There will be 6 chapters a day for 8 days straight for my absence last two week or so.
Pat members get all the compensation today (32 chapters), so if you want more, go there.
enjoy~
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Though Takashi said to place it by the bed, Maki didn't exactly follow his instructions. Instead, she moved the fruit basket from the nightstand to the floor and replaced it with her own.
Takashi glanced at the neat stacks of fruit baskets by the bed—the first one, from Momo, was already crushed at the bottom of the pile.
Nearly every girl who visited him with a fruit basket had done the exact same thing: put the previous one on the floor and placed hers on top.
Damn, now what should I say?
After putting the basket down, Maki looked at Takashi but suddenly found herself unsure how to start a conversation.
She had been secretly following him for quite a while now but hadn't actually talked to him much.
After all, the last time she let her emotions run wild, she had said, "Takashi… I've decided to pursue Tsubasa now. I think we shouldn't keep in contact anymore. I don't want Tsubasa to misunderstand."
How was she supposed to face Takashi after saying something like that?
She was the daughter of the prestigious Shijo family, third in her class at Shuchiin Academy, and a legitimate heir of the Shinomiya bloodline.
Did she have no pride?
So during that time, she had stubbornly avoided reaching out to him.
She didn't talk to him, but she didn't stop watching him either.
Almost every night, usually in the dead of night, she would sneak a peek at Takashi's social media posts.
Before he became famous, he barely posted—maybe once a week, sometimes even less.
But after rising to fame, his posting frequency increased, sometimes even accompanied by filtered pictures.
Maki would use these posts to keep tabs on him: what he was doing, what he was thinking.
She tried to read between the lines of his captions and photos, assuming every detail had hidden meaning.
She didn't know that everything he posted had been approved by Ogitsu Yoshiko, designed to build his public image and connect with fans.
But Maki didn't believe that.
Like the time he posted a night view of the port district and quickly deleted it—she assumed it was a sentimental message for her.
She didn't know that he had taken that picture during a hotel date with Hitomi, and had to delete it because her reflection showed up in the window.
Real rich kids like Kaguya and Hitomi didn't usually appear in the spotlight. Even if they walked past you, you might not recognize them.
Takashi deleted the post to protect Hitomi, but Maki thought it was a message meant for her.
She even opened her chat window with him multiple times, typed, deleted, typed again—ultimately not sending a single message, not even a punctuation mark.
Now, she was standing there like a telephone pole, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, unable to utter a word.
So Takashi had to be the one to break the silence.
"Miss, what's your profession?"
Maki: "…"
She looked down at her nurse outfit, then gave him a blank stare, as if to say, Seriously? You can't tell?
"What do you think I am dressed as?"
A couple's cosplay roleplay, Takashi thought inwardly.
Still, he had to admit—Maki looked… different in that nurse uniform. And definitely not a side Tsubasa had seen before.
"A nurse," he replied flatly.
She rolled her eyes.
"So, Nurse, shouldn't you be checking on my condition right now? What are you just standing there for?"
"Oh, right, sorry."
Only then did Maki remember she was playing a role.
But how exactly do you check a patient?
Do you need to undress him?
Probably, right?
Trembling slightly, she reached out to unbutton Takashi's hospital gown the way she'd seen in dramas.
Her face was already bright red beneath the mask.
Takashi, amused and curious, calmly watched her. He wanted to see how far she would take this act.
Don't look at me like that, you jerk!
Being stared at made her even more embarrassed. Her ears turned red from the rush of blood.
Under the bright hospital lights, the blush on her ears looked like a sunset glow—shy and radiant.
She's really cute, Takashi thought, smiling without realizing it. Then quickly forced the smile away, afraid she'd notice.
What are you smiling at!?
Even though the smile had only lasted a second, Maki caught it.
She was sure now—he had recognized her and was just teasing her on purpose.
But she couldn't drop the act.
She needed this identity to be there.
So instead, she just gave him a glare and sped up the unbuttoning.
Soon, Takashi's upper body was completely exposed.
Thanks to years of image management and consistent home workouts, his build was lean yet toned.
His abdominal muscles were clearly defined—not just from being skinny.
Maki stared for a second, stunned—but quickly looked away, her face now flushed down to her neck.
Not wanting to make eye contact, her wandering hands landed… lower.
"That part's just fine," Takashi reminded her dryly.
"Ah! Oh!"
Realizing where her hand was, she recoiled like she'd touched a hot stove.
She grabbed the stethoscope and pressed it on the right side of his chest.
Isn't the heart on the left? Takashi stared at her, completely done.
Maki, meanwhile, was fiddling with the stethoscope, wondering why she couldn't hear a heartbeat.
She looked up—only to meet Takashi's intense gaze.
Soft lighting filled the room. His deep, clear eyes met hers with quiet intensity.
In that long gaze, her breath caught, her heart fluttered, and even time seemed to pause.
"What are you looking at?" she asked shyly.
"Nurse, your eyes remind me of a friend of mine," he replied softly. "A friend I've lost contact with."
"Was she very important to you?" Maki asked, convinced now that he was talking about her.
"Extremely important," Takashi replied. Then, after a deliberate pause: "To be honest, I had feelings for her."
So he really does like me! Maki's heart skipped a beat.
"But I couldn't bring myself to tell her."
"Why not?"
Her voice came faster, unconsciously.
"Because she already liked someone else," Takashi said, lowering his eyes, sadness shadowing his face.
"I was afraid that if I told her… we couldn't even be friends anymore."
Maki went quiet too. She thought of Tsubasa.
Their date had been boring—nothing like the fun she had with Takashi.
But could she give up everything just because of one dull date?
That felt like giving up on all her efforts and feelings so far.
Like Eriri, Maki was stubborn to the bone.
Others may turn back before hitting a wall, but not her. She had to hit it full force, bloody and bruised, before she'd stop.
Takashi didn't think that was a bad thing. Maybe the only reason people disliked that kind of persistence was because it wasn't directed at them.
"Besides… I lied to her."
As Takashi said this, he carefully watched Maki's expression.
He really wanted to know—what had happened?
Why had Maki suddenly cut contact?
Their relationship had been good—very good.
Thinking it through, he could only think of one possible reason: that she found out he, "Watanabe Takashi," was actually Kitahara Takashi.
This was a test.
If she immediately asked what he lied about, she probably didn't know yet.
If she didn't ask, or asked calmly, it meant she already knew.
"What did you lie to her about?"
Her relaxed tone confirmed it—she already knew.
Damn that short-haired girl! Takashi cursed internally. It must've been Nagisa who exposed me!
He silently swore that next time he saw her, she'd get a taste of his "Heaven's Binding Palm" technique.
"I made up a fake identity, wore a face that resembled her type, and approached her."
Now that he understood the problem, it was time to fix it.
If he were some low-grade scumbag, he'd be out of options by now.
But Takashi had his own move to make.
Watch carefully—he'd only teach once.
Yeah, I know, Maki sighed inwardly.
She had no intention of blaming Takashi.
After all, when she was with him, she'd truly been happy—genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart.
But deception is still deception.
There was always a knot in her heart because of it.
Takashi's deception was the reason she ultimately chose Tsubasa.
Tsubasa didn't have the sweet words Takashi had. He wasn't good at pleasing girls. But he was honest.
She and Takashi could've been great friends—but as lovers… it felt a little too much...
"Other than that, I couldn't think of any way to get close to the girl I'd secretly loved since the day we first met at school."
Huh?
Maki was pulled out of her thoughts instantly.
"You mean, you liked me—no, her—from the moment school started?"
Takashi raised a hand to cover his eyes, as if trying to shield himself from the glaring ceiling light.
"Can you turn the lights off? I… can't say this under such bright lights."
Desperate to learn something she'd never known, Maki didn't hesitate—snap!—and turned off the lights.
The room instantly went dark.
Bathed in moonlight, it wasn't pitch black, but still quite dim.
Then Takashi spoke again.
"It was spring, just before we entered our first year. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. I'd just received my admission to Shuchiin Academy."
"That was the beginning of everything, because that day, I met the girl fated for me."
"Shuchiin is different from other schools. Most students attend from elementary all the way to university—they're pure Shuchiin kids."
"But people like me, who transferred in, were called 'mix-ins.' At Shuchiin, we got strange looks just walking around."
"At the time, I had just lost my parents. I was extremely sensitive to people's gazes. No… to be exact, I hated being looked at."
Maki listened as Takashi's voice carried traces of pain, and her heart started to ache for him.
She wanted so badly to hug him.
But she couldn't help wondering—what did this have to do with her?
She didn't remember helping anyone at the opening ceremony.
"That's when that girl appeared."
"She was dazzling—everyone's eyes turned to her the moment she arrived."
Everyone looked at her, including me.
"She drew away the strange stares directed at me. She saved me."
Takashi wasn't exaggerating. He didn't fabricate some fantasy-like encounter.
After all, they were both first-years—if he made something up, Maki might remember and expose it.
That would only make things worse.
More importantly, it was all true.
That day, Momo had accompanied him to school but had to leave midway when summoned by her parents.
Takashi wandered the campus and did get some looks—some from girls who admired him, and others from jealous boys.
A few girls had even wanted to ask for his contact info—until Maki suddenly appeared, shutting the whole thing down.
Lies are easy to expose. But lies built on truth… are harder to see through.
"Maybe her appearance was a coincidence, and she didn't help me directly—but she did save me."
"I liked her."
"Really liked her. That kind of like that makes you feel ridiculous."
"Then why didn't you tell her?" The knot in Maki's heart was starting to loosen, and her gaze toward Takashi softened.
"I was just a penniless nobody. I had nothing—not even enough to live on."
"And that girl… she was the treasured daughter of a financial conglomerate. Born at the top of the world. How could I dare hope a princess would fall for me?"
"I didn't even have the courage to face her back then, so I enrolled in the school next door, Aoba."
"After that, I studied like mad. I worked as a stand-in, trying to improve myself so that I could stand proudly in front of her."
"Eventually, I met her again."
"You have no idea how happy I was to see her… and how heartbroken."
"Why couldn't she like me? Why the hell did it have to be Tsubasa? Damn it!"
Takashi pounded the hospital bed with his fists.
"Stop! Please stop!"
Maki's heart tightened painfully. She reached out to stop Takashi's hand, but she wasn't strong enough.
Gritting her teeth, Maki threw herself on top of him.
"Promise me. Don't hurt yourself again. Please?"
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