Mash-Up: Anything for Money

"So, Ginko... where exactly are we going?"

"Don't ask. Just follow me."

Dressed and ready, Hakuto was pulled along by Ginko as they left his apartment and headed to the roadside.

It was the peak of summer, with the scorching sun shining relentlessly. 

Due to her condition, Ginko couldn't be exposed to direct sunlight, so she was currently shielding herself with a black parasol.

Just as Hakuto was about to offer to hold the umbrella for her, a girl around Ginko's age hesitantly approached him, her face full of nervousness.

"Um... excuse me..."

"Could I... have your contact information?"

Hakuto: ???!

Wait, hold on a second.

Normally, getting asked for his contact info by a pretty girl on the street would be something to celebrate, but—this situation was anything but normal.

Big Socks, do you seriously have no sense of awareness?! 

Can't you see there's someone standing right next to me? 

And you're still boldly asking for my number?!

For a brief moment, Hakuto couldn't help but wonder—was his charm really that irresistible?

"Sorry..."

As expected, the girl who got rejected looked like she had just been struck by lightning. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned and ran off.

Watching her disappear into the distance, Hakuto shook his head. Though he was used to this kind of situation, it still felt a bit cruel to see someone so heartbroken.

Just then, the cold voice of Ginko came from beside him.

"Feeling proud of yourself?"

"Huh??"

"Getting asked for your contact info by a stranger—makes you feel pretty smug, doesn't it?"

Hearing the hostility in Ginko's tone, Hakuto felt like he had been wrongfully accused.

Ginko had always been particularly stubborn about this sort of thing. 

The only reason she wasn't more upset was probably that they attended different schools due to their two-year age gap.

If they had been in the same school and she found out he had spent two years simping for Sawamura Eriri, she might have buried him on the spot.

It was a classic case of information isolation—if she had known more, things would've been much worse.

"But I didn't even give her my contact info..."

"If you had, you might as well start thinking about what pose hurts the least when you're getting beheaded."

As she spoke, Ginko lightly tapped her pale neck with her folding fan.

Seeing this, Hakuto immediately raised his hands slightly in a gesture of surrender.

Seeing his cooperative attitude, Ginko said nothing further and instead hailed a taxi.

Shortly after they got in, before the car had even gone far, Ginko suddenly asked—

"Do you know Kiyotaki Kousuke?"

"Yeah, your mentor. A rare professional 9-dan shogi player."

When it came to clients, Hakuto had all the basic information memorized. After all, this was his profession.

"He invited me to dinner today. Said it's for that guy Yaichi's Dragon King title match next week."

"Well, the Dragon King title is the highest among the seven major titles. It makes sense for you, as his senior, to go support him."

"That's true... but why did it have to be on a Saturday?!"

As she spoke, Ginko's resentment became almost tangible. The grip on her folding fan tightened dangerously, as if it were about to snap.

Clearly, she valued this one free day of the week immensely.

In her mind, anyone who dared to interfere with her time alone with Hakuto was simply asking for death!

Seeing that the situation was turning against him, Hakuto quickly changed the topic.

"So... am I supposed to wait outside while you have dinner, Ginko?"

Hakuto asked the question with a straight face, without the slightest sense that anything was wrong.

After all, Ginko was the one footing the bill here. If she had something to attend to and left him waiting, that was perfectly understandable.

But to his surprise, the moment Ginko heard his words, she immediately pressed her folding fan against his chin.

"You! Are coming with me!"

"Coming... with you? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're coming with me to my mentor's house for dinner."

"Uh... isn't that kind of inappropriate? I don't even know Kiyotaki-senpai."

"Oh? Then why aren't you dead yet?"

And just like that, under Ginko's gentle persuasion, Hakuto had no choice but to agree to accompany her.

There was no other option—customers were god, and he was just a lowly part-timer with no right to refuse.

To make matters worse, Kiyotaki Kousuke's house was ridiculously far away. After getting off the taxi, they had to transfer to a train, which took nearly an hour to reach their destination.

In Hakuto's memory, even Ginko's own house was quite far from his.

And yet, despite the distance, she could still show up at his doorstep precisely at 8 AM—and even had the leisure to use a spare key to unlock his door.

No doubt about it, Ginko was born to be a train-riding maniac. No wonder she could take a two-hour train ride at the age of four just to meet him in real life.

Before heading to Kiyotaki's house, Hakuto also made a quick stop at the supermarket. 

After all, it was his first visit, and more importantly, this was Ginko's mentor—they couldn't just show up empty-handed.

"Ginko... do I really have to go in?"

"Are you trying to run away at the last minute?"

"No, no, it's just... the thought of meeting your mentor is making me a bit nervous."

The moment he said that, Ginko's mood visibly improved.

She pressed the doorbell, and soon, a young woman—probably in her twenties—opened the door.

"Ginko! Long time no see, come on in!"

The one who answered the door was Kiyotaki Kousuke's daughter, Kiyotaki Keika. 

She had inherited her father's love for shogi, and her passion for the game was no less than his.

However, when it came to talent, she was slightly lacking. Not that she was bad—just that she was nowhere near Ginko's level.

"Long time no see, Keika-nee."

Ginko greeted her politely, showing none of the arrogance she usually displayed in front of Hakuto.

Then, she turned to look at Hakuto—only to find that he was still standing frozen in place, whistling awkwardly to himself.

Immediately, her irritation flared up. She stormed over, grabbed his ear, and dragged him forward.

"Ow, ow, ow! Ginko, it's gonna come off!"

"Then why were you just standing there?"

"It's not like I wanted to!"

Seriously, this was just something ingrained in his blood as a Chinese person—it was impossible to not feel awkward in situations like this!

Sure, Hakuto could stand in front of the entire school and deliver a self-criticism without batting an eye. 

He could even shamelessly simp for Sawamura Eriri in front of his peers without the slightest embarrassment.

But this? No way.

Wait, no—was there even a single Chinese person who wouldn't find this kind of thing awkward?!

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