Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 37

Chapter 37: Truth and True Motive

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Ignoring Yamachi’s attitude, I went on and asked my first question.

“Why did you help Kushina when she was all alone back in middle school?”

Shizuku had told me before that when she first transferred to her middle school, she had a rather prickly personality. For someone like him to take the initiative and even go as far as to befriend and tame her… There must be a reason behind it. Whether he did it out of pure goodwill, or…

“For money.”

Yamachi answered curtly. 

“I got close to Shizuku because her family had money.”

“…Money.”

It was an unexpected answer… Was what I would to say, but nah. I had considered that possibility, but I kept quiet about it. There were a few clues that led me to that assumption.

“You, do you know? What does her mother do for a living?”

“Not really. I only know that she’s constantly traveling around the world because of her work.”

“She’s a former model and the CEO of a global apparel brand. A world-famous one, at that.”

Ah, I see…

I started to understand what he was trying to say. 

“So basically you saved Kushina from a life of solitude to make her feel indebted to you and shower you with money?”

“Bingo. Getting Shizuku to warm up to me took a lot of effort from my side, but you know what? It worked out better than I ever imagined. She acted like a complete lone wolf at first, but once we started dating, she became ridiculously easy to manipulate. It was hilarious. She’d give me anything I asked for. She paid for everything during our dates, she gave me pocket money, everything. Seriously, she was the most convenient girl I’ve ever had.”

Yamachi laughed out loud at that. His disgusting laugh went on for a few seconds before continuing on.

“The only downside was that she never let me go all the way with her. You got in my way when I was trying to push it for the very last time too. But hey, whenever I tried to push her to do it with me and she refused, she would spoil me with more money. To be honest, it wasn’t all that bad.”

…Darn it. So that’s why…

A certain memory flashed through my mind. The memory when Shizuku and I went out to eat together as a thanks for the ramen. Back then, she insisted on paying the entire thing even though the bill wasn’t cheap. She said it was the least she could do. 

So this guy was the reason for that mindset… 

“What a disgusting bastard you are…”

Unable to suppress my revulsion toward him, those words slipped out of my mouth. However, Yamachi remained unfazed. He just sneered at me mockingly. 

“Heh. Look who’s talking. You’re probably getting close to Shizuku so she would spoil you with money too, right? She’s easy to milk once she trusts someone… Oh? Or maybe you already had your way with her? Back then, had I push her hard enough, she would definitely give her body to me… Man, you’re a sly guy too, aren’t you?? Ha!”

“Stop accusing people of something they don’t do. For starters, I’m not even dating Kushina.”

At that, Yamachi came to a sudden stop. He froze, utterly dumbfounded by my statement. 

“…What?”

With an exaggerated sigh, he gave me a look of complete disbelief, as if to say, ‘Are you serious right now?’

“Wow… I really don’t get it. Then why the hell are you sticking your neck out this far? If you’re not doing it for money or her body, then what exactly do you want from Shizuku?”

“I don’t want anything. Why do I need to expect something in return? A friend is going through a rough time, so I help them. That’s all. Is that not enough reason?”

“…Huh. A friend, huh?”

After muttering that, Yamachi started chuckling lowly. The small laugh grew louder and louder until he was full out bursting into a fit of laughter. He was clutching his stomach and tears were forming on the corner of his eyes. 

“A friend! A friend, you said? You’ve got to be kidding me! I mean, look at you! Playing the hero just for a friend?! This is peak comedy! And to think you’d hold back from making a move on Shizuku just for some lame, idealistic shit like that. You’re a complete idiot! She might be a gyaru, but she’s got money, a beautiful face and an amazing body to boot!”

He looked up at the ceiling and let out a long breath, emptying his lungs. 

Calm down. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. 

I repeated those words to myself, forcing myself to stay calm as I opened my mouth to speak.

“I’m not a hero or anything grand like that. Anyway, here comes my second question.”

I changed the topic to avoid letting my emotions run wild. Besides, this was the most important question I had for him. 

“Why did you still go after Katagiri when you already had someone as convenient as Shizuku as your girlfriend?”

This was the main cause why everything came apart. If it weren’t for Yamachi’s affair, I wouldn’t be standing here and my relationship with Shizuku wouldn’t end up this way. 

“You’re misunderstanding one thing.”

“Misunderstanding? Don’t tell me you’re trying to say you weren’t going after Katagiri because she was the one who made the first move?”

“Nope. No that. You know what? I will tell you. Rika has been my main goal from the start. Shizuku was just a convenient ATM to fund my dates with Rika.”

At that revelation, I was truly at my wits’ end. And then, I arrived at another conclusion. A conclusion that I didn’t want to think of because of how incredulous it was, but… Could it be… These two…

“Allow me to ask this question to be sure. When did you start dating Katagiri?”

“Since the summer of our second year in middle school.”

Yamachi said without any hint of remorse. His words, along with the awful reality head revealed, left me speechless. 

So… This is the truth, huh… 

I didn’t even have the desire to ask more. Honestly speaking, they didn’t matter to me. What mattered to me wasn’t the process, but the truth and its outcome and finally, I had my answer. 

Ah, with this…

“…Alright. I understand it now. Anyway, a promise is a promise. Here. Go ahead and delete the file.”

I said that as I handed my phone to him. Yamachi snatched it a bit too eagerly and erased the video file quickly before handing my phone back to me.

“Here you go. I’ve wiped all the data. You don’t have any evidence left.”

“…I guess so. Well then, a promise is a promise. You need to put an end to the rumors about Kushina.”

But…

“Huh? Why should I?”

Yamachi shot me a cold, dispassionate look.

“You’re a real idiot, aren’t you? Throwing away your valuable evidence just because you were curious? And actually allowed me to delete the file for real? You’re beyond stupid! A promise? Like hell I’d keep it!”

He sneered at me with a triumphant smirk on his face. 

“…So, you tricked me?”

“Now, now. Don’t try to make me like the bad guy. You’re the one who jumped to conclusions on your own and pushed your own beliefs on me.”

He scoffed and brushed past me.

“Bye now, you fool. Without evidence, no one will believe anything you say. Even if you know the truth, someone with no influence like you can’t do anything against me.”

“…You’re right. I don’t have any influence.”

“I know, right? This is the end of our conversation. Later, loser.”

With that as his parting words, Yamachi began descending the stairs. Then, while staring at his retreating back, I exclaimed loud enough for him to hear.

“Like I said, I don’t have any influence.”

He quickly stopped in his tracks and turned back. His face twisted in confusion. From my pocket, I pulled out another smartphone and held it up for him to see.

“That’s…!?”

“That’s why I made sure someone with influence could listen in to our conversation.”

The one in my hand was Shizuku’s smartphone that I had taken from her before leaving the classroom. And on the screen, he could see I was in the middle of a call with Miura.

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