Tokyo: Love Begins with Controlling the Rich Girl

Ayase Yuki returned to the classroom at some point.

She sat in her seat with a book open in front of her, but her eyes were not on the book.

She was looking at him.

To be precise, he was looking at the apple in his hand that he hadn't given away.

The eyes behind those glasses had lost their usual calm.

There was no anger, but a deeper emotion was contained within it.

Like an undercurrent surging beneath a frozen lake, the surface is calm, but deep within lies a chilling aura that makes one's heart tremble.

Her gaze shifted from the apple, slowly moving upwards until it met Shimada Sho's eyes.

Their eyes met, and she did not look away.

Instead, he merely narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile curving his lips.

It was a smile that conveyed no emotion, easily reminding one of a feline whose territory had been invaded.

Shimada Sho felt a chill run down his spine and his headache worsened.

Everything was fine until yesterday's incident. Ayase Yuki will probably be too afraid to bother me for a long time.

But judging from her current behavior, it doesn't seem quite right.

Is she just dropping the pretense altogether?

Without hesitation, Shimada Sho looked away and shoved the apple back into the deepest part of his desk.

When he looked up again, Ayase Yuki had already looked away and was looking down at her book again, her profile calm as still water, as if what had just happened was just his imagination.

But Shimada Sho knew that it wasn't an illusion.

The school bell rang.

Shimada Sho glanced at the system panel.

Tenkai Chizuru could still connect in time, but after what just happened, he suddenly lost the will to log in.

Ayase Yuki's gaze was like a thorn, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

"Never mind, let's talk about it tonight."

Shimada Sho closed the system panel and took out the notebook that Hoshino Yuzuki had given him, then started flipping through it.

Her handwriting was neat and her notes were well-organized. Each subject's notes were arranged clearly by chapter, with key formulas and common mistakes highlighted with different colored highlighters. Next to each note were her handwritten problem-solving strategies and tips.

This is definitely not an old notebook.

No one's old notebooks are so new that they don't even have a single crease.

Looking at the dense handwritten words, Shimada Sho was deeply moved.

This is what it feels like to have a younger sister.

The afternoon classes passed by one by one in a somber atmosphere among the students.

Shimada Sho listened attentively to all the lessons, which was rare for him. Hoshino Yuzuki's notebook was spread out on the corner of the table. Whenever the teacher mentioned a key point, he would refer to it and actually understood most of it.

When the school bell rang, it was already as dark as dusk.

The rain, which had been suffocating all afternoon, finally began to fall.

The rain poured down relentlessly, creating puddles on the playground. Large raindrops pounded on the water's surface, splashing up countless ripples.

The corridor was crowded with students who didn't bring umbrellas. Some took off their school uniform jackets and put them on their heads before rushing into the rain, while others huddled under the eaves and called their families to come and pick them up.

The cacophony of voices and the sound of rain created chaos throughout the entire teaching building.

Shimada Sho pulled a folding umbrella out of the side pocket of his backpack.

This umbrella was left behind by Hoshino Yuuki when she came to deliver something last week, and it's been tucked into her bag ever since.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Poor Little Guy in the Rain

Shimada Sho opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain.

Raindrops pounded on the umbrella, making a dull thud.

The slope at the school gate had turned into a temporary stream, with rainwater mixed with mud flowing down the road.

Shimada Sho carefully stepped down the edge where there was no water, but his trouser legs were still soaked by the splashing water.

When he arrived at the bus stop, the bus he needed to take just pulled into the station.

Shimada Sho folded his umbrella and boarded the train, which was much more crowded than usual.

On rainy days, even people who usually ride bicycles or walk take public transportation instead.

He squeezed through the crowded aisle and found an empty seat by the window in the middle of the carriage.

A layer of fog covered the car windows, blurring the street scene outside.

Shimada Sho reached out and wiped the glass, revealing the street outside, washed by the rain.

The colors of the neon lights were reflected on the wet asphalt road, blending together in a red and green hue.

By the time we reached the Imperial Garden, the rain had lessened slightly.

Shimada Sho got out of the car with an umbrella and waded through the puddles into the convenience store.

Takikawa Rena, unusually, didn't go out for drinks today. She was scrolling through her phone at the cashier when she saw him come in, and her eyes lit up.

"Genji-kun~ I'm so touched that you came to work in this weather!" She exaggeratedly clutched her chest. "I've decided, I'll give you a raise today!"

"How much?"

"Fifty yen!"

"...Thank you, store manager."

You're welcome! You're welcome!

The few hours of my part-time job passed quickly in a flurry of activity.

There weren't many customers on the rainy day, but each one who came in was in a hurry, buying umbrellas, towels, or hot drinks. Shimada Sho handled them all methodically.

At exactly nine o'clock, Rena Takikawa returned to take over her shift.

Shimada Sho took the remaining bento box, opened his umbrella, and walked out of the convenience store.

The rain had lessened considerably, turning from a downpour into a light drizzle, and the glow of the streetlights diffused hazily in the rain and mist.

The bus on the return trip was much sparsely populated compared to the way there.

After getting on the bus, Shimada Sho habitually walked to the back and sat down in the third-to-last row by the window.

A few passengers were scattered throughout the carriage; some were dozing off, while others were scrolling through their phones.

Raindrops tapped gently on the car window, making a rhythmic sound.

The bus swayed and rattled past several bus stops.

Shimada Sho leaned back in his seat, listlessly watching the rain outside the window.

While the bus was waiting at a red light at an intersection, he inadvertently turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the front of the bus before stopping.

In the front row by the window, sat a girl wearing a dark blue school uniform suit.

She sat sideways, her forehead resting against the car window, her gaze unfocused as she looked out the window.

Rainwater streamed down the glass, blurring her reflection.

A faded canvas backpack rested on his lap, his hands unconsciously gripping the straps.

Short hair to ear length, fair complexion, long eyelashes.

The streetlights outside the window shone through the rain, casting a faint shadow on her face.

Nozomi Sasaki.

Shimada Sho recognized her at a glance.

Just like when I saw her on the bus last time, she still had that weak and vulnerable look that made you want to bully her.

But today is a little different.

She didn't show the fear and panic one would expect when harassed by bad influences; instead, she exuded a deep sense of exhaustion.

Like a blade of grass that has been battered by wind and rain and is almost unable to straighten up.

"It's only been a few days, what happened?"

Shimada Sho was puzzled and continued to observe.

Her lips were pressed tightly together, and there was a faint vertical line between her eyebrows.

Although his eyes were looking out the window, his pupils were unfocused, clearly indicating that he was lost in thought.

Occasionally, when she blinks, her eyelashes will be glistening with moisture, like tears that have been held back for a long time.

Shimada Sho wanted to step forward, but he hesitated.

His relationship with Nozomi Sasaki is quite complicated.

Strictly speaking, they only had one real contact.

Last week on the bus, he helped her out of a predicament caused by some thugs.

But since then, he has had countless encounters with her under the guise of Yukine Kamishiro.

In that crybaby's eyes, the young lady was her friend.

Shimada Sho was just a stranger who had helped her once on the bus and hadn't even left his name.

The bus stopped at another stop, and someone got off, bringing in a gust of cold wind mixed with rain.

Nozomi Sasaki shrugged and pulled her school uniform jacket tighter around herself.

Her school uniform was old, with frayed edges at the cuffs, and the folds in her skirt were less distinct from repeated ironing.

But it was washed very clean; there wasn't a single stain on the collar of the white shirt.

Shimada Sho withdrew his gaze, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to rest.

Forget it, what she needs right now is comfort from a young lady, not a stranger striking up a conversation.

I'll try to ask Yukine Kamishiro what happened next time I log in.

Thinking this through, Shimada Sho abandoned the idea of ​​going up to strike up a conversation.

"Higashi-Nakano 4th Town - We've arrived at Higashi-Nakano 4th Town."

The car drove slowly, and before we knew it, we had arrived at 4-chome.

Shimada Sho was getting off here. He glanced ahead and Sasaki Nozomi also stood up.

Her home is in Sanchōme, and she got off the bus here.

Shimada Sho wanted to wait for her to get off the bus first.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that she suddenly stopped when she reached the back row.

Standing at the door, she reached into her bag and rummaged around for a long time, but couldn't find an umbrella.

Looking up again at the torrential rain outside the window, I froze in place.

"laugh--"

The car stopped, and the woman at the front was pushed.

"Get out of the car now, what are you doing blocking the road?"

The voice came from an older woman, and she wasn't polite at all.

"I'm sorry." Nozomi Sasaki turned around, nodded in apology, and stepped aside.

Her voice sounded relatively normal, but as she spoke, the tears that had been stubbornly refusing to fall from her eyes finally became uncontrollable.

Like beads falling from a broken string, they fell one by one.

"Hmph!" The middle-aged woman remained unmoved, snorted coldly, opened her umbrella, and got off the bus.

Sasaki Nozomi's tears were still falling. After everyone else got off the plane, she was the only one left, and many passengers sitting in the back looked over.

Feeling those gazes, Nozomi Sasaki wiped away her tears and walked to the car door.