Tokyo: My Girlfriend

When Shinichi Kitagawa returned home, he saw Rena locked in her bedroom again, and he didn't know if she had eaten dinner.

Anyway, there was no sign of cooking in the kitchen.

"Rena, I just ran into Kana at the convenience store. Kana said she'd be bringing us dinner later, so I bought some snacks too. If you haven't had dinner yet, would you like to eat together?"

The silver-haired girl lying on the bed in the bedroom buried her head in the blankets upon hearing this, but still did not respond.

Shinichi Kitagawa didn't say anything more.

Half an hour later, Kana Sato came running to Shinichi Kitagawa's house carrying a lunchbox. She stood at the door and gave a half-bow: "Um, excuse me! May I come in, Shinichi?"

Kitagawa Shinichi opened the door with a smile. Even though he was the one who was freeloading, she was still so polite: "Of course, please come in, priestess."

Kana Sato smiled, changed her shoes, and went inside.

This was actually Sato Kana's first time visiting the Kitagawa siblings' home. She looked around the living room and exclaimed, "Wow, the house is so big!"

"It's hard to imagine that Kana, whose family owns a shrine, would say something like 'the house is so big.' How much area does our house have compared to the shrine? Is it even one percent of that?"

Kana Sato grinned awkwardly, "One in a thousand, I guess."

As expected.

"I hope Kana-kun can show me the way next time I go to the shrine."

"Of course! Please feel free to contact me! The shrine welcomes all guests from afar!" she said earnestly.

The two sat at the dining table, and Kana asked softly, "Where's Rena?"

"She didn't come out of the bedroom. I told her you were coming over, but she ignored me. I'll leave her some food later."

"As expected, Rena is terrifying when she gets angry, but this also proves that she really cares about Shinichi, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten so angry. Don't be too angry."

Shinichi Kitagawa knew about this, of course. He had come to appreciate Rena’s kindness and thoughtfulness over the years, which was completely different from her tough words.

"I'm not angry with Rena."

Since Rena Kitagawa wasn't planning on coming out, the two of them picked up their chopsticks and said in unison, "Let's eat!"

The other party served fried pork cutlet, miso soup, and tempura. Kitagawa Shinichi took a bite and was full of surprise.

"Delicious! It's almost as good as Rena's. Do you usually cook for yourself?"

Kana Sato blushed again at the compliment: "Well, I mostly make it myself, so practice makes perfect. As long as Shinichi doesn't think it tastes bad, that's fine."

When Kitagawa Shin saw how she tiptoed around, it seemed she was very reserved about being a guest in his home, and she didn't even dare to make a sound while eating.

So Shinichi Kitagawa deliberately chatted with her about his feelings about coming to Kabasaki Town these days, and asked her about some things about the shrine. These familiar topics did help Kana Sato relax.

When discussing key topics:

"What are Kana's hobbies? Besides shrine-related matters, what do you do in your free time?"

Kana Sato chewed on the crispy tempura and thought for a moment: "I don't really have any hobbies that I'm particularly good at."

Do you like drawing?

"Huh?" Sato Kana panicked immediately, clearly her little secret had been touched, and she stammered, "Drawing...drawing?! What, Shinichi-kun, you like to draw? No way..."

Kitagawa Shinichi nodded: "I like it very much, but I just moved to Kabasaki Town and didn't bring any paintbrushes or other props with me. Otherwise, I could have drawn a portrait of Kana right now as a way of repaying this dinner."

Kana Sato felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat.

Shinichi-kun also likes to draw?

What a coincidence?

And she even said she'd draw me... Good heavens! She has the same hobby as this handsome guy!

She couldn't resist putting down her chopsticks, gripping the table with both hands, leaning forward slightly, and blinking her big, bright eyes with great excitement:

"Um... I... I actually do some research in this area too! And I have paintbrushes and a drawing board in my bedroom, if Shinichi-kun doesn't mind!"

Making eye contact caused a brief moment of awkwardness.

Realizing her blunder, her face flushed like a boiling kettle, and she lowered her head, blushing like a shy quail, her hands propped on her thighs: "If you don't mind, you can come to my house to try out the paintbrushes and see if they're comfortable..."

"Okay," Shinichi Kitagawa smiled. "Let's go after dinner."

Sato Kana looked up in a daze, wondering if she was dreaming.

This must be a dream...

After eating and drinking their fill, the two went to Sato Kana's house, which was not far away. Sure enough, Aunt Sato wasn't home; she was actually staying at the shrine.

Shinichi Kitagawa changed his shoes and entered the girl's bedroom, where the girl was still questioning her existence.

However, I didn't realize last time I bothered him that Kana was so passionate about drawing.

There was a small bookshelf in her bedroom, which was filled with books about painting and some printed paintings.

There was also an old easel and a huge pile of paints and such.

Shinichi Kitagawa couldn't help but retort, "You love drawing so much, yet when I asked you just now, you were still thinking about what you do in your spare time?"

Kana Sato lowered her head, blushing, and put her hand to her lips: "Mainly, I feel embarrassed to show it to you... and besides, it sounds disgusting for a girl to stay at home drawing and stuff, right?"

Shinichi Kitagawa didn't understand his train of thought: "How can it be disgusting? It's totally cool, okay?"

Kana Sato chuckled. The main reason was that she had been told by other girls when she was a child that it was disgusting for her to hide at home all day drawing human figures, and she didn't have many colleagues in Kabasaki Town.

So she's always been reluctant to talk about this with others.

Shinichi Kitagawa picked up his paintbrush and used his remaining balance to exchange for some painting skill points with the system.

I looked at a painting on the canvas that was only half-finished.

It's a picture of a young girl taking a bath, and it's quite explicit.

However, at present, only a rough outline is available.

Kana Sato seemed a beat behind, forgetting that she was creating the painting, and hurriedly tried to put it away.

"I just drew this for fun!"

Then I heard Shinichi Kitagawa comment, "Wow, amazing! You have a real talent for drawing the curves and contours of the human body, as well as controlling the shadows. Especially the armpits and groin area, which are very difficult to draw, but you've got the balance just right. Is this original? How long have you been self-studying?"

Kana Sato was taken aback. He really knew how to do that...

"It's original. I've been self-taught for five or six years now, but it's all been just researching for fun..."

Shinichi Kitagawa sat in front of the easel, examining the canvas:

"But why are the breasts drawn so big? It feels a bit out of place."

Feeling utterly embarrassed, Kana Sato turned her head away. "Because this is based on my own body proportions. Sorry, even though it's just an outline, it might look weird, right?"

Shinichi Kitagawa was shocked to hear this; his own body proportions?

E..?

"It's not strange..."

Although it doesn't look small normally, I thought it was only a C or D cup, I didn't expect it to be this big.

He subconsciously looked at Sato Kana's chest, and Sato Kana met his gaze. The two seemed to know what the other was thinking.

Kana blushed deeply, clutching her chest shyly as she explained, "You know school uniforms are usually loose, but even so, I still feel very restricted wearing tight underwear, so... so how about we change the subject?"

Shinichi Kitagawa turned his head away, even he felt awkward: "Yeah, let's change the subject."

Shinichi Kitagawa coughed and suggested, "Then, as we just agreed, I'll draw a portrait of Kana, and Kana can give me some feedback while we're at it. We can exchange ideas."

"Ugh..." How embarrassing! What on earth was I talking about with Shinichi? "Do I need to be a model?"

"No need, I can do it from memory."

Sitting together in front of the easel, as Kitagawa Shinichi picked up his brush and entered a state of flow, Sato Kana stared at the details of her painting. The initial awkward atmosphere was quickly overshadowed by their shared interest and attention to detail.

Kana Sato stared wide-eyed at the lifelike portrait on the paper with admiration and worship.

"So strong..."

Shinichi Kitagawa advised, "Kana's drawing just now could be improved in this part, which is where I drew it. Do you see that drawing lines like this makes it look better than the usual way? It's a little trick."

"Hmm..." Kana Sato bit her lip and nodded excitedly, "This is the first time I've ever seen such a high level of live creation. I really want to become his apprentice... but I doubt Shinichi would accept a newbie like me."

Shinichi Kitagawa noticed her absent-minded look out of the corner of his eye and thought to himself that she must have finally spoken her mind.

The response was: "If you want to learn, I can teach you."

"what?"

Kana Sato stared blankly at Shinichi Kitagawa, covering her mouth in a shy and exclaiming voice, "Huh! What did I just say?! No way! And just now, Shinichi-kun..."

Shinichi Kitagawa, staring at the drawing paper, couldn't help but laugh as he replied, "I said I could teach Kana how to draw. If you have any questions about drawing in the future, feel free to ask me anytime. We can improve together in the future. I've always wanted to find a colleague."

Kana Sato's pupils flickered, feeling as if what had happened today was truly a dream.

She pinched her cheek hard until it turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes: "It doesn't feel like a dream."

Kitagawa Shinichi was puzzled by her sudden behavior: "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry... I was so rude... Waaah, but I'm really happy." She wiped away her tears.

Tonight, I connected with Kana Sato through our shared interest in painting. Shin Kitagawa waved goodbye to her all night, saying we could exchange ideas sometime. Kana waved back, seemingly surrounded by rainbow bubbles.

Back home, the moment I opened the door, I was surprised to see Rena Kitagawa sitting at the dining table.

She actually came out of the bedroom.

Shinichi Kitagawa stared blankly at her, while she looked down at the simple dinner spread out on the table.

The two spoke almost simultaneously:

"Rena?"

"Is Xin Yi still hungry? If so, I can make you something."

Shinichi Kitagawa exclaimed happily, "Of course!"