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

Chapter 75 Cherry Blossoms

“Someone…?”

Without thinking, I repeated her words.

Ayaka gave me a small nod and carried the empty dishes to the kitchen. Soon, the sound of running water echoed from the sink.

“I know that you can’t handle chores,” she said, washing the dishes with a tightly gripped sponge.

“At least let me do the dishes.”

As I tried to stand, Ayaka promptly refused with a firm “No.” Her voice was sharper than usual.

“Just sit. I’ll do at least this much for you.”

“But—”

“Letting a sick person like you do chores would be a disgrace to me. Sit.”

With her words, I had no choice but to sit back down. Reluctantly, I settled myself near the kitchen and watched Ayaka as she worked. Her expression was serious as she efficiently scrubbed the dishes clean. It seemed that she, too, was hesitating, thinking carefully about how to phrase her words, and a quiet silence filled the air.

I knew what Ayaka was likely going to talk about, yet I couldn’t think of anything to say in response. My sluggish mind told me that thinking about it any further would be pointless.

The sound of running water gradually died down and then stopped a few minutes later.

“…Thank you.”

At my words of gratitude, Ayaka glanced over at me briefly, then chuckled with a light smile. “Why are you sitting there?”

Leaving the kitchen, she started walking toward the bed.

I spoke to her back as she walked away.

“I feel bad just sitting here and relaxing.”

“Normally, that might be fine. But seriously, it’s okay. You have a fever, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do, but…”

When I answered, Ayaka responded with a simple “Here.”

She picked up a cushion lying beside the bed and tossed it to me. My outstretched arms caught it, and I felt its soft texture envelop me.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now, back to what we were talking about earlier.”

Standing in front of the kitchen again, Ayaka dried off the droplets on the dishes, then opened the cabinet below. Inside, there was a row of neatly organized dishes.

They were placed in stylish storage that made organizing them easy, but I felt a bit of a stretch claiming them as my own. The kitchen had practically become Shinohara’s domain, filled with items, some of which I didn’t even recognize.

“These definitely aren’t yours,” she remarked.

“Well…”

Honestly, I couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

In fact, I was beginning to feel it might be better to just come clean. Since Ayaka and Shinohara don’t get along well, I probably should be considerate. But stacking up flimsy excuses felt like a worse option. Even if I managed to lie smoothly, I doubted Ayaka would buy it.

And right now, I didn’t have the mental energy or confidence to string together any kind of clever lie.

“Fine, just say it’s your mom’s stuff. Or, if there’s another answer that makes sense, anything that I can accept.”

Ayaka took out her hair tie and returned her hair to its usual style, then walked over to me.

“Go ahead,” she said.

She looked at me steadily. Her long eyelashes were so close that I could almost see each one individually if I focused. I leaned back a bit and averted my gaze from her.

What would she think if she knew Shinohara was constantly at my place?

There’s no reason for me to feel guilty. Ayaka and I aren’t dating, and we don’t really have the type of relationship to meddle in each other’s lives.

Still, if I thought about it emotionally, it was clear Ayaka wouldn’t feel good about it.

Knowing that, could I really give her the honest answer?

“Can’t tell me, huh?”

Ayaka asked quietly, her expression reminiscent of a moment I felt I’d seen before. It was, without a doubt, from those days in our youth—the days of spring, spent alone together in the classroom after school. Because we didn’t pretend, our relationship had grown deep.

—Should I just be honest?

I made up my mind.

If this was the price for the rice porridge, then Ayaka probably wanted a sincere answer as well.

“Well…”

As I took a breath to speak, Ayaka’s hand reached out unexpectedly.

With her delicate fingers, she pinched my cheek.

“You know, it’s okay if you lie,” she said.

“Huh?”

“I told you, as long as you can come up with a reasonable answer, that’s enough.”

“But that wouldn’t mean anything.”

“It does. As long as I can believe it.”

There was no hint of teasing in Ayaka’s eyes.

Her words seemed to imply she was actually asking me for a lie.

…That surprised me.

It was because we hadn’t hidden anything from each other that we’d come this far. We’d accepted each other as we were, and that’s why our relationship was what it was.

And yet, now Ayaka was saying I could lie.

Was the truth about Shinohara being here that hard for her to accept? Or…

We’d undoubtedly accepted each other as we were, but that didn’t mean we knew everything about each other. There were things we didn’t know, and maybe that was okay. At some point, I had decided that some parts were better left unknown. I had even told Ayaka I’d wait for her to tell me in her own time.

It was a way to preserve our comfortable equilibrium. I had chosen this approach even on our hot springs trip.

Twice now, I had chosen the answer of maintaining the status quo.

Perhaps that’s why Ayaka, too, refrained from probing into parts of me that she didn’t know.

From an outsider’s perspective, maybe it looked like an odd relationship. I knew it might come off that way to others.

But as long as we both understood, that was enough.

…That’s what I’d thought.

But our relationship—perhaps it was deeper than I had once believed…

“Hey.”

Startled, I looked up to see Ayaka with a puzzled expression. I became aware of the sweat beading on my forehead.

It felt like I shouldn’t draw a conclusion from the thoughts swirling around just now.

“You okay?”

She asked, wiping the sweat from my forehead with her sleeve. The excess moisture seeped from the edge of the fabric and into the corner of my eye, making me instinctively close it.

Seeing my reaction, Ayaka laughed a little and asked again.

“Tell me your answer.”

If she truly wanted to hear a lie, setting up a moment like this to ask was counterproductive.

In this atmosphere, especially with Ayaka watching, I was nowhere near skilled enough to spin a convincing lie. If I tried, it would only come across as awkward and unnatural.

But if it’s what Ayaka wanted, then I had no choice.

“Sometimes my parents come by to check on me. That’s probably why it’s so tidy.”

“I see. They sound like good parents.”

To my obvious lie, Ayaka gave a brief response and then stood up.

“Well, I’ll be heading out.”

“Are you really okay with that?”

“…Who knows? But for now, I’ll let you off the hook.” She added with a playful smirk, “Oh, here you go!”

“Ugh!”

A second cushion she had picked up came flying at me, landing squarely on my face.

Even though it was unexpected, it wasn’t so fast that I couldn’t have dodged it.

“You’re the one who called me sick earlier!”

“Ha ha! With that much energy, you’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

With a laugh, Ayaka slipped on her brown spring coat.

I slowly got up and followed her as she made her way to the front door.

“Stay in bed. You’re a sick person, remember?”

“Look who’s talking.”

“This mouth, of course. These are the lips that charm everyone.”

“Wow, amazing.”

“Alright, it’s settled. Once you’re all better, I’m punching you.”

At my deadpan reply, Ayaka lightly knocked her fist against the door. Typical of her, she seemed the type to follow through on her words.

“…Huh. I didn’t notice it on my way here, but you can see the cherry blossoms from here.”

Stepping out from the entrance, Ayaka looked at the view and spoke.

Just a few meters beyond the apartment walkway stood several cherry trees. When in full bloom, the sight was breathtaking enough to lift even my spirits, despite not being much of a flower enthusiast. But now, the green leaves were starting to mix in, and the blossoms had already begun to fall.

“I should have come when they were in full bloom.”

“Back then, I wasn’t sick.”

“True.”

Ayaka gave a small laugh, then flicked my forehead with her finger.

There was a light tap, and the spot where she’d flicked grew warm.

“Ow.”

“Heh. I just really wanted to see that expression on your face.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I replied with an exasperated tone as Ayaka started to walk away.

“Thanks for coming.”

At my words, she turned back to look at me.

“Take care,” she said before heading off, leaving my place behind.