I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

I knew you guys would ask that!

Without the slightest panic, Yukinoshita's smile remained unchanged. She turned and walked to Tenkuji Yu's side, patted him on the shoulder, and said with inexplicable pride:

"Don't be scared when you hear that~ Tenkuji-kun is a shooting expert I met by chance. Don't let his high school status fool you, when it comes to marksmanship, I probably couldn't beat him even if I practiced for another three years!"

"After I found out how good Tenkuji-kun was, I spent a lot of money to hire him to teach me shooting... The last coach's results couldn't even match mine, so it's a good time to switch to a different one."

"He also said that the 10-meter shooting range here is convenient, so I had no choice but to listen to the coach and take a longer route, so we met here."

After hearing her explanation, the others nodded in understanding: "I see..."

Their interest in Yuu Tenkuji, however, only waned. They exclaimed, "Wow, a high school student can actually beat Haruno-chan!" and "Yeah, this is the first time I've heard Haruno praise someone so highly, especially since she's still a kid." Their curious gazes lingered on him.

"And then, Tenkuji-kun, they are my college friends!"

Her cool little hand pressed down on his shoulder, and she whispered something quickly in his ear, her lips slightly parted.

(That decent-looking guy is the perfect match my mom has her eye on, Koichiro Yuki.)

Tenkuji Yu shrugged, indicating that he understood.

As a rented boyfriend, he naturally knew what to do in this awkward situation.

—His acting skills are top-notch.

"..."

Yuukishita Haruno glanced indifferently at her, then took the initiative to distance himself from her, raising his hand as if to brush her shoulder, but then putting it back at his side as if he was hesitant.

Then, he slightly tucked his chin and gave a cool yet polite nod to the five college students opposite him.

Hello.

After greeting them, he stood there silently, ignoring everyone, his gaze fixed on the ground, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the side of his leg, as if urging them to end their conversation quickly.

A quiet, aloof, handsome high school student, who also seemed to have a bit of mysophobia, was thus established in the eyes of that group of people.

Most importantly, he showed no respect to Yukinoshita Haruno.

"That's how capable people are."

Yukino shrugged and smiled nonchalantly.

Then she turned to him, winked her big, smiling eyes, and gave him a thumbs-up with her eyes.

—Nice, you truly are my all-powerful little Youyou!

This acting skill is on par with my lying skills!

Yuu Tenkuji: "..."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Was Everything Your Calculation? System!

What he needs to do is actually very simple.

That is to avoid having anything to do with Yukino Yukinoshita's "reality".

Let me give you an example—

If a man goes out to find a rented girlfriend behind his wife's back, but runs into his wife on the street; how should the rented girlfriend handle the situation between the couple who are fighting?

Yuu Tenkuji has seen related answers online:

"Thanks for the invitation. I'm at the firm, just finished a date..."

First, try to protect the customer's dignity to avoid them taking their anger out on you and giving you a bad review; also, don't reveal your identity, just see how the customer tries to explain themselves, and cooperate obediently.

Secondly, if you cannot cooperate, keep your distance, do nothing, and prepare to record a video to prevent being unable to collect evidence if you get involved in a dangerous situation.

If the other party has problems, bring up the firm's rules. If you're harassed or attacked, call the firm or the police. In short, the message is—don't get involved in trouble.

These precautions can naturally also be applied to "renting a boyfriend".

So after greeting that group of people, Yuu Tenkuji stood aside and watched coldly.

It must be said that Haruno Yukinoshita's performance was superb.

She quickly blended into the group of five, laughing and joking as if she had been with them from the very beginning.

Without anyone noticing, she successfully seized control of the conversation; not only did she turn Yuuki Koichiro, who was clearly the center of the small group, into a nodding yes-man, she also diverted the group's attention from Tenkuji Yu, successfully focusing all the attention on herself.

This move, this move is probably the tank using taunt to protect the squishy characters?

Yukino Yukinoshita is indeed quite smutty... *cough cough*

To be honest, based on what Tenkuji Yu has observed over the past two days, he doesn't think Yukinoshita Haruno needs a marriage alliance.

Even without the help of others, this guy could probably make a name for himself on his own.

With maxed-out interpersonal skills, extremely high learning ability, and almost omnipotent in every way... without the system, Yukinoshita Haruno would be no different from a monster in his eyes.

I remember she said this last time—

[She wasn't forced into the engagement by her family. After weighing the pros and cons, she felt it would benefit her family, so she decided to sacrifice herself.]

Rather than focusing on her own personal happiness, Yukino Haruno prioritizes the bigger picture—she recognizes her own identity and is willing to make compromises.

Clearly, she could choose not to make any sacrifices or mature choices, but she simply didn't intend to.

Unless the Yukinoshita family is more powerful than imagined, even someone as strong as Yukinoshita Haruno cannot escape the fate of being used as a social tool by her elders...

Yuu Tenkuji shook his head, dismissing these complex but meaningless thoughts.

That was Yukino's "reality," and it had nothing to do with her.

He just needs to complete the system's tasks and change his target before Yukino no Haruno doesn't need to rent a boyfriend; before completing the tasks, he needs to extract as many rewards as possible from her to strengthen himself—that's all he needs to care about.

With this thought in mind, Tenkuji waited casually for Yukinoshita to finish talking to the group, while also pondering the relationship between the sixth trial, "Rock Climbing," and the permanent status skill given by the system.

Just then, my phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and saw that it was a message from his younger sister, Kasugano Sora.

Qiong: "Yu, are you free today?"

Yu: "Whether I'm free or not depends on what you say later."

Sora: "...You know Aoba Arcade, right?"

Yu: "I know, there are quite a few branches in the city center, what's wrong?"

Qiong: "They're having an event over there. If you break the record on any machine, you can get a ticket, and you can exchange the ticket for a reward at the counter."

Qiong: "The reward includes a super-sized bag of surprise mixed potato chips, I want it."

Yu: "Breaking the machine record? You really trust me that much?"

Qiong: "If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

Sky Temple smiled indulgently.

Yu: "Okay, I'll get it for you. Wait for me to get home."

Qiong: "Thank you. As a thank you, I'll give you a massage tonight."

massage……

Thinking back to what happened the day before yesterday, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, feeling somewhat helpless.

Yu: "Thank you, but no need."

Qiong: "Tch, fine, if you don't want it, forget it. Who cares?"

Yu: "In return, how about calling me Onii-chan for a day?"

Sora: "Not good at all, you idiot Yu."

The message conversation has ended.

Yuu Tenkuji glanced at the time—if he could finish the 'Sixth Trial' sooner, he should have enough time to go to the 'Aoba Arcade' before dinner.

Then I can just break a record in any shooting game and bring home some surprise potato chips for my sister, and watch her blush and awkwardly call out "Onii-chan".

"hey-hey……"

Thinking of this, Tenkuji couldn't help but laugh out loud; his laughter was a bit perverted, but thankfully no one was looking in his direction.

With his masterful acting skills activated, his smile instantly transformed back into the icy face of a cool and aloof handsome man—after acquiring this skill, he could precisely control every muscle on his face and make any expression he wanted.

Except for Ahegao, don't ask why.

Putting away her phone, Yuu Tenkuji looked up and saw the arcade sign she hadn't noticed before.

【Aoba Game Hall】.

There was also an advertisement on the ground next to it that read, "Event in progress! Various exquisite prizes await legendary players!"

"..."

He almost lost control of his expression; he closed his eyes and sighed silently.

WDNMD, are there really only coincidences everywhere?

Or……

'System, is all of this within your calculations?'

'...'

Naturally, this garbage system never answers him.

△

On the other side, there's Yukinoshita and five university students.

"Oh, I see. Well, have fun! I have to accompany the 'coach' now, so I'll be leaving now."

She ended the conversation at the appropriate time, preparing to part ways with them.

According to Yukino Yukinoshita's original plan, she should have seized the opportunity to cultivate a good relationship with Yuuki Koichiro.

For example, right now, the best strategy is to join their small group directly, and through observation and other people's stories, to better understand what kind of person they are, whether they have any weaknesses that can be exploited, and how to deal with them effectively, in order to prepare for a future marriage alliance.

Unfortunately, the timing was completely wrong.

There was a little monster behind him who could shoot and play ball, and might not even be human, watching him. How could he just abandon it like that?