Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

Sawamura Eriri's body cannot shrink: Chapter 2: Futaba, you will know (Part 3)

After walking out of the teaching building, Hoshimi took Eriri and walked towards the school gate.

Because it is difficult for an adult and a child to keep the same pace, he tried to ask Eriri if he wanted to hold her hand, but she refused because she insisted on being stubborn.

It seems that Miss Eriri can never accept the fact that her body has become smaller - in this regard, you should learn from a certain Mr. Holmes from the Heisei era. After turning into a child, he is very skilled at switching between acting cute and cool.

Oh, I forgot. Times have changed.jpg

"Speaking of which, Qing...what should we do next?"

Having just walked out of the school gate, Eriri felt a little depressed as she looked at the familiar busy street in front of her.

She had no idea how to restore her body to normal - even after listening to Futaba's speculation just now.

"... Puberty syndrome occurs, usually for a reason."

Xingjian looked at the dejected blonde girl beside him and sighed helplessly.

"First find the cause, and then we can slowly find the key to solving the problem."

In other words, if you can't find it, no matter what you do, it will be useless.

"Well... where are we going now?"

"It's definitely too idealistic to think that this incident can be resolved in a day or two. Don't overthink it for now. Just enjoy this Golden Week."

Xingjian wiped the sweat from his forehead, squinted his eyes and looked up at the clear sky without a single cloud.

This is what the arrival of summer is like. It makes people feel restless without them realizing it.

"——Anyway, let's go buy something first."

"Huh, huh?"

After noticing Eriri's suspicious look, Hoshimi lowered her head and looked at her with a complicated expression.

"Miss, I don't work during Golden Week and basically stay at home during the holidays. Originally, my house has enough daily necessities for me, but now you (a freeloader) have come in, so should I buy some more?"

"Ah, well... hum, of course I know that."

Eriri, who clearly hadn't thought of this but still tried to bluff, turned her face away and whistled, then subconsciously reached into her bag with her little hand—

"Of course, I won't let you serve me for nothing. I'll pay for the things you buy...ah."

——Of course, there wouldn’t be any money there.

Rather, from the day her body shrank, she had no extra money on her except for transportation expenses.

A rich woman whose body shrinks is not scary. The scariest thing is a rich woman whose body shrinks and has no money.

"........."

The already awkward situation became even more awkward in an instant. Eriri raised her head speechlessly, but her deep blue eyes were filled with grievance and shame, as if she was about to cry.

Come to think of it, a young lady who had been living a life of luxury suddenly shrank in size, didn't have any money, and probably wouldn't be able to go home for the entire summer vacation. This was too depressing.

The black-haired boy sighed helplessly, looking at the small and pitiful little girl in front of him, and couldn't help but feel some pity for [human cubs].

"Oh...Okay, okay, don't cry. Brother will take you to eat delicious food."

Miss Eriri noticed that Hoshimi's tone had become like coaxing a child, so she wiped her red eyes and slapped away Hoshimi's hand that was about to touch her head.

"Hey! Although I may have the body of a child right now, I'm still a 17-year-old high school student on the inside! Don't take advantage of me!"

Tch - I was thinking of taking this opportunity to rub that golden hair that looks so nice to the touch.

Sure enough, even though his body has shrunk, this guy is still as unlovable as ever.

.........

.........

Finally, after some twists and turns, the two reached a consensus - they wanted to go shopping in the mall they had visited the day before.

"Well……"

In order to avoid getting separated from Hoshimi in the crowd, Eriri, who was wearing a dress and looked miserable, could only let the boy hold her hand like a parent and walk into the mall door with him - this was where she rushed out yesterday.

Of course, Xingjian must have his own considerations as to why he chose this place.

The first thing, of course, was to buy some essentials for girls—especially girls around six or seven. The house needed an extra set of toothbrushes and towels, and everything else. This newly opened department store had just about everything; there was no shortage of essentials.

As for the second reason, it is of course because Eriri fled in this shopping mall yesterday, so it is more reasonable to look for the reason why Eriri's body shrank here.

Although Hoshimi personally felt that this matter was closely related to what had happened between Eriri and Tomoya Aki, and that it might be better to go to him to inquire about the situation - but because he personally held the attitude of "I would not go to see Tomoya Aki if I could avoid it", the priority of this matter was to postpone it for the time being.

After all, no matter who you are, you will feel some resistance when you come into contact with someone who makes you upset.

Therefore, after analyzing everything, Xingjian decided to take advantage of the Golden Week to come to this shopping mall that had just opened yesterday to look for possible clues.

After all, detectives are supposed to investigate the crime scene immediately after a murder occurs, searching for traces... Hmm, something seems off about this metaphor. (Laughs)

In short, on the first day of the Golden Week when almost all citizens went out for jogging and shopping, Hoshimi walked into the mall with the shrunken Eriri.

Although the noisy advertisements and the noisy conversations of passers-by flooded into their ears like a tide as soon as they walked into the mall, the cool air blew gently along with it - this made Hoshimi and Eriri, who had been in the high temperature, breathe a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Eri, what do you want to buy first?"

Prioritizing shopping, Hoshimi lowered his head slightly and looked at Eriri, who was looking around in confusion. Eriri, however, seemed not to hear him. After glancing around for a moment, she stared fixedly at one spot.

"...?"

Xingjian followed her gaze with some curiosity - right next to the clothing store, there was a dessert shop selling ice cream and various desserts and drinks.

Eriri seemed to be staring at the vanilla ice cream in a trance.

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I promised to update! I'm writing right now. If I come back in two hours and find that my monthly vote count has increased by 100, I'll update again! Go go go!! (Funny)

Sawamura Eriri's body cannot shrink: Chapter 2: Futaba, you will know (Part 4)

"Why, you want some ice cream?"

However, Hoshimi's extremely normal question made Eriri shudder as if she suddenly came to her senses, and there was a slightly strange expression on her doll-like face.

"No—I'm just taking a look. Let's go get our shopping done."

Eriri pursed her lips, then raised her head as if she was nonchalant, no longer looking at the dessert shop, and walked up to the second floor.

"Remember everything I bought this time. When I can go home and get the money, I will return all the money I spent to you, Qing."

Even though her body had shrunk and her voice had become more childish, Eriri still retained that pride in her voice—there seemed to be something else hidden in it.

All in all, Xingjian didn't hate the "pride" she was showing now.

"........."

Hoshimi looked at the back of Eriri who was walking away slowly with her little feet, then looked at the dessert shop clerk who was making new ice cream cones, and finally a helpless smile appeared on her face.

He walked slowly to the dessert shop and bought a vanilla cone. At this moment, Eriri turned around to look for Hoshimi who had not followed her, and her eyes were just focused on the vanilla cone in his hand.

"...Qing, what are you doing?"

Having already guessed what might happen next, Eriri's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible joy - but she quickly suppressed it, pretending to be nonchalant.

"I already said I'm just taking a look, I don't care about that kind of thing—"

"If, if that's the ice cream cone you bought specifically for me...it's not impossible to just give you a favor and finish it..." - she thought silently in her heart.

"........."

Hoshimi, who had been carefully observing Eriri's expression while holding a vanilla ice cream, looked at her expression, which was somewhat like a child's angry expression, and blinked as he thought of something.

After approaching Eriri, he stood there without taking another step forward - and he didn't even show any intention of handing the ice cream in his hand to Eriri.

"...?"

This seems a little different from what Eriri expected.

When Eriri finally stopped looking up at him with her head held high, Hoshimi pursed her lips in disapproval, and then under her gaze—

He calmly licked the vanilla ice cream in his hand.

"...?"

Miss Eriri was about to reach out to catch the ice cream, but her hand froze before it even left her pocket - and at the same time, the arrogant expression on her face froze as well.

"Wait, this isn't the routine, right?! Shouldn't you just ignore me and hand it to me right now?!"

"Ah, this...but you said you didn't want it."

Hearing this, the aggrieved Miss Eriri's cheeks puffed up like those of a hamster stuffed with food.

"That was just a courtesy—woo!!"

When she saw the gentle, knowing smile on the black-haired boy's face, she realized belatedly that she had been tricked.

"Haha, why not just say you want it directly?"

Seeing Eriri looking like she was about to cry, the black-haired boy rarely smiled brightly.

"If you don't speak frankly, how can others understand what you are thinking?"

He walked to the dessert shop with a smile and bought another cone. For some reason, his steps were much lighter - it seemed that Eriri's expression just now made him feel much more satisfied.

"...Qing, you are such a mean-spirited guy."

Finally, Eriri, who said one thing but acted another, sat on a chair in the rest area, licking the vanilla ice cream in her hand while looking at Hoshimi who was sitting opposite her.

"You always look so harmless with your smile, but it's so deceptive—you're actually black when you cut yourself open."

"Hey, don't say that."

Even after being described like this, the black-haired boy remained calm and ate the ice cream cone with a faint smile.

"But being described as a villain like that feels much better than being a light bulb passerby... so I guess I can accept it?"

"??? There's something wrong with you!!"

"Qing, your personality is really terrible. I wonder how generous your girlfriend will have to be to accommodate you in the future."

Eriri was still somewhat ruthless in her words, but her tone had changed from the arrogant contempt at the beginning to a complaint that was closer to an exclamation.

There was a slight lack of unnecessary hostility.

"What does it matter? I don't have a girlfriend anyway, and I don't know if I'll meet someone I like in the future."

Xingjian shrugged nonchalantly. As a solo artist since birth, he didn't take the teasing to heart.

"Anyway, I've never liked anyone since I was born, and I don't know what it feels like to like someone."

"You sound a little pathetic. Have you really never liked a girl?"

"Well... I've had people I've had feelings for, but it's just that."

Xingjian let the ice cream in his mouth slowly melt, his eyes gradually becoming distracted by the busy aisle.

"If you don't have close contact and don't know the person, you're just imposing your best wishes on them."

He doesn't understand what it feels like to love someone deeply - he didn't understand it before, he doesn't understand it now, and he may not understand it in the future.

If you just want to vent your feelings somewhere, aren't the wives in the two-dimensional paper man games nice?

They will never disappoint others, never do anything to make themselves sad, never suddenly change their temperament, and some of them will never be as unfathomable as people in real life - they are just as they appear, and they are not pretending to be cute and beautiful to deceive anyone.

Thinking of this, Xingjian paused, pulled herself out of her emotions, and looked at the silent Eriri with a somewhat intriguing look.

"Besides, even after years of acquaintance, it's inevitable that you can fully understand a person - we are all more or less selectively blind to people we like, right?"

"........."

Eriri had a serious face and licked the ice cream lightly with the tip of her tongue like a kitten. Her expression was uncertain and it was unknown how much of what Xingjian said she had taken to heart.

"Hmm—let's stop chatting here. How about we go shopping after we finish our ice cream?"

"Ah, well... well. Let's go."

After finishing the ice cream cone in her hand, Eriri patted her little paws, took a piece of paper handed to her by Hoshimi, and muttered "thank you" with a pout. She wiped her hands and mouth with the paper and jumped lightly from the seat.

Just as the two of them had stepped out of the rest area and were about to take the escalator to the daily necessities sales area—

Xingjian noticed two familiar figures walking towards him from the corner of his eye.

That was Shinomiya Kaguya, who was wearing elegant casual clothes and was wandering around the men's clothing store for some reason, and Hayasaka Ai, who was following behind her with a cold expression.