I, a tired salaryman, start living together with a beautiful high school girl whom I met again for the first time in seven years Short Story

The residential streets at night were quiet, as if the major incident earlier had never happened.

With the trouble behind us, Aoi and I were finally alone. Free from the tension, I let out a relieved sigh.

“Whew... That was a close one.”

I spoke to Aoi, who was walking beside me. Since she was coming home from cram school, she was still in her uniform.

“Yeah. I never expected Kurata-san to suspect that we were a ‘cohabiting couple.’”

“Right? I seriously panicked...”

Maki Kurata. She was Aoi’s friend from cram school and apparently served as the disciplinary committee chair at her school. It was my first time meeting her, but just as Aoi had described, she seemed extremely serious.

There was a reason I had run into her.

As usual, I had gone to pick Aoi up right when her cram school class ended. Not realizing that Kurata-san was there, I had casually called out to Aoi.

Kurata-san glanced between Aoi and me, her face turning bright red as she exclaimed things like, “You’re dating an adult man?!” and “Don’t tell me you’re living together?! How indecent!”

It was a close call, but somehow, we managed to convince her that I was Aoi’s older brother.

Aoi pouted as she looked at me.

“This is your fault, Yuya-kun. You said, ‘Let’s hurry home and eat dinner’ right in front of Kurata-san. No wonder she thought we were living together.”

“Well, you asked me, ‘What’s for dinner tonight?’ That sounds like something a cohabiting couple would say too.”

“T-That’s because... I always look forward to the meals you cook.”

“And I enjoy sitting at the table and eating with you, so I just...”

“O-Oh, I see...”

Both of us fell silent, fidgeting awkwardly.

Wait, something was off. Weren’t we just arguing? How did the mood suddenly turn sweet?

“A-Anyway, let’s just be more careful next time.”

“No, Yuya-kun. That won’t solve anything.”

I tried to wrap up the conversation, but Aoi wasn’t satisfied.

“What do you mean by ‘solve’?”

“I’ve decided to refrain from flirting and being affectionate with you.”

“Huh?!”

Was Aoi, the biggest cuddlebug ever, seriously declaring a no-flirting rule?

“Calm down, Aoi. That’s a ridiculous idea.”

“I know. Taking that away from me is like forcing a fish to live on land.”

“That’s a life-or-death situation!!”

Now I was even more worried!

“Aoi, you really shouldn’t push yourself too hard—”

“I’ll be fine. Believe it or not, I have a lot of self-control.”

She said that with a smug look on her face.

...If Aoi couldn’t get her usual dose of affection, she’d definitely be stressed out. That could affect not just her studies but her entire daily life.

I really needed to stop her, but she seemed determined. This was a problem.

“And it’s not just me. You have to be careful too, Yuya-kun.”

“Wait... Oh, right. That means I have to stop too.”

“Of course. Let’s figure out a way to avoid flirting together.”

Was that even possible? We were practically glued to each other every day. No way we could just stop now.

“Hmm... The only surefire way would be to eliminate situations where we might flirt. Like, maybe I should stop picking you up from cram school.”

“...What?”

“But then, we’d have less time together, so that idea’s no good...”

“No way.”

Aoi softly tugged on my sleeve, like a child clinging to a parent.

She looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“I don’t want to spend less time with you, Yuya-kun.”

“Aoi...?”

“I’ll do my best to hold back. So please, keep picking me up... Okay?”

That didn’t take long—she was already flirting again!

Honestly... She didn’t have to force herself in front of me.

She’d just end up stressing herself out.

Guess I had no choice but to meet her halfway.

I reached out and gently patted Aoi’s head.

“Just being around you isn’t enough for me.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t cuddle up to me, I won’t have any energy. When you’re affectionate, I feel motivated to work and do house chores... Is that not okay?”

“Yuya-kun... O-Oh, fine. I guess I’ll cooperate for the sake of my needy, clingy boyfriend.”

She spoke as if she were indulging me, but her face was already breaking into a smile.

She was so adorable when she wasn’t being honest... Not that I’d say that out loud. That

would just sound like I was bragging.

I gently took her hand in mine.

Under the moonlight, Aoi smiled softly.

“...Honestly, Yuya-kun, you always do this.”

“Do what?”

“You always understand how I feel... Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Really...?”

I wasn’t sure what she meant.

But looking at her blushing cheeks, I had a pretty good idea.

She was probably about to say something sweet again.

“Hehe. Aoi, you’re already melting.”

“Wha—?! I am NOT! Idiot.”

She lightly bumped her head against my shoulder.

She was terrible at hiding her embarrassment.

Hand in hand, we slowly walked home together.

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ToC 

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T/N: Sorry for the late, I had forgotten about there being a short story for this volume. 

This concludes the Volume 4 and if volume 5 comes I will be there to translate it.