Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

If I hadn't argued with Ayana and said some hurtful things to her back then, the bullying she suffered at school wouldn't have escalated so quickly, and afterwards I would have kept a cold eye on her in order to avoid getting into trouble.

"Ayana, what happened back then was my fault..."

“That’s all in the past, class monitor, don’t bring it up again,” Ayana interrupted with a gentle smile. “It’s rare for us to get together again, so let’s have a happy day.”

"Yes...yes." Yuko Takishima chuckled dryly.

Although Ayana had a smile on her face the whole time, she couldn't really say whether she had forgiven herself or not.

“Yes, let’s go out and have some fun today,” Kubota Emi quickly said, noticing the awkward atmosphere.

As the class representative, Yuko Takishima has always had a very strong personality, while her friend Emi is the complete opposite, being very lively and always playing the role of peacemaker.

"Yes, that's true." Yuko Takishima glanced apologetically at Ayana. "Sorry, I might need to change my clothes. I'll be right back to meet you."

"it is good."

There was a large shopping mall next to the station, and the two walked towards it.

Ayana had been smiling and waving goodbye to them, but her smile vanished as they entered the mall, replaced by indifference once more.

Information about the class monitor flashed through her mind.

"Class monitor Yuko Takishima has the image of a strong and reliable older sister. She has excellent grades and is an all-around athlete. At first glance, she is a perfect top student. However, as her former friend, I know some secrets."

Yuko Takishima's parents were exceptionally strict. They would severely reprimand and scold her if she did not meet their expectations regarding manners, grades, or anything else, and she would even be subject to a curfew.

Today was supposed to be her day for tutoring, but it seems she secretly took the day off to go out and have fun without telling her parents.

Ayana waited where she was, and less than half an hour later, the two of them came out of the mall again.

Kubota Emi hasn't changed much, but Takishima Yuko has changed a lot.

Her exquisite leather boots, earrings, stylish stockings, and light makeup all exude a mature charm beyond her years, making her look nothing like a junior high school student at first glance.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No, that's not true." Ayana smiled again. "Where are we going today?"

"Go to a place you've never been before."

Yuko smiled mysteriously and took out a subway pass from her pocket.

To get the subway permit, she would definitely have to leave the Shirasaki area, and Ayana, who didn't know when Isaac would be home, didn't want to go too far.

The group boarded the subway, and Ayana asked again, "Is the place we're going to very far?"

"It's not far, just in Kabukicho in Shinjuku. I happen to know someone at that shop," Yuko said with a smile. "I'll take you there to check it out."

"Kabukicho..."

People usually associate that place with entertainment venues and brothels, but Ayana knows that Yuko often goes to nightclubs to relax in order to relieve the pressure from her parents.

Although he only drank some oolong tea when he went there, he thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.

She dressed up like this to blend in as an adult.

"If it's one of those shady shops, I'd still..."

"Don't worry, even if it's an unreputable shop, we won't let you do anything unreputable," Kubota Emi said with a smile, patting Ayana on the shoulder.

Soon, the subway arrived at the station.

After getting out of the car, they circled around several intersections and finally stopped in front of a nightclub.

Wow, this store is huge!

"Seriously... are we really going in?"

Before her stood a grand, upscale clubhouse, seemingly open for business even during the day. Ayana stood at the entrance, feeling somewhat timid.

"Don't worry, I'm quite familiar with the staff here."

"but……"

Just then, they saw a familiar figure.

Isaac happened to arrive here by the way. After handing a note to the receptionist outside, the receptionist immediately and respectfully made way for him.

"Satomi!?"

Chapter 675: The Increasingly Mysterious Isaac

"Mr. Satomi, this way please." The receptionist outside bowed and said, "Mr. Bando and Ms. Balalaika are already waiting inside."

"Okay, lead the way."

"Yes."

The receptionist led Isaac inside.

Not far from them, three girls were watching all of this with blank expressions.

"Was that... Satomi-kun?"

"It seems so, the staff seemed to treat him very respectfully."

Ayana watched all of this.

She was certain that the person she had just met was Isaac.

But the place he went into was a nightclub.

What can you do in a nightclub? Some people simply treat it as a bar, while others come to find members of the opposite sex for fun. So what is Isaac doing here?

"That Satomi... he wouldn't be here to see one of the girls at the shop, would he?" Yuko Takishima guessed.

"The fruit..."

"Ok?"

Yuko noticed her cuff being tugged. Turning around, she saw it was Kubota Mie, who kept giving her meaningful glances and occasionally glancing at Ayana, who stood to the side with a blank expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Yuko then realized that Ayana had feelings for the new transfer student, and she must have felt uncomfortable seeing the boy she liked go into a nightclub.

"Um, Ayana," Yuko Takishima said with a forced laugh, "why don't we go back first? Let's just leave it at that for today..."

“No, let’s go inside,” Ayana said directly.

This move surprised both Yuko Takishima and Mie Kubota.

Cai Cai, who was initially somewhat averse to this kind of shop, actually asked to go in after seeing Isaac approach. This was unusual.

Is he trying to catch them cheating?

But after thinking about it carefully, Yuko realized that it didn't make sense. Although Isaac often protected her, in Yuko's eyes they weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend.

They usually hang out together at school, and I'm more like a little tagalong following behind them.

"Um... do we really want to go in?"

"Yes."

"Don't you want to think about it?" Yuko urged. "What if you see Satomi flirting with another woman..."

“This is an opportunity,” Ayana said.

"what?"

Hearing Ayana say that, Takishima Yuko was also completely confused.

An opportunity? What opportunity?

Ayana continued, "This is a good opportunity to see what kind of woman Rentaro likes, and we can work towards that direction in the future."

"..."

Yuko felt that Ayana seemed to have fallen very deeply in love.

The three walked into the store together. After saying a few words to the staff, a man dressed in a somewhat flamboyant manner and a beautiful woman soon came in.

"Yuko-chan, it's been a long time! Did you bring a friend with you this time?"

"Yes, Brother Jian, and Sister Meisha too," Jiezi greeted with a smile.

The group already knew each other. The two of them used to work at a bar near Shirasaki. Now that they had moved to a big city, they naturally informed their old customer, Yuko Takishima, of this news.

"Alright, please come in."

The man called Brother Jian invited the three of them into the shop, where they found a quiet place to sit down.

"Would you like something to drink?"

“Oolong tea,” Jiezi said.

"Oolong tea again? I thought you'd order a cocktail this time," Brother Jian said with a smile.

"No...no need, I'm only eighteen and can't drink alcohol," Yuko said with a smile.

She's actually not that old, but she was dressed up today so no one could tell.

"Really? They seem even younger," Misa laughed. "Speaking of which, your friends all look quite young. Are they really adults?"

Mie Kubota: "I..."

Ayana: "I'm twenty-four this year."

Ah Jian: "Oh, oh, oh!! I didn't realize that. Momo looks quite petite."

Yuko Takishima: "..."

She was only fourteen years old.

"Excuse me, are you called Ah Jian?"

"Hahaha, that's right, you can just call me Brother Jian." After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something was wrong. "Wait, you're twenty-four years old, so you should be the same age as me. It doesn't seem quite right for you to call me 'brother'."

He had already fallen for Ayana's lies.

Can I ask you something?

"Excuse me, excuse me, I will answer your question truthfully."

"Three minutes before we came in, a handsome young man came into this shop. Did he come here specifically to shop here?"

"The handsome young man who came in earlier?"