112. Visiting the sick is a personal storyline event, isn't it?

After a somewhat arduous night of work, Jiang Yu made his way to Kyoko Kato’s office to collect his wages for the evening.

The moment he stepped inside, he noticed the peculiar look in Kyoko’s eyes. With a subtle tone, she asked, “The first piece played tonight… was that your composition?”

Jiang Yu was momentarily taken aback, then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so… That piece seemed to be written by Nishikino-san. I just happened to hear it today and tried playing it tonight. What do you think, Kato-san?”

“A composition by Maki? If this girl became a doctor, it would truly be a waste of her talent. Speaking of which, do young people these days always tend to waste their gifts like that?” Kyoko’s gaze grew more meaningful as she spoke. Jiang Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose and gave a helpless smile, choosing not to respond.

“But… I listened to your earlier piece, and the rhythm seemed a bit chaotic. What’s going on there?” Kyoko’s playful tone shifted to a more serious one.

Jiang Yu was about to say it was nothing when her stern yet concerned look made him feel guilty. He finally admitted, “I think I caught a bit of a cold.”

Kyoko’s worried expression softened, and she sighed lightly. “You kid… If you’re feeling unwell, just tell me straight up. I’m not the kind of boss who won’t give you leave. Although, of course, it wouldn’t be paid leave.”

Hearing that, the touch of gratitude on Jiang Yu’s face faded into helplessness. He shook his head and softly replied, “Yes, yes. If there’s a next time, I’ll definitely tell you, Kato-san.”

Kyoko tapped her desk lightly with her right hand, pondering for a moment before saying, “Alright then, you don’t need to come in tomorrow. Take the day off to rest properly at home. I wouldn’t want anyone to say I don’t care about my employees.”

Before Jiang Yu could respond, she waved him off, signaling he could leave. With a heart full of gratitude, he quietly exited the café.

Walking down the street, neon lights and car headlights intertwined like flowing streams of light, quietly washing over every alley and avenue. A cool night breeze brushed against Jiang Yu’s face, and the fogginess in his mind seemed to ease considerably.

By the time he reached home, the heat from walking mixed with his body’s weakness, creating a peculiar sensation he found hard to describe—an inexplicable surge of energy.

Riding this newfound vigor, Jiang Yu took a shower, then opened his computer. He hadn’t done this in a while but clicked on the folder for “My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected.” He created a new Word document titled “Volume Two,” and renamed the previous one “Volume One.”

“Cats are adorable; wolves are handsome. In other words, loneliness is both adorable and handsome.”

Jiang Yu wrote down this famous line from Hachiman Hikigaya’s prologue in the second volume and briefly zoned out. Perhaps the long-unfelt physical weakness had touched a vulnerable nerve, reminding him of his alienated days in college.

While everyone else busied themselves with love and making friends, he quietly immersed himself in coding and learning RPG Maker. Apart from attending classes, he rarely left his dorm, and besides his roommate and a few high school friends, he had almost no one to talk to.

Loneliness, it turned out, was neither adorable nor handsome.

“You sure have a knack for twisting things, Master Great Teacher…” Jiang Yu mused quietly.

***

The next morning, a ringing doorbell roused Jiang Yu from sleep. He reached for his phone on the bedside table and glanced at the time—it was already 10 a.m.

After finishing the prologue for the second volume of “My Youth Romantic Comedy” last night, he had taken cold medicine and gone straight to bed, unexpectedly sleeping straight through until now. It reminded him of his college days when, with no classes during the first two periods, he would also sleep in until this hour.

Yawning, he put on his jacket and hastily tidied his messy hair. As he prepared to answer the door for whoever might have come knocking so early on a day off, he wondered inwardly: Given his poor social skills, who could it possibly be? Well, maybe one of Komachi’s friends…

Lost in thought, he opened the door and was met with an unexpected sight.

Standing there was a girl clad in a lake-blue off-shoulder dress and alluring black stockings, a stunning combination that revealed every curve of her enviable figure. Her sleek, jet-black hair cascaded down her back, complemented by a white headband.

Noticing her beaming smile, Jiang Yu swallowed nervously and asked in surprise, “Kasumigaoka… senpai?”

***

“Please have a seat… Senpai, why are you here at my place all of a sudden today?”

After leading Kasumigaoka Utaha into the living room and excusing himself briefly to change clothes and brew tea, Jiang Yu returned with the tea and set it on the table across from her. He gestured for her to drink as he looked on, puzzled.

“Ah, thank you. Well… it’s a long story. Perhaps we should… talk slowly?”

Utaha accepted the tea with a customary thank you. Her wine-red eyes gleamed with meaning as she spoke words that were, in every way, quite troubling.

“…By the way, how did you know where I live?”

Jiang Yu forced a wry smile, focused on his breathing to calm himself, silently reciting a calming mantra to ignore her usual suggestive teasing and steer the conversation back on track.

“That’s because Tomoya told me. By the way, why did you hide the fact that you were sick from everyone?”

Utaha’s tone, even when she said “by the way,” was anything but casual. Her beautiful wine-red eyes were filled with genuine concern.

Just as Jiang Yu was about to deflect, he noticed a hint of worry in her gaze that seemed to touch a tender spot deep within. He sighed softly, lowered his head, and admitted with slight guilt, “Sorry… Wait, senpai, how did you know I was sick? I thought I only told…”

“Kato-san sent me a message last night,” she interrupted.

“I see…”

Judging by Kato’s usual calm demeanor, she had probably just considered it normal club communication and casually shared the information with other members.

Jiang Yu could almost hear Kato’s usual nonchalant tone responding to a question like, “Why did you tell them?” with, “I just happened to tell the club members.”

Thinking that way, Kato must have informed all the club members. In other words…

“Ding-dong—ding-dong!”

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the doorbell rang again. Jiang Yu and Utaha exchanged glances, and with her silent permission, he turned and headed toward the entrance.