Chapter 13: Endure It, Kitahara-kun

In this silent late night, the wind howled outside, and raindrops, carried by the fierce wind, constantly beat against the window, making a crackling sound.

Yet the two people inside the room remained unaffected, both focused on the work in their hands.

The man bent over his desk, writing furiously.

The woman cleaned the room, methodically and without haste.

The two were like a couple who had lived together for many years, tacitly not disturbing each other, both working hard for this household.

After a long while, as Hayami Rina moved through every corner of the house, the place gradually became tidy.

The floor was spotless, the clutter was organized and put away, and even the bedding was re-laid neatly.

Hayami Rina finally stopped. Looking at the cleaned room, a proud smile appeared on her face—she felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her arm, she was about to go wash the dirty clothes. Once that task was done, her work for the day would be finished, and she could go back to rest.

At that moment, she glanced at Kitahara Chiki at the desk and noticed that this outstanding young man was writing earnestly.

Hayami Rina noticed Kitahara’s eyes were fixed intently on the manuscript paper before him, as if it bore countless wonderful stories waiting for him to depict and bring to life.

Sometimes his brows furrowed slightly as he fell into thought; sometimes he smiled faintly as his pen tip swiftly swept across the paper.

He was so focused, so outstanding.

For a moment, Hayami Rina’s heartstrings were stirred—"If only he were my husband!"

At this moment, in such an atmosphere, Hayami Rina had this thought that even she herself found somewhat laughable.

What an unrealistic wish!

Leaning against the wall at the corner, she gazed somewhat absentmindedly at Kitahara not far away.

He was a young man of exceptional talent, a prodigy whose abilities surpassed most people’s.

Although she didn’t know how much he earned, from the ingredients he had bought these past two days and the bits of information revealed in his occasional words, it wasn’t hard to judge.

His manuscript income must be quite good—perhaps far beyond her imagination.

After all, the profession of a writer was still somewhat mysterious, not easily encountered in daily life, and their salary income wasn’t easy to inquire about.

But being willing to spend tens of thousands of yen on a single meal meant his monthly income was at least over a million yen.

That already placed him among the high-income bracket.

Moreover, it might be even more than that!

Thinking of this, Hayami Rina didn’t feel excited—instead, her mood sank even lower.

The more Kitahara-kun earned, the more it proved his extraordinary ability, and the smaller the chance he would choose her—virtually zero, one could say.

There was just one thing that puzzled her: what was the reason behind Kitahara-kun’s unusual behavior these past two days?

He spent so much money buying expensive ingredients, letting her and her daughter enjoy them together with him—it was truly hard to understand.

No one would be so generous for no reason, right?

Or, was it really as he said—he was just afraid of being lonely and wanted to feel the atmosphere of a home?

Doubt piled upon doubt in Hayami Rina’s heart, making her brows knit tightly. After a moment, she couldn’t help but boldly speculate again:

Or perhaps... he has feelings for me?

After all, tonight at the dinner table, he said he wanted to find a woman like me.

If that were really the case, what should I do?

...

Kitahara Chiki really felt tired. His eyes were somewhat blurry, and perhaps because he had been sitting too long, his lower back was so sore he could barely stand it.

Persisting until he finished writing a section of the plot, he put down his pen, rubbed his eyes, then stood up and began massaging his lower back.

The body left behind by the original owner still hadn’t fully recovered. Today’s long hours of desk writing had been somewhat overloaded.

It seemed he would need to be careful about this in the future—his body still needed time to recuperate and couldn’t be overexerted for now.

Just now, he had forced himself into a writing state, and as he gradually got into the groove, he slowly became immersed in it, especially when he reached a minor climax.

Three beautiful girls first entering the goblin cave. The cave interior was interconnected in all directions. The girl Kaoru temporarily got separated from her two teammates and was discovered by a group of goblins.

This was the first chaotic scene in the entire book, and Kitahara Chiki had written it with great excitement—until his back hurt so much he couldn’t bear it, which pulled him back to reality.

"Damn it, this body is limiting my output! Otherwise, I’d definitely pull an all-nighter tonight—writing feels so good!"

Muttering to himself, Kitahara massaged his lower back muscles while looking for Hayami Rina.

He had been so absorbed just now that he’d neglected the fact that the neighbor lady was still here. He didn’t know if she had left yet.

Turning around, Kitahara immediately noticed Hayami Rina, half her body peeking out from the corner.

She was looking this way, but seemed to have spaced out, standing motionless in a daze.

"Rina-nee, Rina-nee~"

Kitahara Chiki called out twice, snapping Hayami Rina back to her senses.

"Oh, Kitahara-kun, weren’t you writing? What’s wrong with me—was I spacing out?" Hayami Rina said after coming back to herself.

"No more writing. My back hurts a bit—that’s it for tonight. Rina-nee must be tired. It’s already very late, hurry home and rest!"

"Back pain? Kitahara-kun, there’s no rush to rest. Would you like me to give you a massage? I learned a little before—I know a bit about massage."

"Then, I’ll trouble Rina-nee!"ℯℯ𝑙.