Chapter 350: Chapter 347: The Runaway Slacker Girl
After reading the note left by the absent-minded girl, Shirakawa Sawahei couldn’t help but make a confused face.
???
Well, well... what’s this so-called ’bestie week’... does such a thing even exist in this world?
Without thinking too much, he took out his phone and called the cute little Ise Yu. To his surprise, it was busy signal, and when he checked the previous messages sent via LINE, they were still unread.
Feeling a bit puzzled, since they were housemates and he had promised Ise Yu Yuzhijin’s parents to take care of her, he decided to call Hinata Rion.
No other choice; he had asked Hinata Rion for leave for the past few days, and he hardly kept up with the Maid Cafe’s matters. The Minotaur Store Manager was quite surprised to receive Shirakawa Sawahei’s call.
However, she apparently didn’t know the absent-minded girl’s whereabouts either.
Receiving this response, Shirakawa Sawahei hesitated for a bit, was about to call the cute little Ise Yu’s dad to ask about the situation, but then the Minotaur Store Manager called back.
"Mr. Shirakawa! I made a mistake earlier!"
"Jin is here with me... oh my, I almost forgot, it’s our annual ’Bestie Day’... hahaha... um... you’re listening, right? Listen to me, Jin is with me... no need to worry, really, it’s just a small matter... oops... no, no, nothing at all... that’s it, hanging up now..."
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
Heh, women.
Hinata Rion’s poor acting didn’t stir Shirakawa Sawahei’s expert performer heart, who’s an old actor at lv4, not even slightly, he even felt like laughing.
However, this reaction also indirectly suggested that Hinata Rion knew the absent-minded girl’s whereabouts, though for some reason, that fool didn’t want him to know.
Having one less troublesome person at home surprisingly felt a bit melancholy. Shirakawa Sawahei thought for a moment and eventually put the note aside to prepare his own dinner.
Well... it’s understandable if an idiot occasionally wants to run away from home.
With that thought, Shirakawa Sawahei spent his first night without the cute little Ise Yu in a long time...
Hmm? That sounds a bit odd?
...
The next day, Ise Yu Yuzhijin woke up from her bed, feeling a sense of loss...
Without Shirakawa’s morning call... there’s an empty spot in her heart...
But... but there’s nothing that can be done... after all, things have already unfolded like that, how could she still stay there...
The knock on the door brought the girl back to reality, and Minotaur Artist carelessly walked in, curiously saying: "Morning, Jin, you’re up early, it’s only nine o’clock. This isn’t like your biological clock."
"I’ve developed a good lifestyle habit now! Not lazy like you, Sister Yin."
"Tch, you’ve already turned into Mr. Shirakawa! You’ve fallen!"
"No, I haven’t!" the absent-minded girl retorted grumpily: "I’ve also influenced Shirakawa a lot, okay? He didn’t used to play games, but he pulled an all-nighter playing with me that time!"
"Alright, alright, you two have turned into each other, satisfied now... by the way, what’s for breakfast? I have to head to work later."
"How about toast and fried eggs?"
"That’s the urban chic standard, but I’m still a female high school student, can I have something more nutritious..."
"Jin, you’re quite bold now, clearly having a co-living partner you dare not face... and still loitering at my place... yesterday I even helped you mislead Mr. Shirakawa, sigh~ I wonder if he believed it..."
"He should probably believe it... Shirakawa rarely meddles..." Ise Yu Yuzhijin hesitated: "I even left a note saying not to come looking for me..."
Hinata Rion glanced at her, full of disdain, chuckled twice, then asked: "What are you planning to do now?"
With this topic, the absent-minded girl’s spirits visibly sank, and she said with grievances: "I don’t know... I’ve even ignored Miss Morihara’s messages... am I really that useless..."
"Obviously I was bragging about it myself... but now I can’t handle it..."
Hinata Rion compassionately hugged the girl, comforting: "Alright, alright... stop dwelling on it... worst comes to worst, come back and venture into Wotaku world with me... why be a mangaka out of nowhere..."
"No way!" Ise Yu Yuzhijin wiped away her tears, resolutely said: "I want to share my interests with friends, so becoming a mangaka is something I am determined to achieve!"
"So?"
"So, I must create works that move people! Sister Yin, you’ll support me, right?"
"Well, I don’t mind supporting you... but you should think about whose support you’d like more..."
"What do you mean by that, it sounds like you’re implying something?" The absent-minded girl said suspiciously: "You didn’t tell Shirakawa about my whereabouts, did you?"
Hinata Rion rolled her eyes, saying annoyed: "I’m not that despicable, alright, I’ll go buy you some breakfast, wait for me to return."
The girl replied, then watched her leave, and went to the bathroom to wash up. Before she could finish brushing her teeth, the sound of the door opening echoed again.
"Hmm? Sister Yin, didn’t you take your keys? Why are you back so soon..."
The absent-minded girl turned around, bumping into the face of the boy she used to live with daily. Shirakawa Sawahei, with breakfast in one hand and keys in the other, calmly met the girl’s gaze.
"Plop~"
The toothbrush clutched in Ise Yu’s mouth fell to the ground as her surprise made her jaw drop. The next moment, when she regained her senses, Ise Yu Yuzhijin turned to run away.
"Shirakawa! Why are you here! Where’s Sister Yin!"
"I met her downstairs, she handed me the keys."
"??? Didn’t she say she wouldn’t be that despicable! And yet she betrayed me... Shirakawa! Don’t come over! I can’t see you right now!"
The absent-minded girl darted back to her room, burying herself in the soft air-conditioned quilt, exposing only half the hem of her nightgown.
"It wasn’t Miss Hinata who told me, I found you myself."
"Didn’t I tell you not to look for me!" the girl’s voice came muffled from under the blanket.
"Yeah, but then you repeated it again." Shirakawa Sawahei nodded: "Double negations make an affirmative, that’s a grammar issue."
"..."
The absent-minded girl was silent for quite a while, then finally sulked: "Shirakawa, can’t you just say it’s a girl’s heart issue..."
"Someone who runs away from home has no right to say that." Shirakawa Sawahei patted her slender, soft waist, saying: "Get up."
The absent-minded girl obediently got up.
He glanced at Ise Yu Yuzhijin sitting on the bed, frowned, and used his thumb to wipe the remaining toothpaste from the corner of her mouth, leading her to the sink to rinse and wash her face. Finally, he handed her a breakfast.
"Eat first."
"Mmm..."
Seeming to know that the upcoming conversation would be heavy, the absent-minded girl’s eating was quite gentle and slow, very unlike her usual wolfing down. Once she’d slowly finished, Shirakawa Sawahei pulled a napkin and handed it to her.
Ise Yu Yuzhijin lowered her head darkly for a while, enjoying the kindness from this co-living partner. After what seemed like ages, she finally asked him on her own initiative.
"Shirakawa..."
"How did you come find me..."