With both Ichin and Utaha's parents off on their trip, life at ho for the two of them had beco much simpler. Aside from als and playing with the cats, they now also went downstairs after dinner to hang out with Kō and the others—chatting, gaming, and relaxing—thanks to Eriri temporarily crashing with them.
On Monday morning, as usual, Ichin and Utaha got up early. After a round of exercise and washing up, Utaha went to change clothes while Ichin headed off to prepare breakfast.
Once she was dressed, Utaha went downstairs.
She pulled out her key and opened the dorm's front door. Rin Toyama was already up, sitting in the living room doing yoga while listening to music.
"Good morning, Rin-senpai. Is Eriri up yet?"
Stretching out her limbs, Rin turned and smiled. "Morning, Utaha. Yep, Eriri's up. She's washing up right now."
Just as she said that, the bathroom door opened and Eriri ca out, yawning and still in her pajamas.
Seeing Utaha in the living room, Eriri blinked in surprise. "You're here this early?"
Utaha replied calmly, "You think everyone's as lazy as you? I always go for morning workouts. I'd advise you to start exercising more, too. Otherwise, in a few years, don't co crying when you can't maintain that slim figure."
"Hmph, as if! I'm the type who doesn't gain weight!"
Snapping back, Eriri then turned toward her bedroom. "I'll go get changed—be out in a minute."
The girls downstairs had their breakfast a bit later since their work hours started later than school. So Eriri usually had her breakfast at Ichin and Utaha's place.
After changing into her school uniform and grabbing her bag, she followed Utaha upstairs.
Ichin's breakfasts were typically Chinese-style—congee, stead buns, dumplings, or occasionally noodles. Sotis, if he felt like it, he'd try making glutinous rice cakes or other unique breakfast dishes following online tutorials.
Today's breakfast was dumplings—with three types of fillings: pork and cabbage, three delicacies, and lamb.
A bowl with twelve dumplings was placed in front of Eriri. She hadn't felt that hungry at first, but the aroma and the tangy scent of vinegar from the small dipping dish made her swallow unconsciously.
"Um… twelve might be a bit much?"
Utaha, who was just about to eat, chuckled. "Don't worry. Ichin didn't make them too big. For your appetite, this is just right."
Ichin, seated beside Utaha, added, "A good start to the day is important. Eat while they're hot—they won't taste as good once they cool down."
Eriri nodded, picked up her chopsticks, and said, "Itadakimasu."
She grabbed one dumpling without dipping it in vinegar, blew on it a little, and popped it into her mouth.
…
One after another, she finished all twelve dumplings with impressive speed.
Afterward, she drank a bit of the leftover dumpling soup. Then, as if thinking deeply, she secretly pinched her stomach.
If I keep eating like this… will I really not get fat?
The words she had just confidently declared—"I'm the type who doesn't gain weight"—suddenly didn't feel so convincing anymore.
But then again—Eriri thought—it's not like she'd be staying here forever. Once she went ho, she wouldn't have to endure the temptation of Ichin's cooking anymore. Gaining weight? Impossible.
Though she was glad she wouldn't get fat, the thought of not being able to eat such delicious Chinese-style food anymore made her feel… less happy.
As Ichin cleared the table and took the dishes to the kitchen, Eriri smacked her lips and silently made a decision—if there's ever a chance, she should co by more often for als. Worst case, she could bring so fruit as a peace offering.
After resting for a few minutes post-breakfast, the three headed off to school.
In the car, Utaha and Eriri sat in the back, chatting about their plans for the day.
Utaha asked, "You going to the Service Club this afternoon? Ichin and I are heading to the studio, so if you are, you'll have to get ho on your own."
"Yeah, I'm going," Eriri nodded. "I already skipped most of last week. I've got to show up today and tomorrow at least. I'll just take the train ho afterward—it's not that far anyway."
Even on regular school days, Eriri never asked her parents for rides. She always commuted by bus or train, completely unspoiled despite being from a wealthy family.
That said, if she could catch a ride, she certainly wouldn't turn it down.
—
At lunch, Ichin and Utaha dropped by the Service Club. Yukino and Eriri had arrived earlier and were waiting for them.
With everyone gathered, it was ti to eat.
As Yukino opened her bento, she glanced at Eriri's and noticed it looked a bit different from usual—all the dishes were Chinese-style.
She then looked at Ichin and Utaha's lunch and, sure enough, they were exactly the sa.
Yukino had already heard that Eriri had gone to stay with her senpai over the weekend. When her own family brought it up at ho, she had almost burst out laughing.
Seeing Yukino glance at her lunchbox, Eriri grinned and said, "Hehe, I paid for the food, you know. I didn't just freeload. Hey Yukino, want to trade? I'll give you my beef if I can have your spare ribs."
Yukino didn't say no. They'd done lunch trades like this many tis before.
While eating, Eriri began to chatter about her weekend stay at the dorm.
"Hehe, you guys won't believe it, but yesterday I noticed sothing—Kō-senpai and Rin-senpai finally look like they're getting sowhere. They were stuck together the whole day!"
"Really?" Ichin swallowed a mouthful of rice and shrugged. "Those two have always had that yuri vibe going on. But Kō's pretty dense—too straightforward to realize anything. Still, Rin has been subtly hinting for a while now, and Kō's not dumb. She probably picked up on it by now. Whatever happens next is up to them, though—we shouldn't get too involved."
Eriri, already a seasoned fujoshi, nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly, exactly! That's what I think too!"
Yukino listened quietly, then asked, a bit puzzled, "But… is that really okay?"
Her question revealed her classic straight-laced nature. In fact, Yukino could probably be called a hardcore straight girl. Though she had sensed sothing between Kō and Rin as well, part of her still couldn't quite accept it.
Ichin set down his bento and smiled. "Yukino, there are so things we don't get to judge. What matters is how they feel. All we can do is observe from a respectful distance—don't interfere, don't gossip, and definitely don't try to stop anything. I understand where you're coming from, but relationships like that aren't anything rare or shocking these days."
Utaha chid in right after, "Exactly. Yukino, you've read My the trono in Love, right? The second male lead in my novel is gay. Readers loved that part. They found it really interesting."
At the ntion of that, Ichin's expression turned a little awkward.
…Do we have to bring up the second male lead in your book?
...
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