Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [38]

“Don’t touch me!”

Inside the train, a fair-skinned, blue-eyed blonde girl smacked away the hand reaching for her—belonging to the bespectacled boy beside her.

“If you didn’t want to come, you didn’t have to. I never forced you.”

Several married men nearby overheard the familiar line and glanced at Kitahara Takeru with schadenfreude.

They’d all been through it once.

No denying it—women really were crafty creatures.

That shyness, that quiet modesty before you started dating… how many men had fallen for that act?

“Eriri, be reasonable, okay? I was just suggesting—”

“Reasonable? I’m dating you, not here to listen to your lectures.”

Before Kitahara could finish, Eriri’s rose-pink lips curled into a cold smile. The air around her bristled with aggression.

Kitahara shut his eyes and rubbed his temples with a sigh of exhaustion.

He’d come to realize—reasoning with a woman never worked.

But you couldn’t just ignore her either.

If your girlfriend got mad and you didn’t coax her out of it, she'd turn into your ex-girlfriend the next day.

Is this even dating anymore?

Kitahara seriously questioned why he ever got involved with a girl who couldn’t even control her emotions. He was already thinking of breaking u—

Wait.

Something wasn’t adding up.

“When did we start dating?”

He didn’t remember accepting a confession, nor giving one.

Wasn’t he just a stand-in?

When did that turn into a relationship?

“You bastard—” Eriri started, then stopped abruptly, realization hitting her like a freight train.

Right. She and Watanabe Takeru were only employer and employee.

She’d gotten too deep into character.

Just now, she had really seen herself as Watanabe Takeru’s girlfriend.

The men on the train listened, eyes wide, watching the young pair with growing curiosity.

It felt like they were witnessing some very modern form of dating roleplay.

Kitahara simply stared at Eriri.

So she wanted to play pretend, and she went full method on him.

Not only that—she was trying to emotionally manipulate him into playing along too.

And it had worked. He’d almost started thinking about how to break up with her.

“...Putting aside the fact that we’re not actually dating, shouldn’t you still be comforting me?” Eriri launched into the classic female counterattack—irrationality.

Seriously? Couldn’t win with guilt-tripping, so now we’re just tossing out facts entirely?

Kitahara figured if he’d lost all interest in having a real girlfriend, Kasumigaoka Utaha and Sawamura Spencer Eriri deserved at least half the blame.

Both of them were absolutely exhausting.

After a session with either of them, the very thought of romance just evaporated.

Eriri knew she was in the wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize properly. Instead, she tilted her head away and muttered, “I’m not unreasonable or anything. Just say something nice and I’ll be fine.”

Kitahara: “...?”

Come again?

Girl, you’re seriously trying to sell that line?

Lie to yourself all you want, but why you gotta lie to me too?

Do you even believe the words coming out of your mouth?

And what do you mean he hasn’t tried comforting you?

He’d been coaxing her since before they got on the train.

Kitahara was speechless—but then again, this was just how tsunderes were.

Dignity came first, no matter what.

Taking a breath to steady himself, Kitahara asked gently, “So, are we heading straight to Akihabara, or grabbing something to eat first?”

He’d already done the math—they’d reach Akihabara around five-thirty or six.

Perfect dinner time.

“I’m fine either way. You decide.” Eriri fiddled with her fingers, sneaking a glance at him. The moment their eyes met, she quickly looked away.

Kitahara understood—that was her way of backing down.

Tsunderes were like that.

Even when they knew they were wrong, don’t expect them to actually say “sorry.”

It’s why people always say tsunderes lose in love.

“Let’s eat first. Yakiniku or Chinese?” Kitahara pulled out his phone and began searching for a well-reviewed restaurant he hadn’t tried before.

“You pick.”

Eriri glanced down at Kitahara’s left hand.

His fingers were long and slender, with well-defined knuckles—clean, elegant lines.

That was her favorite part of him.

They were hands she could never fully capture, even in her best sketches.

Kitahara never understood why she liked holding hands so much.

But for Eriri, interlacing fingers was an intimate gesture. It meant both people loved each other deeply.

It meant staying together for life—a hope that love would last forever.

She wanted her love to last.

After over a minute of hesitation, she let her hand swing a little, just enough to brush the back of his.

Kitahara looked over.

Eriri, sensing his gaze, turned her head away and bit her lip lightly. She pretended to focus on the scenery flashing by the train window—but it was obvious to everyone that her mind was elsewhere.

Just be honest. Is it really that hard? You’ll never get the guy you like at this rate...

Kitahara could only sigh at her tsundere antics.

Acting like nothing had happened, he naturally reached out and took her hand. Then he tilted his head slightly, showing her his phone. “What do you think of this place?”

This time, Eriri didn’t pull away. She leaned in, their heads almost touching as they quietly discussed dinner options.

She might’ve been a tsundere, but she wasn’t stupid.

She knew Kitahara was giving her an out.

He always did.

No matter how much she acted out, no matter how unreasonable she got, he never got mad.

As long as she turned around, the man called Watanabe Takeru would always be there. He’d never leave her behind.

Eriri had to admit—she was just a spoiled little girl, spoiled by him.

Because she knew he liked her.

And isn’t that always the way? The one who’s loved has nothing to fear.

With him, she could throw tantrums, be selfish, and let her guard down completely.

Because Eriri knew—Watanabe Takeru would accept all of her.

If only you’d shown up sooner, Takeru... Eriri looked up, eyes fixed on the boy whose face looked so much like her childhood friend’s.

If he had been her childhood friend, maybe they would’ve gone from innocent kids to sweethearts, from school uniforms to wedding attire.

But there were no “what ifs.”

Sometimes, you just had to admit—timing is everything.

If you’d met someone at a different time, the ending really could’ve been different.

It’s not that Watanabe Takeru wasn’t good enough.

He just didn’t arrive at the right moment.

He’d come too late.

Kitahara noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you staring at me like that? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me?”

“Tch. Don’t flatter yourself. As if I’d ever fall for you.”

Even if Eriri was falling for the boy in front of her, would she ever admit it?

If she did—she wouldn’t be Sawamura Spencer Eriri anymore.

“You’re just a stand-in I hired, nothing more.”

---

T/N: wow no wonder megumi kato wins shes so much more reasonable :sob:

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!