Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 3

My Boyfriend Is a Jack-Of-All-Trades

“I’m Kurosawa Hikaru, a second-year student at the University of Tokyo, majoring in Finance in the Economics Department. I’m 20 years old, born on November 4th, a Scorpio, and my hometown is Shizuoka.”

Following her pattern, Hikaru Kurosawa also introduced himself, providing her with some background information.

Upon hearing about his hometown, Ichinose expressed some surprise.

“Shizuoka? That’s quite far.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Kurosawa didn’t find it particularly noteworthy; after all, Neon was just a tiny place, and everywhere seemed close by.

Rather than arguing about the distance, Yuki Ichinose used her fingers to navigate on the phone.

“There’s no need to mention hobbies since they’re in your profile notes. How about you share something more private?”

Kurosawa paused, feeling a bit helpless as his carefully planned words were interrupted.

“You’re making me lose my bearings with this.”

“Well, then, share it in your own way.”

Interrupted by her curiosity, Kurosawa wanted to continue but couldn’t resist the urge to find out what Akari had written about him. Frankly, he could probably imagine the content, and it wasn’t something to be pleased about. 

“Before that, I’d like to know what you’ve got written on your end.”

Humans are such wretched creatures; they care a lot about what others think of them.

If there’s someone in this world who can truly not care about others’ opinions, they’re either crazy or a beast.

Ichinose picked up her phone from the desk and recited, “Kurosawa Hikaru, alias Dongda, 181, outstanding in both looks and grades, from Shizuoka, renting a place, loves reading, confident personality, stingy, penny-pinching, stubborn, refused to give gifts for half a month after confirming the relationship, savings of 100,000, very eager to meet with me. End of introduction.”

Having heard this description, Kurosawa suddenly chuckled.

“That was quite detailed.”

At that moment, he completely saw through the true nature of his ex, Akari Tsumugi.

For this past month, he, starting from the beginning, had been treated as a peasant by the queen.

Seeing him smiling and in a good mood, Ichinose confirmed, “Is there anything wrong?” 

Kurosawa thought for a moment and said, “A lot is wrong, like the height.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My actual height is 178 cm.” Kurosawa decided to reveal the truth, after all, the girl had already disclosed her measurements.

“Oh, why did you lie and claim 181 then?”

“To save face. 181 sounds more genuine than 180.”

“I see.”

When it came to saving face, Ichinose suddenly understood, nodding as if to say, “I get you.”

People in this world, to save face, resort to lying and can do things that defy common sense and logic.

“Besides, I’m not stingy. I just don’t spend money recklessly without seeing the real deal,” Kurosawa added casually.

“What do you mean?”

“It means I won’t easily spend money before actually meeting a girl, so that I’m not falling for a scam.”

“You’re being very cautious.”

“By the way, my savings are not just a hundred thousand.”

“How much is it then?”

After some thought, Kurosawa decided not to reveal the exact amount.

“It’s a secret.” 

A man who boasts about his savings is cheapening himself, as if he is trying to attract women with money.

“So, these details are not entirely accurate; they’re just impressions your ex-girlfriend had of you?”

Ichinose didn’t pay much attention to the matter. She made some modifications to the information provided based on what he had said, and he confirmed, “Now that’s right.”

Kurosawa stroked his chin, lost in thought.

No wonder he was valued at just a thousand yen in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend.

Being stingy and stubborn seemed to be a big turn-off for Akari Tsumugi, and she seemed to be quite resistant to the idea of meeting up.

“Anything else?” After correcting these details, Ichinose asked.

Kurosawa thought for a moment and felt like he didn’t have much to say, so he decided to leave the initiative to her.

“There’s nothing more. How do you usually boast about me to your friends? Just let me know, and I’ll try to match myself with those expectations.”

“My boyfriend is excellent at bowling, soccer, baseball, shooting, skiing, tennis, ice skating, swimming, racing, basketball… and he especially loves me.”

As Ichinose spoke, she felt increasingly uneasy.

“I see your boyfriend is a jack-of-all-trades.”

Kurosawa was amused by her, wondering where this perfect boyfriend from some novel came from.

The most crucial part was, this supposed boyfriend excelled in ten different sports.

“These are all sports that young people nowadays like. When I went to play with them before, they asked if my boyfriend could play all of these sports, and I casually said yes,” Ichinose admitted. After realizing she might have exaggerated a bit, she felt embarrassed.

Kurosawa expressed his relief, “Thank goodness tomorrow is karaoke. If it were somewhere else, I might really struggle.” 

“Hehe,” Ichinose chuckled, her teeth white and neatly aligned, her lips adorned with lipstick, giving her a charming and vibrant appearance. She seemed like a cheerful and carefree person. 

Kurosawa, seeing her happy smile, also smiled and asked.

“What do you think of my appearance? Should I make any changes?” 

“Oh, right, put your phone on the table and stand up. I want to take a look,” Ichinose requested.

Sitting on the bed for the video call, Kurosawa placed his phone on the table, directed it at himself, and stood up for her to see. 

It was a peculiar situation, standing there for someone to observe, especially through the phone camera.

“Hmm…” Ichinose, on the phone, stared at Kurosawa, carefully examining him, lost in thought.

“You should wear an earring on your right ear,” Ichinose quickly suggested.

“Earring? I have a date tomorrow, and if I go to get my ears pierced now, it won’t be in time for the date,” Kurosawa said, a little stunned.

“You’ve never had your ears pierced before?” Ichinose was even more amazed, finding it hard to believe.

“No,” Kurosawa shook his head.

In his previous life, he was a gaming addict, and in this life, he was an academic genius. He had never thought about getting his ears pierced.

Ichinose suggested a remedy, “Then try clip-on earrings. Choose silver pendants, preferably prismatic ones.” 

“Sure,” Kurosawa nodded.

“When you go to buy earrings tomorrow, also get a red and blue color-block hoodie with a graffiti design, choose slim-fit gray jeans for pants. After the date, I’ll reimburse you for the outfit,” Ichinose continued with her suggestions.

“Are you sure you can reimburse me? Don’t you only have a few thousand yen left? That’s probably not even enough for cafeteria food,” Kurosawa looked at her playfully, whilst teasing her.

He knew that this outfit might cost more than a few thousand yen.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll pay you back with my next month’s salary,” Ichinose bit her lip, determined to go all out.

After all, it was only one date, and she just needed to impress her good friends. If they met again, she could just lie and say they had broken up. 

“Okay.”

Kurosawa nodded, agreeing to be her boyfriend for one day. As long as she was satisfied, he was up for it.

“Also, in front of my friends, call me Yuki-chan. “

“I’m older than you, just call me Hikaru-kun.”

“Sure.”

“And make sure you wear a nice pair of fashionable shoes. Get your hair styled as well.”

Kurosawa noticed her increasing requests and gave a gentle reminder to ensure he had enough time for such things.

“Tomorrow is Wednesday though, and I still have classes.”

“What time does your class end?”

“At 3:30 in the afternoon.”

“A few hours should be enough.”

“Oh, by the way, our first encounter was when you saw me on the streets of Shinjuku, approached me, and your opening line was…”

The two of them continued to chat through the phone screen, discussing various details before their date tomorrow.