Service A: Sir, your Bangboo will be delivered promptly at 7:20 PM.
Seeing the update on his Bangboo’s logistics, Buyuan’s mood instantly surged with excitement again.
He put his phone away, only to feel a resentful stare boring into him.
“Hm?
What’s up, Ellen?” Buyuan looked at Ellen, puzzled.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
“Did you just grow your tail or something?
How come the moment something good happens, you can’t stop it from wagging everywhere?” Ellen was clearly a bit annoyed.
Her jewel-like, ruby-red eyes narrowed slightly.
Following Ellen’s gaze, Buyuan saw that his tail, fueled by his good mood, had been swaying uncontrollably.
Limited by the chair, the tail had no choice but to swing in Ellen’s direction.
The fur at the tip of his tail, with every sway, lightly brushed against Ellen’s tail.
“Sorry, I’m still not used to it.” Embarrassed, Buyuan quickly grabbed his tail and stuffed it into his lap.
But because of the awkwardness, the tail still fidgeted restlessly in his arms.
In some sense, he really had just grown this tail.
“Haah…” Ellen laid her head on the desk, exasperated.
Clearly, after that little disturbance, she couldn’t quite fall asleep either.
Buyuan felt pretty awkward about having unintentionally teased the little shark.
Thinking it over, he figured that to Ellen, he was probably still at the just-got-to-know-you stage.
But to him, she was incredibly familiar.
Maybe letting her pet his tail wouldn’t be so bad.
After a moment of silence, Buyuan decided to just bite the bullet and speak up.
Anyway, he figured no one could refuse a tail being offered to them.
“Hey, Ellen.” Buyuan tried to get her attention.
“What.” Ellen didn’t even lift her head.
“Sorry about that.
As an apology…
you can pet my tail.” After saying this, Buyuan nudged his tail over towards her, the fox ears on his head twitching restlessly.
Please!
No one could possibly resist the fluffy tail of a white-furred fox.
And clearly, our little shark wasn’t entirely immune to temptation either.
Ellen turned her head, stayed silent for a moment, and then said, “Really?” “Yeah, I mean what I say.
But only the front half — no touching the base of the tail.” Buyuan pushed his tail closer, then laid his head down on the desk, ready to sleep.
If I’m not embarrassed, then the embarrassment is someone else’s problem.
Ellen felt a twinge of anticipation.
Usually, it was always other people wanting to touch her tail.
This was the first time she’d ever touched someone else’s.
Every time she saw Mr.
Lycaon’s tail, she always had the urge to just grab a handful.
Hesitantly, Ellen reached out her hand and gently grasped the tip of his tail.
The soft texture was very pleasant to the touch.
The fur wasn’t as long as Lycaon’s — rather, it was somewhat short — but dense and slightly resilient, making it exceptionally fluffy.
The comfortable feel of it made Ellen suddenly understand why Ruby always loved grabbing her tail.
As for Buyuan, the man was losing his mind.
His face, hidden beneath his desk, was flushed bright red.
The tingling, numbing sensation traveling from his tail was something he couldn’t even put into words.
Clearly, Ellen hadn’t noticed the state a certain someone was in.
She kneaded the tail with the same technique one would use to pet a cat, feeling as if her very soul was being healed.
And so, between drowsiness and that strange sensation, Buyuan managed to fall asleep.
Ellen, too, drifted off without realizing it, her head resting on one arm, her other hand still holding Buyuan’s tail, now draped over her own.
During break, the trio gathered together once again.
“Nom…
Sharkie’s been stolen away by that stinky fox!” Ruby’s expression was one of sheer indignation.
“Huh?
What are you talking about, Ruby?
Didn’t we already figure out yesterday that Ellen doesn’t wake up during breaks anymore?” Monna looked at Ruby, confused.
“Damn it, it’s unfair!
Totally unfair!
Using his tail to tempt my Nom Nom Sharkie!
Damn it, I also…
I also really want to feel that fluffy, soft sensation!” Ruby’s expression was deeply aggrieved, her fingers curling and uncurling as if grasping at something.
“Huh!?” x2 Hearing Ruby say that, Lynn and Monna finally realized what was going on.
They saw that Ellen’s hand was, in fact, holding Buyuan’s tail.
“I feel like maybe it’s not what you’re thinking.
At least, I think you just also want to pet a tail — whether it’s Buyuan’s or Ellen’s,” Lynn said with remarkable composure, pushing up her glasses.
“Damn you, Lynn!
Take this!” Ruby stretched out her demonic claws and lunged at Lynn.
Maybe because he’d fallen asleep earlier, Buyuan woke up this time before the class ended.
He registered that his tail was still being held by a soft, slightly warm little hand, and beneath it was a springy shark tail acting as a cushion.
“S-So unfair…
how could she fall asleep holding my tail.” Buyuan gazed at Ellen’s sleeping face, and feeling the sensation traveling from his tail, his heart gave a fierce, helpless lurch.
Perhaps Buyuan’s small movements stirred Ellen towards wakefulness as well.
As Ellen opened her drowsy eyes, those jewel-like, ruby-red eyes met Buyuan’s.
Instinctively, she gave the tail in her hand a little squeeze.
“Nn~” Buyuan let out an uncomfortable little hum.
“Sorry, I fell asleep without realizing it.” This time it was Ellen’s turn to be embarrassed.
Buyuan discreetly twisted his tail back.
As the sensation faded, an inexplicable feeling of emptiness lingered in his heart.
“It’s fine.
A gentleman’s word is his bond.
I did promise you could pet it.” Buyuan didn’t dare look in Ellen’s direction.
And so the atmosphere gradually grew awkward.
For both of them, the ten minutes until class ended felt longer than half an hour.
When the final bell and the piano melody rang out, Buyuan instantly shot up, said a quick goodbye to Ellen, and bolted.
“I, uh…
I’ve got to go sign for my Bangboo delivery, so I’ll head off first.
Bye.” Ellen was just about to respond when she saw his figure had already fled.
“Hey Sharkie!
Was the feel of it absolutely top-tier?” Ruby had stealthily crept up behind Ellen and suddenly clapped her on the shoulder.
“Ruby!” “Ehehe, Nom Nom Sharkie’s blushing~” The scent of youth, carried by the melodious piano notes, drifted towards the distant sunset.
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