Fishing / Honestly, It Was Pretty Nice

Still smiling, Aoyama strode forward with a smug look.

Seeing this, Sakura puffed out her cheeks and hurried after him, sticking close like a shadow.

"There are cute girls like her among the first-years?"

"Vice President Aoyama is as dashing as ever."

"Do you know that cute girl?"

The handsome guy and the adorable girl attracted countless students' attention as they headed toward Keyaki Mall together.

Compared to the widely known Aoyama, the unknown cute girl who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere drew even more attention.

"That's Yamauchi from your class, one of the Three Idiots of Class D."

Because Aoyama had intervened, most first-year students had money to spare, and quite a few went to Keyaki Mall on Sundays. The Three Idiots from Class D were among them.

At that moment, Yamauchi was staring at Aoyama with envy and jealousy.

"Yamauchi... I'm not very comfortable dealing with him."

"He also spread a rumor that I'd confessed to him and he turned me down. That's completely untrue."

Avoiding Yamauchi's gaze, Sakura gripped Aoyama's right wrist tightly with both hands, her tone very serious.

"Even if you hadn't told me, Sakura, I'd have been absolutely certain it was false," Aoyama replied just as seriously.

He knew Sakura was worried he might misunderstand, and that he might actually believe she liked someone like Yamauchi and had confessed to him, only to be rejected.

Among girls, merely having Yamauchi confess to you was already a strike against you. Confessing to Yamauchi and getting rejected was even worse—it could practically be considered an act of bullying.

Just confessing to Yamauchi could be seen as bullying. Among the weirdos in Class D, Yamauchi was in a league of his own.

"If you want, Sakura, I can make Yamauchi apologize for spreading that rumor and clear things up in front of everyone."

All Aoyama had to do was find some guy to provoke Yamauchi's competitive streak. He was sure Yamauchi would repeat his usual routine and boast about a girl confessing to him and getting rejected.

Then they could record him, and they'd have solid proof.

If Aoyama wanted to go all the way, he could even set things up to get Yamauchi expelled.

After all, unlike smart people, someone as brainless as Yamauchi could be lured into breaking school rules without much effort.

"I... I don't really want to draw attention to myself. And if a classmate gets expelled, it'll make the class atmosphere worse. We might even lose Class Points."

"If our Class Points get deducted, Horikita will probably hate you, Aoyama."

Even Sakura could tell how fixated Horikita Suzune was on Class Points.

"I'm already prepared for Suzune to hate me." Aoyama ignored Yamauchi and kept walking. "But since you still want to keep up that plain-looking disguise, I won't force you."

Having grown up with the internet of the twenty-first century, he hated people making decisions for others under the pretense of knowing what was best for them.

So he generally went along with what his friends wanted, unless there was something in it for him.

"Sorry, Aoyama." Sakura lowered her head like a wilted eggplant.

She wanted to ask about the relationship between Horikita and Aoyama, and why he was prepared for Horikita to hate him.

But judging by the atmosphere, Aoyama would probably only answer her first question at most.

"What's there to apologize for?"

Aoyama answered casually, and the two of them finally reached the electronics store.

There were a great many cameras on display, but only one employee was on duty.

After all, the customers were mostly students, and not many students would spend a lot of money on a camera. A phone was generally enough for their photography needs.

"Aoyama—"

The moment she entered the store, Sakura clung to Aoyama's arm and pressed herself against him.

Her F-cup softness pinned his right arm firmly between two soft mounds, leaving not the slightest gap.

Chapter 60: Fishing

"Does it make you uncomfortable? Scared?" Aoyama looked straight at the sleazy middle-aged man in the electronics store.

He was short and stout, with beady eyes. His gaze was murkier and more disgusting than a street thug's. Any girl who saw him would think his eyes were lecherous.

His mere presence made people uncomfortable.

"A little..."

"If he were one of your fans, Sakura, would you feel the same way?"

Under the leering shop assistant's murderous stare, Aoyama took hold of the end of Sakura's side ponytail and gently stroked its fiery red strands.

For the first time, he saw undisguised disgust on Sakura's face.

Unlike the frequent annoyance Kamuro showed, this was unmistakable, heartfelt disgust.

"Huh?! One of my fans?"

Aoyama's sudden words sounded almost like a rebuke. Sakura stiffened, bewilderment and uncertainty crossing her face as she instinctively clung even tighter to his arm.

"Yes, a fan of an idol. It may sound harsh, but plenty of them are like that."

In Japan, being an idol was an actual profession, not just a matter of saying someone was your idol because they played well.

For a modest amount of money, you could buy something like a handshake ticket and shake hands with a professional idol you liked.

Pay a little more, and you could even take an intimate photo with them in a specific pose.

"Smiling, taking that kind of person's hand, and encouraging him—that's a basic requirement for a professional idol. Could you do it?"

From talking with Sakura, Aoyama knew her manager had kept her very well protected. So he'd thought that, if she couldn't find anything else she wanted to do, she might return to being an idol after graduation.

"For now... I don't think I could."

"Honestly, I was hoping you'd say, 'That's disgusting. I'd never do it.'"

No matter how you looked at it, being a professional idol—a career that only lasted through your youth—wasn't a good direction to take.

"Whatever I say next, just pretend you agree." Before the bewildered Sakura could answer, Aoyama led her over to the shop assistant.

It wasn't difficult at all to manipulate a fanatical, unhinged obsessive with an extreme personality.

Just do it.

"The screen's half black. Could you see if it can be repaired? Here's the warranty card."

With an intimate air, Aoyama opened the bag Sakura was carrying, took out the broken camera and its warranty card, and set them both on the glass counter.

"Sure, let me take a look."

The man picked up the camera with both hands. Keeping his anger in check, he began inspecting it with a stiff expression.

After a while, he said it could be repaired, then handed the form for the repair request to Sakura, who had edged closer to Aoyama.

"This is my camera." Aoyama looked calmly at the man, who seemed to be waiting for something.

"Impossible. I sold it to this student myself. I remember it clearly."

Anger flashed across his face and vanished. The man, whose name tag read Kusuda, retorted.

"What's hers is mine. Even she herself belongs to me."

Aoyama's lips curled as he caressed Sakura's delicate cheek, then buried his face in her hair and took a sniff.

A pleasant fragrance filled his nose.

"Isn't that right, my dear girlfriend?"

"Mm..."

Sakura's face, which had been full of worry and confusion, instantly transformed with joy and shyness.

Her voice was soft and faint, like the mewling of a kitten, making her utterly endearing.

"Got it, old man Kusuda?" Aoyama turned around and gave the man, who could barely contain himself and was openly jealous, a scornful smile.

"G-got it—"

His answer came through gritted teeth. Kusuda reluctantly handed the repair form to Aoyama.

Pinching the form between his fingertips as if it were disgusting, Aoyama set it on the counter and began filling in his room number and phone number.

"Meet me at Palette Cafe at eight tonight. We'll go for a walk by the beach together and do some things we love."

After filling out the repair form, Aoyama left it on the counter, casually put an arm around Sakura's shoulders, and led her straight out of the store.

Even though he couldn't see the man behind him, he could imagine how furious and jealous he was.

If they hadn't been in public, the man might well have lost his temper and attacked them.

"Got it. I'll make sure I'm ready." Sakura clutched Aoyama's shirt and leaned her whole body against him.

Looking every bit like a couple, they left the man's relentless gaze behind.

After that, they went to a cake shop that students rated highly.

"You seem to really like cake, Aoyama."

By the time the cake arrived at the table, Sakura had mostly calmed down.

Watching Aoyama devour his cake with delight, she temporarily set aside her worries and smiled.

"Sweet things are justice." Aoyama swallowed a fluffy, fragrant bite of cake and declared it with conviction.

In both his past and present lives, he'd loved sweets. He especially liked light, moderately sweet cakes and wished every day of the year could be his birthday.

"That's nice. I don't really dare eat too much."

After pinching her stomach beneath the table, Sakura's expression suddenly grew a little gloomy.

She remembered what Aoyama had said when they entered the electronics store. It was obvious that he didn't really like professional idols.

"Do you hate idols, Aoyama?"

"If you're asking whether I like or hate them, then neither." Aoyama scraped the cream off the plate. "But as a career, I wouldn't recommend it, because the competition's fierce and you have to do things you dislike."

"I'd rather put on a trapeze act than sincerely encourage an old guy like the one just now while holding his hand."

"...I guess so." Sakura nodded, looking miserable. "But what do you mean by a trapeze act?"

"A trapeze act? Well, just like the name suggests—"

With a teasing smile, Aoyama turned his right index and middle fingers into a little person and made it walk across the table, step by step, toward the edge.

With a great leap, the little person disappeared over the edge of the table.

"That's very you, Aoyama."

Sakura gave a bitter smile, then changed the subject and asked why Aoyama had pretended they were a couple in the store.

She couldn't understand why he'd done that, not knowing the shop assistant was one of her fanatical fans.

Though she was happy about it.

Even knowing it was an act, Sakura felt overflowing happiness, especially when Aoyama's body heat had passed to her.

She'd been so happy that she wished time could have stayed frozen in that moment forever.

"I was fishing. That guy was looking at you strangely, Sakura, so I wanted to test him."

"So is our date by the beach tonight real too?"

Compared to how Aoyama planned to fish, Sakura now wanted to know if that was true.

If it was, she'd get to feel Aoyama's warmth again.

"You can't fish without bait. I'll be counting on you then." Aoyama patted Sakura's head, his voice very gentle.

He wasn't Jiang Taigong, after all. He couldn't rely on fish to volunteer to take the bait.

Chapter 61: Honestly, It Was Pretty Nice

In a white short-sleeved shirt and light gray shorts,

Aoyama arrived at Palette Cafe, dressed coolly and ready to go fishing.

A beauty with icy blue eyes, dressed in a light pink skirt that swayed in the breeze, was being hit on by an upperclassman.

"She already has someone with her, and she's not accepting advances from anyone."

Aoyama walked up beside Sakura as though it were the most natural thing in the world and deftly took the hand of the flustered girl, even lacing their fingers together.