Kitahara Ayano's Artistic Life

Art originates from life.

Of course, by today, this iron rule has been ignored by many so-called avant-garde artists, who play a postmodern tune floating in vanity.

It wasn't until Kitahara Ayano went to university that she realized her experience in the real world was severely lacking. If she continued to join her classmates' circles and engage in self-indulgent or purely commercial endeavors, she feared she would never be able to complete her ideal work by the end of her artistic career.

What she pursued was a subtle aesthetic that walked the line—providing intense spiritual enjoyment while leaving an unforgettable aftertaste.

It was the kind of tsundere emotion that made people blush or even show disgust when discussed, yet they couldn't help but savor and play with it in private.

Yes, that's right.

Kitahara Ayano's secret identity, known only to herself, was that of a doujinshi artist.

Her initial exposure to this likely stemmed from her adolescent yearning for romantic relationships. However, due to strict upbringing and the absence of a suitable romantic partner, she channeled these stirrings into the virtual world.

Later, she delved deeper into the techniques involved and dedicated herself to this great endeavor.

Techniques ultimately have their limits. After gaining considerable popularity and becoming a moderately well-known artist in the industry, Kitahara Ayano hit her bottleneck.

She needed to enrich her real-life experiences to break through this barrier.

However, she had very little free time left. Her parents would grant her at most one or two more years before she had to start taking over the art gallery business.

Running an art business and engaging in artistic creation were entirely different matters.

It was a path Kitahara Ayano detested but had to tread. She was not a naive young lady who pursued freedom without regard for consequences. Everything she had enjoyed since childhood came from her family's wealth and status. Since she had benefited, she had to continue the family business. To put it broadly, it was a social contract. Social contracts bind everyone, and one cannot simply break them.

Her only option was to fulfill her wishes during the time she was granted after returning to the country.

Fortunately, by a twist of fate, Kitahara Ayano gained the superpower of Time Stop and selected the perfect target.

Chihaya Kiyoharu.

Speaking of perfect.

Some might find it a flaw that Kiyoharu-kun is already married.

Kitahara Ayano, however, believed this was an essential element of perfection—maintaining a superficial relationship with the young lady for mysterious reasons, yet gradually being led into the abyss of depravity by the temptation of his fiancée's best friend…

This was, in her eyes, very artistic.

Swish, swish, swish…

The sound of the electronic pen frictioning against the high-end digital tablet continued to echo in the private office.

Thanks to Airi, she had arranged an environment where she could create without disturbance and gather material from Kiyoharu.

Inspiration flowed continuously, and drafts were quickly sketched.

Kitahara Ayano's artistic talent and skill were exceptional; she could easily master various art styles.

After more than an hour, having poured out her inspiration, Kitahara Ayano stretched her body in the gentle sunlight filtering through the curtains. Her graceful, alluring curves were striking.

She glanced at her phone. It was a message from Airi, complaining about the opposition on the board of directors, who were opposing for the sake of opposition, disregarding the smooth progress of the company's business.

A sharp, aching sensation hit her. Kitahara Ayano rubbed her chest and sent a perfunctory comforting reply to Airi.

She wasn't as righteous in front of Kiyoharu as she appeared.

Or, to put it another way—

Kitahara Ayano was, fundamentally, a well-behaved, refined young lady from a good family who had rarely done anything out of line. And this time, betraying her best friend and seducing her husband was simply too wild.

She could only console herself repeatedly, telling herself that Kiyoharu lived a life devoid of love and care, and that she was his savior.

It was lunchtime.

Most students at Chihaya Academy habitually gathered with friends at a certain spot on campus to eat the bento boxes they brought from home.

The exquisite bento boxes represented thorough preparation and a considerate, stay-at-home mother, which was also a form of competition.

In this elite high school, competition was ubiquitous.

Kiyoharu preferred to eat something simple to get by during lunch, as he had to cook dinner himself.

Bread, sandwiches, or onigiri, accompanied by a drink from a vending machine.

He had been doing this ever since he was a high school student himself.

Back then, Kiyoharu, from a poor family, was often mocked as shabby by his peers. Now, the same behavior was seen as a virtue of frugality by teachers and students.

There was no such thing as shabby or frugal; he simply found it troublesome.

Airi would absolutely not cook. If he wanted to bring a bento, Kiyoharu would have to make it himself, which would cut into his already limited morning exercise time. That wouldn't do.

Kiyoharu, holding two of his favorite salmon salad onigiri and a can of oolong tea, arrived at Kitahara Ayano's private room as arranged.

The latter was opening a large, traditional Japanese wooden lunchbox, and the aroma of several mixed foods wafted towards him.

"There's quite a lot of food. Kiyoharu-kun, you can join me and have some," Kitahara Ayano invited.

"Joining is fine, but eating is not," Kiyoharu said, glancing at the contents of the lunchbox. It was a classic Japanese bento. No matter how luxurious, it was still a Japanese bento, which, in Kiyoharu's eyes, was not much different from onigiri.

It wasn't even a tenth as good as Chinese cuisine.

"Everyone says Kiyoharu-kun's lunches are simple, but in reality, it's because your fiancée fails to fulfill her obligations…"

"Who told you her obligation was to make me lunch? Airi is an excellent, independent woman!"

Can you handle this punch, which erases the very Dao?

Kiyoharu thought righteously.

Airi's duty was to provide Kiyoharu with popcorn and fill his wallet, and on this point, Airi had never failed.

"There are absolutely no problems with Airi and my marital relationship. I kindly ask Miss Kitahara not to sow discord anymore," Kiyoharu added, then opened his onigiri and took a bite. Paired with chilled canned oolong tea, the taste wasn't exceptional, but it was refreshing and not greasy.

Kitahara Ayano looked at Kiyoharu, her gaze undiscouraged. Her voice, however, was full of patience. "With me, Kiyoharu-kun, you don't need to worry about any… agreements? If there are any, between you and Airi. Just be yourself. Aren't couples meant for dating?"

"Heh."

"Kiyoharu-kun already agreed to be my boyfriend."

"But I didn't agree to you being my girlfriend. So, Miss Kitahara, if you want to date, go ahead. I'll hold back."

"..."

What a stubborn block of wood!

"Of course, if Miss Kitahara needs some proper help, I will assist as Airi's fiancé. For example, real computer repairs, or perhaps, hmm, the 'Ultimate Masterpiece'? I heard from Shimaura Hitomi that when you were listening to my lecture, Miss Kitahara sketched the scenes in the classroom. If you need me to be a model, that's no problem."

Kiyoharu said this casually, observing Kitahara Ayano's expression for any changes.

Because of that video, Kiyoharu would inevitably be forced into an affair with Ayano for a considerable period.

To counter this, Kiyoharu hoped to gather information about the 'Ultimate Masterpiece.' Since the trash system couldn't provide intel through scanning or energy point exchange, he could only rely on his own subtle probing.

As expected, a slight ripple appeared in her clear, moist eyes.

"Kiyoharu-kun is interested in being a model?"

"To be honest, I am a little interested, but it must be a legitimate, legal modeling job, and I can't take my clothes off… Speaking of which, Miss Kitahara has always been a lady with strict home education, so I presume you wouldn't need a nude model, would you?"