Actually Not Bad

Yuu initially thought an adult like Haruno should have a basic sense of punctuality.

But he didn't expect that not only would she be fifteen minutes late without any notice, she also didn't read or reply to his messages, as if she intended to cancel their appointment.

Although his grandmother once said that during a date, women might deliberately show up half an hour late…

Wait, his grandmother never said that.

"Five more minutes."

In the swirling heat of the streets, with buildings seemingly melting, strange thoughts easily crept in.

Yuu sipped the last of his nearly empty water bottle, staring at his phone's clock, his toes unconsciously tapping the sidewalk in restlessness.

If she had a sudden urgent matter, Yuu could understand, but he wouldn't risk heatstroke by standing outside too long. This was also Sobu High's fault—the school gate had no shade, and the sun's heat was worse than the day he handed out flyers.

Someone who could wait over half an hour in this scorching sun was either truly in love or a fool.

Though Yuu had a strong "work ethic" he wasn't honest to the point of "if you don't tell me to leave, I won't go." He always found ways to adapt.

The question was, would Haruno be half an hour late, an hour, or not show up all morning?

If he waited until night before heading home, could he get a reward from her?

Or should he bet that she was cold-hearted, indifferent to his loyal waiting, and take responsibility for waiting another hour before leaving?

Smart way, foolish way—Yuu had to consider how to maximize his gains. A little adaptation held so much "knowledge," making the wait slightly less boring.

"Beeep! Beeep!"

Two short honks snapped him out of it.

A sleek black sedan, looking like it belonged to someone wealthy, stopped in front of him. The window rolled down, revealing Haruno's beautiful, mature face.

"Get in." She gestured to the front passenger seat.

Finally here… Setting aside his odd "theories", Yuu couldn't help but sigh in relief.

He was desperate to escape the 35-degree hell outside.

Without much talk, Yuu got into the car. The strong AC began drying the sweat on his body, the cool sensation tempting him to groan.

As soon as the door closed, an unopened can of cold water was handed to him from the side.

"Sorry, I got caught up handling some business and had no time to rest."

"Business?"

While taking the water, Yuu glanced at her.

Perhaps with no time to change, Haruno wore a neat women's suit, its fitted design accentuating her chest's curves like majestic mountains. The seatbelt pressed between them, creating a deep valley, further highlighting the peaks of those "mountains."

Her face showed slight fatigue, her eyes staring straight ahead blankly, lips pursed as if too lazy to entertain. Gone was her usual cheerful, all-purpose smile, replaced by an increasingly cold and indifferent aura.

Was this Haruno's true self, hidden behind her mask? Yuu couldn't be sure, and she clearly wouldn't give him a straight answer.

"Hard work."

Not intending to pry further, he offered casual encouragement.

Perhaps sensing the lack of sincerity in his words, Haruno didn't respond, and the system stayed silent.

Her high heels pressed the accelerator, and the car moved forward slowly.

Yuu had finished half his water by the time he fastened his seatbelt.

"I saw all your messages but didn't have time to open them."

The car was quiet for a moment before Haruno broke the silence with a slight sigh. While watching the road, she said slowly:

"I thought you'd call, so I could answer while driving."

"Didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't." Guessing Haruno was busy, Yuu naturally wouldn't call recklessly.

He remembered an exam in the past when he forgot to silence his phone, and someone called—the panic from that moment was something he never wanted to relive.

Don't do to others what you don't want done to you.

The atmosphere lightened a bit, and Haruno spoke as if teaching a lesson: "As a boyfriend, if you find out your girlfriend is suddenly unreachable, you should call right away to check on her safety. Not doing that means you don't care about me, and if you don't care, that's your fault, got it?"

Her words made Yuu look at her with a strange expression.

"You're really blaming me for this?"

"Pfft, wrong answer! Arguing with your girlfriend is just asking for trouble. Nobody likes a troublemaker—you could lose your job like this."

Yuu smirked slightly, lazily looking away, letting the AC cool the heat in his body.

"Fine, I guess I can't count those twenty minutes with you. To keep my job, I'll do better next time."

"…Pfft."

Her shoulders shook twice, and Haruno couldn't help but slap the steering wheel and laugh.

"Pffft hahaha! I finally get why you became a rent-a-boyfriend…"

"No matter how handsome, with a personality like that, you definitely can't get a girlfriend, right? So you decided to rent yourself out, enjoying the feeling of dating women while making money… Hmm, truly a win-win business!"

"Huuu~ Didn't expect you to have a business brain, Yuu-chan."

Sentence after sentence, like a mudslide breaching a dam.

Her crisp, melodious laughter and familiar tone mercilessly mocked him without restraint.

Her sharp sarcasm and reckless taunts seemed to vent her emotions onto Yuu, heedless of whether it might hurt him.

Yet strangely, Haruno's face bore a happy smile, like winter sunlight.

(What an annoying person.)

Yuu thought so but had no intention of being her emotional punching bag, retorting immediately:

"If you want to think that way, fine by me, but at least I have a choice."

The one without a choice was Haruno. Though her life seemed dazzling, she was like a canary with one wing out of the cage, only able to vent her dark emotions on a paid rent-a-boyfriend.

After this, she might have to face an "extraordinary" life she didn't want at all.

Because of that, no matter how sharp her tone, Yuu wouldn't get mad. The more he understood Haruno, the more he pitied her.

Haruno once said: "Use the time you have to enjoy the feeling of falling in love."

Those resigned, bitter words would be hard for Yuu to forget for a long time.

*SCREECH—*

The brakes were suddenly pressed, the car jerking to a stop by the roadside. Haruno tilted her head, smiling softly at him as he nearly hit the windshield.

"Yuu-chan, talk like that, and your only client might give you a bad review, you know?"

Her gaze was genuinely cold and piercing, as if she'd draw a sword and slash him in the next second.

Clearly, Yuu had stepped on a landmine.

But he understood—at times like this, he couldn't be polite with her.

"A bad review's just a bad review. I can live hauling bricks; I don't rely on this to eat."

Leaning back in his seat, he chugged the rest of his water, saying casually:

"Sorry, you got a rent-a-boyfriend who can't flirt or be toyed with at will. For further complaints, check the official website."

Finished speaking, Yuu, without looking at Haruno's expression, pulled the door handle to get out.

"To avoid becoming a crash victim with you, I'm heading home… Thanks for the water and AC."

*CLICK!*

The door locked. Yuu turned, his resigned look asking what she really wanted.

Haruno stared at him expressionlessly for a few seconds, as if judging, reflecting, or thinking how to slash him without too much blood.

After a moment.

"…Haaa, in this day and age, it's not just hard to fall in love freely—even renting a boyfriend for a relationship is tough."

As if realizing some new sadness, Haruno curled her lips, sighing with a sorrowful expression.

"Imagining the week ahead, forget sweet words—I'll have to endure verbal abuse from my 'boyfriend.' I… I…"

"What?" Yuu was too lazy to argue about verbal abuse with her, considering she was the talkative one.

"I feel… it's actually not bad!"

Haruno smiled brightly again, but her eyes no longer held coldness, like a puddle after melting snow, reflecting the warm golden light of dawn.

"Come to think of it, maybe this kind of interaction suits me better?"

"What are sweet words? Meaningless, insincere nonsense. If I heard that stuff, I'd probably dump you in less than a week."

Releasing the brake and stepping on the gas, Haruno said casually, the black sedan cruising down the stretching road.

"So, the bad review's on hold for now—hahaha, the money's already spent, I won't let you go that easily, Yuu-chan~"

Hearing that nickname, Yuu couldn't hold back a grimace of slight disgust.

But at that moment, a notification popped up in his mind:

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, host has received a reward: …]