Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [28]

Every Friday, students acted like cats about to go into heat — overly excited and restless.

All they had to do was get through the day, and tomorrow they could sleep in. No more dragging themselves out of bed at the crack of dawn.

They could hole up in an air-conditioned room, sip chilled drinks, and spend the entire day gaming without anyone breathing down their necks.

Everyone was buzzing with energy — everyone except Kitahara Takeru.

Because he’d discovered something terrifying: his system seemed to have bugged out.

He couldn’t take on new dates.

Right now, everything was still stalled with Katsura Kotonoha.

It was driving Kitahara Takeru up the wall.

It felt like you were in the middle of a grand main quest, only to accidentally trigger some rancid, long-winded side quest that dragged on like an old lady’s foot wrap — and you couldn’t continue the main story until you slogged through it.

Wasn’t that just infuriating?

If Kitahara had enough points, he could’ve just spent 10,000 to forcibly end the date.

But unfortunately, all his points had gone into boosting his Intelligence stat.

Not a single one left.

In other words, if he couldn’t clear the Kotonoha event, he’d never be able to earn points again.

Everything else he could live with — but this? This was serious.

Every time he thought about it, a vein throbbed at his temple.

“Everything’s gone off the rails.”

He had the whole week planned out.

After school today, he’d head to Chiba to go on a date with Eriri, then take the train home for a well-earned rest.

Saturday morning, go jogging with Nakano Yotsuba to build rapport.

At noon, spend time with Shijō Maki, listen to her vent, and help strategize her so-called “Operation: Win Back Tanuma Tsubasa.”

In the evening, head back to Chiba to watch a romance film with Kasumigaoka Utaha for novel research.

Sunday morning? Back to jogging with Nakano Yotsuba.

In the afternoon, he'd carve out time to buy a car, and while at it, go clothes shopping with Kamikawa Rie.

That night — another date.

One he’d scheduled a week ago. With Hiratsuka Shizuka’s group.

He’d been set to rake in a massive haul of points this weekend. But thanks to this whole Kotonoha mess, the plan was completely shot.

At this point, he was seriously considering canceling everything — except for Kamikawa Rie.

Where exactly did it go wrong?

In class, Kitahara Takeru spun his 0.5mm mechanical pencil between his fingers, feigning attentiveness while his mind wandered to girl problems. His faux-concentration made the language teacher beam, her passion for lecturing rising a notch.

Of course, that enthusiasm had nothing to do with Kitahara scoring third in the national mock exams last year, which had made the principal so happy he handed her a hefty bonus.

“Excuse me!”

Mid-lecture, a soft, distinctly feminine voice came from the classroom door — and Kitahara’s body jolted.

His mechanical pencil slipped from his fingers, landing with a thwap on his textbook.

But no one was looking at him now. Every pair of eyes had shifted to the doorway.

“Whoa, check her out!”

“Super pretty girl. She might even be hotter than Rie!”

“Get your eyes checked. Rie’s way prettier, okay?”

“Okay, looks aside, but... seriously? That figure? That size? How’s that even legal in high school?”

“You guys only ever think with your d—brains, don’t you?”

“Wait, why’s she wearing a Yano Academy uniform? Is she a transfer student?”

At the classroom door stood a stunning girl: long legs, slim A4 waist, 34D bust, swan-like neck, and porcelain skin on an egg-shaped face.

The entire class stirred — especially the boys.

Young, beautiful, and well-endowed? That was like catnip to hormone-fueled teenagers.

Then again, that type probably worked no matter the age.

“Can I help you?”

The language teacher frowned slightly, puzzled.

She hadn’t received any notice about a transfer student.

“Excuse me... is Taka... Takeru here?”

Kotonoha hesitated, her voice small and shy, using a far-too-intimate way of addressing someone who was supposedly just a friend.

It couldn’t be helped. She didn’t know Kitahara’s full name.

All she knew was that he was called Takeru, and he was a student at Seijō Private High.

Her voice was so quiet, the teacher couldn’t make it out — but one of the girls near the door gasped and shouted, “Takeru? Did she just call Kitahara Takeru?!”

Kamikawa Rie, who’d been happily spectating, snapped to attention the moment she heard the name.

Takeru — that was how she called Kitahara.

What gave this thot the right to call him that?

“No way... don’t tell me she’s Kitahara’s actual girlfriend?”

“Damn it, Kitahara, you bastard!”

“Curse you, Kitahara! Straight to hell with you!”

“Kitahara, are our Seijō girls not good enough? Why’d you go pick someone from another school?”

“Kitahara, guys like you deserve to be physically neutered.”

As the crowd erupted into accusations, Kitahara’s face darkened visibly.

Gradually, the noise died down — everyone noticing for the first time that the usually affable Kitahara was genuinely pissed.

Kitahara resisted the urge to give Kotonoha a karate chop to the skull and raised his hand. “Sensei, she’s here to see me. I’ll step out for a moment.”

“Go ahead,” the teacher said, unbothered.

“Thank you, sensei.”

Kitahara got up and walked toward Kotonoha.

She gave him a small smile when she saw him — but the moment she saw the stormy look on his face, her smile vanished, and she lowered her head.

“Takeru, who’s she?”

As he passed by her desk, Kamikawa Rie grabbed his wrist.

“I’ll explain later.”

Kitahara gently shook her off and strode straight to Kotonoha. Without waiting for her consent — or caring about her fear of men — he grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall.

“Sensei, restroom break.”

He’d barely stepped out before Kamikawa Rie stood up, her long legs knocking her chair aside with a screech.

She didn’t wait for permission. She just walked right out.

She had to find out what that bitch’s relationship with Kitahara was.

Kitahara yanked Kotonoha to the corridor’s end, where the restroom hallway turned, and shoved her against the wall. His face was clouded like a thunderstorm.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

He never imagined she’d actually show up at his school.

He knew he shouldn’t have met these girls using his real face.

“The reporters who interviewed us... they were all fired.”

“He thought you and I were a couple, and he’s been harassing me nonstop, begging me to talk to you on his behalf.”

Kotonoha glanced nervously at his expression, her voice shrinking. “They’ve been bothering me for days. It’s starting to affect my daily life.”

Kitahara’s expression eased slightly. “So you came here today... to plead for him?”

“Partially.”

Kotonoha bit her lip. After a moment of hesitation, she added, “My little sister heard about everything... she wants to invite you over for dinner.”

“I don’t think—”

Kitahara started to decline, but then he remembered the task was still stuck on Kotonoha. He changed tack.

“When?”

Kotonoha hadn’t even answered yet when a chilling voice sounded behind them:

“What are you two doing?”

---

T/N: uh oh Takeru is gonna get school dayed, uh also changing ktonoanthas school name to Yano that was the correct translation oopsies

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!