Didn’t You Say I Was Just a Stand-In?

Kitahara's hobbies left not only Watanabe Hoshi and the others speechless but also his friends, Ootani Shota and Tanaka Kyota, who subtly shifted away from him, as if sitting next to him was embarrassing.

However, Kitagawa Marin didn't seem put off. On the contrary, she found Kitahara intriguing. To her, it was cool that he was unafraid to share his interests, regardless of how unconventional they were. After all, passions shouldn't be limited by age.

Under the bewildered gazes of the girls, Kitahara smiled nonchalantly and said, "Your turn."

Watanabe Hoshi was the first to raise her hand. "I'm Watanabe Hoshi, a first-year at Kamikawa Academy. I love pretty clothes and cute bags, and I like flipping through fashion magazines in my spare time."

Kitahara suddenly interjected, "Do you prefer Louis Vuitton or Chanel?"

Watanabe thought for a moment. "Chanel, I guess."

"Which Chanel bag is your favorite?" Kitahara pressed, surprising Watanabe. She had assumed his question was casual, but now he was steering the conversation toward handbags. Was he trying to flirt with her? Quite possibly! Watanabe was confident in her looks.

Still, she answered politely, "I like the Le Boy small flap bag."

Embracing the philosophy of "if I'm not embarrassed, then you are," Kitahara continued his probing: "I heard Chanel raises their prices every six months. If you sold yours now, you'd probably double your money."

In truth, Kitahara had been observing Watanabe and Kitagawa since they arrived. He was already evaluating them as potential targets.

After all, these were targets recognized by the system. If Kitahara were an otaku, he wouldn't even need to observe them to know whether they were wealthy. But he wasn't an otaku and didn't understand these things. His knowledge of these characters came solely from a friend who constantly rambled about wanting to be "so-and-so's dog."

To assess someone's family background, Kitahara relied on details like their demeanor, fashion sense, and behavior. Families with elite backgrounds placed great emphasis on raising their children properly, often hiring professionals to teach them etiquette and poise.

In his previous life, Kitahara had been a small-town overachiever from a less-developed province. Through sheer hard work and a slightly above-average talent for academics, he managed to get into a top-tier university. One of his roommates there had received an elite upbringing. Without exaggeration, just the way his roommate carried himself was worlds apart from Kitahara's small-town demeanor.

In fact, his roommate was exceptional. Unlike the stereotypical arrogant rich kids in novels, he was gentle, spoke calmly, and treated everyone with warmth and consideration. It was the first time Kitahara had felt the stark contrast between people so acutely.

Later, when they became closer, they discussed the topic of etiquette. His roommate once said seriously, "When I was a kid, if I didn't do well academically, my parents would just nag me a bit. But if I ever acted rude, showed off our wealth, or lacked manners, I'd get a beating when I got home."

Based on his observations, Watanabe Hoshi didn't seem to have received such an elite upbringing. But to avoid missing a potential "big fish," Kitahara decided to test the waters anyway.

Watanabe couldn't help but roll her eyes at Kitahara. "That bag is way too expensive. How could I afford it?"

What kind of question is that?

Do you think someone from an average family can afford luxury items?

'Average family background. Not worth it.'

Kitahara instantly lost interest in Watanabe. Their conversation had confirmed his initial assessment and given him a rough idea of her personality.

"Alright, alright, my turn!"

With Kitahara no longer interrupting, the self-introductions proceeded smoothly. Kitahara also learned the names of the two gyaru girls who hadn't been flagged by the system. The taller one with blonde hair was named Takamiya Sakaki, while the one wearing an oversized T-shirt with her hands tucked into the sleeves, giving off a soft and cute vibe, was named Ohashi Natsumi. Of course, their names didn't matter to Kitahara—he didn't care.

Finally, it was Kitagawa Marin's turn. "I'm Kitagawa Marin, a first-year at Kamikawa Academy, just like Hoshi. I'm into subcultures and love dressing up as characters from manga, anime, and games. I want to look as cute as they do!"

Her voice was clear and melodious, like a carefree lark. No wonder she was considered a "waifu" by so many otaku. Then again, to otaku, any pretty girl could be their "waifu."

'Ah, a cosplayer.'

Upon hearing that Kitagawa was into cosplay, Kitahara couldn't even be bothered to probe further. It wasn't that he had any prejudice against the cosplay community—it was just that most cosplayers weren't exactly rolling in money. For many, their wallets were emptier than their faces. The most valuable things they owned were probably the costumes in their closets.

Kitahara had once seen a girl survive on nothing but crackers for three weeks just to afford a cosplay outfit, losing ten pounds in the process. He didn't understand it, but he was genuinely shocked. While he didn't have any bias against the cosplay community, he was well aware that the scene could be pretty chaotic.

When Tanaka Kyota heard that Kitagawa was into cosplay, he couldn't help but ask, "I heard cosplaying costs a lot of money, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I've been working part-time jobs," Kitagawa admitted cheerfully, openly acknowledging that she wasn't well-off.

'I shouldn't have come.'

Kitahara regretted attending this gathering. It was a complete waste of time. He would've been better off going fishing. Sure, most of the time he came back empty-handed, but Kitahara was convinced it was the fishing rod's fault. Or maybe the spot he chose had bad feng shui. There was no way the problem was him.

To blend into the atmosphere, Ootani Shota chimed in, "What kind of part-time jobs do you do, Marin? With your looks, you could totally be a model."

"I've done reader modeling, beauty modeling, hand modeling for nail polish ads, photography, beauty consulting, and reception work," Kitagawa counted off on her fingers.

Suddenly, Kitahara perked up. "You're into photography too?"

It's said that when people reach a certain age, certain instincts awaken within them. Kitahara used to dismiss this idea, but now he believed it. Before he turned 25, he was obsessed with video games, jerseys, streetwear, and watches. But after 25, he suddenly developed a taste for goji berry tea, Phoenix Legend's music, gold jewelry, temple visits, photographing landscapes, and traditional Chinese medicine.

Question your parents, understand your parents, become your parents, surpass your parents.

Kitahara had awakened nearly all the classic hobbies of middle-aged men, and photography was one of them.

Kitagawa blinked her long eyelashes. "Not really. I mostly do it for shoots, but it's so hard to get the perfect shot."

"Agreed."

Kitahara nodded emphatically. He used to think photography was just pointing a camera and clicking away—something anyone with hands could do. But after diving into it, he realized how difficult it was. Composition, exposure, focus, lighting, color grading, editing, camera movement… The sheer amount of things to learn made him want to slap his past self for ever getting into it.

Why did I even pick up photography?

Was I just looking for ways to torture myself?

What was I thinking?

Then, like every photographer inevitably does, Kitahara asked the question: "What kind of camera do you use?"