My Girlfriend is an Evil Woman

The next day.

Kitahara Hideji still left early to go to school, but unexpectedly encountered the once-a-season Kansai Anime Convention. The entire tram line was packed with people, and various monsters and demons roamed around. Many people were transferring through this route to get to the prefectural gymnasium. If it weren’t for his training, he would have been squished into a flat piece of paper.

There were also quite a few Chinese people in the crowd, but this kind of situation was only comparable to the peak travel period during the Spring Festival. During normal times, there was no need for station staff to forcefully squeeze people onto the trains. Lacking experience in dealing with such crowded situations, he hesitated for a moment and ended up missing the train he had planned to take, arriving at school slightly late.

As soon as he entered the school, Uchida Yuma greeted him, taking his backpack and sword bag from his hands, looking very eager, “Aniki, you’re here.”

Kitahara Hideji didn’t understand the situation and smiled, “What’s going on, Uchida? Why are you being so polite today?”

Uchida Yuma looked mischievous and said, “It’s because of you, Aniki!”

Kitahara Hideji was still confused, “Because of me? What do you mean?”

Uchida Yuma grinned and said, “Aniki, have a drink!”

“Aniki, are you hungry? Do you want me to go to the convenience store and buy you a sandwich to fill your stomach first?”

“Aniki, are you studying? It must be tough. Let me fan you…”

His overly polite and attentive demeanor made Kitahara Hideji slightly regret his joke. He felt he had gone too far. He didn’t understand why Uchida Yuma was suddenly acting this way.

“Aniki, have you contacted Sakamoto Sumiko?”

Uchida Yuma had a look of happiness and showed his phone to Kitahara Hideji. “Sumiko-chan is really a cute person!”

Sumiko-chan? You progressed pretty quickly. You’ve only known each other for a dozen hours online, right?

Kitahara Hideji took the phone and saw that Uchida Yuma had already added Sakamoto Sumiko as a friend on LINE, and they had been chatting extensively. There were over three thousand messages exchanged—just how idle were you both last night?

Looking at these chat records, Kitahara Hideji felt even more uneasy. Sakamoto Sumiko had always been bothering him, making him annoyed, so he decided to tease and disgust her without much thought, using Uchida Yuma’s name as a cover. Now, it seemed like he could annoy Sumiko-chan without a problem, but he might end up hurting Uchida Yuma’s feelings. He never expected Uchida Yuma to take things so seriously, considering he usually acted like a promiscuous playboy, always dreaming about having multiple wives and concubines. How did he suddenly become so innocent?

A sense of guilt washed over Kitahara Hideji. Although he had only known Uchida Yuma for less than a month and couldn’t help him much, at least Uchida Yuma had been supportive all this time. It didn’t sit well with him that he had unintentionally harmed him.

Kitahara Hideji’s expression became more serious as he apologized to Uchida Yuma, “I’m sorry, Uchida-kun. It’s my fault. Sakamoto Sumiko thought you were me… Yesterday, I used your name without thinking, and I sincerely apologize for that.”

Uchida Yuma was stunned, looking at Kitahara Hideji’s handsome face and then back at his phone, muttering to himself, “No wonder things went so smoothly…”

“Good morning, Kitahara-kun! Oh, hi Yuma!” Shima Rei arrived at school as well, elegantly carrying her backpack. She looked at Kitahara Hideji’s apologetic expression and Uchida Yuma’s absent-mindedness, curious about what happened, and asked, “What’s going on with you two? Did something happen?”

Kitahara Hideji sighed lightly and briefly explained the situation to Shima Rei, ending with an embarrassed apology, “I wanted to play a joke on the girls from Yatsubara Gakuen and didn’t consider Uchida-kun’s feelings. It was my mistake… I sincerely apologize, I’m sorry.”

“Harassment?” Shima Rei raised her eyebrows, her face showing a disgusted look. Without hesitation, she stood by Kitahara Hideji’s side and ordered Uchida Yuma, “Yuma, put her on the blacklist immediately!” Then, she comforted Kitahara Hideji, “Don’t worry about it, Kitahara-kun. It’s just a small joke among friends. Yuma is just delusional! He’s always like this, suspecting that any girl who talks to him secretly loves him.”

As she was about to take out her phone, Uchida Yuma suddenly snapped out of his daze, shielding his phone to his chest, and exclaimed, “No, I can’t put Sumiko-chan on the blacklist.”

“Give it to me!” Shima Rei, who was usually polite to everyone, made an exception for Uchida Yuma. She pressed him and was about to forcibly take the phone, saying, “Kitahara-kun has already apologized. Do you still want him to continue bothering her?”

Uchida Yuma tried to avoid her, crying out in pain, “No, I can’t do it!”

Shima Rei broke his resistance, forcibly taking the phone from him. Despite the phone being in standby mode, she didn’t hesitate, quickly typing the password and then dragging Sakamoto Sumiko into the blacklist.

Uchida Yuma cried out in agony, as if he had just been stabbed like a pig. “No, not Sumiko-chan…”

Kitahara Hideji felt sorry for him, feeling even more guilty. He apologized again, “Uchida, it’s all my fault. I’m really sorry.”

Shima Rei returned the phone to Uchida Yuma without good grace, and said, “No need to apologize anymore, Kitahara-kun. I believe you didn’t intentionally want to tease Yuma.”

Kitahara Hideji couldn’t help but look at Shima Rei strangely. Why do you unconditionally believe in me and support me like this? Our relationship isn’t that deep, is it?

Uchida Yuma took back his phone, his almond-shaped eyes darting around. He quickly put the phone in his pocket and sighed, “It’s the first time I’ve chatted all night with a girl, and Sumiko-chan is really my type… Um, Kitahara, you don’t have any interest in Sumiko-chan, do you?”

In Kitahara Hideji’s mind, Sakamoto Sumiko didn’t leave a good impression. She seemed superficial and flirtatious, far from the traditional image of a virtuous wife and mother that he admired. Without any hesitation, he replied, “I have no intention of getting involved with her at all.”

He wasn’t foolish. Girls who judge based on appearance like her might say they like you, but they could easily switch to someone more attractive at any time. They were not reliable partners. Even if he wanted to pursue a romantic relationship now, he wouldn’t choose someone like her. He preferred a woman with a good personality, someone who could become a harbor for his heart, and looks weren’t that important to him, as long as they had the material foundation in the future.

“That’s a relief then!” Uchida Yuma sighed in relief when Kitahara Hideji assured him that he had no interest in Sakamoto Sumiko. He quickly changed the subject, saying, “You were amazing yesterday, Kitahara. You completely showed your strength and scared that shorty away. After school, I sent an email to everyone, and by now, the entire grade probably knows. That shorty must be extremely embarrassed this time!”

Kitahara Hideji and Shima Rei were both taken aback by Uchida Yuma’s words. After a moment, Kitahara Hideji couldn’t help but smile wryly. Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s little bully incidents were hardly known to many people, so how could spreading it make someone lose face? It was more likely that his reputation would be tarnished instead. Was he being labeled as someone who picks on girls or bullies the younger ones?

Uchida Yuma was someone who managed to mess up even in successful situations. His actions alleviated the guilt Kitahara Hideji had felt earlier. He didn’t bother with him anymore, turned around, took out the books and training equipment, and handed them to Shima Rei, saying, “Rei, these are the books and equipment I borrowed. Now that they’re all back, thank you!”

Shima Rei accepted the stack of books but pushed the training stick back, smiling, “Keep these, Kitahara-kun. My sister already bought new ones.”

“Oh, that’s bothering her,” Kitahara Hideji replied, somewhat surprised. Wealthy people could afford to buy things casually, but he still tried to decline, “I don’t have much use for them anyway. I’ll return them to your sister.”

As a person with a strong sense of self-discipline, Kitahara Hideji allowed others to take advantage of him a little, but he wouldn’t actively exploit others. Though the shinai and training sticks were made of bamboo, wood, and carbon fiber, he couldn’t afford to buy them all now, even if he emptied his entire savings. Besides, he still had the wooden sword left by the monkey, which was enough for daily practice. He really had no great use for them.

Shima Rei looked a bit regretful at his firm expression but still accepted the training stick, smiling gently, “Kitahara-kun, you’re too modest.”

“It’s just that they are quite valuable.” Being poor meant one couldn’t have small ambitions. When it came to friends enjoying good food and drinks, it was one thing, but receiving high-value items required careful consideration. It could easily tarnish one’s character. If he could provide a comparable gift in return, it would be different, but right now, he was simply too broke.

Kitahara Hideji watched as Uchida Yuma curiously approached the training stick and opened it, wondering what was inside. He hesitated for a moment and asked Shima Rei, “Rei, I’m thinking of getting a part-time job. Do you know if the school has any related rules?”