Chapter 22: Self-Suggestion

Hayami Rina finally left.

She was overjoyed, walking home with light steps.

Her figure from behind was so captivating, like a full moon in the night sky—round and gentle. That graceful, voluptuous figure really made Kitahara reluctant to let her go.

But Kitahara had no choice.

Because he had already recovered long ago!

Yes, simply "recovered," literally.

"Sigh, what a torment. When will these days end?"

Kitahara lamented.

Fortunately, from just now, the system had been intermittently sending notification sounds, comforting his wounded heart.

"Ding, Hayami Rina’s favorability +1."

"Ding, Hayami Rina’s favorability +1"...

...

The next day, early morning.

After sending Aya to kindergarten, Hayami Rina came to the convenience store to work.

Her face was filled with joy she couldn’t hide, a complete change from her usual worried expression.

"Rina-nee, you really missed out by not coming to work yesterday. Yesterday wasn’t busy at all—hardly any customers came in. It was so easy.

Huh? What happy thing happened to you? You’re so cheerful? Tell me quick."

When Hayami Rina’s coworker Sachiko saw her arrive, she had been chattering away on her own, but soon noticed her unusual state and asked.

Hayami Rina didn’t hide it either. The smile on her face grew even wider:

"Sachiko-chan, something amazing happened to me! Do you remember Kitahara-kun—my neighbor, the writer who came to buy things a few days ago? He said he likes me and wants to date me..."

Hayami Rina told Sachiko everything that had happened these past few days.

This left Sachiko extremely shocked and incredulous:

"Rina-nee, why does this feel so unreal to me? The possibility of Kitahara-kun liking you is just too tiny! You said he spent a lot of money on you—roughly how much? He’s not trying to deceive you and play with your feelings, is he?"

Sachiko felt there was something odd and suspicious about this matter. She suspected that this Kitahara-kun was just investing a little money to toy with Rina-nee.

In the end, Rina-nee would get hurt because of it.

"Absolutely not. In just these few days, Kitahara-kun has spent several hundred thousand yen on me. And that’s not the key point. The key is, last night I even delivered myself to his door, and Kitahara-kun didn’t accept me." Hayami Rina said with a smile.

"Nani? Why? Didn’t he say he likes you?" Sachiko was very puzzled.

"This is precisely Kitahara-kun’s uprightness, and also what’s admirable about him. He said he hasn’t formally confessed to me yet. To cherish these feelings and keep them pure and beautiful, he temporarily can’t have a physical relationship."

"...Rina-nee, could it be that Kitahara-kun has never touched a woman? If he had, I don’t think he could hold back."

"That’s a certainty. Kitahara-kun is a very pure person. He said he’s never formally dated a girl."

"..."

Sachiko didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Her eyes kept scanning Hayami Rina, looking for something special about this coworker that could attract such an outstanding young man.

Kitahara-kun’s conditions were so good—able to earn money, and emotionally a blank sheet of paper, easy to handle.

How was Rina-nee’s luck so good?

Was not taking the initiative that day a wrong decision?

Maybe Kitahara-kun isn’t picky and would like her too?

After all, Rina-nee’s looks weren’t absolutely stunning—just her figure was more prominent.

And her own advantage was also in her figure. Compared to Rina-nee, she was still younger.

Thinking she might have missed a chance to change her fate, Sachiko couldn’t help but feel some regret.

"What’s wrong, Sachiko-chan? Why are you looking at me like that?" Hayami Rina asked.

"Nothing. Just happy for you, Rina-nee. With Kitahara-kun, you’ve finally gotten through the hard times. You’ve made it ashore, while I still have to struggle in the sea of bitterness for who knows how long."

"Doesn’t Sachiko-chan also have Ogawa-kun? If you work hard together, life can get better."

Hayami Rina knew Sachiko had a backup boyfriend, but Sachiko hadn’t fully accepted him. They just went on dates occasionally.

Sachiko still wanted to find someone with better conditions.

Hayami Rina didn’t approve, but she couldn’t say much either. She just felt sorry for Ogawa-kun and occasionally spoke up for him.

"Sigh, don’t mention that Ogawa guy. He got laid off by his company and couldn’t find suitable work, so he decided to go back to his hometown to grow potatoes. He even asked me to go back to the countryside with him to grow potatoes—absolutely ridiculous.

I worked so hard to come to Tokyo. How could I go back to the countryside?"

Sachiko said angrily.

"If two people love each other, growing potatoes isn’t impossible, is it? The cost of living in the countryside is low. I actually think the pressure would be less." Hayami Rina held a different opinion.

"Anyway, I won’t go back to the countryside. Tokyo is so prosperous—I love it here. If one day I can’t hold on anymore, even if I have to work at a soapland, I’ll stay here.

Speaking of which, if it really comes to that, I’d actually rather go film adult videos. I heard you can earn tens of thousands of yen for one shoot, and it only takes one day. Too bad my conditions probably don’t meet the requirements."

"Tens of thousands of yen? More than that, isn’t it? I heard it’s at least two or three hundred thousand yen?"

"Huh? Rina-nee, how do you know so clearly?"

"...A scout approached me before. I was almost tempted!"

"Then did you leave your contact info? Please introduce me."

"No. Sachiko-chan, we should get to work!"

...

Recalling this embarrassing incident lingering from before, Hayami Rina still felt a fear.

That scout at the time was too good at bewitching people, using endless persuasion tactics. If not for her strong sense of shame, she really would have almost agreed.

The key was that the performance fee was truly tempting.

Fortunately, she had held firm and not done anything foolish. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited until Kitahara-kun came along.

Thinking of Kitahara-kun’s various virtues, thinking of his upcoming confession, and the happy life ahead, Hayami Rina’s lips unconsciously curved upward.

No, she couldn’t laugh out loud.

Sachiko-chan would feel sad if she heard...

...

"Ding, Hayami Rina’s favorability +1."

"Huh? Why did this woman’s favorability inexplicably increase by one point? Early in the morning—did she self-suggest?"

Kitahara Chiki had just gotten up when he heard the system’s notification sound, which puzzled him.