Full and satisfied.
Aiya Yayoi wiped the table while speaking to Hayato in the kitchen:
"Thank you."
"Mm."
Hayato shook the water off his hands, then put the washed dishes away: "You're welcome, after all, I also ate."
"I wasn't talking about that." Aiya Yayoi said, "Though I should thank you for that too… Aiya Hiroshi never helps with the dishes after he finishes eating."
"He's still a child, after all," Hayato said.
"Pfft."
Yayoi walked in, wiping the dishes with a dry cloth: "You say that as if you're older than him."
He was indeed a bit older.
Hayato thought to himself, but this was a very private matter, and there was no point in saying it out loud.
"But you really are mature, aren't you?" Yayoi said with a smile, "You live alone, right?"
After all, they lived just across the street from each other, and Aiya Yayoi had easily found out that Hayato's parents had died prematurely.
Yayoi was surprised; she had initially thought Hayato's unbridled bad attitude meant he was some spoiled young master, but she hadn't expected such a large gap between reality and fantasy.
Yayoi also apologized for 'slandering' Hayato in her mind and even offered for him to come over for meals anytime.
"Is there a possibility that I'm mature precisely because I live alone?" Hayato asked.
Aiya Yayoi pouted; this guy really didn't blush at all when praising himself.
"So," Hayato asked again, "What exactly did you want to thank me for?"
"For coming to keep Aiwu Guang company." Yayoi looked at Aiwu Guang, who had eaten his meal especially quickly today. After finishing, he had quickly retreated into his room. "I wonder what Aiwu Guang is doing," Aiya Yayoi muttered, but for a high school boy, what else could he be doing cooped up in his room? He was definitely looking at a computer screen.
"Meditating," Hayato said, "And don't phrase it so strangely. I'm not here to keep him company."
It sounded like a zero-sum event.
"Then it's… freeloading?" Sister Yayoi narrowed her eyes, covering her mouth with her wrist, laughing like an old lady: "Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho, and you only rated my cooking as 'average.' Turns out you can't live without it already? You're so contradictory~~ A-Cun~~~"
"No," Hayato flatly denied.
"Then it's…" Yayoi's eyes narrowed even more mischievously: "If it's not Aiwu Guang and it's not the food, then there's only one possibility left. You~~ wouldn't happen to be here for me, the teacher, would you?"
Saying that, she nudged Hayato's shoulder with her elbow: "So that's how it is~~ So you've taken a liking to me, the teacher~~ Now, now, I'm warning you to confess quickly, because I'm still quite popular, you know~~"
Hayato slanted his dark eyes over:
"I like you."
His voice was gentle, yet incredibly resonant, making one's heart tingle. "Please go out with me," Hayato added.
"..." Yayoi stared blankly at Hayato.
The latter wiped the water from his hands onto his apron, then opened a can of beer nearby.
He didn't drink it, but instead twisted off the pull tab, then bowed to Yayoi:
"Ten years… no, eight years from now, please use this pull tab to exchange for a diamond ring with me. I will definitely marry you then."
Yayoi was stunned, then as if waking from a dream, she snatched the pull tab from Hayato's hand.
Then she punched him on the head:
"Don't take an affirmative action when you should be denying it, you brat!"
"Ouch,"
Hayato said. It didn't hurt at all, Aiya Yayoi hadn't put any strength into it.
He rubbed his head.
Yayoi, meanwhile, turned her face away and lightly coughed twice:
"My heart can't take it. If I were still a young girl, I might actually have fallen for your trick. No wonder you have so many female friends; you're too decisive and skilled in your attacks!"
"I'm usually passive," Hayato said.
Hmm… he was just better at counterattacks.
"You mean you're only proactive with me?" Yayoi asked.
"For now, that's the case," Hayato nodded.
Aiya Yayoi turned her head, her eyes smiling: "Then, if that's the case, wouldn't it be a shame if I didn't agree to you."
"Indeed," Hayato nodded very seriously: "Once this village is passed, there won't be this forest."
"Then I," Aiya Yayoi slipped the pull tab onto her finger, then raised her palm to examine it carefully under the fluorescent light.
Her fingers were a beautiful pale green. "I already called myself your girlfriend before, you know."
"So I succeeded in my confession?" Hayato was surprised.
"Heh heh, that's right, I'll consider you successful for now," Yayoi said, hands on her hips and chest puffed out: "After all, you're quite handsome. If I were ten years younger, I would definitely pursue you."
Handsome, good grades, and good at housework—a boy like this would be popular in any era.
Hayato walked up to Yayoi:
"So, should I kiss your forehead first, or go straight for the lips?"
"Shut up!" Yayoi swung another punch, laughing out loud: "Don't you dare take me seriously, you guy!"
But this time, Hayato dodged more quickly. He calmly continued to wash dishes. He sighed, but it was a sigh devoid of emotion: "Looks like a big failure."
"Don't make fun of a woman a full cycle older than you," Yayoi complained, "If I actually believed you, I'd be finished. Our age difference makes it impossible."
"Sigh," Hayato continued his emotionless sighing.
Aiya Yayoi narrowed her eyes. From the previous confrontation, it was clear she was at a disadvantage, so she planned a counterattack.
"Someone of my level could at most be your mistress, right?" she said, "Our age difference means it's destined to be impossible, right?"
"Oh?" Hayato said.
"I'm still young now, at this age, a teacher can still be considered a fresh flower, you know. Hmm, let me think, I can at least be played with until I'm forty~~ After forty, I'll be old and faded, while you'll still be young and strong. You can abandon me then~~ Well, though I feel quite pitiful, at least I'll have had ten years of happiness."
Yayoi walked beside Hayato, then picked up the opened beer can, drank it all, and then, with a mouthful of beer breath, blew it in his face: "Interested?"
Hayato didn't answer the question, but instead looked directly at her, his dark eyes seemingly carrying a faint sincerity.
"No."
"Oh? Not interested? Heh heh, it's too stimulating for you young people, isn't it?"
"I won't abandon you," Hayato said, "Whether you're forty, fifty, or sixty or seventy, I won't abandon you."
"Gulp…"
Facing such eyes, Yayoi unconsciously swallowed, the taste of malt fermentation in her throat.
Then she turned, flung herself against the cupboard, and while pounding the counter, cursed loudly: "Why are you so skilled at saying things like that!!"
"So, shall we go upstairs to bed now?" Hayato asked.
"Shut up, shut up! You really are a little scoundrel!" Yayoi continued to curse.
"Are you still playing?" Hayato raised an eyebrow and asked.
"I can't beat you!" Yayoi gritted her teeth, admitting defeat.
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