The raindrops danced on the metal roof, playing a cheerful rhythm.
Dong-dong, knock-knock, gurgling.
The familiar melody of cooking dinner rang in the room.
The two combined together gradually awakened Kato Yusuke's consciousness.
He opened his eyes and saw a familiar room.
The air seeping in through the gaps in the windows is filled with the smell of moist asphalt and dust, gently informing that the indoors and outdoors are still connected.
A slender and graceful figure was facing away from him, busy in the kitchen.
She has a figure that can neither be called voluptuous nor lean, and the tie tied in a bow at the back depicts a girl's curves.
The thighs extending from under the skirt have a very fair complexion, and the knees and popliteals are slightly reddish pink. The tight and well-proportioned calves are covered with a pair of black calf socks.
After a brief absence, Kato Yusuke's eyes turned confused.
"...What are you doing? Megumi."
"Hey~ you're awake, Yusuke."
The girl looked back, with some thoughts on her face as white as jade, and explained:
"Because you fell asleep while I was talking about the sports meeting, and it started raining outside shortly afterwards, so I made some food and it will be ready after a while."
After saying that, he turned his head and focused on cooking unhurriedly.
Gulu gulu, gulu gulu.
Wisps of misty white gas kept rising from the pot placed on the stove, and a rich aroma of food gradually spread.
Yusuke sniffed his nose instinctively and recognized the aroma of curry.
He was stunned for a moment, and then got off the bed.
Bright lights illuminate the room, and the clean floor looks particularly bright under the light.
He looked around slightly blankly.
The low table that originally had stains on it has been restored to its original state, and there are obvious traces of wiping on the tabletop.
The dishes in the kitchen sink were also gone, replaced by scraps of ingredients that had been thrown away.
The sports coat was thrown on the ground and disappeared somewhere. There were several garbage bags piled up in different categories in the corridor leading to the entrance...
The whole room was tidied up and looked completely different from how it looked a few hours ago.
There was a short gap in my thoughts.
Kato Yusuke stood there blankly, then mechanically opened his legs and walked to the bathroom, wanting to use the toilet.
"Ah, by the way. I put the clothes you put on the floor and on the washing machine and washed them in the washing machine. Will this cause any trouble to you?" Hui glanced at him and asked with a normal expression.
Hearing this, Yusuke couldn't help but pause in his steps.
He stared straight ahead, with subtle waves rising in his eyes. He considered for a moment before responding in a low voice.
"……no thanks."
Then he continued forward and entered the restroom.
Buzz, buzz, swish, swish~
The drum washing machine made a heavy sound in the bathroom.
Through the transparent glass door, you can see the clothes inside tumbling in the white foam water.
Kato Yusuke couldn't help but feel a little silent, a bit of discomfort flashed in his dark eyes, and finally fell silent again.
He lingered in the bathroom for a while, thinking about what the girl said before he fell asleep.
It seems that the list of executive committee members of each class and the schedule of various competitions in the sports meeting were mentioned, but some are not sure.
Basically, he didn't have the time to think about or remember these things. The reason why he agreed to let Hui in was just to perfunctory, hoping that the other party would understand this through the appearance in the room, but he didn't expect to fall asleep while listening.
What I didn’t even expect was——
After seeing him sleeping, the other party not only did not leave, but also silently helped clean the house.
Such behavior left him speechless and at a loss.
So much so that he doesn't want to go out now because he doesn't know——
"Why hasn't he answered the phone this week?"
"Why don't you go to school even though you're back?"
I don't know how he should respond when the other party asks about these two things... Besides, there are some things that even Kato Yusuke himself doesn't have the answer to, so naturally he doesn't want others to ask.
Hua Hua Hua——
Cold tap water kept flowing from the faucet.
He stood by the sink and stared at himself in the mirror.
My eyes penetrated my chest through the reflection on the mirror, as if I saw a void of nothingness.
Kato Yusuke lowered his head and washed his face, wiped it dry with a towel, then opened the door and walked out of the bathroom.
"Um, Yusuke, can you come here?"
Hui's voice came from the corner of the corridor.
"..."
Without saying anything, Yusuke walked straight to the kitchen.
I saw the girl scooping out a small spoonful of curry from the pot with a spoon and pouring it into a small round plate held in her left hand.
"I'll make it according to the usual taste. Do you want to try the taste?" Hui said, looking sideways at him, and gently stretched out his hand to hand over the round plate.
The thick, dark brown soup flows on top, covering up the original white color.
The unique aroma of curry wafts into the nose, like stimulating a greedy worm in the belly, stimulating a bit of appetite.
Facing the disc in front of him, Kato Yusuke turned away and said: "...If it doesn't work, I'll press your button."
The hoarse voice was slightly indifferent.
"Oh~ That's it, um~ I understand." Hui nodded, took back his hand and said, "It's almost time to have dinner. You can take the salad over there first."
Yusuke nodded silently, moved the vegetable salad and tongs placed on the counter to the low table in the living room, and then returned to the kitchen to help.
"Come on, Yusuke, is this enough rice?"
"Um."
"What about curry?"
"Can."
"Well~ I'll leave these to you, too?"
"good."
Kato Yusuke walked back and forth in the living room, feeling a little at a loss deep in his heart.
After finishing the finishing work, Megumi also took off her apron, showing her light body wrapped in a long-sleeved shirt and sailor skirt, elegant and simple.
"Hey~"
She naturally came to the low table, sat down with her legs bent across from Yusuke, stretched out her hand to pull the green hair around her ears, raised her head and said, "Well, can you eat it?"
"..."
Kato Yusuke nodded slightly, his eyes fell on the steaming curry rice in front of him, he picked up the spoon on the side, scooped out a piece of meat, mixed it with the curry and put it into his mouth.
The rich spice flavor spreads in the mouth. It is a traditional European-style curry, and it seems that a little milk is added to it.
He chewed the food in his mouth slowly. The meat was tender, juicy and very smooth.
"Chicken...?" He murmured in confusion, not understanding where this ingredient came from.
"Well, that's right."
Hui on the opposite side explained softly: "Because there were not enough ingredients in the refrigerator, I went downstairs to buy some. I used the spare key on the table, which I had already put back."
"..."
Kato Yusuke didn't say a word, and the emotion in his chest was a bit indescribable.
"Speaking of which, Kasumigaoka-senpai and Sawamura-san are also here today, right?"
nod.
"After all, it's quite conspicuous that the two of them left school early at the same time, well~ Even if the student council president doesn't come to school, that's pretty much it."
silence.
"How should I put it? I always thought that Sawamura-san was a young lady from a privileged family. Later, after joining the student council, I discovered that she is actually a self-centered person... However, Kasumigaoka-senpai is not the same as the rumors, except for one
A little evil.”
Nod again.
"But the fact that those two people came here after leaving early still makes me a little surprised."
Silence again.
Until the next sentence…
"Let me ask you, Yusuke." Hui suddenly looked up at him and asked, "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
Kato Yusuke paused for a moment, then shook his head and whispered back: "No..."
"That's it, um, I understand."
"?"
For a while later, the two of them had dinner in silence.
The rain outside also stopped unconsciously.
The half-dyed night sky showed a deep blue, and Venus couldn't wait to bloom in the sky.
After rejecting Megumi's offer to help wash the dishes, Kato Yusuke sent her downstairs to the apartment.
Until the end, the girl never asked him what happened.
He just said goodbye to him calmly and left towards the station.
Kato Yusuke stood downstairs for a while, and then returned to the room alone.
There is still a faint fragrance of cherry blossoms in the bright living room, causing ripples in the lake of my heart.
He silently came to the kitchen and started to clean the pots and dishes in the sink, with a bit of life in his eyes.
Then he picked up the two paper bags from beside the desk, sat down at the low table, and poured out the contents.
A box of high-end yokan, a box of imported coffee, and a small gift box with unknown contents.
He picked up the gift box, which was packed in a paper bag with coffee and was about half the size of a palm.
Kato Yusuke opened the outer cardboard packaging, revealing a small box that looked like jewelry inside, and then opened the lid.
What caught my eye was a piece of paper with Juanxiu's handwriting written on it.
——"Let your body move and you can temporarily forget your depression~" (Cheer up quickly, Yuu-chan~)
He reached out and picked up the cardboard. Underneath was a ball of black gauze-like fabric, with a faint fragrance, like the cold and sexy African cosmos.
Kato Yusuke put down the cardboard, poured the ball of fabric into his hands, and unfolded it to restore it to its original appearance.
Rustling, rustling...
With a subtle frosted texture, a pair of dark and hazy pantyhose appeared in front of you.
Through the air holes that are so thin that it is difficult to see, the tabletop seems to be covered with a layer of black gauze, ambiguous and blurry.
Yusuke showed no expression at this, just silently stuffed it back into the box and put it aside.
Immediately, he leaned back against the bed, stretched one leg forward while leaning back, and raised his right arm and placed it on his forehead.
He stared dimly at the overhead light on the ceiling, lost in thought.
…
It's Wednesday evening.
Tick-tick-tick, clack-clack.
The autumn rain was like smoke and mist, pattering non-stop outside the window. The raindrops connected into lines, forming an extremely wide bead curtain, making it misty.
As if it had continued the rain from yesterday evening, the rain that had continued to fall since this morning had accumulated on the ground and formed many puddles of different sizes, like traps.
Kato Yusuke stood quietly in front of the window, his dark eyes deep, looking at the city soaked by the rain, like a simple stone sculpture.
It was almost 7 o'clock.
Dong Dong, there was a knock on the door of the apartment.
He walked to the entrance and opened the door, and what appeared in front of him was a girl holding an umbrella.
"Good evening, Yusuke." Kei greeted, and the transparent rain kept rolling down the umbrella ribs, dripping.
There was a little moisture on the tips of her hair, and a few strands of hair were slightly frizzy and curled. She was wearing a hip-length pale pink knitted jacket, with the private Toyosaki school uniform underneath still looking very soft.
"...Good evening." Kato Yusuke responded, his eyes falling on the corner of her wet sports backpack and the shoes covered with a thin layer of water stains.
The cool and moist air blows in your face, bringing a bit of coolness that penetrates into your skin.
"What's up?"
he asks.
"Yeah~ Yes. But the discussion will probably take a long time, so I'll excuse you." The girl nodded her head gently, walked forward into the house, and raised the plastic bag in her hand.
"Can you please take these to the kitchen?"
"...?"
Kato Yusuke just watched her forcefully come in uninvited, and then naturally began to take off her shoes at the entrance. His mouth moved but he didn't say anything in the end. He silently took the plastic bag and walked towards the kitchen.
Just took two steps...
"Ah, right~"
Megumi's voice sounded behind her as if she was remembering something: "Please lend me some home clothes later, because I was caught in the rain outside and am a little uncomfortable."
Yusuke paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.
"knew……"
After placing the shopping bag with the supermarket logo printed on it in the kitchen, the girl slowly walked over.
She looked around the relatively tidy room, nodded her head slightly as if slightly satisfied, and then asked: "By the way, have you had dinner? Yusuke."
Kato Yusuke shook his head in denial, and said to the other party in an understandable manner, and placed the sports backpack on his shoulders on the ground, and took off the knitted jacket he was wearing outside, and hung it on the back of the chair in front of his desk.
"Then I'll borrow the bathroom first, and we can have dinner together later."
Yusuke frowned slightly at this, looked at her face for a moment, and asked: "Bathroom?"
"Um."
Hui hummed calmly, reached out and patted the hem of her skirt that had not been exposed to the rain, and said calmly: "Ah, but if it's inconvenient, forget it."
After a brief silence.
Kato Yusuke walked to the closet, took out his own set of sportswear and a spare towel, then turned around and handed them to her.
"...This is the only one now."
"Well, thank you, Yusuke~ Then I'll go." Hui hugged her sportswear and towel to her chest and walked into the bathroom.
Click, click.
The bathroom door was closed and locked.
Not long after...
——Crack, click, click.
There was the sound of the bathroom door being pushed inside, followed by the sound of running water.
Kato Yusuke walked up to the glass door leading to the balcony, tried to stay away from the bathroom, and looked out the window.
In the dark and misty scenery, it seems that only the distant headlights and the sound of splashing water cover up the sound of shower water...