After dinner, the two of them squeezed onto the sofa to watch TV for a while; it seemed to be a fan meeting for an idol.
Natsuhi seemed to suddenly remember something. She deftly counted out ten 10,000-yen bills from her wallet, placed them casually on the coffee table in front of Yui, and said offhandedly:
"Here, take this."
Yui was holding a cup of hot tea, sipping it slowly. Seeing the stack of money suddenly appear before her, she was slightly startled, unsure of what Natsuhi meant.
"Natsuhi? Why are you suddenly giving me so much money?"
"To be precise, it's not 'for you'."
Natsuhi corrected her slightly, her tone relaxed and natural, as if they were chatting about something trivial.
"This is our living expense money. We're living together now; for daily necessities, utilities, and miscellaneous expenses, we can't just scrape money together every time, right? Keep it with you, and just buy whatever is needed."
"To be honest, I don't really understand these things, could I leave it to you?"
"Just thinking about managing household chores makes my head spin. You're thoughtful and detail-oriented; you'll definitely be able to handle it much better than I can."
"If it's not enough, just tell me. Can you help me out? Wifey~"
She scratched her head, her brows slightly furrowed, putting on a troubled expression to show that she wasn't very good at this sort of thing.
Knowing that Yui was thin-skinned, she knew that if she just gave the money directly, Yui definitely wouldn't accept it.
Yui looked at the stack of money, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the warm teacup. She hesitated for a moment before saying softly:
"I know what you're thinking... but this is too much. And, I just feel like this isn't quite right..."
Seeing that Yui was still somewhat resistant, she understood the other's concerns.
She leaned in closer, reached out to gently touch the back of Yui's hand, and softened her voice:
"What's not right about it? You are my wife, we're a family."
The voice was not loud, but it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, sending ripples spreading through Yui's heart.
Family...
It was already a somewhat foreign word to her. Natsuhi's short two words kept magnifying and echoing in Yui's ears, carrying a strange warm current that instantly broke down the last dam of hesitation in her heart.
That's right, Natsuhi was already her family—the most important person, someone with whom she had chosen to share her life, transcending blood relations.
Thinking of this, a mixture of soreness and warmth surged into her nose and eyes, causing a thin mist to quickly cloud her vision.
She quickly lowered her head, wanting to hide this pathetic look, but her slightly trembling shoulders and reddened eyes could not be hidden no matter what.
Natsuhi's care was always like this—seemingly casual, yet meticulous, precisely wrapping around all of her insecurities and vulnerabilities.
This thoughtfulness made her indulge in it, but it also made her feel guilty—
She was only blindly accepting Natsuhi's help, yet seemed unable to do more for her.
Even though it was like this, even though it was so unreasonable, Natsuhi still considered her and treated her with such tenderness.
It was so unreasonable, was this person an idiot?
Or was it just because of those three words—couldn't let go?
"Why do you help me?"
Yui raised her tear-filled eyes, her pupils trembling slightly, but she didn't look away, meeting Natsuhi's gaze directly.
[Could it be... the same answer?]
Reflecting the young girl in her pupils, with nothing else in her eyes, Natsuhi answered frankly:
"Because I like you!"
"I don't want you to go astray, I don't want you to be sad alone, and I don't want to see you cry again."
"I want... to keep seeing your smiling face..."
As she spoke, Natsuhi reached out her finger and wiped away the tears from the corner of Yui's eyes.
Yui's voice was choked with sobs, cautious as if afraid of breaking an illusion,
"Is this... really okay? I am a... very troublesome woman."
"I have a bad temper, I'm difficult, and I always say hurtful things... I, I'm actually very willful, a picky eater, afraid of the dark, and sometimes I just get depressed for no reason and need someone to coax me..."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, as if she were listing her own crimes. She looked at Natsuhi timidly, seemingly prepared to be rejected,
"Someone like me... maybe you'll find me annoying later, maybe you'll even regret it..."
Seeing the girl sobbing quietly, Natsuhi's heart softened. She gently cupped Yui's tear-stained cheeks with both hands, forcing her to look at the determination in her eyes:
"Idiot."
"How could I not know all these things you mentioned? Because I've always been watching you."
"I like Jinguji Yui just the way she is—Yui who gets difficult, Yui who says one thing and means another, Yui who is a picky eater, Yui who needs me when she's afraid of the dark; I like every single version of Yui."
Her thumbs gently wiped away the continuously falling teardrops, as if making the warmest vow.
"I won't get annoyed, and I won't regret it. If I had to say I regretted anything, it would definitely be that I didn't find you sooner, letting you endure so much all by yourself."
Natsuhi leaned close to Yui's ear, and in a volume only she could hear, whispered softly:
"Being alone... must have been really hard, right?"
The string that Yui had kept tightly wound finally snapped loose.
The grievances, insecurities, and touched feelings that had been bottled up for too long, along with a massive sense of happiness, flooded through all her defenses.
"Wuu..."
She could no longer hold it back; tears rolled down in large drops like beads from a broken string.
She grabbed Natsuhi's hand, letting her caress her cheek, and dropped all her defenses in front of her, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm so happy, I'm really so happy. No one has ever said these things to me before; it's just like a dream."
After a long while, the sobbing in her arms finally subsided, turning into small hiccups.
"Thank you, Natsuhi..."
"Thank you for pulling me out of the abyss..."
Listening to the girl's tearful, heartfelt thanks, Natsuhi tightened her arms, giving her more warmth.
[Truly a... child I can't help but worry about...]
She knew that the ice that had spanned across Yui's heart had finally truly melted at this moment. And their story was only just beginning.