It was almost seven o'clock by the time Hoshino Jun finished his club activities, returned home, and ate dinner.
The night grew gradually cooler.
Evening in Tokyo was far from quiet.
Drunk and insane middle-aged failures, shouting biker gangs, and wealthy people driving sports cars with beautiful women, blaring their horns, added a lot of noise to the night.
He opened a can of cola.
Enjoying the cool evening, he walked towards the bus stop across from his apartment.
Thanks to Jo, Yuki's aunt's debt had accumulated to four C-class debts; he needed to collect them as soon as possible.
"Beep beep beep."
Just as Hoshino Jun thought about collecting the debt, Takayanagi Yuki sent him a message on his phone.
It was as if they were connected by a feeling.
"Jun, why are you here again?"
"I'm warning you, I came with Mei today."
"You're not allowed to be rude to me, or Mei will teach you a lesson."
Takayanagi Yuki's words exuded a sense of triumph, like a hero who had finally fended off the Demon King's attack.
The foolish Mrs. Takayanagi was, for once, clever.
Choosing to leave work with Asu Mei and take the bus home together meant that Hoshino Jun indeed wouldn't attack her on the way.
This bus seemed to have driven a bit fast on the road, not arriving precisely when it was nearing the stop, so it moved slowly, like a giant turtle crawling on land.
Before the bus even reached the stop, Hoshino Jun saw Asu Mei reaching out and waving to him.
"Jun-chan~!"
If he could persuade her, Hoshino Jun really wished Asu Mei wouldn't add a "-chan" after his name when she called him.
Although it was affectionate, it really sounded bad.
"Buzz—!"
The bus finally stopped, and Asu Mei cheerfully ran off, creating a stark contrast between her calm exit and the huge wave that followed close behind.
Mei wasn't actually small; among women in the island nation, she was considered above average, but Mrs. Takayanagi was truly too large, making her seem quite lacking in comparison.
"Jun-chan, why are you here to pick up Auntie today? Have you been thinking about me day and night?"
Asu Mei playfully hooked her arm around Hoshino Jun's neck, her somewhat full figure leaning against him, not caring if Hoshino Jun took advantage of her.
Having enjoyed the ample 'fruits' of Kato Nana and Mrs. Takayanagi for the past few days.
The soft cottony feeling on his elbow, surprisingly, didn't elicit any reaction from Hoshino Jun, and he didn't even think any dirty thoughts.
"Silly Auntie, it's only evening now, how could I think about you at night?"
"So you thought about me during the day?"
"Not at all. I was on a date with a gal from school today."
Hoshino Jun was very honest and directly recounted his day's activities.
However, Asu Mei didn't believe him at all. She giggled:
"You're just being stubborn. You don't even have pocket money, how can you date a gal?"
"Maybe the gal was dating me?"
Hearing this, Asu Mei clicked her tongue and looked at Hoshino Jun's handsome face with a serious gaze.
Clearly, she thought this was a possible answer.
Immediately after, Hoshino Jun added, "The gal I was dating even has a boyfriend. For me, she'd do anything behind her boyfriend's back—things she's never done with him."
Moreover, they had only known each other for three days.
"Pfft~!" Asu Mei burst out laughing: "You might as well just say you're going to be the Earth's president tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll be the Earth's president tomorrow, and I'll make you the global director of toilets, specifically responsible for cleaning them."
A smile appeared in the corner of Hoshino Jun's eye.
Auntie, I honestly told you today, but you didn't believe me.
If you find out later, don't blame me, okay?
"No."
At this moment, Asu Mei was unaware of the seriousness of the situation. She pulled Hoshino Jun and marched forward with big strides.
It didn't look like an adult coming home from work; instead, it resembled elementary school students returning home after school.
"I want to be the Earth's flower, the most beautiful woman in the world, hmph hmph."
"Thick-skinned."
"What do you mean, thick-skinned? I'm beautiful, alright?"
Hearing Hoshino Jun's reply, Asu Mei was so angry that she 'collided' with him, bullying him with all her might.
Given that they were outside and there were other people around, Hoshino Jun gave Asu Mei some face and didn't retaliate physically.
Only verbally, he continued to nag.
"What a strange atmosphere!"
Takayanagi Yuki, walking slowly behind the two, looked left and right and found that the two in front of her seemed off.
'Why does it feel like Mei and Jun's interactions aren't really like an elder and a junior?'
'It's more like a young couple.'
As soon as this thought emerged, Takayanagi Yuki shook her head, immediately dismissing the idea from her mind.
Hoshino Jun was raised by Asu Mei herself; how could their relationship evolve into something like that? She must have misunderstood.
'Perhaps normal family interactions should be like this. It's just that my Jo wasn't raised well and has become distant from his mother.'
'I envy Mei so much!'
Cherry blossoms bloomed and then fell, the rising moon was pure and flawless, and a pink petal, under the cool moonlight, fell onto the ample 'marshmallows' of the widowed Mrs. Takayanagi.
Reaching the fourth floor, Hoshino Jun pulled his arm, which Asu Mei was tightly hugging, and fumbled for his keys in his pants pocket.
"I've already cooked dinner. It should still be warm now. You can eat it directly in a bit."
"Okay, Jun-chan is so good."
Joy welled up in Asu Mei's eyes, which curved like crescent moons.
After a hard day's work, returning home to hot, ready-made food.
The happiness of an ordinary person is nothing more than this.
"How nice."
Whispering softly, Takayanagi Yuki also lowered her head to rummage for her keys in her bag.
Asu Mei's happiness made her somewhat jealous.
"Click—!"
The lock turned, and the moment the door opened, Takayanagi Yuki saw her son, Jo, sitting slumped on the sofa watching TV, with the television on.
"Mom, why are you only just getting back?" Jo complained in a soft voice, "Hurry up and make dinner, I'm starving."
"Thud!"
Takayanagi Yuki's body suddenly felt weak, and her bag fell to the floor.
Her eyes involuntarily reddened.
Why was it that her son, Jo, never came downstairs to wait for her, and never thought of cooking for her?
Instead, after Takayanagi Yuki had been busy all day, she still had to rush to cook for her son.
Stepping back, she heard the warm daily routine of Hoshino Jun and Asu Mei.
"I've washed all your clothes. Please stop throwing them around and leaving them everywhere, okay? It's really hard for me to tidy up."
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to Jun-chan."
"You're full of it. You just let it go in one ear and out the other. From now on, put your clothes away properly after you take them off, understand?"
"Oh, stop nagging! Jun-chan's going to make my ears explode with all this lecturing."
Stepping back into the entryway, she met her son's bewildered gaze.
"Mom, why are you just standing there? I'm hungry, make dinner!"
Takayanagi Yuki's chest immediately felt a surge of blockage. For some reason, her initial joy at coming home transformed into a dull heaviness, and annoyance steadily crept across her brow.
Looking at her son, who was blinking and waiting to be fed.
She took a deep breath.
And then exhaled.
"Why can't Jo learn to cook for himself?"
Facing his mother's question, Jo froze, looking even more bewildered.
"I… I have school, I'm very busy."
Just then, Hoshino Jun walked out from next door.
"Mrs. Takayanagi, it's so late after work, and you probably haven't eaten yet, right? Would you like to come to our place and try my cooking with my aunt?"