Good Brother, Let Me See Your Legs

By the time Uesugi Hara finally pulled himself out of his trance, the time in the top right corner of the Terminal had already jumped to eight o'clock.

He gave a sudden jolt, staring at the photo of Shizuku-chan still on the screen; what on earth had just happened to him?

He had actually acted like those old perverts in the comment section, wasting several hours without realizing it just by watching videos of a pretty girl!

It wasn't as if he had ever been that interested in watching them before, right?

Uesugi Hara gripped the Terminal tightly, turning the screen black and then lighting it up again, repeatedly checking the time.

The moment he remembered the comment he had just posted, he suddenly couldn't sit still—when had he become so blunt? Was he some kind of pervert too? Did he really like looking at legs that much?

Once this thought popped up, he couldn't suppress it. He hurriedly opened the browser and his fingers tapped out a line of text with lightning speed: "Is it normal for guys to like looking at legs?"

The moment the page loaded, he felt a bit nervous, as if he were investigating some shameful secret.

The search results were a mixed bag; some called it a "normal physiological reaction," others analyzed it as an "aesthetic instinct," and some popular science articles even dragged in "evolutionary psychology."

Uesugi Hara scanned through them one by one, his brows slowly relaxing, and finally, he let out a sigh of relief toward the screen: "So it's normal after all..."

It turned out that the awkward feeling from just a moment ago was purely him scaring himself.

He casually closed the page, the stone in his heart finally dropping to the ground.

Uesugi Hara rose from his chair and stretched his arms above his head, his bones emitting a series of faint clicks, the stiffness from sitting for so long finally dissipating a bit. Feeling a dryness in his throat, he rubbed his chin and decided to go to the convenience store downstairs to buy a bottle of iced Oolong Tea.

The automatic door of the convenience store slid open with a "ding," and the warm yellow light mixed with the aroma of food rushed toward him. Just as Uesugi Hara was about to step inside, his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure in the shadows of the shelves, and his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

It was his good buddy Kamuro Masumi.

That girl was looking left and right with a serious expression, her eyes filled with a hint of nervousness.

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow; the thought of calling out to her vanished instantly. Instead, he shifted behind the oden cabinet to the side, crossed his arms, and began to watch the show.

Kamuro Masumi was observing the situation around her. Although this wasn't the first time she had done something like this, it was still very thrilling.

She quickly scanned her surroundings, confirming that the clerk was busy checking an invoice with their head down, no one at the checkout counter was paying attention to this side, and the other customers were focused on picking out their own items. Then, like an agile cat, she reached out, grabbed a can of beer from the shelf, flipped her wrist, and neatly tucked it into the pocket of her uniform skirt.

The entire movement was as fast as a gust of wind. Once finished, she smoothed out the hem of her skirt with feigned composure and walked toward the door with a steady gait, as if nothing had happened.

Uesugi Hara, hiding on the side, clicked his tongue in amazement, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Kamuro, I never expected that someone who looks so upright and honest would have the guts to shoplift at a convenience store.

Uesugi Hara didn't delay any longer and quickly followed her out.

Just as he stepped out of the convenience store, the evening breeze made him feel a bit more clear-headed.

He caught up to Kamuro Masumi, who was walking with a light, airy step, in a few strides. He reached out and tapped her on the shoulder with a moderate force, his voice dragging in a slow, leisurely tone that sounded like a deliberate "chance encounter": "Kamuro, what a coincidence?"

Kamuro Masumi was so startled by the tap that she shivered and stumbled.

She slapped Uesugi Hara's hand off her shoulder and said in a stiff tone: "It is quite a coincidence, so what? Do you need something?"

"It's nothing major," Uesugi Hara said, swaying his steps slowly while his eyes glanced at her with a smirk, "I just happened to see a sneaky figure in the convenience store earlier. It looked quite interesting, so I took a couple of extra looks."

Kamuro Masumi's eyes flickered, and she stiffened her neck to retort: "Oh? And so what? Does that have anything to do with me?"

"Eh?" Uesugi Hara deliberately dragged out his tone, saying in an almost naive voice, "But I clearly saw that person do something not-so-honorable... Tell me, should I go report it to the clerk?"

The impatience on Kamuro Masumi's face froze instantly. Seeing that Uesugi Hara knew what had happened, she simply raised her chin as if she had given up on caring: "I took it, so what?"

Uesugi Hara suddenly changed the subject and asked seriously: "Kamuro, would you say we're good buddies?"

Before Kamuro could answer, he quickly added another sentence: "Shouldn't good buddies help each other out?"

Kamuro Masumi had just been amused enough by the term "good buddies" to want to laugh, but upon hearing the second half, the curve of her mouth collapsed, her expression became somewhat awkward, and she replied vaguely: "I suppose... I guess so."

"What do you mean 'suppose'?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. "Either we are, or we aren't."

"...We are." Kamuro Masumi gritted her teeth and replied in a low voice.

"Since we're good buddies," Uesugi Hara suddenly leaned in half a step, lowering his voice, "then I'll definitely keep your little secret, don't you think?"

Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips, and after a long while, she squeezed out a single syllable: "...Yes."

"In that case," Uesugi Hara said, as if suddenly thinking of something, his tone adding a touch of nonchalance, "if I ever run into any trouble in the future, you, as my good buddy, should also lend me a hand, right?"

Kamuro Masumi looked up at him, feeling inexplicably uneasy, but she still bit the bullet and replied: "...Yes."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw a bright smile bloom on Uesugi Hara's face as he patted her shoulder: "That's more like it."

"Now, your good buddy here wants to confirm something, you'll help me, right?" Uesugi Hara's tone sounded quite casual.

Kamuro Masumi immediately frowned, eyeing him suspiciously from head to toe, her shoulders, which had just relaxed, tensing up again: "Isn't this a bit too fast? You have something already?" She glanced around, subconsciously touching the beer can in her pocket, terrified that this guy would make some outrageous request.

"Just tell me if you agree or not?"

Kamuro Masumi was choked by his question, her brows furrowing even tighter, the confusion in her eyes almost overflowing. She shuffled her feet hesitantly, and after a long time, she managed to squeeze out: "Let's get this straight, I won't do anything too outrageous... but fine, I agree."

The moment she said it, Uesugi Hara's eyes lit up, as if he had been waiting for those words for a long time.

"You really are my good buddy, I didn't misjudge you!" Uesugi Hara patted her arm, smiling with an open and honest expression, "Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just that I discovered a problem today, and I might need to trouble you to help me confirm it."

Kamuro Masumi narrowed her eyes in vigilance: "What do you need me to do?"

"It's just... it's just..." Uesugi Hara suddenly got stuck, his cheeks heating up slightly, his eyes drifting toward the street lamp nearby, his fingers unconsciously scratching his face. That bashful appearance looked as if he had some unspeakable secret of monumental proportions.

Kamuro Masumi frowned at the sight and urged him with what little patience she had left: "What is it? Just spit it out."

Uesugi Hara took a deep breath, turned his head abruptly, and said in a voice that was fast, low, and carried the courage of someone burning their bridges: "It's just... good buddy, could you let me see your legs?"

The moment the words were out, the air instantly froze.