Tokyo: Love Begins with Controlling the Rich Girl

This is the first time the young lady has said thank you.

“Although I was deceived, Mr. Thug showed me the truth.” Yukine Kamishiro’s voice remained calm, but Sho Shimada could still detect a hint of seriousness in it. “That’s good.”

Shimada Sho was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

"Okay, fine, as long as you accept it."

He paused, then added, "But the task isn't finished yet. Next, I need to help you find a real friend."

"True friends?"

"Yes, they're not after your money, but the kind of friend who truly cares about you and protects you."

Yukine seemed to think for a moment before asking, "Isn't Mr. Thug my friend?"

“Me?” Shimada Sho’s lips twitched. “I’m just a substitute player, I don’t count.”

"Fighting on behalf of others?"

"I'm just someone who's temporarily borrowing your body," Shimada Sho explained casually. "I'll leave once your wishes are mostly fulfilled."

The voice in my mind fell silent.

Shimada Sho didn't pay any attention and continued walking forward.

“Mr. Thug, you just protected me.”

In my mind, Yukine Kamishiro's voice came again.

Shimada Sho pursed his lips, "Your body is mine now, of course I have to protect it."

“No,” Yukine Kamishiro said, “you are protecting me, not this body.”

Shimada Sho was taken aback.

"so……"

The voice in my head paused for a moment before saying firmly, "Mr. Thug is my friend."

Shimada Sho opened his mouth, but suddenly didn't know how to answer.

Ahead, a huge landscape stone engraved with the words "Sacred Heart Women's Academy" comes into view.

The school gate was right there on one side. He strode in with a flourish, saying casually, "Think what you want."

Chapter Nine: Another Me in the World

In the afternoon, sunlight filters through the ginkgo leaves on the campus of Sacred Heart Women's College, casting dappled shadows.

As Shimada Sho walked back to the classroom in the body of Kamishiro Yukine, the words "Mr. Thug is my friend" still echoed in his mind.

Although she spoke very seriously, as if she had already accepted him as her friend.

However, the system has not yet displayed any notification indicating that the task is complete.

Therefore, the friend whom the young lady unilaterally identifies should not meet the criteria.

To complete the mission, we still need to find a real friend for Yukine Kamishiro in the real world.

He went straight back to Yukine Kamishiro's seat and sat down, his gaze sweeping across the classroom.

Because the lunch break hadn't ended yet, most of the students who had gone out hadn't returned.

There were very few people in the classroom, only a dozen or so girls.

Shimada Sho's gaze fell on a long-haired girl to his left.

Before she could even observe, Yukine Kamishiro's voice echoed in her mind: "If we define it according to the standard Mr. Thug mentioned earlier, then Nodera Madoka probably wouldn't qualify."

"why?"

Yukine Kamishiro replied, "She and Reiko are friends."

“Alright.” Shimada Sho’s face darkened, and he gave up on his plan to investigate further. “Birds of a feather flock together, so let’s forget about this one.”

Looking further to the right, there was a girl catching up on sleep, her head resting on her arm, fast asleep.

What about that one?

"I don't know her name, and I've never seen her awake." Yukine Kamishiro's voice sounded troubled.

Shimada Sho: "...Never mind."

Continue scanning.

In the second-to-last row by the window, two girls huddled together looking at their phones, occasionally letting out suppressed laughter.

"they?"

“We often played together,” Yukine Kamishiro recalled, “but she never spoke to me.”

Shimada Sho looked at it for a few seconds and then gave up.

Those small circles have already formed, making it difficult for outsiders to integrate.

Moreover, someone as aloof as Yukine Kamishiro would only make the atmosphere awkward if she got too close.

My gaze continued to move, passing over groups of two or three chatting together, over people listening to music alone, over people touching up their makeup in front of the mirror...

After looking around, Shimada Sho frowned.

It's either flawed or unsuitable.

They're either the kind of people who avoid Yukine Kamishiro, or the kind who are outwardly respectful but inwardly distant.

There wasn't a single person who could truly treat others as equals and with sincerity.

"Mr. Thug?" Yukine Kamishiro's voice rang out, tinged with doubt. "Is it difficult?"

"A little," Shimada Sho honestly admitted.

This young lady's identity is too special.

The only daughter of a chaebol is pampered from childhood, and ordinary people dare not approach her. Those who do approach her are mostly after her money.

Finding a true friend is indeed not easy.

As he was thinking, his gaze inadvertently swept to the window seat on his right and he noticed a girl sitting there.

Her hair was tied in a neat ponytail, revealing a smooth forehead, and her profile was soft and clean.

She was writing something with her head down, and her pen-holding posture was exceptionally standard.

She occasionally paused to think, and when she looked up, her fair and delicate features were revealed.

Her appearance is pleasing to the eye; she's not the type to be stunning at first glance, but the more you look at her, the more comfortable you feel.

The girl was dressed simply, without makeup or jewelry.

His school uniform was faded from washing, but it was ironed neatly and paired with the signature bow tie, making him look meticulous.

It was lunch break, and everyone around was chatting, playing on their phones, or catching up on sleep.

She was the only one quietly writing.

It was as if the hustle and bustle around her had nothing to do with her.

"Who is that girl?" Shimada Sho asked silently.

A voice echoed in her mind: "It sounds like Nozomi Sasaki."

"It seems..." Shimada Sho was both amused and exasperated, then asked, "Do you know what kind of person she is?"

"She's really good at studying." Yukine Kamishiro said, giving her first impression. She added, "Every time I check my ranking after an exam, I see her name at the bottom."

Top ten in the grade? That's really impressive.

But the young lady is obviously more impressive, right?

He always ranks above Sasaki; even if he's not number one in his grade, he's probably very close.

Then look at Nozomi Sasaki. She has good grades, which means she spends all her time studying.

They won't waste time learning bad habits, so their personality is definitely fine.

After giving his initial approval, Shimada Sho continued, "Anything else?"

"What?" Yukine Kamishiro asked, somewhat confused.

Shimada Sho sighed, "The rest of the information you know about this girl."

"Oh, she's very quiet, doesn't she talk much?"

"And she's always alone, she doesn't have any friends, she must be very lonely?"

Yukine Kamishiro revealed what she knew, and then earnestly added a solitary comment at the end.

Shimada Sho almost lost his composure.

How dare you, the elder brother, criticize your younger brother?

He rested his chin on his hand, pretending not to hear Yukine Kamishiro's evaluation, and pondered to himself.

Quiet, solitary, and academically successful.

It sounds like the kind of good student who has a low profile.

These people may seem inconspicuous, but they are often the most reliable.

I don't join the crowd, I don't form cliques, and I won't fawn over anyone just because they have money.

"What about your family background?"

He finally raised this seemingly insignificant question at the elite girls' school.

"not too good."

"Huh?" Shimada Sho was startled.

Aren't all the students here from noble families? How could they come from poor families?

Kamishiro Yukine's voice was completely flat, stating calmly: "Sasaki was specially recruited. Her family is poor, and I recently heard that her father trusted a relative and became their guarantor."

As a result, the relative ran away, leaving behind a debt of two million yen. The whole family is struggling to pay off the debt; she has to work at a convenience store after school and at a fast-food restaurant on weekends.

Shimada Sho was stunned.

Not a buddy?

Why does this script sound so familiar?

Trusting a relative to act as a guarantor led to being swindled out of two million yuan in debt, forcing the whole family to pay off the debt and forcing someone to work after school...

Isn't that me?

"Mr. Thug?" Noticing his silence, Yukine asked in confusion.

"It's nothing." Shimada Sho came back to his senses, his lips twitching slightly. "It's just that this plot seems a bit familiar."

"look familiar?"

"nothing."

Shimada Sho brushed it off, but his gaze couldn't help but drift back to the girl named Sasaki Nozomi.

This experience was practically a carbon copy of his.

He was even worse off; he didn't even have any family to help him pay off his debts, and was directly confronted by debt collectors at his door.

Just as he was thinking this, Shimada Sho's gaze suddenly sharpened again.

He saw something.

A piece of transparent plastic wrapping paper was placed next to the backpack strap on the side of the desk.

It has a green "Fast Food" logo printed on it, along with a convenience store half-price tag.

Shimada Sho was familiar with this packaging paper because he had just opened it at noon and eaten the bread that was about to expire.

"..."

A 100 yen cream bread, the cheapest kind at the convenience store, is dry and makes your throat feel sore when you swallow it.

Shimada Sho looked at the profile of the girl diligently writing, at her faded school uniform, and at the wrapping paper in her desk that she tried her best to hide to avoid her classmates noticing her embarrassment. A corner of the wrapping paper, unintentionally yet stubbornly peeking out, suddenly stirred a feeling he couldn't quite describe.

It's not sympathy.

He himself still owes two million, so he has no right to sympathize with others.