Chapter 121: That’s A Good Thing
Sakamoto Ken put the canvas bag aside and picked up the two unwashed bento boxes again.
Lunch was omelet rice with ketchup and gravy inside; if left for a day or two, it would definitely start to stink.
Sakamoto Ken still decided to wash them for her.
There was a kitchen counter and sink on the first floor of the studio, but dish soap and sponges hadn’t been bought yet.
Sakamoto Ken ran to the nearby convenience store and bought dinner for today along with some daily necessities.
Standing in front of the sink, Sakamoto Ken rolled up his sleeves and carefully cleaned the inside and outside of the two bento boxes, then wiped off the water stains with a clean towel, stacked them neatly, and put them back in the insulated bag.
By the time he finished, it was evening, and the light outside the window had dimmed.
Sakamoto Ken sat back down at the drawing table and picked up his pen again.
He still had energy, so he decided to draw one more storyboard draft.
……
At this time, Natsume Mio had finished her afternoon vocal music practice.
She lay on her back on the soft big bed in her room, gently rubbing her slightly sore and swollen cheeks.
Practicing vocalization and breath control required a lot from the facial muscles, and she always felt a bit tired after each session.
She rolled over, lying on her side, and the scene from noon in Sakamoto Ken’s studio involuntarily came to mind again.
That kiss……
It was her initiative, or rather, a sneak attack.
Embracing each other, warm, moist and hot, and A Jian’s breathing.
Although it was just lips touching without going deeper, there was still some liquid exchange.
Natsume Mio stuck out the tip of her tongue and gently licked her lips.
There seemed to be a faint sweet taste still.
A Jian, can you still taste the sweetness?
Natsume Mio started considering whether to make him a bento to bring over tomorrow.
The omelet rice she made today, he seemed to really like it and ate it all.
What to make tomorrow?
Fried chicken nuggets? Or pan-fried hamburger patties? Sigh, I don’t know enough dishes……
Eh? Right!
Natsume Mio seemed to suddenly remember something and sat up abruptly from the bed.
The bento boxes seemed to have been left in Sakamoto Ken’s studio; she forgot to take them back.
And they hadn’t been washed.
If left overnight, they would definitely stink by tomorrow!
Natsume Mio hurriedly grabbed the mobile phone on the bedside and planned to message Sakamoto Ken to ask him to rinse the bento boxes first.
However, just as her fingers touched the screen, an even more terrifying thought struck her instantly!
The cotton socks she changed out of at noon seemed to have been casually left in the canvas bag!
Ah?!
The girl opened her mouth wide, feeling a “buzz” in her head.
She suddenly felt a wave of weakness, her whole body softly collapsing back onto the bed.
Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as her mind began to wander wildly……
Maybe I shouldn’t remind A Jian!
That way, he might not even notice, and at most he’d just wash the bento boxes carefully tomorrow.
If he found out there was a pair of socks in the canvas bag, and they were ones I’d worn……
A Jian is a huge foot fetish pervert!
Then wouldn’t he……
Natsume Mio already had images forming in her mind.
She gulped and clutched the pillow on the bed tightly.
But actually, I mean……
Even if A Jian does what I’m thinking, actually…… that’s a good thing!
It would just prove that he likes me～
The girl looked at her feet; at home she had already taken off her socks, her delicate little toes curling up then spreading out, flexibly wiggling back and forth.
Look, he even likes my worn clothes, so wouldn’t he like the real me even more?
Besides, A Jian hasn’t messaged her even now about seeing her things left behind.
There are only two possibilities.
First, A Jian simply didn’t notice.
Second, he did something weird and needs time to erase the evidence, like washing them clean or something.
Natsume Mio thought the first possibility unlikely, since the canvas bag was so big and placed obviously on the table.
So, it had to be the second situation!
Natsume Mio decided not to contact A Jian, and wouldn’t go to his place tonight either; she’d pretend she hadn’t noticed and give him plenty of time to commit the act.
She’d go to his place tomorrow.
That way she could verify if the guy had done anything.
Even if he’d washed them clean by then, the fact that he covered up the evidence couldn’t be washed away.
She tossed and turned all night without sleeping, constantly thinking about her little white socks left at A Jian’s place.
What would A Jian do to me, no, to my little white socks?
I really want to know.
He’d definitely pick them up and sniff them!
But it’s okay, I wash them very clean every day and apply foot lotion, so even if sweaty, there won’t be any weird smell.
Eh…… but wouldn’t that make him feel disappointed instead?
Probably…… not, right?!
If tomorrow at his place, she took back the bag and found the socks inside just taken out and put back as is.
Not stained with anything weird, not washed clean, wouldn’t that mean……
A Jian disliked them?!
Thinking of this, Natsume Mio suddenly didn’t know which situation was worse……
Her mind racing with wild thoughts, she didn’t know when she fell asleep; the next day when woken by the bell, her head still felt dizzy.
Getting up, she looked in the mirror; there were faint dark circles under her eyes.
There were no extra bento boxes at home, so she couldn’t make lunch for A Jian in the morning.
Still, she had to go to A Jian’s place.
Natsume Mio wore a knee-length pleated skirt today, paired with white mid-calf stockings, in a style somewhat like the school uniform but not so formal; her long-sleeved shirt was accented with a red ribbon.
Since she wasn’t delivering a lunch bento, she set out earlier in the morning.
Now getting to Sakamoto Ken’s place was much faster for Natsume Mio; 20 minutes later, she was already standing on the path in the residential area.
Walking along, she saw the landmark, the red vending machine.
The lock on the door looked like it had been replaced; before it was the door lock left by the landlord, opened with a key, now changed to a fingerprint password smart lock.
At the doorway, Natsume Mio leaned in to listen again.
This time she heard movement, clear footsteps, meaning A Jian was up and on the first floor.
Natsume Mio stepped back, straightened her clothes, rubbed her cheeks, kept a sweet smile, took a deep breath, stared firmly at the room door, and mentally planned how to talk to A Jian later.
And how to respond when A Jian showed a surprised, shy, hesitant, embarrassed expression, to gently tell him she didn’t mind, and even if he liked it, she could……
Just as she was thinking, the footsteps inside suddenly approached.
……
Sakamoto Ken was tidying up manuscripts inside, putting the 《Chainsaw Man》 character design drafts and subsequent storyboards into his bag, preparing to go out.
He saw the newly installed smart door lock react.
The smart door lock had a camera on the outside and a small screen on the inside.
When it detected someone lingering outside, it would display the outdoor view.
After all, the studio had a lot of valuable equipment, and more importantly, manuscripts, so the door lock definitely needed replacing.
In the footage, the familiar girl was nervously standing at the doorway without knocking, lost in thought.
So Sakamoto Ken went straight up and opened the door.
