Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [12]

“Tiny, I’m heading to school. Be good at home — no chewing stuff up, and if it gets hot, turn on the AC yourself.”

Kitahara Takeru stood before the mirror, tightening his tie and slipping into his school uniform jacket. After a quick touch-up to his hair, he gave Tiny a few parting words and headed out.

“Woof!”

Tiny was currently sprawled on the sofa, eyes locked on the television.

At the moment, Pokémon was playing — or rather, as it’s known in Japan, Pocket Monsters.

Slinging his bag over one shoulder, Takeru had just opened the door to leave when he remembered it was garbage day. He turned back and grabbed the trash.

Throwing out garbage in Japan was a nightmare.

Not only did you have to sort everything meticulously, but you could only toss it twice a week.

Miss Monday or Thursday, and tough luck — wait till next week.

And for kitchen waste, you needed to use special government-designated bags and put it in the garbage room before noon on Wednesdays or Fridays.

One word: tedious!

After dumping the trash, Takeru swiped into the station and caught the 7:30 train.

The train rattled as it moved. Takeru clutched the overhead strap, earbuds in, listening to an English audio drama to practice his comprehension.

It had been a long time since he graduated high school — most of the knowledge had long since been returned to the teachers — and picking it back up wasn’t exactly easy. But he wasn’t worried.

Because he could grind.

You see, back in his last life, his starting point had been in the educational hellscape of San Zhuang — a province infamous for its brutal schooling.

Other provinces worried whether their kids could get into college. San Zhuang parents were sweating bullets over whether their kids could even get into high school.

Here’s a fun fact: San Zhuang’s high school entrance exam eliminates 50% of students.

Out of a 700-point test, if you scored a 610? Sorry — not even high school.

And don’t get him started on how hard the tests were. Started with “1 + 1”, ended with “build an airplane.”

But hey, glass half full.

The exams were hellish, sure. But the university cutoffs were also sky-high. Iron sharpened iron.

Ding ding—

The train doors slid open, and a flock of chattering girls flooded in, packing the already crowded car to the brim.

Even with Tokyo’s sprawling above- and underground transit lines — like a spiderweb of steel — the morning rush was still shoulder-to-shoulder chaos.

Damn it!

Takeru cursed inwardly and, just like the other men around him, quickly raised both hands to grip the railings — a silent signal of I’m not groping anyone, I swear.

He did it to avoid being mistaken for a chikan — a subway pervert.

Sexual harassment was a major issue in Japanese society.

If a woman accused you of harassment — boom — you could be arrested without any proof. Your reputation? Toast.

Even if you were proven innocent later, your name was already ruined.

In any country, rumors cost a single breath — clearing them costs your whole damn soul.

The film I Just Didn't Do It by Masayuki Suo was about that exact issue — wrongful accusations of molestation — and was based on a real case from late 2002.

It exposed just how abysmally low the acquittal rate was in Japanese courts.

These days, men were more scared than women to ride the trains. Most would rather stay miles away from them.

I should probably move “buying a car” up the priority list.

At sixteen, Takeru was already eligible to take the test for an ordinary motorcycle license.

He’d considered biking too — but bikes in Japan? Crazy expensive.

There wasn’t a single decent one under 20,000 yen.

He’d rather just get a motorcycle.

Besides, he was a bike guy. And Japan’s second-hand market was cheap.

As he drifted through these random thoughts, something soft and warm suddenly pressed against his chest.

He looked down and found a girl in a sailor-style school uniform practically collapsed into him — beautiful face, killer D-cup figure.

Her skin was pale and dewy, like a peach you could squeeze juice from.

Long, warm purple hair shimmered faintly in the light.

Shit!

Takeru immediately went on high alert, beating her to the first move: “You too… wanna have a samurai duel with me?”

Yamato, lend me your strength!

Takeru slowly clenched his right fist, gaze turning as steely as Cristiano Ronaldo’s.

With a faint flicker of killing intent.

The already trembling girl caught the edge of that gaze and shivered even harder.

To a bystander, it might’ve looked like Takeru held the remote that controlled the little devil inside her, set to “panic.”

Just as he was about to unleash his charged punch, a system panel popped up.

Target: Katsura Kotonoha
Age: 16
Intelligence: 8
Charm: 9
Stamina: 4
Origin: School Days
Partner: Itou Makoto
Status: Has boyfriend. Still available for dating.

Takeru’s clenched fist instantly deflated, like a balloon losing air.

Wait a second!

That line — Has boyfriend. Still available for dating. — felt like a glitch in the Matrix.

Bro... I thought this was a stand-in system, not a NTR system!

And he didn’t even have dyed blond hair!

Forget it. I’m passing on this one.

Takeru had no interest in other people’s girlfriends.

That wasn’t his thing.

He leaned back slightly and took half a step back, but the train was too cramped — he accidentally stepped on someone’s foot.

“Sorr—”

Takeru turned to apologize, but the girl behind him looked up with a stormy expression, brows slightly furrowed, and he instantly felt the pressure.

Then — ding! — another system pop-up.

Target: Komi Shouko
Age: 16
Intelligence: 9
Charm: 9
Stamina: 6
Origin: Komi-san Can’t Communicate
Partner: Katsura Kotonoha
Status: Not dating. Available for dating.

Date… her?

Takeru glanced over at this so-called Komi Shouko.

She wore a white blouse under a beige knit cardigan, her ribbon tied with textbook precision.

Her trademark heart-shaped face was delicate and refined, and her black-violet hair flowed past her shoulders.

Her legs — those unreal legs — could easily compete with Kasumigaoka Utaha’s. Wrapped in black tights, they looked like they came straight out of an anime effect pack.

Even her polished leather shoes gleamed.

An undeniable, top-tier beauty.

But the aura she gave off — “Do not approach” — made Takeru hesitate.

“Uh… hey, hi?”

He figured he’d at least try, for the money.

She looked like she came from money.

If it meant getting close to a rich girl, he’d even consider scrubbing her bathhouse floor with steel wool— okay, no, actually, scratch that. That’s way too much.

Maybe later.

Once the system gave him iron skin or diamond body upgrades or something, he’d give it a go.

Assuming those were even in the system?

“......”

When Takeru greeted her, Komi Shouko’s expression only darkened.

Takeru started to lose his nerve.

Never mind. Forget this one too.

Better to focus all his energy on Nakano Yotsuba for now.

Yotsuba the little angel.

She looked easy to fool.

As he thought about Nakano Yotsuba, Takeru failed to notice Komi Shouko’s pale lips move slightly — as if she were trying to say something.

---

T/N: SCHOOL DAYS??? RUN RUNRUNRURNUNR

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!