Chapter 151: 151: I Thought You Didn’t Want Me Anymore

Words : 1286 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

After pushing Marin off his lap and taking out his phone from his pocket, Takashi saw that the call was from Eriri. This surprised him a lot. He thought she would never contact him again. "Who is it?" Marin noticed Takashi pausing in surprise and curiously leaned over. "Get away." Takashi pushed her head to the side, then stood up and walked toward a secluded corner to answer the call. "Who's calling, acting all mysterious?" Marin muttered discontentedly. Ootani Shota fanned himself with his hand. "Probably Kamikawa Narii?" "Must be another check-up call," Tanaka Kota teased. Hearing the two of them, Marin frowned slightly, then turned to look at Ootani Shota and Tanaka Kota. "Ootani-kun, Tanaka-kun, who's this Kamikawa Narii you're talking about?" Finding a quiet, unnoticed corner, Takashi adjusted his voice slightly. He thought back to every painful memory from his past life before slowly speaking, "Hello?" His voice carried a heavy sadness, mixed with a slight hoarseness if one listened carefully. "Takashi." Takashi had intended to sound sorrowful to stir up Eriri's sympathy and maybe squeeze a few more gold coins out of her. But the moment Eriri spoke, her painful, exhausted voice instantly killed that thought. "Where are you?" ... "Where are you?" Just those three simple words made a faint smile appear on Eriri's lips. In that instant, even the pain stabbing her stomach like a thousand needles seemed to ease a little. "Takashi, are you worried about me?" To Eriri, she hadn't even said anything yet, and Watanabe Takashi had already sensed something wrong. What did that mean? It meant that Watanabe Takashi still cared about her. That he liked her. "I'm just used to it at this point." Takashi really wanted to reply that way. It had nothing to do with feelings—just pure muscle memory from being a simp for so long. Surely everyone here could understand that feeling. Besides, after she threw so many gold coins at him, wasn't it only right to show a little concern for the benefactor? When you deposit money in a bank, even they send a holiday greeting. So worrying about his benefactor's health was perfectly reasonable, right? "Where are you? What happened?" Takashi asked again. He hadn't seen Eriri's booth at the convention after it had been taken down, so he had no idea where she had gone. "I'm at, ah—" Eriri had only managed two words when a sharp, intense pain suddenly gripped her stomach, as if an invisible hand was squeezing it hard. She crouched on the ground, gasping for air. After a long while, once the pain slightly subsided, Eriri, pale-faced and panting heavily, managed to say, "Huff... huff... I-I'm at Ikebukuro Station, right outside the concert hall near the convention." After waiting for a moment without hearing any response, Eriri instinctively called out, "Takashi?" Still no reply. Puzzled, she looked at her phone, only to realize that the screen had already gone black at some point. Staring at the darkened screen, a wave of loneliness engulfed her, making her hands and feet ice-cold, draining away the last bit of warmth she had left. ... "That idiot definitely didn't charge her phone last night." Takashi listened to the "the number you have dialed is powered off" message and rubbed his temples in frustration, instantly guessing the reason. He knew Eriri too well. Unless a low-battery warning popped up, she would never think to charge her phone. Almost every night before bed, Takashi would remind her—charge it, charge it. Even after so long, she still hadn't formed the habit. He missed one night of reminding her, and she already forgot. "If your phone's almost dead, say the important stuff first, damn it!" Takashi was genuinely pissed. He didn't even know if Eriri was still at the venue, much less her exact location. How the hell was he supposed to find her? "Takashi, is something wrong?" "Need help?" Seeing Takashi return with a serious expression, Ootani Shota and Tanaka Kota quickly asked. "My friend's sick. I'm going to the hospital to check on her. That's it for today." Since he didn't know exactly what condition Eriri was in, he didn't dare waste any time. "I'll send you the photos once I finish editing them." "Oh, right. Tanaka, Ootani, could you guys return the borrowed equipment for me? Also, tell the senpai I'm sorry I can't join him for dinner tonight." As he spoke, Takashi packed up his backpack. "Got it." "Leave it to us. You go ahead." Takashi patted the two on their shoulders. "Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal next time." With that, he left without looking back. "Takashi..." Marin instinctively called out. But Takashi never turned around, just like when he had returned earlier, never once sparing her a glance. 'Is that Kamikawa Narii really that important to you?' Standing in place, Marin watched Takashi's decisive departure, feeling a bit upset. Marin was staring at Takashi, while Wakana was watching Marin. Seeing this scene—'She looks at him, he looks at her'—Tanaka Kota could already smell the scent of an upcoming White Album-style love triangle. ... The evening sun slowly sank below the horizon, and white birds lazily circled in the distance. Crouched on the ground, Eriri stared blankly at the setting sun disappearing, the lonely feeling in her heart fading like the red clouds vanishing into the darkness. At the entrance of the concert hall, there was already no one in sight. The cold night wind blowing from the sea stirred Eriri's fine, golden hair like scattered sand, lightly lifting her skirt and slipping into her collar and sleeves. Eriri shrank her neck and hugged herself even tighter. She didn't care about her skirt being lifted. Like a lost child waiting obediently in place for her parents to find her, her sapphire-like beautiful eyes stared firmly ahead, waiting for Watanabe Takashi to come and get her. Just like in fairy tales where the one who protects the princess must be the knight, Watanabe Takashi would surely find her, even though she hadn't told him exactly where she was. The wind swept by, stirring the fallen leaves with a rustling sound. In Eriri's joyful gaze, a black-haired boy wearing glasses appeared in her line of sight, panting heavily. The evening breeze lifted the hair on his forehead. Step by step, the boy walked up to her. His expression was awful, probably wanting to scold her, but in the end, what he said carried a helpless tenderness. "Don't make me worry!" Then, the boy reached out his hand. The moment he reached out, the surrounding streetlights seemed to light up all at once as if by prior agreement. "I'm here to take you home. Let's go." Eriri's nose turned sour, and the flood of emotions she had been holding back since yesterday finally burst forth at that moment. "Takashi..." Eriri threw herself—no, it would be more accurate to say she crashed into Watanabe Takashi's arms. "I thought you didn't want me anymore." Takashi looked down at the crying blonde girl in his arms, his feelings heavy and complicated. At this moment, she wasn't seeing him as a stand-in for Aki Tomoya. It was clear that Aki Tomoya had become his stand-in instead. Everything was completely upside down. ___ 20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you! Don't forget to leave a review too~ Check out the other translations too ___

Chapter 151: 151: I Thought You Didn’t Want Me Anymore

Comments (0)