Ten minutes later, under the worried gaze of Mrs. Isshiki, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked out of the room.
"She fell asleep."
"Teacher, did Iroha say anything?"
"I talked to her about irrelevant things intermittently. She was probably too tired, so she just fell asleep like that."
Hiratsuka was afraid that Mrs. Isshiki would be too worried, so she chose to hide the truth.
"Iroha seems to be more willing to talk to me. Please call me when she wakes up."
"I'll talk to her then. Maybe I can learn the specific reason for her behavior. You don't have to worry too much. Let's take a break now."
"It's really troublesome for you, teacher."
"Please don't be so polite. This is my duty."
Mrs. Isshiki gratefully escorted Hiratsuka out of the house. She bent down to watch her drive away before slowly closing the door.
Hiratsuka lit a cigarette as she drove, finding that the stimulation of nicotine calmed her mind when she felt upset.
She knew it was a bad habit, but she couldn't shake it off.
She thought it wouldn't be too late to quit once she had a boyfriend; she always kept this idea in the back of her mind.
While waiting at a red light, she took out her mobile phone and dialed a number, then put on her earphones.
The phone was quickly connected, and a cool, pleasant female voice came over.
"Teacher Hiratsuka, what's wrong?"
"Yukinoshita, I have something to entrust you with."
"If you're looking for a boyfriend, I'm sorry to say I'm not much help."
"Who wants to ask you that? It's a matter of school!"
"I see."
When the green light came on, Hiratsuka stepped on the accelerator.
"You're at the apartment now? I'll come over to chat in person."
"I'm not at the apartment. My sister has come back, so I've been at home."
"That's rare. Let's talk about it next Monday."
"Sounds good."
Hiratsuka hung up the phone and sighed in annoyance.
She considered it a precaution, but still hoped that once Iroha woke up, she would take the initiative to call and share what happened to her; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to help.
…
At the housing agency, Utaha and Eriri were excitedly discussing their plans.
The two of them sat together like best friends, quietly listening to the real estate agent introduce various apartments.
Half an hour passed, and the agent took a sip of water and stepped away for the moment.
She had already covered everything necessary, leaving the two guests to discuss and decide whether to go see the apartments.
Glancing at the apartment information on the table, Utaha put them away and then turned to Eriri, asking for her opinion.
"What do you think?"
Eriri folded her arms across her chest and shared her thoughts.
"It's not bad. I feel that all the real estate agencies are pretty much the same."
"There's no need to go from house to house on such a hot day. The top priority is to find a suitable apartment and let Chisato move in as soon as possible."
Utaha chuckled lightly. "You're so impatient; you're too excited."
Eiri's face turned red. "You too!"
"I don't deny it. Moving to a better apartment will make our future activities much more convenient. So let's determine the necessary conditions for the new apartment."
"The environment must be good! The apartment must be upscale enough! The surrounding transportation must be convenient!"
Eriri was the first to mention these three conditions. She didn't think anyone in the world could compare with her feelings for Chisato.
Her proposal to let him live in the most comfortable environment was not only to satisfy her own desires but also out of sincere concern.
Utaha's slender fingers gently tapped the desktop. "Of course, there's no need to state the obvious."
"Tch, you can only pretend to be so relaxed after I say this. Anyway, apart from these points, the rest doesn't matter to me."
"Well, the new apartment for Chisato will be near my home."
"Hey! Don't go too far!"
"You said it doesn't matter."
"I take it back."
"Don't you think it's embarrassing to go back on your word like this?"
"That's better than giving you convenience and letting you get there first!"
Eiri took out her mobile phone, clicked on the map, marked the locations of their two families, then drew a straight line and circled the midpoint.
"Let's find an apartment that meets the standards around here so that none of us suffers."
"Yes, yes, it's up to you."
"Do you have any other ideas?"
"Well, I think that regardless of the size of the new apartment, it must have at least three bedrooms."
After hearing Utaha's words and seeing her slight smile, Eiri suddenly understood.
This was a hint that they planned to stay overnight in the future. If there weren't enough rooms, it would lead to many inconveniences later on.
Although they would eventually wake up in the same bed, there would have to be a process from being reserved to accommodating each other.
Eiri added with a blush, "…And the master bedroom should be a bit bigger."
"Are you talking about a big bed that's more than two meters long and wide?"
"Can you please keep your voice down? It's a little embarrassing."
"You're too sensitive; there's no one else here."
"…Fine, it's up to you."
"Okay, that's all I can think of. Ultimately, the apartment is secondary; the most important thing is the people."
"Writers just sound nice."
"You're not bad either. You're an artist who can pose with your toes over your head on the bed."
"You must provoke me at a time like this, Ms. Kasumigaoka, who always wets the bed."
"…That's not bedwetting."
"That big wet patch is definitely not bedwetting."
"…"
Utaha was so angry she lost her temper. Even she couldn't explain the situation in such a place.
She sighed in relief and wisely chose not to dwell on this topic any further.
"Sorry, we've talked enough."
Utaha stood up and called the previous agent.
"Ah, yes, what do you two need?"
Utaha informed the agent of their discussed requirements.
The agent rubbed her hands together, looking embarrassed.
"It's easy to find a three-bedroom apartment with a good environment, but finding one close to the addresses you two mentioned might be difficult, and the cost-effectiveness won't be high. Why not consider other areas?"
Eriri was about to give a random reason, but Utaha stopped her with a hand.
She spoke directly, "Can't we find the apartment we want?"
"It's not that you can't…"
The real estate agent chuckled.
"I understand; we're in a hurry to use the apartment. If you can help us find a suitable place and arrange a viewing today, money won't be an issue. If not…"
She lifted her hair and stood up to leave.
"I understand, I understand! Give me some time; I'll make arrangements right away!"
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