-----
------
"Huff... huff..."
Wait, wasn't this supposed to be just a little teasing?
Now she finally understood how someone as gentle and reserved as Ran could fall so easily.
One hour later.
Akira only let her go after she had completely cleaned up.
Ding-dong—
"Welcome!"
The sound of the convenience store sensor chimed at the worst possible moment.
"Clean up."
"I'm going out to check on something."
Clean up?
What else was left to clean?
Sonoko instinctively licked her lips.
Gulp~
Her throat moved involuntarily.
There shouldn't be anything left to clean up… right?
But the moment she looked down, she immediately understood what Akira meant.
Meanwhile…
"That'll be 358 yen."
"Thank you! Please come again!"
"Your total is 1,332 yen."
"Paying separately or together?"
After 10 PM, CLOVER convenience store welcomed another group of late-night university students who refused to sleep.
Gotta say, their timing was spot on.
If they had come just ten minutes earlier, there was no way he and Sonoko would have had the time or energy to entertain them.
"Thanks! Come again!"
Once the last customer left, Sonoko, who had been hiding in the storage room, finally walked out, her legs trembling slightly.
Even after ten minutes, the flush on her face hadn't faded. Her big, watery eyes still carried a hazy,
dazed look.
"All cleaned up…"
"I think I should go home now."
It was already late.
Technically speaking…
Her shift had ended an hour ago.
So that "unforgettable time" in the storage room definitely counted as overtime.
"Wait."
"I'll take you home."
As he spoke, Akira took off his green striped uniform and moved the remaining stock into the
backroom for sorting.
"Hmm… nice work."
Akira nodded in satisfaction, looking at the neatly organized storage area.
This woman cleaned up really well!
On the road.
Sonoko sat in the passenger seat of a Ferrari worth several million yen, but she felt nothing.
Not because a car of this level was unworthy of the Suzuki family's attention—
But because she was numb.
This was her first time, damn it…
And Akira went at it so ruthlessly.
"Hey—"
"Don't tell Ran about tonight."
Sonoko suddenly broke the silence in the car.
As she spoke, her fingers fidgeted, nervously intertwining.
"Why?" Akira asked.
"Just… don't say anything, okay?"
"Do you get it?"
Now she finally understood why Ran had tried to hide her relationship with Akira at first.
That woman probably wasn't mentally prepared in the beginning either.
Of course!
What happened between her and Akira wasn't just about not being ready.
There was also the matter of Ran and Fuyuki Shiori—two "pioneers" who came before her.
Akira claimed Ran wouldn't get mad, but if she ever found out, she'd probably use her karate skills to send Sonoko flying.
"We're here."
Sonoko didn't even say goodbye. She just hurriedly opened the door and bolted.
Walking up the cobblestone path to the villa…
She could feel her legs wobbling, no longer under her control.
The sweet and bitter taste of love—
Tonight, she had experienced it all.
"Damn…"
"This place is fancy."
Akira looked at the massive villa before him, genuinely impressed by the Suzuki family's wealth.
He had thought his Ferrari F8 was luxurious enough.
But now…
Parking in front of the Suzuki estate, he suddenly felt poor.
"Sonoko."
"See you tomorrow."
With that, Akira slammed the gas pedal and sped off.
The sight of the Suzuki estate made him reconsider his own property purchases from the system's item list.
"..."