Yumiko Miura's Setback

Today was another ordinary day. After school, Shin planned to meet Hitori Gotou and visit her home together.

However, as he was packing his bag, someone suddenly approached his desk and stopped, catching Shin's attention.

He looked up and saw one of the members of the popular group in his class standing before him. This person was also a character from a work Shin had seen before his transmigration.

"Um... Shin, after school, we're planning to check out the new café and try their latest menu. Would you like to join us?"

Yui Yuigahama wore a slightly shy smile as she extended the invitation. Not far behind her, her friends were also watching.

It was clear that inviting Shin wasn't just Yui Yuigahama's idea; the rest of the group had the same thought.

If the old Shin had been part of the middle tier in class, this might have been his chance to join the top social circle—at least, that's how it would seem to an average high schooler.

But Shin had no interest in playing the high school social ladder game. He was content with his current situation.

He had a few friends he could talk to normally, so he wouldn't be left out when group activities came up. He could eat lunch with the girls and had things to do after school. That was enough for him.

As for joining the top social circle... while it might be a status boost for most high schoolers, Shin saw no need for it.

"No thanks, I have some things to do after school. You guys go ahead."

Shin picked up his bag and shook his head at Yui Yuigahama.

Although he was somewhat interested in Yui Yuigahama, he had already made plans with Hitori Gotou and didn't want to break his promise.

Moreover, if he accepted Yui Yuigahama's invitation, many classmates might start seeing him as part of a different social tier.

When it came time for group activities, he'd probably end up having to team up with Akagi or Megumi Kato—Japanese high schoolers really loved overthinking things, and it was exhausting.

"I see... I understand."

Yui Yuigahama was taken aback by Shin's refusal. She hadn't expected him to decline so easily.

Yui Yuigahama's personality was more of a go-with-the-flow type. She rarely expressed her own opinions and usually just followed what others said. Seeing Shin be so straightforward made her feel a bit envious.

Watching Shin pick up his bag and leave the classroom, Yui Yuigahama returned to her group with a disappointed expression:

"Too bad, he turned us down..."

"Seems like he's not too fond of us."

Hayama Hayato, one of the core members of the group, smiled wryly. He was also quite interested in Shin, who had recently become a topic of discussion.

But Shin clearly had no interest in them, and Hayama Hayato couldn't exactly force him to join. He turned to Yumiko Miura beside him and joked:

"Looks like Miura's goodwill didn't get through."

"..."

Yumiko Miura stared in the direction Shin had left, her expression clearly unhappy. In fact, inviting Shin had been her idea.

Getting Shin into their circle was something she had been planning for a while. Seeing that Shin had gained some recent popularity, she thought it might be the right time and asked Yui Yuigahama to extend the invitation.

The result left her disappointed. Shin still showed no interest in getting closer to them, which frustrated Yumiko Miura.

Given Shin's recent buzz at school, joining their group should have been a natural step. Why was Shin so indifferent?

"If you care so much, why don't you invite him yourself, Miura? Why send Yuigahama to test the waters?"

Hina Ebina, standing nearby, couldn't help but speak up when she saw Yumiko Miura's unhappy expression.

Yumiko Miura's interest in Shin was an open secret within their group. However, Yumiko Miura always just watched from afar and never took the initiative to approach him.

Today, when Yumiko Miura brought up Shin's recent popularity, everyone thought she was finally making a move. But in the end, she just had Yui Yuigahama extend the invitation.

As Yumiko Miura's friend, Hina Ebina couldn't help but feel exasperated. What kind of approach was this?

If Sachiko Koshimizu were here, she'd probably have a lot to say to Yumiko Miura...

...

"Huh? Are we driving?"

After following Shin out of school, Hitori Gotou trailed behind him like a little duckling until they reached a parking lot near the school.

There, Shin's car was parked—the same one he had driven when taking Hitori Gotou home before.

After Hitori Gotou invited him over for lunch, Shin had called his driver to bring the car over so he could drive her home.

There was no helping it; Hitori Gotou's house was really far. Taking the subway would take two hours, but driving would save a lot of time.

Having lived in Japan for two and a half years, Shin was well aware of how troublesome the Shinkansen and subway transfers could be—short trips were fine, but for longer distances, he really didn't want to deal with the subway.

"Of course. Your place is so far; I don't want to waste too much time commuting."

Shin opened the car door and gestured for Hitori Gotou to get in the back seat while he took the driver's seat.

"What? Don't like riding in my car?"

"N-no, no, no! Shin drives really smoothly."

Hitori Gotou didn't dare refuse and quickly climbed into the back seat, though she couldn't help but wonder—given Shin's wealth and influence, shouldn't he have a personal driver?

So why was Shin driving himself? Was it because he wanted to spend some alone time with her in the car?

Shin had no idea about Hitori Gotou's wild thoughts. He was driving simply because he hadn't driven in a while and was still enjoying the novelty of it.

Once he got tired of driving, he'd probably let the driver take over... though the Kiryu Group's driver was a burly guy, so Shin was considering having Tohru learn to drive instead.

In fact, if Hitori Gotou were already a Stand user, Shin might not even bother driving and would just teleport her home.

But given Hitori Gotou's current state, Shin felt that awakening her Stand might be too much for her to handle—her personality still needed some work.

To be continued…

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