Stop the transfers, and the romance disappears.

Emotional animals are the most prone to holding grudges.
Women even more so.
Especially gold-digging green tea bitches.

Because women of this type, whether driven by vanity or competitiveness, will fight for any resource they believe will make them superior to others. And competition naturally breeds conflict, which in turn creates grudges. Therefore, every glittering, glamorous tea master has risen by stepping over the countless corpses of amateur tea art apprentices.

However, Tsuno Tsubasa still kept his guard up.
After all, to bump into an enemy by such a coincidence of time and place, only for them to pull off such a performance right in front of him—it was impossible not to suspect that these people and Hoshino Ruka had colluded and staged the whole thing.

A man staging a hero-saving-a-damsel routine is salivating over her body.
A woman can put on a grand production too.
She is just salivating over money.

Yet, just as they stepped out of the Shibuya club, Hoshino Ruka, whose hand he was holding, suddenly spoke up: "You pay for the things first later, and once we're done shopping, we'll go to the bank together so I can withdraw the money and pay you back."

Huh?
Tsuno Tsubasa felt the slightly tensed, delicate bones in his palm, and after a moment of thought, replied, "Why should you pay me back? Didn't I say I was buying this for my sister?"

It was quite obvious that she was very nervous.
Yet this paradoxically dispelled his suspicions.
Because if the group had colluded with her to stage a show for Tsuno Tsubasa, logically speaking, as the "director" of the scheduled subsequent scenes, Hoshino Ruka shouldn't have been nervous. Knowing that she just needed to stay silent to reap the benefit of Tsuno Tsubasa footing the bill, adding such an extra line...
Actually felt a bit excessive, ruining the effect by overdoing it.

Tsuno Tsubasa did not think she was that foolish. As the tea art representative for the Bunkyo Ward Office, if she were stupid to that extent, she would hardly deserve her reputation.

Of course.
It was also possible that she had anticipated his anticipation.
If that were the case, it would be terrifying.

However, if he was genuinely outmatched in skill, Tsuno Tsubasa wouldn't mind paying a little tuition to learn a thing or two from her. After all, he had come out today specifically to spend money, and picking up some genuine techniques would undoubtedly be a valuable asset to his career. He didn't care about a little tuition.

Besides, Hoshino Ruka had been exceptionally generous today. Just based on those few minutes of bowling, Tsuno Tsubasa felt that the rebate card was well worth spending on her.

Moreover, he wasn't really left guessing.
He directly activated his Malice List.

Hoshino Ruka's malicious thoughts became instantly clear at a glance.

[Malice Target: Hoshino Ruka]
[Malice List as follows:]
[1. Want to choke Ikeda Saki to death with my bare hands (Red)]
[2. Really want a Louis Vuitton bag (White)]
[3. Is Tsuno-kun actually planning to stand up for me and buy me things? Although I really want to accept, I suppose I shouldn't, otherwise he might overthink it (White)]

It seemed the earlier incident had indeed been real.
Well, that was for the best.
A pure rebate-grubber was much more reassuring to use.

Only, the stunned look on Hoshino Ruka's face clearly showed she hadn't expected Tsuno Tsubasa to say something like that after they came out, leaving her momentarily frozen: "Do you... really have a sister?"

"Nope."
"Then you..."
"But I can have one."

As he said this, Tsuno Tsubasa pushed open the door and walked inside, leaving Hoshino Ruka standing there in a daze.

There are many department stores in Shibuya.
And they are exceptionally dense.

The department store Ikeda Saki had mentioned earlier was less than two thousand meters away, so Tsuno Tsubasa and Hoshino Ruka walked there directly. Along the way, Tsuno Tsubasa led the front, and upon arrival, headed straight for Cartier.

"Welcome!"

A soft, sweet greeting rang out.
The moment they stepped into the store, a short-haired woman wearing a professional hip-hugging skirt hurried over, wearing an impeccably poised smile: "Good day, sir. I am Diana, a sales consultant at the Parco Department Store Cartier boutique. Please let me know if you need anything at all."

"Alright." Tsuno Tsubasa nodded.
Then he turned his head and said to Hoshino Ruka:
"Have a look around and see what you like."

Having said that, Tsuno Tsubasa did not lead her around the store to browse as Hoshino Ruka had expected. Instead, he walked over to a leather sofa on the other side, sat down, and called out, "Could I trouble you for a glass of water?"

"Certainly. Would you like anything else?"
"Do you have any cookie-like desserts?"
"Yes, we'll bring them right over."
"Great."

Seeing that Hoshino Ruka was still rooted to the spot looking utterly bewildered, Tsuno Tsubasa knew his strategy had taken effect. He didn't show the slightest hint of it on his face, though, casually waving a hand to give Hoshino Ruka the feeling that it was none of his concern: "Go pick something out, I'll wait for you here."

Though she wanted to say something, seeing that Tsuno Tsubasa was already sitting on the sofa looking down at his phone, Hoshino Ruka had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk toward the display counters.

His strange behavior unconsciously brought the word "test" to her mind.

But this test...
Wasn't it a bit too obvious?

For a moment, Hoshino Ruka couldn't quite figure out what Tsuno Tsubasa was getting at. Coupled with the belated realization that he had witnessed her most humiliating moment earlier, who knew what he might be thinking? His current, rather aloof demeanor was probably a clear reflection of those thoughts.

Harboring this insecure mindset, alongside the emotional hangover from Ikeda Saki reopening her scars, Hoshino Ruka had no intention of looking closely at anything. She randomly picked a pair of earrings and stopped.

"Tsuno-kun, I've chosen."

The sales consultant who had been trailing behind Hoshino Ruka put on white gloves, picked up the pair of earrings, slid her left hand from the back of her waist down to the hem of her tight skirt, and squatted down.

"Sir, these are the earrings this young lady has selected."
"Alright."

The earrings were small, but delicate.
Gleaming brilliantly under the lights.

However, when Tsuno Tsubasa took the earrings from Hoshino Ruka's hand and glanced at the price tag, he couldn't help smiling: "I'm not that stingy with my sister. These earrings aren't precious enough; we can pick something more decent."

The price on the tag was 240,000 yen.
A corporate slave's monthly salary.

Diana took back the earrings, stood up, and retreated to the side.

Standing nearby, a look of hesitation flickered across Hoshino Ruka's pretty face: "I think they're quite pretty..."

"What, does Hoshino-san think that as a sister who spends every day with me, she's only worth this little?"
"I didn't mean that."
"Then pick something else."
"But..."
"I'll pick then."

Tsuno Tsubasa shook his head, set down the half-eaten cookie in his hand, picked up a tissue to wipe his fingers, and cast his gaze at the dazzling array of counters not far away. He muttered to himself, "I have no idea what you like, but Cartier is probably best known for its bracelets and women's watches. I see you seem to have a habit of wearing a watch, so let's go with the Ballon Bleu—barely presentable."

The Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch series.
Every girl on the internet owns one.

This watch was so notoriously ubiquitous that its fame had practically become cliché, yet very few were actually willing to fork out the cash to buy one and wear it.

Even as an entry-level luxury watch, it was something countless green-tea wannabes droved over, much like an Apple iPhone—owning one was considered the baseline requirement.

Even if its fame outweighed the actual quality of the watch itself.
It was practical, though.
Especially for a gold-digger.

Hearing Tsuno Tsubasa shift the intended recipient of the gift from his sister to herself—even though she had vaguely guessed it—actually hearing it confirmed made her skip a beat.

"It seems the gentleman is quite familiar with our brand. You might as well invite your girlfriend over to try this watch on," Diana smiled, offering a helpful assist.

"Hoshino-san, try it on."
Tsuno Tsubasa beckoned to Hoshino Ruka.

She walked over, forcing herself to remain calm.

With the professional assistance of the sales consultant, a silvery watch with a pale pink dial was fastened onto her wrist.

"The reason this watch is called Ballon Bleu is because, although the case is made of fine steel, it feels as light as a balloon. Coupled with the synthetic sapphire crystal mirror and sword-shaped blued-steel hands, it looks both youthful and luxurious. It brings out a wonderful elegance when worn by a lady."

"It really is quite pretty."
Tsuno Tsubasa nodded, pinching Hoshino Ruka's wrist to take a closer look: "Does a pink dial suit you? I'm afraid if I deliberately choose a pink dial, you'll curse me for having a male-chauvinist aesthetic."

"I... I like it very much..."
Hoshino Ruka opened her mouth, a look of struggle flickering in her eyes, but in the end, she yielded to her desires.

"Then we'll take this one."
Tsuno Tsubasa nodded, making his decision.

"Sir, this watch comes in two versions. Aside from this one, we also have a diamond-set bezel version."
"The latter is priced higher than the former."
"However, that depends on personal preference. Some customers feel the diamond-set version is a bit cluttered, destroying the minimalist nature of the watch itself, while others like how the watch sparkles in the sunlight. Each has its own merits."

The sales consultant didn't rush to write up the bill, patiently explaining the differences between the versions instead. Furthermore, she didn't hype up the more expensive version to manipulate the customer's psychology, simply providing a reasonable stepping stone.

Since he was already spending money, however, Tsuno Tsubasa cared only about the effect, not the price. He smiled and said, "Then I'll take the diamond-set version. Pack up a brand-new one, please, and remember to issue the receipt."

"Certainly, please wait a moment," Diana acknowledged with a polite nod.

After she walked a short distance away, Hoshino Ruka, whose gaze had been fixed on the watch, blinked in a daze, lifting her head as if waking from a dream: "Tsuno-kun..."

"Stop the transfers, and the feelings go to zero?"
"Huh?"
Hoshino Ruka's expression turned bewildered.

"I mean, it wouldn't be that I've only just bought you a gift, and you're immediately going to tell me you have an emergency at home and need to leave, right?" Tsuno Tsubasa smiled pointedly.

Hoshino Ruka understood his underlying insinuation. Her pretty face burned uncontrollably, realizing he believed that the reason she bolted the moment she ran into Saotome Sayaka last time was simply because he hadn't spent money on her. She hurriedly tried to explain:
"Of course not, I mean..."

"Alright, alright, don't explain. I know what you mean. Go grab your things, we're heading to the next stop."
"N... Next stop?"
"Van Cleef & Arpels and Louis Vuitton—which one do you want to go to first? When we passed by earlier, I thought I saw LV had released a new square-shaped model that looked quite pretty."

Hearing this, Hoshino Ruka's breathing grew shallow.
Her gaze stared blankly at his face.

Though they weren't exceptionally close, after two years of working together in the ward office, she had crossed paths with Tsuno Tsubasa plenty of times. It was clearly the exact same face as before, yet Hoshino Ruka felt as though a faint halo had settled over him, making him look astonishingly handsome and charming.