I live my life in Tokyo

"About an hour," the boy answered honestly.

Hasn't this been there since the beginning?

Sakakibara Kaede followed up with, "Did Mizuhara-san stay up late yesterday because he was planning a date today?"

"It's... It's not for a date."

Ahhhh what am I talking about!!!

Ichinose Chizuru covered her face and shouted out in shame in her heart.

Sakakibara Kaede was amused and shook his head. He didn't expect that the girl called a rough stone by Kei Iida could have the potential to become a variety show host.

After a small episode, the two met for the first time. Chizuru Ichinose quietly observed the sunglasses on the young man's face and finally decided not to ask anything.

But compared to the shame of being discovered and exposed while sleeping, Chizuru Ichinose actually felt a sense of comfort in her heart. It was really good that the first mock date partner was not an uncle. Although Mr. Harukaze wore sunglasses, his face shape, body proportions, and hairstyle combined with several elements made him look like a young man who walked out of a painting.

But! It was too much of a stretch for Chizuru Ichinose to feel her heart flutter at this level of handsomeness. She constantly reminded herself of her identity as a simulated partner. With this identity, it was impossible for her to develop real feelings for her clients - doing so would undoubtedly be self-destructive, or she would not want to work in this industry anymore.

"Hello, Mr. Harukaze."

A mess of thoughts flashed through Chizuru Ichinose's mind. After a moment, her blushing face disappeared. A friendly smile appeared on the girl's face. She smiled and shook the young man's outstretched hand. "My name is Mizuhara Chizuru, just like in the chat content, you can just call me Chizuru-chan."

"Yeah... Chizuru-chan."

It was the first time that Kaede Sakakibara pronounced such an intimate name. He paused and said, "Just call me Sakakibara-san."

"Okay, Sakakibara-san."

Ichinose Chizuru stood up, her knee-length skirt swaying on her calves. The sun slanted down, tanning the girl's skin like white jade. She smiled and stretched out her hand to the boy, "Come on, Sakakibara-san, let's start our date!"

Today's activities were all arranged by Chizuru Ichinose. The attractions were arranged in an orderly manner. We visited the exhibition in the morning, went to the aquarium in the afternoon after dinner, and parted ways after dinner in the evening.

It's a bit like a one-day tour of Shinagawa District in Minato Ward, Tokyo, led by a guide.

Kaede Sakakibara really treated the girl as a tour guide rather than a rented girlfriend. To be honest, if there was no one accompanying him, he really would not have been interested in going to the minato area to see the garden exhibition.

"Want to shake hands?"

"no need."

Chizuru Ichinose did her homework and thought that holding hands between men and women while shopping is considered an act of strong femininity, but her proposal was rejected by Kaede Sakakibara.

The girl didn't say anything. Maybe Mr. Sakakibara was still shy and didn't dare to hold the girl's hand.

Besides, Chizuru Ichinose herself suppressed her shyness and made this suggestion. When she saw Sakakibara-san give up, she breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

Sakakibara Kaede watched the girl's performance with great interest.

Today I saw a photography exhibition called "Garden of Light" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. The main elements of the pictures are flowers, with different weather and sky colors, and sometimes there are dancing butterflies among the flowers. It is a photographic work that gives the real scene a dreamy illusion.

Chizuru Ichinose stood beside the young man, and seeing him stopping in front of each photo to admire it, she leaned over and asked.

Leaning over to talk is generally the most common conversation between kindergarten teachers and children, which can quickly make children feel friendly - in psychology, girls leaning over to talk can reflect their personal charm, and at the same time can invisibly narrow the distance with boys.

To give the simplest example, in the Final Fantasy Remake, Tifa and Aerith have many scenes of leaning over to talk. In addition to making players feel their intimacy, they also make them feel that they are so close to themselves, kind and noble, and have independent and charming personalities.

Chizuru Ichinose obviously came prepared.

"Each photo is a world." Sakakibara smiled, still wearing his sunglasses. "These paintings can be used as storyboards for film and television works. For example, this one - the orange-yellow light at dusk and the drooping sunflowers are both warm colors. Among the sunflowers, there is a purple butterfly, which is like the finishing touch. It is this simple difference in color that brings soul to this painting."

Chizuru Ichinose seemed to be lost in thought. She saw the shadow of her own admiration in the boy's smile. The girl nodded softly and followed the boy to look at different paintings. The topics and plans she had originally conceived were thrown out of her mind.

The original focus of renting a girlfriend is dating, and at the same time making the customer feel the beauty of his girlfriend, so that he will continue to order this girlfriend to serve him next time.

But now the rental girlfriend has turned into a serious exhibition.

The two occasionally chatted with each other, but they did not discuss their love history or girlfriends, but commented on the subject matter and composition of the photographs.

Completely carried away by the rhythm!

Chizuru Ichinose covered her face with one hand and screamed in her heart. She looked at Kaede Sakakibara with her hands in her trouser pockets, strolling leisurely in different rooms, occasionally chatting with other old men and women in the room.

Seeing this, she couldn't help but slap her cheeks hard.

The rhythm was completely messed up, and the topics and words she had originally planned were completely useless!

The purpose of visiting an exhibition is to date, not to see the exhibition!

Chizuru Ichinose seemed to be defeated. She followed Sakakibara Kaede with a pout and had to look at the works on the wall seriously.

She had to be serious.

If Kaede Sakakibara asks questions about the photographs in the exhibition later and Chizuru Ichinose can answer them smoothly, that will add a lot of points to her impression.

"How do you feel, Chizuru-chan?"

"Well, it's a great harvest. I learned a lot. I really like the composition of the dragonfly after the rain!"

Echoing with awkward words and phrases, Ichinose Chizuru wiped her sweat and said with a smile.

Sakakibara Kaede looked at Chizuru Ichinose, shook her head and smiled. This girl was a little interesting, but she was too strong and overdone it.

He originally thought that visiting the exhibition would allow Chizuru Ichinose to relax and temporarily put down the burden in her heart, but he didn't expect that she would regard visiting the exhibition as a task.

It's like a primary school student going to see a movie at an exhibition, and having to write a review after watching it.

"Where shall we eat?"

"Let's eat at an Italian family restaurant for lunch, what do you think, Sakakibara-san?"

Chizuru Ichinose, who had already checked the guide, suggested with a smile.

Sakakibara Kaede nodded slightly and handed all decision-making power to Chizuru Ichinose.

What a strange person.

Chizuru Ichinose is observing Kaede Sakakibara all the time. She had previously guessed that Kaede Sakakibara is handsome - a man like him should not be short of girlfriends. Even if he doesn't have a girlfriend, he will not choose the service of renting a girlfriend.

But he did it.

So what is the reason? Or is it that the young man named Harukaze is actually not sociable and does not even have any friends? Then how do you explain his friendly and gentle attitude towards others?

Although Chizuru Ichinose was puzzled, there was no obvious emotion on her face. She smiled and chatted with the boy about trivial things in life.

Of course, it is the trivialities of Chizuru Mizuhara's life, not Chizuru Ichinose's life.

In Diamond Office, everyone has his or her own personality and background story, and all rental partners must abandon their past names and experiences - when clients ask, the rental partners will reveal their personality rather than their personal stories.

Chizuru Mizuhara is her character. She smiles as if she has no worries or troubles. She agrees as if she was also interested in the photo works before. She talks as if Chizuru Mizuhara is Chizuru Ichinose.

Kaede Sakakibara and Chizuru Ichinose walked into an Italian family restaurant. The quality and food here are slightly higher than those of ordinary family restaurants, so the consumption naturally goes up as well.

"What would you like to eat Chizuru-chan? My treat?"

"Thank you, Sakakibara-san, hehe!" Chizuru Ichinose laughed from the bottom of her heart. The reason was simple. She originally thought that she had to pay part of the money, but when she heard such considerate words from the young man, she couldn't help but reveal a smile that belonged to Chizuru Ichinose.

Sakakibara Kaede smiled, and seeing the sincere smile of Chizuru Ichinose, he actually felt a sense of accomplishment, as if an unlockable achievement had been solved by him.

He ordered a bacon cream pasta set. After looking at the menu, Chizuru Ichinose decided to order seafood noodles. After the menu was taken away by the waiter, Chizuru Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief.

The boy took off the sunglasses he had been wearing all morning and lifted his bangs back. His blue eyes were as deep as the sea.

"Chizuru-chan, what's wrong?"

Seeing Chizuru Ichinose's brief daze as she performed perfectly, like a perfect girlfriend, the boy asked in confusion.

Chizuru Ichinose felt that the name touched her heart, she shook her head to indicate that she was fine.

I didn't expect... Mr. Harukaze to be so handsome.

At a table not far away, four childhood friends sat together. One of them smiled and pointed at the boy's table. "Ahaha~ It's Sakakibara-senpai——"

A drop of cold sweat ran down Sakakibara Kaede's forehead. Hearing the familiar voice of the entertainer, he turned his face away stiffly.

My eyes met with Higuchi Madoka, who was looking up from her phone.

Chapter 4: Changing Face

"Hey, is this someone you know, Sakakibara-san?" Chizuru Ichinose asked in a low voice.

In his mind, Sakakibara Kaede wanted to punish Iida Kei, who came up with this bad idea, by being torn into pieces by five horses, and to light a sky lantern for him. The smile on his face, which was as warm as spring breeze, could no longer be maintained.

It would be too embarrassing to be caught by friends on a mock date.

"Well, we're just friends." The boy waved to his four childhood friends. In a short period of time, his smiling face turned into a surprised face, then into a frustrated face, and then back to a gentle face. He truly put his acting skills into his life.

The boy lowered his eyes and saw that it was a question mark from Higuchi Madoka. He took a sip of tea and stood up, like a warrior who drank a bowl of warm wine before leaving, with a hint of tragedy of "the wind is whistling and the Yishui River is cold, and the warrior will never return once he leaves."

"They are all friends. I'll go see them off. Chizuru-chan, please don't move around here. I'll be back soon."

"Okay~" Chizuru Ichinose said with a smile.

Kaede Sakakibara walked outside. The midday sun was so dazzling that he couldn't open his eyes.

The only people standing outside the restaurant checking their phones were Higuchi Madoka, while Asakura Toru and two other girls were standing at a fountain a little further away playing in the water.

"What's going on?" Higuchi Yuanxiang looked away from her phone and asked coldly.

"I'm trying to convince this new actress to join the agency, Higuchi-san. It's definitely not what you think." Sakakibara explained helplessly, "Iida-san saw the talent and ability of this girl and sent me here to convince her... Higuchi-san, do you think I'm the type of person who would hang out in this hot summer?"

"...Who knows, Mr. Prince?"

"Why are you here? Is there an audition?"

"We need to shoot the music video for the new single at the beach." Higuchi Madoka answered Sakakibara Kaede's question honestly. She paused and said, "Don't do anything that could lead to misunderstanding next time."

"..."

"See you tonight." Higuchi Madoka glared at Sakakibara Kaede coldly, then walked towards her childhood sweetheart with her bag.

Higuchi-san must have been thinking the wrong thing. The boy held his forehead and sighed. He had the illusion that Higuchi Yuanka had taken out a kitchen knife from her bosom and stabbed him twice. It was really like a movie script coming to his mind. The image of Ningning, who was frightened by a bug that night and then drew her knife to chop, was unforgettable.

Sometimes a person's gentleness cannot be seen.

Perhaps the word gentle is too narrow. It is an attitude, a kind and friendly attitude towards everyone.

When Chizuru Ichinose saw the returning boy filling her glass with water like a gentleman, his pair of blue eyes blinking as if they could speak, she actually had the illusion that she was being outdone.

She is obviously the rental girlfriend, why does it feel like... I am renting a boyfriend?

No, this man in front of me named Sakakibara-san is handsome, mature and generous. Could he really lack a girlfriend?

At this moment, Chizuru Ichinose felt like she was being cheated. Looking at Sakakibara-san's appearance, it seemed that he would not be short of a girlfriend, right?

"What have you been busy with lately, Chizuru-chan?"

Although it is a simulated date and a fake partnership, you can tell your thoughts to someone you have never met and may never meet again in the future.

"Hmm... That's a very broad question." Chizuru Ichinose smiled while tapping her chin. This was a smile that belonged to Chizuru Mizuhara. "I'm still in college, at Nerima University in Nerima District. I'm quite busy with homework."

The boy had heard of Nerima University before, but he didn't have a deep impression of it. The university itself didn't have anything that could serve as a selling point, so he naturally forgot about it after hearing about it.

It is a very ordinary public university.

Sakakibara Kaede wanted to speak again, but Chizuru Ichinose touched her lips with a smile. She put her head on her hands and said with a tilt of her head, "It's not fair. I want to ask questions too. It's fair and reasonable for each person to ask one question."

Seeing the boy nod, Chizuru Ichinose lowered her head and thought for a while, "Hmm... I'll ask the same question, where is Sakakibara-san studying in college, and what are you busy with recently?"

Ha ha.

I knew you would ask this question.

Sakakibara Kaede chuckled and shook his head. He had already predicted Chizuru Ichinose's prediction. With her personality, she would definitely ask a question in return after the boy asked the question. He only needed to quietly lead the topic to going to college.

"I didn't expect Chizuru-chan is also a college student. That means we should be the same age."

The boy knocked his head on his hands and said with a smile: "I am currently studying in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo."

"Hey! Sakakibara-san is a top student!" Chizuru Ichinose exclaimed exaggeratedly.

The exaggerated interjection "誒" is very popular among JKs. It can show youthfulness and can also be used as an atmosphere group.

Chizuru Ichinose instinctively felt that Kaede Sakakibara was bragging in front of her. After all, no one wants to embarrass themselves in front of their girlfriend, so she echoed the compliment.

"I'm not a top student yet." The boy said modestly, took a sip of water and said, "Now it's my turn. What do you like to do, Chizuru-chan? What are your hobbies?"

"I told you not to laugh at me."

Chizuru Ichinose paused for a moment, "I like actors and stars in movies and TV series. When I have nothing to do, I rehearse sitcoms at home. Don't tell anyone, this is my secret."

Sakakibara Kaede nodded silently. At least Chizuru Ichinose was willing to tell him her dream, which was not a bad thing.

During the question and answer session in the bathroom, Kei Iida once told him to let Kaede Sakakibara investigate the gold content of the raw stone himself, or what Chizuru Ichinose herself was like.