Tokyo: Who would still fall in love after being spoiled?

Chapter 10 The Love Story Begins

"Inoue-san? Inoue-san?"

A restless, delicate little hand wavered before his eyes, as if testing whether he was still alive.

It was Saotome's voice.

He was so engrossed in eavesdropping that he just came to his senses when he saw Saotome and Ichinose standing in front of him.

"Why are you standing here? Great Lord Inoue." Saotome narrowed her eyes and said with a smile.

Ichinose nodded slightly to him.

"Good morning, Inoue-san."

"Good morning." He moved away from the side wall and stood still as if nothing had happened. "The art room door is still locked."

"Can't get in? Great Lord Inoue." Saotome still called him by the nickname she used when she apologized.

“……” He didn’t speak.

"Call me 'Great Saotome-sama' and I will tell you how to open the door." Saotome blocked Ichinose's mouth as he was about to speak and said to him.

"The great Saotome-sama," he blurted out.

"I don't want to know... That's not right." Saotome fell into a state of inactivity and frowned. "Why are you calling it so simple?"

"I have no interest in wasting time on such matters, great Saotome-sama."

Saotome pursed her lips and immediately lost all interest.

The three of them walked to the door of the art classroom, and Saotome asked Ichinose to carry her.

Ichinose sighed and then told him, "The spare key is on the hinged window sill at the top of the door. Can you feel it, Inoue-kun?"

On the sill of the hinged window?
He walked to the door, stopped and raised his hand, his fingertips just touching the window sill.

"Look! Inoue-san is not that tall, please carry me!"

He stood on tiptoe, grabbed the window sill with his fingers, and swept across. A series of crisp sounds of metal falling to the ground rang out in the corridor.

He picked up the key, opened the door, and put the key back on the windowsill.

A single key, without even a key ring, was placed on the top of the door or window sill. It would be hard to miss it if you didn't know about it in advance. Besides, it was at school, so this was enough.

He picked up his painting supplies and walked in; Ichinose followed behind; Saotome stood at the door for a while, then stamped her feet.

"Ichinose-san is also participating in the youth painting competition that the teacher mentioned?"

Sitting back in the corner where he had been on Friday afternoon, his seat was naturally fixed next to Ichinose.

"Ah."

"I'm joining in too!" Saotome raised her hand and spoke.

"Aiming for a consolation prize?"

"Of course it's the gold reward! Don't underestimate me—" Saotome puffed up her cheeks like a squirrel hiding nuts.

"Saotome only started painting last month." Ichinose spoke up for her.

"You can create something like this in just one month." Saotome handed him her acrylic painting and said proudly, "Are you a genius girl?"

The bottom lines drawn in pencil were never erased, and some places showed that a ruler had been used, making the curved parts crooked.

The composition is a mess, but you can make out what the objects are.

The colors are surprisingly harmonious.

"You're really talented," he praised.

Thinking that in his previous life there really were students like Saotome who had no foundation but signed up for art exam classes, and whose paintings were far inferior to Saotome's, he should praise her as much as possible.

"Really?"

"Your grasp of color is more sensitive than many students who have studied watercolor for a long time. You have ideas in your mind, but you just haven't had any basic practice."

"Basic exercises?" Saotome nodded with great satisfaction and continued to ask in compliance with his words.

He bent down and took out a sharpened pencil from his pencil case, drew a few shallow arcs on the paper at an angle, then held the pencil upright and drew two or three straight lines on the paper that intersected at one point.

"Practice the arc first, then the straight line, one a day at a time."

"One day?!" Saotome couldn't accept it.

Ichinose raised her hand to cover her mouth, blinked, and looked away.

"Although it sounds a bit boring, I believe in Saotome-san's talent. Maybe she can master it in half a day."

"Talent..." Saotome fell into thought and then shook her head, "No, no... How long did Ichinose practice at that time?"

"About... three days."

"Three days?!" "There are many more to come..."

"Ugh-"

"It doesn't matter if you don't learn. After all, you're just here to keep me company."

"That won't do!" Saotome quickly cheered up, "Since I've decided to participate, of course I have to practice!"

"Okay." After dealing with one, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the other, "Ichinose-san?"

"Before I saw Inoue-san's painting, I had no idea about the subject. I have had some ideas in the past two days, and I will try to draw some of them today." Ichinose nodded.

There is no intention to rely on his guidance.

It couldn't be better for him.

The acrylic painting from the street stall was still hanging on his easel.

The paint has dried, making the imperfections in the details more noticeable.

After all, it is just a casual drawing similar to the example painting, so it is normal that it cannot withstand close scrutiny.

He took the painting off the easel, took out a new piece of paper, checked the level, put on the edge tape, and stood up with the bucket.

"Ichinose-san's bucket..."

"Let's go together." Ichinose looked at the hand he extended and said with a smile.

"I want to go too!" Saotome also stood up.

"You do not need."

"I'll accompany you!"

His plan to use the excuse of getting some water as an excuse to check on the piano room was thwarted. He could only go get some water with the two girls, then return to the art classroom, gather his thoughts, and pick up his brush.

He did not directly try to repaint the street painting with more detailed steps. The first thought that came to his mind was Amano playing badminton, so he painted Amano on the canvas.

The white shirt and blue pants sportswear, the nimble jumping movements, the facial features, the expression...

The second painting shows Asakura sitting in the lobby of the Nanji Residence.

The third painting is of Takeda... Speaking of which, the combination of Takeda's fleece jacket, plaid shirt and knitted skirt is really eye-catching, at least it is very valuable as a reference for illustrations or posters.

After all, he hadn't held a paintbrush for a long time, and it would take quite some time to recover from his unfamiliarity with the technique.

During this period, I will focus on practice, drawing whatever comes to mind. Once I am fully recovered, it won't be too late to start preparing for the competition.

"Who is this? So beautiful."

Before she had even lasted an hour, Saotome put down her pencil and went on strike completely, moving closer to him and harassing him constantly.

"One of my lovers." His original intention was to let Saotome leave sensibly.

"Lover? One of them? Ugh... What is this person talking about? Is he hallucinating because he's been reading too many light novels?"

……

"Who is this? Is she this beautiful in person?"

"My second lover."

"Hello? Is this the mental hospital? Someone here is hallucinating. Come quickly."

……

"Wow—let me guess, this person is also one of Inoue-sama's lovers?"

"clever."

"How many boats do you want to have your foot on? Even though I like to be bold in my dreams, there has to be a limit, right?"

The first Sunday I spent at school, no fourth person came to the huge art classroom until the evening.

He spent the whole day listening to Saotome's chattering complaints. After finishing the third painting of Takeda, he couldn't help but stretch himself, squinting his eyes and staring at the dusk outside the window for a few seconds, then put down his palette and brush.

"No? Only these three?" Saotome asked from the side.

"I hope not." He wished sincerely.

"You're so narcissistic—how could such a beautiful girl like you?"

"What a coincidence, I wanted to know that too."

As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar light flashed before his eyes again.

Dede...the task reminder is here again.

(End of this chapter)