I Was the One Who Got Here First

Yanaka 3-chome, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo—Yanaka Ginza.

This was a shopping street steeped in the atmosphere of an old working-class neighborhood. Walking down the slope, one could see rows of fish shops, butcher shops, vegetable stands, flower shops, stationery stores, bookstores, appliance stores, clothing shops, and more.

There were even popular homestyle restaurants with long lines outside. Every storefront hung paper-cut or wooden signs, giving the street a distinctive charm.

Yuuka and Qigong Shiori sat across from each other in a café. Yuuka stirred her coffee with a spoon while watching a cat sunning itself outside the window.

"Yuuka, you didn't come out today just to shop, did you?" Qigong Shiori spoke first.

"Mm, there's actually something else." Yuuka turned back and looked at Qigong Shiori hesitantly.

"Christmas is coming up, and I want to give a friend a gift, but I don't know what would be good, so I wanted to ask Shiori for some ideas."

Qigong Shiori's heart skipped a beat. A friend? Was Yuuka talking about her? But who asked the recipient what gift to give them in such a roundabout way?

Still... she secretly glanced at Yuuka, who had lowered her head. This clumsy Yuuka was pretty cute too.

Setting down her coffee cup, Qigong Shiori smiled. "There's no need to overthink gifts for friends. As long as it comes from the heart, anything is fine."

"Like homemade cookies, for example."

"They'd probably go bad by the time they got there, wouldn't they? It's so far away... Even vacuum-packed, shipping wouldn't be reliable." Yuuka muttered softly.

The smile on Qigong Shiori's face gradually vanished. Suddenly, she had a bad feeling.

"Then how about a bag?"

"He probably doesn't carry bags much..."

"Cosmetics?" Qigong Shiori asked tentatively.

"He's actually a boy," Yuuka said.

Tch! So it really was that wild man? Qigong Shiori clenched the little spoon she was using to stir her coffee, unable to stop the sour feeling rising in her heart.

It was me. I was the one who came first. Whether it was knowing Yuuka or becoming her friend, I was the one who came first. So why did Yuuka only remember that wild man and forget the real friend right beside her?

"If it's a guy, anything will do." Qigong Shiori's tone became casual.

"No matter what you give them, they'll accept it with a dumb grin on their faces."

"No!" Yuuka looked up at Qigong Shiori.

"I can't just give him something half-hearted."

This was bad! Yuuka was serious about this? Qigong Shiori thought as she looked at Yuuka's earnest gaze.

What was so charming about this man? How could he make Yuuka care so much?

"In that case, let me think..." Qigong Shiori fell into thought.

If Yuuka wasn't just playing at romance, then nothing she said would matter. Yuuka had already set her heart on that man.

If she said anything bad about him now, she might ruin the friendship they had only just managed to build. She could only investigate in private and see whether this man was truly worth Yuuka's efforts.

"How about making something by hand that he can use in winter? That way, it'll be meaningful and practical at the same time," Qigong Shiori said.

"Making something myself?" Yuuka looked doubtful.

"A hat, a tie, or maybe a scarf. Didn't we take home economics classes?"

"But... I've always failed home economics."

Hehe~ That was exactly the effect she wanted! Qigong Shiori's lips curled upward slightly.

She and Yuuka had attended the same middle school, so how could she not know that Yuuka had been hopeless at home economics since childhood?

The reason she had suggested Yuuka make something by hand was, of course, to find out what feelings that man truly had for Yuuka.

Anything made by someone as bad at home economics as Yuuka naturally wouldn't be as good as something bought from a store. When the time came, that man would face a difficult choice.

If he wore it out, people might laugh at him. But if he didn't wear it, then he definitely didn't truly like Yuuka.

This was Qigong Shiori's open scheme!

It might have been a little underhanded, but Qigong Shiori had seen through Japanese men long ago. They were nothing more than disgusting creatures who shamelessly came up to hit on any pretty girl they saw.

Whenever she recalled the start of the school year, Qigong Shiori felt sick to her stomach. If she hadn't studied karate for a while, she probably would have been harassed.

She really had no idea what was so good about romance!

"This has nothing to do with whether you're good at it or not. Because you'll be putting your heart into making it, so... he'll definitely like it!" Qigong Shiori began her persuasion.

"Don't you want to see him using something you made with your own hands?"

Yuuka seemed to think of something, and a blush slowly spread across her snow-white skin, like cherry blossoms in spring.

Even Qigong Shiori, who had been about to continue, froze. Yuuka really was so cute...

"O-Okay, that does seem to make sense. Then Shiori, help me pick out the materials. I remember there are some stores nearby that sell them, right?"

"Leave it to me!" Qigong Shiori patted her chest.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu put down his phone with a speechless expression.

"I'm an idiot. I actually thought Wen Bo, that single loser, would know what girls like."

On the phone screen, A Shui had sent him a pile of Taobao links, filled with gifts like "Long-Distance Relationship Gift That'll Make Girls Cry" and "Makes Your Girlfriend Look Good, Number One Bestseller."

This stuff was so cringe it made his toes curl. Who on earth was contributing to its sales?

"Forget it, I'll just pick something myself..." Zhao Yu began to think.

If it was cosmetics or perfume, he had no idea what Yuuka usually used, and it would be easy to make a bad choice.

But something like a necklace was far too aggressive. It would be fine if he had confessed, but their relationship had not even been defined yet. Giving something like that directly would be inappropriate and would put a lot of pressure on Yuuka.

He understood Yuuka's personality fairly well. With how she would insist on splitting the profits eighty-twenty even after making a slice of herself, Yuuka definitely would not be happy if he simply gave her such an expensive gift.

"Wait? I think I forgot something! Her hobbies are pretty similar to mine. Wouldn't it be enough to just give her something she could actually use?" Zhao Yu's eyes lit up as an idea came to him.

"Yuuka, you already picked out the materials. Why did you buy all this stuff too?" Qigong Shiori looked at Yuuka in confusion.

At that moment, Yuuka was carrying not only some fabric and yarn in her arms, but also several electronic products—a camera, a sound card, and a mechanical keyboard.

"Hehe, while I was picking materials just now, I suddenly realized that his hobbies are similar to mine. So I just need to think from my own perspective about what he might use." Yuuka smiled sheepishly.

Then why did you ask me? Qigong Shiori was a little speechless, but when she saw the things in Yuuka's arms, the sourness in her heart grew even stronger.

Damn it! I want a gift from Yuuka too!

"Anyway, thank you for today, Shiori." Yuuka raised her head and thanked Qigong Shiori.

"It's nothing. We're friends, after all..." There was a faint trace of resentment in Qigong Shiori's voice.

Yeah, they were obviously friends. So how had Yuuka forgotten about her?

Just then, she suddenly felt something around her wrist.

"Huh?"

Looking down, she saw that Yuuka had somehow slipped an exquisite bracelet onto her wrist.

Yuuka raised her own hand and waved it in front of Qigong Shiori.

"Hehe, as thanks, I'm giving you your Christmas present early~ We have matching ones~"

"Yuuka..." A trace of emotion appeared on Qigong Shiori's face.

She was awful. How could such a gentle girl as Yuuka forget her friend?

"H-Here, this is for you!" Qigong Shiori pulled out a bunch of earrings from her bag.

"I was actually planning to give them to you later, but since you gave me mine early, I'll give you yours early too..."

She had secretly bought them from a jewelry store nearby while Yuuka was not paying attention.

Originally, even if Yuuka had forgotten about her, she had wanted to prove that she was the one who cared about Yuuka the most—to outdo that man.

Now, though, it seemed unnecessary. From beginning to end, Yuuka appeared to have held her in the same place.

"Hehe, that's great... Just as I thought, Shiori is my best friend!" Yuuka laughed happily.

Qigong Shiori silently watched Yuuka's smile and made a decision in her heart.

No matter what, she had to investigate that man who had Yuuka so worried. She absolutely could not let someone with ulterior motives hurt her...

My thinking earlier was a little off. Maybe it was because I'd been constantly having all sorts of messy thoughts lately. Only after calming down did I realize that I had been completely wrong.

I kept thinking about those wish-fulfillment webnovels, but even I felt uncomfortable reading what I wrote. How could you all possibly like it?

So there won't be any more of that in the future. I'll only follow what my heart wants and write things that feel comfortable to read, instead of being influenced by that wish-fulfillment webnovel mindset.

Let me apologize to everyone. Including the five revised chapters, I wrote nearly twenty thousand words today. Updates will return to normal tomorrow.