Monday morning. At the subway station entrance.
Luo Shu followed behind Kasumigaoka Utaha, carrying a plastic bag filled with items she had just bought—two train tickets and a 220-yen rice ball from the convenience store. The bag also held a 1,080-yen pork cutlet bento, two 170-yen bottles of fresh milk, and a 220-yen tuna salad. The salad and one bottle of milk were, in fact, Utaha's lunch.
"For someone actually looking forward to breakfast and lunch bentos... I must be too optimistic," Luo Shu commented dryly.
Utaha, walking ahead of him, glanced over her shoulder with a faint smile. "Please don't harbour unrealistic expectations about the culinary skills of modern Japanese women."
"But doesn't your school have home economics classes?" Luo Shu muttered a weak protest.
Utaha turned her back to him, the bag dangling from her shoulder swinging slightly. "Skipping class is a top student's privilege, senpai."
"..." Luo Shu was left speechless, deeply questioning the state of Japan's education system as he followed her onto the subway.
Their destination was Toyosaki Academy, a well-known private high school in Chiyoda Ward. The commute took about thirty minutes by train, plus fifteen minutes on foot. Thanks to Japan's early 8:30 AM start time, their 7:00 AM departure left them with ample time.
That said, as Luo Shu stared at the near-capacity crowd behind the train's glass doors before boarding, he couldn't help but marvel at how bustling Tokyo was. Without a word, he stepped forward, overtaking Utaha and moving ahead of her.
Utaha looked briefly confused at being cut in line—until Luo Shu squeezed into the train and secured a single spot by the window. Then she understood.
"Protecting a girl you've known for less than twenty-four hours... senpai, there's definitely something wrong with you," she said, her eyes amused as she leaned against the wall inside the train.
Luo Shu let out a tired sigh. Of course, she was retaliating for his remark last night about her being too quick to trust others.
"If you just wanted to get felt up by some creeps, you could've said so."
Smirking, Utaha teased, "Compared to the men who are desperately clutching the handrails with both hands, I think you're actually more dangerous."
Luo Shu glanced around, confused by her comment. Sure enough, every man in the car had both hands raised, grasping the overhead bars. Some middle-aged, balding men were even biting down on their briefcases to free up their hands—carefully keeping their distance from any nearby women.
"Wait... what?" Luo Shu stared, dumbfounded. Wasn't Japan supposed to have a whole 'train molester' problem? This didn't match the stereotype at all.
Utaha's voice drifted softly to his ear, "If a girl yells 'molester' in a train, the police automatically assume the man's guilty, you know."
As she spoke, her fingertip suddenly brushed lightly across Luo Shu's wrist.
The unexpected contact left Luo Shu frozen, his expression slowly going blank.
But before he could fully react, Utaha changed the subject. "Want my phone?"
He blinked in confusion as she handed him her smartphone.
"If you update your nickname in Line to something more... intimate," she said sweetly, "even if the police take you away, you might still be able to explain your way out."
"Huh?" Luo Shu stared at the screen, seeing the contact name at the top labelled plainly as "Luo Shu." Baffled, he glanced up at her. "Miss Utaha... did you hit your head getting out of bed this morning?"
"No," she replied calmly, "I just wanted you to look to your right."
Luo Shu turned his head—and sure enough, spotted a girl in a Toyosaki uniform in the next train car holding up her phone, its camera pointed squarely at them.
As Luo Shu looked, the white light of the flash activated. Right. In Japan, phone cameras were legally required to make noise or show a flash when taking photos.
His brows furrowed as he realized the implications.
Utaha spoke evenly, "That girl's probably thinking, 'Great, something to talk about with my friends today.'"
"You used your newly awakened mind-reading ability?" Luo Shu asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," she said, massaging her temple, her tone slightly weary. "I just tested out 'mind reading' a bit. For now, I can maintain it for about three minutes, but it passively picks up nearby thoughts. To target someone specific, I need a visual lock."
She paused, giving him a sideways glance. "By the way, it doesn't work on you. So, you don't need to worry."
Luo Shu let out a breath of relief, then chuckled wryly. "But still, are we just going to let that girl take secret photos like that?"
"It's just gossip," Utaha said with her eyes closed, leaning back to ease the strain of using her power. "Worst-case scenario, rumours about us being together will spread at school."
Then, she added nonchalantly, "Of course, if you don't mind the attention, I don't mind pretending to be your girlfriend."
"It's only been one day..." Luo Shu mumbled but took her phone anyway. He added a heart emoji to his contact name in her Line app and handed it back. "So, how exactly are you planning to get Eriri Spencer Sawamura to come out and meet us?"
"I've got something prepared," Utaha replied with a sly smile. "For someone like Sawamura, who's always cutting it close for class, this should be more than enough."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a white envelope.
Seeing it, Luo Shu's expression turned a bit strange.
———
Toyosaki Academy, first floor of the classroom building.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura, having pedalled her bike at full speed, finally skidded to a stop and rushed inside. With toast in her mouth and her bag in hand, she bolted through the hallways toward the shoe lockers for indoor shoes.
Clack! She yanked open the locker door, grabbed her shoes—and paused.
A white envelope fell out along with them.
Staring at it, Eriri sighed in exasperation. "Another love letter..."