Chapter 4: 'Quillan, please be my boyfriend.'

"Norika, is someone with you? Heh... Is it your boyfriend?"

Hearing Quillan’s cough, Norika Harada’s father questioned her over the phone. Norika quickly explained, "N-No, Father, I’m at school!"

As she spoke, she threw Quillan a stern, warning glance, motioning for him not to make another sound.

"Norika, are you getting bashful?"

A middle-aged woman’s voice came through the line; clearly, her mother had taken over the phone.

Norika chatted with her parents for a while longer. Feeling entirely like a third wheel standing there, Quillan quietly slipped out of her office.

He had no desire to stay in front of Norika a moment longer. Instinct told him that playing along with her games would eventually get him dragged into a pit!

Just then, the bell for the second period rang. Returning to the classroom, Quillan noticed many girls casting strange looks at him, while Miyuki Sakurai sat there with a round, blushing face...

What happened now?

Quillan had a bad feeling about this.

To make matters worse, Norika walked in shortly after, looking thoroughly displeased.

This class was meant for electing class officers. After getting to know the teacher and fellow classmates during the first period, the selection results were pretty much a given.

Out of twenty-seven students, twenty-six voted for Ruri Hosokawa as class president. Only Quillan held onto his ballot, choosing to abstain!

The girl seated directly in front of him—Ruri Hosokawa, the sole candidate running for class president—turned around to look at the unused ballot in Quillan’s hands, her eyes filled with resentment.

This guy actually abstained?

Ruri withdrew her gaze, but she quietly took note of Quillan’s name in her heart.

Sensing Ruri’s dissatisfaction, Miyuki quietly nudged Quillan’s arm when no one was looking and whispered a reminder, "Quillan, Ruri-chan’s mother is the school’s board director. Why didn’t you vote for her?"

Although she didn’t state it outright, Quillan could hear the worry in Miyuki’s tone—she was afraid he’d offend Ruri Hosokawa.

Truth be told, Quillan hadn’t abstained on purpose. He couldn’t care less who became class president.

He had simply gotten distracted for a moment. Seeing how terrible Norika’s expression was, he had worried if something went wrong.

If it had nothing to do with him, he wouldn’t care, but things clearly weren’t that simple!

Hearing Miyuki’s worried words, Quillan jokingly said to her, "It’s fine. It’s not like my single vote would make a difference. What a pity, though! If you had run for class president, Miyuki, I would’ve voted for you. Now it’s just wasted!"

"Huh? Me... I couldn’t possibly!"

Miyuki replied cutely, but hearing that Quillan wanted to give his vote to her, her face turned red as she thought to herself: Quillan called me Miyuki! Is he showing affection toward me? And he wanted to save his only vote for me!

With those sweet thoughts swirling in her mind, Miyuki looked at Quillan shyly. She then snatched the ballot with ’Quillan’ written on it right out of his hand, stashing it away as if it were a precious treasure!

Miyuki’s reaction left Quillan dumbfounded. Immediately, he felt another hostile glare fixed on him. Looking up, he saw Ruri Hosokawa, who had just successfully been elected class president. She had returned to her seat at some point, and judging by her expression, she had clearly overheard their conversation.

Her face was utterly dark.

Looks like I’ve officially started a feud with her. What a petty girl...

Quillan sighed internally. Now he finally understood why Gavin, that terrible friend of his, had pulled strings to send him to an all-girls high school—just to watch him suffer and gloat.

An all-girls school was no place for a real man!

It hadn’t even been two hours—just two class periods—and Quillan had already managed to provoke three different women...

The bell rang again, signaling the end of class. The final morning period wasn’t taught by Norika Harada, so Quillan breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wouldn’t have to face that old maid for a while.

Tragically, history repeated itself. Norika, who had already walked out of the classroom, turned back around and called out, "Student Quillan, please come to my office for a moment!"

"..."

Quillan stood up with a dark expression. He truly wanted to refuse, but since it was his very first day, he didn’t want to give Norika an excuse to target him, so he compromised.

"Why is Teacher Harada calling him to her office again?"

"Could there be something going on between him and Teacher Harada?"

After Quillan left, the students in the class started gossiping again. Hearing their chatter, Miyuki clenched her small fists.

She really wanted to stand up and tell them to stop making things up, but she couldn’t muster the courage!

Arriving outside Norika’s office, Quillan walked in only to find her alone again. He genuinely wondered if she had chased all the other teachers away.

"You’re here?"

Compared to her earlier fierce demeanor, Norika now looked completely defeated, like an eggplant withered by frost. After Quillan entered, she intentionally stood up, locked the office door, and then looked at him, saying, "What should I do? Quillan... my parents said they’re coming to Tokyo to see me!"

"Let them visit. You’re an adult; why wouldn’t your parents come see you?"

Quillan retorted in annoyance. He poured himself a glass of water, sat comfortably in Norika’s chair, and took a leisurely sip. After a moment of silence from Norika, something clicked, and he asked, "Wait... don’t tell me your parents coming to Tokyo isn’t actually to see you?"

Norika nodded dejectedly and said, "They’re coming to see my boyfriend. But... forget a boyfriend, I don’t even have a single male friend! Right now... only you, Quillan—no! Quillan-kun, only you can help me!"

"Me?"

Surprised, Quillan went to point a finger at his own chest, only to realize his right hand was holding the water cup while his left hand had been seized by Norika!

Norika smiled, her eyes squinting into crescent slits. Truth be told, she had large, gorgeous eyes; no matter how much she smiled, they wouldn’t naturally narrow that much, so Quillan knew her expression was completely staged.

"Quillan-kun, please pretend to be my boyfriend!"

Norika’s sentence made Quillan spit out his mouthful of water.

"Give me a break!"

Wiping his mouth, Quillan glared at her in exasperation. "Lady, do you even realize how old I am? You’ve got to be at least thirty, and I’m only seventeen—not even fully seventeen yet..."

"You’re the one who’s thirty!"

Norika’s expression flipped instantly. Do I look like I’m thirty?!

She suddenly pinched the flesh on Quillan’s arm with full force, making him wince from the sharp pain.

"Let go, you crazy woman! You played with fire yourself; who told you to lie and say you had a boyfriend?"

"I won’t! If you hadn’t answered my mother’s call this morning, how would things have ended up like this? Besides, you saw my entire bare body—aren’t you going to take responsibility?!"

"Take responsibility my ass! I did see you, but can you really blame me for that?!"

"So you admit you saw me completely bare!"

Norika suddenly released his arm. With a sly grin, she pulled a voice recorder from her bust and waved it in front of Quillan’s face...

Quillan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. What had he just said?!

He felt dizzy. This damn woman actually recorded it!

"Now I have evidence in my hands, and I can easily lie to the principal and the board director, telling them you broke into my room in the middle of the night. After all, you didn’t mention that part just now!" Norika leaned in close, asking smugly, "Now, tell me, Quillan—do you think the principal and board director will listen to you, or will they believe me?"

Quillan’s face turned grim. He knew she wasn’t bluffing. With this voice recording and his status as an international student, even if the matter reached the principal, they would undoubtedly side with Norika!

One was a school teacher, the other a male foreign student. Any idiot knew who they would believe!

"What do you actually want?"

"I want you, Quillan, to pretend to be my boyfriend when my parents come to Tokyo!"