"Thank you for your hard work."
Suppressing her desire to complain, Fumino spoke as cheerfully as possible.
It took seventy-three tries to catch the doll, in a way, Ren was considered very strong.
Also, why did he have to look so proud?
Wasn't this an achievement to be proud of?
"It's okay, which doll do you want?"
Ren still remembered that Fumino wanted him to help her catch two dolls.
"No, this one is enough." Fumino quickly declined.
It took Ren a long time to catch one. If he caught the second one, wouldn't he have to wait until night?
Fumino quickly took out phone and checked the time.
16:53
If she remembered correctly, they started catching dolls at half past ten, right?
"Are you sure you don't want it?"
Ren was still reluctant and asked again.
"No, I'm satisfied with this doll." Fumino refused with a smile.
"Okay."
After hearing what she said, Ren gave up the idea of helping her catch another doll.
"Let's find a place to eat. We've been at the Game Center for too long." Fumino reminded softly.
Initially, she still thought of having lunch with him, but now it seemed like it was already considered dinner.
"Sure."
At this point, Ren realized the issue of time.
"Let's go."
"Welcome back another time."
So Fumino took him and left amidst the cheers of the Game Center staff.
Putting the star-filled rabbit doll into her bag, she turned to Ren and asked softly, "Kamikawa, what do you want to eat?"
"Anything's fine, it's up to you." Ren said casually.
"How about sushi?"
Fumino thought for a moment before making a suggestion.
Ren agreed: "Okay."
"In that case, come with me, I know a good sushi restaurant."
So Fumino took him to the store to commemorate.
"Yes."
After following her for a while and pulling out his phone to check the time, Ren suddenly said, "Sorry, Furuhashi."
"What's wrong?"
Fumino asked in surprise.
"I wasted too much time at the Game Center." Ren whispered, "And it's already evening, so we're going to eat, and we didn't go to the mall we agreed on."
Now it was almost night, and time was running out.
"Plus, even if we went to the mall, I wouldn't know what to buy." Fumino said nonchalantly.
"But I messed up your travel plans. Didn't you already plan our itinerary for today?"
That's what Fumino said this morning when Ren asked her if there was a place she wanted to go.
"It's okay. In fact, I still don't mind spending so much time playing at the Game Center with Kamikawa." Fumino shook her head slightly, "Compared to going to places I want to visit, I think this is still more interesting."
"But I wasn't playing with that doll, did you watch it?"
He watched from start to finish and had no intention of trying it herself.
Was it really interesting?
He wasn't so sure.
"No, actually I've been watching you." Fumino refuted his statement.
"Watching me?"
Ren was confused.
"Yes, my attention has been on you since you started catching that doll, not on the claw machine."
Drawing his gaze, Fumino stared at the blue sky.
"Why are you staring at me?" Ren was very confused.
Fumino said with a smile, "Because you look like something I've never seen before."
"What does that mean?"
This was beyond Ren's understanding.
"How should I say it?" Fumino tilted her head and thought for a moment before continuing, "You might play the claw machine. Compared to you being normal, you seem more approachable."
"Isn't it easy for me to approach you normally?"
Ren was slightly worried about this issue.
"Not the same."
Fumino looked at him again, with a loving smile on her face.
"Honestly, Kamikawa, in my eyes, you're almost a symbol of perfection."
"Good appearance, good grades, unmatched talent, helpful, polite, never angry... I can't find any flaws in you."
"But that's why I always feel there's a certain distance between you and me, a distance that I don't know where it is."
"Maybe because you're too perfect?"
"But when you played with the claw machine earlier, I realized that you, Kamikawa Ren, aren't actually that perfect."
"At least you don't know how to play the claw machine. It took seventy-three tries to catch the most ordinary doll."
"You will also think about it, and you will have crazy confidence, believing that you will catch it next time. You will also make mistakes, and you will also forget what we said about eating later..."
"You're not actually that perfect. Just like us, you have things that you don't master at all."
"Honestly, I'm very happy to play at the Game Center for so long, and I'm also very happy to see you playing catching dolls. It makes me see another side of you."
"You, who are imperfect, you, who are like a child."
"Compared to you who are usually very good at everything, I think you're still easier to approach now."
After finishing what she wanted to say in one breath, Fumino suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly apologized.
"Sorry, I accidentally said useless nonsense, you don't need to worry about it."
"It's okay."
Her long speech was beyond his understanding, so Ren only caught a few important contents that he deemed important.
"I don't look like a child at all." He replied very seriously.
Yes, that was what he deemed important.
At the age of 16, he had already surpassed the age range of children.
"No, you really look like a child when playing with the claw machine." Fumino complained.
"... Furuhashi, your birthday is on October 23rd, right?"
After a moment of silence, Ren asked.
"Yes."
Fumino didn't quite understand why he suddenly mentioned this.
"My birthday is on September 11th!" He stated firmly.
"I know, what's the matter?"
Fumino became even more confused about what he wanted to say.
Ren said without preamble: "So, you should call me Onii-chan!"
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