As soon as her mother left, Alice couldn't contain her excitement. She tackled Sui onto the soft carpet, exclaiming, "Let's play a game together!"
Sui sighed, exasperated. "Isn't this a bad idea? Your mother is still downstairs."
"What's the big deal?" Alice pouted, clearly unimpressed. "She won't hear a thing!"
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, a mirror of her mother's, Alice slipped her delicate hands under Sui's shirt and began tickling him.
"Oh, so that's how it is?" Sui chuckled, caught between amusement and disbelief. He quickly flipped the situation, pinning her beneath him and launching a tickle attack of his own.
"Ah! Sui, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Hahaha, Sui, you're terrible! Stop, it's too ticklish! Let me go!"
"You little rascal!"
"Wuwu, stop! I admit defeat!" Alice giggled through tears, her cheeks flushed as she tried to wriggle free. Desperate, she suddenly leaned up and bit Sui's shoulder.
Downstairs, Leonora, hearing the ruckus from above, just shook her head with a smile. "Those two are such a handful."
Two hours later, Sui finally emerged from Alice's room.
"I should head back now," he said.
"What? You're leaving already? Can't you stay a little longer?" Leonora said, gently resting a hand on her cheek, clearly disappointed.
"I've got some things to take care of," Sui replied with a grin.
"Well, be sure to come back and visit Alice often," Leo smiled warmly, turning to watch them fondly.
"I'll walk you out!" Alice hurriedly slipped on her shoes and followed Sui outside, her mood still bright.
Leonora watched them leave, unable to suppress a small laugh. "They really are close, aren't they? If only Alice could find such a dependable boy to stay by her side..."
Sui smiled as he said his goodbyes to Alice. She clung to his arm, reluctant to let go. "Promise you'll come hang out with me more often," she said playfully.
"Alright, alright," Sui said, shaking his head, both amused and resigned.
As soon as Sui returned to his apartment, his phone buzzed with a message from Eriri Sawamura.
The text was as outrageous as ever: '"Sui, hurry and ravage me! It's urgent!"'
If anyone else saw the message, they'd definitely think something was amiss between them. But Sui knew all too well—it was just Eriri's quirky way of asking him to help with her role-playing, especially when she was scrambling to meet a deadline.
Playing these ridiculous roles always gave Sui a headache. Eriri was an amazing actress, immersing herself fully into the roles, making it all too real.
Thinking back, he hadn't seen her in a few days, nor had he seen Utaha around recently either. They must have been busy with their own projects during the holidays. After all, this was just a temporary place for them to work.
He headed over to Eriri's apartment next door and knocked. She answered, looking as unkempt as ever—dressed in green sportswear, with messy golden hair cascading down her shoulders and black-framed glasses perched on her nose.
"Quick, come in!" she whispered, glancing around nervously as if they were about to conduct some covert operation.
Sui sighed inwardly. If anyone saw this, they'd definitely think something suspicious was going on.
Once inside, Sui was met with a familiar sight—garbage strewn about, and a stale smell lingering in the air. Despite her polished appearance at school, where she was the dream girl for countless boys, Eriri was a complete slob in private, living the life of a true otaku.
"Hurry up! I can't wait anymore," she said impatiently, already rummaging through her things. "I'm going to change into my costume."
"...Alright," Sui responded, resigned.
…
"Oh, please, ravage me hard! Don't stop!"
"Oh! Don't go easy on me!"
"Mercy, please!"
…
Twenty exhausting minutes later, their role-playing session finally ended. Eriri was drenched in sweat, her snow-white cheeks tinged with a light blush. She panted, wiping the sweat from her brow, and smiled tiredly. "That was tough, but it felt really good."
"Yeah," Sui replied, feeling equally worn out, both physically and mentally.
"I haven't eaten all day... Could you cook something for me?" Eriri asked, looking up at him with pitiful eyes.
"Got it," Sui said, reluctantly standing up to leave the room.
Before returning to his own apartment, he made a quick detour past Utaha's place. It had been over two weeks since he'd last seen his aloof, occasionally sharp-tongued senpai. Despite her tendency to throw out the occasional crude remark, he found himself missing her.
Was she back today?
To his surprise, as he approached the door, the sound of keyboard clacking came from inside. Delighted, Sui casually opened the door.
Sure enough, there was Utaha, seated at her desk, typing away furiously. She wore a casual skirt and her signature black stockings.
Without turning around, Utaha spoke, "Grilled eel rice."
Sui blinked in disbelief. She hadn't even looked his way, yet she knew it was him.
Shaking his head at her uncanny ability, Sui headed back to his apartment and prepared two bowls of steaming grilled eel rice. One he brought to Eriri, and the other he carried over to Utaha's room.
The aroma filled the air, and Utaha opened her mouth, ready to be fed. Sui, now used to the routine, picked up a spoonful of rice and gently placed it into her mouth.
Feeding this senpai of his after so long stirred a strange feeling in Sui. It was like feeding a stray cat—one that wandered off and disappeared for weeks, only to return, meowing softly, rubbing against his legs, and asking for food again.
At that moment, Sui realized that he felt the same way about her reappearance.