“Now, I understand why he hasn’t come home yet until now.” Rui let out a long sigh when she thought about Natsuo.

“He hasn’t come back until now?” Shishio asked curiously.

Rui nodded and said, “I had heard from Uncle Akihito that he stayed at his friend’s house. His name should be Fumiya or something.” She had been feeling weird at why Natsuo hadn’t come back for a while. Even though her relationship with Natsuo wasn’t that close and quite distant, they were still step-siblings, so even if it was just appearance, she hoped they could maintain a good relationship in front of their parents since she knew how hard her mother had been after her divorce.

Rui didn’t want her mother to feel sad about anything, which was why she was quite worried about how this matter would end.

“What should I do?” Rui murmured.

If Rui didn’t know the reason why Natsuo decided to leave, she wouldn’t say anything and just let him, but that reason was her.

As for Shishio, Rui didn’t want to trouble him with her matter.

However, Shishio was going to help her.

“Shishio?”

Rui looked at Shishio, who held her hand.

“Calm down. We’re lovers, so what’s so weird about what we’re doing?” Shishio asked.

“….”

Rui was in silence and thought Shishio was right.

They were lovers, so what was wrong with having sex?

Well, if there was something wrong, it should be the place.

But who would expect Natsuo to eavesdrop on what they were doing?

While Rui wanted to fix the relationship between their families, she also felt slightly disgusted toward Natsuo for eavesdropping, but at the same time, she looked at Shishio and asked, “If you know, he has been listening to us, why don’t you tell me anything?”

Rui looked at Shishio with some troubled expressions. She didn’t really feel angry, but she wanted to know why this guy didn’t say anything when he noticed Natsuo was right outside her room.

“I have told you, but you didn’t listen to me.” Shishio let out a sigh and said, “Also, who was so wild at that time? You were sick before, and you should be quiet, but who would expect you to be so wild before…”

“Th-That was also your fault!” If this guy wasn’t so good, Rui wouldn’t need to cry so loudly and even ignore his reminder. Also, it had been a while since she had sex with him, so she just couldn’t help it since it felt so good.

Rui also had a good sleep after they did it, and the next day, her health returned to normal. However, her parents didn’t let her go to school yesterday, so she could only come today. She should be happy right now, especially after they had confirmed their relationship, but her feelings became depressed when she heard her step-siblings had eavesdropped on what they were doing.

Her mother might have talked to her and asked whether she had sex with Shishio. While she was shy, she acknowledged it and didn’t hide it since that was the fact, and she didn’t want to lie to her mother.

Her mother also understood and didn’t stop Rui from having sex during high school or before marriage wasn’t something taboo in this country, and she just reminded her to always wear protection and told Shishio to revisit their house since she needed to remind him.

However, Rui forgot to mention this matter since what was important was what she should do with Natsuo?

“Okay, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is. What matters right now is what should we do to handle this matter?”

Rui nodded and knew that this wasn’t a time to blame each other since they needed to find a solution to solve this problem. She looked at Shishio and asked, “Have you found a solution?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?” Rui was dumbfounded.

“Of course.”

“How?”

“Just pretend nothing has happened,” Shishio said.

“…What?” Rui became even dumbfounded since she had never expected this solution. She thought there would be an argument or fight, but should she just stay silent, pretending nothing had happened?

“I can see that you’re confused.

“Of course.” Rui nodded and said, “I don’t understand why we should pretend nothing has happened.”

“Then, do you want to tell him that you know him listening to us?” Shishio asked.

“….”

Rui shut her mouth and couldn’t say anything since there was no way she could do that!

Rui thought Shishio was right, and it was better not to say anything and pretend nothing had happened. “Then, what should we do with Natsuo?”

“What do you want to do?” Shishio asked.

“What do I want to do?” Rui was confused.

“If you just want a normal family, there’s no need for you to do anything. His father will probably tell him to go home since there’s no way he can stay in his friend’s home all the time. He’s a minor, after all. Unless he stays in the dorm or apartment alone, he still needs to return. Once he comes back, there’s no need for you to do anything and just act how you usually do with him.”

“Is that simple?” Rui felt that she was stupid for thinking too much.

“It’s that simple.” Shishio nodded, but then his expression became hesitant. “Unless…”

“Unless?”

“Unless he said nothing about us.” Shishio looked at Rui and said, “However, there’s a chance he might talk with you and say that he had listened to us.”

“….” Rui’s expression became weird, strange, and uncomfortable when she thought of such a possibility. “Why?” She felt it was better for Natsuo to turn silent, pretending nothing happened, but why should Natsuo do something that would cause something awkward between them?

“Well, if I have to say, it might be because of my reputation,” Shishio said.

“…That’s true.”

“Can you at least deny me?” Shishio was speechless.

“No, I feel what you have said is true since you’re a scumbag, and Natsuo might come to talk to me, telling me to stop dating you since you’re not a good guy.” Rui felt it was reasonable and felt it was something normal to do since she also knew how strange her relationship with Shishio was.

Rui knew this guy was a scumbag, but even so, she still wanted to be with him, and she was happy with him.

However, what about the eyes of others?

What would they think if they knew she dated someone who had many girlfriends?

Of course, they couldn’t accept it and denied her relationship.

“That’s true.” Shishio nodded, but before he was going to say something, Rui said, “But I chose you. Not someone else, but you. I know you’re a scumbag, and you can’t be mine alone, but I want to be with you, so no matter what people say about us, I want us to be together.”

“………..”

Shishio looked at Rui and kissed her forehead gently. “Thanks.”

Rui was shy and blushed as she lay on his chest.

“So let’s pretend nothing has happened, but if Natsuo-senpai comes and tells you, please tell me. I’ll talk to him too,” Shishio said.

“Okay.” Rui obediently accepted his plan since she also felt it was troublesome to talk with Natsuo, so it was better to pretend nothing happened. However, if Natsuo talked to her, then depending on their conversation, she could handle it herself or talk to Shishio first.

Still, Rui also knew Natsuo was a family right now, so even though she felt slightly uncomfortable, she needed to explain everything.

However, Rui felt it was better to talk with her parents since as long as her parents accepted it, then even if Natsuo couldn’t accept, it had nothing to do with her.

‘But can they accept it?’

Rui wasn’t sure whether her parents could accept her relationship with Shishio, but for now, she just wanted to be with him and enjoy their time together.

They continued to talk to each other and made an appointment to meet at his normal apartment on Friday since Shishio had something to do today.

“Okay.”

Rui reluctantly sighed, but it couldn’t be helped. However, when she received a key from his hand, she was surprised and asked, “This is?”

“It’s the key to my apartment. I might be late, but if you want, you can vi–”

“I will visit it today,” Rui said without hesitation.

“…Is that okay? What about your parents and Hina-chan-sensei?” Shishio asked, wondering whether it was alright for Rui to go back late.

“It’s okay. You should know how dark the company in this country is. As for Hina-nee, she should go back quite late because of work too,” Rui said.

“…….”

Shishio couldn’t say anything since he knew Rui was right.

In this country, when one had become an adult, their work was their everything. They had limited time with their families and spent most of their time at work. Even if their work ended, they would spend their time with their co-workers, superiors, or clients.

It wouldn’t be weird to call their company their houses.

“Okay, the address is…”

Listening to his address, Rui said, “Do you want me to cook something for you?”

“Is that okay?”

“Sure.” Rui smiled and said, “I’ll wait for you back at home.” She kissed him before she left briskly.

Shishio could only smile at Rui before returning to the Service Club since he left his bag there. Still, he was surprised when he knew that someone was still there. After all, his talk with Rui took a lot of time, it was quite late, and the Service Club had ended already. However, Yukino**a was still there, reading her book quietly.

“Senpai, why are you still here?”

“You’re late.” Yukino**a stared at Shishio with her blank expression and said, “If you’re curious why I am here, you don’t need to get narcissist. I am not here to wait for you. Instead, I am worried someone might steal your bag, so I wait until you come back, so don’t misunderstand.”

“…….”

Shishio didn’t ask for such a detailed reason, but he must admit Yukino**a was cute!

“Thank you, Senpai. If you don’t mind, how about I treat you to ramen as thanks for waiting for my bag?” Shishio asked.

“……”

Yukino**a was in silence for a moment, looking at her book, without looking at him.

There were no words between them.

Shishio didn’t say anything since he waited for Yukino**a, and as expected, she closed her book and let out a long sigh. “I am not in the mood for something spicy or weird.”

“Don’t worry. This will be something delicious.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Yukino**a looked at Shishio, who showed a happy smile and let out a sigh again. Her mood was at its worst before, but hearing his invitation, that feeling disappeared. She wondered whether she was such a simple girl.

“Senpai?”

“Nothing, come on. It’ll be dark soon.”

“Okay, okay. Don’t be in a hurry.”

The two walked together next to each other.

While Shishio joked and talked about many things, Yukino**a gave one or two responses, but even so, they enjoyed their time together.

They were satisfied with their current relationship, but was it wrong to ask something more?

Neither of them had the answer to this question now, and for now, it was better to enjoy the delicious ramen they were about to devour.