Chapter 286 THE DATE (I)

Chapter 286 THE DATE (I)　　WULFRIC cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. "Thank you."

He tried to keep a straight face but deep inside, there was a small man dancing in excitement. He was now thankful that he asked Hildred for advice in what to wear. Because if he was left on his own devices, he would definitely just go with simple shirt and jeans. He probably wouldn't even bother to comb his hair.

But then something Hildred said kind of stuck to him – 'if you're meeting someone you think as special, then you definitely have to dress to impress'. He thought Hildred was just talking nonsense as usual. But then the other explained to him that if he wanted to impress someone, then he had to show that he's making effort in everything. Including picking up clothes. 

It's the simplest way to show your appreciation to the other person. Something as simple as dressing up to look good in front of that person could actually make a difference in the other's perception of you.

After Wulfric digested all that, he felt like he had been enlightened. 

Because the other had a point. If he wanted to be liked by the other person, he should at least make an effort for that to happen.

That's why today, except for his clothes and styling, all the other things were prepared by him.

"You look very handsome as well," Wulfric added after a few seconds. 

Astrid smiled when he heard that. "Really? Why do I think that I can barely pass as cute?"

"No way," Wulfric quickly said. "If you're barely passing as 'cute', then there would be no ugly person in this Empire."

Astrid chuckled. "Isn't that the case? With the technology of today, the fertility lab would only pick the best genes from the parents to produce a perfectly healthy and beautiful babies."

It was because of this that people in this era rarely have genetic diseases. It's also the reason why most people were more handsome or beautiful than the next one.

Wulfric understood what Aster was trying to say. But that wasn't really always the case. Those who couldn't afford a good fertility lab, but still wanted to have children without the danger of dying from giving birth, would go to not so reputable establishments.

Since the ones in charged of such establishments were from the underworld, the babies being born there mostly had problems later on. They would have weak bodies that were prone to sickness. In worst case scenario, they would develop genetic mutations. 

In his opinion, giving birth naturally would be the much safer choice. And for those same-sex couple, if they really wanted children, they could just adopt. That's much better than bringing a child into this world and just letting them suffer.

Wulfric didn't tell Aster about it though. He didn't want to put a damper on this day that started too perfectly. 

"It doesn't matter. Even with a disguise, I still think you're beautiful," he only said.

Astrid was a bit surprised at how the other said that without even batting an eye. As if him being beautiful was already a known fact that couldn't be refuted. 

He smiled, playfulness danced in his dark eyes. "I thought you just said I was handsome?"

Wulfric didn't expect Aster to even point that out. But when he saw the other's playful smile, he knew that he was being teased. He coughed, trying to act all serious. 

"Well, you can be both," he said. "Not only that, you're very cute as well."

"All these compliments, are you flirting with me?" Astrid asked in a teasing tone.

This time, Wulfric ended up coughing for real. He almost choked on his own saliva because of that question!

"F-flirting?" he stammered, his cheeks blushing red.

Seeing such an adorable reaction, Astrid finally couldn't help but poke the other's reddened cheek. "I'm just teasing you, silly."

If a love expert was here, they would have probably said a witty comeback already. But it was Wulfric – the fearsome general of the Empire who didn't really know anything about relationships.

So, he just sat there still, completely immersed in the feeling of Aster touching his cheek.

-----

After 15 minutes of travel, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a café that was quite hot recently on social media. They were famous for their different flavored waffles and pancakes, as well as their lattes.

When Wulfric was searching online about places they could go to today, this one was always on top of the searches when it came to the best spot to go for breakfast. That's why he picked this place. 

The parking lot was a few walks away from the café, so the two had to walk after parking the aircraft. When they arrived at the place, Wulfric was shocked silly when he saw the long line – as in very long line – of people waiting to enter the café. If they also stood in line, they would probably have to wait an hour before they could go inside!

Should they cut in line? No, it's probably better to just call Leland and ask Leland to send people to evacuate this place. He shook his head. That's probably even worse. Aster would only think bad of him for power-tripping.

Then, what should he do? This was his fault. He should have taken into account the possibility that there would be many customers lining up in this place. This was his negligence. Now their good start suddenly became rocky because of his carelessness.

What he didn't know was Astrid had been observing his reaction since earlier. So, he saw the wonderful changes in the other's expression. Even though Wulfric didn't say anything, he already kind of had an idea of what he was thinking. 

So, before the other to do anything 'extreme', Astrid pulled Wulfric's sleeve to get his attention. 

"How about we get our breakfast there?" he said, pointing to a certain direction.

Wulfric followed where it with his gaze and saw a… hotdog stand.