Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy-Chapter 102 - 103 | The Rules of Financial Irresponsibility

Chapter 102: 103 | The Rules of Financial Irresponsibility

I leaned my head against the car window and watched Century City blur past. The late afternoon sun turned the glass towers into burning mirrors. My reflection stared back at me looking tired as hell.

Mera’s finger jabbed into my ribs.

"Ow. What?"

"You’re ignoring me."

"I’m not ignoring you. I’m looking out the window."

"Same thing." Her tail wrapped around my wrist and tugged. "Talk to me."

Cheon sat with her tablet out, scrolling through what looked like apartment organization articles. She’d been quiet since we left campus. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that meant her brain was running calculations about optimal drawer configurations or whatever the hell class reps worried about.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

Mera’s yellow eyes narrowed. "Start with Aurora."

My stomach did something complicated. "What about her?"

"Don’t play dumb. You had coffee with her today."

"So?"

"So." Mera poked me again. Harder this time. "She was acting weird during our meeting. All distracted and flustered. Nolan was confused. I was entertained."

"Maybe she was nervous about tomorrow."

"Nope." Another poke. "She kept looking at her hands."

Cheon’s head snapped up. Her grey eyes locked onto me like targeting lasers. "You held Aurora’s hand?"

"Briefly."

"How briefly?"

"Ten seconds."

"What happened in those ten seconds?"

I rubbed my face. This conversation was going exactly where I didn’t want it to go. "We talked. I held her hand. She left."

Mera leaned in close. Her breath was warm against my neck. "What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"I held her hand."

"And?"

"And nothing. That’s it."

Cheon’s fingers tightened on her tablet. "The drain activated, didn’t it?"

The car hit a pothole. Marco navigated around a stopped bus with his usual professional silence. I had about fifteen seconds to decide how much truth to give them.

"Yeah. The drain opened."

Mera grinned like she’d won something. "I knew it. What did she taste like?"

"That’s a weird question."

"Answer it anyway."

I glanced at Cheon. She was watching me with the same intensity she brought to exam prep. No judgment in her expression. Just pure analytical curiosity.

"Clean. Bright. Like summer morning air."

"Poetic," Mera said. "Did she feel it?"

"She felt something. Asked what I did. I said nothing."

"But you did do something."

"I held her hand. The drain opened on its own. I didn’t activate it deliberately."

Cheon tapped her tablet screen. "That’s significant. Your drain typically requires conscious intent to initiate. If it’s opening automatically now during simple physical contact, your control over it is degrading or the ability itself is evolving beyond your current understanding."

"Thanks for the analysis, Panda."

Her cheeks flushed but she didn’t back down. "What did Aurora say after she felt it?"

"She pulled away. Asked what I did. Got upset. Left."

"Upset how?" Mera’s tail squeezed my wrist. "Mad upset or scared upset?"

"Confused upset. Like she didn’t understand why her body reacted that way."

Mera made a satisfied sound low in her throat. "Oh she’s definitely into you."

"She’s into Nolan."

"She thinks she’s into Nolan. There’s a difference."

Cheon set her tablet aside. "Did you tell Aurora about the drain?"

"No."

"So she has no context for what happened."

"Nope."

"That seems irresponsible."

"Probably."

"Are you going to tell her?"

I turned away from the window to look at Cheon properly. Her hair was still down. She hadn’t pulled it back into the severe ponytail yet. Made her look younger. Less like the uptight class rep and more like the girl who’d gasped my name last night while her nails dug into my shoulders.

"I don’t know."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one I have right now."

The car turned onto Harbor Avenue. Shopping district stretched out ahead of us with boutiques and department stores lining both sides of the street. Marco pulled into a parking structure attached to a mall complex. Found a spot on the third level. Killed the engine.

"We’re here," he said. First words he’d spoken since picking us up.

"Thanks Marco. We’ll be a while."

"I’ll wait in the car."

The three of us climbed out. Mera stretched with her arms over her head. Her shirt rode up and exposed red skin at her waist. Cheon adjusted her skirt and checked her reflection in the car window.

"Where first?" I asked.

Cheon pulled out her phone. "I made a list. We should start with basics. Underwear, sleepwear, toiletries. Then move to casual clothing."

"You made a list for shopping?"

"Organization prevents impulse purchases."

Mera laughed. "I’m getting whatever I want."

"That’s financially irresponsible."

"Our boyfriend is rich."

"That doesn’t mean—"

"Ladies." I stepped between them. "Let’s compromise. Cheon keeps us on track. Mera gets to pick whatever she wants within reason. I pay for everything and we don’t spend three hours arguing about sock prices."

Cheon looked like she wanted to object but nodded instead. Mera just grinned.

We took the elevator down to the main mall level. Music played from overhead speakers. The usual commercial trash designed to make people spend money. Families wandered past with shopping bags. Teenagers clustered around a bubble tea stand.

Mera grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a lingerie store with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying mannequins in lace and silk. "This one first."

"We should start with practical items," Cheon said.

"Lingerie is practical."

"It’s decorative."

"It’s both." Mera tugged harder. "Come on Panda. Don’t be boring."

Cheon’s jaw tightened but she followed us inside. The store was all soft lighting and carpet that absorbed sound. A saleswoman in her thirties approached with a professional smile.

"Can I help you find anything?"

"We need everything," Mera said. "Bras, panties, sleepwear. Full wardrobes."

The woman’s smile widened. Commission calculations were probably running behind her eyes. "Wonderful. Let me show you our newest collections."

She led us deeper into the store. Mera immediately started pulling items off racks. Black lace. Red silk. Something purple and sheer that barely qualified as fabric. Cheon moved more slowly. Her fingers traced over cotton options with practical coverage.

I leaned against a wall and watched. This was not where I expected to spend my Friday afternoon but here we were anyway.

Mera held up a black bra with so little material it looked like suggestion more than clothing. "What do you think?"

"I think you’d look good in anything."

"Wrong answer. Be more specific."

"The black works with your skin tone."

"Better." She tossed it into her growing pile. "Cheon, you need to pick faster."

"I’m being thoughtful."

"You’re overthinking underwear."

"There are durability considerations."

Mera rolled her eyes and walked over to Cheon’s section. Started pulling items and shoving them at Cheon before she could protest. A blue lace set. A white silk chemise. Something emerald green that would probably make Cheon’s eyes look incredible.

"Try these."

"I don’t need—"

"Yes you do. Trust me."

Cheon looked at the pile in her arms. Then at me. Then back at the lingerie. Her face was getting progressively redder. "This is excessive."

"This is necessary," Mera said. "If you’re staying over regularly you need options."

"I hadn’t decided if I was staying regularly."

"Too late. You already decided when you packed that overnight bag."

Cheon opened her mouth. Closed it. Glared at both of us. "Fine. But I’m picking the colors."

"Deal."