A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

As for the future...

Let's wait until she receives the clothes.

Chapter 11: At least it’s still a safe line now

When Chihaya Tetsuya was still talking with Sankaku Hatsuka in the product room, the atmosphere in the office was extremely awkward.

Hoshino Ai, who occupied Chihaya Tetsuya's seat, had no intention of leaving, and Toyokawa Shoko had no idea what common topics she could have with this lawless nympho.

It's better to say that we should be thankful that the two of them didn't quarrel here...

(But then again... she's much more honest than I thought.)

Looking at the guy who was staring at Chihaya Tetsuya's workbench in a daze, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

She had thought that this guy would rummage through Chihaya Tetsuya's personal belongings without any scruples and then take them away on his own initiative. Unexpectedly, she just sat there quietly. Not to mention rummaging through things, she didn't even have the curiosity to check those sewing supplies...

Just when Toyokawa Shoko was still lamenting that Hoshino Ai's logic of action was very unpredictable, Hoshino Ai suddenly said:

"Hey, Toyokawa Shoko."

"……What's wrong?"

"Where are Zhe's gloves? Aren't they here?"

"?Gloves?"

This sudden appearance of the term made Toyokawa Shoko look extremely confused.

"What gloves?"

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko's question, Hoshino Ai's expression also showed a hint of confusion.

"...Huh? Zhe doesn't wear gloves when doing handicrafts anymore?"

"So you're talking about work gloves?"

Toyokawa Shoko nodded belatedly, then replied:

"Chihaya-san only wears gloves when handling slippery fabrics like silk to increase friction, but he rarely wears them on other days."

"That's it..."

Hoshino Ai nodded a little blankly.

"Zhe has become so strong that he's not afraid of stitches anymore..."

"…Afraid of stitches?"

Another unfamiliar concept that suddenly popped up.

"Chihaya-san, have you ever been afraid of stitches?"

"kindness."

As Hoshino Ai spoke, she shifted her gaze to the sewing machine on the workbench.

"When he was in the orphanage, he saw someone's hand pierced by a sewing machine, so he wore gloves while working for a long time."

"Eh……"

Although his tone was extremely calm, the scene he described still caused a moment of astonishment to appear on Toyokawa Shoko's face.

Because she had also used a sewing machine, the horrific scene described by Hoshino Ai was not so difficult for her to imagine. In addition, Chihaya Tetsu also witnessed this scene when she was in an orphanage...that is, as a child, which made her feel an indelible sympathy and pity.

"Not to mention being afraid of stitches, it wouldn't be surprising if it left a lifelong psychological scar..."

"Even so, for the children in the orphanage, if they don't work, they won't have anything to eat."

Hoshino Ai said expressionlessly:

"So in order to survive, even if I'm scared, I still have to keep doing it."

"..."

Just like Chihaya Tetsuya never took the initiative to explore her past, she rarely took the initiative to ask about Chihaya Tetsuya's past.

As companions who have had complicated experiences since childhood, the two always tacitly maintain a safe position that will not touch each other's scars.

However, when she actually heard about Chihaya Tetsuya's past, she suddenly realized that perhaps everything Chihaya Tetsuya had experienced was far more painful than her...

"Since you and Chihaya-nii both came from the same orphanage... does that mean you also did handicrafts like Chihaya-nii?"

"No."

Unexpectedly, Hoshino Ai shook her head.

"Because I'm really too stupid to do this kind of thing, and Zhe always helps me finish my part to prevent me from being beaten and scolded by the adults in the orphanage."

"...So Chihaya-nii has been so caring since then."

Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but sigh.

But it was probably because of this reason that Hoshino Ai fell deeply in love with Chihaya Tetsuya at that age...

“That’s the hardest part.”

However, to Shoko Toyokawa's surprise, after hearing her sigh, Hoshino Ai's eyes suddenly became dull.

"For Zhe, my existence may indeed be important, but it is by no means necessary. I have always been the one-sided recipient of his care, while I have been unable to do anything for him..."

Having said this, she immediately looked up at Toyokawa Shoko:

"Do you know why I dislike you and Chihaya Aine? It's because of this. Chihaya Aine, who also only accepted the favor unilaterally, easily took my place just because I was lucky enough to become her family. And what I have always been unable to do, you have done with ease. Honestly, this makes me very unhappy."

"That's really unreasonable..."

Although the reason for the hostility was simply because of Hoshino Ai's self-talk, for Toyokawa Shoko, this reason was not so difficult to understand.

Even though she has provided some help to Chihaya Tetsuya's work, she still feels that she owes Chihaya Tetsuya something. Not to mention Hoshino Ai, who has always been just being taken care of.

……

"Speaking of which... the reason you didn't follow through that day wasn't just because of us, right?"

Suddenly, Toyokawa Shoko said:

"Even though no one else noticed, I actually saw a little bit more clearly that day... If you are really determined to do this, neither we nor Chihaya-nii will be able to stop you."

She raised her head and looked at Hoshino Ai's eyes that seemed to be shining with stars.

"Although you're worried about losing Chihaya-san, you don't want to destroy his ideals with your own hands, right? Otherwise, you'd have so many opportunities to take action, there's no need to set a deadline for the May Live."

"Oh, who knows?"

In response to Toyokawa Shoko's words, Hoshino Ai just chuckled.

"I only know that if you had shown up a little later that day, I would have devoured him without hesitation. And...if he hadn't offered me a possibility that would have reassured me before the May Live, I would have still announced our relationship during the Live."

“…I really don’t understand you.”

Both the "possibility" she mentioned and the many contradictory thoughts she had about Chihaya Tetsuya made Toyokawa Shoko find it very difficult to understand.

But no matter what, looking at her current state, at least for the time being, there is no need to worry about her launching her "self-destruction" plan prematurely...

"Come to think of it, you and Sanjiao Chuhua seem to be childhood sweethearts?"

On the other side, Hoshino Ai seemed to have suddenly thought of something:

"Do you know what type of man she likes?"

"How could I possibly know?!"

Faced with such a rude question, Toyokawa Shoko replied unhappily:

"Don't always treat other girls as your enemies. Aren't you tired of that?"

"...What a guy with no sense of crisis."

In response to Toyokawa Shoko, Hoshino Ai just shook her head.

"I hope you won't regret what you said in the future..."

squeak--

"Well, I'm going to go change my clothes first... Remember what we agreed on before, Mr. Tetsuya."

"Oh, I see."

Just like that, under the gaze of the two, Sanjiao Chuhua picked up a pile of clothes and walked into the locker room with a stern face.

"See...that's what I said, right?"

Toyokawa Shoko curled her lips at Hoshino Ai:

"There's nothing wrong with the two of them."

"...It's best this way."

But at least according to Hoshino Ai's understanding of Mikado Hatsuka, she never showed that expression even when facing the most troublesome work...

I hope that in this month... she won't have another strong rival out of nowhere.

Looking at the tightly closed locker room door, Hoshino Ai thought so.

Chapter 12: Abnormal, so it attracts special attention

"Thank you for your hard work. We'll stop here... Toyokawa, could you please help put these clothes back in the merchandise room?"

"Yes!"

After hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko immediately went to the dressing room very obediently, picked up the clothes that Sanjiao Chuhua had just tried on, and took them to the product room.

Chihaya Tetsuya also put down the notes in his hand and said to Sankaku Hatsuka who had just changed into his regular clothes:

"Thanks to you, I already have a general idea. I'll contact you once the first draft is finished."

"...I'm a little more tired than I thought."

Sanjiao Chuhua let out a long breath.

"So, could you please let me know what the general idea is?"

"Right now, it's probably hard to describe it accurately with words."

Chihaya Tetsuya looked a little embarrassed.

"The formation of design ideas goes through a process from abstraction to concreteness... Currently, my ideas are still at the abstract stage, so I can't express them well."

"Hey... that sounds pretty profound."

Sanjiao Chuhua nodded, not quite understanding.

"I see. Then I'll look forward to the day when the first draft is finished."

"kindness."

Chihaya Tetsuya smiled and nodded, then turned his head to check the time.

"Okay, I'm done with my work here. Do you have any other plans?"

"No. After all, I just finished filming on location, so I'll have quite some free time for the next period of time... Ah, but Ai seems to have just landed a new commercial?"

Mikado Hatsuka suddenly asked Hoshino Ai who was standing beside him:

"And you haven't finished your music theory class yet, have you?"

"……kindness."

Although her expression looked very unhappy, Hoshino Ai still nodded.

"I have to go back to the office later to record a promotional audio clip."

"Don't push yourself too hard, love."

Hearing that Hoshino Ai was still going to work at this time, Chihaya Tetsuya couldn't help but frown slightly.

"I know you have your plans, but it would be more trouble than good if you ruin your health."

"...You really don't have any awareness, Zhe."

After hearing this, a smile suddenly appeared on Hoshino Ai's face.

"Even though I did such a cruel thing to you, even though you already know what my next plan is...will you still worry about me like you do now?"