Chapter 42: Stirring Anew (Revised)

The plan to have dinner together was abandoned, so naturally, they each headed back to their respective homes.

However, from Ochanomizu Station onwards, the two of them still ended up taking the same subway train.

The evening rush hour subway was always crowded. Driven by a sense of schoolmate camaraderie and courtesy, Ryuichi Sugawara chose to stand beside Yuki Takanashi, acting as her knight in shining armor.

Although years of vigorous crackdowns in Japan had reduced the number of train molesters, they still existed, and opportunists looking to take advantage of the crowd were inevitable.

"Thank you."

Leaning against the wall, Yuki Takanashi felt a wave of gratitude as she looked at the back standing right before her, offering her thanks.

"Don't mention it."

The carriage was noisy at this time of night, but Ryuichi Sugawara, carrying his schoolbag and guitar case, still heard her words and gently shook his head.

After this brief exchange, the rest of the journey passed in silence, with each harboring their own thoughts.

"Did I fail?"

Ryuichi Sugawara was reviewing the situation, recalling what had just transpired and pondering whether there was anything he could have done better.

The benefit of years of studying extended far beyond textbook knowledge and exams; the greater advantage was the habit of being proactive, namely, drive.

"It seems in-person pitching is harder than I expected."

After some contemplation, Ryuichi Sugawara realized that his approach had no flaws, and immediately understood the crux of the difficulty.

He summarized the reasons for his failure into three distinct possibilities.

The first possibility was that his price was too high; an hourly rate of 7,500 yen was simply unaffordable for an ordinary high school student.

The second possibility was that it was awkward to target someone you already knew. Even though his relationship with Yuki Takanashi was quite casual and they had only started talking today, they had after all attended the same school for three years, sharing a common social circle at Takeya High School.

The third possibility was a lack of special necessity. Unless someone had an emergency like Yamabuki Yue, who desperately needed a rental boyfriend to bail her out, a girl as pretty as Yuki Takanashi had no reason to spend money on renting a boyfriend.

"To think Sugawara-kun is actually working as a rental boyfriend, how unbelievable..."

Yuki Takanashi replayed the recent events in her mind, her emotions refusing to settle for a long time.

As the subway continued its journey, stopping at various stations, the moment to part ways arrived quickly.

"Sugawara-kun, this is my stop."

Listening attentively to the subway's automated announcements, Yuki Takanashi spoke up as the train arrived at her station.

"Goodbye."

Hearing her words, Ryuichi Sugawara shifted slightly to clear a path for her and acknowledged her farewell.

"Goodbye."

Yuki Takanashi nodded slightly, waved goodbye to him, and then stepped off with the crowd.

***

Ryuichi Sugawara rode the subway back to the station closest to his home, then visited the family restaurant he had been to the previous night.

Times had changed; with his wallet bulging, he no longer needed to starve himself and cook at home just to save money like before.

After placing his order, while waiting for his food, he took out his smartphone.

First, he opened Twitter, but he did not see the content he was hoping for.

He opened his direct messaging interface with Moon, looking at the chat that had stopped at 4:00 PM.

Moon: "Well done."

Constellations: "Keeping client secrets is my duty."

Hours had passed, but Yamabuki Yue had not replied to him.

"Should I send her a message?"

Seeing this, Ryuichi Sugawara felt a stir of inclination.

In truth, he quite wanted to chat with Yamabuki Yue for a bit.

Especially after seeing Yamabuki Yue breaking character today, dressed in black sheer tights and high heels, he really wanted to ask her the reason behind it.

Though influenced by Shota Sato's theory that "a woman dresses up for him who pleases her," he was inclined toward that possibility and felt a somewhat pleasant sensation, such things truly sounded best when spoken by the person herself.

Then again, if he asked her, "Did you dress like that because of me?", wouldn't that be a bit too cringe?

After careful consideration, Ryuichi Sugawara operated his phone, pondering for two whole minutes before sending it.

Constellations: "How does it feel to wear high heels?"

When chatting with a girl, the best opening move is to lead with a question, avoiding anything overly purposeful or intrusive regarding privacy.

A dozen seconds or so passed. Perhaps because Yamabuki Yue had finished her work and returned home, she replied promptly.

Moon: "My feet hurt."

Constellations: "I knew it."

Moon: "Did you go out of your way just to mock me?"

Constellations: "No. Even though you look very pretty in high heels, I think you'd better not wear them. After all, you always wear flats."

Moon: "Do you really think I look pretty in high heels?"

Constellations: "I think you need to visit a hospital."

Moon: "Why?"

Constellations: "The text above was so big, and yet you couldn't see it clearly. That means there's something wrong with your eyes."

Moon: "Pui pui pui, there's something wrong with *your* eyes."

Seeing this vivid and expressive reply, Ryuichi Sugawara could easily picture her feeling teased and letting out a reluctant, cute huff, and the corners of his lips curled upward uncontrollably.

***

Chatting via smartphone really did make it easier to open one's heart and drop defenses.

If they were interacting face-to-face, Yamabuki Yue would never utter something like "pui pui pui."

***

At 9:00 PM, Yuki Takanashi, who had returned home, eaten dinner, and finished her bath, lay prone on her bed playing with her phone.

"Constellations... Constellations... Found it."

Opening Twitter, she scrolled through the numerous search results for Constellations, quickly locating the one whose profile picture and bio matched completely.

"7,500 yen... That's way too expensive."

Opening Ryuichi Sugawara's Twitter profile page on her own phone, Yuki Takanashi looked at his bio and tags once more, unable to stop herself from murmuring.

"Witty and humorous—this is totally a scam."

After complaining about the price, she looked at the personal tags again and found herself amused.

"Can sing... I wonder how his singing compares to his electric guitar playing."

Seeing this tag reminded her of their chance encounter at the karaoke parlor that day.

Finally having the time to take a closer look, she opened the comments section of his sole tweet.

[Second Floor of Okochi]: "Your profile is so sparse, with just a single profile picture, and yet you dare to charge 7,500 yen an hour?"

"Hahaha."

Seeing this comment, Yuki Takanashi found it quite entertaining.

[Little Universe]: "Hello, I've followed you, but you haven't followed back after more than 24 hours. Could you please adjust your settings to allow direct messages from strangers?"

"Is this a client? It looks like she's really interested in renting Sugawara-kun..."

Noticing this comment, Yuki Takanashi realized what it meant, and instantly her heart began to flutter restlessly.

With that thought in mind, she tapped on Little Universe's Twitter profile to take a look.

Unfortunately, the other person hadn't posted any photos on Twitter, and their tweets were scarce, making it impossible to deduce anything.

Staring at Constellations' Twitter profile page, scrolling up and down and examining every corner, she found that the amount of viewable content was pitifully small.

"I wonder what kind of experience it actually is to rent a boyfriend..."

Putting down her phone with a lingering sense of curiosity, Yuki Takanashi recalled the events at Ochanomizu Station and her flustered reaction to his compliments, speaking to herself with a restless, itching heart.

In truth, she wasn't curious about what renting a *general* boyfriend felt like.

What she was curious about was what it would feel like to rent Ryuichi Sugawara.