His gaze fell on the large shipping box.
Kashiwazaki Shiori naturally became curious: ‘What did he buy?’
But she quickly realized.
‘Whatever he bought has nothing to do with me.’
With this thought in mind, Kashiwazaki Shiori quickened her pace as she refilled the water bottle.
Yukima Yuuki, on the other hand, calmly placed the shipping box aside.
He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to open it.
Instead, he first took a pair of white slippers from the shopping bag and placed them on the shoe rack in the entryway.
His peripheral vision caught this scene.
Kashiwazaki Shiori slightly tightened her grip on the thermos.
‘At this point, what’s the point of doing all this?’
After refilling the water bottle, Kashiwazaki Shiori strode towards the stairs.
At that moment, Yukima Yuuki suddenly called out to Kashiwazaki Shiori.
“Kashiwazaki-senpai.”
“What is it?”
Kashiwazaki Shiori turned around and looked at Yukima Yuuki, her beautiful eyebrows deliberately furrowed.
It was clearly a “Don’t talk to me” expression, pushing him away a thousand miles.
Yukima Yuuki didn't mind.
Or perhaps, he understood her and didn't take these little actions seriously.
She was always like this.
Like a hedgehog, she would prick anyone who got close, no matter what.
“Are you having lunch, Kashiwazaki-senpai? I can make a portion for you. No charge, oh.”
Yukima Yuuki said.
Kashiwazaki Shiori stared at Yukima Yuuki for a moment.
Her gaze was ice-cold.
Then she turned her head directly and continued walking up the stairs.
“Not interested.”
Her indifferent words drifted down from above.
Back in her room, Kashiwazaki Shiori sat on the bed, her brows genuinely furrowed this time.
“When did he learn to cook? Back then, he was completely clueless. He had to rely on me to make omurice...”
Previous scenes flashed through her mind.
Yukima Yuuki, who had come to Tokyo to study alone, would eat unnutritious bento boxes every day or simply order takeout.
After they started dating, Kashiwazaki Shiori would occasionally go to the apartment where Yukima Yuuki was renting and cook him some simple dishes.
About three times a week.
Although Kashiwazaki wasn’t a cooking prodigy, like a Yamato Nadeshiko.
But she had gotten a perfect score in cooking class, so simple dishes were a piece of cake for her.
Yukima Yuuki, eating omurice, curry, and grilled saury, would often look up.
His raised eyes would stare at Kashiwazaki unblinkingly.
His mouth was full of food.
But those eyes were like they could speak, conveying his admiration and praise.
Thinking back to that young man, casually asking if she wanted a ‘side’ portion of the meal.
Kashiwazaki felt a tightness in her chest.
Anyway, Kashiwazaki heard it as a casual, incidental offer.
Maybe it was the ex-boyfriend filter.
The morning flew by.
Kashiwazaki Shiori barely managed to tidy up her room, putting her belongings in various places.
Although Yukima Yuuki had clearly cleaned the room thoroughly, the dust flew everywhere after a thorough rearrangement.
Opening the windows and the door, Kashiwazaki Shiori planned to wait for the dust to settle before cleaning.
But as soon as she opened the door, she heard the ‘thump-thump-thump’ of chopping vegetables and the ‘sizzle’ of a frying pan coming from downstairs.
Just from the sound, one could feel the proficiency of the other person's cooking skills.
Not to mention, the aroma that poured into the room with the air.
Japanese cuisine is mostly stewed or eaten raw.
The fragrance of stir-fried dishes was clearly more enticing than traditional Japanese cuisine, in terms of aroma alone, it was several levels more tempting.
‘Gurgling...’
Kashiwazaki's stomach grumbled uncontrollably.
There was no way around it, she had been busy all morning.
Listening to the sounds downstairs and smelling the aroma.
Kashiwazaki's mood became even worse.
Because his cooking skills were acquired after he left her.
This made Kashiwazaki uncontrollably think.
Think about who he would cook for, and who he learned to cook for.
Would he get hurt while learning to cook, causing bandages to be wrapped around several of his fingers.
Would he put the prepared dish in front of someone, and then hide his bandaged fingers behind his back.
“Bang!”
The door was slammed shut with great force.
She grabbed the pineapple bun she had prepared in advance from her suitcase.
This was Kashiwazaki Shiori's favorite food.
She specially prepared it to eat at noon today because of the move.
But now, tearing off a piece with her mouth, Kashiwazaki only felt like chewing wax.
Carrying the dish, Yukima Yuuki came to the dining table.
He only made a single serving.
Yukima Yuuki knew Kashiwazaki too well.
Under these circumstances, even if Kashiwazaki starved, this proud senpai wouldn't come downstairs to eat.
Making two servings would be a waste.
After finishing his meal, Yukima Yuuki went back to his room and took out the seven-inch plate, also known as the Shogi board.
He was going to the Shogi club on Saturday, so he would use the game records to practice his skills recently.
The afternoon passed quickly.
Yukima Yuuki cooked and ate as usual.
Upstairs, Kashiwazaki, while writing, glanced at the time.
Seeing that it was past dinner time, she couldn't help but tap her foot.
‘He didn’t even ask if I want dinner.’
Although even if he had asked, Kashiwazaki would have refused.
But he didn’t ask, and she was inexplicably upset.
‘I’ll just order takeout later.’
Thinking this, Kashiwazaki continued writing.
Obviously, Kashiwazaki forgot that once she started writing, she would lose herself in it.
When Kashiwazaki finished writing a small section and stopped.
She looked at the time again.
She was horrified to find that it was already 1 AM.
Exiting the writing state.
The feeling of hunger surged over her like a tide.
Her stomach even started to ache.
She curled up slightly on the bed and sighed.
At 1 AM, in Japan, you wouldn't be able to order takeout.
She only bought one pineapple bun.
‘Just starve until morning?’
As soon as this thought popped into her head, Kashiwazaki felt a spasm in her stomach.
With no other choice, she got up and went to the refrigerator downstairs to look for food.
‘This is unavoidable. It's not a big deal, I'll just buy the same ingredients and put them back in the refrigerator after dawn.’
(ps: New book launch, please give flowers, tickets, monthly ticket rewards, every bit of support from the reader is a hundred points of motivation for the author! Support Sanqi, you won't get lost, Sanqi is typing at high speed! )