"Shizuka-senpai is obviously very charming, so why does she always meet these weird men?"
"Right?!" For some reason, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt like she was getting along extremely well with this junior.
"Always running into these strange, weird men, seriously, too unlucky."
Looking at the Shin-chan in front of her, Hiratsuka Shizuka had quite the impulse to drag him off tonight and not stop drinking until they were both smashed.
With good friends, even a thousand cups of wine feels too little; with someone you don't click with, even half a sentence is too much.
She didn't know if it was because Shin-chan didn't act like one of those flashy playboys, or because under his guidance she ended up venting all the frustration in her heart.
Right now, Hiratsuka Shizuka was in a great mood, and she found Shin-chan even more pleasing to the eye.
If it hadn't been for the sudden phone call interrupting her invitation, she really would've invited Shin-chan out for ramen tonight and then a few drinks at an izakaya.
"Mm-hmm, has the list of students arrived? I'll head there now, got it."
After hanging up the phone, Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed with a bit of regret. With Sobu High merging with Shuchiin and the new term about to start, she had more and more things to deal with.
"Shin-chan, let's exchange numbers, okay? I'll treat you to ramen next time."
"Sure."
Shin-chan's goal from the start was just to get Hiratsuka Shizuka's contact info. He had already made plans with the Kasukabe Defense Force, so if Hiratsuka really invited him for ramen, it would be a major headache.
On one side were his childhood friends, on the other a serious mission, very hard to choose.
"I'm heading off first. Gotta deal with some administrative stuff quickly."
Hiratsuka Shizuka's style was cool and straightforward, no dragging things out. She waved her phone at Shin-chan to indicate they'd contact each other, then left directly.
Once she was gone, Shin-chan returned to Kazama and Bo-chan's side.
"Damn it, Shin-chan! How are you this smooth?!"
Kazama clutched his heart in pain, 'Shin-chan was way too good at this!'
Kazama usually spent most of his time in cram school or various hobby classes. Although he was popular in their junior high class, his cold and aloof act was all fake. Deep down, he was a pure-hearted boy who had never even held a girl's hand.
"Hahaha, I just saw she seemed a little troubled, so I chatted with her for a bit."
"You…"
Kazama wanted to say something, but in the end, just shook his head. Shin-chan had always been like this, not much had changed.
"Be careful, though. I saw her car keys, it's a luxury car. She might be some rich young lady from a big family."
Shin-chan nodded, but didn't continue the topic. After chatting with Hiratsuka Shizuka, he already had a pretty good guess.
"Nene and Masao have arrived." Bo-chan glanced at his phone and immediately changed the topic.
Hearing this, Kazama also took out his phone. Sure enough, Nene and Masao had arrived at the agreed meeting spot and were on their way to this café.
"Let's chat here for a bit, then go have dinner."
This get-together was organized by Kazama. He'd picked the restaurant too, one with a nice atmosphere and relatively affordable prices. After all, they were all students without much pocket money.
Nene and Masao arrived quickly. The two of them hadn't changed much. Among the Kasukabe Defense Force, Shin-chan had changed the most.
Sakurada Nene had long red hair and wore a pink dress, looking like a cute beauty, but Shin-chan, who knew her very well, knew her personality wasn't nearly as sweet as her appearance.
Next to her was Masao, the shortest among the boys. Compared to kindergarten, he'd gotten a lot chubbier and looked like a typical otaku.
That said, Masao was still obsessed with manga and kept practicing his drawing skills. Who knows, maybe in the future he might actually become a real manga artist.
"Shin-chan, you've gotten so tall!"
Nene and Masao were shocked by how tall Shin-chan had grown. Puberty hits fast, sure, but Shin-chan's growth was seriously off the charts.
"Shin-chan, I didn't expect you to be so handsome now."
There are many kinds of handsome. Shin-chan's handsomeness was the sunny, healthy kind. Thanks to his physique being far beyond normal people, every move he made exuded vitality. That kind of charm was pretty lethal to teenage girls.
But since everyone was way too familiar with him, and Nene knew exactly what kind of person Shin-chan was, there was no way she'd feel attracted to him.
The closer the childhood friend, the higher the chance of being the "loser heroine", not just a saying.
"Who would've thought Shin-chan would grow up to be a sporty hottie, while Kazama turned into an otaku…"
"What did you say?!"
Even though Nene's comment was soft, Kazama Toru still heard it.
"I am not an otaku!"
In Japan, being called an "otaku" isn't exactly a compliment. Most average losers are otaku, the kind who went from passionate Showa-era men to jobless recluses sponging off their parents, so society tends to look down on them.
At least Kazama believed that as a top-performing student at school, he was still quite popular and definitely not some gloomy otaku.
"Right, right, right…"
Of course, Nene knew Kazama's hobbies in private and didn't comment any further.
"It's been so long since we all got together, don't fight..."
Masao was still the same, warm-hearted and timid, not wanting anyone to argue.
But honestly, being able to bicker like this right after meeting showed just how close they all still were.
"You guys haven't changed at all. It's a pity we're not in the same high school."
Shin-chan didn't have many friends and wasn't very sociable at school. A few close buddies were enough for him. He didn't like all those cliques and small circles.
"Your school's just too over-the-top. How could the two of us possibly qualify?"
Nene's grades were slightly better than Masao's, but even so, getting into Sobu High was basically impossible, especially now that it had merged with Shuchiin.
After everyone gathered at the café, there wasn't the slightest bit of awkwardness. Even though they hadn't been in the same school for a few years in junior high, they were still very close.
They sat in the café for a while, then headed to the restaurant Kazama had booked. As they chatted, the topic eventually shifted to their future plans.
"I still want to be a manga artist!" Masao clenched both fists, seemingly determined to become one.
"That's the dream of most otaku, manga artist or novelist, jobs where you can earn money without ever leaving the house."
Shin-chan's jab made Masao freeze up. "But most of the time, that kind of dream is just a fantasy. Becoming a manga artist or novelist takes very rare talent. Most people just don't have it. The final result is getting stuck in the fantasy and turning into a shut-in leeching off their parents."
Masao turned completely gray, like all his spirit had been drained.
"Shin-chan's right. If Masao keeps holding onto these unrealistic dreams, he will become a parasite." Nene's follow-up stab hit Masao right in the chest and made it hurt even more.
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