Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 17

Your Ex-Girlfriend Really Missed Out

“No way!”

Ichinose, filled with resistance, decisively refused.

“Fine, when do you get paid next month?” Faced with her consecutive rejections, Kurosawa shrugged, gave up, sighed, and changed the subject.

“Wait, what did you just say?”

But at this moment, Ichinose suddenly reacted, looking a bit dumbfounded.

Seeing that she finally caught on, Kurosawa patiently repeated.

“Give me a kiss, and we’ll call it even.”

“A kiss on your face, and it’s even? That’s a hundred thousand, you know.” Ichinose suspected she misheard, looking surprised.

For any high school student, a hundred thousand is a substantial amount of money. Normal allowances range from about twenty thousand a month, and for those from wealthier families, maybe a bit more, like thirty to forty thousand. High school students who work part-time might earn around eighty to ninety thousand a month, putting ten thousand into perspective.

Regardless, a hundred thousand is a significant sum. Even for JKs seeking support, it was still a lot. 

Ichinose might not have personal experience, but she had heard stories. After all, the hot girls in school were among the most gossip-prone groups and were well-informed.

“If you feel like you’re taking advantage, you can give me a few more kisses.” Kurosawa, seeing her astonished expression, teased.

“Mua, mua, mua!”

Before he knew it, Ichinose directly pounced on him, hugging Kurosawa’s head and quickly planting a few kisses on his cheek.

This sudden barrage of kisses left Kurosawa dumbfounded.

“So, it’s settled?”

Coming back to his senses, Ichinose held Kurosawa’s head with both hands, seriously confirming.

Her cheeks blushed slightly, and a sense of shyness arose, prompting her to resolve the matter swiftly.

“No, redo it. You kissed too fast; I didn’t even have time to feel it.”

Feeling a bit dizzy from the headshake, Kurosawa shook his head when he saw her cute reaction.

“M—u—a!”

Seeing him acting up, Ichinose decisively pressed her lips against his cheek again, giving him a firm and sticky kiss.

“This settles it?” After another sincere kiss, Ichinose asked.

Kurosawa didn’t play coy this time and simply nodded.

With his confirmation, Ichinose’s frustrated mood instantly dissipated.

“Yay!” The next moment, she jumped up and cheered while standing on the sofa.

“You really lucked out.”

Seeing her mood lighten up, Kurosawa remained nonchalant, rubbing his face with his hand and saying, “You really scored a deal.”

“Hikaru-kun, why are you rubbing your face?”

Ichinose, who was overjoyed, stopped her smile upon seeing his actions.

“Rubbing off the lipstick,” Kurosawa said matter-of-factly.

This girl, during the breaks in the karaoke, would always touch up her makeup and reapply lipstick.

Although he didn’t check in the mirror after the recent kisses, it was easy to imagine lipstick marks on his face. 

As expected, after rubbing his face, Kurosawa lowered his head and took a glance. His palm was quite rosy.

“Mua, mua.”

At that moment, Ichinose bent down, embraced his face, and gave him two more kisses.

“What are you doing? Taking advantage of me?” Kurosawa, surprised that she kissed again, blurted out.

Did someone flip a switch in her head after that one kiss?

“Hehe~” Ichinose didn’t deny it, sitting beside him.

“Hikaru-kun, I feel your ex-girlfriend really missed out.”

Ichinose’s legs were on the floor, feet together as she tapped them, unable to hold back her words.

When it came to this matter, Kurosawa shared her sentiment.

“Right? I think so too.”

It was a lifetime loss for any woman who missed out on him.

“Such self-love~” 

Seeing his nonchalant reaction, Ichinose chuckled.

“This is called self-awareness.” Kurosawa huffed.

Seeing his proud expression, Ichinose didn’t feel repulsed. She swayed her legs and looked up, sighing, “Hikaru-kun, you’re really amazing. Seventh in the whole country, I was stunned back then.”

When Akiyuki mentioned seventh in the country, her emotions were a mix of shock, excitement, and vanity being endlessly satisfied.

It had to be said, today’s date was fantastic and unforgettable.

“It’s not that amazing. There were still six people better than me back then.”

Kurosawa pretended to be modest but was secretly proud.

Since childhood, he had been determined to be a top student. After years of studying tirelessly, achieving seventh place nationwide was the most gratifying thing in his life.

Recalling the moments of the date, Ichinose became happier and couldn’t help but ask the doubt in her heart.

“And you’re so handsome, and you can sing… You said you haven’t been to karaoke, and your singing was only at a beginner’s level. But you sang like a professional singer. Were you deliberately deceiving me last night?”

“I didn’t lie to you. I really haven’t been to karaoke. As for why my singing is like a professional, well, I can only say their singing skills are just at the entry level.” Kurosawa shook his head and explained.

“Did you specifically study singing?” Because she was in an extremely good mood and had been teased a bit earlier, Ichinose, feeling more relaxed, sat close to him with their arms pressed together.

Kurosawa pretended not to notice and casually replied.

“I learned it in music class.”

“Have you ever attended any training classes?”

“No.”

“Then you’re really talented, and you look so handsome. Why not become a singer? I feel like if you become a singer, you’ll definitely become famous.”

“But this is Neon.” Kurosawa shook his head at the suggestion.

In fact, he had thought about becoming a star when he was a child, but he gave up when he realized the stage was in Neon.

After all, the singers and stars in Neon were different from the country he was in in his past life. It wasn’t as lucrative, and the work was even more tiring.

“What’s wrong with Neon?”

“Nothing, just that being a singer here doesn’t have much financial prospects.”

“That’s a shame.”

Realizing that he had no intention of becoming a singer, Ichinose felt a bit regretful.

It had to be said, in the latter half of the karaoke party, as Kurosawa got into the groove, it turned into his personal concert.

Each song he sang was no less impressive than the original, and he even added his own unique touch to them. What’s more, regardless of the vocal range, Kurosawa could master it with just one listen, delivering perfect covers—it was downright amazing.

“It’s getting late; we should go to sleep,” Kurosawa smiled and reminded Ichinose.

Ichinose who had been deliberately diverting her attention, finally had to face reality. Her joyful expression gradually faded, and after some contemplation, she spoke up.

“Later, you can sleep on the bed, and I’ll take the couch.”

“Aren’t we going to sleep together?” Kurosawa looked at her.

“Um…”

Ichinose, gazing at his smiling handsome face, was momentarily unsure if he was joking or testing the waters, leaving her in a state of indecision.

To be honest, it wasn’t that she entirely opposed the idea of spending the night with Kurosawa, a super handsome guy. 

However, the issue was that even though she was a stylish girl, she only started embracing this in high school, and wasn’t as open-minded as her three other friends who had been carefree since childhood.

Hitting a “home run” in one night seemed inappropriate to her after careful consideration, and she instinctively resisted such a swift development.

Kurosawa, sensing her internal conflict, made the decision for her.

“Just kidding! Later, I’ll take the couch, and you can sleep on the bed.”