The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

The office workers wiped their glasses, and the JKs covered their mouths to prevent themselves from screaming in surprise.

Oh, but Pingxin's girlfriend...never mind, she's not his first, and probably won't be his last. He might be a bit of a playboy, but he's undoubtedly a rare good man, isn't he?

"So this time I will love...regardless of the consequences, never give up, and cling to you relentlessly. I will love you more willfully than anyone else! But this time, I will carry my willfulness through to the end. Only you, I never want to let go——"

Eliminate all rational thoughts, throw away gains and losses and reasons, and embrace the pure emotions in your heart.

This time, I will pursue true love, pure love, self-love, and...

Love for you.

Chapter 38: Like? Hate?

"...Do you think you know me well enough through those letters and a few meetings?"

"No...so in order for me to get to know you better, could you stand closer to you from now on?"

Namo San, what a high-level duel! I'm sure even those with zero dating experience can understand it, right? Even the office worker next to me, who has been a solo artist for 0 years, praised it.

"...What a difficult man."

"Haha, after all, perseverance and resilience are my most fundamental strengths... This time, I won't watch you run away—"

At this time, the two people who had reached a certain level of sync recalled that night. Higuchi Enka wanted to write a letter to ask him what he thought about idols, and wanted to ask him whether Asakura Toru's sudden decision to become an idol had anything to do with him.

But that day, the two of them met each other by chance. Although it was dark at night and ordinary people couldn't see each other's appearance, a certain feeling told them that it was each other——

So she ran away, carrying the letter that hadn't been sent yet, but hadn't been abandoned either. He didn't chase her, because he was still hesitating, still thinking. The shackles of rationality overwhelmed his feelings, and his curiosity couldn't overcome his weakness and hesitation.

Although the two seemed to be thinking about something, it was confusing to the onlookers.

Urgent! Urgent!

Can you please end the encrypted call quickly and return to the public channel?

"So first question... do you like me?"

"Do not."

No - our army was defeated... Ping Xin fell (crying voice).

"So... do you hate me?"

"It's hard to say... maybe a little, maybe not at all."

Yeah yeah yeah——

we are the champion!

A proud mouth is a lie. Even the hardest mouth will become soft when kissed after a date!!!

"Well... not a bad result. Let's save the last question for later—" Ping Xin did not continue asking questions, but turned around, opened his handbag, and took out a few boxes from it.

"what is this?"

"Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate...and more chocolate."

"?"

It turns out that some words sound very special when spoken by a great writer, but if an ordinary person repeats them, it will only make it seem that at least one of the two people has some problems.

"Well...anyway, just open them and you'll know. They're sure to bring you unexpected surprises~"

Just looking at his smile, I know there's probably some kind of scheme going on. It's so easy to understand. So no matter what happens, I won't—

"......flower?"

"Yes, that's right... flowers, chocolate flowers—yeah, carving them really took me a lot of time. I'm sure I'll be much more skilled at it if I do it again."

A flower, a very large flower, blooms passionately and unrestrainedly, red as fire.

Strangely, it feels lifeless, cold yet alive, like a lifelike sculpture. After asking, I learned that it's actually a flower carved from chocolate, and the red color was probably added later.

This is not a workload or level of care that can be summed up with "a lot of effort". It has surpassed the level of food and reached the level of art. Such a work, and he said he made it all by himself? Don't laugh your head off——

…but if he said so, then it must be true.

Carefully closing the largest box, Higuchi Enka opened the second one——

"...heart-shaped chocolates, the intention is quite obvious."

"Haha, it might seem unoriginal looking at the mountain...but there's a lot of heart inside~"

Pun, this person is hopeless...

"These two are for you and Asakura. Although we've never met, we're considered friends, so I'll take them to you. As for which one you choose to give, which one to keep, or whether you keep both for yourself... I'll leave the final decision to you."

So that’s how it is… Is this an open conspiracy?

First of all, it would be impossible not to bring the one she gave Tou with her. If they "checked the accounts" later, she would be exposed. But no matter which of the two he chose, they all suited his taste: the intricate and thoughtful flowers, and the heart-shaped chocolates that seemed to have obvious intentions.

But the latter definitely cannot be given to Tou, because no matter what she does, it will be troublesome, but if I give the flowers to her it will also be troublesome... But compared with the two, it is still "most cost-effective" for me to accept this heart myself, right?

"Then—what about this?" She opened the remaining two boxes.

She still had a little time to think, so she simply moved on to the next topic. It would be better to go home if she wanted to think; it would be easy to be interrupted here.

"Ah, this is for that little animal-loving sister. I think the separate packaging makes it easier for you to enjoy feeding her. As for the last one... I don't know that person very well, so I just bought a limited edition chocolate."

"...What is this?"

"Hmm... maybe bribery? Because in my hometown, there's a saying that if you want to win over a woman, you often need to start by trying to please her bestie."

Ping Xin made no secret of the fact that this was a sugar-coated bullet, and simply left the final choice to her.

"...You really put a lot of thought into it."

After much thought, Higuchi Enka could only say this. After all, no matter what their intentions were, at least they were honest and sincere.

Oh, you're still soft-hearted. You could have just rejected me directly—

Or maybe the truth of the matter is not like this?

Huh, who knows~

Happy times are always short. Although passers-by were very happy to see it, it was time for the two protagonists to go home.

"Well, I'll take my leave today... Please pay the bill."

"Oh~ so generous?"

Enka, carrying a bag, walked in front, and Hirashin followed behind her.

"...I don't want to owe you a favor."

Was it referring to the last time I paid for the meal alone? Or was it about what happened today? Or was she repaying me for being her advisor?

I don’t know, Pingxin can’t think of it.

Because the answer to this question is only known to Higuchi Enka herself.

"...Just send it here."

"Well, let's stop here then."

Finally, in the familiar old park, the two decided to separate -

"...Why are you so sure that what you feel in your heart is love, not lust?"

"As for this question... let me put it this way. I used to like long hair, only long hair, because I thought long hair was the only symbol of femininity. But after meeting you... maybe I've also started to like short hair."

I see... Changed for me—

"...I understand. Let's make three rules from now on."

"...What does this mean!?"

No way, could it be... could it be that!

With a stern face, Higuchi Enka gave her answer: "...It's just temporary, because people like you won't give up unless you are completely rejected and make you give up, right?"

So I just want to show you the real me, what a troublesome woman I am——

"Great--!"

But it was obvious that Ping Xin didn't care about these details at all. He just enjoyed the joy and wanted to hug this "temporary girlfriend".

"...First and foremost, no physical contact is allowed without my permission."

Oh, that's bad——

Chapter 39 Two Chocolates

"Ah, it's Enka-chan. Toru and the others are waiting for you upstairs."

"Yes, I'm sorry to bother you so late. I'll be upstairs right away."

After saying goodbye to Toru's mother, Higuchi Enka continued upstairs. As soon as she opened the door, she saw the three of them still sitting there, doing nothing. It had been just two people a while ago, and while she still couldn't figure out why, Enka was actually quite happy to have them back.

"...What's wrong? Why are you still here so late today? Did Xiaoyi call us here for something?"

"Um...look!"

Fukumaru Koito took out the big box that he had refused to open before and showed the little animal cookies inside.

"Wow..Great-"

Asakura Toru's attention shifted from the TV program.

"Ahaha~ What a cute snack! Hina (me) wants one too~"

The same goes for Ichikawa Hina. She really likes this cute and delicious snack.

"Sure... Enka-chan, come and try some too. There's plenty, so you're welcome—"

"Hey, really? 3Q~"

"Then...Hina (I) will eat all of them~!"

"...There's no production date or brand name on the packaging. Did you do this, Koito?"

Compared to the innocent and self-centered two, Higuchi Enka was the first to notice something was wrong. It seems that she has also grown in the confrontation with the tough guy.

"No, no, actually... a friend who's really good at making dim sum gave it to me. He even said he'd teach me how to make it!"

"Oh, this is delicious... It's incredible—won't it be possible to eat such delicious snacks every day in the future?"

"Mmm~ Delicious~~! If that's the case, everyone will surely be very happy~"

"Is that so... That's great, if you don't consider the weight."

By the way, are you still idols? Even though you're just trainees now, you're going to officially debut in six months, right?

Such adorable animal cookies, they must be from a friend of mine from my old school. In that case, there shouldn't be any problem... Enka finally chose a fox-shaped cookie. The flavor of the matcha chocolate chips and the aroma of the butter cookie combined perfectly.

The thought of something made her eat another piece with an itch in her teeth——

"Ah, Hina (I) want to eat that too, Enka-senpai, can you give me a piece?"

"...These are Koito's cookies. You shouldn't be asking me."

Despite saying that, she still handed over a piece, and Hina smiled happily.

Every Valentine's Day has delicious snacks, it is such a happy day~

Because I had shared some with my parents and sister before, and now there were four of us eating together, the whole box of cookies was gone in a short while.

"Ah... I'm done, the last one."

"Hey, but I still want to eat more~... Then Toru-senpai, let's split it in half~"

"But these are Koito's cookies, right?"

"I-I'm fine, Enka-chan."

"Then... four of us, one piece each."

Under the leadership of Toru Asakura, the last piece of animal biscuit was torn into pieces and eaten up.

"Hey, it's a bit heavy. Is it solid?"