Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [27]

Sitting in the backseat of the extended Rolls-Royce, Yozakura Hitomi cast a glance toward Katsura Kotonoha.

Kotonoha wasn’t sure if it was just in her head, but the moment Hitomi’s gaze swept over her, she felt a sudden sharpness in the air.

Hitomi’s eyes lingered for a few seconds on Kotonoha’s conspicuously full chest. Then she rested her cheek on her elegant fist and smiled sweetly.

“And what does any of this have to do with me? Why should I care?”

Kitahara Takeru hadn’t expected Hitomi to be this blunt—in front of so many onlookers, no less.

He was momentarily thrown off, left awkwardly hanging in place. Flustered, he tried to threaten her—softly.

“Don’t push me… I’ll kneel if I have to.”

“Oh?” Hitomi’s smile curled like a crescent moon. “Go ahead. Show me.”

Takeru froze.

Seriously? She’s actually gonna make me kneel in public?

What about his pride?

With his face scrunched up in injustice, he muttered, “Can’t we… do this in private?”

Hitomi’s smile only widened at the sight of his pitiful expression. But if you looked closely, there wasn’t a trace of warmth behind her eyes.

“That’s a shame. If you’d knelt right now, I might’ve let you kiss my foot.”

“…What?”

Takeru blurted it out without thinking—and instantly regretted it.

Not because he wanted to kiss her foot. Just to be clear, he was not some kind of foot fetish freak.

He just hated that his reflexive “What?!” made him sound exactly like one.

To prove he wasn’t a leg guy, he’d even left a five-star review on Three Kingdoms Kill.

“…Regretting it now?”

Hitomi lazily crossed her long, shapely legs, clad in thigh-high stockings. Whether intentionally or not, they began to sway.

Takeru’s eyes darted down instinctively—then immediately snapped back up.

“Regret? Not possible. Not in this lifetime.”

“All bark, no bite,” Hitomi said, her pale fingers lightly brushing the pronounced curve of his throat. Her tone was breezy, but the air around her was not.

“Alright then—who is she?”

She’d already decided: the moment he said something she didn’t want to hear, she’d end him.

Takeru, of course, remained blissfully unaware.

“Oh, her? That’s Katsura Kotonoha. She drops by the store sometimes. Ran into her on the street and made small talk. Then those guys just randomly started assuming we’re dating.”

“Mm-hmm?”

Hitomi cast a glance toward the filming crew. Mentally, she made a note to call up the station and have those clowns blacklisted.

“I mean it—she already has a boyfriend.”

Takeru assumed this would end the conversation.

But Hitomi only smiled. “Isn’t that a bonus for you guys?”

“…What?”

Something’s off here.

“You’re way off base! I’m a respectable person.”

Slander! This was outright slander!

Takeru hated nothing more than being lumped into those sweeping generalizations.

“Respectable people admire Cao Cao?”

“I’m moved by the man’s charisma, alright?!”

“You sure about that?”

Faced with Hitomi’s clear, unblinking stare, Takeru’s confidence started to crack.

He… probably wasn’t that kind of guy… right?

Hitomi let out a soft laugh, the corners of her lips curling into something faintly mocking.

“Alright, get in. I’m heading home anyway. I’ll give you a lift.”

“We’re leaving now?”

Takeru glanced back, clearly hesitant.

Hitomi’s gaze cooled instantly. Still, her voice was light and teasing. “What, planning to ride the train back with her?”

If he even hinted yes, she’d have him bottled in formaldehyde before the night was over.

“She’s got nothing to do with me,” he said flatly.

That response thawed Hitomi’s expression. Her eyes softened again.

“So tell me. If I just drive off now, tail between my legs… what do you think they’ll say?”

Hearing that, Takeru paused. Hitomi chuckled softly.

“This car? Those nobodies could work their whole lives and still never afford one. But you get to ride in it. So do you think they’ll mock you… or be terrified?”

Takeru thought it over.

She had a point.

Anyone who could afford a Rolls-Royce wasn’t a normal person.

If it were him on the outside looking in, he’d be sweating too.

“With you around,” he said, “I doubt anyone dares.”

He climbed into the car and grinned. “What about the Shino...miya family? Can they?”

“They can’t.”

Hitomi’s tone was arrogant, but Takeru had the odd feeling she wasn’t bluffing.

I must be losing my mind, he thought.

---

“…”

Katsura Kotonoha stood frozen on the sidewalk as she watched Takeru climb into the car and drive away—without so much as a glance in her direction.

A trace of loneliness bloomed in her chest.

Why is it… I’m always the one left behind?

Why am I always the one standing alone?

“Sumimasen!!!”

Snapped back to reality by the shout, Kotonoha turned.

The previously rude and cocky producer from earlier was now kneeling in front of her. In full view of the public, no less.

He dropped to his knees, braced his hands, and slammed his forehead down with force.

This was no ordinary apology—this was a full tiger-falls-to-the-ground kowtow.

“We shouldn’t have interviewed you without permission. That was wrong. I know that now. Please… ask your boyfriend to let me off. I’m begging you!”

Just moments earlier, he’d received the call—he was fired.

No doubt it was that sharp-tongued high schooler who’d done it.

He hadn’t expected Takeru to go nuclear and destroy his job in one strike.

But business was survival of the fittest. Once you were fired at his age, finding another job was basically impossible.

Dignity didn’t matter now. That stuff was worthless. What mattered was keeping his career alive.

His tiger-drop kowtow combo was perfectly executed—so fluid, so flawless, it left Kotonoha stunned.

“Miss, I’ve worked hard for twenty years. I can’t let it all go up in flames like this. I have a wife and a child… they need me to provide. Please, I’m begging you. Have a heart.”

His hands trembled as he pulled out his wallet and showed her a family photo.

A happy family of three, smiling sweetly into the camera. A warm, peaceful life.

“My daughter hasn’t even finished college yet… Miss, please beg your boyfriend for mercy. Just give me a chance to apologize properly.”

His voice was shaking. Full of panic and desperation.

“I… I’m sorry, sir. He’s not my boyfriend. I can’t help you.”

Kotonoha felt bad—genuinely bad. But there was nothing she could do.

Watanabe Takeru wasn’t her boyfriend.

In fact, even “Watanabe” wasn’t his real name.

She didn’t even know who he was.

The realization left her feeling oddly empty.

“Miss, please, I’m begging you—help me…”

But the middle-aged man wouldn’t listen. He kept bowing, again and again.

In his eyes, even if they weren’t dating, she clearly knew him well.

There was no way he could go speak to Takeru directly.

That kid had to be the heir of some powerful family.

Someone like him couldn’t even reach that level.

He needed a go-between.

Right now, Kotonoha was his only hope.

“I’m sorry. I really can’t help you.”

She bowed in apology, then turned and hurried away.

---

T/N: heh

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!