Chapter 52: Boyfriend

After resting at home for only two days, the three of them were back at school.

According to Maeda, many citizens had already heard about the existence of the Tokyo Ripper. After confirming that the Ripper was dead, the police intentionally leaked the news to calm people's fears.

No one knew that Masashi and his friends were the primary victims of the case. As for their several days of absences, they simply wrote down "urgent family matters" as the reason.

It was as if nothing had happened, and Masashi had become a transparent figure in class again. After the previous theft incident, no one dared to talk to him. Similarly, Masashi had no interest in talking to them. If there was a generation gap between adults and teenagers, the gap between Masashi and these kids was like the Mariana Trench. Thus, he enjoyed the peace and quiet, reading random books or napping during class, and when he felt bored, he would shamelessly skip class. His audacity shocked both the teachers and students, but no one could do anything about it.

In a café with light music playing, the sound of a bell rang when the door opened.

"Hello, welcome. How many of you?" The waitress, wearing a knee-length skirt, greeted the new customers with a bow and a smile.

"I'm meeting someone. I'll find them myself," Masashi replied.

"Please make yourself comfortable, and let us know if you need anything," she said.

"Thank you."

Masashi scanned the room and saw Hasegawa Aiko standing up and waving at him from a distance. She was sitting next to three girls.

"You're late," Aiko pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Little brat, don't be unreasonable. You asked me to get here in five minutes. Do you think I'm some superhero who wears underwear on the outside and flies around all day?" Masashi nodded at the three girls. He recognized them as Aiko's classmates from the last time they met. One of them, Aikura Ai, was there as well.

"Hello, Gennai-kun," Aikura Ai said shyly after the other two girls greeted Masashi.

"Ai, are you close with this guy?" Aiko asked curiously.

"Not really, we just ran into each other on the street once. So, what's up? Why are you looking for me?" Masashi said before Ai could finish her sentence.

"Can't I talk to you without any reason? Let's order something first," Aiko smiled sweetly.

Masashi waved his hand, summoning the waitress back.

"Hello, what would you like to order?" the waitress asked politely.

"I'll have a cappuccino." [This was said in English.]

"Sorry, could you say that again?" the waitress blushed deeply.

Masashi smiled. "You must be new, right? Cappuccino is just cappuccino coffee."

"Sorry, I'll bring it right away!" The waitress, almost as if she were about to faint, rushed off.

"Hmph, acting all prim and proper," Aiko sneered.

"Is that how you ask for help?" Masashi grinned.

"Who's asking for your help?" Aiko replied.

"Sure, whatever. I'm not buying your story about just wanting to catch up. If you need something, just say it."

Aiko looked at him with a strange expression for a moment, then turned to the other three girls. "Do you really think this guy is up to it? The more I look at him, the more I don't like him."

"Aiko, you shouldn't say that," Murashima Mami glared at her.

"Well, it's true. This guy doesn't look reliable at all. If it weren't for you guys..." Before she could finish, another girl covered her mouth.

"Sorry, Gennai-kun, Aiko didn't mean it that way. Please don't misunderstand," Mami said with a forced smile.

Masashi acted as though he hadn't heard anything and casually took a sip of his coffee before saying, "If you're not going to talk, I'm leaving."

"Gennai-kun, I'd like to ask, how tall are you?" Kogure Ryoko asked.

"I'm not sure, I've never measured," Masashi replied.

"You must have measured during the school's annual physical checkup, right?" Aiko pulled Mami's hand away and glared at his face.

"Maybe about 173 cm," Masashi thought for a moment before answering. Since his reincarnation, Masashi had been exercising far beyond normal levels, so his height had increased by almost 15 cm.

"That's great! You should be qualified then. Aiko, don't even think about it, it's him!" Mami clapped her hands excitedly.

"Fine, whatever. I don't know anyone else anyway," Aiko said, looking aggrieved.

Masashi put down his coffee cup. "Can you tell me what's going on?" He felt like he was being forced into a role like a slave in some story, and the buyer wasn't even enthusiastic.

The four girls exchanged glances, and through silent voting, Mami was unfortunately chosen to speak.

She cleared her throat and said softly, "Gennai-kun, Aiko wants to ask you to be her boyfriend."

Before Masashi could react, Aiko loudly interjected, "Please, speak clearly! I didn't ask him to be my boyfriend, I just need him to pretend for a while. You heard me, I mean it, I need him to temporarily pretend to be my boyfriend. Don't get it twisted, it's just temporary! Wait, listen to me before you drink, okay?"

"I refuse," Masashi said, finishing his last sip of coffee.

"What? You refuse? Why?" Aiko stared at him in disbelief.

"Because it's boring."

"Boring? You think this is boring? You tell me, what's so boring about it?" Aiko almost exploded with anger.

"Let me guess, there's a boy at school who's been chasing you hard. Even though you rejected him, he didn't give up, so you told him you already had a boyfriend. You did this to make him give up. But he didn't believe you and said he needed to meet your so-called boyfriend. So, you're asking someone to pretend to be your boyfriend to get him to stop. Unfortunately, I've been chosen, or rather, I've been picked by your classmates to play this ridiculous role. Am I right?" Masashi leaned back in his chair, looking at her.

"How did you know?" Aiko and the others stared at him in disbelief.

"Because that's how all those cheesy drama scripts are written."

"Anyway, Gennai Masashi, are you really going to stand by and do nothing?" Aiko pointed at him, raising her voice.

Masashi couldn't help but laugh.

"Dammit, you're laughing? If you laugh again, I won't be so nice!" Aiko trembled with rage.

"Actually, having multiple suitors isn't that bad. At least you get free breakfast every day," Masashi said with a grin.

"Such a jerk. Fine, if you won't help, I'll find someone else!" Aiko stood up angrily.

Mami hurriedly pulled her back into her seat, patting her shoulder to calm her down. Then, turning to Masashi, she said, "Gennai-kun, we're serious about asking for your help. The boy chasing Aiko has a very strong possessive streak. He even told people that anyone who tries to compete with him for Aiko will regret it. We investigated him and found that when he was in middle school, he liked a girl, but she rejected him. Just two days later, something happened to that girl."

"What happened?" Masashi asked.

"She was raped by several thugs on her way home," Mami said after a brief pause.

"Later, the police brought that boy in for questioning, but they had to release him because there wasn't enough evidence. Although we can't be sure he's involved, don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"

"That's why we're asking you to help Aiko. We're very serious." Mami bowed to him.

Masashi thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, I'll play the part of the temporary actor for free." He was moved by Mami's sincere gaze.

"Thank you so much, Gennai-kun!" The three girls, except for Aiko, looked genuinely happy.

"Hey, little brat, stop looking like I owe you millions. Let's go over the details," Masashi said.

"Jerk," Aiko said, her mood visibly improving after Masashi agreed to help.