"Do you not get jealous when the person you like is with other girls?" Kiyono Lin stopped chopping and looked at her.
Mayi Asuka turned on the faucet, water rushing down, washing the cleaned shrimp.
Amidst the sound of water, Kiyono Lin heard her answer:
"If Che isn't around, I can't seem to muster any emotion."
"What if one day, Jiutiao makes Dubian leave you, and he really leaves you? What would you do then?"
"Without Che, my life would be like an anesthetized limb, numb to any sensation, and it could end at any moment."
Kiyono Lin looked at Mayi Asuka's profile. Her expression remained calm, untroubled and secure—her only path was one with Dubian Che.
Mayi Asuka was honest, and every word she said was true.
Kiyono Lin felt some regret, regretting asking Mayi Asuka these questions on this Saturday afternoon.
Jiutiao Meijie wouldn't care about losing a Dubian Che to Mayi Asuka and Xiaoquan Aonai, but what about her?
Being so adorable herself, her chances of winning were higher than Jiutiao Meijie's. Would she consider Jiutiao Meijie, Mayi Asuka, Xiaoquan Aonai then?
Letting Dubian Che interact with them was absolutely unacceptable, but could she allow Mayi Asuka's life to end this way?
The rushing water suddenly stopped, and the kitchen fell so quiet it was unsettling.
Kiyono Lin came to her senses and saw Mayi Asuka's hand on the tap, the shrimp in the sink already washed.
"Che will not leave me." After saying this, Mayi Asuka turned the tap back on and started washing the bok choy.
With the sound of water flowing again, Kiyono Lin realized the weight of responsibility that rested on Dubian Che's shoulders was much heavier than she had imagined.
Back in room 502, Dubian Che placed the rose with a stem and the diary together, waiting to take them when Kiyono Lin returned.
"Do you need help, ladies?" He entered the kitchen cheerfully, looking at their attractive backs.
"Get the pot out, clean up the table, and oh, bring out the washed vegetables." Kiyono Lin's pale hands finished up the last mushroom.
"Yes, sir." Dubian Che picked up the dish and walked out of the kitchen, but turned back midway to ask, "Where shall we eat?"
"Where shall we eat?" Kiyono Lin put down the knife, took out a box containing beef.
"Dining table? Living room? The balcony is also fine."
"Che can decide." Mayi Asuka handed a plate to Kiyono Lin.
"Thank you." After expressing her thanks, Kiyono Lin thought for a moment and told Dubian Che, "The balcony."
"Alright, I'll move the table and the gas stove." Dubian Che carried the two dishes out of the kitchen, preparing to move the table to the balcony as well.
Deliberately slowing down with the food preparation and engaging in aimless chit-chat, the three of them finally began enjoying the hot pot as the sun set.
They sat around the table, leaving the spot facing the balcony open.
The pot bubbled, emitting steaming white vapors that carried a rich aroma in the direction of Shengong Outer Garden.
Dubian Che relished the hot pot, while Kiyono Lin and Mayi Asuka had rice, each with a glass of fruit juice.
"How's life at the university?" Dubian Che ate a piece of tofu soaked in broth, his mouth steaming along with the pot.
"Average." Mayi Asuka responded.
"Did you join the Wind Instrument Club in university too?" Kiyono Lin ate a slice of beef and used enoki mushrooms to accompany her meal.
"Yes." Mayi Asuka picked some shrimp for Dubian Che.
Kiyono Lin stared at Dubian Che.
"If you want to eat, pick them up yourself, stop staring at me," Dubian Che said.
"I think the mushrooms are delicious, don't you?" There was no hint of negotiation in Kiyono Lin's voice.
"Here." Dubian Che picked a piece of mushroom for her.
Kiyono Lin looked at the mushrooms in her bowl.
"Eat slowly, best if until the moon comes out," Dubian Che savored the shrimp, gazing out at the Tokyo scenery from the balcony.
Below, someone was walking a dog who, perhaps having caught the scent, started barking.
The last trace of sunset reluctantly left the forest of Shengong Outer Garden, and lights around Tokyo came on.
Dubian Che turned on the balcony light, the warm yellow light making the white vapors from the hot pot clearer.
After eating and drinking their fill and washing up, Kiyono Lin prepared to return.
"I'll walk you," Dubian Che said.
"Che, I'll wait for you at home," Mayi Asuka saw them to the door.
With the notebook and the rose in hand, Kiyono Lin playfully looked at Dubian Che.
'Why not stay, no need to walk me home?' She conveyed this through her gaze.
Dubian Che glanced at her, turned his head to Mayi Asuka and asked, "Need anything? I can bring it back when I return."
Mayi Asuka shook her head, her smooth long hair gently swaying.
Dubian Che didn't take a coat and left just in his school uniform shirt.
The two walked again on the tar road lined with apricot trees towards "Shinano Town Station."
"Why haven't we seen Mr. Xiaoquan?" Having taken medicine during the day and now with a full stomach, enjoying the comfortable night breeze, Kiyono Lin's voice held a bit more pleasure than during the day.
"If she's off work on Saturday and Sunday, she goes out with Akiko and Miyazaki, sometimes returning the same day, sometimes staying overnight if it's further away. This week they went to Kamakura to see hydrangeas."
Dubian Che walked with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sparse stars in the night sky.
"Didn't she invite you along?"
"She's shy. If I went, Akiko and Miyazaki would tease her to death."
"So her having time away from her lover is convenient for you, huh?" Kiyono Lin turned her face to look at Dubian Che.
The night wind tousled his hair, his Adam's apple looking particularly attractive.
"I've never thought about it that way," Dubian Che's voice contained a hint of laughter, "But I do envy Mr. Xiaoquan's life, a good job, the ability to go out with friends on holidays."