Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [118]

Kitahara Takeru let go of the girl’s hand and explained, “I thought you were a friend of mine.”

Doma Umaru glanced at his clean, slender fingers but said nothing.

A bad guy wouldn’t write “I’m a villain” on their face—but this guy, just by looking at him, definitely didn’t give off bad vibes.

[Ding. Target detected!]
[Target: Doma Umaru]
[Age: 16]
[Intelligence: 8]
[Charm: 9]
[Stamina: 6]
[Origin: Himouto! Umaru-chan]
[Crush: None. Brother complex.]
[No boyfriend. Eligible for dating.]

Doma Umaru?

By now, Kitahara Takeru was used to his system popping up with random alerts like this. He stayed calm—but when he saw the name, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

He hadn’t expected to run into the very person his teachers had described as his lifelong rival.

He’d heard her name often—Doma Umaru.

Not only was she beautiful, but academically, she was ranked at the top nationwide.

In the last national mock exam, Umaru had placed just one point behind him.

In fact, before that test, his teachers had predicted that the top scorer would either be him—or her.

Back then, Shirogane Miyuki and Shijo Maki were still dark horses, not yet taken seriously. It was only later they’d shot up through the ranks.

Before their rise, the number one spot had basically rotated between Takeru and Umaru.

Unlike Yukinoshita Yukino, who was notorious for being hopeless at sports, Doma Umaru was as athletically gifted as she was academically. From what Takeru knew, there wasn’t a single sport she couldn’t handle.

And not only was she exceptional in every way, according to Otani Shota, she also came from a top-tier family—her father was reportedly the CEO of the Doma Group.

Granted, seeing her current getup gave him some doubts about Shota’s intel, but then again, even Eriri wore the perfect ojou-sama (rich girl) mask in public to hide her artist and otaku identity. If Umaru really was a corporate heiress, it was still within reason.

A flawless face. Elegant presence. Top-tier grades. Olympic-level athleticism. A conglomerate heiress.

God, what door did You actually close for this girl?

If she had a single flaw, maybe it was just—too perfect to be real.

That look in his eyes… does he know who I am?

Takeru’s expression didn’t betray much, but out of habit, his gaze lingered on her, subtly examining her from head to toe.

No way. I’m fully disguised.

Umaru noticed him staring and instinctively reached up to touch her mask. Yep—still in place. Shouldn’t be exposed.

Maybe she’d tried too hard maintaining her perfect image at school. Even going out in public now, she dressed like a celebrity on a low-key shopping trip—absolutely terrified of being recognized.

She’s definitely an ojou-sama, Takeru decided, inwardly firming his resolve. Gotta make use of this chance.

Maybe because the acting from the night before had been too convincing, or maybe she was waiting for him to contact her first—whatever the case, Eriri hadn’t sent a single message since last night.

Normally, Takeru would’ve been licking his wounds like a loyal puppy and gone crawling back already.

But this time… he didn’t want to be the one to reach out.

Because deep down, he was scared that if he kept chasing her like this—Eriri might actually fall for him.

It might sound narcissistic, but very few girls could resist his charm.

And the truth was, if things kept going down this path, his “fated silver-haired heroine” might really abandon Aki Tomoya, her childhood friend, for him—the guy who showed up later.

What do you do when the hero’s too strong?

You either nerf him… or ban him.

Takeru couldn’t nerf his charm, so he had to put himself on lockdown.

What choice did he have?

Tomoya, you’re just not cutting it.

You’ve known Eriri since you were kids. Had over ten years to make a move. And yet in less than six months, I’ve already managed to draw her attention away?

Seriously—do you even know how to play this game?

If he didn’t pull back now, and Eriri actually made him her official replacement… Takeru would lose big.

Umaru, seeing him still staring, couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Um, why are you staring at me like that?”

“Has anyone ever told you… you look a lot like someone?”

“Who?”

With a mischievous glint in his eye, Takeru said, “Her name’s Doma Umaru.”

Umaru stiffened.

Oh no!

Is he actually someone I know?!

Is he from my school?

That thought lasted about a second before she shook her head internally.

Even if she wasn’t into guys, someone this good-looking wouldn’t go unnoticed at her school. She’d definitely have heard of him.

“I-Is that so?”

She tried to sound calm, but Takeru still picked up the nerves in her voice.

“You seem… kind of tense.”

He leaned in a little, gazing down at her with narrowed eyes.

“You’re not actually Doma Umaru, are you?”

“No way!!!”

She denied it on reflex.

“I mean, that’s Doma Umaru we’re talking about!”

“Beautiful, well-mannered, top of the class—how could I possibly be someone that amazing?”

She’s actually praising herself now.

Takeru couldn’t help but laugh a little, though he feigned a scoff. “Okay, fine—beautiful and polite, sure. But top of the class? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“If she’s not even in the top three nationwide, what kind of ‘top student’ is that?”

Umaru: ??

Excuse me?

“So you’re saying your grades are better than hers?”

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

There were only three people in the country who had scored higher than her.

What were the odds she’d just happened to run into one of them?

Takeru grinned confidently. “Kitahara Takeru. Ranked top three on Japan’s leaderboard. Feel free to look it up.”

Umaru: …You’ve got to be kidding me.

So I really did bump into one of the three?

And not just anyone—the one who’d beaten her by a single point?

“B-Big deal! You were only one point ahead! I heard Doma Umaru was playing games right before the test, too.”

She was still a little salty.

If he’d beaten her by dozens of points, fine. But one?

Just one point!

What was he even bragging about?

“If she actually took studying seriously,” Umaru huffed, “she could easily be number one.”

She’d only asked her brother for help the night before the test. Not like Shirogane, who’d started prepping a whole month in advance.

In Umaru’s opinion, if she just focused for once, snagging the top spot would be a piece of cake.

Maybe it sounded arrogant—but she did have the talent to go all the way.

“Second place might be possible,” Takeru said, rubbing his chin and tilting his head. “But number one? No way. Might as well give up on that dream.”

“Why not?!”

“Because number one is me.”

It had started out as teasing, but the second grades were mentioned, Takeru’s expression turned deadly serious.

You could beat him at anything else—but not this.

He bore the honor of his home province like a badge of pride.

Lose now, and it’d be national exams for Jiangsu from here on out.

“What a coincidence,” Umaru said, her eyes blazing with a fierce fire. “I was thinking the exact same thing. Next time, I’m taking the top spot.”

She’d stopped pretending.

She’d made up her mind: next time, Doma Umaru would be number one.

Didn’t matter who stood in her way—she said it, and she meant it.

“Are you challenging me, Doma-san?”

Takeru’s voice took on a sharper edge, eyes narrowing with interest.

“That’s right, Kitahara-kun. I am challenging you. And—wait a second. What did you just call me?!”

---

T/N: lmao exposed herself

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!