Chapter 55: Valuables

"Sugawara-san, what are we going to eat?"

Strolling through the bustling streets of Shibuya, Takanashi Yuki was in high spirits, walking with her hands clasped behind her back beside him.

She had thought that once the rental time was up, everything would return to the starting point.

Yet Ryuichi Sugawara had just grabbed her hand and even offered to treat her to dinner, making her mood soar as if taking a sudden, delightful turn.

Shibuya at seven in the evening was overwhelmingly lively. Every restaurant had a long queue outside, and getting a meal meant waiting in line.

"I'm still thinking about it."

Ryuichi Sugawara didn't suffer from indecision, but the current situation still gave him a slight headache.

"Then take your time, I'm not in a rush."

Seeing him look left and right, clearly searching for a restaurant to his liking, Takanashi Yuki expressed that she was in no hurry.

With nothing better to do, she tilted her head to study Ryuichi Sugawara.

Although they could be considered acquainted since yesterday, she had never really had a proper chance to look at him.

Up close, she realized this guy was genuinely tall, towering a whole head above her.

And his hands looked so large; the powerful grip with which he had suddenly seized her arm earlier had truly startled her.

"Let's go have yakiniku."

After a little while, Ryuichi Sugawara finally made up his mind and pointed toward a restaurant not far away.

Japanese grilled meat emphasized simplicity and the appreciation of original flavors, usually satisfying most people's palates.

Most importantly, the queue outside this particular restaurant was relatively short, with only about fifteen people waiting.

"Eh... this place is really expensive, you know."

Following his gaze and standing on tiptoe to take a look, Takanashi Yuki showed a surprised expression and offered a reminder.

Akitei Yakiniku was quite a well-known and popular restaurant even in Shibuya.

"We're going with this one."

Sugawara Ryuichi remained unfazed by the remark, taking steps forward.

It was just grilled meat after all, how expensive could it possibly get?

"Sugawara-san, it really doesn't matter what you treat me to, as long as we aren't squatting outside a convenience store eating cup noodles."

Not wanting him to spend a fortune, Takanashi Yuki decisively stated her preference.

She had eaten all sorts of things with her close girlfriends, including squatting together outside convenience stores to eat instant noodles.

Though it had seemed fun at the time, doing that in her first year of high school was fine, but now as a senior, it somehow felt a bit embarrassing.

"Is this place really that expensive? For you to say something like that."

Although Ryuichi Sugawara wasn't short on cash, he was the type to listen to advice, and asked with a hint of caution.

"I've never been, but I've heard it starts at around ten thousand yen per person."

After all, Takanashi Yuki frequented Shibuya often and had heard rumors about many establishments.

"Only ten thousand? Let's go, let's go get yakiniku."

Hearing this price, Ryuichi Sugawara instantly stopped worrying.

At a price like that, as long as he could make Takanashi Yuki's heart skip a beat even once during the meal, he would break even or even turn a profit.

This was the exact reason he decided to treat Takanashi Yuki; the rental time had expired, but the date time judged by the system had not yet ended.

Having finally gotten the chance to spend time alone together, how could he not figure out a way to rake in a hefty amount of affection points?

"Only ten thousand?"

Takanashi Yuki was astonished, never expecting him to react this way.

For high school students, a consumption of two to three thousand yen per person was already considered quite expensive.

As for a dining experience costing ten thousand yen per person, unless her parents were taking her out to celebrate a birthday or something similar, it was something she wouldn't even dare to imagine normally.

At that moment, Ryuichi Sugawara, who had already walked several meters ahead, noticed she was still standing in the same spot and turned back to urge her:

"Hurry up and keep up."

"Okay."

Takanashi Yuki snapped back to reality, nodded reflexively, and hurried over with brisk steps.

By the time she caught up to him, Ryuichi Sugawara didn't say anything, merely walking straight ahead.

[Takanashi Yuki feels her heartbeat quicken, Affection Points +1]

"Treating her to a ten thousand yen per person meal doesn't make her heart skip a beat, but getting urged by me does?"

Seeing the system prompt pop up before his eyes, Ryuichi Sugawara thought to himself thoughtfully, wanting to figure out the underlying logic of this trigger.

Having been in a relationship before, he had some experience in making girls happy.

Yet he was neither a player in the romance game nor a club-hopping playboy, just someone with moderate understanding.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he quickly found the answer.

If he guessed correctly, the reason Takanashi Yuki's heart had fluttered was likely because he had stopped among the crowd earlier and beckoned to her.

Many anime and movies featured similar scenes—where someone stopped, and another person waited ahead for them; the imagery was quite aesthetic.

Soon enough, they arrived at the entrance of Akitei Yakiniku.

"Welcome, how many guests will there be?"

Noticing them approach, the greeter standing by the entrance immediately stepped forward to receive them.

"Two."

Carrying his crossbody bag, Ryuichi Sugawara raised two fingers.

"Underlying, do you have any specific seating preferences? For example, a tatami private room or the main hall."

"It's my first time here, could you explain the options?"

"A tatami double private room incurs an extra room fee of two thousand yen, but the environment is much quieter and more comfortable."

"Then let's take a private room."

"..."

Takanashi Yuki, who had remained silent throughout their conversation, opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Actually, she had no preference for seating as long as it wasn't out on the street, but since Ryuichi Sugawara was the one treating, it was better to quietly follow his arrangements.

"Very well, this is your queue number. Also, please keep your valuables close to you as it is quite crowded right now."

Confirming the guests' preferences, the greeter pulled a small notepad from her waist pouch, made a few checkmarks, handed the slip to him, and offered a reminder.

"The most valuable thing I have is right here with her."

Taking the queue number, Ryuichi Sugawara suddenly remarked upon hearing the reminder.

[Takanashi Yuki feels her heartbeat quicken, Affection Points +1]

"Th-then please take good care of her."

The greeter hadn't expected such a response to her routine customer service warning. After a moment of astonishment, she racked her brain to come up with a proper reply.

As she spoke, she cast an envious gaze at this handsome boy and beautiful girl of high school age, unable to suppress the warm smile forming on her face.

"What are you saying?"

Under the gaze of the greeter, Takanashi Yuki couldn't keep her composure. While using her hand to shield her blushing smile, she playfully and bashfully tapped Ryuichi Sugawara on the arm.

It was supposed to be a completely normal process of getting a queue number, yet because of this guy's sudden, unprompted remark, things had turned so awkward.

"I really don't have any valuables on me."

Because her strength was so light, Ryuichi Sugawara felt no pain from her blows; rather, he enjoyed it thoroughly and replied with an innocent expression.

"Even so, you shouldn't say things like that."

Takanashi Yuki's face was flushed completely red, glaring at him with a mix of shyness and annoyance. This guy was too mischievous.

Clearly, they had no relationship whatsoever, yet a single sentence from him had directly misled the clerk.

Although she looked quite angry, Ryuichi Sugawara didn't mind it at all and merely smiled.

Because the system prompt and her smiling expression made everything crystal clear—Takanashi Yuki was actually very happy.

Flirting in public required careful styling; it had to be done by a male companion of whom the female partner was deeply proud.