Tokyo: My Girlfriend

Inside the girls' restroom, Akemi Aoki sat on the toilet, a carbon pen cap dangling from her mouth, recording her observations in a small notebook.

Rena Kitagawa's English grades have been declining lately, and it's easy to tell that she doesn't like Hina-sensei.

In addition, the last time I had dinner with Shinichi on the rooftop, after seeing Hina-sensei, Shinichi immediately sent a message to her mysterious ex-girlfriend, which I didn't understand at the time.

But looking back now, if that ex-girlfriend really was Hina-sensei herself, then Shinichi was probably sending a message to "explain his relationship with her," right?

Finally, this weekend, I coincidentally ran into Hina-sensei and her best friend.

The other person also said that her boyfriend was talented, rich, and handsome...

And those rings...

Everything matches perfectly.

Aoki Akemi recalled that Kitagawa Shinichi wasn't wearing any rings on his fingers today. Logically speaking, if Shinichi liked his ex-girlfriend so much and their relationship was really gradually getting back together as he claimed, why didn't he put one on himself first?

Either the two people have broken up completely... or... for some reason, this relationship cannot be discovered and cannot be maintained.

Now, both of these speculations may have come true.

After writing a lot of things in her notebook, Aoki Akemi finally pointed all the clues to that final name: Haruhi Hina.

Even though she had already guessed it, after sorting out all the clues, Aoki Akemi's pupils still involuntarily dilated.

The fox's eyes widened: "Really... So the reason why Rena has always been so vigilant every day, and the reason why Shinichi has always kept his distance from me, all lies here... all lies with Hina-sensei."

The image of Haruhi Hina's beautiful face and slender figure flashed before her eyes: "And if you look at it from a male-female perspective, they really are a perfect match; Hina-sensei is truly gorgeous..."

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The following evening, when he returned home from school, Shinichi Kitagawa had stopped sending messages, and sending them again was pointless.

It would be more direct for the two of them to talk when Haruna returns on Friday.

Shinichi Kitagawa lay in bed video chatting with Akemi, continuing to teach her how to sing.

Rena Kitagawa walked in carrying a small box.

"Xin Yi? Excuse me, can I bother you? I need to talk to you about something."

Shinichi Kitagawa told Akemi they would talk later, then hung up the video call and sat up, asking, "What's wrong?"

Wearing a white nightgown, Rena Kitagawa sat down beside Shinichi Kitagawa's bed and handed him the box, asking, "What's this?"

He looked at the unopened box and laughed, "It's a gift I bought for you. Didn't you see? I put it on your bed over the weekend."

"I saw them, and I tried on all three pairs of underwear." Rena Kitagawa's face showed a slight hint of jealousy. "But Akemi really knows how to pick clothes, considering the taste and material of those underwear."

Shinichi Kitagawa wanted to say that it wasn't actually Akemi who made the choice, but he thought of someone else and didn't say it aloud.

Rena observed Shinichi's expression.

Shinichi Kitagawa changed the subject, looking at the box: "This is a little gift I bought for you. Open it and take a look. Even though you probably won't wear this with your current hairstyle, it's still nice to keep it as a collectible." He reached out and touched the other person's twin tails.

"Collected? Shall I open it?"

"Okay, just open it."

Rena Kitagawa carefully and expectantly opened the gift box, curious about what it would contain.

Could it be an engagement ring?!

It turned out to be a hair clip. She was initially a little disappointed, but then, seeing the rabbit hair clip, she suddenly realized something and wondered, "This is...?"

Shinichi Kitagawa said to her while sitting cross-legged:

"Your aunt and uncle have given you hair clips like this before, right? But you've never mentioned them. You were acting strangely a while ago, and I was thinking of ways to help you, so I asked Mom to tidy up the storage room and found similar items."

Shinichi Kitagawa smiled at the beautiful and cute Rena: "Actually, I can't say that there's any particularly special meaning behind giving you this. I just wanted to say that you used to have your uncles and aunts with you, but now that they're gone, I'll be there to accompany you in the future."

"That's it?" Even simple words could touch the softest spot in a young girl's heart. She was moved, her voice becoming hoarse: "Isn't this just natural? It's only right that Xin Yi stays with me for life, isn't it? Why do I need to give him any gifts to prove it?"

Shinichi Kitagawa chuckled: "Using the word 'of course' is a bit too much, but it's true."

Rena Kitagawa gazed at him with sparkling eyes, then suddenly took the initiative to kiss Shinichi Kitagawa's lips, giving him a gentle kiss.

Kitagawa Shinichi snapped out of his daze and quickly leaned back, crying out, "Rena!"

Rena Kitagawa blushed and smiled smugly: "As childhood friends, a kiss is perfectly reasonable, right? Why isn't Shinichi happy about it? If you're unhappy, then just hit me." She pressed her face against him haughtily: "Hit me then, if you're willing to."

"What kind of talk is that... What do you mean by hitting you if you're not happy... How could I possibly do that to Rena?"

"If you don't hit me, I'll still kiss you next time! I might even go further, because Shin-il didn't refuse."

Shinichi Kitagawa was speechless: "Don't do such a thing."

"I won't listen!"

Rena Kitagawa picked up the hair clip, put it on her head, looked in a mirror, and happily shook her head from side to side:

"It does look a bit childish, like a little kid," she said disdainfully. "Shin-ichi, really, if it doesn't have any special meaning, you should just buy a hair tie. I would definitely wear it all the time."

Shinichi Kitagawa lay on the bed with a smile: "Isn't this hair tie you're wearing the one I bought for you? I picked this one because I've never bought you a hair clip before."

Rena Kitagawa looked at Shinichi Kitagawa meaningfully: "That's true. It seems like everything I own was bought for me by Shinichi, even I am Shinichi's person."

Shinichi Kitagawa turned his head: "It's started again." He waved his hand: "Are you alright now? If you're alright, go back to your room. I'll video chat with Akemi for a bit more and then go to sleep."

"No!" Rena Kitagawa put down the mirror and looked down at him. "That's enough for Shinichi and Akemi's instruction today. The rest of the time is mine. I'm going to sleep with Shinichi tonight."

"Huh? Hey, don't pounce on me! Don't get in bed!"

Rena Kitagawa leaped onto Shinichi Kitagawa:

"If you're not happy, then hit me. I'm just comforting Shinichi who's in a bad mood."

"What's wrong?"

"It's so obvious."

"Rena, I'm really not in the mood to argue with you today."

"Then just leave me alone! As a younger sister, what's wrong with wanting to sleep with my brother? Is it illegal for a younger sister to hug her older brother while sleeping? You idiot, Shinichi!"

In the end, he couldn't resist the girl's pleas. Kitagawa Shinichi looked at Kitagawa Rena, who was lying in bed with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, and hugging his arm.

Knowing that she was doing this to comfort herself, he had no choice but to lie down and stare at Kitagawa Rena's beautiful face up close, a smile on his lips.

He reached out and gently stroked her long, silvery-white hair.

"When she's quiet, she's quite like a normal younger sister."

Kitagawa Rena gritted her teeth, clicked her tongue, and buried her face in his chest: "Sleep!"

Shinichi Kitagawa held her, and unconsciously thought of Haruhi Hina's message, feeling Rena's attachment to him.

But as expected, I didn't have those romantic feelings for Reina.

The next day.

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class. Rena Kitagawa, who was lying on her desk, turned around and looked at Shinichi, who was still gazing out the window.

Xin Yi's mood was still the same; even after sleeping with him, he didn't seem to have recovered much.

"Rena-chan! Do you have any free time during break?" Aoki Akemi, wearing black pantyhose and a high school uniform, walked over and waved at Kitagawa Rena.

Kitagawa Rena was puzzled, her eyes subtle.

On the rooftop, Kitagawa Rena gripped the barbed wire fence, gazing at the mountains and rivers of Kabasaki Town. The wind lifted her silver-white twin ponytails and skirt, causing them to sway rhythmically. "Just tell me what it is."

Akemi Aoki covered her mouth and smiled, "Is Rena-chan being so cold to me?"

Kitagawa Rena glanced at her halfway back:

"Anyway, it's just the two of us here. You know, right? I don't have any feelings for you. The reason we go to and from school together is just because my brother wants to teach you to sing. Since my brother wants to be a manager after graduation, I will support his choice. But that doesn't mean I will support you. We are just ordinary friends at most."

Rena Kitagawa got to the point: "Besides, I have a feeling you didn't have anything nice to say when you called me up here this time. Your eyes are too obvious, you vixen."

Aoki Akemi's fox-like eyes turned serious as she lowered her hand: "Rena-chan said a lot all at once, but I'm not surprised. It's usually easy to observe your attitude towards me."

"After all, I'm really not good at pretending; I just say what I mean."

Aoki Akemi's lips curled into a smile, and she said succinctly, "Alright, then let's get straight to the point. Rena-chan, can you allow me to date your brother?"

Kitagawa Rena suddenly tightened her grip on the barbed wire and let out a shout.

The coldness on her face was actually quite frightening. It was only because Aoki Akemi herself was not someone to be trifled with, otherwise most girls would have been scared off by that murderous gaze.

"Dare you say that again?"

Aoki Akemi said word by word:

"Sure, I mean, Rena-chan, could you allow me to date your brother? You can tell I have feelings for him, right? It might not be to the point of being head over heels in love, but I feel like it's only a matter of time."

Shinichi is a very charming guy. I think I'll fall completely in love with him sooner or later and steal him away from you, so I'm just letting you know in advance as a matter of courtesy. But Rena-chan's expression right now is a little scary.

"That's ridiculous." Rena Kitagawa frowned, gritting her teeth as she sneered, "I can only say you're lucky you're saying this to me now. If it had been a week ago, and you had so blatantly said you wanted to take Shinichi away from me, I would have already run over and punched you."

"I can imagine, after all, you like Shin Il-kun, right? And you've liked him for many years, so my current situation is like that of a mistress confronting the original wife."

Rena Kitagawa cautioned, "You're not even at the level of a mistress yet. At most, it's just a crush. My brother doesn't like you either. Don't tell me you can't tell."

"Indeed, but only for now." She shrugged.

"The outcome is always unpredictable, and I didn't come here to fight Rena-chan. Recently, Shinichi-kun has been very sad about his relationship, and we can both see that. This is a great opportunity. If I can comfort him, I might actually have a chance to win, so I wanted to let you know in advance."

Kitagawa Rena turned around and looked at the other person coldly: "You've brought trouble upon yourself, Aoki Akemi. I already had a so-so impression of you, and now I'm starting to dislike you. Are you treating Shinichi like a trophy in a dating game?"

"I did not mean that."

Kitagawa Rena wanted to say something but suddenly sighed, then felt a pang of pity for the girl in front of her.

"Fine, then you should try your best. Even if you successfully date Shin-ichi, I'll still be sleeping in Shin-ichi's bed every night, and kissing Shin-ichi will be a regular occurrence. What kind of expression will you have then? Shin-ichi probably won't even touch you because he doesn't like you."

She revealed the truth: "You can't even beat me, let alone the woman in Xin Yixin's heart. To be honest, I never intended to consider you as an opponent; you're just a passerby."

Akemi Aoki's eyes showed obvious emotion, clearly indicating that she also knew about these things.

Rena Kitagawa brushed past her and left.

"If that's all there is to it, then let's stop here. Class is about to start. I advise you to stick to your work-related interactions with Shin-il. You're good-looking and have a great figure, so finding a good man would be easy for you. Besides, you're not the type to be infatuated. It's better for everyone if you move on to someone else as soon as possible."

Akemi Aoki's fox-like eyes were fixed on the lower right:

"To be honest, the reason I said these things to Rena-chan is because I have an unimaginable obsession with feelings. I'm the kind of person who would die for what I love, so I'll really try my best."

Rena Kitagawa stopped in her tracks, her mouth agape in disbelief, and turned back as if looking at an idiot: "You have chuunibyou traits? Aren't you a popular gyaru? How come I never knew the world was so amazing? It's incredibly interesting." She closed the door and went down from the rooftop, too lazy to say anything more.

Aoki Akemi smiled wryly as she watched her leave.

"What do you all think of me? Are hot girls really that easy to fall for someone else? It's just that those guys haven't met someone they truly like yet."

She cupped her face in her hands, embarrassed, and said, "I originally wanted to get along well with my sister-in-law, but how did it turn into a chaotic situation? Where did the atmosphere start to become so strange?"

Reina shouted from afar, "Don't call me that weird thing! You died a week ago!"

Aoki Akemi blinked blankly, while Mosquito hummed, "Such good hearing? My sister-in-law is fierce... scary."