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 - 65

Chapter 65: Weight Loss and an Unexpected Person

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When I finished making breakfast, a reply from Shizuku had come in.

『It’s not a big reason, so don’t worry! Tell Mio Onee-san and Ichika-chan that it’s fine!』

It came with a sticker of a black cat giving a thumbs-up, its eyes gleaming.

…What am I supposed to do with that?

In the end, she hadn’t written any specific reason… which meant it was probably something she didn’t really want to talk about. And she was the type to say she was fine even when she wasn’t. I couldn’t quite decide whether I should take her words at face value, but for now, it probably wasn’t something I needed to treat as serious. If things were truly not okay, she would surely send some kind of SOS. So for the time being, I decided to watch and wait without prying or digging any deeper.

I’d get Sis to accept that for now, too.

After that, I went about my day as usual. I worked on my assignments as far as I could before heading to my part-time job, and once I finished and got home, I immediately started making dinner. I prepared the usual meals for Sis and Ichika, and a separate menu for myself, then changed into workout clothes and headed out again. Just before leaving the house, I stopped by the living room and called out to Ichika, who was watching a drama.

“Ichika, I’m heading out for a bit. If you get hungry, you can go ahead and eat dinner.”

“Okay, got it! Have a safe trip, Gaku-nii!”

…She was still watching that ridiculously messy relationship drama as always.

A show where a wife gets kicked out of her house by her husband after he cheats on her with her younger sister, and then she slowly takes revenge on the family using every trick in the book. It wasn’t exactly something an elementary schooler would usually enjoy. That said, it wasn’t like it was negatively influencing her, so I figured it was fine.

The place I headed to was a training gym in the neighborhood. The equipment selection was decent enough, and it was easy to get to from home. It wasn’t too crowded, and the fees weren’t too harsh even for a high school student. Frankly speaking, this place was a bit of a hidden gem.

Because of my part-time job schedule, I usually went there about once or twice a week. My usual routine was to do some light warm-ups, quickly finish strength training for whichever muscle groups I wanted to work on, and then head home. But when my goal was to lose weight like now, I added cardio on top of that.

“All right, let’s do this.”

After finishing my stretches, I started sweating lightly on the treadmill. The speed was about a brisk walking pace and I kept that up for about twenty to thirty minutes. There was no need for intense exercise like running. If the goal was simply to burn fat, walking-level intensity was enough.

Besides, if I ran, I wouldn’t have the energy left for strength training afterward. This was just my personal opinion, but from experience, I found that focusing more on strength training than cardio made it easier to lose weight. Forcing myself to run and waste extra stamina would actually be inefficient. That was why today, I decided to focus primarily on my legs.

Using the various training machines in the gym, I stimulated my muscles in different ways. Taking appropriate breaks in between, I methodically worked through my routine, and after just under an hour, I completed everything I had planned.

“Phew… that’s it.”

After finishing with a cooldown, I was just about to head home when—

“Huh? Could it be Suou?”

When I turned toward the voice, a sharp-looking guy with short, dark brown hair was standing there. He had about the same build as me, and he was someone who had briefly come up in conversation when Shizuku and the others went to the pool.

“—Naki.”

Naki Masatatsu. A classmate, and the next-generation ace of the soccer team who had played a spectacular, all-around role at the recent Inter-High.

I can’t believe I ran into him in a place like this…

I was a little surprised internally, and apparently he felt the same way.

“Yo, what a coincidence running into you here.”

“…Yeah, seriously.”

As I replied, I gave Naki a quick once-over. He didn’t look sweaty at all, and there were no signs that he had used a towel… which meant he must have just arrived. Even though I was about to leave, running into an acquaintance here was awkward.

“Have you been coming here for a while, Suou?”

“Yeah. It’s close to home.”

“Oh, so your house is around here, Suou? You live in a pretty nice area.”

“…I guess.”

I could walk to the downtown area, and getting to the city center was quick too. Compared to people who lived in the suburbs, you could definitely say it was a good location. Come to think of it, this was actually the first time I’d had anything resembling a proper conversation with Naki. And yet he casually struck up a conversation with me. If I had spotted him first, I would have immediately gone home without saying a word.

So this is what they call the difference in communication skill.

As I was keenly made aware of that, Naki suddenly let out an “Ah.”

“Sorry, I stopped you when you were about to leave. Well then, see you, Suou!”

With that, Naki gave a light wave and quickly headed deeper into the room. I watched his back out of the corner of my eye before making my way to the locker room. He approached casually, but withdrew just as quickly depending on the situation. He must’ve picked up on my mood and wrapped up the conversation fast.

“So this is what they call the difference in communication skill…”

I felt that fact sink in all over again and muttered it out loud this time.

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