Chapter 177: Mm, You're Right!
Cold reading was the technique of observing someone's eyes, speech, mannerisms, gestures, and behavior to infer their psychological state, allowing the practitioner to seemingly see through their thoughts and gain their trust.
Judging from the fact that even the shy Airi had been coaxed into smiling, this elderly fortune-teller was actually quite skilled at cold reading.
The fortune-teller continued discussing Airi's academics, finances, romance, and various other aspects of her future, nearly convincing Airi that she was the happiest person in the entire world.
It wasn't all empty flattery, either. The old woman occasionally offered warnings and advice, such as telling Airi to keep a close eye on the boy she liked.
Through his mind-reading ability, Yuto discovered the fortune-teller's reasoning behind that advice.
Handsome boys naturally attracted girls, so reminding their girlfriends to keep an eye on them was an essential part of her routine.
Whenever a close couple came in and the boy was especially handsome, she always gave the girl that same warning.
In Yuto's case, however, her generic advice had accidentally hit the mark.
After all, besides Airi, Yuto really did have two other girlfriends.
Airi knew better than anyone exactly how many girlfriends Yuto had, so she didn't take the fortune-teller's reminder seriously at all.
Once Airi's reading ended, it was Yuto's turn.
He extended both hands toward the fortune-teller.
The hooded elderly woman studied him with sharp eyes. Since cold reading relied heavily on observation, the first thing she needed to do was carefully examine her client.
Yet Yuto's completely relaxed and composed demeanor caused her eyes to narrow slightly.
"Guest, it seems you've experienced many events that tempered your mind."
That conclusion came entirely from his calm expression.
The fortune-telling shop was deliberately dim and mysterious, creating an atmosphere that naturally made people nervous. Anyone who remained completely unaffected was probably experienced and difficult to intimidate.
So saying something vague like "you've endured hardships" or "you've experienced major events" was usually a safe guess.
"I don't think so. My life has always felt like I was playing house. I've lived pretty easily so far and never experienced anything that seriously tested me," Yuto replied with a smile.
Airi glanced at her childhood friend.
He was lying with his eyes wide open.
He had experienced more frightening situations growing up than she could even count.
The fortune-teller's questions and answers for Yuto were essentially the same as they had been for Airi: say pleasant things, then add a mysterious warning or piece of advice.
Now that Yuto understood her routine, he was almost bored enough to yawn.
Airi, on the other hand, was taking the reading far more seriously than she had taken her own.
For Airi, what happened to her didn't matter nearly as much as what happened to Yuto.
"Guest, your romantic fortune is exceptionally strong. You must encounter quite a few difficulties involving the opposite sex," the old fortune-teller said solemnly.
"Mm. You're right."
Yuto nodded.
That hardly required fortune-telling to figure out.
Handsome boys naturally attracted attention from plenty of girls, which meant romantic complications were inevitable.
Especially in Japan.
If a student liked someone and was bold enough, they might simply write a confession letter and slip it into that person's shoe locker.
If they got rejected, so be it.
If the other person was interested too, they could exchange contact information and go from complete strangers to boyfriend and girlfriend remarkably quickly.
"But you needn't worry, Guest. Although your romantic fortune is extremely strong, everything will work itself out as long as your girlfriend remains beside you."
The fortune-teller smiled toward Airi.
"And you don't need to worry about someone stealing your boyfriend away."
"Mm. I've always trusted Yuto," Airi replied with a smile.
Yuto rubbed his hair awkwardly.
Unfortunately, his fickle heart had already betrayed Airi's trust.
He had practically built himself a harem.
...
Once the fortune-telling ended, Yuto and Airi left the dimly lit shop.
Yuto looked toward Airi, who was holding his arm. "Airi, where do you want to go next?"
"Let's buy memory cards and some clothes, then find somewhere without people so I can take pictures!" Airi suggested excitedly.
"..."
Yuto's mouth twitched.
So he still wasn't escaping the outfit changes and photography session after all.
Fine.
He would indulge Airi.
The electronics stores were on the first floor of Keyaki Mall, so the two took the elevator down.
The closer they got to the electronics section, however, the tighter Airi held onto Yuto's arm.
Noticing something was wrong, Yuto asked, "Airi, why are you getting nervous?"
"I actually came here alone before to buy memory cards for my digital camera, but the person who sells them scared me..." Airi replied quietly, obvious dislike and discomfort appearing on her face.
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
For someone as gentle and timid as Airi to show such clear disgust, that person must really have frightened her.
"Did he bully you?" Yuto asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No." Airi shook her head. "His attitude just scared me."
"Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"It wasn't anything important. Why would I tell you?" Airi replied softly.
She knew she was timid and bad at interacting with strangers, while Yuto had always wanted her to become a little more outgoing and confident.
So naturally, she hadn't wanted to tell him about something as trivial as being frightened by a stranger.
If every memory card in her camera hadn't been full, she wouldn't even have wanted to come back to this part of the shopping center.
Yuto and Airi arrived at the after-sales service area.
Since students could only purchase computers, game consoles, cameras, and similar electronics through Keyaki Mall, staff members were assigned there to handle after-sales support.
Memory cards for digital cameras were sold there as well.
"That's him," Airi whispered, pointing toward someone. "He's the one who scared me."
Yuto followed her finger.
The man wore the school's staff uniform and appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old. He was overweight, with messy hair and an unkempt beard, giving him an unpleasant overall appearance.
Yuto withdrew his gaze and said, "You still dislike him, right? Then stay here. I'll go buy the memory cards myself."
"Mm..."
Airi nodded softly, released his arm, and handed him the digital camera she had brought along.
When Yuto reached the after-sales counter with the camera, the unpleasant-looking employee was incessantly talking to a girl standing in front of him.
From the general direction of the conversation, Yuto could tell the man was flirting with her and trying to invite her to see an idol movie at the theater.
The employee apparently knew quite a lot about idols. He rambled on about how idol elections worked, then wandered into discussions about magazines, online print models, and various cover idols.
At the same time, the overweight man seemed completely incapable of reading the atmosphere.
He utterly failed to notice the obvious disgust and impatience on the girl's face.
Seeing this, Yuto immediately understood why Airi had looked so uncomfortable earlier.
Someone as shy as Airi hated dealing with people who completely ignored social cues.
"You're so annoying. Shut up!"
Finally fed up with being pestered, the girl snapped at the employee, grabbed the item she had purchased, and walked away.
The man's expression immediately darkened.
Yuto stepped forward.
"Give me three memory cards for this digital camera."
"Digital camera memory cards?!"
For some reason, those words seemed to hit a nerve.
The man suddenly whipped his head toward Yuto.
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't that reaction a little excessive?
"I said I want to buy memory cards for a digital camera. Is there a problem?"
"N-No problem..." The overweight employee stared at the camera in Yuto's hand. "But that camera isn't yours, is it?"
"It belongs to my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? Impossible! There's no way Shizuku-chan has a boyfriend!"
The man looked utterly disbelieving, as though someone had just told him his personal goddess had married another man.
Shizuku was actually the online name Yuto had created for Airi.
Before they enrolled at this school, Airi had once been frightened by a group of delinquents. Wanting to help her recover and become more cheerful, Yuto encouraged the hobby she loved most—photography.
Thanks to Yuto's companionship and her growing passion for taking pictures, Airi gradually emerged from that dark period.
Later, on a whim, she selected some of the photos they had taken and uploaded them online.
Because the photography itself was good and Airi was extremely photogenic, she gradually attracted considerable attention and gained a decent online following.
However, Airi always carefully concealed her online identity.
Other than Yuto, not even her parents knew that the online personality known as Shizuku was actually Sakura Airi.
Yet the unpleasant employee in front of him had just casually said the name "Shizuku."
Behind his clear-lens glasses, Yuto slowly raised his gaze toward the man.
A strange light flashed through his deep black eyes.
Through his mind-reading ability, Yuto immediately learned why the employee knew the name.
He had recognized Airi.
The overweight man was a hardcore idol otaku who obsessively followed attractive online personalities, and Shizuku was one of the people he closely followed.
When Airi had first come here to purchase a memory card, he had already begun suspecting that she might be the online Shizuku.
Now Yuto was carrying Airi's digital camera and openly saying its owner was his girlfriend.
For someone this obsessed with online idols, that was apparently impossible to accept.
"Stop spacing out. I said I want memory cards," Yuto said coldly.
"...I'll get them."
The overweight employee suppressed his frustration, turned around, and began searching for the correct memory cards.
Yuto bought three, gave the man's ugly expression one final glance, then walked away.
When he returned to Airi, he handed over both the digital camera and the three brand-new memory cards.
Airi accepted them and asked, "Yuto, did that employee give you a really unpleasant feeling too?"
"Why do you ask?"
Airi first put the camera and cards away, then gently took Yuto's hand between both of hers, wrapping it in her warmth.
"Because I think you're angry right now. Did he do something to upset you?"
"Your intuition really is sharp."
Yuto chuckled and squeezed her soft hand.
"Tell me. What did he do that made you angry?"
"Tell you, huh..."
Yuto thought for a moment, then nodded.
He decided Airi should know.
That unpleasant employee had already recognized her identity, which meant there was a real possibility he might continue bothering her.
It was better for Airi to know in advance so she could mentally prepare herself.
"The employee at the service counter seems to be one of your fans, and he's also figured out that you're Shizuku."
"Huh?"
Airi's eyes widened slightly as she froze.
"R-Really?!"
"Mm."
Yuto nodded.
A troubled expression immediately appeared on Airi's face.
She was naturally shy and hated drawing attention to herself.
When Airi originally decided to post photographs online, it hadn't been because she wanted fame. She had simply wanted to share the pictures Yuto had taken of her.
Yet somehow, she had unexpectedly become popular online and started being followed like a print model or idol.
And now, even inside this school—where students were supposedly cut off from the outside world—someone knew she was Shizuku.
"Yuto, isn't this school isolated from outside communication? How does he know about the photos I posted online?"
Exactly.
That unpleasant-looking man was a member of the school staff.
Shouldn't he also be unable to communicate freely with the outside world or access external sites like Twitter while on campus?
If he couldn't access them, how could he possibly have seen Airi's Twitter account?
"It's simple," Yuto replied. "He's staff. He regularly enters and leaves the school. Once he leaves the island, he can access the internet normally."
"Oh... I see."
…
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