They all have hidden attributes!

Pulling his jumbled thoughts out of his head, Makoto Takahashi took out his phone and texted Junka Shiraishi, telling her he was going to Roppongi right away.

"I'm going to buy a lot of things today," he casually remarked to Maya Uesugi.

Buying gifts for seven girls is already a headache just to choose from, and the seventh girl is Kotoha Tachimi, making the situation even more complicated.

"Is there anything you want?" Uesugi Maya picked up her coat and put it on, preparing to leave, leaving the book on the coffee table in her house.

"Isn't it a bit too perfunctory to just ask me directly?" Takahashi Makoto asked.

"I've got my eye on a set of knives, and if I buy scissors and a whetstone from the same brand separately, it'll cost around 7 yen."

Maya Uesugi stood in the entryway, buttoning up her coat. A hint of mockery appeared in her caramel-colored eyes as she asked with a disdainful sneer, "Still think it's just a perfunctory response?"

"No, I was too superficial." Takahashi Makoto put on his shoes and immediately sent a message to Tachimi Yuki.

[Takahashi: What Christmas present do you want?]

[Yuki: A Christmas Trip for Two]

Makoto Takahashi retracted his previous message and edited it again.

[Takahashi: What's a good gift to buy for my mother?]

[Yuki: Makoto, you're not being considerate enough.]

[Takahashi: Should we prepare a set for Reiko's mother as well?]

[Yuki: What does Saya want?]

[Takahashi: A set of knives, a whetstone, and kitchen scissors]

[Yuki: I'll buy it for her]

What appears to be a conversation between the two is actually a punishment from the girlfriend.

Takahashi Makoto suddenly regretted asking Tachimi Yuki directly. Seeing his unpleasant expression, Uesugi Maya, who was waiting nearby, seemed to have expected this and a subtle smile appeared on her lips.

"Among your girlfriends, am I more approachable?"

“You look like a villain who has succeeded in his scheme right now.” Makoto Takahashi pushed open the door to the apartment and walked out, taking the elevator downstairs with her.

It was nearing noon, and the weather was calm and sunny.

The white sedan parked downstairs in the apartment building had a high-end feel to its paint.

Makoto Takahashi opened the car door, gestured to Maya Uesugi, and after she got in, they sat together on the soft back seat.

What do you think of Chun Ke?

After closing the car door, he asked seemingly casually.

The vehicle slowly started and drove along the road towards Roppongi.

Maya Uesugi leaned back in her chair, resting her hand on her chin in a thoughtful expression. Makoto Takahashi stared at her profile, waiting silently for her answer.

As the vehicle drove out of Toyoshima Ward, she slowly began to speak:

"She is despicable, cunning, and heavy. To borrow a phrase from Pride and Prejudice, I would say that [such a union that disregards morality for lust is unlikely to achieve lasting happiness]."

His tone was calm and his points were incisive.

Uesugi Maya turned her head with a serious expression, her eyes meeting Takahashi Makoto's with a hint of helplessness: "Unfortunately, objectively speaking, because that person was you, she succeeded."

Knowing that Makoto Takahashi would not abandon the burden he carried, she could not approve of Junka Shiraishi's way of doing things.

Being self-centered and recklessly burdening Makoto Takahashi while hiding under his protection is truly despicable.

"Anything else?" Takahashi Makoto's expression remained gentle.

"From another perspective, I admire her emotions and strength."

Maya Uesugi sighed softly, closing her eyes as if admitting her inferiority: "I remember the first time we talked about literature, we mentioned 'De Profundis'."

“Yes, works by Oscar Wilde.” Makoto Takahashi nodded.

"Her extreme dependence on you is not just trust, but also entrusting her life and destiny to you, and she cannot extricate herself even if she uses or squanders it."

Maya Uesugi brushed a strand of black hair that had fallen over her shoulder, sighed, and readily admitted that she was not as good as Junka Shiraishi: "Reason does not allow me to trust and rely on you like this. I can't do it."

She doesn't underestimate any enemy, so she tries to be as objective as possible in her evaluation of Shiraishi Junka.

Makoto Takahashi moved closer to Maya Uesugi and asked curiously, "Do you still hate her?"

"I wouldn't say I hate it, but I don't like it either."

Uesugi Maya's face turned cold as she pushed away his head, her expression somewhat impatient: "My refusal to let her come to the apartment on New Year's Eve has nothing to do with her, don't you understand?"

The two of them spent Christmas and New Year together.

This wish has held extraordinary significance for Maya Uesugi since its inception.

"You like me?" Makoto Takahashi asked with a wicked smile.

"No, it's just that I have a special feeling." Uesugi Maya stubbornly denied his statement, exuding a cold aura filled with alienation.

Takahashi Makoto chuckled, reached out, ran his hand through her soft black hair, and pinched the back of her neck: "Tell me."

The turtleneck sweater felt soft to the touch, probably made of high-quality wool, but it was noticeably less comfortable than on delicate skin.

"We had a delicious dinner together early Sunday morning last week."

Uesugi Maya coldly slapped his hand away and lightly kicked Takahashi Makoto.

"After you went back to your apartment, I took a hot bath and wrote until the early hours of the morning. When I lay in bed with my eyes closed, this idea suddenly popped into my head."

[From Christmas to New Year's, I wish we could stay together forever]

The truth of what she felt at that time, whenever Maya Uesugi thought about it, made her ears burn, and she simply couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Aya, I really want to respond to your feelings."

Makoto Takahashi took a chocolate from his pants pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.

"You know, Junko is a responsibility I can't abandon. In any case, I willingly took her away from the Shiraishi family."

"I've said it many times before, your ideas are always too idealistic."

Uesugi Maya rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and thought resentfully, "The reality is that I can't accept her, and your solution doesn't satisfy me."

"Of course, because I'm dating Sachi and I've started to like her too."

After Makoto Takahashi said that, the car immediately fell silent. Maya Uesugi looked over with nothing but resentment and gritted teeth.

Hatred for those who are destined to be together, anger at one's own past incompetence.

Makoto Takahashi is very experienced in manipulating the back of Maya Uesugi's neck.

"Aya, have you figured out how to convince me?"

His tone was fluent and steady, neither hurried nor slow.

Looking at his face devoid of any smile, and his calm eyes filled with unwavering determination, Uesugi Maya clearly realized that there was nothing she could do right now.

Chapter 164 I ask for nothing more than to be basked in the sunlight.

A white luxury sedan slowly pulled up in front of an apartment building in Roppongi. A gentle and beautiful senior student, wearing a brown coat, stood under a tree with bare branches, her eyes following the moving car.

Upon seeing the familiar license plate, Shiraishi Junka jogged over, her long, smooth black hair rippling in the wind.

She opened the car door, squeezed into the back seat, and pressed her soft, alluring body against hers.

"Cheng, it's so cold outside."

Shiraishi Junka closed the car door, casually tossed her tote bag aside, and pressed her cold hands against Takahashi Makoto's cheek before greeting Uesugi Maya:

"Greetings, Uesugi-kun."

"Good afternoon," Uesugi Maya replied perfunctorily, glancing at the street scene outside the car window.

Shiraishi Junka didn't seem to mind her attitude at all. She brushed aside a stray strand of black hair, turned her gentle gaze to Takahashi Makoto, and revealed a radiant smile:

"Makoto, this seems to be a bit of a headache?"

"I'm having a headache about what to choose for Christmas gifts."

Makoto Takahashi instructed the driver to start the car, then turned and continued, "Is there anything you want?"

"As long as it's sincere."

Shiraishi Junka felt the warmth of his cheeks with both hands, her tone slightly hesitant: "If it's a gift for someone else, I should be able to give Makoto some advice."

"Tell me about it." Takahashi Makoto raised his hand and covered the back of her hand.

"When giving a gift to a girl, it must be something useful to her, preferably a high-quality little item."

Shiraishi Junka spoke softly, and Takahashi Makoto listened attentively, nodding in agreement: "Anything else?"

"As for the price, it should be about three times higher than her usual spending level. It doesn't need to be too much. This will show that we value her."

Hearing her say that, Uesugi Maya silently gave up the idea of ​​giving Takahashi Makoto a signed copy of his bestseller, and instead listened attentively, carefully memorizing Shiraishi Junka's words.

"The gift itself is not important, and this applies to elders as well."

Shiraishi Junka's gaze passed over Takahashi Makoto, glanced at Uesugi Maya who exuded a cold aura, and whispered in Takahashi Makoto's ear: "Also, it has to be done in stages. For example, you can't give your friends overly ambiguous gifts."

This was one of her little tricks.

Makoto Takahashi pinched Shiraishi Junka's cheek and gently tugged at it, asking in a gentle tone, "Is there anything specifically you want?"

“Cheng’s apartment key.” Her clear, wine-red eyes were filled with longing.

Hearing this, Maya Uesugi, who was sitting next to him, made a slight grinding sound with her teeth.

She was the first person to have a spare key to the apartment, but now she has no say in anything.

Makoto Takahashi patted Junka Shiraishi's head without saying a word, and began to think about specific gift choices.

Buy Hina Nekoya a badminton racket and protective gear; Hanakawa Kaori might need a refrigerator in her dorm room; taking the time to draw a portrait of Tachimi Kotoha would best express your feelings; Kashima Reiko has a slight hoarding tendency...

Holding Shiraishi Junka's soft, delicate body in his arms, before he knew it, the car had stopped in front of the lion statue on the streets of Ginza.

In principle, vehicles are not allowed to pass through Ginza on weekends, but there are always exceptions.

After getting out of the car, the three of them walked into Mitsukoshi Department Store. Bright lights illuminated the luxurious decorations in the atrium, and even the red-carpeted staircase exuded an old-money vibe.

The only retro-styled space is the atrium; the other spaces have been renovated to keep up with the latest trends.