By the time he finished showering and returned to the room, Utaha was already seated at the desk, typing away on her laptop.
"Not taking a break?"
Without stopping her fingers on the keyboard, Utaha replied, "Aren't you also not planning to rest, Ichin?"
"I'm just installing some software. Definitely not planning to get any work done today."
Pulling his chair over next to her, Ichin sat down and glanced at her screen. "How much is left of the main storyline?"
"Almost done—about a quarter left."
After finishing a line of text, Utaha paused, stretched lazily, and leaned against Ichin's shoulder. "With your outline to guide me, writing the main plot is a breeze. But for the side quests, aside from the few you gave me… am I really free to do whatever I want?"
Ichin nodded firmly. "Of course. As long as it matches the game's tone, go for it. That said, I'll still review everything. If it doesn't pass, I won't include it."
"Don't worry. If I think it's not good enough, I won't even show it to you," Utaha replied confidently, then continued typing seriously.
"Ichin, I'll keep writing a bit more. If you're tired, go ahead and rest."
Ichin shook his head and rolled his chair back to his own computer. "I'm fine. I need to finish setting everything up on this laptop anyway."
And so the two of them quietly worked side by side for another hour before finally calling it a night.
Lying under the covers, Utaha snuggled close to Ichin, her voice tinged with excitement. "We're really at your house now, huh? In a few days, I'll get to meet the rest of your family."
"What's the big deal? Didn't I already meet yours?"
Ichin gently stroked her silky hair and chuckled softly. "You're not nervous anymore, are you?"
"Still a little, but I think I'll be fine in a couple of days. Oh, right—Auntie said we're going shopping tomorrow. Since we're going out for New Year's Eve dinner, we should buy some new clothes. You're coming too, Ichin. Don't even think about staying home to work. You promised to take it easy, remember?"
"Alright, alright. Let's go shopping."
It had been nearly a year since Ichin last came home, so he was more than happy to use the New Year as an excuse to get out and walk around.
He let out a yawn. Now that he was finally under the warm covers, sleep was starting to catch up with him.
"It's getting late. Time to sleep."
"Mm. Good night, Ichin."
"Good night, Utaha."
Having finally returned home after so long, Ichin slept more soundly than he had in a while, not waking until morning.
At 7 a.m., even without an alarm, Utaha naturally woke up on time.
She lay in bed for a couple of minutes, staring blankly into space before gently slipping out of Ichin's arms and heading to wash up.
As she stepped out of the room, she heard some movement in the kitchen. Curious, she walked over and found Ichin's mother already up.
"Auntie, you're already awake?"
Hearing her voice, Ichin's mom turned around in surprise. "Utaha, you're up too? I'm used to getting up around this time. But what about you? Why not sleep a little longer? Did you not sleep well?"
"No, no, I slept great."
Utaha quickly shook her head and said, "I slept really well last night, and I got enough rest, so I woke up naturally. Auntie, are you making breakfast? Let me help you."
"No, no need. I'm just making some porridge—we'll buy the rest outside," Ichin's mom said as she gently pushed Utaha out of the kitchen. "Go wash up first. If you really want to help, how about coming with me to buy breakfast and groceries later?"
"Sure! I'll wash up first, then."
Nodding cheerfully, Utaha didn't hesitate and went straight to the bathroom to wash up.
Once she was done, she returned to the room and began changing clothes.
The sound woke Ichin, who looked over and saw Utaha getting dressed. "You're up early… heading out?"
As she pulled on her sweater and tidied her long hair, Utaha replied, "Mm, I'm going with Auntie to buy groceries and breakfast. You should sleep a bit more, Ichin."
Ichin didn't say much—he just nodded, rolled over, and decided to get a bit more shut-eye. In the warmth of winter, a cozy bed was especially hard to leave.
After changing, Utaha headed out with Ichin's mom.
Even though it was only a little after 7 a.m., many elderly residents in the neighborhood were already out—some doing morning exercises, some out for breakfast, and some, like them, were out buying groceries.
As they passed by, quite a few aunties greeted them and glanced curiously at Utaha walking beside Ichin's mom.
When they learned that she was the girlfriend Ichin had brought home, everyone showed visible surprise. Those with sons of their own couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy.
Since they all lived in the same residential complex, many of the aunties knew a bit about Ichin—how he was an excellent student, studied abroad on his own, did well for himself, and now had even brought home such a beautiful girlfriend for the New Year.
Once Ichin's mom and Utaha were out of earshot, the gossiping really began. No doubt, it wouldn't take long before the entire neighborhood knew about it.
The market wasn't far from the neighborhood, and since Utaha said she wanted to explore the area a bit, Ichin's mom decided not to drive and took her there on foot.
They walked arm-in-arm like a mother and daughter, chatting along the way.
"I haven't really pried into your relationship," Ichin's mom began, "but when you're together, Ichin hasn't bullied you, has he?"
Utaha smiled and shook her head. "Not at all. Don't worry, Auntie—Ichin treats me very well. He's not the kind of person who would do that. Besides, if he were, my parents, who live right next door to us, would never have approved of our relationship."
"Well, that's true. As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters."
Ichin's mom was becoming more and more satisfied with the girlfriend her son had brought home. Beautiful, polite, excellent in her studies, and already a published light novel author—with her work being prepared for overseas release and even an anime adaptation. There really wasn't much to criticize.
If there was anything she'd call a pity, it would be that the two of them were still a bit young. Otherwise, she might've already started thinking about wedding plans.
But she also knew that today's young people valued their private life and preferred to enjoy their time together. There was no need to rush things. She'd just take it slow—things were already going well enough.
Soon, the two arrived at the market and began buying groceries.
They picked up some vegetables and pork ribs, then stopped by a breakfast shop nearby to get some steamed buns, shumai, and fried dough sticks. That would cover breakfast for the day.
The round trip took about an hour. By the time they got home, both father and son were already up.
Ichin walked over and took the bags from them, setting everything down before turning to Utaha. "Was it cold this morning?"
As he spoke, he placed his hands on her cheeks, which had turned slightly red from the wind, trying to warm them up.
If they were alone, Utaha wouldn't have minded at all—but with both parents watching, especially with Ichin's mom smiling like that, it was impossible not to feel embarrassed.
That said, her body temperature definitely spiked.
...
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