Chapter 59: The happier you laugh now, the more devastating your tears will be later

Chapter 59: The happier you laugh now, the more devastating your tears will be later

Stellaris World, Tuesday, Sunken Ship Restaurant.

Noon.

Tendou sneakily sat in the restaurant’s outdoor rest area, eyes darting around as he watched something in the distance.

A moment later, when he saw Caroline step out of a taxi at the nearby parking area and start walking toward the restaurant.

Tendou instantly raised a hand to his collar, mimicking the moves he learned from spy dramas in his previous life.

“Calling Demon Blade, calling Demon Blade. This is Platinum Star, this is Platinum Star. The target—Cat Goddess—has entered the operation area. I repeat, the target has entered the operation area. Over.”

Meanwhile, in a café across from the Sunken Ship Restaurant.

Chen Xing was wearing a loose hoodie and a pair of oversized black-rimmed glasses that covered half her face.

Her outfit made her look less sharp than usual, but it added a subtle charm to her appearance.

And thanks to early physical development common among people of this world, along with the intense long-term training Children of the Stars received. Even though Chen Xing was only twelve, she already had the physique and proportions of an ordinary sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl—captivating and full of presence.

Upon receiving Tendou’s message, Chen Xing lightly tugged her collar and replied crisply:

“This is Demon Blade. Copy. Operation start.”

After saying that, Chen Xing expressionlessly glanced to the side.

Three high school boys, after some pushing and shoving among themselves, were slowly edging their way toward her corner seat.

The one in the lead—a buzz-cut kid—had a greasy grin he probably thought was charming. Clearly, the three were trying to hit on Chen Xing.

Unfortunately for them, they had both overestimated their own appeal and underestimated Chen Xing’s intolerance for strangers.

Before they could get close, Chen Xing coldly issued her eviction order:

“Scram.”

“Yes, ma’am!!”

All three boys instantly snapped to attention, then made a sharp 90-degree turn and bolted out of the café as if fleeing for their lives—not daring to look back.

Teenage pride couldn’t survive a direct rejection like that. Staying any longer would be unbearable for them.

Watching their retreating backs, Chen Xing wrinkled her nose in disgust.

A bunch of brainless animals driven only by hormones.

They were nothing compared to that guy who kept bragging about being the strongest every day.

Because while that guy looked unserious on the surface, he was ridiculously reliable underneath.

Forget it. No point wasting thought on these walking animals. Better to focus on the task at hand.

“All units, attention. The target has arrived. Proceed according to plan.”

“Copy!” ×3

Right after Chen Xing finished speaking, a waiter from the Sunken Ship Restaurant walked toward Tendou and Caroline with a bright smile.

“Congratulations to the two of you! You happen to be our restaurant’s 66,666th customers of the year!”

“To commemorate this special number, you will be able to experience all of our restaurant’s attractions today, and all expenses will be completely covered by us!”

“Please follow me.”

Hearing this, Caroline instinctively frowned—clearly not believing a word of it.

And Tendou, noticing her reaction, panicked internally.

Without hesitation, he immediately jumped in with purposely exaggerated acting to support the pre-arranged “actor.”

“Woooah, really!?”

Seeing Tendou’s obviously fake acting, the “waiter” couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.

Boss, when you briefed us on the script earlier, you never said your acting was THIS bad.

He complained in his heart, but considering the generous reward waiting after this performance, he still cooperated immediately, catching Tendou’s awkward improv and saying with a bright smile:

“Of course it’s real! Dear guests, if you don’t believe me, I can go call the manager over.”

Caroline was just about to speak, but before she could voice any doubt, Tendou abruptly cut her off:

“No need! I believe you!”

Understanding the cue, the “waiter” instantly followed up with sharp awareness:

“Very well, then please follow me.”

Caroline: “…”

Watching this pair perform their painfully awkward back-and-forth, Caroline fell silent.

She already strongly suspected that this so-called “mission” was most likely another one of Tendou’s schemes.

But because she had absolute trust in him, she chose to play along and see what exactly he was plotting.

Meanwhile, oblivious to her suspicions, Tendou thought his acting had been flawless.

Completely unfazed, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her toward the restaurant.

“Let’s go, Caroline! This is basically free treasure falling from the sky. What’s there to hesitate about?”

“…Mm.”

Although she was cooperating with Tendou’s act, Caroline didn’t forget why they were here today: to scout the area ahead of Isabelle’s upcoming visit.

Even if she suspected this “mission” might be dubious, she still decided to treat it as real.

Tendou could mess around, joke around, and play games. But as his strongest support, she absolutely could not. Her very existence was to clear every obstacle from Tendou’s path.

In stark contrast to her serious expression, Tendou beside her was acting suspicious again.

While Caroline wasn’t looking, Tendou kept signaling frantically to the staff behind him, telling them to follow through with the plan at the right moment.

Watching this, Crustyroll viewers burst into laughter.

“Bro, Tendou, what is this acting?? It's so cringe it transcends dimensions!”

“Caroline: I feel like I’m being tricked… but fine. I’ll play along.”

“His acting sucks, but he thinks he's doing great? Comedy gold.”

Even though everyone knew Caroline and Tendou’s future wouldn’t be bright, the fans of both characters chose to ignore that fate for now, allowing themselves to enjoy this brief moment of sweet, lighthearted daily life.

Sugar-coated trap? Who cares? The sugar is still sweet—deal with the bomb later!

Under the dimensional audience’s eager stares, the waiter led Tendou and Caroline into a dolphin-themed specialty restaurant.

Inside, adorable dolphin plushies decorated the entire space.

Caroline’s cat ears twitched immediately, and her eyes couldn’t help wandering from plush to plush, clearly attracted to these cute ocean creatures.

Noticing her small reaction, Tendou’s lips curved up slightly.

Although Caroline rarely mentioned it, Tendou clearly remembered something she once said that if she could choose, she actually wouldn’t want her Star Core to be a cat, but a smart, adorable, carefree little dolphin.

Even though Caroline had only said it once, Tendou’s excellent memory made sure he never forgot it.

And that was exactly why he had chosen Sunken Ship Restaurant as their lunch spot today.

Because in the entire Deep Blue Metropolis, this was the only place where you could eat while getting close to real dolphins.

“Please, the two of you, take a seat here.”

Under the waiter’s guidance, the two soon arrived at a special seating area surrounded by a protective barrier.

This barrier didn’t just keep the seawater out—it also had a one-way conduction effect, allowing customers inside to extend their hands outside and touch the adorable dolphins that occasionally swam right up to them.

As a patient suffering from severe dolphin-adoration syndrome, Caroline had long tossed the so-called “mission” to the back of her mind. Her eyes never left the chubby white dolphin swimming around them.

Seeing Caroline so entranced, Tendou laughed and said, “Go on, Caroline. If you want to pet it, then pet it.”

Caroline hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked toward the barrier.

Whether it was because the dolphin was naturally fond of people, or because Caroline possessed some mysterious “white-dolphin-attracting” aura, the round, soft, chubby white dolphin immediately swam toward her the moment she approached.

Its little pink snout pressed against the blue transparent shield, curiously peeking at Caroline on the other side.

Caroline stretched her hand past the barrier.

The little dolphin, seeing this, rolled over and exposed its cloud-soft belly, rubbing itself against her palm like the cutest little ball of jelly.

Feeling the soft, squishy sensation in her hand, the usually rational Caroline showed a rare, genuine smile.

But she didn’t notice that Tendou had already set up a camera nearby.

After silently counting the timing in his head, he quietly slipped behind her—

“HA!!!”

Tendou suddenly lunged out from behind Caroline and made a “ferocious predator attack” face at the little dolphin through the barrier.

“Eeek!!!”

Scared out of its fins, the white dolphin bounced nearly its whole body into the air, its expression pure panic.

Meanwhile, Caroline froze on the spot, her face a picture of absolute confusion.

Click—

With the shutter’s crisp sound, the scene froze into the perfect snapshot of: a panicking dolphin, a stunned girl, and a certain mischievous idiot grinning so wide his eyes nearly disappeared.

“As expected—where there’s a cat, there’s a dog. Caroline is the cat, so the dog is… well, we all know.”

“When it comes to not acting like a proper human being, Tendou has always excelled.”

“Caroline: When there’s no crisis, Tendou himself becomes the biggest crisis.”

The dimension viewers burst into laughter at Tendou’s antics.

But laughing halfway through, their smiles gradually stiffened.

Because they remembered the ominous hints the production team had dropped earlier.

Sure, they were laughing now… but when the show finally swung the knife at Tendou, they would have plenty of time to cry.

“I beg you, production team, please act like humans for once!”

“If you want to give us sweetness, give sweetness. If you want to stab us, stab us. But why foreshadow the stab first and THEN feed us sugar?? You’re demons!”

“This is clearly the last meal before execution! I swear I won’t— okay fine, it’s delicious… (sobbing)”

“Stop… I just want sweets, not pain!”

“Please… don’t use Tendou for the tragedy arc, okay…?”

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