They escaped.
But another problem arises.
What are you escaping for?
Skipping school?
Although Lucas has done this many times before, now that he's with someone, he can't just sneak off. He's also seen the wall surrounding the school—it's easy to climb.
But the problem is, Gotoh Hitori can't climb over it.
Lucas sighed silently in his heart.
"Gotoh-san, let's go back to class."
"The school term has just started. We can't skip school, right?"
Gotoh Hitori nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah."
"Then I'll go in."
Gotoh Hitori followed Lucas toward the classroom, her eyes always looking downward. As she walked, she couldn't help but bump into something.
Her body gradually lost balance, her center of gravity shifted, and with a clang, Gotoh Hitori fell heavily to the ground.
The boy she had just bumped into turned around at the sound.
"Are you okay?"
He trotted over.
Just as Lucas was about to speak to Gotoh Hitori, he turned and saw her on the ground. There was a boy standing next to her, seemingly about to reach out and offer his hand.
Seeing this, Lucas instantly lost his composure. He rushed over to Gotoh Hitori, shielding her behind him, and shot the boy a cold glare.
Then he turned around and smiled gently.
"Can you still stand up?"
"Y-Yes…"
Lucas quietly reached out and helped Gotoh Hitori to her feet.
"Are you her friend?"
The boy who had bumped into Gotoh Hitori remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
Lucas didn't respond. He simply took Gotoh Hitori's hand and led her away.
Only after leaving the area did Lucas drop the protective demeanor.
"Gotoh-san, why didn't you call me just now?"
"I… I…"
"Don't be nervous. Speak slowly."
Lucas scratched Gotoh Hitori's cheek lightly with his finger and smiled.
"I didn't want to embarrass you," she murmured.
"That's why I didn't call you…"
Lucas was slightly stunned by her words. The girl in front of him had been worried about him—even though they had only known each other for a few days!
"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying enough attention to you just now."
After saying that, Lucas slowly bent forward in a small bow.
"L-Lucas, you don't have to do that…"
Gotoh Hitori leaned forward in a panic and helped lift him up.
But someone was watching them from a distance.
"Lucas seems pretty humble in front of Gotoh-san. I have a feeling he'll be a henpecked husband in the future."
"Hey, don't say that! If I had a boyfriend like Lucas, I'd totally let him control me."
***
"By the way, Gotoh-san, do you have LINE?"
Lucas suddenly remembered.
"I do."
Gotoh Hitori responded subconsciously.
"Okay, let's add each other."
Lucas took out his phone, opened LINE, and showed her his ID.
"Ah?"
Gotoh Hitori's brain froze. She didn't expect Lucas to ask for her LINE.
"It's fine. I'm just adding you as a friend. I'll come find you tomorrow—I've got a day off."
"Find… find me?"
"Who else would I look for, if not you?"
Lucas waved his hands dismissively, feigning indifference.
"O-Okay…"
Gotoh Hitori also took out her phone, opened LINE, and added Lucas as a friend.
"Okay."
After saving the contact, Lucas slipped his phone back into his pocket.
At that moment, Gotoh Hitori was still thinking about what name to assign him in her contacts.
Lucas-san?
Bad boy?
Boyfriend?
No, no, no—absolutely not!
***
"Sis, come out for dinner."
A young girl with twintails brought the freshly prepared meal and placed it on the table, then turned around to call her sister.
"Oh, I see."
A voice came from the room.
Then there was the sound of someone coming down the stairs.
The sister with the dangling ahoge exhaled and walked downstairs tiredly.
The younger girl, Nijika Ijichi, looked at her sister helplessly and sat on a stool.
Her sister, Seika Ijichi, also sat down, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and put it in her mouth.
Suddenly, she remembered something.
"Nijika, I heard the guitarist from your band ran away?"
Nijika froze, her chopsticks suspended mid-air.
"Yes, sis…"
"I see."
Seika thought about it for a moment.
"Then just find a new guitarist."
"Ah?!"
Nijika looked at her sister in shock.
She really didn't expect her sister to say this. Even if she did try to find someone new, it would be too late—there were only two days left.
This really worried her.
After all, this was her dream.
However, Nijika wasn't the only one worrying about it.
***
"There's still 10,000 yen left…"
"I have to ask Gotoh-san out today, and that'll cost some money."
"It's really time to work…"
Lucas looked at the small amount left on PayPay and suddenly felt a little sad.
(Note: PayPay is a mobile payment app available in Japan.)
But that didn't change anything—working was his only proper option now.
He exited PayPay, opened LINE, and tapped the profile picture labeled "Nisekoi Girlfriend (Gotoh Hitori)."
Lucas: Gotoh-san, are you free now?
Lucas sent the message and then turned off the screen.
Suddenly, the phone vibrated.
He reopened it and saw "Read."
"..."
"She read it but didn't reply, huh? If this were QQ, I wouldn't be surprised. But this is Japan…"
Lucas knew about QQ because he was a mixed-race child—his father was Japanese, and his mother was Chinese.
"Ahhh, what should I reply?"
At that very moment, Gotoh Hitori was still panicking about what to do.
Two minutes later, she was still thinking about what to reply.
And Lucas kept staring at the word "Read."
"..."
"It's been a few minutes, and still no reply…"
"Looks like I should go find her."
Lucas was about to go grab his bike, but then remembered that he had rescued Gotoh Hitori that day and gone straight to school—he hadn't even thought about the bike on his way back.
At that moment, his eyelids twitched.
Damn memory.
Forget it—he'd just walk.
Lucas took a photo of the address and left the house.
However, just then, his phone rang.
He pulled it out, thinking it was Gotoh Hitori replying, but saw it was his mother calling instead.
"Hey, Lucas, do you have enough for living expenses?"
"It's enough. I'm having dinner with a friend later."
"Friend? Male or female?"
As soon as she asked that, Lucas froze for a moment.
He suddenly remembered that his mother found gossip really interesting, and since he was already sixteen and of age to fall in love, she was especially enthusiastic about this topic.
"Uh… female."
"Girlfriend or just a friend?"
"Just a friend."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Lucas Amaki felt something was wrong.
"A simple friend? Do you think I'd believe that, my dear son?"
Lucas felt like he was choking on something.
"Uh, cough, we really are just friends…"
"Oh, your girlfriend, right? Bring her to meet me when the semester ends. I'll send the living expenses to your account."
"Okay, I'm hanging up now—but remember, you must bring her to see me. If not, don't come back."
"? Mom…!"
Beep beep beep.
The phone call ended.
"You're such a good mother to me…!"
Lucas gripped the phone tightly, feeling a surge of frustration.
Since his mother had taken it seriously, there was no turning back now.
He stuffed the phone into his bag and began heading toward Gotoh Hitori's house.
***
"I've thought it through!"
Gotoh Hitori moved her fingers over the keyboard and typed the word "available."
But the next second, she backspaced it.
She didn't dare send it.
If Lucas knew this, he would definitely respond: "I'm already at your front door—just wait for me."
And in fact, he had already arrived at Gotoh Hitori's doorstep.
He rang the doorbell without hesitation.
Ding-dong.
"Who is it?" a woman's voice called from inside.
"Auntie, it's me—Lucas," he replied with a polite smile.
"Oh, Lucas!" Gotoh's mother opened the door and welcomed him warmly. "Come on in!"
"Thank you for having me," Lucas said as he stepped in, taking off his shoes at the entryway.
"Lucas, what brings you to our house today?" she asked curiously.
"Well… I promised Gotoh—Hitori I'd come see her today."
Lucas nearly bit his tongue trying not to sound too eager.
Now he was struggling with another dilemma:
Should he tell Gotoh's family that his mother wanted to meet Hitori?
If he said it out loud, they might think things were getting too serious between them—after all, they weren't even really in a relationship.
In fact, there wasn't even a love plot yet.
But if he didn't say anything, he might not be allowed back home in China.
This was getting complicated.
Gotoh's mother looked at Lucas carefully, noting the conflicted expression on his face.
"Lucas, is there something on your mind?" she asked gently.
"Y-Yeah… My mom said she wants to meet Hitori before the end of the semester."
The words just… slipped out.
And as soon as they did, he slapped a hand over his mouth.
What the hell did I just say?!
He slowly lifted his eyes to meet Gotoh's mother's.
"Is that true?" she asked with a smile.
"R-Really… it's true," Lucas stammered.
"When and where would we meet?"
"???"
Lucas was stunned.
This isn't the reaction I expected…
Is Gotoh-san's mom really that worried about her daughter not getting married?
He sighed inwardly for Hitori's sake.
"She's in China, so she'll probably come here herself," Lucas said.
"China?" Gotoh's mother looked surprised.
"Oh—sorry, Auntie, I forgot to mention… I'm half Chinese. My mom is Chinese, and my dad is Japanese."
"Ahh, I see," she nodded with a knowing smile.
"Lucas, I really hope you'll take Hitori to visit China one day."
"Eh?"
Lucas blinked.
"Auntie, I'd love to, but your husband is probably busy, and Hitori's still young…"
He trailed off, then added awkwardly, "Besides, I don't even speak Chinese…"
Wait. My mom speaks Japanese!
"It's okay, Lucas."
"Actually, Auntie—my mom can speak Japanese, so there won't be a language barrier."
Just then, Lucas's phone rang.
He had a bad feeling and slowly pulled it from his bag.
It was his mom.
With a deep breath, he answered.
"Hey, Mom… what's up?"
"Nothing, just checking in—did you go out with that girl yet?"
"Not yet…"
"Not yet?! You're a grown man and still moving slow with a little girl?!"
"W-Wait, Mom, please give me a break. I'm at her house right now!"
"Oh! My dear son! Hand her the phone, please."
Her tone softened dramatically.
Lucas nearly collapsed from embarrassment.
"She's not here right now… her mother is."
"Oh my god, son, you're already meeting the mother-in-law?! Give her the phone—I want to chat."
"..."
You are such a good mother to me…
Lucas forced a smile and turned to Gotoh's mother.
"Auntie, my mom wants to speak with you."
He switched back to Japanese, as their previous conversation had been in Chinese—and Gotoh's mother had respectfully stayed quiet during it.
"Sure," she said, taking the phone without hesitation.
The two mothers began chatting.
Lucas didn't want to know what they were talking about.
He had bigger problems—like the fact that Gotoh still hadn't replied to his message.
It still said "Read."
So, he went upstairs.
There were several rooms, but his years of anime-watching had trained his senses.
One room had a faint hum of death metal music from behind the door.
No need to ask.
He walked straight to it and opened the door without knocking.
"Gotoh, I—"
The door swung fully open—and there was Gotoh Hitori, halfway through changing into a different tracksuit.
Her pale skin was exposed with barely anything covering her.
When she saw the door open, she screamed and scrambled to cover herself.
"A-An… Lucas… you…!"
Lucas instantly slammed the door shut.