Tokyo: Starting with a fake boyfriend

Perhaps she wasn't familiar with Shiratori Osamu yet, as they had only met for the first time yesterday. However, given that he was someone her older sister liked and valued, she was so enthusiastic and cheerful out of affection for him.

"Well... if I had to say, there is a little, but not much."

Upon hearing this, Shiratori paused, hesitated, but still spoke frankly.

[Detection successful]

"Can't you just say no?"

Although he was honest, Shinonome Chisei was not satisfied with his answer and gave him a reproachful glare.

"Because if I want to develop a relationship with your sister, it's definitely better to spend time alone together."

She rolled her eyes at him, but Shiratori Xiu, sensing that his mood had improved, still didn't change his mind.

Actually, when it comes to cultivating feelings, he prefers the two of them to do it together. If the three of them go on dates frequently, it would be easier to achieve the happy ending of having both partners.

However, his sister-in-law was more sensitive than he had expected, so he had to slow down his efforts to win her over.

"That's true, but that's not how you coax a girl. You should say something like, 'I'll never find you a nuisance.' The way you are now, you're going to drive my sister crazy."

Discovering that he was very honest, Dongyun Qianxing was speechless and scolded him with disappointment.

How could my brother-in-law have such low emotional intelligence? Even if he were to lie, he should have said it in a more palatable way to improve her impression of him.

Given this situation, my brother-in-law will never be able to have the three of them together in his lifetime, and he might not even be able to catch up with my sister.

"I see, I've learned something!"

How could Shiratori Osamu not know how to coax a girl? Seeing that she was even giving him a lesson, he was secretly pleased and decided to go along with her wishes.

"You need to know that the core of romance is lies, fantasy, and ideals. If you want to make a girl happy, you have to lie to her."

Seeing that he was a promising young man, Dongyun Qianxing immediately became proud and began to teach him eloquently.

"But I don't like lying."

Shiratori Osamu was somewhat surprised to find that her theories on love were quite mature.

"You said you don't like lying, but you lied to my sister last night, saying that you can't study properly without someone supervising you, what a load of nonsense."

When Dongyun Qianxing noticed that he was still arguing back, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

Only a small fry like my sister would fall for a lie of this magnitude. When she heard her sister mention it this morning, she almost burst out laughing.

Because my brother-in-law's ability to change his expression is clearly an active skill; it's the kind that can be switched at will, not just something that can be learned.

"Uh...did you see through me?"

Upon hearing this, Shiratori Osamu paused, a guilty expression on his face.

"Although your lie wasn't very clever, it still satisfied the core of romance, so it was done very well."

Although Shinonome Sensei saw through her brother-in-law's little trick at a glance, she still approved of his actions.

"Dongyun-san, are you a love master?"

Upon noticing her smugness, Shiratori's expression changed, and he suddenly thought of a possibility.

"I wouldn't call myself a dating guru, but I'd say I'm an expert."

"Have you been in many relationships?"

"of course."

Upon hearing this, Dongyun Qianxing paused for a moment, then nodded.

Although she has never been in a relationship in real life, she is a master of visual novels and has conquered countless beautiful girls. How can that not be considered as having been in many relationships?

"Amazing, amazing!"

Seeing her guilty reaction, Shiratori Osamu immediately felt relieved.

Actually, he was quite nervous just now because Shinonome Chisei seemed to have a lot of dating experience and saw through the little tricks of dating. She might have had many boyfriends, but with this reaction, there was no need to worry.

It's obvious that the sister-in-law is Xiao Chunu, and she even proclaims herself as an unromanceable character in the morning. She probably plays visual novels, and maybe even enjoys them, hence her elaborate theories.

"Let's have lunch, you still have to study."

Feeling guilty for lying because of his admiring gaze, Dongyun Qianxing quickly moved back to her original position, opened her sister's briefcase, and took out a bento box, just like her sister.

My sister woke up very early today and did laundry and made lunchboxes as usual, but she found out before I went out and forcibly pushed me back into my room.

It wasn't that she wanted to be alone with her brother-in-law, but rather that her sister really seemed to be feeling unwell.

Chapter 128 The Number Monster

After distributing the bento boxes, Shiratori Osamu and Shinonome Chisei began to eat lunch.

However, Shiratori Osamu's bento box contained more food and had more dishes.

The reason for this was not because Shinonome Mizuki favored her, but because she knew that strong focus and efficient learning consumed a lot of energy.

"Shiratori-kun, how were you able to spot me yesterday? I should have been hiding very well."

Because they were separated by a table, Dongyun Qianxing didn't dare call him brother-in-law, but instead asked the question that was on her mind.

When she was discovered yesterday, she was genuinely terrified... She believed she had been very stealthy, merely peeking out with her head sticking out, and remaining highly alert. She would immediately retreat whenever her sister and brother-in-law made any suspicious movements.

But as if unlocked, her brother-in-law suddenly looked up and locked onto her without warning.

"I'm quite sensitive to eye contact."

After thinking it over, Shiratori still didn't say that it was because he had been under surveillance recently, which made him quite nervous.

If the sister-in-law realized that they might be being secretly watched at this moment, she might be frightened.

Thinking about it carefully, this matter really needs to be dealt with. I'll find an opportunity to talk about the surveillance issue when I meet with Hojo Ryoma later.

"How do you manage to change your expression so easily, like switching personalities?"

Realizing the reason, Shinonome Sensei nodded thoughtfully and couldn't help but ask the question that concerned her most.

Other issues are actually not important; what she cares about most is changing her face so she can look cool.

She would love to learn this skill if she could!

"Switching personalities?"

Shiratori Osamu, who was eating his bento, was taken aback by what he said and didn't understand.

"Don't you realize that you can look melancholy and languid one second and turn into a cold and ruthless ice block the next?"

Upon noticing his reaction, Shinonome Sensei was also taken aback and offered an explanation.

She had assumed her brother-in-law was aware of the situation, but judging from his reaction, he seemed completely unaware.

"I am aware of it, but this is the first time I've heard of the concept of personality switching. Is the difference really that obvious?"

How could Shiratori Osamu not be aware of this? After all, [Concentration] is an active skill with no cooldown, and it eliminates useless emotions. He just didn't expect the difference in his state to be so great that it could be described as a personality switch.

"It's very, very obvious. Your eyes, expression, temperament, and even the voice you speak have changed. You look extremely serious, emotionless, and a little scary."

Higashion Sensei nodded firmly, quite confident in her judgment.

She actually wanted to say that it looked cool, but she felt that it wasn't quite right to say it that way.

"Is that so...?"

Upon learning of this situation, Shiratori Osamu fell into deep thought.

According to this logic, every time he activates "Full Concentration" in front of others, isn't he performing a face-changing act?

Extremely serious, devoid of emotion, and a little scary.

No wonder that after Dongyun rejected his greasy advances on Monday, even though he wasn't angry and was just consciously keeping his distance, Dongyun insisted that he was angry. It's because his change of expression was too obvious.

And on Monday night, Xiao Nan seemed a bit off; perhaps she was also frightened by his extremely serious attitude.

Therefore, while the effect of complete concentration is very powerful, it should not be overused, as it can easily lead to misunderstandings.

"Shiratori-kun, how did you do that? Can you teach me?"

Dongyun Qianxing didn't know what he had gone through, but after waiting for a while, she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"I can't teach it. I guess it's my talent. My concentration is naturally extraordinary."

While teaching girls is a good way to cultivate feelings, Shiratori Osamu is powerless to do so.

"Ok."

Upon learning that it was a talent, Shinonome Chisei felt it was a pity, but she gave up on the idea.

Talent is something you're born with; you either have it or you don't, and it's hard to make up for it no matter how hard you try later in life.

"What happened after you were taken away by that family head yesterday?"

"secret."

"I'm great at keeping secrets, can you tell me?"

"Knowing too much is not good for you."

"Waaah..."

Shinonome Chisei was genuinely surprised to see him utter lines that only appear in games and anime in such a serious manner.

She knew that such words would sound incredibly childish in real life, but given her brother-in-law's experience of being invited by the head of the family yesterday, she felt it was perfectly natural.

They ate and chatted, and the bento box was finished quickly.

Shiratori Shu opened his bag, took out protein powder, brewed it, and then took various nutritional supplements.

Although his physical recovery speed improved after he gained the talent of abundant energy, he felt that he should supplement his nutrition more based on the law of conservation of energy.

After filling his stomach, Shiratori Osamu didn't rush to study. Instead, he took out his phone, snapped a picture of the clean lunchbox, and sent it to Shinonome-sensei with the caption:

"It's delicious, thank you for the treat!"

Although Chef Dongyun's cooking skills are not quite as good as his mother-in-law's, they are still quite high, and they taste much better than the bento boxes he buys casually from convenience stores and supermarkets.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the Shibuya apartment building, Shinonome Mizuki, with her purple hair flowing like a waterfall, finally received her sister's reply after finishing her bento. She sat on the sofa in the living room, holding her phone in both hands, frowning in distress.

Her younger sister forced her back to bed for a nap. After a few hours of rest, the dizziness, headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite caused by the mild heatstroke she had suffered the previous day were significantly relieved.

Although her feet and calves were still aching slightly, this level of pain was nothing to worry about if she just endured it.

That's why she was wondering whether she should go to the appointment.

Qingkong Study Room is very close to her home, less than two kilometers away, which only takes about ten minutes to walk, and even faster if you take a taxi.

Even though it would be easy to go there, she was still conflicted.

"If I went there, what would Shiratori-kun think? What would Chihoshi think?"

Serious people always think things through before acting and don't make decisions easily; Shinonome Mizuki is a prime example of this.

She was worried that her younger sister would cause trouble for Shiratori-kun, such as constantly talking to him and affecting his studies, and that she wouldn't be able to supervise him properly.

Whether out of a sense of responsibility or to keep her promise, she should go.

But after she changed her clothes and walked to the entrance, she didn't dare to leave the house.

She was afraid that if she went there, she would find Shiratori Osamu and her sister having a great time.

Shinonome Mizuki has always felt that her personality is flawed. She is too serious and competitive, and she always goes all out in everything she does. She always has a stern face, which can easily lead to misunderstandings.

In contrast, the younger sister has a much better personality; she is lively, cheerful, quirky, and has a lot of expressive features, making her look full of energy.

Most importantly, Shiratori was very friendly to Chihoshi yesterday and even said that Chihoshi was very interesting.

Although this is a good thing, she couldn't help but think that since she and her sister look exactly alike, Shiratori might prefer Chihoshi's personality.

"Buzz."

Just then, the vibration of her phone pulled Shinonome Mizuki back to reality from her jumbled thoughts.

Shiratori Osamu: "(The picture) is delicious, thank you for the meal!"

"He ate it all up."

Seeing the bento box in the phone picture, Shinonome Mizuki's inner turmoil and frustration immediately dissipated.

Although she didn't get to see Shiratori-kun eat his bento box in person, he didn't leave a single grain of rice, and given her previous experiences, she could imagine the scene.