In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 21. The Vain Kobayashi

The weather was unusually fine today, with delicate white clouds drifting slowly in the distance, aided by the wind, and a passing plane leaving long contrails in its wake. Hoshino Kaoru rested her cheek on her hand, watching the young lady from the Mizukami family earnestly enjoying her Chinese food. Although she hadn't touched her chopsticks yet, she already felt full.

As expected of a well-mannered young lady, her appearance was so jarring compared to the messy surroundings that it was as if a landscape painting forcibly cut out of a poster and pasted onto another photograph.

She bent down slightly as she enjoyed her meal, giving the impression of dining in a high-end restaurant.

Watching her finish her entire bento box, Kaoru remembered something important.

He hasn't eaten yet! He was so engrossed in watching that he completely forgot to ask the young lady to save some!

"Thank you for your hospitality."

Mizukami Orina didn't mind that it was a boy's lunchbox. She politely said goodbye, stood up, and prepared to return to her seat to do her homework.

"Hey! I haven't..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"never mind......"

Kaoru reluctantly packed up her lunchbox and decided to go out to find something to eat.

He had just stepped out of the classroom when he saw a familiar figure carrying something quickly crossing the corner of the corridor. The person's tense demeanor caught his attention, so he temporarily abandoned his plan to find food and followed him as if possessed.

We arrived at the top floor of the third-grade teaching building.

Because of concerns about student safety in the event of a fire, an unfinished escape ladder was installed outside the teaching building.

Kaoru followed the figure to the top of the fire escape, saw her sitting on the corner of the stairs, and went up to greet her.

"Wow!"

The other person was clearly startled. When they turned around and saw Xun's face behind them, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's you... I was startled. Honestly, what bad luck to run into you in a place like this."

Her short, permed hair, slightly curled eyelashes, a prominent bulge at the chest, and a deliberately tailored pleated skirt.

She is Chio Kobayashi, dressed in a delinquent style.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Xun stretched out her right hand to stop her, and then brought her face closer.

His sudden closeness startled Xiaolin. Staring at the handsome face before her, her breathing became rapid.

"What do you want to do?"

"What's hidden in here? Show it to me."

Xun pointed to her chest, which was noticeably heaving.

"You...you big pervert! What else could you be?!"

Kobayashi blushed and tried to push her away, but the girl was too weak, and Kaoru remained standing in front of her without moving.

"Did you smuggle in any contraband?"

Kaoru moved even closer, his prominent Adam's apple, obvious collarbone, and slender neck making Kobayashi unable to meet his gaze. She could only look down at the ground.

"It's...it's a bento box!"

In order to get rid of this annoying guy as soon as possible, Kobayashi unzipped the outermost jacket and took out the bento box hidden inside the clothes.

Is it really a bento box?

Xun scratched her head, somewhat puzzled as to why she would hide her lunchbox.

"Can you please stop stopping me?"

Kobayashi looked up and saw that his face was still very close, so she pushed him again, and the two were as intimate as lovers playing around.

"Bento box, oh, I understand."

Kaoru nodded. By this time, he had already guessed why Kobayashi hid his lunchbox.

There is only one reason.

When we were in the same class in junior high, I remember Xiaolin being more fond of showing off her possessions than other girls her age. She could use imported ballpoint pens with different thicknesses, perfumes that I thought only adults would wear, and extra-large strawberry parfaits that most junior high students couldn't afford. These were all things she could use to show off in front of others.

Therefore, Xiaolin has always left others with the impression of a stubborn and rebellious rich girl.

When she eats a discounted, cheap lunchbox in class, the image she has worked so hard to build will crumble.

Thinking about these aspects, Kaoru showed an "I see" expression.

"Kobayashi has the money to buy concert tickets for the inner field and is willing to spend tens of thousands of yen on expensive leather bags, but when it comes to food, he only eats a 300 yen special bento box. Such an imbalance in the distribution of his wealth is too much."

"If others knew you were like this, all the image you've worked so hard to create would be ruined. That's why you ran off to hide in a place like this and secretly ate your lunch alone. Am I right? This overly vain Kobayashi."

Xiaolin, who was walking at the front, stopped.

When she turned around again, Kaoru's back slammed against the metal railing at the edge of the roof with a loud 'bang'.

The bento box fell to the ground, and the only meat item inside, the fried chicken cutlet, also fell to the ground.

He leaned down slightly and saw an angry face that also seemed helpless towards him.

"I'm reminding you, Kobayashi, you're just a high school student. If you make a mistake, you should correct it in time. Being stubborn and refusing to learn from it is terrible."

Kaoru tried to persuade her in her own tone.

Kobayashi gritted her teeth and made a "tsk" sound, gripping his collar tightly with both hands. She spoke in a threatening tone, "What you think is irrelevant, but if you plan to tell anyone about this, I won't let you off easily, understand?"

"I'm saving you."

Xun was not afraid of her threat, and shifted her gaze from his face to the constantly blinking transparent window in front of her.

One lie leads to a series of lies.

A vain heart can never be satisfied by material possessions. While enjoying the praise of others, she has already stepped into the abyss, without even realizing it.

[A young girl, driven by vanity, began to recklessly fabricate one false fact after another, using one lie to cover up another—this was her usual method.]

[If this continues, she will lose herself as she sinks deeper into the swamp. At that point, her feet will be completely imprisoned in that swamp called 'Vanity,' from which she will never be able to escape.]

[Aid mission initiated (S-rank)]

[Mission Objective: To correct her vanity]

[Note: All financial losses related to mission objectives will be borne by this system, with a daily limit of 100,000 yen and a maximum loss of 500,000 yen. Please allocate funds reasonably. (Upgrades are possible, but require the aid progress to reach 20%, currently not available.)]

"Thank you for your kindness, but unfortunately, I don't need anyone to save me."

Kobayashi released her grip on his collar and turned away, somewhat dejected.

Kaoru bent down, straightened her disheveled collar, stared at the inedible bento box on the ground, and fell into deep thought.

......

Xiaolin didn't attend the first class in the afternoon, which was expected.

Does anyone know where Kobayashi went?

The teacher in charge of the class looked around and asked this question.

Everyone shook their heads in unison, as if they had planned it beforehand.

This is the third time Xiaolin has skipped class this week.

Wow, that's impressive! They completely disregard the teacher.

Whispers could be heard coming from the classroom.

"If no one knows..."

"I know where Kobayashi is."

At that moment, Kaoru stood up.

......