Chapter 43 Private Conversation (Revised)

The next morning, Ryuichi Sugawara went to school as usual.

"Ryuichi, I've heard about it."

Just as he arrived at the classroom and sat down at his desk, Shota Sato leaned in with a serious expression.

"What?"

Hearing his opening remark, Ryuichi Sugawara's heart skipped a beat as he asked back.

What kind of gossip had this guy dug up this time? Could it be that Yuki Takanashi had made it public that he was a rental boyfriend?

That didn't make sense, though. On his way to the classroom, the reactions of the other students in the same school had been completely normal.

"Yesterday after school, the gyaru quartet came to Class 1 to look for you, and then they chased after you, followed you out of the school gates, and even got on the same train as you at the station. What's going on?"

Seeing his calm reaction, Shota Sato simply decided to recap the events for him.

"Nothing is going on. Yuki Takanashi just wanted to invite me to go karaoke with them, but I turned her down."

Realizing that Shota was here for this matter, Ryuichi Sugawara let out a silent breath of relief and shook his head.

Judging by this, his judgment last night was correct. Yuki Takanashi was not the two-faced kind of person.

Even though he didn't mind if others found out about his job as a rental boyfriend, being exposed by accident versus being backstabbed were two entirely different things.

"Why would you turn her down? That's the gyaru quartet we're talking about, and Yuki Takanashi even invited you personally!"

Seeing Ryuichi's expressionless face, as if he were talking about the most mundane thing in the world, Shota Sato instantly grew anxious.

Although gyarus in Japanese middle and high schools didn't have the best reputations and were usually groups people preferred to keep at distance—mostly because they were perceived as playful underachievers, leading to prejudices of arrogance, casualness, and frivolity—setting aside their flaws, the reason gyarus were gyarus was that their clothes and fashion were undeniably sexy and stylish.

The gyaru quartet of Takeano High School were all blessed with good looks and attractive features, especially their leader, Yuki Takanashi, whose appearance far exceeded the average level.

The most crucial point was that this meant going out to hang out with four gyarus... Which man in his right mind would refuse such a fantastic opportunity? There had to be something wrong with his thinking!

"I was worried that if I accepted her invitation, it might give her unnecessary misunderstandings."

Speaking of the reason, Ryuichi Sugawara was not afraid to voice it and stated flatly.

"What misunderstanding?"

"The misunderstanding that I might like her, or something like that."

Boys and girls were fundamentally the same; when faced with signals sent by the opposite sex, they were prone to misinterpretation.

Besides, this was Tokyo. Influenced by an intensely indifferent social climate, kindness from the opposite sex stood out as vividly as a beam of light in the dark.

"You were just going to sing karaoke with them, just hanging out. What does that have to do with anything?"

Shota Sato found this explanation completely baffling.

"Anyway, that's my reason for turning her down."

Since the topic was too complicated to discuss thoroughly, Ryuichi Sugawara didn't offer a lengthy explanation, choosing instead to put a full stop to the conversation.

"What a waste..."

Sensing that Ryuichi didn't want to talk about it anymore, Shota Sato still felt it was a great pity.

Being hit on proactively by gyarus was an immensely rare and golden opportunity.

If Ryuichi had brought him along, maybe he could have sparked a romance with one of the gyarus and started a youthful, passionate love story.

Regarding Shota's regret, Ryuichi Sugawara merely glanced sideways and made no comment.

"Speaking of which, Teacher Yamabuki is still wearing high heels and black stockings today. I have a feeling she's really dating someone."

Although he felt it was a shame, Shota Sato quickly recovered and shifted to another piece of gossip.

Perhaps Class 1 didn't have an English class on Tuesday, but that didn't dampen everyone's close attention toward the youngest female teacher.

"She's just changing her fashion style, it's not that dramatic. Stop guessing wildly."

Ryuichi Sugawara strongly disagreed with this theory and immediately cut him off.

"Can't I even guess?"

"Rumors stop at the wise."

"Fine."

Hearing this, Shota Sato paused. Understanding the underlying meaning of those words, he immediately shelved the thought.

Although it was the first time he had heard that phrase, the literal meaning was simple and easy to understand: if he continued to spread gossip, he would undoubtedly be acting like a fool.

"Why is she still wearing high heels... Didn't she say her feet hurt last night?"

With the topic concluded, Ryuichi Sugawara muttered inwardly to himself.

---

The morning classes passed without incident, and in the blink of an eye, it was lunchtime.

In Japanese schools, the absolute taboo was being left alone, and this applied even to top academic groups.

Unless someone possessed a reclusive personality or was being ostracized, everyone would invariably find a companion.

"How about it? Are we going to the cafeteria today?"

As soon as the bell rang and the teacher left the room, Shota Sato rushed over.

"Let's go, get some hot food."

Faced with the question, Ryuichi Sugawara made his decision after a brief thought.

He wasn't going to the cafeteria to catch a glimpse of Tsukasa Yamabuki; rather, his wallet had fattened up, so there was no longer any need to save money by grabbing sandwiches or rice balls from the convenience store just to fill his stomach as he used to.

"Then let's go."

Shota Sato smiled at his response.

With that, they left the classroom and strolled toward the cafeteria.

However, before they even stepped out of the school building, someone called out to them:

"Sugawara-kun."

Hearing that familiar voice, Ryuichi Sugawara turned back with a hint of surprise.

As expected, it was indeed Yuki Takanashi.

After all, he had just heard that very voice at the station last night, and plus, Yuki Takanashi's vocal tone was quite distinctive and not easily forgotten.

He had anticipated something upon hearing the voice, but Shota Sato was completely caught off guard.

"No way?"

Shota Sato turned around and froze at the sight of Yuki Takanashi, who was wearing her school uniform, a jacket tied around her waist, and her top collar button undone, revealing a sexy collarbone.

Although he had already heard that Yuki Takanashi had proactively approached Ryuichi Sugawara, hearing secondhand rumors and witnessing it with one's own eyes were entirely different experiences.

"..."

Ryuichi Sugawara didn't speak; he simply observed her, noticing her slightly labored breathing rhythm.

Clearly, Yuki Takanashi had run all the way to catch up with him the moment lunchtime started, and she had probably made a trip to Class 1 beforehand.

Why on earth was she in such a rush to find him?

"Excuse me, could I take a moment of your time?"

Yuki Takanashi walked up to them, breathing lightly, and looked up at Ryuichi Sugawara.

"Sure."

Ryuichi Sugawara subconsciously glanced at her steadily rising and falling chest before quickly looking away.

"Pardon me, could you allow me to speak with him alone for a moment?"

Noticing his gaze, Yuki Takanashi turned her attention to Shota Sato and made a polite request.

"Please go ahead."

Shota Sato nodded, pleasantly flattered and never expecting the day would come when she would speak directly to him.

With the matter settled, Yuki Takanashi and Ryuichi Sugawara exchanged a glance, then strode off without further ado, heading toward a spot away from the crowd.

During lunchtime, students scattered into every corner of the campus.

The number of students inside the school buildings was usually at its peak.

"What's going on here..."

Seeing the two of them leave one after the other, the surrounding students exchanged bewildered glances, curiosity welling up inside them.

"Don't tell me Takanashi has fallen for Sugawara too? No way."

Aside from that, there were also a few hearts breaking in the background.