Chapter 179: Chapter 179 – Date [1]
Date.
A date was an appointent to meet someone or go out with them, especially with whom you are having, or may soon have, a romantic relationship.
It was the definition of date that Max found on the internet. No matter how he looked at it, the term date in his past and this world was the same.
He couldn't believe he got an invitation from a girl. Not to mention that said girl was Lily. But knowing her, there might be some misunderstanding in her words. So he had to ask.
[Breeze: A date? With me?]
[Lily: Yes. Are you free?]
[Breeze: I am, but… Are you really inviting me to a date and not just an outing?]
While it appeared to be uncool, he had to ensure there was no misunderstanding. His face was getting hot from expectation and embarrassment. He didn't even realize he was already inside his room as he stared intently at the screen.
And after a few seconds, the reply arrived again. read only on m-vl _e|mp,yr
[Lily: I am sure. I know what a date is, Max. Don't look down on me ˃⤙˂]
'She's pouting.' He thought as he imagined it in his mind. Somehow, the image came clean into his mind, and he could see her cheek bloated. 'I want to see it directly.'
At that moment, he unconsciously chuckled. All his exhaustion was somehow gone.
Now he was thinking. Going on a date with Lily might be… nice. Once again, his face felt hot when he thought of it. He was pushing this away for a while, but he should be honest with himself.
[Breeze: I am not looking down on you. It's just… I can't believe you asked me out on a date. And I am free that day. In fact, let's go. I am looking forward to it.]
[Lily: Good. I am looking forward to it too <3]
It was bad. Max was really looking forward to it too.
His heart was beating faster out of excitement. And… He couldn't help but want to shout.
"Wohoo!!"
Three days.
That would be enough time for him to calm down and prepare himself.
'I need a fresh cut. Let's do it after landing in Lime City tomorrow.' He thought.
Due to excitement, he couldn't sleep that night and ended up grinding Midnight Heist while streaming without even talking, which confused his viewers. Even so, he still won a few matches while losing some.
***
Those three days passed pretty quickly. It was filled with Midnight Heist grind and streaming. There was no further message from Lily until the last minute, asking to go to the New Eden City together with a Sky Rail.
They decided to meet up in the station. When Max got there, dressed nicely in the new clothes he bought, Lily was already standing near the entrance, attracting attention from the surroundings.
She was dressed in a white turtleneck, with loose sleeves that reached her elbow, tucked into tight black pants. A dark blue jacket was draped around her shoulders, and a black cap adorned her head to shield her face from sunlight.
When she saw him walking toward her, a smile formed on her cold expression.
"Max!" She shouted at him and waved her hand excitedly, like a little child.
Max smiled and waved back at her. He stopped before her and scratched his cheek apologetically.
"Sorry, did you wait for a long time?"
"Hnn, only around 5 minutes." She responded, "The Sky Rail hasn't departed yet, so we'll be fine."
"That's… good news."
The conversation wasn't really connected. She misunderstood his words and thought he was worried that the Sky Rail had departed already.
Both of them said nothing afterward. However, it didn't really feel awkward because Lily wasn't a talker to begin with. They bought a New Eden City ticket and waited a few minutes for Sky Rail to arrive.
While waiting, Max glanced at her. She yawned cutely, seemingly still sleepy as it was still 6 AM. That gesture was pretty cute, but he also had something else in mind.
'Until now, I still don't understand why she suddenly asked me on a date. Is she also interested in me?'
Lily noticed Max was staring at her and tilted her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He replied casually, "I am just wondering why you suddenly invited me on a date. I mean… I am happy about it, but I am just curious, you know?"
Hearing him, she nodded in understanding.
"I just want to go out with you." She replied, smiling softly. "For some reason, it made me happy. It also made me happy when you said that you are happy going out with me."
If his face was warm before, now it was burned. No matter how he read her sentence, what she tried to imply was clear.
'Does that mean she–'
"Oh, it's here."
The Sky Rail arrived when he was about to have a strange mind. The door was opened right in front of him with a swift woosh.
Lily tugged his sleeve and urged him.
"Let's enter."
It calmed his mind once again and kept him from thinking strange stuff. For now, he'd like to enjoy his date.
'Don't be hasty, Max. You don't want to fuck this up.' He reminded himself as he put on a smile.
"Yeah, let's enter."
***
When one enjoyed their time, even a trip was pretty fun. Max conversed with Lily to further close their distance. Because they had only known each other for at least a month, they had a lot of things they didn't know about each other. That became their main topic of conversation.
"So, LilyPixel is just my streaming account that I made for fun. I have another job, and that's making music. I have around a million subscribers in my PunchTube account for only uploading my music."
"That's amazing!"
A million subscribers wasn't low. Max was honestly surprised by it and once again realized that he might have the lowest number of followers and subscribers among his friends. But that only motivated him.
Lily showed him her PunchTube account and the left side of an earphone. She wore the other side, and she played the music that she was most confident with.
A soft piano melody tickled his ear. Following that was a voice from someone he knew very well, someone whose face was so close to his right now.
The high tone caught him off guard. Although the lyrics were pretty simple, the song was too good. He ended up enjoying it halfway, and his focus shifted. The sweet scent of Lily beside him didn't bother him anymore. Instead, it became like it was a natural thing.