I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 61

Chapter 61   New Student Welcome Party 3 – Yamanashi Natsuki

“That manga really transformed, didn’t it? I never could have imagined it when it first started as a weekly series.”

Natsuki downed her second highball. At the same time, I emptied my second beer.

“Wow, same timing. Did you sync up with me?”
“Unintentionally, we ended up mirroring each other.”
“Hmm, not quite enough! If you want to woo me, you should respect my heart more!”
“I told you, it was unintentional!”

I crushed the can and took Natsuki’s empty one as well.

“Is that okay? Well, I’ll graciously accept, then.”
“I didn’t say anything. Consider this part of my apology for earlier.”
“Apology for what? Leaving me behind to go meet Ayaka? That’s way too cheap; I’m not forgiving you that easily.”
“What do you want to drink next?”
“Another highball!”

Waving me off with a smile, Natsuki sent me on my way. As expected from someone in the “Who said the first drink had to be beer!” party—she’s been drinking only highballs.

Carrying the empty cans, I walked toward the trash bag set up by the circle. Laughter echoed from all around. Since the park was large and far from the residential area, everyone was probably talking louder than usual. Even though it wasn’t evening yet, the party was in full swing.

When I reached the area with over a hundred cans already piled up, I grabbed two more highballs.

On my way back to Natsuki, I saw Ayaka chatting with the first-year group.

“Yeah, there was a time I also made a marking mistake midway through…”
“What? You too, Ayaka-san? That makes me feel so much better—”

It seemed like Ayaka’s group was talking about their entrance exams. For first-years around this time of year, the topic that connects them most easily with upperclassmen is probably the university entrance exams. Thinking back to how the upperclassmen kept bringing up the subject during my first-year welcome party, I now realize they were trying to ease our nerves by letting us talk.

Though I don’t even know how to contact those upperclassmen anymore, I silently thank them in my heart.

When I returned to where I had been, Natsuki was taking photos of the cherry blossoms on her phone.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. What are you doing?”
“Like you see, I’m taking pictures of the cherry blossoms.”

Natsuki carefully pressed the shutter button. The photo captured the moon just starting to rise, gazing down on the cherry blossoms from the sky.

“Hey, that’s a nice shot. Are you going to post it?”

Photos with a good vibe tend to get a lot of attention on social media. I was connected with Natsuki on SNS, and I would occasionally see her stylish posts on my timeline. However, Natsuki shook her head.

“Nope. I don’t need to post something like this.”
“Something like this?”
“Yeah, like… natural scenery and stuff.”

Curious, I casually scrolled through Natsuki’s posts on my phone. Sure enough, her feed was filled with photos of cafes and illuminations, but not a single picture of nature.

“Yuuta.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember my last name?”

Natsuki asked while scrolling through her desktop.

“It’s Yamanashi as in Tsukimizato, right? It’s a pretty unique name.”

I handed her a highball as I answered. Even though I’m generally bad at remembering names, hers was so distinctive that it stuck with me instantly. Natsuki nodded and opened her third can. The fizzing sound of carbonation escaped into the air.

“I really used to love my last name.”

I silently opened my own can and took a sip of my highball.

“In a village where you can see the moon, there are no mountains. That’s why it’s called Yamanashi. And for the finishing touch, there’s Natsuki—the beautiful moon in my name. For a while, I thought, ‘What a wonderful name I was given.'”

I felt the same way when I first met her. You don’t often come across such a poetic name.

“But recently, I’ve started to hate the moon again.”
“Huh?”

Natsuki powered off her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

“The moon, you know, it’s always second to the sun.”
“Second to the sun?”
“Yeah. Without the sun’s light, the moon can’t shine.”

The moon shines by reflecting the sun’s light. What she said was true—any child learns that in science class.

“But isn’t that what makes the moon special?”

When I said that, Natsuki looked a bit surprised.

“The moon has its own good qualities, doesn’t it?”

The sun’s light can be blinding. Personally, I prefer the moonlight that you can gaze at directly.

“…That’s kind of a harsh thing to say.”

Natsuki mumbled, taking a swig of her highball. I wasn’t sure what she found harsh. Maybe I interrupted a conversation where she just wanted a simple agreement.

“Sorry.”

I apologized just in case, and Natsuki shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. Forget it, just forget I said anything.”

Her bobbed hair glowed red. It seemed brighter than before, probably because of the streetlights.

“What’s the alcohol percentage on this highball?”

Natsuki asked cheerfully, shifting gears as promised. Normally, I might feel frustrated by such an abrupt change in conversation, but luckily, the alcohol was kicking in a bit. I checked the can and saw it was labeled as 9% alcohol.

“It’s 9%. Three drinks should get you to that nice, tipsy sweet spot.”

“Yeah, totally. If it’s only 3%, like with Horoyoi, it doesn’t really get you there.”

The amount of alcohol one can handle varies from person to person, but I pride myself on having a stronger tolerance than most. Natsuki is probably the same. Even though I felt like jumping into my fourth drink, I had a bit of hesitation.

During my hot spring trip with Ayaka, I misjudged my limit and ended up passing out. I had promised myself I’d cut back on alcohol for a while, and yet here I was at another drinking party. At the very least, I should pace myself this time so I don’t look like an idiot again.

“So, what do you think? Ready for a fourth?”
“Well… nah, I still haven’t finished my third. I’m good for now.”

When I declined, Natsuki pouted and made a playful “boo” sound. Judging by her empty can, she was already done with her third.

“No booze pressure! Even this circle has rules against that, right?”
“Yeah, Ayaka’s drilled it into me hard, really hard, not to push people to drink. But it’s you, Yuuta. I know you can handle a bit more.”
“Alright, alright, let’s cut that out.”

I sipped my highball slowly. Even though it wasn’t as satisfying as downing more, it still tasted pretty good.

“Senpai, chug, chug!”
“I told you, no booze—”

Before I could finish, I burst out laughing, nearly spitting out my drink.

“Ack!”

There’s only one person in this university who calls me “senpai.” And sure enough, right in front of me was my mischievous kouhai, grinning like a little devil.