I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 103

Chapter 103   Let’s go in a Date 1

Ding-ding-ding!

Three days after the whole “fake relationship” idea came up, around lunchtime, the doorbell rang incessantly. Before the chime could even finish, I picked up the receiver.

As expected, the monitor displayed Shinohara.

The mischievous junior stood there, a puzzled expression on her face as she noticed the sound had stopped responding despite pressing the button repeatedly.

“What do you want?”

Hearing my curt tone, Shinohara puffed out her cheeks.

“Senpai, your language is so rude!”

“Sorry. Bye.”

“Wait, don’t—!”

I hung up on her mid-sentence without hesitation.

Moments later, the doorbell rang again, and the monitor lit up.

This time, the screen showed a set of keys adorned with a snow leopard keychain, filling the display.

“Senpai, I happen to have a key with me right now.”

She was clearly implying that she could unlock the door anytime she wanted.

Sighing, I replied in a flat tone.

“That’s a pretty borderline move, you know.”

“I’m fully aware of that, which is why I’m keeping it at just a threat.”

“So you admit you’re threatening me?! …Anyway, I’m about to eat lunch. I don’t have any for you, though. You okay with that?”

“Can I at least come inside first?”

“Eh, I dunno.”

“Today’s peace offering is GODIVA chocolates.”

“I see. Door’s open.”

Pathetically, I couldn’t resist the allure of luxury chocolate, a rare treat for someone living alone.

The sound of the lock clicking open echoed, followed by Shinohara’s cheerful voice as she stepped in.

“Senpai, may I come in?”

“GODIVA!”

“Got it, I’m coming in!”

My halfhearted reply and the sound of the front door closing happened simultaneously.

Soon, Shinohara appeared, dressed in a light pink knit top and wearing pink-gold earrings—a rare choice for her. I couldn’t help but feel a slight flutter, probably due to some primal instinct that makes guys drawn to things that dangle and sway.

“Alright, Senpai, I’ll be intruding on you this week too!”

With that, Shinohara handed me a fancy shopping bag. Inside, there were actual GODIVA chocolates, prompting an awestruck “Whoa!” from me.

For a male college student living alone, luxury chocolates are practically an alien concept. Most of my disposable income, after deducting living expenses, usually went toward mundane things. Before dating Reina, it primarily vanished into gacha game microtransactions, most of which ended in disappointment. If I had all that wasted money now, I could probably do a lot more with it, but that’s a useless regret at this point.

The real issue now is the shameful truth that I’ve been completely tamed by these chocolates.

“Well, can’t help being happy about it!”

“If it keeps Senpai in a good mood for a whole week, it’s a small price to pay.”

“Guess I’m just falling for it, huh?”

Occasionally bringing delightful gifts like this is Shinohara’s clever strategy. Unless I’m extremely tired, I usually end up letting her in.

“Senpai, it’s Saturday. No part-time job today?”

“Not today. Gonna spend the day enjoying my GODIVA.”

“That’s not even a real verb…”

Shinohara responded with a slightly exasperated tone before continuing.

“So, Senpai, have you thought about it? The fake dating thing.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

“Right? Actually, after going home and thinking it over, I realized it was a pretty unreasonable request. I feel bad for disregarding your feelings—”

“Sure, it’s fine.”

“—and ignoring your… wait, what?”

Shinohara blinked in disbelief for a moment before leaping to her feet with surprising speed.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?! I just embarrassed myself by rattling off a bunch of pointless excuses!”

“I’ve been saying it this whole time!”

Reina had asked me twice. Even though I hesitated until the end, I had already agreed, so there was no turning back.

However, Shinohara, the person involved, seemed to have expected and accepted a refusal from me. That made me wonder if accepting this fake dating arrangement was actually the wrong choice. If rejecting it would have resolved everything peacefully, that would have been the better path.

“After all—”

“No take-backs. You’ve already agreed, and I have it in writing!”

“Where did my rights as a person go?”

“Loose lips sink ships! …Wait, are you calling me a disaster?”

“Stop arguing with yourself!”

When I raised my voice, Shinohara burst into laughter.

“So, it’s settled, then. I’ve got so many things I want to figure out with you, Senpai.”

“What things do you want to figure out?”

Even as I asked, I had a vague sense of what her answer might be. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel this week was going to be incredibly exhausting.

“Well, for starters—”

Shinohara spoke as she sat down. In the process, her neckline dipped slightly, giving me a glimpse. Because of her spring outfit, I caught sight of what seemed to be a black camisole. I quickly averted my eyes.

This was not a lucky moment. And the reason was—

“Senpai, it’s okay to look today. After all, I’m your girlfriend right now!”

“Stay away from me.”

“Verbal abuse!”

This little reveal was entirely calculated.

Judging by the fact that her underlayer was intentionally visible, it was designed as lingerie meant to be seen. Shinohara herself probably didn’t feel any embarrassment about it.

Guys, on the other hand, are into real lingerie—something that feels taboo to see, something you’d get scolded for catching a glimpse of.

“You should apologize to actual lingerie.”

“I don’t quite get what you mean, but hey, I was wearing a proper cardigan over this until I got here!”

“Wait, so that really is showcase lingerie?”

I asked while keeping my eyes glued to my tablet, where the silent replay of a martial arts match I’d been watching earlier was playing.

“It’s showcase lingerie just for you, Senpai. I’m not showing it to just anyone. Though, of course, the real thing is underneath… Want to see that too?”

“I’ll kick you out.”

“Figured you’d say that.”

As if nostalgic, Shinohara narrowed her eyes, seeming to relish my predictable response.

“You said the same thing when we spent that night together, didn’t you?”

“You’re not wrong, but the way you phrased that is seriously misleading.”

The first time Shinohara stayed over at my place was in mid-January. It was the same night Reina had called me to insist, “I’m not cheating on you.” I remember that evening vividly even now.

The circumstances around me have changed drastically since then.

And so have my feelings toward Shinohara.

“It’s been about half a year since we met, hasn’t it, Senpai?”

“Yeah, starting with that Santa outfit, right?”

I smirked, ready to tease her a bit. But contrary to my expectations, Shinohara grinned smugly, unfazed.

“It looked really good on me, didn’t it? I don’t think just anyone could have pulled that off as well as I did.”

“Now that you mention it, you were like that from the start…”

“Wha—! That’s rude!”

Shinohara pouted, clearly unhappy.

“Alright, alright, my bad,” I said, apologizing twice to placate her before letting out a sigh.

“So basically, you just want to try doing couple-like things with someone you’re comfortable around?”

“That’s right. Unlike with Yuudou-senpai, this time you’ve agreed to it too, so I figured it won’t get awkward.”

“Even if it doesn’t, no sane person would go along with a fake relationship.”

The concept of a “trial relationship” is something you might encounter in manga or other fictional works, but in a typical university setting, it’s not the sort of thing you’d actually see happening.

The idea of being forced into a trial relationship because of some family connection is a trope often found in manga, but in reality, such a scenario is highly unlikely. At least for someone like me, a completely ordinary person, it’s a distant and unrealistic notion.

“There might be people with perfectly normal minds who still try out trial relationships, you know?”

“And where would they be? We’re practically adults at this point.”

In manga, the settings where trial relationships are depicted are almost always middle or high school.

It’s because middle and high schoolers lack a certain degree of autonomy that the ambiguous concept of a trial relationship can exist. At our age, where we have to take responsibility for our decisions, such an arrangement clearly doesn’t fit.

Unlike those adolescent scenarios, a trial relationship among university students often carries an undertone of something messy or sordid.

When I voiced this thought outright, Shinohara laughed it off casually.

“Actually, I think trial relationships are a result of having more autonomy.”

“How does that make any sense? Explain.”

A little annoyed that my reasoning was so easily dismissed, I pressed her for clarification. Shinohara, unfazed, raised a single finger confidently.

“Think about people who are dating with the intent to marry. It’s completely normal during matchmaking to have trial relationships with multiple people. Even if there are several great matches, they still have to choose just one in the end. In a way, it’s the most intense and serious kind of decision-making.”

“…Where did you even learn this?”

“…A dating reality show.”

A brief silence fell between us.

As our eyes met, Shinohara’s gaze slowly drifted to the side, avoiding mine entirely.