The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers

Chapter 63: On the Way Home

“Hehe…Eiji-san,” Sayaka says in a sweet, affectionate voice, squeezing my hand.

She contacted me via phone earlier, asking if I could come to her school, and now we’re walking home together.

“H-Hey…is that really Sayaka?”

“Who’s that guy next to her? Her boyfriend?”

“No way! That guy looks way older. There’s no way Sayaka would be into some guy like that.”

It seems like the students from her school have noticed us and are whispering about it.

They’re probably shocked to see Sayaka acting so affectionate.

“See, Eiji-san? I told you before, people think we look like a couple! Hehe…I’m so happy,” she says.

“…Yeah, seems like it,” I reply.

She’s rubbing her head against my arm, but my mind is occupied with what Kanna told me earlier.

“Sayaka’s parents…passed away in an accident a few years ago.”

According to Kanna, Sayaka doesn’t know this. She believes she was abandoned or something.

(I don’t know how this connects to her current behavior, but…I need to look into her parents.)

Maybe understanding more about her parents will help explain why she’s shut herself off emotionally.

“Eiji-san, what’s wrong? You’re making such a strange face,” Sayaka says.

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing.”

“Really? You looked super ugly just now, Eiji-san.”

“…That’s pretty harsh.”

“Huh?” she says, tilting her head in confusion.

Seeing her like this, she looks just like an ordinary high school girl without a care in the world.

“Sayaka!!”

Huh? Someone’s calling her from behind.

But she ignores the voice and keeps walking with me.

“Hey, Sayaka! Wait!”

Suddenly, a guy blocks our path, standing in front of us to make sure he’s not ignored.

He’s a handsome guy…maybe a soccer player? He looks like the kind of guy who would be super popular with girls.

“Sayaka, who’s this guy?” he asks.

“…He’s just an annoying guy who’s always bothering me. Seriously, why does he have to show up now?” Sayaka’s mood shifts instantly, and she becomes visibly irritated.

“…What do you want, Iida? Can’t you see I’m having a nice time with this person? Are you really going to interrupt us again?”

“N-No! I’m just worried about you…Wait, who’s this guy?” Iida exclaims.

…You shouldn’t point at people, young man.

“Uh, I’m Sayaka’s guardian—”

“—He’s my boyfriend,” Sayaka cuts me off.

“…Huh?”

“Eiji-san is…my boyfriend,” she declares.

I can almost hear the air around us freeze. The nearby girls shriek with excitement, while the boys shoot daggers at me with their eyes, filled with jealousy and hatred. It’s like time stopped, at least for me.

“Wha…What are you talking about, Sayaka!”

As expected, the boy named Iida starts shouting, glaring at me with the fiercest stare yet.

“You can’t be this guy’s girlfriend! You must be getting tricked! Wake up, Sayaka!!”

“…Tricked? I’m the one who fell for him, so of course it’s not like that. Right, Eiji-san?” Sayaka says, smiling as if everything is perfectly normal.

What should I even do? I can’t say anything…

“How can you like a guy like this?! He’s way older, not even that good-looking! He’s just some random old man!”

“…What did you say about Eiji-san? Maybe it’s your eyes that are clouded—”

“—Sayaka,” I interrupt before she can explode.

“E-Eiji-san…?”

“Let’s go home. Everyone’s waiting.”

I grab her hand firmly and walk past the boy.

“Hey! Are you running away?!” he yells after us.

“Sorry. This really isn’t the time for that,” I reply, brushing off Iida’s voice as we leave the school grounds.

◇

“E-Eiji-san…why?”

Sayaka finally speaks up as we walk, sounding concerned, but now’s not the time for that.

“Sayaka…why did you lie?” I ask.

“Huh…? Oh, um…”

“…I’m not your boyfriend, and you didn’t even ask me. It’s one thing to cause me trouble, but it’s not good to make people around you misunderstand, right?”

She’s still a high school student. I don’t want her school life to get messed up because of this lie about us being in a relationship.

“I-I’m sorry…I’m so sorry! But…I thought if I didn’t say that, you’d leave me…Please don’t hate me! Don’t abandon me…”

“I won’t hate you, and I won’t leave you. I just think acting without thinking isn’t a good idea.”

I pat her head as she looks at me with teary eyes. Maybe it’s best not to push her too hard.

“Say, Sayaka…Why do you think I would leave you?”

“That’s…because…”

She falls silent, almost as if her throat is choking on her words.

…She won’t tell me.

“Want to get something on the way home?”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you hungry? I’ll treat you.”

“But…I’ve caused so much trouble…”

“As long as you’re sorry, it’s fine. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

Yeah…this won’t be solved easily.

With those thoughts in mind, I walk the rest of the way home with her.

—

Chapter 64: The Unexpected Words

After shopping with Sayaka, I returned home and spent some time on my computer, searching for something important.

Of course, it was about the incident that took Sayaka’s parents.

“…Found it.”

I saw an article about a car accident. It seemed that the cause was a drunk driver, a middle-aged man, and the accident claimed three victims.

Among those victims, I noticed the surname “Yugiri”—the same as Sayaka’s.

The names were…Tenya Yugiri and Haruko Yugiri.

“…I need more information about these two…”

But I didn’t have enough time. When I checked the clock, it was already 6 PM.

Recognizing it was time for dinner, I closed the computer and went downstairs to start preparing the meal.

—

After I finished making dinner, we all sat down to eat. However, a small problem arose.

“…Sayaka, please move. Dinner time is when I sit next to Eiji,” Rinmei said.

“…No, I won’t give up Eiji-san’s side.”

Sayaka and Rinmei were arguing over who got to sit beside me.

Kanna and I were both puzzled by the tense atmosphere and could only watch over them.

“…We made a promise…to take turns,” Rinmei said, her voice firm.

“…But…I don’t want to be away from Eiji-san…”

As if to show her determination, Sayaka clung tightly to my chair and grabbed my hand. Her grip was strong. Rinmei, who always maintained a calm demeanor, started to frown.

“Sayaka…You promised.”

“Ahh! Nooo!!”

When Rinmei tried to pull Sayaka away, she started throwing a fit like a child, screaming.

Her loud cry startled everyone—me, Kanna, and even Rinmei, who had been pulling her hand. The room suddenly fell into a heavy silence.

“…Oh…”

Realizing what she had done, Sayaka began to tremble, her eyes darting nervously between us.

“Again…I caused trouble…!” she muttered.

“…Sorry, Sayaka,” Rinmei said.

“Ah!”

Sayaka flinched at Rinmei’s words. The fear in her eyes was clear, as if she was scared of something. Unable to bear the situation, she fled from the living room and ran upstairs.

“Sayaka!” Kanna called out, but her voice didn’t reach her as Sayaka disappeared into the second floor.

“I’ll take her dinner to her. You two should go ahead and eat,” I said.

“Eiji…” Rinmei murmured, gripping her clothes tightly. Her face was twisted in regret.

“…Did I…did I hurt Sayaka? Did I make her feel bad?”

“…You did nothing wrong, Rinmei. Don’t worry.”

I patted her head gently twice, then prepared a tray of food for Sayaka.

“Kanna-san, please take care of Rinmei. I’ll bring Sayaka’s dinner to her.”

“…Understood,” Kanna replied, softly patting Rinmei’s head.

With that, I left to bring Sayaka her meal.

—

“Sayaka? Are you in there? I’m coming in.”

I stood outside her usual room, but this time, I could feel a heavy, negative atmosphere seeping from within as I opened the door.

“Eiji-san…”

Inside, I found Sayaka lying on the bed, her face buried as her eyes swelled with tears. I sat beside her, placing the tray of food on the table.

“It’s still warm. You should eat it before it gets cold.”

“…I’m not hungry…”

But her stomach had a different opinion. Growwwl—her belly let out a loud, hungry growl. Blushing in embarrassment, she looked away as I chuckled and picked up some food with the chopsticks, holding it out to her.

“Come on, eat it before your stomach makes even more noise.”

“I-I know…!” she protested, her face flushed. She opened her mouth and ate the food.

“…It’s good,” she muttered.

“I’m glad to hear that. I really put my effort into it.”

Satisfied, I handed her the chopsticks. After hesitating for a moment, she took them and began eating on her own.

“…I caused trouble again.”

After a while, she began to speak softly, almost as if sighing.

“I made trouble for Eiji-san…for Kanna-san and Rinmei…Now they’ll hate me…”

“…They won’t. Don’t worry about that.”

I gently stroked her head as tears welled up in her eyes again.

“Let’s apologize to Rinmei together. I’ll be with you, and I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

“…Why are you being so kind to me?” she asked, her gaze locking onto mine, as if searching for the answer in my eyes.