I Suddenly Became Rich, But I Have No Idea How to Spend the Money

On the drive home, Hitomi turned to Kirishima and asked,

“Since we’re officially a couple now, can I change the way I call you?”

I replied while keeping my eyes on the road.

“Oh, I like the sound of that. Got any ideas?”

“How about Kikkun?”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Just kidding, just kidding.

Then, can I call you Akira-kun?”

It seemed like Hitomi wanted to call me by my first name, Akira.

“No one’s ever called me that before.

I’d be honored! Then can I call you Hitomi?”

“Oh, I love that! That’s totally new for me since I’ve never had a boyfriend before!”

Yuki Hitomi just casually dropped a massive bombshell.

“Wait, what?! You’ve never had a boyfriend?! With how you look?!”

“I went to an all-girls private school from middle to high school, and I was aiming for Kyoto University, so I never had time for that stuff.

I had plenty of guys interested in me, though.

In the end, I chickened out during entrance exams and dropped a rank to get into Osaka University instead.”

“You’re crazy smart… That’s impressive.

But I guess that makes sense.”

“Right?

Then I started college, settled into the routine, and began feeling like something was missing.

And then I met you, Kirishima-kun. Remember that wild question you asked the other day?

When I heard that, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s really smart. I want to get to know him better.'”

At that moment, I felt a deep sense of gratitude toward my Rolex.

“I see. Makes sense.

Oh, I’ll drop you off at your place. Where do you live?”

“You just smoothly dropped the honorifics, huh? That’s kinda embarrassing.”

Blushing slightly, Hitomi gave me her address.

“Sorry, sorry.

But it feels weird to be all formal.

This is nice, though, isn’t it?”

“You’re kinda gross.”

With that playful banter, we soon arrived at her house.

“Whoa… your place is huge.”

“I mean, I didn’t build it. My parents are just impressive.

Honestly, I feel like I’m always causing them trouble.”

“You seem financially responsible, and our values seem to match pretty well. I’m really glad she became my girlfriend.”

That thought crossed my mind, and I found myself admiring her.

“You just said all of that out loud, you know.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yep.”

So I had been thinking out loud. Oops.

“Well, thanks for today, Akira-kun!

See you at school tomorrow!”

“Yeah.”

I replied with a grin, completely love-struck.

“That face is creepy!

Good night!”

“Good night!”

After dropping Hitomi off, I headed home, thinking,

“Somehow, I ended up dating Hitomi. Well, at least my summer plans are set now, so no complaints. Thank you, Rolex.”

I wondered if my Rolex would glow again, but this time, it remained still.

“So… if it’s not glowing, does that mean this wasn’t just luck?”

That thought lingered in my mind, but in the end, I decided that showing gratitude was always important.

With that conclusion, I arrived home.

As I stepped inside, I mused, “You really never know what life has in store for you.” Then I took a bath and went to bed.

～～～～～～～～

The next day, as I arrived at university, I was immediately intercepted by Shimizu, Osaka University’s self-proclaimed informant.

“Kirishima-kun, do you have something you’re hiding from me?”

I had far too many things on my mind, and my reaction was anything but natural.

“W-wha? Huh? What are you talking about?”

“The evidence is in. You know exactly what I mean.”

I placed a hand on my chest and thought. The only thing that came to mind was yesterday’s events.

“Uh… You mean Yuki Hitomi?”

Shimizu’s expression darkened.

“So, you admit it? But there’s more, isn’t there?”

I hesitantly responded.

“The car…?”

Shimizu’s expression grew even more intense.

“You’re admitting that too, huh?”

“…Yeah.

But how the hell do you know all this so fast?!”

Shimizu grinned triumphantly.

“Don’t underestimate Osaka U’s top informant.

Honestly, I figured the car was yours.

So? Anything you wanna say before I start spreading the word?”

“Please… keep the car thing under wraps. I’d really appreciate it.”

Still smirking, Shimizu replied,

“Well, since we’re buddies, I’ll handle it for you.”

Overwhelmed with gratitude, I clung to Shimizu.

“Shimizu-san…!”

Shimizu shoved me off.

“Gross.

If you didn’t want this hassle, you should’ve just told me from the start. Why didn’t you?”

“I mean… I didn’t want to be interrogated, and I figured it’d just make things awkward.”

“Let me guess—you made bank on stocks or something?”

“Damn, you’re sharp. How’d you know?”

“Dude, how else would a college student like us have that kind of money?

You also mentioned meeting some CEO recently, so I figured he gave you a tip.”

“Well… yeah, something like that. It’s kind of a legal gray area, so I didn’t want to talk about it.”

In reality, it wasn’t gray at all—I just got lucky with a stock. But I figured keeping it vague was the smart move.

Still, Shimizu’s deduction skills were scary good.

“Yeah, I figured as much. But forget that—what about Yuki?!

How the hell did that happen?!”

Bringing up Hitomi’s name, Shimizu suddenly got all fired up.

“Well… apparently, she was interested in me.

That ‘someone she was curious about’ she always mentioned? Turns out, that was me.”

As I explained, Shimizu nodded knowingly.

“Yeah, I kinda figured.

You can just tell from how she looks at you.

Well, I’m into small boobs, so Yuki doesn’t really do it for me.”

So Shimizu was into small chests. I felt like we would never see eye to eye on this.

“If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?!”

“That’s not how information works, dude.”

“…Fair point.”

I had no counterargument.

“Well, good luck with her.

If you need advice, I’ll give you a discount. Later!”

“Thanks, Shimizu…!”

Little did I know, my friendship with Shimizu would last for years to come.

But at that moment, I had never thought he looked as cool as he did then.

After finishing our usual banter, I headed off to my lecture.