Mash-Up: Anything for Money

"Ichika once said, in her and my eyes, the palm and the back of the hand are like two sides of the same coin..."

"The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh, but there's always more flesh on the palm — that's Ichika's original words..."

Hearing this, Hakuto slightly nodded. He had already more or less guessed what Nakano Ichika meant.

"Hakuto, I want to ask, if it were you, which would you choose — the palm or the back of the hand?"

"Huh? Why would I need to choose?" Hakuto raised his eyebrow. 

"The palm and the back of the hand are both mine. You can't simply judge by how much flesh there is."

Miku nodded steadily. For some reason, hearing Hakuto's response, she actually breathed a sigh of relief. 

At least the matter Nakano Ichika entrusted to her could now be resolved.

Hakuto smiled. Now that he roughly understood what Nakano Ichika was trying to say, he didn't plan on just sitting and watching anymore — he was going to make a move too!

"Miku, do you remember the question I asked you last night?"

Miku nodded. Of course she knew what Hakuto was referring to.

"To be honest, when I said that, I was really nervous. I even imagined what it would be like if you rejected me. Since you didn't show up last night, I was heartbroken all alone for quite a while..."

Hakuto wasn't lying — it was all true!

But to Miku, it felt quite different when she heard this.

"If possible, I want to hear your answer, Miku... your answer to the question from yesterday..." Hakuto asked with a smile.

Miku nodded slightly. She held the pure white scarf in her hands, the woody fragrance filling her entire nose.

When it came to this question, it was no surprise that Miku's answer was a yes. However, what she wanted wasn't just a simple yes...

Miku wrapped the extra length of her scarf around Hakuto's neck. Because of the scarf's length, their faces were now very, very close.

"Miku, is this your way of giving me a little warmth before rejecting me?" Hakuto teased.

Miku shook her head. "I can feel Hakuto's feelings."

"But it's not just me... Nino and Ichika also like you..."

Hearing that, Hakuto's expression froze for a moment.

Looks like he had underestimated Nakano Ichika a little...

"Miku, what are you trying to say?"

"Hakuto... if possible, could you accept both me and Ichika... and Nino too?"

When Miku said this, her tone was hesitant and broken, as if it had taken a lot of courage...

Hakuto had never felt that being the "support role" could be so awesome!

"Miku, why are you saying this?" Hakuto looked confused. 

"Has Japan reinstated polygamy or something?"

Miku shook her head, but then nodded again.

"I'll convince Nino and the others. You just need to nod..."

"Miku, why are you trying to split me up?"

"Because I know... Hakuto has feelings for them too. This is... the best way I could think of..."

Miku spoke slowly and earnestly. It really seemed like she was sincerely pleading with Hakuto.

Hakuto never thought that one day he'd see this kind of expression on a girl's face for his sake.

Even Ginko, Nao, and Nino, who were all willing to let him have a harem, never had this expression.

Ginko was the gritting-teeth type. 

Nao was indifferent. As for Nino, maybe because of the previous two, she didn't show much emotion either.

But Miku was genuinely begging Hakuto to open a harem.

"Miku, why go this far?"

"Nino once said, if she had to choose between a lover and family, she'd choose the latter. But now, with both laid out in front of me..."

Miku didn't say any more. It seemed this decision had taken her a long time to make.

Hakuto smiled. Sometimes he felt like his background was quite unlucky, but even so... There were people who liked him.

"I'll say yes to you, Miku!"

Hearing Hakuto's response, a smile bloomed on Miku's face. But Hakuto immediately added:

"But if that's the case, it might not be just Nino and the others~"

"What do you mean, Hakuto?"

"Miku, do you still remember Ginko? The one who visited when you came to my place last time..."

The moment she heard "Ginko," Miku instantly understood what Hakuto meant.

She glared at him unhappily, her cheeks puffing up like a pufferfish.

"You really are guilty! Stab your stomach!"

"Stab my stomach? Isn't that a bit much..."

Miku didn't dwell on what Hakuto just said. In her mind, since she had already chosen to share, adding a few more wasn't too big of a problem.

Miku puffed her cheeks and poked Hakuto's chin with her finger.

"Hakuto... I should be your first girlfriend, right?"

Hakuto gulped nervously.

"Um... can I say that I've liked you since my last life?"

He wasn't lying — back in his past life, "Miku is the best girl" was practically every otaku's catchphrase.

Maybe The Quintessential Quintuplets wasn't the greatest anime ever, but its characters had solid popularity and depth.

But clearly, the Miku in front of him wasn't buying it. She pouted and grumbled:

"Capital punishment! Death penalty! Stab your stomach!"

"Um... Miku is the best girl?"

"Stab your stomach! Stab your stomach!"

Miku was furious now. If Hakuto had said earlier that she wasn't his first girlfriend, she wouldn't have hesitated so much!

To put it simply...

If Ginko or Nao had objected to Hakuto being with multiple girls, he probably would've had to back down obediently.

Even though he wouldn't show favoritism...

When it comes to emotions, the value has long been set.

Ginko still thought that Hakuto was only dating her and Nao.

Who knew how she'd react when she saw Hakuto now? 

Probably stomp on his leg and glare at him like she was looking at a corpse, all while muttering about killing him...

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