"Sure, the more people, the more fun!"
"You two can ride with me!"
"Ran-san up front, Sonoko-san and...whoever this is, in the back."
Wakamatsu patted the hood, looking rather pleased with himself.
Not many college students his age could afford to drive their own car.
"No thanks, I'll ride with my boyfriend."
Ran shook her head with a smile.
This Beika University guy was a med student, of all things, yet he had absurdly exaggerated muscles, and his hobby was boxing on top of it.
Ever since they'd met at the coffee shop that day, he'd spent every waking moment showing off his muscles, or sending videos of himself drenched in sweat pounding a punching bag.
She was starting to wonder if what he was actually majoring in at Beika University's medical school was "Fistology and Anesthesia."
One good punch, and boom—out cold!
"Your boyfriend has a car too?"
Wakamatsu asked, startled.
But almost immediately, he froze.
Boyfriend?
Besides himself, the only guy here was that pretty-boy high schooler.
Which meant Ran's boyfriend was...
Creak, creak!
Wakamatsu clenched his fist, veins bulging along his forearm.
The look he shot Makoto was thick with hostility.
Honk honk!
A horn blared.
A white Porsche Cayenne rolled out of the villa's courtyard and pulled up in front of the little yellow Toyota.
"Ooh, a Porsche!"
"How come you're not driving your Ferrari today?"
Sonoko teased.
"The Ferrari only seats me and Ran—no room for a young lady like you!"
Makoto said with a smile.
In an instant, Sonoko's cheeks flushed faintly.
So it was for her sake, huh!
"Sonoko, hop in!"
Ran, already seated up front, waved her over.
"O-okay!"
Sonoko pulled open the back door, her face flushed and her heart racing, and settled into the seat behind Makoto.
The moment she looked up, there it was in the rearview mirror—his face.
"A Porsche?"
"And a...Ferrari??"
Wakamatsu listened, dumbstruck.
He looked down at the Toyota key in his hand. Brand new—he'd had to get down on his knees and kowtow to his bento-shop-owner father for three straight months just to beg the thing out of him.
Now, somehow, it didn't feel like such a big deal anymore.
◇◇◇
The Minagawa residence.
A detached villa, far grander in scale than an ordinary self-built home.
A group of young men and women sat in the living room, raising their glasses and cheering "Kanpai!"
Since Ran and Sonoko were both still under eighteen and couldn't drink, they had orange juice instead.
Japanese law always got strange in the strangest places—an age old enough to marry and have children, yet not old enough to drink.
Makoto, who needed to drive, poured himself a glass of orange juice too.
"Right, Mouri Ran-san, Suzuki Sonoko-san, and, um..."
Wakamatsu shot him a glare, skipped right over him, and pressed on with a hearty laugh, "Let's have the members of Beika University's Tennis Club introduce ourselves to our new friends!"
"I'll go first!"
"Minagawa Katsuhiko. President of the Tennis Club, too."
The handsome young man had his legs crossed, and he introduced himself with the arrogant air of someone convinced he was the most good-looking man alive.
"S-so handsome!"
"I knew it, Minagawa-san is way too handsome!"
Sonoko said excitedly, though a flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes as they passed over Makoto.
So he really didn't care, huh?
After all, she wasn't Ran. Everyone only ever liked Ran.
"I'm Sekiya Kaori."
"Sonoko-san, maybe you should show a little restraint."
"Even a younger underclassman needs to know her boundaries. You shouldn't get too close to Katsuhiko."
The short-haired college girl issued the warning with a pointed edge to her voice, clearly interested in Katsuhiko herself.
"Naomichi, you're up!"
Wakamatsu prompted a chubby guy with glasses.
Naomichi?
That name...
Makoto looked at the bespectacled, heavyset guy, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Never mind, forget I said anything."
But he quickly gave up on the thought, resigned.
The guy was as gloomy as ever.
"I'm Watanabe Yoshimi. Nice to meet you."
Another short-haired girl, though her cut leaned more toward the traditional style of a married woman.
If she hadn't been sitting in the middle of a group of college students, Makoto would have taken her for a young housewife from next door.
"And last, me!"
"Gentle yet strong, passionate yet sentimental—the outstanding man that is Wakamatsu Toshihide!"
"Currently accepting applications for a Valentine's Day girlfriend, limited time only!"
Toshihide struck an exaggerated pose, flexing his biceps hard, though his eyes kept drifting toward Ran nearby.
After all, among all the girls in the room, she was the standout—both in looks and figure.
If someone told him she was the center of a hit idol girl group, he doubted anyone would question it.
If he could actually date a girl like that...
Now he could picture it!
The picture was already forming in his head!
He'd already fast-forwarded straight to whether their first kid would be a boy or a girl, and what they'd name it.
Toshihide couldn't help swallowing hard.
"We've all met Ran and Sonoko now."
"But this handsome guy here—you still haven't introduced him!"
"Tall, handsome, and he drives a Porsche, too."
"If my future husband could be a guy like this, that'd be perfect."
Kaori glanced at Katsuhiko, the corner of her mouth curling up, praising Makoto without even trying to hide it.
"H-husband?"
Ran tensed up immediately.
She shifted her body, quickly leaning in closer to Makoto's side.
Only once their arms were pressed together, close enough to feel his warmth, did she relax even a little.
"Right, we still haven't met this new friend!"
Yoshimi was clearly interested too.
There were only so many guys in the club, after all.
Naomichi was a lost cause—no looks, no personality.
And Toshihide was just a meathead.
The one genuinely handsome guy, club president Katsuhiko...
Ugh, way too many girls had their eyes on him already. Competition on that front was hell-mode.
"Higashino Makoto!"
"Second-year at Teitan High School. Same class as Sonoko and Ran."
"And currently, taken!"
Makoto swept his arm around the girl beside him and introduced himself, his tone gentle.
…
…
Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Mouri Ran — Shinichi's childhood sweetheart. Series: Detective Conan.
Suzuki Sonoko — Ran's childhood friend. Series: Detective Conan.
...
...
I apologize for making you guys wait. I have a situation to deal with.
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