Translated by Clover Edited by Tripletwelve
Shinohara admitted with a snort that her boyfriend had an affair last week.
She then picked up the little glass that was in front of her and held it to her lips—
“Ah, it’s empty!”
Shinohara hadn’t realized that the aperitif wasn’t poured into the glass yet.
[T/N: An aperitif is an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite.]
I couldn’t help responding in an exasperated tone, “Well, you should have noticed it when you picked it up.”
“And aren’t you still underage?” I continued. “You can’t drink an aperitif even if it’s poured out for you.”
“Oh, don’t be so strict, senpai,” Shinohara retorted, placing the other empty glass in front of me. “Won’t you join me with a drink?”
Even though the legal drinking age is 20, this rule is always flaunted at freshmen welcome parties. Sure, the current generation may be self-indulgent, but ignoring the drinking age is actually a continued habit from past generations.
[T/N: The protagonist here says the word ‘ゆとりせだい’ (yutori sedai), which refers to the generation of students educated under the “pressure-free” system in Japan from the late 1970s onward. That was when the economy had improved, and rules became less stringent. I used the word ‘current generation’ in its place.]
“Sorry, but no, thank you.” I politely declined.
Shinohara squinted her eyes and grinned slyly, “Really?”
She looked like a cheeky little devil, and I was sure she could sway the hearts of men with that expression.
After that, we just conversed about anything campus-related since both of us attended the same university. Shinohara only stopped talking when the main dish arrived.
“Anyway, weren’t you about to tell your story? It sounded pretty shocking, but you forgot all about it in a matter of seconds…”
“No, not at all! I just diverted into something else.”
“That’s right, we were talking about how we met yesterday.”
“Yes… N-no…let’s leave it at that…”
The little devil cleared her throat for dramatic effect.
“He cheated on me.”
“Huh? Oh…”
Hearing it the second time didn’t affect me as much as the first time. I paused, trying to think up an appropriate response. Now I understand how my friends felt back when I was the one talking about stuff like this…
I downed the cocktail that I had ordered to hide my discomfort.
“I had only taken a mental note of this restaurant, deciding to visit one day. I never thought I’d come with a stranger.”
“But you invited me—”
“This delicious meat, alcohol, and desserts is only served when pre-ordered—and to think I wanted to enjoy such a meal with that shitty boyfriend of mine!”
I decided that a tsukkomi role was much needed right now.
“You don’t look sad at all, though,” I said, mimicking the tone typically used on stage.
[T/N: A popular form of comedy called “Manzai” involves a duo: a boke,  a moron who gets everything wrong, and the tsukkomi, a straight-laced guy who corrects or contradicts the boke. When the tsukkomi finally loses his patience, he would dope slap the boke, usually with a paper fan. So, here Shinohara is the boke, and the protagonist is the tsukkomi.]
She stuck out her tongue, “You got me.”
“He was my first boyfriend, since I kept turning down boys all through junior and high school…”
“Oh, so you had a lot of admirers.”
“Of course,” she responded lightly. “I was pretty popular.”
She looked like she wasn’t very interested in him, though.
“So, why did you invite me here?” I asked.
Shinohara groaned, seemingly in annoyance.
“That’s it, I’ll tell you the truth,” she said with a snap of her fingers. “I just wanted to do something a couple normally does.”
“Oh…”
“When I saw everyone’s tweets on SNS, I thought it would be a nice experience. So, I wanted to get a boyfriend and go to various places with him.”
“Oh, I see.”
Well, there are quite a lot of people who’d find boyfriends and girlfriends for the same reason. Furthermore, the number of posts at this time of the year would increase, as if to make fun of bachelors like me. Couples who usually only uploaded photos after the date would now upload photos before the date too.
Thanks to that, my time on SNS has decreased recently.
“That’s why I tried dating for the first time. I never wanted this to end with an affair. No, I don’t like this ending at all. I don’t like being dumped.”
“Well, some people do feel like that when left alone.”
In my case, I was so affected that I just laid in bed for about a week. Ayaka must have been worried. Did she take lecture notes on my behalf?
“He cheated, but he did have a crush on me. I’d like to get back at him a little and then let him go.”
“How?”
“I’m still thinking about that. Maybe I’ll put on a show and let him see me getting along with a new boyfriend. I just need someone to cooperate with me.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
So saying, I turned my attention to my beef fillet that was the start of the main course.
“Um…senpai…”
“Not doing it.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet!”
I once read a shonen manga with a romantic comedy plot that was based on such a relationship.
Even though Shinohara and I weren’t in a similar situation to the manga, I had an ominous feeling just now and refused in advance. Based on her reaction, it looks like I made the right call.
“Please, only for a little bit! We’ll just start by getting along in front of him.”
“No, it’s true that we’re here because of me, but that’s not the reason I’m here today. Go ask someone else.”
“It’s too embarrassing to ask a friend who knows me too well to do something so awkward!!”
That may be true, but it didn’t mean she could rely on me. There must be more suitable ones for this role. With Shinohara’s beauty, men would come lining up if only she’d asked.
“I’ll take care of the bill tonight. How about that?” she offered.
“Oho, how can I allow a younger girl to do that? We’ll split the bill.”
If Shinohara was a girl I had invited, I would have swiped my card without hesitation. As for tonight, I didn’t intend to leave the entire bill to Shinohara, but I was still reluctant to foot the bill by myself.
“No, I’ve made a lot of money being a Santa, and if I can hire senpai for this, I’m all set. No matter what senpai says, I’m forcefully paying you, so give up and get hired!”
“Heeyy! This is not even an argument! This is ambush—”
“Look, I’ll really pay you for it. Don’t worry about anything and just eat the beef.”
Beef fillet. The menu had mentioned ‘Rossini style.’
“Senpai, what is ‘Rossini style?’”
“What was it again…? I’m sure it’s a combination of truffles and foie gras added to the dish.”
“Wow! Senpai, you’re so knowledgeable!”
[T/N: A real Rossini Beef comprises filet mignon, foie gras, truffle, and Madeira demi-glace.]
I couldn’t say that I knew this just because I ate the same thing with my ex-girlfriend. I remembered that the beef fillet I ate that time was also quite delicious, but I wasn’t sure if it was worth the price.
I took a bite of the meat while still in thought.
“It’s so delicious…,” I found myself licking my lips in delight.
I guessed this kind of meat would go well with red wine, but since I still didn’t know how beef and red wine complemented each other, I searched the menu for another cocktail.
Across the table, Shinohara giggled at me,
“Hehe, that menu is definitely worth the time and effort to go through.” She then said haughtily, “It’s settled then, please take care of me tomorrow.”
I almost choked when I heard that.
“W-wait, I have plans for tomorrow!”
“Why do you have plans, Senpai~?”
“Hey, isn’t it too early for you to get this chummy with me?”
“Not at all! So what are your plans?”
“I’m going to a party. But I won’t be staying there for long, though.”
Shinohara sulked a bit, and her cheeks puffed up. Her face was so endearing that men would surely come flooding in if this was a joint party.
“Then, if you’re done early, please contact me again.”
Shinohara proceeded to chew on her beef fillet in a manner that looked like she’d be punished if she didn’t finish her meal.
As if to offset her behavior, she kept reiterating “delicious~♡” in a tone that always seemed to end in a heart mark.
I sighed, wondering if she was the same type of person as Ayaka.
This was going to be one crazy Christmas.
[T/N: Hey~ I’m sorry I didn’t post these days. I had an exam and then family problems arrived at my doorstep. I don’t know if anyone except for a few, even read this but I’ll try my best from now on. So, don’t kill me please zvxiuxnxnxakjks. Also, I wanted to ask this, should I write the meanings of words and phrase right below it or should I write them all together in the end as footnotes. Are my T/Ns too obtrusive in the chapter. Tell me your opinions. I like my method because I hate to scroll all the way down to understand the meaning and then scroll up again. But some might think they are too distracting.]
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