Chapter 63: After-Sales Service

Arriving at the cafeteria, ordering food, picking it up, taking a seat, and digging in.

However, no sooner had he started eating than Ryuichi Sugawara began to regret it.

It wasn't because he had ordered the wrong food today, but rather because he had underestimated the complexity of "eating together."

The difference between dining as a pair of two versus a group of six was vastly greater than ordinary imagination.

Usually, he only needed to deal with Shota Sato, but today he had to handle a much larger crowd.

As the intermediary bridging two distinct social circles, all conversations naturally gravitated toward him.

The most awkward part was that when someone spoke to you, failing to respond would seem terribly impolite.

Fortunately, he still had Shota Sato to help draw the fire away from him.

"Let me tell you, Sugawara-san's singing is insanely good! Yesterday at karaoke, he even scored a ninety-nine."

Even though it wasn't about her own achievement, Kyoko Utada felt an extraordinary sense of pride in her friend's performance, almost wishing she could announce it to the entire world.

"Ninety-nine?! Is that really impressive?" Shota Sato asked, looking startled upon hearing this.

"Out of a total score of one hundred, ninety-nine is definitely impressive! Could it be that you've never been to karaoke?" Kyoko Utada was utterly speechless at his inability to grasp the sheer terror of a ninety-nine-point score.

"Sugawara-san, are you going to karaoke again today?" Seizing the opportunity, Yoshino Sakai asked right at that moment.

Since they had gone out of their way to find Ryuichi Sugawara for lunch, it certainly couldn't be as simple as just sharing a meal.

Because yesterday had been so much fun, and she felt there was great chemistry between Sugawara-san and Yuki, she wanted to push a little harder to play matchmaker.

"Not today. I've been going a bit too often lately."

Faced with this question, Ryuichi Sugawara didn't even hesitate before offering a decisive refusal.

As his words fell, the system prompt that had just materialized before his eyes gradually faded until it vanished entirely.

Setting aside whether or not accepting Yoshino Sakai's date invitation would count as a betrayal of trust, he could never accept a date unless it was explicitly under the premise of being a rental boyfriend.

Besides, if he had delayed his refusal even a little, Shota might have started getting restless and begged him to accept.

Considering how low Shota's social tier was, it was probably best not to drag him along with gyarus.

"That's true. What about the weekend then? Actually, we could go other places to hang out, like playing baseball, bowling, or going swimming."

Hearing his reasoning for refusal, Yoshino Sakai nodded in agreement, but she did not give up just yet.

[Yoshino Sakai...]

"Yoshino, I really appreciate your invitation, but I'm afraid this weekend won't work either, because I have a part-time job."

Seeing the system pop up with another notification once more, Ryuichi Sugawara did not instantly reject this time, choosing instead to ponder for a moment before replying.

"Oh, I see."

Faced with such a reason for refusal, Yoshino Sakai had no way to press the matter further.

After all, working a part-time job was a perfectly formal excuse, much like saying one had to attend school. Surely you couldn't expect someone to skip work just to accompany you out to play, could you?

"Ah..."

Realizing that there would be no short-term opportunity to go to karaoke together again, Kyoko Utada instantly drooped like a deflated ball, her entire persona turning gloomy.

"Sugawara-san has a part-time job? What kind of work do you do? Modeling?"

Although Aino Ishiguro was also slightly disappointed, she wasn't as dramatic as Kyoko Utada; instead, she asked out of bubbling curiosity.

Quietly keeping her head down to eat her meal, Yuki Takanashi couldn't help but lift her head to glance at him when she heard this.

Working a part-time job on the weekend—was he being rented by that girl named [Cosmo] in the Twitter comment section?

Although she didn't know this Cosmo person, she could tell from the other party's comments that this girl was extremely interested in Ryuichi Sugawara.

Even after more than twenty-four hours without a follow-back, the girl hadn't given up, but instead left a special reminder—that alone spoke volumes.

Having booked the weekend, what would the two of them end up doing?

Although she had no particular relationship with Ryuichi Sugawara, and they could hardly even be called friends, for some reason, whenever she imagined Ryuichi Sugawara acting as a rental boyfriend for other girls, a sense of inexplicable concern would well up inside her.

"Supermarket inventory clerk."

Ryuichi Sugawara offered his response after careful consideration, choosing to conceal the matter of being a rental boyfriend.

While this might have been a good opportunity to come clean, blurting it out now would likely bring unnecessary trouble to Yuki Takanashi. Consider it a form of after-sales service.

Aside from that, he also harbored a bit of selfishness.

If it wasn't necessary, he didn't want everyone to know that he worked as a rental boyfriend.

After all, over the past two and a half years, he had built up an immaculate reputation at Makino High School, and he didn't want to see all that effort go down the drain.

"A supermarket inventory clerk?"

Aino Ishiguro looked startled upon hearing this, truly not expecting that to be the answer.

She had originally suspected it might be something like print modeling, given that Ryuichi Sugawara was exceptionally handsome with a tall, statuesque build, making him a natural clothes hanger who looked good in literally anything.

"Teacher Yamabuki is here."

Just at that moment, Shota Sato offered a reminder.

At these words, everyone instinctively raised their heads and followed the direction of his gaze.

Treading in high heels and stepping leisurely into the cafeteria, Tsukushi Yamabuki drew widespread attention, yet she remained entirely unhurried, wearing a gentle, springtime smile.

"Teacher Yamabuki."

No matter where Tsukushi Yamabuki went, numerous students would proactively greet her.

Acknowledging everyone's greetings, her gaze quietly swept across the room, searching for Ryuichi Sugawara's location.

For reasons unknown, Ryuichi Sugawara had started showing up in the cafeteria over the past couple of days, which happened to be the primary reason for her exceptionally bright mood today.

"Found him... Hm?"

After scanning the room once, Tsukushi Yamabuki's eyes suddenly lit up, her spirits surging instantly, only to plummet right back down the very next moment.

Because surrounding Ryuichi—who usually only hung out with Shota Sato—were several other people, unmistakably the notoriously famous quartet of gyarus.

"Why are they together? What is this? After-sales service?"

Tsukushi Yamabuki failed to comprehend the situation, and the springtime smile on her lips grew several degrees stiffer.

Though deeply curious, she had no way of walking over there, forcing her to feign indifference as she walked past them toward the faculty dining area.

"Teacher Yamabuki changed into a new skirt today, she looks so gorgeous."

Watching her walk past, Shota Sato couldn't suppress a sigh of admiration.

As soon as these words left his mouth, before Ryuichi Sugawara could even reply, they sparked a massive uproar.

"Whoa, your focus is terrifying."

Hearing his commentary, Kyoko Utada was startled, feeling goosebumps rise across her entire body.

"Would a normal person pay attention to something like that?" Aino Ishiguro frowned as well.

While girls certainly hoped the boys they liked would notice their personal changes, receiving such scrutiny from an unrelated boy felt rather creepy.

Yoshino Sakai's mouth parted slightly; she had originally wanted to say something too, but after casting a glance at Ryuichi Sugawara, she squashed the thought.

Out of consideration for Sugawara-san, she decided she had better keep her mouth shut.

"How can you guys be like this? Ryuichi, judge this for me—was I wrong about anything just now?"

Faced with their obvious disgust, Shota Sato felt as though calamity had struck him undeservedly, and he turned to Ryuichi Sugawara for rescue.

"Sort of... commenting on another girl's outfit right in front of female company isn't really a good idea."

Ryuichi Sugawara desperately wanted to say something fair on his friend's behalf, but that remark of Shota's was genuinely indefensible.

After all, one of the things girls loathed most was other people expressing unsolicited opinions on their wardrobe—unless they explicitly asked for feedback, like a male companion shopping at a boutique.