Chapter 40: A New Invitation to Date (Revised)

"Is there something you needed, waiting here specifically for me?"

Seeing her mischievous smile, Ryuichi Sugawara paused for a split second, struck by how beautiful she looked, before asking directly.

"Uh..."

Taken aback by the straightforward question, Yuki Takanashi was momentarily speechless. She had expected that a beautiful, trendy girl like herself waiting at the subway station would elicit a much more favorable reaction; she hadn't anticipated that he would show no joy at all.

"It’s just... there are some things I wanted to say to you."

After stumbling over her words, Yuki felt a wave of embarrassment.

"Go ahead."

Ryuichi gave a slight nod, signaling that he was listening.

"First of all, I want to apologize again for following you earlier. I’m sorry."

The conversation felt overly formal, and although Yuki felt a bit awkward, she took a deep breath and spoke her mind. She felt it was necessary to apologize for her actions. While their stalking hadn't caused any real harm—they hadn't stumbled upon any of his secrets, merely seeing him play guitar in Ochanomizu—the act itself was wrong.

"It’s fine. You already apologized back then," Ryuichi said, shaking his head with a look of mild surprise that she had waited just to say that.

"Does that mean you’ve forgiven us?"

Finally managing to pick up the conversation where it had been cut off, Yuki looked up into his eyes with hopeful anticipation.

"I was only a little bit angry at the time, and it’s not that big of a deal. But I don't want it to happen again."

Ryuichi nodded, adding a firm reminder, mindful that she seemed a bit too happy. He was lucky he hadn't been on a date today—especially not with Yue Yamabuki—otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Liar. You were way more than 'a little bit' angry. When you stopped us, your expression was terrifying."

Yuki completely disagreed with his assessment. While waiting at the subway station, she had been haunted by the memory of their earlier encounter. At the time, she had truly feared that if she said the wrong thing, he might lash out, leading her to apologize profusely.

"Believe what you want. Is there anything else?"

Ryuichi wasn't in the habit of arguing with girls; he simply wanted to move the conversation along and finish it. It was already past 6:00 PM, and the evening rush hour had begun. The longer they stayed, the more crowded the subway would be. Tokyo’s subway system was no joke; during peak hours, while perhaps not reaching the intensity of a national holiday travel surge, it was still incredibly dense.

"Also, I think your electric guitar playing is amazing. Your performance of 'Lemon' was incredible!"

With the air cleared, Yuki looked up at the guitar case on his back, unable to contain her enthusiastic praise.

"Thank you."

Being complimented to his face gave Ryuichi a hidden sense of satisfaction, though he didn't let it go to his head, responding only with gratitude. While he had already been praised by the shop staff and other customers, hearing such admiration from a beauty like Yuki was undeniably pleasing.

"I was truly shocked at the time. I had no idea you were so talented, and you even played one of my favorite songs."

Recalling the moment, Yuki felt a rush of excitement. If she hadn't been so self-conscious about the fact that she was stalking him, she would have run right up to him.

"Right... was there anything else you wanted to say?"

Faced with her exuberant reaction, Ryuichi felt a bit bashful and chose to change the subject.

"No, that’s it."

The topic shifted, and Yuki regained her composure. Realizing she had unintentionally stepped too close, she blushed, took two steps back to restore some distance, and shook her head.

"That’s it? You waited here all this time just for those two things?"

Ryuichi was stunned.

"Mmhmm."

Yuki thought for a moment and nodded.

"You waited that long for such a small matter?"

Seeing her nodding so nonchalantly, Ryuichi was at a loss for words. He felt a bit guilty that she had spent so much time waiting for something so trivial. It was a good thing he hadn't decided to take a taxi home, or she would have been waiting in vain.

"Uh..."

Faced with his silence, Yuki was momentarily at a loss. But in the next second, a thought crossed her mind. Had she misunderstood? Why did she keep getting the feeling that Ryuichi was hoping she had other reasons for seeking him out?

"Actually, there is one more thing. Could I treat you to dinner?"

Realizing this possibility, Yuki’s eyes lit up. She had an idea, and gathering her courage, she asked.

[Yuki Takanashi has sent you a dating invitation. Do you accept?]

Faced with her third invitation, Ryuichi didn't respond immediately, instinctively observing her. In terms of looks, Yuki was arguably the most beautiful girl who had ever asked him out in person. Of course, this excluded the invitations Yue Yamabuki had sent online. When it came to appearance, both Yue and Yuki had their own unique charms; it was hard to say who was better.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I want to treat you to dinner to express my apology, and since it’s peak hour for the subway, if we eat dinner now, we might avoid the worst of the crowds."

Seeing his silence and the way he was looking at her, Yuki felt a bit flustered and quickly added a justification.

"You really want to treat me to dinner?"

Even though she fit his preferences perfectly in both looks and figure, Ryuichi didn't agree right away, choosing to confirm first.

"Really. You can choose the place."

Yuki didn't quite understand his hesitation, but she nodded anyway.

"If that’s the case, then are you looking to rent me?"

Considering their current situation, Ryuichi thought it over carefully and made a decision.

"Eh?"

Yuki didn't catch the meaning of his question at first and tried to process it.

"This is my Twitter account. Take a look, and you'll understand."

Seeing her stunned expression, Ryuichi pulled his phone from his pocket, navigated to his profile, and turned the screen to face her.

With the phone right in front of her, Yuki had no choice but to look. The first thing that caught her eye was the profile picture: a side profile of Ryuichi wearing a black mask. The Twitter account name was "Starry Cluster," and the bio read: "Tokyo Rental Boyfriend. The person in the avatar. Witty, humorous, empathetic, great at conversation, knows boundaries, polite, respects women, photographer, singer, and electric guitar player."

His pinned post was a tweet participating in the #TokyoRentalBoyfriend trend.

"Accepting clients. Hourly rate: 7,500 yen. Minimum two-hour booking. Only operating within the Tokyo metropolitan area. Details can be discussed further."

After scanning the screen, Yuki couldn't help but look up at the man standing before her. Then, she looked back down at the phone.

"Eh!!"

After re-reading it multiple times, when Yuki finally looked back up at Ryuichi, she was completely dumbfounded.