The Stand User Of The Daily World

Chapter 140: Mashiro's Double Confession

It was the weekend. Having officially ascended to the rank of a junior capitalist exploiting himself, Shunsuke finally returned home after wrapping up business matters for both of his companies.

More importantly, he had just finished handling Muse's promotional affairs.

He was feeling a little exhausted—being the boss was one thing, but without capable subordinates, it wasn't an easy job. He was already considering whether he should start looking for some reliable professional managers.

"Mashiro?"

He called out tentatively but received no response. Shunsuke wasn't surprised. In fact, he would have been more shocked if Mashiro actually answered. At this time, he was probably immersed in creating his manga.

However, the moment he stepped into his room, he was stunned.

"Mashiro, what are you doing?!"

Mashiro paused slightly, then casually added another stroke with the paintbrush in her hand.

"Shunsuke, I'm painting a mural."

"I can see that you're painting a mural! But why are you painting a mural?!"

Shunsuke scratched his head repeatedly. He had thought he was starting to understand Mashiro, but clearly, that was a huge mistake. He still couldn't follow his train of thought.

"...Because I want to."

Mashiro stopped moving, slowly turned her head, and looked at Shunsuke with hee pure, snow-white eyes. She didn't say another word, but her gaze alone seemed to scream, Are you an idiot?

The reasoning was too overwhelming—Shunsuke was speechless.

After a moment of silence, Mashiro used the brush-wielding hand to scratch her head.

"Ah, Ayano said this paint is really safe—it's odorless, non-toxic, and easy to clean. Even if it gets on your skin, it's fine."

"Wait… Editor Iida is still in contact with you? I thought she'd be furious."

Looking at Mashiro's face, now smudged like a little painted kitten, her vibrant, multicolored hair, and her completely unrecognizable, paint-covered clothes, Shunsuke didn't know what to say.

Come to think of it, could this actually be Ayano Iida's way of getting back at him? A little payback for stealing Mashiro away—by encouraging her to make a mess and drive Shunsuke crazy?

If that was the case, Shunsuke really couldn't say much.

After all, what he did wasn't exactly honorable.

Iida Ayano had invested so much time, effort, and dedication into nurturing Mashiro, who had been a complete novice in manga at the start.

And what did he do? He snatched her away and had her submit her work to Shonen Jump behind Ayano's back. Who wouldn't be furious?

Mashiro's personality meant she wouldn't hold a grudge, so the only one Ayano could be mad at… was him.

But Mashiro tilted her head in confusion. "Ayano… is mad?"

"Forget it. Just come down already," Shunsuke said as he stepped forward and held the ladder. He was genuinely worried that this clumsy girl would get distracted and fall.

"No, I'm almost done." Mashiro continued painting, her brush moving fluidly. "Didn't you say my paintings were beautiful, Shunsuke? Are you a liar?"

"I never lied! But this is different—"

"How is it different?" Mashiro quietly lowered her head, a few strands of her soft hair brushing against Shunsuke's neck, making him feel slightly ticklish.

"Shunsuke… you don't like it?"

"Uh… I didn't say that."

Facing Mashiro's delicate, doll-like face, Shunsuke completely surrendered.

"Then why did you yell at me?" Mashiro countered without hesitation. She lifted her head slightly but continued painting. Her tone was filled with genuine curiosity, as if she truly found Shunsuke's behavior baffling.

"Shunsuke, you're so weird."

She actually said it out loud.

The vein on Shunsuke's forehead nearly popped.

"But… Shunsuke is really nice to me, so I forgive you."

If it weren't Mashiro who said that, Shunsuke would have smacked her butt without hesitation.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Shunsuke decided to embrace the mindset of "Well, it's already painted," and began to appreciate Mashiro's mural. This was an extremely rare sight—almost a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.

"…Is this the universe? A starry sky?"

He carefully examined the painting. Even though it wasn't done on a canvas, Mashiro was a true genius when it came to oil painting. The mural was incredibly vivid and three-dimensional, carrying a heavy sense of depth. It was a real work of art, giving anyone who looked at it an immersive feeling.

If he turned off the lights at night, pulled back the curtains, and let the moonlight shine in, Shunsuke was certain that lying in bed would feel like sleeping within the vastness of space itself.

"Because… I want to give you my starry sky." Mashiro stopped painting and looked at Shunsuke seriously.

Shunsuke was puzzled. "Your starry sky?"

"Yes." Mashiro nodded. "Because I don't have much. I can't help you study, I don't have any cute underclassmen, and my parents are in England. Even my manga depends on you teaching me. So… all I can give you is my starry sky."

Her small fist unconsciously tightened. Though her face remained expressionless and her tone was indifferent, at this moment—even an outsider could see how serious this emotionless girl was.

Shunsuke flicked her nose lightly. "Now that you know you're such a handful, try to be more mindful in the future. Alright, once you're done painting, let's take a bath together. No paint is ever truly non-toxic—go wash yourself properly."

"…Why is this different from what I read in books?"

After Shunsuke left the room to prepare the bath, Mashiro tilted her head in confusion.

Based on the original manuscripts she secretly read from Shunsuke, a confession like this should have worked perfectly. And Shunsuke clearly liked the starry sky, so why didn't it go as expected?

Hmm… If Shunsuke had written this himself, he would've definitely realized it. But unfortunately for her, this was Star Platinum's work—so he completely missed it…

"Wait… Mashiro just confessed to me?!!"

Standing in the bathroom as the tub filled with water, Shunsuke was hit by a strange sense of déjà vu. Mashiro's words just now… they sounded eerily familiar.

Wasn't this Senjougahara Hitagi's confession to Araragi Koyomi—but in Mashiro's version?!

And with the 'the moon is beautiful' implication layered on top… this was a double confession!

"…Mashiro, you've grown so much. You even kept your usual blank expression to set a language trap. Hah… good thing I was slow just now."

Shunsuke felt a bit relieved. If he hadn't been slow to react to Mashiro's confession just now, he might have accepted it on the spot out of sheer emotion—or rather, that outcome would have been inevitable.

It wasn't that he had any intention of rejecting a sincere confession from a beautiful girl.

On the contrary, his principle had always been: If she dares to confess, I dare to accept. But if he had done that just now, his grand ambition of walking the path of an angelic harem master would have faced a major crisis.

After all, Mashiro's nickname, "Mashiro the Black", wasn't just for show. When it came to possessiveness, she was second to none!

Girls like Yukino and Eriri—who would absolutely fall for Mashiro's deceptively innocent, predatory words—would end up convinced that Shunsuke was a total scumbag.

…Wait.

Now that he thought about it, wasn't he actually a scumbag?

…Yeah, probably.

Well, whatever.

"Forget it. I'll just pretend I didn't notice anything and call Mashiro for a bath. It'd be too awkward to bring this up again now—the mood's already gone."

"For now, I'll just keep a mental note of this. Later, I'll make sure to give Mashiro a proper confession in return. But… now isn't the right time."

Originally, Shunsuke had sworn never to be the one to confess first.

But faced with this clumsy yet irresistibly adorable Mashiro…

His resolve was starting to waver.

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