Although it was only a little past five, night fell early in Japan.
The sky was still stained with a dull yellow glow, as if darkness would descend soon.
Streetlights along the road had already begun to flicker on.
On the streets of Shibuya, pedestrians hurried along.
Natsume Chikei, who had just gotten off work not long ago, walked alone down the street, heading toward Kondo Miyuki’s house.
He had originally planned to go straight home after his shift and keep writing.
But since he had already promised someone, he had no choice but to go to Kondo Miyuki’s place for dinner first before he could return home to write.
Before that, though, Natsume Chikei didn’t forget the most important thing.
He took out his phone and sent a message to his sister.
[Natsume Chikei: Ruri, I won’t be home for dinner tonight.]
The message was replied to instantly.
[Natsume Ruri: o(╥﹏╥)o Why aren’t you coming home for dinner?
Don’t tell me you’re tired of your little sister’s cooking?]
[Natsume Chikei: Of course not.
My sister’s cooking is the best in the world!]
[Natsume Ruri: (〃’▽’〃) Hehe.
But why aren’t you coming home?
Is there a reason?]
Chikei gave a brief explanation.
[Natsume Ruri: (^▽^) So you’re going to pick up Dad’s old belongings?
Then it’s fine.
Just remember to come back early.]
Inside the apartment.
Kondo Miyuki placed the dishes she had just finished cooking onto the living room table.
Her gaze fell on the two people sitting on the sofa.
“You two could at least help me a little.”
“I can’t manage everything by myself.”
One of them was her husband, Kondo Masayuki.
He was wearing loungewear and glasses, with a somewhat stern expression between his brows.
Even after hearing his wife’s voice, he didn’t move an inch.
He simply continued reading the literary book in his hands and said to his daughter without looking up, “Miki, go help your mother.”
Miki was in the prime of her youth, the same age as Natsume Chikei.
She was tall and had inherited most of her mother’s beauty, but she looked even more refined and otherworldly.
There was a trace of aloofness between her brows, giving off an unapproachable air of pride.
Today’s outfit was the stylish casual style popular among young girls lately.
She wore a soft, well-structured navy blue cropped blazer on top, layered over a pure white round-neck knit sweater.
Below was a knee-length off-white pleated skirt.
The sharp, crisp pleats fell naturally with her posture.
Under the pleated skirt were a pair of straight, slender legs. New chapters come out on g.com first.
She wore white socks and indoor slippers.
Her smooth, slightly wavy golden long hair cascaded over her shoulders.
A few strands swayed gently with her movements, accentuating her delicate profile.
Hearing her father, Kondo Miki frowned and got up to head to the kitchen to help.
However, as soon as she arrived, Kondo Miyuki reminded her, “You haven’t seen Chikei-kun in a long time either.
I heard he’s also going to the same high school as you.
You should get along well with him from now on, understand?”
Kondo Miki felt a wave of irritation in her heart.
“I know.”
She had originally planned to go out with her best friend tonight.
But who would have thought her mother would suddenly invite this Natsume Chikei over for dinner today and insist that she stay home too.
Girls at this age were quite sensitive.
She was no exception.
When she was younger she hadn’t understood, but as she grew older, Kondo Miki could vaguely sense that her mother had always wanted to set her up with this Natsume Chikei.
After hearing her mother say this, she felt it even more clearly.
Because of that, she couldn’t help feeling resistant right now.
She didn’t have much good impression of Natsume Chikei.
In the past, he had seemed gloomy and dull.
She had heard that before his family went bankrupt, they had signed him up for many cram schools and hobby classes.
Yet not only were his grades still terrible, he never developed any real talent either.
You could say that before the bankruptcy, he was purely just a useless rich kid.
And now that his family had gone bankrupt?
In a situation where he had nothing, her mother still wanted to set her up with him?!
She was really fed up.
Her mother kept making decisions without ever asking for her opinion!
Their family was at least middle class now.
Her father was a civil servant earning around 20 million yen a year.
They had a car and a house in Shibuya.
Was there really any need to set her up with that Natsume Chikei?
Not to mention there were already quite a few people with better conditions than him pursuing her.
Among them was Yamaguchi Hirota, who was chasing after her.
He was good-looking, had excellent grades, and came from a much wealthier family than hers.
Many classmates said the two of them were very well-matched.
When it came to all of that, in what way was he inferior to the current Natsume Chikei?
The more Kondo Miki thought about it, the more annoyed she became.
She decided that once Chikei arrived, she would just brush him off casually and be done with it.
At that moment.
Following the address, Natsume Chikei walked for about ten minutes and arrived in front of a mid-range apartment building in Shibuya.
He looked up at the building.
He hadn’t expected Kondo Miyuki’s apartment to be so close to his workplace. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Most apartments in Japan had security doors.
Without a key card, it was impossible to enter.
The purpose was to prevent random people from coming in freely.
So Natsume Chikei could only stand at the entrance and call Kondo Miyuki on his phone.
Soon.
The call connected.
[Natsume Chikei: Um, is this Aunt Kondo?]
[Kondo Miyuki: It’s me, it’s me.
Have you arrived already?]
[Natsume Chikei: Yeah, I’m downstairs now, but there’s a security door…]
[Kondo Miyuki: Oh, right.
Just press our apartment number on the panel.
I’ll have my daughter open the door for you.]
[Natsume Chikei: Okay.]
Following the instructions, Natsume Chikei pressed the corresponding apartment number on the digital panel by the door.
A moment later, the security door automatically unlocked.
He took the elevator up to the correct floor and found the Kondo family’s door.
After ringing the doorbell, the door opened quickly.
Standing there was a girl who looked cold and proud — Kondo Miki.
Thanks to the memories of his predecessor, Natsume Chikei recognized her at a glance.
This was Kondo Miyuki’s daughter, the girl the original body had secretly liked.
Kondo Miki, who had looked impatient just a second ago, froze in place for a long time the moment she saw Natsume Chikei…
“Long time no see, Kondo-san.” Chikei greeted her politely.
Kondo Miki’s gaze flickered.
She hesitated before replying, “Mm… Long time no see, Chikei-kun.”
He used to look so gloomy and dull.
After not seeing him for a year, the change was way too big.
Now he actually looked a little more handsome than Yamaguchi Hirota, who was currently pursuing her…
Kondo Miki stared at the current Natsume Chikei.
Her thoughts were in turmoil.
In the end, she let out a soft sigh in her heart.
She felt it was truly a pity.
His grades were still bad, he had no real talents, and his family had fallen into ruin.
He might even have debts.
In this situation, there was basically no possibility of him making a comeback.
If it weren’t for all that, she wouldn’t have minded giving this Natsume Chikei a chance.
But since he hadn’t actually done anything wrong to her, being ordinary friends was still fine.