"Let's take a break for now."
After shooting for more than two hours, Takashi wiped the sweat off his face and suggested.
Everyone, including Marin, let out a collective sigh of relief.
Takashi chugged down the remaining half bottle of water in one go, wiped his mouth, and said, "Alright, let's go eat."
They had been busy from noon until afternoon and still hadn't eaten anything.
Otani Shota didn't care whether the ground was dirty or not; he plopped straight down and said, "Takashi, you just buy the food and bring it back. I don't want to move a single step."
"Sure."
Takashi nodded, then looked at Marin and Wakana. "What about you two?"
Marin weakly replied, "I don't want to move."
Being a model wasn't easy.
It was exhausting work by itself.
Not to mention that the photographer was Takashi.
Takashi was an extremely professional and strict photographer, demanding perfection in posture and facial expressions.
If he couldn't get a shot he was satisfied with, he would have Marin hold a pose for more than ten minutes.
And on top of that, Takashi would occasionally use his ability.
Marin realized that Takashi really had the potential to be a master.
Unlike other guys who, once they activated their "strong vibration" abilities, would just stay at the maximum setting to force pleasure, Takashi was different.
His frequency would sometimes be as gentle as a spring breeze, exceedingly soft and tender.
Other times it would be like a violent storm, rough and wild.
When her body was about to reach its limit, he would abruptly stop.
When her body started to relax again, he would suddenly reinitiate his ability.
He would never let her settle into one constant state.
It was like he was training a puppy, keeping her at a point where she felt good but never fully satisfied, leaving her in a constant state of yearning.
By the end of the shoot, Marin had started to get a little dazed.
'No wonder he likes raising dogs.'
She finally understood why Takashi liked dogs so much.
Wakana was exhausted too, but he couldn't bear the thought of Takashi carrying food for all five of them by himself.
Forcing himself through the fatigue, he struggled to his feet. "Kitahara-kun, I'll go with you."
"Alright."
Takashi didn't refuse.
Handing the camera and backpack to the others for safekeeping, Takashi and Wakana walked toward the exhibition hall exit.
In Japan, many restaurants offer takeout and delivery. Takashi simply decided to go to a KFC.
On the way there, he had already ordered five buckets of fried chicken via his phone.
When they arrived at the store, they just needed to wait a little.
Sitting on a chair, Takashi tossed a piece of gum into his mouth and, while chewing, pulled out his phone.
His messages were, as usual, overwhelming, all from girls like Narii, Nagisa, Maki, Akari, Toji Rina, Yotsuba, Shirogane Kei, Nanami, and Kotonoha.
Even Komi Shoko and Adagaki Aki had sent him messages.
However, when he opened Komi Shoko's message, it was just a very random and abrupt "You," with no follow-up.
Knowing her well enough, Takashi guessed that she had probably been fantasizing about chatting with him, typing and deleting messages over and over, and then accidentally sent it because her hand slipped.
Adagaki Aki, on the other hand, had sent a flood of messages.
Since last night until now.
But it was all one-sided — Takashi hadn't replied.
It wasn't because Takashi was so charming or anything — it was because around 10 p.m. last night, he had sent: [Ojou-sama, are you asleep yet?]
Adagaki Aki: [About to sleep, why?]
Takashi: [Corn and Pork Rib Soup.jpg]
Takashi: [Good night, Ojou-sama.]
After that, Adagaki Aki had furiously cursed him out.
Based on Takashi's understanding of this gluttonous girl, she probably ended up dragging her maid out of bed in the middle of the night to make her something to eat.
Takashi selectively replied to a few people and then stopped.
If he tried replying to every message, he wouldn't be able to finish.
Scrolling through his messages, he noticed that Eriri still hadn't contacted him.
Even Utaha hadn't — oh, right, he had deleted her.
Holding to the principle that an ex should be treated as if they were dead, he had even blocked her phone number.
'Six days left.'
Takashi counted silently.
If Eriri still hadn't contacted him within a week, then she had no reason to stay in his contacts.
The unspoken rule among adults was mutual non-interference.
"Hello~"
While Takashi was chatting with Narii, a soft, gentle female voice sounded by his ear.
Both Takashi and Wakana turned to look.
At some point, a short-haired girl had appeared beside them.
The girl had delicate, pretty features, a petite and slim figure, shoulder-length short hair, and wore a blue-and-white sailor uniform with little leather shoes — a very cute, beautiful girl.
"Is there something you need?"
"Could I have your contact information?"
"Sorry—"
Takashi was about to refuse, but then his system popped up to remind him to make his presence known.
[Target: Yasuraoka Hanabi]
[Age: 16]
[Intelligence: 7]
[Charm: 8]
[Stamina: 4]
[From: Scum's Wish]
[Secretly in love with: Kanai Narumi]
[No boyfriend, available for dating.]
The words of refusal froze in Takashi's mouth and took a sharp turn. "Sure."
"Huh?"
Yasuraoka Hanabi had already prepared herself for rejection.
Just now, even though Takashi's tone was gentle, he had a faint, detached air about him.
And if she wasn't wrong, he had initially intended to reject her, right?
Why had he suddenly changed?
Yasuraoka Hanabi couldn't understand, but she still exchanged contact info with him. Before leaving, she even remembered to say, "Thank you!"
Very polite — a good kid — but Takashi never judge someone based purely on their appearance.
Just because Yasuraoka Hanabi looked sweet didn't mean she actually was.
There was a word for that: "contrast."
There were plenty of girls who acted all sweet and obedient in public but turned into something like Tom from Tom and Jerry throwing a concert behind closed doors.
After this little interlude, no one else came to strike up a conversation.
Once the five buckets of fried chicken were ready, Takashi and Wakana picked up the packed food and were about to leave when they heard a familiar voice from upstairs.
"Next time, don't make me do something like that again. And don't forget the ice cream you promised me."
"Hanabi, you're seriously not interested in a guy like him? He seemed pretty into you."
"I'm not really interested in him."
"We were pretending to be you to talk to him — what if he actually fell hopelessly in love with you?"
"That's his bad luck~"
Wakana glanced upstairs, then looked at Takashi, whose expression remained calm and unreadable, and asked worriedly, "Kitahara-kun, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Takashi looked up from his phone and smiled.
That smile was as bright and sunny as ever, as if no shadow could ever cloud it.
"What's wrong, Gojo-kun?"
"Nothing."
Wakana assumed that Takashi truly wasn't bothered.
But as Wakana turned his head back around, Takashi cast a meaningful glance upstairs.
You sit down at the gambling table... and still think you can walk away untouched?
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