I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Arguing with her would be seen by those unaware of the situation as a terrible act of knowing he has a girlfriend yet still going to compete with him out of jealousy.

After being severely reprimanded by Yumiko and Yuu, Yui Yuigahama no longer does anything that could easily cause controversy—as long as they are in front of everyone, they are real lovers, and they must recognize that.

"It's practically a get-out-of-jail-free card, how cunning..."

With a sigh, Yui Yuigahama slumped her shoulders in disappointment. Despite her resentment and displeasure, she could only abandon the idea of ​​getting involved.

She stood there silently watching as Tenkuji Yu walked to Natsukawa Masaki's side, the two of them linking arms and leaving the classroom in an intimate manner, until their figures disappeared from sight.

Even if you never thought of giving up, even if you were mentally prepared, when your heart is about to hurt, it still makes you want to do anything to get back the antidote that seems to be gradually slipping away from you.

△

School ended the next day.

After meeting up with Natsukawa Masuzu in the classroom, the two headed towards Angel Cafe together.

Whether it was just her imagination or not, Yuu Tenkuji felt that Masaki Natsukawa's outfit was more elaborate than usual—although she was wearing the same uniform, her lightly made-up face, the tailored design that accentuated her slender waist, and her long legs wrapped in black stockings all made her stand out on the street, almost like a celebrity.

Tenkuji Yu naturally understood what she was thinking. Even though he had said that he and Mizuhara Chizuru were just ordinary acquaintances, he was still prepared to put on a show of force and act like a girlfriend so that other girls wouldn't feel any resistance.

"Not only Ms. Mizuhara, but I also want Isshiki-senpai to clearly understand that I am your girlfriend."

She said this with a proud and confident expression, but her fingers were nervously clutching the hem of his clothes, and her brows were slightly furrowed as if facing a formidable enemy.

Yuu Tenkuji shrugged helplessly: "Whatever. But Isshiki isn't on duty today, so she shouldn't be at the shop."

"I see." After a moment of surprise, Natsukawa Masuzu immediately became alert. "How do you know so much?"

"..."

A crisp bell rang, and the two pushed open the door and entered "Angel Cafe".

Tenkuji Yu looked around the store, nodded and greeted the manager, and quickly found Mizuhara Chizuru's location.

In the corner, straight, smooth black hair reflected the afternoon sun, cascading down her back like a waterfall, shimmering with starlight.

She sat upright, flipping through a notebook-like book in her hands. Occasionally, she would raise her left hand to gently tuck her falling hair behind her ear, purse her glistening lips, and keep her gaze focused.

Based on Yuu Tenkuji's limited understanding of her, this person should have two forms: one is a female college student with braids, a simple and low-key temperament, and an everyday life, like Chizuru Ichinose.

Secondly, there's Mizuhara Chizuru, a five-star rented girlfriend who, after careful grooming, is strikingly beautiful and radiant, earning praise from countless people.

The image presented to the two of them now is one that even women cannot help but admire in its beauty.

Tenkuji Yu quickly understood.

—The fact that she specifically chose this state to meet with me to discuss private matters means that this matter is really important to her, and has reached the point where she has to be formal in her dealings with it, right?

"The person is right there, let's go."

Leading Natsukawa Masuzu toward Mizuhara Chizuru, before Tenkuji Yu could even greet her, he heard a soft gasp from beside him, as if he had been punched in the face.

"Hmm... such strong combat power stats..."

"Do you think this is a Dragon Ball?"

"She's this beautiful! Ah You, why are all the female college students you know so gorgeous...?"

How would I know?

With her elegant smile unchanged, Natsukawa Masuzu sized up the twenty-year-old beauty sitting in the corner, engrossed in her book. The alarm bells in her heart rang louder and sharper than ever before, and she had absolutely no confidence in winning.

Perhaps she could win by virtue of her natural beauty... but in terms of temperament, attire, and the more delicate and refined aspects of being a woman, she was completely inferior to her boyfriend, a senior in the "rent-a-lover" industry, and she truly believed it from the bottom of her heart.

—The ideal girlfriend.

The existence that makes such a strong first impression is worlds apart from her, a mere imposter who now finds happiness only through transactional relationships.

This feeling of defeat made Natsukawa Masaki extremely unwilling, yet she couldn't find any excuse to defend herself.

She unconsciously bit her lip, and tightened her grip on the hem of Tenkuji Yu's clothes, as if seeking comfort from her.

As if sensing something, Yuu Tenkuji turned around, and a large hand pulled her small hand into its palm before turning back to speak to Chizuru Mizuhara, who was sitting in her seat:

"Miss Mizuhara, have you been waiting long?"

"Tenkuji-san? No, no, I wanted to come early to wait!"

Upon hearing his voice, Mizuhara Chizuru quickly closed her book and put it aside. Her gaze swept over Natsukawa Masuzu's exotic beauty and the two of them holding hands tightly. Her eyes widened in surprise for half a second before she quickly concealed her expression and smiled as she pointed to the seat opposite her.

"Please have a seat, both of you. It's on me today. Order whatever you like, don't be shy!"

Chapter 79 I am Ayou's girlfriend

"No need to be polite" was just a formality. After a few polite refusals, the two casually ordered an afternoon tea set and sat down opposite her.

"Tenkuji-san, I'm so sorry to have suddenly called you out. I hope it didn't affect your original plans."

Her tone was much more polite and serious than before. Mizuhara Chizuru sat upright and looked apologetically at Tenkuji Yu.

"We just came out to chat, I have a little time." He smiled and said casually, "You helped me a lot back then, so this is just returning the favor."

Upon hearing this, Mizuhara Chizuru couldn't help but smile wryly: "As for helping, you paid me to do it, and I was just fulfilling my job duty by telling you what I knew... Well, if that's how you see it, then I'll just enjoy your kindness."

"And then..."

She turned her gaze to Natsukawa Masuri, who seemed somewhat reserved and sat silently in her seat.

His eyes tilted slightly downwards as he considered various ways to start a conversation with her, hoping to ease the somewhat tense silence.

However, on the other hand, Chizuru Mizuhara originally thought that the girl with the bun hairstyle she saw studying with at the family restaurant was his current girlfriend...

After all, anyone with eyes could see that his goodwill and intimate attitude meant they were on the verge of going beyond just being "good friends," and that he could become a couple with just a nod.

Unexpectedly, the girl he mentioned on the phone, who he wanted to bring along because he was worried about his girlfriend, turned out to be a different, unfamiliar, silver-haired, mixed-race beauty who seemed even more dependent on him than the girl with the bun hairstyle.

—Seriously, are high school students these days really this good at having fun?

Or has he, as a rented boyfriend, fallen into evil and embarked on a path of no return, toying with girls' feelings?

Chizuru Mizuhara had a bunch of questions on her mind, especially about the whereabouts of that girl with the bun hairstyle... However, these were just things she wanted to gossip about, so she couldn't actually ask them out, especially not in front of her "current girlfriend".

In short, she changed her opinion of Yuu Tenkuji.

The boy who used to be her colleague and rented her out as a "teacher" because he didn't know how to date had a love life that was far more complicated than she had imagined—much more complicated than her own.

It seems I need to be careful to keep my distance from him in the future to avoid getting involved in emotional entanglements...

Whether the other party is a fellow professional or a customer, if you don't exercise caution in this regard, you'll easily find yourself caught in the middle, disliked by both sides.

—Although both he and she have now resigned from this job.

Mizuhara Chizuru smiled wryly, then quickly regained her composure and smiled calmly at Natsukawa Masuzu: "Nice to meet you. I am Mizuhara Chizuru, formerly a rented girlfriend of Diamond Agency, and now just an ordinary college student."

“...I am Ayu’s girlfriend, Natsukawa Masaki.”

After giving a somewhat dry reply, as if realizing that something was wrong with her current state, Natsukawa Masaki quickly covered her mouth and coughed twice, letting her voice return to its usual leisurely and elegant tone.

"I heard about your situation from Ayou. I'm sorry for having to barge in when you were having a serious conversation..."

Chizuru Mizuhara quickly waved her hands, "No, no! Your concern is perfectly understandable. If it were me, and my boyfriend were suddenly asked out to dinner by a girl he didn't know, I'd also be curious and want to go and see what was going on!"

"On the contrary, I should apologize first. I didn't consider that he has a girlfriend. I should have been more careful with the messages."

Her expression was extremely sincere, as if she were genuinely very sorry, and her tone and attitude gave people a comfortable feeling, like a gentle breeze.

Natsukawa Masuzu couldn't help but smile with admiration, and bowed gracefully in return: "You're too kind, Ms. Mizuhara... I hope you'll take the lead today. I'll try my best to be an emotionless bonsai and not disturb your conversation."

“This is Xia Chuan. You don’t need to be so respectful to me. Although I’m two or three years older than you, I’m more used to the feeling of being treated as an equal.”

Glancing at Yuu Tenkuji, Chizuru Mizuhara said with a teasing tone, "Take your boyfriend for example. He's clearly my senior in acting, but it's so awkward when I text him using honorifics... On the other hand, I'm his senior in 'work,' and I've never seen him use honorifics with me. Let's take it easy on him!"

Tenkuji Yu shrugged, indicating that he didn't care about such things at all and would do whatever he wanted.

“I understand.” After a pause, Natsukawa Masuzu asked curiously, “Miss Mizuhara, is Yu’s acting really as good as you say?”

"Uh, it's not a matter of how powerful he is..." Recalling what happened that day, Mizuhara Chizuru couldn't help but want to give a long speech about her feelings, the shock she felt, and the valuable lessons she learned from it.

However, after observing the atmosphere, she changed her mind and said, "If you're curious, why don't you let him give a performance now and see for yourself how good his acting is?"

“Good idea.” Natsukawa Masuzu looked at Tenkuji Yu, blinked her bright eyes, and said cutely, “Darling, can you let me see it? The thing that Mizuhara-san saw.”

"Watch your language!" Yuu Tenkuji slapped her forehead in an annoyed tone.

Mizuhara Chizuru smiled wryly to the side, only making a mental remark without paying much attention.

Meeting the girl's expectant gaze, Tenkuji Yu thought for a moment. Considering that they were in a public space and she didn't want to attract attention in a big way, she could only start by showing her acting skills in a small way.

He glanced around and suddenly picked up a knife from the cutlery basket on the table, asking casually, "It's cold. Are you thirsty?"

"Huh? It's alright." Natsukawa Masaki was stunned, still a little confused, and asked, "I just ordered a cup of black tea..."

"That's too slow. I can't let you stay thirsty for that long."

Interrupting her, Tenkuji Yu said softly, forcefully shoving the knife into her hand and bringing her wrist closer.

"Here, have some good drinks. Don't be shy, drink as much as you want."

"...Huh? W-what do you mean?"

Things had developed so inexplicably that Natsukawa Masaki's mind went blank for a moment, and she could only stare at him blankly, not knowing how to react.

Her fingers, gripping the knife, trembled slightly under his gentle, unperturbed gaze.

Sitting opposite her, Mizuhara Chizuru shuddered involuntarily, her pupils shrinking in the increasingly eerie atmosphere, goosebumps rising on her arms.

...This is it, this is the feeling!

The acting of a mentally ill person seems to have penetrated to the bone, making people feel chills and fear!

Although her body desperately wanted to leave the seat, Mizuhara Chizuru managed to suppress her fear, keeping her eyes fixed on Tenkuji Yu's expression and movements, not missing any opportunity to learn from him.

Chapter Eighty: Psychotic Acting

"Isn't the meaning quite simple? I belong to you, in spirit, body, and blood..."

While speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Tenkuji Yu grasped Natsukawa Masaki's hand and pressed the knife against his wrist without the slightest hesitation.

Despite the sharp blade aimed at him, his eyes remained fixed on Natsukawa Masaki, never wavering.

He was smiling, a smile more gentle than ever before, yet his deep black pupils were like a stagnant pool, his conviction about something bordering on indifference.

"Drink up, it's so cool." He squinted, his voice magnetic and gentle as if it could melt away, but his tone was calm yet chilling, and even gradually became more pleasant. "The bigger the cut, the more we drink, the more we can merge together, and we will never be separated again."