"Don't come any closer! Kasumigaoka knows I live here, and if I disappear, she'll definitely call the police!"
Eriri clutched her chest in panic, staring at Sui as if he were some kind of dangerous pervert.
Sui sighed, exasperated. "I live next door."
"Don't try to fool me! I'm not some naïve high school girl! I've read way more perverted manga than you could imagine! Do you think I wouldn't know that you live next to Kasumigaoka?"
Eriri retorted, still glaring at him with suspicion.
Sui rubbed his forehead and explained patiently, "I've moved. I live in this apartment complex now."
"Really?"
Eriri was still dubious, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Of course." Sui felt helpless. "Do I really look like a creepy pervert?"
"A little bit."
Eriri said bluntly. "All perverts look normal on the surface. Do you think any of them would actually have 'pervert' written on their faces?"
"I'm serious. I live right next door." Sui sighed again and pulled out the key to his apartment.
Only when she saw the key did Eriri finally believe him. It was indeed the same as the one she had for her apartment in this complex.
"Sorry… I've been working on a manga about a stalker kidnapping a high school girl. I got a little carried away. My apologies!"
Eriri's face flushed with embarrassment as she quickly bowed to Sui.
She had been so immersed in brainstorming her plot when she suddenly saw Sui, someone she had met before, standing at her door. It immediately triggered all sorts of alarming scenarios in her mind.
"...It's fine."
Sui said, though he couldn't help feeling a bit awkward hearing a teenage girl casually talk about writing perverted manga.
"Would you like to come in for a bit?"
Eriri offered, trying to recover from the embarrassment.
"If it's not too much trouble."
Sui hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.
The living room was a mess, with manuscripts spread across a small table on the tatami floor, surrounded by empty cans of soda. The room had an overall chaotic look.
Eriri seemed to realize how messy her place was and her face turned a deeper shade of red.
Sui glanced at her. She was dressed in a loose tracksuit and black-framed glasses. Her blonde hair was disheveled like a bird's nest, and her face looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in days. There was even a faint odor suggesting she hadn't showered recently, and the corners of her eyes were crusty with sleep.
It was hard to believe this girl, who looked like she had pulled three all-nighters playing games, was one of the two most beautiful girls at Toyonosaki Academy. With her noble background and stunning appearance, she was practically a goddess in the eyes of countless boys.
Noticing Sui's gaze, Eriri lowered her head even further, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
"But, why are you living here?"
Sui asked, genuinely curious.
"Sometimes it's not convenient to work at home."
Eriri explained.
Her father was a diplomat, and their house often hosted parties with high-profile guests from political and business circles. Drawing H-manga at home was definitely not ideal.
So, she had secretly rented this apartment to use as a studio for her work. She never imagined she'd end up living next door to Sui.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
Eriri suddenly remembered that Sui had knocked on her door earlier.
"Well…"
Sui wasn't about to tell her that the noise she made had disturbed the two dragons next door who were engrossed in watching "Jurassic Park."
"I heard you shouting, so I came over to check."
He said.
"Sorry if I disturbed you."
Eriri looked embarrassed again. "I've been struggling with a creative block."
"So you haven't slept all night?"
Sui asked, noticing her haggard appearance and messy hair.
"Yeah, the deadline's coming up."
Eriri nodded.
Sui picked up one of the manuscripts from the table. It was filled with explicit scenes of bondage, wax play, and whipping, all intricately and skillfully drawn. He couldn't help but silently admire her talent. She really was a veteran artist.
"These are incredible!"
He praised sincerely.
Eriri immediately gave him a disdainful look. "This is nothing. I want to try something even more daring, but I'm stuck. It's so frustrating."
Sui: "..."
He suddenly felt quite pure in comparison to this seasoned artist. For someone who had watched countless porn, it seemed he was still a novice in this area.
At that moment, Eriri's stomach growled loudly. She remembered she hadn't eaten anything all night.
Sui glanced at her, and Eriri blushed, lowering her head in embarrassment.
"Wait here."
He said, recalling that there was still some breakfast leftover.
Back in his apartment, Tohru and Kanna were still glued to the TV, watching "Jurassic Park" with their faces pressed against the screen, occasionally shouting excitedly.
Sui shook his head, speechless, and headed to the kitchen. Fortunately, there was some breakfast leftover. Since there were so many people earlier, he had prepared a lot of food.
After reheating the leftovers, Sui brought a bowl of black pepper beef fried rice and a few spring rolls over to Eriri's apartment.
"If you don't mind, you can have this."
He said.
"Thank you!"
Eriri's eyes lit up. She remembered how delicious Sui's food was from the last time she visited his restaurant.
She had been starving all night and immediately started to eat. The spring rolls were incredibly tasty, with the freshness of the vegetables complementing the meat perfectly. The egg fried rice was just as delicious, with each grain of rice evenly coated with egg. Eriri nearly swallowed her tongue with how good it was.
"This is amazing!"
Eriri exclaimed. She had never tasted such delicious food for breakfast!
"Did you really make this?"
She asked in surprise. She hadn't been back to Sui's restaurant since the last time she ate there, but she felt that today's breakfast was even better than before.
As the daughter of a diplomat, she had attended many high-end banquets and even dined on dishes prepared by national treasure-level chefs. But she felt that none of those could compare to the food prepared by this boy, who was around her age. This made her even more curious about Sui.
After finishing her meal, Eriri touched her stomach and declared excitedly, "I feel so energized now! I can definitely create the best H-manga ever!"
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