I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 45

Episode 45: Pretending to be my Girlfriend

Encountering my ex-girlfriend marked the beginning of turmoil during our outing, but afterward, things proceeded more or less as planned.

We entered the station and boarded a yellow-green train.

Meanwhile, messages from Asuka kept coming, “What was that earlier?”.

Moreover, she sent me several messages. And when I tried to look at them, Aoba would blatantly frown.

Well, there was no helping it now. I temporarily blocked Asuka’s LINE to avoid the barrage.

Soon, the train arrived at our destination, Ikebukuro.

Taking lunch at a pasta restaurant near Ikebukuro Station to avoid any chance of running into Asuka again, we then finished watching a movie at a commercial complex a little farther away.

After the two-hour screening, we emerged outside. Aoba rose onto her tiptoes, raised her arms high, exhaled contentedly, stretched her body, then spun around like a skater.

“That was fun! Action movies are surprisingly entertaining. I’ve only ever watched mystery ones before, so it was refreshing.”

“Yeah, there haven’t been many mystery ones lately. There’s one coming out next week though.”

“Yeah, but I have no regrets about today. I got to know your tastes, and it was fun.”

Conversation flowed smoothly, and things were going well overall.

However, there was just one thing I couldn’t get used to, being referred to like that.

Every time my name slipped from her lips, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Wow. Keito-kun, look at that! A penguin plushie!”

…And Aoba seemed to enjoy it. She would repeat it over and over, her cheeks loosening into a grin each time.

On the contrary, I couldn’t maintain composure.

Calling a girl by her name was something I only did with Asuka before, and I couldn’t shake off the embarrassment.
Just saying “Hikari” would be simple. It shouldn’t be something I couldn’t do.

I tried to convince myself of that, waiting for a chance to call her by her name.

And in the midst of that, without realizing it, we ended up in the crowded area right next to the food court.

Many people passed through the space between us without hesitation.

Because of that, before I knew it, the distance between us widened rapidly.

Aoba seemed to notice that she had been separated from me amidst the crowd, glancing around anxiously.

This couldn’t go on.

“Hikari!”

Finally, I managed to say her name.

Aoba turned back to me, raising her hand high.

Using it as a guide, we managed to reunite once the crowd dispersed.

Walking side by side again, we continued.

“Suddenly, there were so many people.”

“Maybe they’re part of a tour group.”

“Still, it was surprising. Not just being called out so loudly, but the ‘Hikari’ just now caught me off guard.”

“…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have used such a loud voice.”

“No, actually, I was happy. The ‘Hikari’ just now was perfect! It’s the ‘Hikari’ I’ve been wanting.”

Aoba sniffed happily, a pleased smile playing on her lips. Inadvertently, I found her irresistibly cute, and I scratched my head nervously.

I couldn’t keep up with this pace.

“Stop saying stupid things and let’s go.”

I tried to speed up our pace a bit, but then she stopped me.

I glanced over to see Aoba tugging at the left sleeve of my shirt.

“Okay. Then, how about we go check out some clothes? We still have time before the reserved planetarium visit. I’m looking forward to it. It’s on my ‘Things to Do’ list, and we can tick it off.”

She didn’t seem to intend to explain further.

She behaved as if nothing had happened, unfazed.

I raised my left hand and glanced at her.

“…What’s this all about?”

“I don’t want to lose you again.”

Well, that made sense.

Certainly, the crowd was still bustling.

I tried to accept it, but the feeling of her lightly gripping my sleeve was quite uncomfortable.

My body stiffened involuntarily.

“How about just holding hands? It’ll prevent us from getting separated.”

“No, um, I mean…?”

“Here we go!”

She firmly grasped my hand.

A cool sensation enveloped my palm, and the hairs on my fingers stood on end.

“If we hold hands, you won’t have to worry.”

Her slender wrist, clearly defined knuckles, even the tips of her nails, all became oddly noticeable. It made my shoulders tense even more.

And yet, her smooth skin felt oddly comforting.

“It’s nothing special, you know? And who knows, we might run into your ex-girlfriend again, right? So, this is just a precaution! If we stay like this, even if we do meet her again, she’ll think we’re the real deal.”

“…Yeah, but…”

“Come on, just relax. We’re just holding hands.”

Aoba said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She was such a beauty. For a moment, I thought she might have experience with this sort of thing, but that thought was fleeting.

“Are your hands shaking?”

“…Aha, busted?”

Perhaps even Aoba had her limits.