The day I moved on from my crush — who worked as a rental girlfriend — I ended up with a yandere - Chapter 20- Gaming

I was… inside the car. Tsumiki-san was driving it. We were already quite far from the university, and yet I hadn’t spoken a word.

It was still too shocking to me that the same girl who was reluctant to come out of her room until two days ago had come to pick me up on her own.

I finally managed to collect my thoughts and asked her, “How… exactly did you manage to pull yourself out of that cocoon?”

I saw her smirking.

“Well, I thought of waiting for you at home first, but then we never had a plan to meet up. And since I had changed clothes anyway, I thought I should pick you up.” She explained everything that led her to that conclusion.

I leaned back in the comfortable seat and asked, “Is this car yours?”

She nodded. “I made some bucks by selling my songs in the past, until one of my dream projects got stolen. I used that money to buy this one not so long ago. It’s my first time driving it today, though.”

That… didn’t put me at ease. But well, she was handling the wheel quite well, and despite what a car like this might tempt a person to do, she was driving at a moderate pace.

“You don’t have to return home right away, do you?” she asked, glancing at me.

I shook my head. “Mom isn’t coming back for a few days.”

Other than my mother, there was no need to inform anyone else about when I return home. So I would just leave her a message saying I’d be back home late.

But then, “Where are we going exactly?”

Tsumiki-san shrugged. “We’re… driving through the city while we decide what we can do to enjoy ourselves.”

So… she didn’t have a plan and just wanted to be with me. Well, not like she was the only one.

“Hmm, how about we go to a bookstore or something? It’s not too crowded around this time,” I suggested.

But—“Not this time. Choose one place you want to visit. No matter how crowded it is, I’ll follow you there.” She said it with a gentle smile, her hazelnut eyes meeting mine for a moment.

Maybe it was because of how close we were, but I felt my heartbeat rise a little.

Looking outside the window, I told her, “Hmm… how about we go to a game parlor, then? It’s not far away.”

Tsumiki-san hummed before replying, “Guide me there.”

….

We reached the gaming center, I used to visit with Izumi back in our first year, in just about ten minutes.

Tsumiki-san parked the car, and we both got out.

The parking area was a little far away, so we had to walk a bit.

As we walked, I asked her, “Are you sure it was a good idea showing up like that? I mean, our photo from yesterday has already started circulating. And now…they all have seen you from close.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Being labeled as your girlfriend would make you hesitate to leave me after the trial period is over,” she said without a moment’s hesitation.

As I said, she could be utterly honest.

I sighed and told her, “Tsumiki-san… I was thinking about you during class.”

She blinked and stepped even closer. “Please tell me you missed me.”

I smiled helplessly and said, “Not exactly, but I felt like meeting you again today… somehow. If you hadn’t arrived at the university, I might’ve reached out to you with some excuse.”

Tsumiki-san stared at me for a few moments before she said, “I’m glad to hear that. Last night, I kept questioning myself about whether I enjoyed myself a little too much and ignored you.”

I chuckled. “No, you didn’t. And actually, what I loved about yesterday was that you trusted me enough not to hold yourself back at all.”

She grinned, her sharp canine catching my attention as she said, “Well, other than my parents, I only trust Kazuki-kun. You’re like that friend I never expected—but once you arrived, I didn’t want you to go.”

I smiled in response and didn’t say anything.

We soon reached the gaming center, and this time, I paid for a private room where we could play all the games we wanted, shout, cry, and laugh without restrictions.

“You want to add snacks to your plan?”

“Yes, please.” I nodded before paying for everything, and we made our way to the room we were given.

As we walked, I noticed Tsumiki-san looking around at the place, which was filled with posters and merchandise of popular games.

“I haven’t played much… are you sure you’re going to enjoy my company?”

I reassured her. “I’ll teach you, so don’t worry.”

Later, I would regret ever calling myself a true gamer—and ever thinking of her as a newbie.

*****

A/N:- This is going to take such a quick turn that you’ll be left flabbergasted. Anyway, thanks for reading.