Tetsuya took another photo and sent it to Misaki, then without waiting for a reply, he picked up the plants and continued up the stairs. He didn't know which apartment the girl lived in, but as he passed by the closed door of 401, he glanced at it and silently prayed that she didn't live there. But then he thought, what difference would it make? This was the city, a place of cold indifference. After living here for over a decade, it was common not to know your neighbors' names or faces; the sounds of chickens and dogs were never heard, and people lived out their lives without ever interacting.
"Tetsuya-bro, did you see her?" Kazuya called out, panting as he rushed upstairs with the last box.
"See what?"
"The loli beauty! Oh man! That school uniform! If she had twin tails, she'd look like she walked right out of a manga! She even looked at me... Ugh... I almost fell off the truck! Didn't you see?!"
"I didn't see!" Tetsuya replied irritably.
"Can I move in with you?"
"Get lost!"
Tetsuya had always looked down on Kazuya's peculiar interests; in his mind, Kazuya was just an immature oddball. He didn't hide his obsession with the two-dimensional world at all—he not only talked about it openly but also used anime girls as desktop wallpapers, changing them regularly. Even more exaggerated, he covered his workspace with posters and displayed a few figurines of beautiful girls on his desk, occasionally talking to them; to Tetsuya, that scene was downright creepy.
Listening to Kazuya rambling behind him about how "similar! So cute!" Tetsuya couldn't help but wonder, *"So this guy is actually interested in real people?"*
…
Amid the noise of his colleagues, Tetsuya directed everyone to place the recently moved old items in the northern room. In this two-bedroom apartment, this particular room had remained empty after renovation, serving as a temporary storage area. Aside from this room, the other spaces were filled with brand new furniture radiating a festive atmosphere.
"—Tetsuya! Where should this go?"
"—Tetsuya-bro, can we stack this box?"
"—Hey! Who's throwing stuff around? There are still people here!"
"—Everyone in the front, get out of the way! Watch my old man's cart!—Whoosh—Watch out—Help—Help!"
"—Hahaha—How did the old man's cart turn into a lotus position?"
"—Tetsuya-bro! What's in this box? Why is it all broken? Listen to that sound... (crash crash crash)"
Tetsuya was sweating profusely as he coordinated everyone in stacking items, not bothering to check whether they were whole or broken, loose or packed. In the end, he finally organized the temporary storage room neatly, as if playing a real-life version of Tetris.
He had completely lost the courage to unpack and sort through things, deciding to leave that "unearthing the dead" task to his wife Misaki.
...
"Tetsuya, Shu-san wants to throw you a singles party. He's willing to host and wants to know when our group is available."
Tetsuya was busy moving drinks out of the refrigerator when he turned around and saw everyone slumped on the living room sofa, Hitoshi shaking his phone at him.
To show camaraderie, the group continued the tradition from all university dorms, seating the members based on the order they joined the company, and among those who started on the same day, they arranged by age. Tetsuya, as the current group leader, ranked number five.
If a member leaves or transfers, the seating and titles of others remain unchanged. So now the group had reached Kazuya, but there was already no "old man" and "third." From this perspective, the group members were quite stable.
"A singles party? Our group?" The others exchanged glances and then began to whisper among themselves.
"No need, I've been single for many years—" Tetsuya replied irritably, then suddenly shouted, "Quick—someone come help…"
Everyone turned to see Tetsuya struggling to carry a dozen bottles of drinks towards the kitchen door, about to tip over... Ryosuke and Kazuya hurried over to help.
After Tetsuya had distributed the drinks, he noticed a disappointed expression had spread across the faces of several people.
"Thanks for your hard work, everyone! When Misaki comes back, let's all go out for barbecue—"
"Hey, Tetsuya! Listen to Shu-san's reply!" Hitoshi suddenly straightened up, interrupting Tetsuya as he stared at his phone and continued to read, "Tetsuya and Misaki's wedding is a big deal for our company; it must be done properly, with a full ceremony, and absolutely no shortcuts. As long as Tetsuya isn't married, he's considered single. To give Tetsuya's single life a perfect closure, to ensure he has no regrets, and to step into married life with the best wishes from all the worms, this singles party is a must!"
Seeing everyone nodding and a few even laughing, it seemed they had caught a different essence from what was said.
"Are they trying to stir up trouble?"
"They've got bad intentions!"
"Come on, who's afraid of who? Our group can't be scared of them!"
"Exactly… Tetsuya, we absolutely cannot back down."
Tetsuya pulled up a chair and sat down with the six of them.
"Still single? I already have a marriage certificate; that counts as being married, right?" Tetsuya said, looking around. Seeing that no one reacted, his tone unconsciously lowered a half-step, "Right?"
"No way! Not at all!" the six replied in unison.
"Since everyone is so in agreement, let's set next Saturday for Tetsuya's party. If there are no objections, let's applaud to pass it!" As soon as Hitoshi finished speaking, a round of applause erupted.
…
"Hey, should we change how we address him? Calling him 'Tetsuya' doesn't seem appropriate anymore. It's his wedding night; calling him 'Tetsuya' feels like an insult," Hitoshi said after sending a message, tossing his phone aside.
"Why? Even if he's married, doesn't he still look like Tetsuya?" the newcomer Kazuya asked in confusion.
"You, who only watch cartoons, know nothing. You think it's just because of his appearance?" Hitoshi said disdainfully.
"So what else could it be? Is there a story?"
Ryosuke leaned over to Kazuya's ear and began to whisper quickly, and Tetsuya, even if he wanted to interrupt, couldn't possibly stop it—moreover, he hadn't planned on stopping it at all.