Chapter 602

~6 min read 1,170 words

Before preparing to leave.

Classmate Tengyuan Kui suddenly remembered something, turned around, and reminded with a smile of sharing joy:

"By the way, Ruri-chan, I forgot to tell you a piece of good news."

"Now your brother and I, our hourly wage at the coffee shop has been raised to 1200 yen."

Natsume Ruri's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this, and she said in surprise:

"Eh?! Directly from 800 yen to 1200?"

"Brother, is this true?"

Natsume Chikage nodded and confirmed:

"Mm, true."

"Business in the store has been good recently, so the headquarters adjusted the wages for our store."

Natsume Ruri was incredibly happy:

"That's great!"

"This way our income can be a bit more, and next time we pay rent, we won't have to calculate it so tightly!"

Kaga Reisa listened quietly and was also happy for the two; she bowed slightly, her shyness mixed with sincerity:

"Congratulations, Brother Natsume... and Classmate Tengyuan."

Classmate Tengyuan Kui originally wanted to respond with a smile, "Thank you," but her gaze inadvertently swept over Kaga Reisa's figure, which was still curvaceous under her school uniform.

Especially when the other party moved slightly, the overly eye-catching undulations made Classmate Tengyuan Kui's words instantly stuck in her throat.

She pouted and shifted her gaze unnaturally.

"Thank you..."

Natsume Chikage asked:

"Ruri, are you okay alone at home? I'll send them back first."

"Mm-hmm, Brother, be careful on the road."

Soon.

After sending Classmate Tengyuan Kui and Kaga Reisa off and watching them enter the apartment, Natsume Chikage returned home alone.

He finished washing up simply and walked toward the room to prepare to make the bed.

It was already close to eleven o'clock at night, and he had to go to school tomorrow, so he had to rest early.

"Brother, I've already made the bed."

"Okay, I'm turning off the lights."

Natsume Chikage was about to reach out to press the switch when his sister's voice sounded again.

"Brother, wait a moment."

He stopped his action and turned to look.

Natsume Ruri was still kneeling beside her bed, with no sleepiness on her face, but instead carrying a hint of excitement and faint unease.

"What's wrong?"

Natsume Ruri raised her face and asked in a low voice in the dim light:

"Brother... do you think the manga Reisa-chan and I are drawing really has a chance to pass the editor's review and be successfully serialized?"

Natsume Chikage walked to her side, squatted down, and answered gently and affirmatively:

"As long as you persist and keep improving, you definitely can."

Having received her brother's encouragement, a relieved smile instantly bloomed on Natsume Ruri's face, and she nodded vigorously.

"Mm!"

"Once Ruri can also earn money from manga, I can truly help Brother share the pressure!"

Natsume Chikage's heart warmed, and he reached out to rub her fine, soft hair.

"Okay, I'll be waiting."

Click—

With a soft sound, the room fell into darkness and silence.

Natsume Ruri crawled into the quilt contentedly, and soon the sound of even breathing came.

Natsume Chikage also lay down on his bed but didn't fall asleep immediately.

He took out his phone, and the light from the screen illuminated his face in the darkness.

LINE showed a few unread messages, coming from Furukawa Masahiro, Akita Sana, and Tsukishima Rin respectively.

He first clicked on the earliest one, from Furukawa Masahiro, sent around nine o'clock in the evening.

【Furukawa Masahiro: Natsume-kun, when is it convenient to come and guide Saio in chess again in the next few days?】

Natsume Chikage was not repulsed by going to the Furukawa house to play chess; after all, the remuneration was quite generous, with an hourly wage as high as 5000 yen.

Even with the raise at the coffee shop now, it was far from reaching that.

He thought for a moment and typed a reply.

【Natsume Chikage: It seems I have to work on weekdays this week. However, there is a shogi tournament on Thursday (the 18th) morning, and I am free from after the tournament until five o'clock in the afternoon. If it's convenient for you, how about we set it for that day?】

After the message was sent, he didn't receive a reply immediately.

Thinking that the other party should have already rested.

Natsume Chikage wasn't in a hurry and exited the chat interface.

Next, he clicked on the message Akita Sana sent after eight o'clock.

【Akita Sana: o(*￣▽￣*)ブ Good evening, Natsume-kun.】

【Natsume Chikage: Good evening. Is something the matter?】

The message was replied to almost instantly.

【Akita Sana: Na-na, Natsume-kun, I heard you solved two of the school's "Seven Mysteries"? Is it true?】

【Natsume Chikage: True.】

【Akita Sana:? (? >?

【Natsume Chikage: However, how did you know?】

【Akita Sana: Someone posted a thread on the school forum, and the discussion is quite high right now.】

【Natsume Chikage: School forum... I rarely look at it.】

【Akita Sana: Speaking of which, do you know who the person who posted the thread is?】

【Natsume Chikage: I don't know. And the post is anonymous, right?】

【Akita Sana: It is anonymous, yes... aren't you curious?】

【Natsume Chikage: A little curious, but there's no point in going out of my way to find out; they might just be ordinary gossipers.】

【Akita Sana: That's true too. Ah, right, right! I remember you are participating in a shogi tournament the day after tomorrow, right? Please definitely work hard! I will be cheering for you in my heart!】

【Natsume Chikage: Thank you, I will give it my all.】

【Akita Sana: ヾ(￣▽￣) Then I won't disturb you anymore, it's getting late, good night!】

【Natsume Chikage: Good night.】

Ending the conversation with Akita Sana, Natsume Chikage clicked on the last message, from Tsukishima Rin, sent after ten o'clock.

【Tsukishima Rin: Good evening, Natsume-kun.】

【Natsume Chikage: Good evening, Senior Tsukishima. Is there something you need me for?】