I Got Cheated On, so I Thought I’d Cheat Back and Went to a Group Date, I Ran Into a Classmate Who Used to Boss Me Around and Now We’re Living Together - Chapter 6

“Look at this. My girlfriend made it for me~”

The next day, I had classes in the morning. By noon, I was at the school cafeteria, eating lunch with my friend Nohara. I bought the usual curry, while Nohara happily pulled out a small lunchbox.

“Your girlfriend made that? Are you trying to show off?”

“Yep, haha. She’s an office lady, but she still got up early just to make this for me.”

This guy had an older girlfriend and often stayed over at her place. From the look of it, she really adored him. I was honestly jealous. That’s how a girlfriend should be. Someone who cares about you. Not someone who puts on a cruel show of cheating.

Rinne, the one who gave me that cruel service, wasn’t at school today either. She probably saw getting into university as the finish line, and after her cheating was exposed, maybe she just lost whatever little motivation she had left to come. I couldn’t say for sure, but it seemed likely.

Then again, I couldn’t act all high and mighty. For me, getting into university had also felt like a goal in itself. I hadn’t really figured out what I wanted to do. I went to lectures just to collect credits and nothing more. At least for now.

Still, I knew I needed to find something I wanted to do. If nothing else, I needed it to move past the bitter memories of being cheated on. I wanted to have something for the future to focus on.

But of course, finding a goal in life wasn’t something that happened easily. It was a tough problem.

“Hey, Nohara, do you already know what you want to do in the future?”

“In the future? You mean like work?”

“Yeah.”

“Eh, I’ll just get some office job somewhere.”

“That’s a pretty dull answer.”

“Then what about Sousuke? What’s your plan?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Then you’re the one without a dream, aren’t you?”

…I had nothing to say back.

◇

“So, Machida-san’s chasing the dream of becoming an Italian chef just because you admire your uncle?”

Night.

Once again, I was eating dinner she had made. Tonight’s dish was seafood tomato cream pasta. Two nights in a row with pasta, but it didn’t matter. It was delicious. Even if the scallops and shrimp were frozen, she used plenty of them, and the taste was amazing.

“It’s not just because of my uncle. Cooking has always been my hobby, so this just feels like a natural extension of that.”

“Ah, an extension of a hobby… That’s a way to do it, too.”

“What’s with that tone? Are you struggling to figure out what you want to do in the future?”

“Exactly.”

I nodded while stabbing a scallop with my fork.

“I’m just drifting along. I’m already in university, but I don’t have anything I really want to do.”

“Isn’t it fine if you don’t force yourself to find something?”

“But then I’ll just end up on the straight path to an office guy’s life.”

Not that I looked down on office workers. It’s just that aiming for that from the very start felt like a life without any dreams.

“Then why not try being a YouTuber?”

“I don’t have any content ideas.”

“Then maybe follow your hobbies?”

“…My hobbies are just games though.”

“Then why not make games?”

“I’m a liberal arts major, so that’s impossible…”

Programming might as well be another language to me.

“…I’ve got nothing. I don’t know what to aim for. I feel empty inside. Like a human made of Styrofoam.”

“That’s not true. You’ve got plenty packed inside. You reached out and helped me, right? That means your moral compass is at max.”

“Whether it’s max or not doesn’t matter; morals alone don’t put food on the table.”

If anything, people with fewer morals seemed more likely to succeed in this world. I could easily think of countless famous people with questionable character.

“Haah… I really am useless. Just a pathetic college student.”

“You’re overthinking it… Maybe you should take a break and clear your head.”

Machida-san frowned in concern.

“You probably still haven’t gotten over being cheated on either. Why not hang out with friends somewhere this weekend?”

“…Most of my friends have girlfriends. Weekends are always just me alone.”

“Then… Do you want to go out somewhere with me instead?”

“Eh?”

I froze as her reply caught me off guard.

Machida-san twirled the ends of her black wolf-cut hair with her finger and shyly said,

“Well… if you don’t like it, just pretend you never heard me. I won’t force you.”

I stayed silent for a moment before answering.

“…It’s not like I don’t want to, but… is Machida-san really okay with it?”

“…If I wasn’t, why would I even suggest it?”

“Yeah, that’s true…”

“For me, it’s simple… I’m still living here thanks to your kindness, right? So, helping the guy who took me in feel better. I don’t mind at all.”

If that’s how she felt…

Then maybe I could take her up on the offer.

“But… if we do go out, where would we even go?”

“Hmm, well… why don’t I figure that out?”

That’s what she said.

So, all that was left for me was to look forward to whatever plans she had in mind.