Or Should I Play with You? (Continued)
Yukino rudely kicked Motoko out. There were already three people standing in the kitchen, making it difficult to turn around. Motoko still wanted to come in and try the food, which meant that Momoko would have to eat.
Motoko stood in the living room, looking like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
"Hahaha!"
Shuya pointed at her and laughed mockingly.
Motoko was very angry, but she didn't dare to be angry, so in the end she could only sit in a chair and watch TV.
When Mai and the others finished cooking, Motoko diligently helped to bring the rice out.
Shuya and the other five sat down around the dining table, which bore a weight disproportionate to its size.
Fortunately, Mai and the others were all slim, which allowed them to barely sit down.
"This place does look a bit small, sorry about that."
Shuya addressed the crowd.
It would have been easier if the Motoko hadn't come to freeload.
"It's nothing, it's just one night's sleep."
Mai shook her head.
"That's right."
"You don't need to apologize, senior."
Ayase and Kirino both said they were fine.
Yukino remained silent, while Motoko focused on eating, clearly not in the mood for conversation.
"Motoko, are you hungry?"
Mai couldn't help but ask.
"No, not really. But for a martial artist, being able to eat is perfectly normal."
Motoko was still chewing her food when she answered, Yukino frowned. "Don't talk while you're eating."
"Aww."
Motoko nodded obediently.
She swallowed her food, focusing intently on eating and drinking without uttering a word.
Shuya glanced at the lively scene and couldn't help but feel a little impressed.
It's been a long time since I ate at my hometown; I didn't expect to find so many people here.
This scene reminded him of the lively times he used to have dinner with Rena and the Quintuplets at the neighbor's house.
Those were truly happy times.
However, the past is the past... Some things and some people can never be undone.
Shuya ate quietly, listening to their casual conversation.
Aside from their voices, the only other sound in the house was the television.
Finish the meal.
Motoko patted her round belly contentedly. "So satisfying! Much better than takeout!"
Yukino advised, "Motoko, you should eat less takeout and learn to cook."
She nodded nonchalantly; takeout food might be unhealthy, but that wouldn't affect her martial arts physique.
Seeing her attitude, Yukino's eyebrows twitched, and she was about to lecture her.
But Shuya waved his hand. "If you want to go into the room, it'll be noisy."
Yukino thought that would be too much trouble, so she let Motoko go.
Just then, Shuya felt his phone vibrate. He looked down and saw that it was Haruno replying:
"I'm not going. Shu-chan, you keep up the good work."
"What's the point of working hard?"
"Try your best to win them over."
Shuya sent a "..." message, and the two of them didn't speak again.
He looked up and said, "Haruno said he won't be coming tomorrow."
"Very good."
Yukino's mood immediately improved.
After resting for a while, everyone took turns taking a shower.
It was past ten o'clock by the time everyone finished showering.
"Motoko, where are you going to sleep?"
Shuya asked a question, and Motoko, without much thought, chose Mai and Yukino's side.
They showed no signs of going to sleep, chatting in the living room while still in their pajamas.
With so many people gathered in this small house, it felt a bit noisy, but their voices were pleasant, so listening to them chat wasn't unpleasant.
Shuya couldn't join their conversation, so he checked Twitter. He found that his afternoon tweet had been retweeted by Inoue Hikoo and Hanazawa Sakura, Inoue Hikoo took the opportunity to promote it.
... and then, naturally, I started arguing with some silly netizens.
Shuya didn't bother with him, scrolled through the replies to his own tweets, and finding nothing interesting, stopped paying attention.
He casually glanced at the Twitter of other acquaintances, and seeing no new tweets, he turned off Twitter.
There was no news on Twitter, but there were messages on LINE from Maeda Saori, all about the album promotion schedule.
She asked Shuya, and if everything was okay, then they would finalize the deal.
Shuya agreed, seeing that the schedule wasn't too packed.
He was playing on his phone when Mai suddenly spoke to him, "Hey, Shuya."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
He looked up and saw Mai's complicated expression. "What's wrong? There are so many cute girls here, and you're just playing on your phone?"
"... Otherwise what?"
Shuya asked a question in return.
Or are you going to play with me?
"Join the chat!"
Mai said.
"What's there to talk about? We've been seeing each other so often lately, what topics could we possibly have to discuss?"
Shuya said something.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Could we talk about your memories of living here before?"
"Remember..."
Shuya thought about it, but all he could think about was trying to woo Rena and dealing with the five huskies.
He didn't want to talk about these things.
He shook his head and said, "There's nothing to say."
"... Yeah."
Seeing that he was really unwilling, Mai didn't force him.
As night deepened, they decided to go back to their rooms.
They chatted happily, Ayase and Kirino even followed Mai and the others into the room, closed the door, and continued talking.
Seeing this Shuya decided not to sleep in the living room, but returned to his own room.
Although the bed isn't big enough, I can just bear with it.
He went back to his room and looked around. There was nothing there except some furniture.
He glanced at the bed again; it wasn't actually that small, but it was unsuitable for him because he was tall.
Shuya managed to lie down, his calves sticking out; it was definitely uncomfortable to sleep like that.
Left with no other option, he sat cross-legged, thinking he would just use meditation as a substitute for sleep.
Shuya emptied his mind and meditated for a while.
Shuya could no longer meditate until after 1 a. m.
Too many distracting thoughts.
This has nothing to do with the group of sleeping beauties next door, but rather...
Shuya suddenly got up, quietly opened the door, walked out of the living room, put on his shoes, and left the house.
He opened and closed the door without making a sound, so he didn't disturb anyone.
After going outside, Shuya the corridor for several minutes before finally moving.
He moved next door, grasped the doorknob, froze for a few seconds, then used his Power of Will to unlock the door and gently pushed it open.
Shuya stood at the doorway, looking inside.
Rena and the Quintuplets' home...
At first glance, you can see that the layout is similar to before, and it's not like the Shuya's house where nothing is left.
The decorations, furniture, and layout are exactly the same as before, and it's quite clean. It's obvious that someone cleans it regularly, but I don't know if the Quintuplets clean it themselves.
Shuya stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
"I really miss those days."
He breathed in the scent of the room... but there was no smell at all.
It had neither the milky scent of the Quintuplets nor the mature womanly scent of Rena.
Shuya closed his eyes for a while before opening them.
He walked to the nearest place.
That is, the living room.
He reached out and gently stroked the dining table.
He had spent countless nights here with Rena and the Quintuplets.
That tranquil space.
That warm atmosphere.
They've all gone, they've all gone...
The only thing that remained was a Buddhist altar used for home worship.
It's in the corner of the living room.
The black-and-white photo on the Buddhist altar shows Rena looking ahead.
Shuya gazed intently at Rena in the photograph.
Then,
Rena's eyes shifted.
She stared intently at him.
Two lines of bloody tears slowly streamed down from those venomous eyes...
I'm too lazy to even work on the contract because I'm still thinking about this. Anyway, they say if I don't receive the payment by the 30th, the payment will be delayed. But I'm not afraid of failing; it's only two or three hundred yuan, what the hell?