On the street.
Dark clouds hung low, obscuring the sunlight.
Jo walked alone on the street, like a walking corpse.
He was tired and hungry now, his stomach rumbling incessantly.
"I made Mom sad today. Forget it."
Several times he took out his phone, wanting to ask his mother where she was, and if she could give him a little money, but each time he found her contact, he didn't have the courage to press the dial button.
Recalling his mother's tears and Hoshino Jun's accusations, Jo was filled with shame.
Indeed.
Making his mother sad was truly a rotten thing to do.
"I'll go home first. After I get home, I'll apologize to Mom properly."
"She has a good temper; at most, she'll scold me, and then it'll be fine."
After walking a few more steps, Jo was so hungry he couldn't take it anymore. He looked up at the seemingly endless street and felt a wave of despair.
So he thought again about contacting Takasaki Yusuke to borrow some money.
Takasaki Yusuke had treated him to such an expensive restaurant today, so he must have a lot of money.
"Beep beep~"
The call was quickly connected. Jo let out a long sigh, then hurriedly pleaded:
"That's great, Yusuke, I'm glad you answered. How about lending me a little money? I'll grab a quick meal and take a bus home."
"I'll pay you back next week when my mom gives me my allowance."
He thought that, given his relationship with Takasaki Yusuke, borrowing money for a meal and bus fare would be easy.
"Bastard!"
"How dare you still call me? Do you know how much trouble you caused me today?"
"Dream on, baka!"
Takasaki Yusuke's voice was full of anger and accusation, instantly stunning Jo.
He had been hoping Takasaki Yusuke would help him.
But he didn't expect Takasaki Yusuke to answer the phone just to scold him.
He'd suffered all day, completely fallen out with Yamada Kaoru, been slapped by his mother, and now he was alone, tired and hungry.
He was the one who was most wronged, okay?
"When did I cause you trouble? I haven't even said you caused me trouble."
"Last time I advised you not to use that low-level trick of falsely accusing someone of stealing money, but you insisted on using it, which made me write several days of self-criticism. Do you remember?"
"This time, if you hadn't insisted that I go find Kaoru, how would I have fallen out with Kaoru? Now you're blaming me first, you shameless bastard."
In both incidents, Takasaki Yusuke was the mastermind; he was at most an accomplice.
Now the mastermind was scolding the diligent accomplice, so of course he wasn't going to tolerate it.
The other side seemed not to have expected Jo to retort, paused for a few seconds, then roared:
"I'm shameless? My girlfriend hates me now; you say I'm shameless?"
"If we're talking shameless, it has to be your mom, an auntie, who can't just rest at home but runs off to eat with young people."
"If it weren't for her, how could my plan have failed?"
Hearing that the other party dared to involve his mother, Jo could no longer suppress his anger.
All his bottled-up rage burst out with a roar.
"My mom is an elder who watched Hoshino Jun grow up. Isn't it normal for her to eat with a junior?"
"As for your girlfriend, do you know how intimate she and Hoshino Jun were in the library last time? I photographed the two of them meeting at the school gate early in the morning and going to the library to flirt."
"You keep telling me how good your girlfriend is, but in reality, you're a pathetic cuckold who doesn't even know it."
Jo hadn't actually noticed any overtly intimate gestures between Hoshino Jun and Kato Nana, but the two were close together from the school gate all the way to the library.
Any normal person would find that suspicious, right?
He had been afraid Takasaki Yusuke would be sad before, so he hadn't brought it up. Now that they were arguing, he directly spilled all his suspicions.
The mention of his childhood sweetheart, whom he had pursued for over a decade to finally be with, made Takasaki Yusuke's mind explode.
"My Nana is a shy girl; how could she do the things you're talking about? It's you who likes Yamada Kaoru, but she just ignores you and likes Hoshino Jun. You're the cuckold, baka!"
"Hahaha, I never even got together with Kaoru, we don't even have a relationship, so where does the term 'cuckold' come from? Only you are one. Maybe your girlfriend saw that Hoshino Jun is handsome and immediately threw herself into his arms."
"baka, I won't allow you to talk about Nana like that, you lowly dog in front of Yamada Kaoru!"
"'Your Nana'? Don't look at how reserved she is in front of you; maybe she's throwing herself at Hoshino Jun, and you don't even know it."
The two of them, like baka pecking at each other, went back and forth, trading insults equally.
Jo was no longer hungry, no longer tired. The more he cursed, the more energetic he became, the more vigorous he felt.
.
Meanwhile, in the apartment hallway on the other side, many cherry blossoms were scattered by the strong wind, and pink petals swirled onto Takayanagi Yuki's body.
Her delicate collarbone was adorned with pink.
Hoshino Jun swallowed, looking at Takayanagi Yuki's blushing, beautiful face. A restless and uneasy feeling rose deep within him.
But because of Takayanagi Yuki's words, that little bit of restlessness was suppressed, and calm and rationality returned.
"Yuki, you're wronging me."
Hoshino Jun's face looked very "wronged" as he said this; it was a consideration he had made after careful thought.
Earlier at the restaurant, he was absolutely certain that no one had seen him enter or leave.
Moreover, to avoid being discovered, his communication with Kato Nana was very quiet, mostly whispers.
Only Kato Nana couldn't help but keep whimpering.
"I'm a boy; how could I go to the girls' restroom? I'm not a pervert."
As he spoke, he leaned forward.
Enjoying the softness of the beautiful woman's body, his hands rested on the railing behind her, staring at her with a sad expression.
What a terrible atmosphere.
Takayanagi Yuki bit her lower lip. She had been pushed by Hoshino Jun step by step to the very end of the hallway, with nowhere to escape.
"But I clearly heard that girl... making bad noises."
"And she was calling Jun's name."
Her voice grew softer and softer, her face flushed redder and redder, and the amorous ripples in her eyes were as enchanting as a vixen's.
As Hoshino Jun approached, Takayanagi Yuki felt an extreme pressure on her chest, and a shy burning sensation on her stomach, making the beautiful woman tremble slightly.
His proud 'brother' refused to easily bow its head; this was something Hoshino Jun couldn't control.
So Hoshino Jun chose to take another step.
"That's not my fault either. Just like I like Yuki, it's something I can't control if others like me."
Hearing words overflowing with affection, Takayanagi Yuki's cheeks flushed all the way to her earlobes.
'Could it really be that girl fantasizing about Jun alone?'
'That's right, Jun is so handsome, it's perfectly normal for girls to like him.'
'But why do so many pretty girls like Jun, yet Jun is so infatuated with me?'
Observing Takayanagi Yuki, seeing her panic at this moment, Hoshino Jun felt relieved.
Auntie Yuki was not particularly clever to begin with, and now, in this shy situation, being led astray by Hoshino Jun's line of thought, she naturally veered off course very quickly.
Now Hoshino Jun could probably guess what Takayanagi Yuki was thinking. To interrupt her thoughts, he put his hand down.
Through the fabric, he closed his eyes.
Feeling the salty scent of the sea.
Takayanagi Yuki's body instantly tensed. Between her brows, in addition to shyness, there was also a touch of sorrow.
She was thinking, if only she were an eighteen-year-old girl, but alas, she wasn't.
However, seeing Hoshino Jun's such infatuated attitude towards her, Takayanagi Yuki could no longer completely ignore it. As if by a ghost's prompting, she grabbed Hoshino Jun's wrist and whispered softly in his arms:
"Jun, don't be like this. You can't like an auntie. After all, an auntie is not your age, and she's Jo's mother."
Even more excited.
"But..."
"If you're under pressure, Auntie can help you relieve it."