I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Or should I gamble that she's cold-blooded and heartless, and doesn't care about me waiting patiently, so I'll responsibly wait for an hour before leaving?

Clever methods, foolish methods, and how to maximize benefits... Even small adjustments contain so much knowledge, which made Tenkuji Yu's waiting time less tedious.

"Bang bang!"

Two short blasts from the horn brought him back to his senses.

A black sedan that looked like it was driven by a wealthy person pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing Yukinoshita's beautiful and mature face.

"Get in the car." She pointed to the passenger seat.

Finally, it's here... Putting aside all that messy "knowledge," Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He had long wanted to escape this 35-degree outdoor hell.

Without saying much, Yuu Tenkuji got into the car, and the strong air conditioning began to dry the sweat on his body, making him feel so comfortable that he wanted to groan.

The car door had just closed when a bottle of unopened ice water was handed to me.

"Sorry, I was suddenly pulled away to discuss business, and I didn't have time to rest."

"business?"

As she took the water, Tenkuji Yu also looked over.

She probably didn't even have time to change her clothes. She was indeed wearing a proper women's suit. The close-fitting design made her chest curves as majestic as mountains, and the seat belt made a deep valley in the middle, further highlighting the two peaks.

Her face showed a hint of fatigue, her eyes were fixed indifferently ahead, and she pursed her lips as if she couldn't be bothered to keep up. It was rare for her to show her ever-present cheerful smile, and the aura surrounding her became even colder and more indifferent.

Is this the true appearance of Yukinoshita Haruno hidden behind the mask? Tenkuji Yuu couldn't be sure, and she obviously didn't know the right answer for herself either.

"Thanks for your hard work."

He didn't intend to ask any more questions, and that was his casual way of comforting him.

Knowing that there was no sincerity in those words, Yukino Yukinoshita did not reply, and the system remained silent as well.

The woman in high heels pressed the accelerator, and the car slowly moved forward.

By the time Yuu Tenkuji fastened his seatbelt, he had already drunk half of his water.

"I saw all the messages you sent, but I didn't have time to open them."

A long silence followed in the car, then a soft sigh broke the stillness. Yukinoshita, looking at the road, spoke slowly:

"I thought you would call, so I could answer it while I'm driving."

"I'm afraid of bothering you, so I'll pass." Having guessed that she was preoccupied with something, Tenkuji Yu naturally wouldn't make a rash call.

He recalled the panic he felt during a past exam when he accidentally forgot to silence his phone and someone called him. He really didn't want to experience that feeling again.

Do unto others, do not impose on others.

The atmosphere lightened slightly, and she said in a lecturing tone, "As a boyfriend, if you suddenly can't reach your girlfriend, you should call her immediately to check if she's safe. If you don't do that, it means you don't value me, and it's your fault if you don't value me, understand?"

These words made Yuu Tenkuji look at him with a strange expression.

"How can you blame it on me like this?"

"Pfft, wrong answer! Trying to reason with your girlfriend is just arguing. Nobody likes an argumentative person. You'll lose your job if you keep doing that, I'm telling you."

Tenkuji Yu's lips twitched slightly as he listlessly turned his gaze back, letting the cool air soothe the heat within him.

"Alright, it seems I can't hold you accountable for those twenty minutes. To avoid losing my job, I'll improve next time."

"……puff."

Her shoulders twitched twice, and then Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't help but pat the steering wheel and laugh.

"Hahaha! I... I finally understand why you wanted to be a rented boyfriend..."

"No matter how good-looking you are, with your personality you're destined to never have a girlfriend, right? So you're planning to rent yourself out, enjoying the feeling of dating girls while making money on the side... Hmm, that's a really good business to kill two birds with one stone!"

"Phew~ I didn't realize you had such a good business sense, Youyou."

Each sentence was like a mudslide bursting through a dam.

With a clear, pleasant laugh and an intimate tone, she launched into a scathing attack on him.

Sharp sarcasm and unrestrained teasing were poured onto Tenkuji Yu as if he were being vented, without any regard for the possibility of hurting him.

Yet, on Yukinoshita's face was a cheerful smile, as bright as the winter sun.

—What a terrible guy.

Thinking this, Tenkuji Yu had no intention of being a doormat and directly retaliated:

"I don't care if you think that way, but at least I have a choice."

She was the one with no choice. Despite living such a glamorous life, she was like a canary with one wing sticking out of its cage, only able to vent her dark emotions to the rented boyfriend she had paid for.

Looking back, I'll probably have to face a 'wonderful' life that I'm completely unwilling to accept.

That's why, no matter how sharp her tone was, Yuu Tenkuji wouldn't get angry—the more he understood Yukino Yukinoshita, the more pitiful he felt about her.

She once said, "Enjoy the feeling of being in love while you still have time."

He probably won't forget those words, which were filled with helplessness and bitterness.

grumble--

Suddenly, the brakes were applied, and the car came to a screeching halt at the roadside. Yukino turned her head and looked at him with a gentle smile as he nearly crashed into the windshield.

"Little Youyou, if you talk like that, your only customer might give you a really bad review, right?"

His eyes were utterly cold and chilling, as if he would draw his sword and chop him down at any moment.

It's obvious we've stepped on a landmine.

But Tenkuji Yu understood that he couldn't be polite to her at a time like this.

"Bad reviews are fine. I can make a living doing manual labor. I don't rely on this for a living."

After leaning back in his chair, he tilted his head back and finished the remaining half-bottle of water, saying casually:

"We're sorry, you've bought a rental boyfriend who can't sweet-talk you or let you play with him. Please visit the official website for detailed appeal procedures."

After saying that, Yuu Tenkuji didn't even look at Yukino Yukinoshita's expression, and grabbed the car door handle to get out of the car.

"To avoid becoming a highway ghost with you, I'm going back now... Thank you for the water and the air conditioning."

With a click.

The car door was locked. Tenkuji Yu turned around, her helpless gaze seeming to ask what she was trying to do.

She stared at him for several seconds without any expression, as if scrutinizing him, as if deep in thought, or as if trying to figure out how to cut him without splattering too much blood.

After a while.

"...Sigh, these days, it's not just hard to have a free love relationship, it's even hard to rent a boyfriend to date."

Having grasped some kind of sadness, Yukino suddenly pouted and sighed pitifully.

"Just thinking about the next week, not to mention sweet words, I'll have to endure my 'boyfriend's' verbal abuse, and I just... I just..."

"So what?" He was too lazy to argue with her about the verbal abuse; he was going to let her say whatever she wanted.

"I just think...it's not so bad after all!"

Her smile returned, but the coldness in her eyes was gone, like water reflecting the warm golden light of dawn after snow melts.

"Thinking about it carefully, maybe this way of getting along is more suitable for me?"

"If you say anything sweet or fake, I'll probably dump you in less than a week."

Releasing the brakes and stepping on the gas, Yukino Yukino casually remarked as the black sedan continued its journey along the road stretching ahead.

"So, the bad review will be held for now—heh heh, you've already spent the money, I'm not going to let you go so easily, little Youyou~"

Upon hearing this nickname, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but look disgusted and slightly annoyed.

But then, another prompt popped into my mind:

"Congratulations, host, you have received a reward:..."

Chapter Nineteen: Twisted Sister Complex

"Congratulations, host, you have received a reward of 15000 yen."

"Congratulations, host, you have received the reward: Shooting (Master Level)."

"Congratulations, host, you have received a reward: a slight increase in physical fitness (explosive power and endurance)."

The generous reward of three items at once astonished Sky Temple Yu.

Yuuki glanced curiously at Yukinoshita Haruno, who was driving, wondering what part of the conversation had touched a nerve with her, while analyzing the reward.

The 15,000 yen reward broke his record for monetary rewards. He didn't know if it was because Yukino Yukinoshita was particularly happy, or because his favorability towards her was gradually increasing, so the reward level was also gradually increasing.

As for physical fitness, it remains as unremarkable as ever. Perhaps if things just keep going like this, I might become a superman someday.

Then there's the skill reward... shooting? Is it related to what just happened?

He thought he had won her heart with his handsome looks and warm words, and that's why he received this reward.

How could that be? He clearly didn't say a single nice word from beginning to end...

Yuu Tenkuji had no choice but to overturn the conclusion that "the skills you get are related to what is happening at the moment"—it seems that whatever reward you get is either randomly drawn or selected from the skills that the person has, and there is no way to deliberately farm a certain skill.

However, to be fair, Yukinoshita Haruno is a strange person.

Treat her with the attitude a normal boyfriend should have (send a goodnight message), and her feelings are only worth fifty dollars: retaliate with your true nature, relentlessly stepping on landmines and speaking bluntly, and she reacts with a vengeance, even thinking "this is what suits her"...

Hmm, could this guy be a masochist?

Having grown accustomed to the kind words of others, only harsh insults could satisfy her empty heart.

Unable to help but gasp, Yuu Tenkuji instinctively shrank back towards the car door, feeling a strange sense of dread as if she were sitting in the same car as a dangerous person.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing his unusual movement, Yukinoshita Haruno turned her gaze towards him.

"It's nothing... Miss Yang, may I ask you a question?"

She turned her gaze back to the front and signaled left.