"How does this one feel?"
By this time, Kamishiro Rize had already started picking out clothes.
She picked out the first dress, and before even trying it on, she showed it to Yakuchi Kei.
"It feels pretty good."
Yakuchi Kei replied.
"What about this one?"
Kamishiro Rize then brought out another style.
"This one is also good."
Yakuchi Kei's answer was still similar.
"And this one?"
"It's also alright."
After a series of perfunctory replies, Kamishiro Rize's face immediately showed some displeasure. "Why are your answers always so perfunctory? Can't you seriously help me look?"
"I am serious, but I've never helped a girl pick out clothes, and I don't have much taste."
Yakuchi Kei scratched his head awkwardly.
Even when he bought clothes for himself, he didn't know how to choose, so he just went with either black or white, buying whatever looked decent.
Asking him, someone like that, to help a girl pick out clothes was truly a bit difficult for him.
But then again, Kamishiro Rize really came to buy clothes, huh?
Yakuchi Kei had thought Kamishiro Rize was just saying it casually, teasing him out of boredom, after all, it wasn't the first time Kamishiro Rize had done that.
But now, having him help her look at one outfit after another, it was clearly not fake.
"You're not a very good boyfriend."
Kamishiro Rize chided him.
"..."
Yakuchi Kei was momentarily speechless.
It was already a fake relationship; how else was he supposed to be a good boyfriend?
However, now it was basically impossible for anyone to doubt their status as a couple; Kamishiro Rize was acting too genuinely.
At the same time, Touka Kirishima, who was also shopping at the mall with her classmates, happened to pass by the entrance of this women's clothing store.
Her classmate, Kosaka Yoriko, was walking beside her. As she talked to Kosaka Yoriko, she glanced to the side and saw two familiar figures inside the store.
Touka Kirishima subconsciously stopped in her tracks.
"Touka?..."
Kosaka Yoriko asked in confusion.
"Sorry… Yizi, please wait a moment. There's something I'm curious about and want to confirm."
Upon recognizing the two figures as Yakuchi Kei and Kamishiro Rize, Touka Kirishima immediately became concerned.
First, assuming Yakuchi Kei was still being treated as a "Ghoul" by Kamishiro Rize, shopping for clothes with a "Ghoul" in the evening—was that really something that woman would do?
And so many days had passed since Kamishiro Rize first encountered that human boy; Kamishiro Rize had never been so patient with a human before.
Touka Kirishima was truly curious about what was going on between Kamishiro Rize and that human boy.
"Oh, oh, it's fine."
Kosaka Yoriko had no idea what was going on, but she was willing to stay here with Touka Kirishima.
After all, she and Touka were the best of friends.
...
Meanwhile, Yakuchi Kei, on the other side, had actually noticed Touka Kirishima and Kosaka Yoriko, but he didn't pay much attention.
At this moment, Kamishiro Rize was asking him for his opinion.
"I think a white dress suits you better, or a purple dress would also be very nice."
Yakuchi Kei offered his opinion.
He had an innate fondness for white, and as for purple, it was because he felt it matched Kamishiro Rize's hair and eye color very well.
"I understand. Then I'll go try on these two first."
Kamishiro Rize picked out two suitable dresses and prepared to go to the fitting room to try on the new clothes.
At this time, Touka Kirishima had found a spot where she wouldn't be easily noticed by Yakuchi Kei and Kamishiro Rize, and sat on a long bench provided for customers to rest.
Kosaka Yoriko also sat beside her.
She wanted to know the exact situation, so she followed Touka Kirishima's gaze and saw that Touka Kirishima was still focused on the women's clothing store they had just passed.
Could there be someone Touka was interested in inside that store?
"Touka, is there someone you're interested in inside that store?"
Out of curiosity, Kosaka Yoriko asked Touka Kirishima.
"Yes, do you see that woman with purple hair and glasses? And the boy in front of her."
Touka Kirishima was willing to share things with Kosaka Yoriko, except for matters concerning Ghouls.
She certainly didn't want Kosaka Yoriko to know that she was a Ghoul, otherwise, her best friend would surely be afraid of her and distance herself.
"I see them! That girl is so beautiful! And that boy is quite handsome too."
Kosaka Yoriko immediately noticed Yakuchi Kei and Kamishiro Rize's good looks, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
However, she suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Touka Kirishima.
Touka's concerned expression also made her curious.
"Touka, could it be that… you like Tenya Hakuyoru, which is why you're so concerned?"
Kosaka Yoriko couldn't help but confirm her suspicion with Touka Kirishima.
In this situation, this possibility was quite high.
"Yes…"
Touka Kirishima was completely focused on the two people in the women's clothing store and didn't pay attention to what Kosaka Yoriko said, so she casually responded.
When she realized what Kosaka Yoriko had said, her face immediately flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly explained: "No, no, no! I didn't hear you clearly just now! I don't like that guy at all!"
"Don't explain, Touka. Explanation is concealment, and concealment is the truth."
Kosaka Yoriko wore a "I understand everything" smile.
"It's really not! You have to believe me, Yizi."
Touka Kirishima almost wanted to cry; this was a huge misunderstanding!
"Of course I believe you, Touka."
Kosaka Yoriko said this, but the expression on her face remained unchanged.
Clearly, she had already decided that Touka liked Tenya Hakuyoru, and that Tenya Hakuyoru was currently shopping with another girl, a very beautiful girl, which was why Touka was so concerned and secretly observing.
In her opinion, this was the only explanation that made sense, and Touka's reaction was definitely due to shyness~
"..."
Touka Kirishima suddenly felt like dying.
This misunderstanding was completely unexplainable, unless she told Kosaka Yoriko the truth.
But she still didn't dare to tell the truth, because if she did, Yizi might wonder why she knew so much about Ghouls, and she didn't want to take any risks in that regard.
It was truly hopeless, Touka Kirishima could only force herself to endure it.
Meanwhile, Kosaka Yoriko was thinking to herself that now that Touka had a boy she liked, as Touka's friend, she definitely had to cheer Touka on and hopefully help her.
She just hoped that Tenya Hakuyoru wasn't dating that purple-haired girl yet; if not, she still had a chance to help Touka figure out a way to win him over!