Chapter 26: Changes After Falling in Love
"Ren, is this bastard you?"
The next day, Ren arrived at school early. As soon as he sat down at his desk, Gabriel from the front row held up her phone with an unfriendly expression and questioned him. The screen showed the playback interface of "Lemon."
"It's me. Is there a problem?"
Seeing that Gabriel didn't seem like she had become his fan, Ren asked with some confusion.
"How much money did you spend on promotions? I clicked 'block' but it still keeps recommending it to me. It's really annoying, you know?"
"But it sounds good, so I'll forgive you."
Gabriel complained in frustration. Under the influence of money and algorithmic push, Ren's video had been recommended to nearly every user's homepage. Even Gabriel, who was always gaming, had come across it.
As a result, the video's view count surged from millions to tens of millions, and breaking a hundred million was just a matter of time. Even after a higher-quality online version was released later, many people would still watch this classic version.
Ren's followers also rapidly grew from zero to two hundred thousand. The efficiency was quite high, which would help him continue releasing songs in the future.
Afterward, Ren chatted idly with Gabriel while waiting for Hitori to arrive at school.
Unfortunately, they didn't take the same route home, otherwise Ren could have waited for Hitori at some intersection and walked to school together.
A while later, Hitori entered the classroom carrying the guitar Ren had given her. When her eyes met Ren's, she shyly looked down, her cheeks slightly flushed, and slowly walked to the adjacent desk to sit down.
"Good morning, Bocchi-chan."
They had already exchanged messages after waking up in the morning, but speaking in person felt different from online. Seeing Hitori's shy expression, Ren smiled slightly and greeted her.
"Good morning, Ren."
Hitori, who became extremely shy upon seeing Ren, mustered her courage to respond but didn't dare look at him. She just gripped her tracksuit with both hands, occasionally stealing glances at him.
"Something's strange."
The atmosphere between them was different from usual, and Gabriel keenly noticed this. Before, Hitori was afraid, but now she was shy.
It had only been one weekend—were they dating now?
Considering Hitori's personality, Ren didn't act too intimate with her in the classroom. Everything seemed normal during classes until lunch break arrived.
During lunch break, Ren and Hitori went to her little happy space.
"Bocchi-chan, you understand what I meant by what I said last night, right?"
Since he had been somewhat reserved last night, Ren was worried Hitori might think he was just making references or joking, so he wanted to confirm things.
"I know..."
As she spoke, Hitori's face turned even redder. She had woken up smiling this morning. After Ren's confession, rejection wasn't even an option in her mind. When she slept at night, she even dreamed about giving birth to twins for Ren and being supported by him for life without having to work.
"Then we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. Please take care of me from now on."
Seeing that Hitori hadn't misunderstood him, Ren breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, then took Hitori's hand.
"I should be the one saying that..."
After her hand was held, Hitori felt somewhat shy and tried to pull away slightly.
But this subconscious movement was stopped by Ren. He held Hitori's small hand—soft and tender, yet with calluses inevitably formed from practicing guitar almost daily, making it feel hard and rough to the touch.
These calluses were proof of Hitori's efforts. She had once taken pride in them, but now, for some reason, she felt inexplicably self-conscious.
Because they didn't feel pleasant to touch, unlike the hands of a typical pretty girl.
Normally, completely removing calluses would be difficult for Hitori, who preferred playing guitar without a pick after getting into it. But Ren had an unconventional solution.
[Detected imperfections on the host's partner's body. Optimization and blessings have been applied. No need to worry about such issues in the future.]
[Detected that the host has progressed from a leisurely, laid-back life to having a romantic partner. Relationship funds have been disbursed, totaling one billion yen. May the host never be troubled by dating expenses.]
And so, a miracle occurred. Hitori's hands returned to their original soft and tender state. She was already much fairer than the average girl, and her lack of exercise aside from playing guitar made her skin even softer. With the calluses gone, her hands felt as supple as if they were boneless.
Yet, Hitori stiffened like wood from such intimacy. Still, she didn't refuse, only shyly endured everything, gradually relaxing as she grew accustomed to it.
She even began secretly touching him back, her fingers continuously caressing Ren's fingers, sensing the firmness and health that differed from her own.
"Ah, right, Ren, here's your lunch bento."
After giggling uncontrollably for a while from the touching, Hitori caught sight of the backpack she had brought and remembered something else.
While secretly observing Ren, she had noticed that he didn't have the habit of bringing a bento. So, she had asked her mother to make an extra portion for him when preparing bentos.
"Oh? Thank you. Eating bread all the time does get tiresome."
Ren hadn't really thought about this. As long as his health wasn't at risk, his lunches were quite casual, and he had nearly tried every flavor of bread available during this period.
"I'm glad I could help."
Hitori said as she took out the bento, feeling a little happy inside. She, too, could be of help to Ren.
Although Michiyo's cooking skills weren't as good as Ren's, there was no doubt that free food always tasted the best.
Opening the bento and seeing the fried shrimp inside, Ren picked one up and held it out in front of Hitori's mouth.
"Huh?"
"Open your mouth."
Ren chuckled softly after Hitori froze for a moment. This was also a way to make up for some regrets he had never experienced before.
"Mmm..."
The blush of embarrassment never faded from Hitori's face. Red-cheeked, she opened her mouth and accepted Ren's feeding, then giggled foolishly after swallowing.
Ren didn't feed her too much, simply sitting beside Hitori to share lunch with her. Although they were hiding under the dimly lit staircase, the warmth they felt was no different from being out on the field.
After lunch, Hitori didn't plan to play the guitar. Recalling the methods her mother had taught her, she hesitated for a moment before mustering the courage to look at Ren:
"Ren, are you going to take a nap? I-I can give you a lap pillow."
"A lap pillow?"
Ren wasn't particularly sleepy, but he still glanced at the pants Hitori wore beneath her school skirt. Even after starting a relationship, Hitori's fashion sense remained unchanged.
"I can take them off..."
Following Ren's gaze downward and noticing her own athletic pants, Hitori felt somewhat embarrassed. Yet wearing them gave her a strong sense of security, a habit she couldn't break easily.
However, in this little corner, she could remove the athletic pants.
"Then please do."
Having never experienced a lap pillow before, Ren didn't refuse. Hearing this, Hitori shyly took off her athletic pants, revealing plump, ivory-white thighs beneath. They weren't particularly long, but they were pale, soft, and tender-looking.
"Please..."
After removing the athletic pants, Hitori knelt on the floor and closed her eyes.
"Bocchi-chan, take off your jacket too."
Truthfully, Hitori didn't need much styling. Simply shedding her outdated athletic wear, even if she only wore her school uniform, made her a one-in-a-million beauty. Now that her pants were off, there was no need to keep the jacket.
"Okay..."
Hitori thought to herself that this was a corner under the stairs, with only the two of them, so she felt less afraid and finally took off her jacket as well.
Now she no longer looked frumpy but rather like a typical high school girl.
Seeing this, Ren lay down on Hitori's thighs. To be honest, it wasn't as comfortable as lying on a pillow, but these were the soft thighs of a beautiful girl. Breathing in Hitori's scent, which wasn't as fragrant as he had imagined, still helped him relax mentally.
Ren wasn't sleepy and couldn't see Hitori's full face. Without the concealment of her athletic wear, Hitori still habitually hunched over, causing her ample chest to nearly hang over Ren's face.
He felt that lying there any longer might provoke a reaction.
After resting for a while, savoring the softness and faint fragrance of the girl's skin, and opening his eyes to see the generous chest, Ren silently sat up.
Hitori was completely unaware of how attractive her figure was, still wearing a blissful, silly smile on her face. She was happy to provide a lap pillow for Ren and had already decided to bathe more often to rid herself of the musty smell that seemed ingrained in her bones.
"Bocchi-chan, have you ever thought about trimming your bangs a little?"
To distract himself from fantasizing about Hitori's chest, Ren reached out and lifted Hitori's bangs, meeting her clear, azure eyes. Hitori was truly beautiful, but her bangs were too long.
Ren hoped she could make some changes—not too many, just trimming her bangs a little. With such a pretty girlfriend, he naturally wanted to see more of her.
"If you want me to, Ren."
Hitori felt conflicted about this topic. Her bangs were another one of her protective shields, but now that she had Ren, it didn't matter if she trimmed them a little, as long as she avoided making eye contact with others.
"Then I'll order a hair clipper."
Ren never considered taking Hitori to a hair salon for a haircut. He was afraid she might meltdown from encountering strangers, which would affect efficiency, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Even with zero prior experience, he figured the system would provide what he needed. The moment the thought of cutting Hitori's hair crossed his mind, the system automatically imparted hair-cutting skills to him, instantly turning him into a master stylist.
As lunch break was about to end, Hitori put her tracksuit back on. She still didn't dare to wear just her school uniform in the classroom—to her, it probably felt similar to streaking, and forcing the issue was out of the question.
Soon, it was after school. The moment they left campus, Ren took Hitori's hand. Today, Hitori was heading to Starry for band practice, and Ren, with nothing better to do, decided to kill time there.
When Ijichi Nijika and Ryo Yamada saw them holding hands, they didn't need to guess—it was clear Ren had succeeded. They gave him thumbs-up, and when Hitori brought out the guitar Ren had gifted her, they even put in a good word for him.
Finally, Ren walked Hitori home. Having a girlfriend made him realize something he hadn't paid much attention to before: getting around was a hassle.
Whether by train, taxi, or on foot, it was all inconvenient.
But he was only sixteen. Though he knew how to drive, he couldn't get a license.
[Resolved]
Without Ren even needing to remind it, the system bypassed the age restriction for him—his driver's license was already in his pocket.
As for the car, since he was still a student, showing off wouldn't be appropriate. There was no need to buy a luxury vehicle even if he had the money; keeping a low profile is always wise.
So, Ren simply bought a Volkswagen Touareg 2.0 TSI R-Line. It's an SUV, not a sports car, and it's a Volkswagen—hardly looks expensive, right?