I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 55

Chapter 55   Spring Break is Almost Over

The long, long spring break is almost over.

Typically, university spring breaks last around two months, give or take.

Starting in April, I’ll be a third-year student.

Next spring break, it’s job hunting.

After that comes the preparation period leading up to getting a job.

This is the last spring break where I can play around without thinking about anything.

“Without thinking, huh? Really now.”

On the other end of the phone, Ayaka sighed in exasperation.

“You should give it some thought. Jumping into things without any prep will be pretty tough, you know?”

“What if I told you I feel like I’ll change once the situation around me changes?”

“Then I’d send you to a temple to crush that baseless confidence of yours.”

“What kind of reform method is that!?”

Still, what Ayaka said was a completely reasonable opinion.

At twenty years old—or honestly, even before that—I should have already been thinking about it.

About future jobs and… what I really want to do with my life.

I know that much, in my head.

“I want to be a freeloader.”

…That’s the answer that came out of my supposedly understanding head.

I could sense Ayaka sighing over the phone.

“A freeloader, huh? Well, I guess that’s fine.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Yeah, I mean it. Not that I think you could actually pull it off.”

Her words sparked a bit of defiance in me.

Not that I was ever seriously considering becoming a freeloader, but now I wanted to know why she thought I couldn’t.

“What makes you say that?”

“There’s a lot of reasons. Do you want me to spell them out?”

“Actually, never mind, don’t say it.”

“Your face.”

“I said don’t say it!”

I groaned as I collapsed onto my bed.

That was a truth I didn’t want to know.

“I’m joking. Like I said before, I actually quite like your face. It’s not my type, but still.”

“Oh, well… thanks for that, I guess…”

Was she referring to last year’s Christmas season?

I vaguely recall her saying something like that on the day I met Shinohara.

Though I’m not sure if Ayaka was serious about it or not.

After switching the phone to speaker mode, I put water into the kettle to make some instant yakisoba.

“Is that the sound of boiling water?”

“Correct! The sad diet of someone living alone.”

“If you keep eating like that, you’ll ruin your health someday.”

It sounded like Ayaka had also just lit her stove, as I could hear the faint crackling on her end.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve hardly ever eaten your homemade cooking.”

“I’ve shared my lunch with you before, remember? Can’t recall exactly when, though.”

“That’s why I said ‘hardly ever.’ You’ve never cooked for me at home.”

“That’s only because you turned me down last time.”

…Come to think of it, during that call after exams, there was a moment when Ayaka seemed ready to come over and help with housework, but I declined.

And the reason was because I didn’t want her running into Shinohara.

But there’s no chance of Shinohara coming over today.

“Well, I do have plans today, though.”

“Seriously!?”

“Got your hopes up, didn’t I? Sorry, sorry.”

“I wasn’t hoping for anything!”

I pouted, and Ayaka laughed as if she could see my expression through the phone.

As I poured the boiling water into the cup, she asked me another question.

“Do you still have any credits left to finish before graduation?”

“About forty or so.”

If things go smoothly in the first semester, I can take it easy in the second and still meet the graduation requirements.

Thanks to Ayaka, I’m making pretty good progress.

“I’ve got about twenty left myself.”

“Wow, then you’ll be done by the first semester.”

“Yeah, but I’ll still attend lectures even after I finish the credits.”

Hearing those words gave me a sense of relief.

Same year, same department.

Since we’d often taken classes together, I found it hard to imagine university life without Ayaka.

Unlike high school, where students attend from morning to evening every weekday, university life is more flexible. Students like Ayaka, who finish their credits early to graduate, often stop coming to campus much.

While this freedom is one of the good things about university, the thought of seeing friends less frequently still feels lonely.

Especially when it comes to someone like Ayaka.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“You feel relieved?”

“…Yeah, maybe.”

“Haha, so easy to read.”

“Shut up.”

As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right.

Ayaka has always been a big part of my life, ever since high school.

But there are only two years left of this life with her—less, if you count the job-hunting period.

After graduation, we’ll probably drift apart.

It’s not uncommon to go from the same high school to the same university, but matching job placements is unrealistic. And Ayaka isn’t the type to do something like that anyway.

Even with a close relationship like ours, an end will come eventually.

“I feel like I’ve said this before,” she added.

“Said what?”

“That even when we’re adults, let’s stay close.”

I felt like I could guess exactly what kind of expression Ayaka had on her face at that moment.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll listen to your work complaints.”

“You listen to my complaints? Nah, I don’t think I’ll have any.”

“Come on, I’m a specialist at listening to your rants! I know all I have to do is nod along like one of those red cow toys and you’ll be satisfied.”

“Wait, is that how you’ve been listening to me this whole time!?”

Complaints about work or stress relief—those were the kinds of things I listened to in that half-hearted way.

Well, I figured that if I listened too seriously, it would probably make it harder for Ayaka to talk. That’s what I told myself, but I can’t deny that there were times I really was just zoning out.

“You really don’t handle me with care, do you?”

“Same goes for you. It’s easier this way, right?”

“Yeah, true. Anyway, I’m gonna go eat.”

“Oh, enjoy. I’m about to dig into my cup noodles.”

The noodles were just starting to get soggy.

I picked up my chopsticks from the lid and reached for my phone to hang up.

“Oh, wait. I forgot to ask something.”

“Hm?”

“How was your spring break?”

With the long spring break nearing its end, she hit me with that question.

This break was packed with all sorts of things—drinking parties, gatherings, trips, and more.

There was also plenty of free time, and maybe later on I’d regret all the time I wasted doing nothing.

But if there’s one thing I can say for sure…

“Yeah, it was a blast.”

“Haha, same here. See you back at university!”

With that, Ayaka hung up.

“What was the point of asking that?” I muttered, realizing there was a smile on my face.

I was actually looking forward to getting back to university tomorrow.