Scheming in the real world? I can also do a little.

Finally, all this troublesome business is resolved, and I can get some proper rest... Hm?

Having just thought about resting, Hoya Chukai saw a supermarket, and he couldn't help but feel a craving.

Hmm... buying a yogurt shouldn't be a problem, right? Oh, right, there are still many things I haven't bought for the dorm; I need to prepare all the necessities first.

Thinking this, Hoya Chukai entered the supermarket.

To be honest, he really did need to buy things like towels, bath towels, shampoo, body wash, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and so on, and he had even made a list specifically for this.

Opening his phone, Hoya Chukai looked at the note he had written and began to purchase a series of items.

This also included things like an electric kettle, pots, bowls, and ladles.

This academy is quite thoughtful; there is actually a small kitchen in the small dorm room. It would be quite nice if one wanted to cook something for themselves.

When Hoya Chukai was in college, he liked to cook for himself. There was no other reason; it was purely because he was poor. At the time, he was obsessed with microtransactions, but since his living expenses were so limited, he naturally had to spend some time cooking his own meals.

Take the simplest example: instant noodles with some cilantro and an egg added in—the taste was actually quite good. Occasionally, he could even make a single-serving hot pot to treat himself; back then, he would often make his roommates jealous.

Thinking about it now, it's full of nostalgia.

Hm? What are they doing over there?

Hoya Chukai, who was busy reminiscing about the glorious years of the past, saw a girl stealthily... stealing something?

"Ahem."

Hoya Chukai couldn't help but cough twice, which gave the girl a start.

Seriously, why are you so startled? You're stealing right next to me, acting as if you're afraid I won't see you.

You're even putting a finger to your lips to shush me; do you think I'm going to report you?

"Look."

Hoya Chukai pointed toward the distance. Following his finger, the girl saw a security camera.

It seemed to be staring right at this spot.

"Hey, if you want to steal something, at least check your surroundings. You really aren't afraid of that thing?"

Chapter 12: I Have Stories, and I Have Alcohol

The small, exquisite security camera stood quietly in the corner, its head pointed directly at Hoya Chukai's side. In other words, everything the girl had been doing since a moment ago had been seen clearly.

"At least try to avoid the camera; you're being way too careless."

Hoya Chukai shrugged. He even picked up the item to examine it closely for a moment: "Yo, it's actually beer, Asahi too. You're into this stuff?"

"What I like has nothing to do with you, right?"

The blushing girl snatched the beer back and set it aside: "I was only planning to taste it."

"Tell me, is this your first time?"

"First time for what?"

Not understanding Hoya Chukai's words, she looked at him, a bit confused, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Do you think this stuff is easy to steal? Do you need me to tell you what will happen if you take this beer today? Little master thief?"

"You..."

Hoya Chukai's use of "little master thief" was, in her eyes, a massive mockery. What master thief? She had clearly almost been caught just now.

"Forget it. Do you have time? I happen to be a bit bored right now. Do you want me to educate you on your upcoming fate?"

As he spoke, Hoya Chukai picked up the can of beer. He grabbed two more, thought for a long time, and finally chose to put a few cans back and instead picked up a bag: "Let me think about how a villain should say this... Hmm... classmate, you wouldn't want the school to find out about your thievery, would you?"

"Netizen, please dial back the creepiness, thank you. So, what do you want?"

"Keep me company for a drink, how about it?"

"?"

This female classmate had no idea what Hoya Chukai was thinking. Could this be some new way to hit on someone?

But regardless, he had stopped her theft just now, and if she wasn't willing, he intended to make this matter public knowledge.

She didn't think she could hide this incident. Just as he had said, the camera over there had long since recorded this scene. If he wanted to, he could pull the footage at any time and find out exactly what had happened.

Therefore, she had no choice but to follow this boy to the checkout and leave the supermarket.

"Let's go, come to my dorm and have a drink for a while."

"Are you a pervert?"

The female classmate wanted to leave, but Hoya Chukai grabbed her: "Don't run away~ Otherwise, I'll make sure everyone knows about this."

"So what if they know? What's the problem..."

"Ah, that's true. Then go ahead, leave. Since you think it's not a problem, then it's not a problem."

"?"

The female classmate understood Hoya Chukai's meaning even less. She now felt that the boy in front of her was a lunatic.

"Which class are you in? Class D?"

"How could I possibly be from Class D?"

It was clear that she looked down on students from Class D.

"Then Class B? That's impossible. I know Class B, nobody there would do something like this, so... Class A?"

Did Hoya Chukai know who this girl was? Of course he did.

The existence who had been treated as a tool countless times in fanfiction, our very own petty thief, Kamuro Masumi.

"Why don't you think I'm from Class C? So, are you from Class C?"

"That's right. Disappointed? To be honest, watching a junior use such clumsy techniques, I also find it a bit dull."

"Junior?"

Hearing Hoya Chukai's words, Kamuro Masumi was filled with confusion: "So you're a second-year?"

"No, first-year. But the 'junior' I'm referring to isn't about academic standing, but experience."

As Hoya Chukai spoke, he tossed a bag of beer to Kamuro Masumi: "I've got too much stuff in my hands, help me carry this."

"Hey, I'm not planning on messing around with you."

"Then you can just drop the beer on the ground or leave while holding it, my junior. You have no idea what could happen if a matter as small or as big as this blows up, do you? Relax, I'm not going to eat you. I just saw your behavior today and it made me nostalgic for the past. I have stories, and I have alcohol; how about keeping me company for a while?"

After Hoya Chukai finished saying this, he simply strolled toward the dormitory. Watching his demeanor, Kamuro Masumi cursed him as a lunatic under her breath, but followed him anyway.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't feeling curious and confused by Hoya Chukai's words. She would just listen to what this man had to say for the time being.

"Here, come in. I'll make some snacks to go with the drinks."

"Snacks?"

"You aren't planning on drinking alone, are you? How can you drink without snacks? Don't worry, my cooking is decent."

This dormitory even had a small space for people to cook; it seemed they were truly afraid of people starving to death. Compared to the cafeteria, vegetables at the market were actually cheaper, and students did indeed buy groceries there. For instance, some female students would buy a few tomatoes or cucumbers to take back and eat; after all, fruit in Japan was expensive, so eating some vegetables was refreshing enough.

The snacks weren't difficult to make; smashed cucumbers and some peanuts were more than enough.

Hoya Chukai had eaten a vegetable set meal for dinner, and to be honest, he wasn't full. He had also bought some duck feet and other things suitable for drinking at the supermarket earlier. Within a few minutes, he placed the snacks on the small table.

"There's nothing much to eat, so just make do with this. Here, drink."

Very casually, he opened a beer and handed it to Kamuro Masumi, then opened a can for himself and took a few gulps.

"Ah, haven't had this in a long time. The taste is still the same."

Picking up his chopsticks to grab some peanuts, Hoya Chukai ate a few and looked at Kamuro Masumi, who hadn't touched her drink yet. He tilted his head slightly: "Hey, why aren't you drinking? Don't worry, it's not poisoned."

"It's not about whether it's poisoned or not, you're a real weirdo."

"Is that so?"

Hoya Chukai took another sip of his beer. He didn't think he was that strange of a person.

"Yeah. Dragging a girl back to his dorm in the middle of the night, going straight to whip up some cold dishes, and now actually drinking. What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to chat with you about what happens after you start stealing."

Mentioning theft, Hoya Chukai fell into a moment of silence.

He took another gulp of beer, picked up a piece of cucumber with his chopsticks, and continued: "Second year of middle school, I was caught by a convenience store clerk."

"Because of stealing?"

"Yeah."

"What did you steal?"

"A rice ball."

"Just a rice ball?"

"Two months' worth of rice balls."

"!"

Kamuro Masumi hadn't expected Hoya Chukai to answer so directly, and his answer left her not knowing what to say.

He had stolen rice balls for two months?

"Didn't expect that, did you? I didn't either. After doing this for two months, I got caught, and it was caught in the act."

Chapter 13: The Past is Like a Needle, Choking in the Throat

The reason he was acting so strangely tonight was because he had seen Kamuro Masumi stealing.

It was similar—too similar. It was exactly like how he looked on the first day he ever stole something.

But when he stole, it wasn't in Japan; it was in his previous life, in China.

In a 7-Eleven inside the Second Ring Road of the capital.

As for the reason... he was hungry, but he didn't have enough money to eat his fill.

His parents worked within the Second Ring Road of the capital, but the area wasn't just big companies and enterprises; there were small businesses too. His mother was a cleaner who only made a little over three thousand a month.

To give her child the best education, she sent him to study at Capital No. 5 High School, but the tuition fees were a struggle for her. She had many jobs every day; besides being a cleaner, she washed dishes and scrubbed toilets. As for his father? He was even busier. The bricks on the construction site were too hot to handle, and he couldn't keep up.

Because there was no one at home to look after him, he didn't go home after school, but instead followed his mother to work at a small business. In the evening, he was hungry, so his mother gave him ten yuan so he could have a proper meal.

But the problem was, ten yuan could buy several large steamed buns, a rice bowl, or a bowl of hot noodles in a small county town. But what about inside the Second Ring Road of the capital?

Right next to the business was a street of gourmet food, featuring Japanese cuisine, crayfish, Beijing-style hot pot, and even some century-old establishments.

But there simply wasn't any cheap, home-style cooking. So, he could only take his ten yuan to a 7-Eleven to find something to eat.

What could he get at 7-Eleven? A three-yuan soy sauce boxed rice, a four-yuan fried rice—portions only slightly larger than the palm of his hand. He would buy two portions of soy sauce rice and one portion of fried rice at a time; that was all ten yuan could get him.

But he was hungry for more. Looking at the dazzling array of puddings, jellies, sushi, and rice balls, he was truly craving them. Eating nothing but unpalatable soy sauce rice and fried rice with only a few peas and corn every night, he couldn't get full, nor could he enjoy his food.

And so, one day, he committed his first act of crime—he stole two rice balls.

Delicious; it was truly delicious. For the first time, he realized that rice could taste so good.

In his eyes, the only difference between a rice ball and regular rice was the strip of seaweed on the outside; what other difference could there be compared to a rice bowl?

Once there was a first time, there was a second. After stealing rice balls the first time, he dared to steal sushi the second.

An eighteen-yuan pudding, a four-yuan drink, a bag of candy worth twenty-five yuan—he stole more and more, and then even more.

Until one day, the usually kind cashier stopped him and asked him to wait a moment.

He was a bit confused, but he felt a sense of crisis at that moment. Feeling that he had been exposed, he hurriedly put back most of the items he had hidden in his clothes, but out of a fluke, he still kept two rice balls hidden.

But it was useless; the surveillance cameras had already captured everything.

His mother had to come to the convenience store, where she learned that her child had been stealing things for fifteen days.

Fortunately, the convenience store's surveillance footage only kept records for fifteen days, but fifteen days was still a significant amount.

Two rice balls a day for fifteen days meant thirty rice balls. He insisted that he had only stolen rice balls, and since the surveillance couldn't clearly capture exactly what he had stolen, the store owner eventually concluded that he had stolen thirty rice balls.

At three yuan and fifty cents per rice ball, thirty of them came to 105 yuan. According to the rules at the time, he had to pay ten times the value as a penalty, so his mother had to pay a fine of one thousand yuan.

He was beaten that day. In front of the cashier and the owner, his mother slapped him hard twice; if the cashier hadn't stopped her, he might have been beaten even more.

His mother cried and begged the owner to reduce the fine, as she truly didn't have that much money. She cried while hitting her child, and the cashier tried his best to restrain the mother who was crying and furious. In the end, the store owner helplessly took only two hundred yuan and let the mother and son go.