บท 126: The Protagonist Is Also Human

As soon as the gathering time arrived, the group gathered at the cashier to check out.

　　After exiting the shop, the six of them had many bags in their hands. Only a small part of them were purchased from the public account, and the rest were purchases obtained by five people who played to the full extent of women's shopping instincts and the temperament of rich people.

　　The five people bought things to enjoy together, but they couldn't carry a big bag together, so they just divided it into five bags and carried them in their hands.

　　As for Shinichi, he doesn't buy anything other than what's on the shopping list. Even the teacups were purchased on the official account, so he only needed to bring a small bag containing six teacups and some office supplies, which seemed easy enough.

　　However, following the five girls and listening to their conversation, Shinichi felt a lot of strange sights, so he quietly observed.

　　This kind of stare is mostly done by men, with a hint of shock, sigh, contempt, and other emotions. After a bit of appraisal, he knew why he was being looked at like this.

　　The reason of course lies in the bag in his hand.

　　Unlike their personal bags, the five girls carried bags that could be considered heavy items. As far as mainstream Asian etiquette culture is concerned, as a man, he should help them carry it.

　　Maybe that's why they looked at him so much? He cursed himself as a straight man of steel, wishing someone could take his place, thinking of showing some courtesy to the quintuplets, to win over them.

　　Heh, they really are a bunch of pure male creatures.

　　"Asada-san, is your bag heavy? Need I bring it for you?" asked Yotsuba.

　　"It's not heavy, it's not necessary, thank you." Shinichi firmly rejected Yotsuba's kindness.

　　But after careful consideration, it can be found that this is actually a very interesting phenomenon.

　　Although the view that "men have to carry things for women" has a very strong gender bias, this bias is not shared by women, but the comparison between self-esteem and physical strength of men has given rise to such a mindset.

　　That is, the source of the idea that "a man who lets a woman hold things is not a good man" was first thought of by the man himself, and the reason for this is that everyone has a different "masculine dignity".

　　Shinichi tested his own thoughts, he first extended his hand to Itsuki beside him, and said politely.

　　"It's a little sudden to say that, but I wanted to feel what it's like to experience social practices. Provide items for women specifically."

　　"Excuse me, could you leave the bag to me temporarily?"

　　The five stopped chatting and stared at him in surprise.

　　"Eh? It's a bit heavy..."

　　Before Itsuki could finish speaking, Shinichi's hand suddenly dropped down.

　　"What the hell!?"

　　In amazement, he quickly straightened his back, and stabilized the bag in the air.

　　The arm started to exert force, he seemed to have thought of something, he gritted his teeth and said to Itsuki.

　　"I even forgot that you actually bought rice..."

　　Snacks and other things are fine, why do shops that sell daily necessities sell rice? So what do buyers think?

　　If you want to eat, go to the supermarket to buy it!

　　Being stared at by her like this, Itsuki dared to look at Shinichi.

　　"I heard that this is a new product, so I wanted to buy it back and eat it... People depend on food, everyone does this... So, I should do it properly."

　　After thinking about it and getting arguments, Itsuki immediately raised her head, looking straight at Shinichi.

　　"It's just a sack of rice, and I paid for it with my own money. Is there something wrong? Asada-kun, please advise!"

　　Shinichi: "😐"

　　When did this honest girl study badly? And this kind of self-persuasion was very familiar, where did this shameless person learn it from?

　　The corner of his mouth twitched, but Shinichi didn't say anything to her, but lifted the bag in his hand.

　　Good thing he can bear that weight. After all, no matter how badly he exercises, as a healthy person, there's no way he's helpless. He usually helps his family make soy sauce, buy packaged rice, etc.

　　Please don't think of him as the protagonist, this is the biggest challenge to his pride.

　　The reason why there was a feeling of difficulty was purely because he hadn't warmed up properly, and Itsuki was caught off guard letting him go, so far Shinichi was able to easily deal with it.

　　Exhaling lightly, he found a cold finger in his palm.

　　He looked down, and the fingernails covered in nail polish pulled back, leaving a heavy bag in her palm.

　　Shinichi looked at Nino expressionlessly, and Nino returned him with a pure and sweet smile and said softly.

　　"Let me also come to ask for a helping hand, Chief!"

　　Then she nimbly took the bags from Ichika, Miku, and Yotsuba, put them all into Shinichi's hands, and saw that his face was slowly turning red, and his hands were trembling slightly.

　　"So, how do you feel now~" Covering her lips lightly with one hand, pride at a successful joke flashed in her eyes. Nino smiled lightly, pretended to be kind and said, "If you can't hold on, you can let go at any time? After all, even if you're a boy, there's no way to walk around with something that heavy~"

　　Shinichi didn't speak, just walked forward silently, sweat started dripping from his forehead.

Yotsuba followed behind him anxiously, but she didn't say that she would help him, but was ready to rush over at any moment. As soon as Shinichi showed signs of not being able to hold on, she would immediately take the bag.

　　"Hmph... He's quite manly..."

　　Seeing that his whole body was tensing with fatigue, but his face was calm and not showing any embarrassment, for some reason, Nino's gaze changed slightly, even blushed a little.

　　How does it feel... a little cool...

　　Shaking her head wildly in her heart to refute this idea, she looked away as if nothing had happened, and planned to reach out again to take all the bags back.

　　It's okay to play around, but she can't let him really strain or sprain his muscles because of this... It's not that she cares about him, it's just that there must be a limit to doing things, in order to maintain good interpersonal relations!

　　But before touching the bag, a cell phone rang.

　　The attention of several people immediately turned towards the ringing bell – Ichika's bag.

　　"Sorry for bothering you guys~" Ichika smiled at them, and just as Shinichi was about to complain about her, he found that her expression suddenly changed as she took out her phone and looked at the screen.

　　Then, without even saying hello, Ichika quickly walked to a corner with her cell phone in hand, and connected the call