Chapter 4: Hand in Hand

"What?"

Seeing her try to keep him there, Sugawara Ryuichi's irritation vanished. His heartbeat even quickened a little, though he still wondered if he had misheard.

He had already made things perfectly clear, yet Yamabuki-sensei still wanted to give it a try. What exactly was she thinking?

What she said was not without merit, but being a pretend boyfriend was not the same as actually dating. It could hardly be called a teacher-student romance, yet there was no need to take such a risk.

"My classmates are not teachers, and they have nothing to do with Buye High School. They will never have a chance to find out that you are my student."

Faced with his confusion, Yamabuki Yuzuki grew flustered and hurriedly tried to add an explanation.

In truth, watching Sugawara Ryuichi turn and walk away had filled her with an overwhelming feeling that if she let him leave like that, she would absolutely regret it in the future.

"I don't mind either way, but are you sure? If this gets out, it'll be a huge problem for you."

Rather than going along with her rash decision, Sugawara Ryuichi voiced his doubt.

He had taken the job for money. Yamabuki Yuzuki was paying him to pose as her boyfriend, so he felt no burden at all. Even if he were exposed, nothing would happen to him. If anything, rumors that he was involved in a scandal with such a beautiful English teacher would seem impressive in the eyes of his classmates.

By comparison, if the truth came out, Yamabuki Yuzuki would be in serious trouble.

As soon as he finished speaking, a prompt suddenly appeared before Sugawara Ryuichi's eyes:

[Yamabuki Yuzuki feels her heart race. Affection value +1]

"They're all my close friends. Even if they really did find out, it wouldn't be a problem."

Seeing that he had been worrying about her all along, Yamabuki Yuzuki's heartbeat quickened a little too, and she nodded firmly in confirmation.

"As long as you think it's fine."

Since she had already said as much, Sugawara Ryuichi felt it would be impolite to keep questioning her, so he turned fully back toward her.

"No problem."

Having successfully persuaded him to stop, Yamabuki Yuzuki nodded.

"Then shall we get ready according to the original plan?"

With the date continuing, Sugawara Ryuichi remembered he was being paid for this, set aside the trivial matters, and returned to the main point.

"Mm-hm. Let's find a place to sit and talk. Do you have a favorite cafe?"

"I've never been to Shibuya before, so I'm not familiar with it. You decide."

He politely declined her suggestion and handed the choice over to her.

Even if this were not his first time in Shibuya, he still would not have chosen a place based on his own preferences.

Last night, he had carefully looked into the profession of a rental boyfriend and understood very well that his duty was to provide emotional value and companionship.

"Then, in that case, shall we go to the Starbucks at the Scramble Crossing, as I originally planned?"

Seeing him leave the decision to her, Yamabuki Yuzuki thought for a moment and then made the suggestion.

"The Starbucks at the Scramble Crossing? That's a great location. I've long heard the view from that shop is excellent, and I've always wanted to see it."

Upon hearing their destination, Sugawara Ryuichi immediately voiced his approval and delight.

"Really? That's great, then let's go."

Seeing how satisfied he was with the choice, Yamabuki Yuzuki was pleased as well.

"Wait a moment."

Before setting off, Sugawara Ryuichi took a black face mask from his pocket and put it on again.

In truth, because Tokyo was so hot, wearing a mask in the early afternoon of June could feel a little stifling. But considering Yamabuki Yuzuki's position, it was better for him to conceal himself a bit.

Even if it would not matter much for him to be exposed as a student while pretending to be a boyfriend at a class reunion, if he and Yamabuki Yuzuki were spotted strolling through Shibuya by someone from Buye High School, things would become a major headache.

"Sugawara... why are you doing this? I mean, the rental boyfriend thing."

Seeing him deliberately put on the mask, Yamabuki Yuzuki could roughly guess his intention and suddenly grew curious.

"To make money."

Sugawara Ryuichi's reason was simple and direct.

He took the rental boyfriend job purely because he had suddenly heard from Shota that it was a lucrative way to make money.

As for the fact that being a rental boyfriend also fit the system's standards for dating, that was merely an unexpected bonus.

"Are you really short on money?"

After learning the reason, Yamabuki Yuzuki asked reflexively, but the moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She felt she had asked something terribly foolish.

If he were not short on money, why would Sugawara Ryuichi take on such a job?

"Tuition at the University of Tokyo is expensive. Over four years, the total cost is at least several million yen. I don't want to burden my parents too much, so I earn what I can."

Noticing the tiny look of self-reproach in her eyes, Sugawara Ryuichi did not answer directly. Instead, he said this.

"So that's how it is. Sugawara, you're really amazing."

Learning the true reason, Yamabuki Yuzuki could not help pressing her hands together in admiration.

Leaving aside the fact that this boy was outstanding in both conduct and academics, the top student in the grade, he was also so filial and sensible, and he was so handsome too. How could there be such a perfect person in this world?

"By the way, do you want to hold hands?"

Noticing the change in her tone and manner, Sugawara Ryuichi suddenly suggested.

"What?"

The unexpected proposal caught Yamabuki Yuzuki completely off guard.

"Holding hands is one of the most basic duties of a rental boyfriend. Besides, we're on a date now, and later I still have to pretend to be your boyfriend. If you keep thinking of me as a student, it could lead to exposure."

As he explained, Sugawara Ryuichi extended his hand to her.

[Yamabuki Yuzuki feels her heart race. Affection value +1]

"Eh... but this is so sudden. Isn't it too fast?"

They were still out on the street. Seeing his outstretched hand, Yamabuki Yuzuki immediately panicked, looking left and right guiltily, afraid that someone would notice.

"Sorry."

Seeing that she did not seem willing, Sugawara Ryuichi withdrew his hand.

He knew it was too fast to go straight to handholding, but there was no helping it. While they had been talking, she had suddenly shifted into the attitude of a teacher toward a student, and that had to be corrected.

Watching him pull his hand back, Yamabuki Yuzuki said nothing, but somehow felt a little regretful.

Thinking it over carefully, what Sugawara said made a lot of sense. They were on a date, and later they would have to pretend to be a couple in front of her good classmates. If they could not even manage a natural handhold, then it would be far too fake and would be easy to expose.

But Sugawara had already withdrawn his hand. If she now brought up holding hands again, would that seem strange?

While they talked, they kept walking forward.

Shibuya Crossing has another name: the busiest intersection in the world.

The closer they got to the crossing, the more obvious the crowds became. Everywhere she looked, heads packed tightly together.

Along the way, Yamabuki Yuzuki's attention was not on the road ahead at all. Instead, from time to time, she would rub the nonexistent sweat from her palm against her skirt and sneak glances at Sugawara Ryuichi's hand, trying to close the distance and take it by accident.

"There are too many people. Let's be careful."

As they gradually moved into the crowd, Sugawara Ryuichi, who had long since noticed her little gestures, spoke up. As he said this, he reached out and took Yamabuki Yuzuki's hand.

"Mm."

The moment his large hand fit around her smaller one, Yamabuki Yuzuki froze and looked up at Sugawara Ryuichi beside her, softly giving a response without trying to pull away.

[Yamabuki Yuzuki feels her heart race. Affection value +1]

Holding her cool, soft, smooth little hand, Sugawara Ryuichi also felt his heartbeat quicken when he saw the system prompt.

Until now, he had never imagined that he would one day be walking down the streets of Shibuya hand in hand with his English teacher. It was far too insane.