Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 30

Yuki-chan’s Date Invitation

Taking the night subway, Kurosawa returned home, and it was already 10:50 PM.

After taking a shower at home and changing into casual home clothes, he sat on the bed.

Taking out his phone, he opened Line.

Different from the messages from his ex-girlfriend over the past month, this time the sender was Ichinose.

“I’ve finished work.” Kurosawa sent her a message.

“You’ve worked hard; you’re finishing work so late.”

“You asked me to message you, what’s up?”

“Hikaru-kun, do you have time on Saturday? Kozuki and the others want to have another group date.”

“Sorry, I have plans on Saturday.”

“Okay.”

“Hikaru-kun, can we video chat?” After exchanging messages for a while, Ichinose couldn’t help but ask.

In response to this inquiry, Kurosawa’s reply was a video call request.

In less than a second, the video call was connected.

“Good evening, Hikaru-kun.”

On the mobile screen appeared the image of Ichinose. She had already taken a shower. Showing her natural face, she was waving to greet him.

“Good evening. You seem quite happy. Did something good happen today?” Kurosawa, seeing her cheerful instead of being upset about the group date rejection, responded and then curiously inquired.

“Well, actually, today we had a swimming class, and many girls saw the hickey you planted.”

“Just for that?” Kurosawa didn’t quite understand.

Seeing his confusion, Ichinose earnestly explained.

“Of course! Although some girls instinctively think I’m playing around, Ai saw it and asked if it was the hickey you planted. Because of this, everyone found out that I have had a college boyfriend for almost two years, and the rumors and gossip have reduced a lot.”

“That indeed is something to be happy about.”

Realizing that the rumors attacking her had decreased, Kurosawa suddenly understood and felt happy for her.

“Hikaru-kun, you said you have something on Saturday. Is it related to work?” Ichinose giggled and then curiously asked.

“No.” Kurosawa shook his head.

Just then, Ichinose casually guessed, “It wouldn’t be a date with another girl, would it?”

Asked like that, Kurosawa suddenly felt a bit guilty.

Although she pretended not to care, her attitude was like a girlfriend checking and suspecting.

In reality, they were not in a romantic relationship, they were just friends pretending to be a couple for half a day with a bit of intimate contact.

“I have something to discuss with a teacher.”

Even though it was true, Kurosawa still didn’t tell the whole truth.

“Oh, I see.”

When it came to talking about a teacher, Ichinose’s small face suddenly lost interest.

As a mediocre student, she simply was not interested in these things.

“I can’t accompany you on the date, so what are you going to do on Saturday?” Kurosawa realized he couldn’t spend time with her and curiously asked.

“In that case, I’ll take on a shift for my part-time job. I won’t join Kozuki and the others this time.”

“You’re working part-time on Saturday, and you still plan on having group dates?” Kurosawa was somewhat surprised.

“I can postpone the part-time job for a day. I work extra hours on Sunday to make up for it.”

“I see.”

“Hikaru-kun, if you’re not coming on Saturday, is it because you don’t like group dates?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it; it’s just more troublesome with more people. Besides, I do have something genuinely important.” After some thought, Kurosawa didn’t entirely reject the idea.

If it was a solo date with Ichinose, he wouldn’t have to act as hard.

“What about Sunday… Are you free?”

Realizing his perspective, Ichinose hesitated for a moment before asking.

“I’m free on Sunday afternoon.”

Kurosawa calculated that his meeting with Ninomiya would likely end by noon.

“You mentioned earlier that our next date would be just the two of us… When are you thinking of doing that?”

Confirming his availability, Ichinose felt a bit shy but gathered the courage to ask.

This was an invitation for a date initiated by her, and for girls, it usually required some courage.

With this question, several lines of text appeared in front of Kurosawa.

Date Mission: 【Seaside Journey with Ichinose Yuki】

Mission Objectives:【Meet at the seaside】【Apply sunscreen to 90% of her body】【Embrace in the sea for one minute】【Make her heart flutter three times】

Mission Deadline: 72 hours

Provided Funds: Introductory level swimming, Introductory level surfing (72-hour experience card)

Mission Reward: Introductory level swimming, Introductory level surfing (permanent)

As expected, the previous date was a beginner’s mission, with fewer objectives and rewards.

Speaking of the provided funds, was it targeted specifically? The number was still too few, requiring further observation.

“Let’s do it this Sunday.”

Since it wasn’t his first time looking at a mission, Kurosawa quickly finished reading and spoke up.

“Sure, where should we go?”

Holding her breath until she got the agreement, Ichinose couldn’t contain her joy and immediately asked.

“The weather is so hot, let’s go to the seaside.”

Looking at her radiant and attractive smile, Kurosawa pretended to think for a moment and proposed.

“It’s been a while, so let’s go to the seaside.”

Hearing this, Ichinose nodded without hesitation.

Perhaps some girls, during a date, might not want to go to the seaside to avoid ruining their makeup or due to body image concerns. But she wasn’t afraid at all; after all, she frequently worked out to be a runway model, had a great figure, and looked good even without makeup.

“Do you know how to swim?”

Just to be safe, Kurosawa asked first.

“If I take a non-swimmer to the seaside, I need to be more careful.”

“I know a little, but not much. Can you swim?”

“At an introductory level.”

“Introductory level again… You must be good at swimming and just saying that on purpose, right?” Ichinose, who had fallen for it once, complained with a hint of coyness.

“I’m telling the truth,” Kurosawa shrugged.

In fact, before the appearance of the “provided funds,” he already knew how to swim, but without formal training. 

He had only played in reservoirs and rivers during his previous life. In this life, due to being busy with academics, it had been more than twenty years since he last swam. 

Despite having swimming classes in the past, he was exempted due to excellent grades and could read books on the side during class.

“Alright, it’s settled then. What time should we meet on Sunday?”

Ichinose smiled, not dwelling on the matter and moving on to finalize the details of the date.

“At 1:30 PM, as for the location, you can decide.”

“Okay.”

After chatting for half an hour, the two ended the video call.

“Got another date mission. Fortunately, there’s no time conflict, and the mission objectives aren’t too difficult.”

Kurosawa put down his phone and commented to himself after checking the mission again.

On the other side, Ichinose, following the end of the video call, remained silent. She tightly held her phone against her chest, her heart beating rapidly, feeling immensely excited. 

Unlike the previous multiple dates, this time it was a solo date, and it was at the seaside.