Chapter 54: Surprise (Monthly Votes Requested)

With Aine Ishiguro's departure, the gathering also reached its end.

"Sugawara-san, thank you! Goodbye~"

Puttsing on her shoes, Kyoko Utada bowed to thank Ryuichi Sugawara before saying a smiling farewell.

"Sugawara-san, I need to head off first too. Bye-bye."

Although they had a wonderful and lively time just moments ago, Yoshino Sakai did not bother putting her shoes back on, merely picking up her school bag and standing up.

In the blink of an eye, only two people were left in the private room: Ryuichi Sugawara and Yuki Takanashi, gazing at each other.

[Yuki Takanashi feels her heart beat faster. Heartbeat value +1]

Yuki Takanashi felt a little nervous. Though they had spent time alone together in the physics classroom, the classroom back then had been brightly lit, creating an atmosphere completely different from the dim lighting of the karaoke booth.

"Do they both have a curfew?"

Noticing her avert her gaze in embarrassment, Ryuichi Sugawara asked with a hint of surprise.

"Of course not, what are you talking about? There's no such thing as a strict curfew these days. After hanging out with us, Kano usually goes to find her boyfriend, while Kyoko likes to browse the bookstore and check out the latest shoujo manga."

Though she had been slightly awkward a moment ago about being left alone with him, Yuki Takanashi was immediately amused by his remark, giving him a playfully exasperated side-eye.

"Don't Kyoko and Ishiguro-san need to keep their boyfriends company?"

Ryuichi Sugawara nodded thoughtfully, continuing along the thread of conversation.

"They're both quite picky when it comes to boys, so they're currently single. Aine went out with a guy in middle school, but she was so disappointed that she hasn't dated since. As for Kyoko, she only likes tall, handsome guys like you."

Yuki Takanashi did not understand why he was asking this, but thanks to the positive impression he had built earlier, and knowing these matters were hardly state secrets, she answered without hiding anything.

"What about you? Don't you need to keep a boyfriend company? Or are you currently single as well, and just too picky?"

Successfully breaching her defenses, Ryuichi Sugawara suddenly pivoted with a counter-attack.

[Yuki Takanashi feels her heart beat faster. Heartbeat value +1]

"Why are you asking that? Aren't you strictly anti-romance?"

With the topic suddenly shifting back to her, Yuki Takanashi met his gaze, feeling a sudden, inexplicable wave of nervousness.

Why on earth would this guy suddenly care about her romantic life?

Could it be that he had changed his mind during their time together just now? Was he planning to take the opportunity to confess his feelings?

"Just to be safe."

"To be safe?"

"In case you do have a boyfriend, and he finds out I brought you to karaoke, he might just beat me up."

Faced with her confusion, Ryuichi Sugawara offered a very serious explanation.

"Of course not. Besides, even if I did have a boyfriend, he wouldn't be some violent thug."

Upon learning the reason behind his question, Yuki Takanashi paused for a moment before shaking her head, an inexplicable sense of disappointment washing over her.

"That kind of behavior has nothing to do with being a thug. Put yourself in any man's shoes—finding out that his gorgeous girlfriend went out to play with another guy would make him angry enough to want to commit murder. Getting beaten up would be getting off lightly."

Ryuichi Sugawara firmly disagreed with her assessment.

"Oh, oh. Come to think of it, we should probably get going."

Although his words carried an implied compliment about her being gorgeous, Yuki Takanashi was not happy this time; she simply nodded and changed the subject.

Because she had already realized that Ryuichi Sugawara's anti-romance stance was deeply stubborn. Even though they had a wonderful time together, there was completely no sign of him wavering or softening.

Perhaps she had known this all along, but pretty girls inherently possessed a sliver of pride, always harboring the secret hope that they might be the exception.

"Right, let's go."

Since her attempt to change the subject was glaringly stiff—apparent even to an ordinary person that she was upset—Ryuichi Sugawara naturally noticed as well. However, he had no intention of comforting her and simply went along with what she said.

With that settled, the two of them stood up, picked up their respective book bags, and headed outside.

Walking down the hallway, adhering to the principle of two making a pair and three making a row, Ryuichi Sugawara walked side by side with her.

Only, for the entire duration of the walk, the two of them exchanged no words.

"The way he had so much fun with us just now... could that all have been an act?"

Realizing that she was no different from any other girl in Ryuichi Sugawara's eyes, Yuki Takanashi felt her mood plunge into deep despondency, unable to stop her own speculation.

Although she and her friends had enjoyed themselves immensely earlier, she was no mind-reader and had no clue what Ryuichi Sugawara was actually thinking.

Before long, they stepped out of the karaoke establishment and onto the open-air streets of Shibuya.

It was early June, and although it was approaching 7:00 PM, the sky had not yet fully darkened.

The young man and woman stood at the entrance of the karaoke venue, gazing out at the bustling streetscape.

"Anyway, thank you so much for your help. My friends and I had a wonderful time."

After standing in silence for a moment, Yuki Takanashi took the initiative to break the ice.

"The reason they had such a good time is still mostly because of how thoughtful you were."

Ryuichi Sugawara smiled, refusing to take all the credit for himself.

"Yeah, well... that's that. I'll be heading back now."

To this remark, Yuki Takanashi did not offer a denial; she merely nodded, pivoted half a turn on her heel, and spoke.

"The rental time hasn't finished yet. Are you planning on just heading back like this?"

Noticing her intention to leave, Ryuichi Sugawara reminded her.

"It's fine. My friends have all left already, so it's okay to end it here."

Yuki Takanashi naturally knew the time was not up yet, but she no longer had the heart to continue playing, smiling as she nodded.

"Really?"

Ryuichi Sugawara found her smile forced and completely unnatural.

Clearly, due to her naturally energetic and cheerful personality, she had zero experience putting on a fake smile.

"Really. Well then, I'll be on my way. Bye-bye."

Unaware of how unconvincing her smile looked, Yuki Takanashi simply nodded with a grin, waved at him, and made to turn and run off.

Yet before she could take off, Ryuichi Sugawara suddenly moved, reaching out to grab her by the arm.

Although summer had not officially arrived, the sweltering heat of Tokyo had already prompted Wano High School to switch over to short-sleeved summer uniforms.

As his hand closed around her fair, slender arm, Ryuichi Sugawara felt a soft, smooth, and resilient texture that made it hard to let go.

"What is it?"

Yuki Takanashi, whose smile had vanished the moment she turned around, had to look back upon feeling his grip. The corners of her lips twitched upward as she forced yet another fake smile.

"Since the rental time is over, might I treat you to dinner?"

Seeing her strained, artificial smile, Ryuichi Sugawara found it slightly amusing.

"Eh?"

Faced with this question, Yuki Takanashi was stunned.

"Don't misunderstand. The reason I want to treat you to dinner is because this is peak subway rush hour. After having dinner, we probably won't have to squeeze into the crowds."

Meeting her bewildered eyes, Ryuichi Sugawara maintained a firm expression and tone.

"You really want to treat me to dinner?"

Although his reasoning was clumsy—virtually copying word-for-word what she had told him the previous night—Yuki Takanashi had no mental bandwidth to tease him about it, as a wave of sheer disbelief flooded her mind and body.

"Really."

Faced with her confirmation, Ryuichi Sugawara simply nodded.

[Yuki Takanashi feels her heart flutter wildly. Heartbeat value +3]

"Since you're so sincere about it, I suppose I can accompany you for dinner."

Realizing he was not joking, Yuki Takanashi's mood swung like a roller coaster, shooting straight from the lowest depths up into the clouds.

"However, I get to pick the place. If I left it up to you, the 22,500 yen I earned from you might not even be enough to pay for your meal."

Seeing her hypocritical fake smile transform into a genuinely surprised grin, and noting the system notification, Ryuichi Sugawara chuckled and teased.

To surprise someone effectively, the secret lay in the element of the unexpected.

Furthermore, practical actions were infinitely more effective than sweet words.

"No way! Do you really think I'm that spiteful in your eyes?"

Hearing him say that, Yuki Takanashi stamped her foot in mock protest.