The So-Called Daily Life

Satou Yunona, 15 years old this year, is a first-year student in the high school division of Senba Academy.

She hasn't been feeling too well lately.

The police announced that Asakura Miyuki's death was a result of resisting arrest and attempting to continue her murder, leading to her being shot and killed on the spot.

She remembered that girl. The first she heard of her was that Asakura Miyuki had been defiled at her academy before.

She was a beautiful girl, with raven-black hair cascading down like a waterfall, eyes as dark as the night sky, skin as pure and white as snow, elegant and serene, with dignified manners and excellent grades. She was like the ideal existence for girls, and Asakura Miyuki was just such a person.

So when she was trampled in the mud, it was as if no one cared to step on her.

But in Satou Yunona's eyes, Asakura Miyuki was never such an unattainable existence. In her opinion, she was just a slightly prettier, ordinary girl with a pure and shy smile.

Why should such a girl, after enduring such things, have to bear the unreasonable malice of others for no reason?

Satou Yunona's values and conscience would not allow her to go with the flow as the atmosphere changed. She was a person with a sense of justice and courage.

So she casually spoke her feelings.

Why? Why should the victim be pointed at like this, treated so cruelly?

This was unreasonable, and it was definitely not what was considered right.

Even if she only understood some of the malice that person faced, Satou Yunona's world lost its original black-and-white clarity.

For the first time, she understood that human malice could be so pure and immense. Rejected by the atmosphere, Satou Yunona was also plunged into invisible isolation. Friends who were once slightly intimate and could talk about interesting things gradually distanced themselves from her.

But it was okay. If friends would abandon her for such a reason, then that was all their feelings amounted to.

Satou Yunona made this judgment, feeling a bit lonely but not regretful.

It was during this time that she saw a neglected coffee shop near the academy. Satou Yunona walked in on impulse, perhaps needing the tranquility.

"Wow, your mocha doesn't have chocolate syrup?" the girl exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening slightly. The corners of her lips, pale like April cherry blossoms, curved into a joyful arc.

"Mm." He was a young man not much older than her. His indifferent expression gave his handsome face a cool, aloof aura.

"These are Yemeni coffee beans inside. You'll definitely lose money at this price." The girl looked at the prices on the menu and commented.

"...As long as you like it." The young man's expression was less indifferent than before. Satou Yunona thought she saw a hint of pleasure on his face, though it might have been an illusion.

He's surprisingly easy to understand, this shopkeeper.

"I've passed by here many times, and this is the first time your shop is open. When do you usually open?" The girl twirled her long hair with her fingertips, playing with it as she asked.

"Depends on my mood," the young man replied casually, habitually wiping the counter.

"Huh?! What do you mean, 'depends on your mood'? Then what am I supposed to do if I want coffee?" The girl let out a speechless exclamation, shocked by such an absurd answer.

Hearing this, the young man handed his phone to the girl.

"What for?" The girl, not yet reacting, looked a bit dazed.

"Add my email yourself. Send me a message when you want coffee." The young man seemed not very accustomed to socializing, his words concise.

"That's a little embarrassing," the girl said, but without hesitation, she added the young man's contact information.

"Oh, right, I haven't asked your name yet?" The girl shook her phone, pointing to the place where she was about to enter a name.

"...Su Qing'an."

"Eh, you're from Shenzhou? My name is Satou Yunona, a first-year student at Senba Academy. I'll definitely bother you for coffee from now on, so please take care of me!" Compared to the young man, the girl's response was vibrant and straightforwardly cute.

After that, Satou Yunona and Su Qing'an became friends.

Satou Yunona was the only regular customer at the coffee shop, but the young man didn't seem to mind. It was as if opening the shop was just one way of living for him, not an essential part of it.

In Satou Yunona's opinion, Su Qing'an was a bit reclusive. At first, he only responded passively when she spoke to him. It was only after they became much more familiar that he would initiate conversations.

If Satou Yunona weren't a cute chatterbox who wasn't afraid of awkward silences, most people wouldn't get along with him at all.

But Satou Yunona knew that even though the young man didn't like to talk, he listened very attentively when she spoke. For example, if she casually mentioned her preference for coffee, the coffee she received afterward would perfectly match her stated taste.

Therefore, she thought he was a thoughtful and gentle person. For instance, there was always a bowl of cat food by the entrance of the coffee shop, refilled regularly.

But at the same time, he was very lonely.

His lifestyle was completely fixed. Satou Yunona felt like she could already see him living a lonely life until he was eighty.

However, Su Qing'an seemed to have changed recently. The coffee shop was open more often, and he even hired a beautiful foreign girl as a waitress.

But Satou Yunona's sensitive female intuition told her that he was actually lonelier than before. It was as if he were separated from the world by a transparent glass, and at the same time, he was constantly tense, as if he were walking a tightrope, liable to fall into the abyss at any moment.

It was an ineffable understanding. Although his words and actions hadn't changed much, she could just feel it.

Only when the young man was casually petting the stray cats that came to eat the cat food by the door could she see a moment of genuine relaxation on his face.

She understood that it must be some unspeakable emotion or event. All Satou Yunona could do was to increase the frequency of her visits, to spend more time with him.

But, well. Satou Yunona believed this: someday, that young man wouldn't wear such a lost expression.

Satou Yunona cherished even these ordinary, everyday moments.

Her mother had told her, nothing lasts forever.

Perhaps even these mundane days would be missed in memory, stirring a gentle warmth in one's heart.

"Yunona, wake up! What time is it? You're going to be late."

"Ah! I'm getting up right now."

Like this, being chided by her mother for oversleeping and being late for school, Satou Yunona still felt very happy.

If only the future could always be like this. Biting into a piece of bread as she jogged on her way to the academy, Satou Yunona thought this, her steps light.