Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute

When Takashi mentioned his hobbies, not only did Watanabe Akari and the others look at him with indescribable expressions, but even Otani Shota and Tanaka Kouta, who came with him, were at a loss for words.

The two of them even subtly scooted away from him, as if sitting next to him was embarrassing.

However, Kitagawa Marin didn't show any strange reaction. On the contrary, she thought Takashi was really cool.

To her, there was nothing shameful about boldly expressing one's interests.

Liking something had nothing to do with age.

Under the perplexed gazes of Akari and the other girls, Takashi smiled nonchalantly and said, "Your turn."

Akari was the first to raise her hand. "I'm Watanabe Akari, a first-year student at Shinkawa Academy." 

"I like pretty clothes and cute bags. When I'm bored, I like to read fashion magazines to pass the time."

Takashi suddenly asked, "Do you prefer LV or Coco?"

Akari thought for a moment. "Coco, I guess."

"Which bag from Coco do you like the most?"

Akari assumed Takashi had just been making casual conversation, but unexpectedly, he followed up on the topic. She glanced at him curiously.

Everyone else hadn't even introduced themselves yet. Why was he suddenly talking about bags?

Could it be that he was interested in her and trying to flirt?

Very possible!

Akari had confidence in her looks.

However, out of politeness, she answered truthfully, "I like the small Le Boy bag."

Following the principle of "if I'm not embarrassed, then it's others who will feel awkward," Takashi began testing the waters.

"I heard that Coco raises prices every six months. If you sell that bag now, you could probably make double what you paid."

Truthfully, the moment Akari and Marin appeared as system-recognized targets, Takashi had already started observing them.

After all, if the system marked them as targets, they had to be worth something.

If this were a two-dimensional world, he wouldn't even need to analyze—he'd immediately know whether they were rich.

But unfortunately, he lived in the real world and didn't have that knowledge.

The only reason he had any understanding of these characters at all was because of a certain friend who constantly talked about wanting to be their dog.

Takashi judged a person's background based on their demeanor, clothing, mannerisms, and behavior.

Elite families placed great importance on grooming their children. They would hire professionals to teach etiquette.

In his previous life, Takashi had been a typical test-cramming student from a rural province, managing to enter a top-tier university through sheer talent and relentless studying.

One of his roommates there had received elite education.

It was no exaggeration to say that just standing still, his roommate exuded an aura completely different from that of Takashi, the small-town test-taker.

And he truly was outstanding—not arrogant like the spoiled rich kids in novels, but gentle, articulate, and always polite. He treated everyone warmly and thoughtfully.

That was the first time Takashi had so clearly experienced the gap between people.

Later, when they became close, his dorm mate once seriously said, 

"If I had bad grades as a kid, my parents would just nag me. But if I were rude or showed off my wealth, I'd be in for a real beating."

Based on his observations, Akari didn't seem like someone raised with top-tier etiquette training.

But just in case he was about to miss out on a big catch, Takashi still tested her.

Akari rolled her eyes at him. "That bag is so expensive. How could I afford it?"

What kind of question was that?

Could an ordinary family afford luxury goods?

So, just a regular background. Never mind.

Takashi instantly lost interest in Akari.

His brief conversation with her had further confirmed his guess and given him a rough sense of her personality.

"Alright, alright, my turn!"

Now that Takashi was no longer interrupting, the rest of the introductions proceeded smoothly.

Takashi also learned the names of the two other girls who weren't system-recognized targets.

The taller blonde was Takamiya Saki.

The girl in an oversized T-shirt, with her hands tucked into her sleeves, looking soft and innocent, was Ohashi Natsumi.

Of course, their names didn't matter to him—Takashi didn't care.

Finally, it was Kitagawa Marin's turn.

"I'm Kitagawa Marin, also a first-year at Shinkawa Academy like Akari. I'm into subcultures, and I love dressing up like characters from manga, anime, and games."

Her voice was crisp and pleasant, like a carefree nightingale.

No wonder so many otakus called her their "waifu."

Of course, to an otaku, any pretty girl could be their waifu.

"Oh, a cosplayer, huh."

Hearing that Kitagawa Marin did cosplay, Takashi didn't even bother probing.

It wasn't that he had anything against the cosplay community.

It was just that there weren't many rich cosplayers—most of them had emptier wallets than their faces.

Their most expensive possessions were probably the costumes in their closets.

Takashi had personally seen a girl survive on crackers for three weeks just to afford a cosplay outfit, losing 10 pounds in the process.

He couldn't understand it, but he was truly shocked.

Besides, while he had no personal bias against the cosplay scene, he knew it could be a messy world.

Tanaka Kouta, hearing that Kitagawa Marin did cosplay, casually asked, "I heard cosplaying costs a lot of money, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I always have part-time jobs."

Marin cheerfully admitted she was broke.

I shouldn't have come.

Takashi regretted attending this mixer—it was a total waste of time.

He might as well have gone fishing.

Even if he usually didn't catch anything, he still firmly believed it was either a problem with the fishing rod or bad feng shui at the spot.

It was definitely not his own fault.

Perhaps wanting to keep the conversation going, Otani Shota asked, "Marin, what kind of part-time jobs do you do? You could totally be a model with your looks."

"I do some work as a reader model, plus beauty modeling, hand modeling for nail polish, photography gigs, beauty assistant, receptionist—lots of stuff!" Kitagawa Marin counted on her fingers as she listed them off.

Takashi suddenly perked up and asked, "Oh? You do photography too?"

Once people reached a certain age, their instincts would awaken on their own.

Takashi never used to believe that.

But eventually, he did.

Before turning 25, he had been obsessed with gaming, jerseys, streetwear, and watches.

But after 25, he suddenly developed a taste for goji berry tea, Phoenix Legend's music, gold jewelry, visiting temples, landscape photography, and traditional medicine.

Doubting your parents, understanding your parents, becoming your parents, surpassing your parents.

Takashi had unlocked nearly all the classic hobbies of middle-aged men.

Photography was one of them.

Marin blinked her long lashes. "Not really, I just do it for work. But taking good pictures is really hard!"

"I totally agree."

Takashi nodded in deep understanding.

He used to think photography was just about pointing a camera and going click click!—wasn't it something anyone could do?

But after actually getting into it, he realized how difficult it was.

Lighting, exposure, focal length, shadows, composition, color grading, retouching, camera movements... 

The learning curve was so steep that he had nearly smacked himself for ever stepping into this hobby.

"Damn it, why did I even get into photography?"

"Did I bring this suffering upon myself?"

"Do you even eat scallion pancakes?"

Then Takashi asked the one question every photographer would ask—

"What kind of camera do you use?"

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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: Anything For Money]

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