[Game] Chapter 455-456

Chapter 455: Returning, But Something Feels Off

An hour later, Ichin drove back with Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had her luggage with her. After greeting Ichin’s parents, they went downstairs to the place where Haruno and Yukino were staying.

“Wow~~ so this is where you’ve been living the past few days? Not bad at all!”

Looking around at the place, Hiratsuka was impressed.

“Your mom really treats you two well. Perfect, I’ll just freeload for a while. Sorry for the intrusion!”

Since the apartment was mainly for living, it hadn’t been fitted with a study—just three bedrooms. The spare one was now Shizuka’s.

After dropping her luggage, she joined everyone in the living room and explained why she’d suddenly appeared.

“Simple. My mom wanted to drag me into more blind dates. After seeing the profiles of the three candidates, I couldn’t be bothered—I just ran away. Summer break is long for teachers, so I figured I’d vacation in Shanghai instead.”

She bit into freshly cut watermelon with satisfaction.

“I was bored after dinner and thought I’d call Haruno, since she hadn’t sent me a single update. Didn’t expect to find out you’re all in Shanghai too.”

“I see.”

Utaha nodded, then asked:

“So, Hiratsuka-sensei, have you been wandering around alone today?”

Finishing her watermelon, Shizuka wiped her hands.

“Yep. I was planning to tour around Shanghai for a while, maybe head elsewhere after. But after one phone call I find you’re all here—finally, some company! So, what about you guys? What’ve you been up to? Ichin didn’t tell me much after picking me up.”

As soon as she finished, Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino all turned their eyes on Haruno.

“…What are you looking at me for?”

Meeting their stares, Haruno shrugged.

“It was just a blind date, nothing worth hiding.”

“Huh? Haruno, you went on a blind date?!”

Shizuka was stunned. Haruno calmly nodded and gave her a brief rundown of what had happened.

By the end, Shizuka looked both shocked and thoughtful.

“As expected, this godmother of yours really does care for you. Worrying about your love life makes sense—finding you a partner is probably harder than finding me one. At least if I lower my standards a bit and fix some bad habits, I could find someone. You? Not so sure.”

“I know. That’s why I’m not in any rush. I’m still young, aren’t I?”

Haruno, completely unfazed, grabbed another slice of watermelon and grinned.

“Anyway, enough of that. Shizuka, have you thought about where you want to go tomorrow? Ichin has to check in at the company, and Utaha and Yukino want to rest at home—they wore themselves out today.”

“Then we’ll need to plan properly. By the way, how long are you staying?”

“About half a month.”

“Perfect. I brought my laptop. Let’s look up some travel guides and plan our trips.”

The two friends quickly got into arranging their schedule.

Meanwhile, Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino broke out a deck of cards and started a game of “Dou Dizhu,” sticking slips of paper on their faces as penalties.

Half an hour later, Ichin was completely plastered in notes after the two girls teamed up against him.

Once Haruno and Shizuka finished planning, Ichin suggested the four of them switch to mahjong while he went upstairs to his room to busy himself. Even on vacation, he just couldn’t stay idle.

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The half-month holiday passed in a flash.

Ichin spent two days at the studio to check on progress, then spent the rest sightseeing with Utaha and the others. After touring around Shanghai, they also visited a few places outside the city.

Sakura Nene didn’t stay long—after a week she flew back to Tokyo. With the company’s group trip over, she had to return to work. Still, her goal had been achieved. She’d spent almost every day with Umiko, even celebrated her birthday with her alone. Of everyone, Nene left the happiest.

She’d arrived with just a backpack but departed with an extra suitcase stuffed full of random purchases.

Haruno and Yukino were similar—their luggage grew from two to three cases, the extra filled with clothes, gifts, souvenirs, and snacks.

Shizuka was no exception—her suitcase was packed to bursting, plus a new backpack.

The longer you play, the more you buy.

Thankfully, with a car, hauling everything to the airport wasn’t a problem.

Two hours later, the five of them were back on Tokyo soil.

After collecting their bags, Ichin turned to Shizuka.

“Hiratsuka-sensei, did you park your car here?”

She waved him off.

“Of course, don’t worry. I left it here.”

Haruno leaned over, bumping her shoulder with a grin.

“Still, you should be worried. Like… what do you think your mom’s going to say when she finds out you vanished for days?”

“What could she say?” Shizuka replied with a resigned look.

“She’s used to it. Probably won’t say much. Anyway, that flight wore me out—time to head home.”

After saying her goodbyes, she hopped into her car and drove off alone.

Ichin pulled out his keys and looked at Haruno.

“Are you two going back to Chiba, or staying in Tokyo?”

“Tokyo. I’ll rest today, then get back to work tomorrow. No point running to Chiba. Next week I’ll probably go back once with Yukino.”

Loading her suitcase into the trunk, Haruno walked over and patted Ichin’s head with a smile.

“Thanks for keeping us company these days, Ichin. I had a great time. Remember to invite your big sis next time you go traveling!”

“Of course.”

Getting into the driver’s seat, Ichin and Utaha left the parking lot first.

Watching their car go, Haruno smirked at her sister.

“Come on, let’s head home!”

But seeing that smile, Yukino couldn’t help feeling a strange unease.

Somehow… something didn’t feel quite right.

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Chapter 456: The “New” Neighbor?!

On the drive back, Utaha, sitting in the passenger seat, smiled happily.

“We’re home, Ichin. Once you’ve dropped off the luggage, let’s go next door together. We need to bring the gifts we bought for my parents.”

“Of course. I can also tell Uncle about the tea I brought back.”

Nodding, Ichin glanced at Utaha beside him, then said after some thought:

“Utaha, how about I talk something over with you?”

“Mm? What is it?”

Choosing his words carefully, Ichin said:

“We’re sophomores now. In two years we’ll graduate. I want to talk with you about settling down and getting married after that.”

Hearing this, Utaha immediately understood.

Though they rarely spoke about marriage, it was something both knew they would eventually face, and they both looked forward to that future.

The only complication was that Ichin was studying abroad. After graduation, even with a career here, he’d still need to shift his focus back to Shanghai—he’d mentioned that before.

After marriage, a decision on where to live would have to be made.

Utaha had long since thought about this, though she’d never said it aloud.

Looking at him, she smiled.

“That’s simple. Whatever you decide, I’ll follow. My career path is novelist and scriptwriter, and that kind of work isn’t tied to location. I can write anywhere. As for my parents, it’s not like we’d never come to Tokyo again. You’ll still have your company here. We can visit whenever we want.”

Her answer brought a broad smile to Ichin’s face.

It was what he expected, but hearing it from her own mouth made him even happier.

“Then it’s decided. Maybe we can arrange to spend part of every year here with your parents. Or once they retire, we could bring them to Shanghai for vacations. As long as the company keeps growing steadily, we won’t have to worry about finances. The elders can enjoy life however they like.”

Utaha nodded, and they began chatting about future plans.

It was still a few years away, but it was fun to picture the future together.

But as they talked, Utaha glanced at the rear-view mirror and noticed a familiar car.

“Ichin, isn’t that Haruno’s car behind us?”

“Hm?”

Ichin looked in the mirror and blinked in surprise.

“It is… but this road doesn’t lead to Yukino’s place. She should’ve turned two intersections back. No way she took the wrong turn.”

“I’ll give her a call.”

Utaha dialed Yukino.

“Yukino? Didn’t you say you were going home? Why are you on this road? Huh? Haruno said she had some errands? She didn’t tell you the details? Okay, I see. We just noticed your car behind us and got curious. Bye.”

Putting down her phone, Utaha said:

“That’s it. Apparently Haruno has something to do.”

“Well, if it’s Haruno, nothing strange about that.”

Ichin shrugged and went back to chatting with Utaha.

But six or seven minutes later, as they neared home, Haruno’s car was still behind them.

Frowning, Ichin muttered:

“What is Haruno doing near our place?”

Utaha shook her head.

“No idea. Maybe we should ask later.”

“Yeah. I’m curious now.”

Soon they pulled into their apartment complex.

Haruno’s car entered the parking lot right after.

As Ichin and Utaha got out, he looked over and asked,

“Haruno, what’s going on? If you were coming here, you could’ve told us earlier.”

Closing her car door, Haruno grinned.

“You’ll find out soon enough! Yukino, grab the luggage.”

“Huh?”

Yukino, just as confused as Ichin and Utaha, still obediently took the suitcase from the trunk.

“Come on,” Haruno said cheerfully, “I’ll explain upstairs.”

They went up together.

But instead of stopping at Ichin’s door, Haruno walked right to the apartment next door, pulled out a key, and—

Click!

The door opened.

Turning around to their dumbfounded faces, Haruno beamed.

“I’m your new neighbor, Yukinoshita Haruno. Please take care of me~~”

Five minutes later, Ichin and Utaha stepped into the apartment.

Looking at the freshly renovated interior, Ichin suddenly understood.

“So that’s it. The place that was for sale before—you bought it, Haruno?”

“Exactly! It’s all mine!”

Haruno folded her arms proudly.

“The old place I lived was closer to work, but boring. No friends nearby. I’d been thinking of moving. When I visited here before, I learned this apartment was up for sale. So I bought it and renovated it.”

Yukino frowned.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier? You could’ve stayed at my place.”

“I didn’t want to bother you, little Yukino.”

Haruno hugged her sister.

“You’re always studying so seriously. If I lived with you, I’d just distract you. That’s why I stopped coming over much. But now it’s perfect. Next door are Ichin and Utaha, downstairs are Aoba and the others—I won’t be lonely at all!”

Ichin and Utaha exchanged a glance and shook their heads with a wry smile.

They didn’t mind Haruno moving in—in fact, it’d be livelier.

But her secrecy… waiting until she had the key in hand to reveal it? That was just like her.

Glancing at the sparsely decorated living room, Ichin said with a smile:

“Even though it’s renovated, it doesn’t feel very homey yet. You’ll need to add more personal touches.”

“I was thinking the same!”

Haruno nodded vigorously.

“This will be my permanent home now. I’ll be busy with work this week, but next weekend you two have to come shopping with me to decorate!”

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