I Won’t Fall in Love with You Because of This

"No, we're just friends."

Ren hesitated for a moment and said firmly.

He and Ichika were friends, without a doubt.

How could he be her boyfriend?

"..."

Hearing his answer, Ichika took a deep breath and continued: "Ren-kun, because we're friends, it's impossible for me to accept what you call a gift."

Before Ren could respond, Ichika began speaking to herself.

"Honestly, I've been guessing what gift you would give me beforehand, like the movie tickets I just guessed or handmade crafts. Those were all my guesses."

"Besides, guys give gifts to girls, and there's a lot to consider. And considering your personality, there's not much you can use as a gift."

"So I'm prepared to accept what I thought would be some kind of gift."

"But I never expected you to give me a gift like that. It far exceeded my expectations."

"So much so that when I saw the contract, my first reaction was disbelief. Then after confirming that the contract was real, I almost immediately signed my name on it."

"If I didn't realize it, this is the gift you prepared for me..."

"Do you not like this gift?"

Ren didn't understand what Ichika was saying; he only understood her initial refusal.

"I like it! I really like it!" Ichika emphasized her tone.

"Then why did you refuse?"

Ren didn't quite understand this.

Because she liked it, wouldn't it be nice to just accept it?

"Because there's no reason for me to accept this contract. It's clearly your investment, but I take 90% of it. Do you think that's fair?" She asked.

"Agreed."

This is the gift Ren gave her, so of course, she wanted to take the majority of it.

Ichika took the juice she ordered and sipped it, calming her inner emotions and asking him:

"Let me ask you, if I accept this contract, what gift should I give in return?"

"Anything is fine."

Ren didn't care about this.

"It's annoying. The answer is all answers that make people angry." Ichika closed the contract and handed it to him, "If you were my boyfriend and wanted to be with me in the future, if you wanted to get married, give me this contract, and I'll accept it without hesitation and sign my name on it."

She repeated her words loudly, then lowered her voice.

"Unfortunately, you're not my boyfriend, so I can only reject this contract."

"Anyway, we're just friends, and I don't want you to spend so much money on me."

"This contract far exceeds the value of a gift and is not a gift that friends should give each other."

"You should use this money for other purposes rather than just wasting it on me."

"I won't fall in love with you or have a good impression of you just because you do this."

Ichika's attitude was very firm, and she had no intention of letting this matter go.

"You should give me another gift, like your handmade crafts or movie tickets. I'll gladly accept them."

"Marriage?"

Ren picked up on this keyword from her words.

"What's wrong?"

Ichika narrowed her eyes slightly, sensing the change in his mood.

"No, it's nothing."

After a moment of silence, Ren collected the contract he returned to her.

"It seems like you're a little worried about getting married?"

The more Ren said this, the more suspicious Ichika became.

Especially when he hesitated earlier, there was clearly a pause and panic.

Ren had never experienced such a reaction before.

"Don't ordinary people want to get married?"

Ren shared the common sense he learned.

"Not necessarily. Quite a few people choose to live alone." Ichika casually replied.

Ren asked very seriously, "Does dying alone mean spending the rest of your life alone?"

"Of course, you can understand that just from its literal meaning."

Ichika said casually.

"I feel a little sorry for you."

After being isolated for ten years, Ren didn't want to experience a similar experience in the future.

"So Ren-kun, when do you plan to get married?"

"I haven't thought about it, let's talk about it later."

After chatting briefly on this topic, Ren handed over the second contract to Ichika: "Here."

"What's this?"

Ichika asked carefully without haste.

"The gift has been replaced." Ren explained simply, "You'll know after you open it and see."

"Okay."

Seeing his words, Ichika took the document bag, opened it, and took out the contract that looked exactly the same as the previous one.

"Ren-kun, if I'm not mistaken, didn't I just read this contract?"

Ichika genuinely doubted whether Ren considered her stupid.

Even though she got a bad grade before he came to help her with lesson, it didn't mean she was dumb.

"The details are different; you can pay attention to the breakdown." Ren pointed out the differences.

"Let me see."

After hearing what he said, Ichika found the separation line and looked at it seriously.

"Nakano Ichika 50%, Kamikawa Ren 40%, the office 10%..."

After reading it, Ichika suddenly smiled and pretended to be dissatisfied, saying, "The previous contract clearly stated that I would get 90% and the company would get 10%. In this contract, can I only get 50%? Is it over?"

"Is this the gift you're giving me?"

"...That's not what you said earlier."

Not long ago, she was still debating with himself about the fact that she occupied 90%.

"Ren-kun, do you want to invest in me?"

Ichika ignored his question and asked seriously.

"Yes."

This is what Hayasaka told him at the time.

"This contract makes sense, at least more sense than the one just now."

After reading the new contract he gave her, Ichika seemed quite satisfied after realizing that only the separation line had changed.

"Then can you accept my gift now?"

Although she rejected the contract where she could get 90%, it would be fine if she agreed to accept this contract.

"I can accept it, but before that, I need to ask you some questions."

Ichika pursed her lips and flipped the contract to the page requiring her signature.

"Go ahead."

"Ren-kun, regardless of the fact that this is a gift you're giving me, do you think I'm worthy of your investment?" Ichika asked gently.