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[Game] Chapter 32: Overheard
🕑 Added 2024-11-25 15:14:22 +0000 UTCAlthough Kasumigaoka Utaha had initially gone to sleep with a hint of frustration, her drowsiness deepened as she lay under Ichin's blanket, and eventually, she drifted off completely into slumber.
Sitting in his chair, Ichin watched for a while. After ten minutes of observing her unmoving figure, back turned to him, breathing steadily and slowly, he realized that Utaha had genuinely fallen asleep.
Shaking his head helplessly, Ichin murmured softly, "You really trust me, huh? Falling asleep here so easily… I thought you were just pretending."
Since she was truly asleep, Ichin decided not to continue working in the bedroom. He saved his work on the computer, left the room quietly, and closed the door gently behind him.
Back in the living room, Ichin picked up a console he kept there. Knowing there was a strong chance that Utaha might have some feelings for him—though he wasn’t 100% sure, he was at least 80% confident—Ichin was in a good mood. He figured he deserved some downtime.
“Come to think of it, ever since I started game development here, I haven’t really taken the time to play any games seriously. I’ve just picked up a few new releases on Steam, tried them briefly, but never finished any. That won’t do. I’ve got to complete those games; they were quite fun.”
For the next hour, Ichin got absorbed in a game, until an untimely interruption came—his phone rang. Although he didn’t want to answer, seeing that it was his mom calling, he had no choice but to pause the game and pick up the call.
“Mom, what’s up?” he asked.
“What, can’t I call you just because?” his mother replied in a slightly irritated tone. “Did you eat properly for lunch?”
“I did. I made noodles and stir-fried a couple of dishes.”
“Really? Did you take a picture? Show me.”
“I didn’t take any photos, but I can show you the kitchen leftovers as evidence,” Ichin offered.
“No need, just video call me!” his mom demanded, immediately hanging up and sending a video call request.
With no other option, Ichin answered the video call, and there was his mother, looking at him with a satisfied smile.
“Alright, take me to the kitchen!” she commanded.
“Fine, fine,” Ichin replied, leading the camera to the kitchen. He showed her the kitchen waste: bamboo shoot peels, bell pepper seeds, and eggshells, all captured clearly on camera.
Seeing this, his mom nodded approvingly. “Good, you ate well. That puts my mind at ease a little. And your grades? Are they fine too?”
“Grades come second now, huh?”
“Of course! I know how capable my son is. You’re smart, so it’s okay to mention them last,” she replied confidently.
“Wow, you really have faith in me, Mom,” Ichin said with a chuckle. “Well, you’re right. I got first place in the mock exams, so that’s not too bad, right?”
“That’s more like it! Keep it up!” After a brief scolding, his mom continued, “Your dad’s company has a project to follow up on, so he’s been busy lately. I’ve been taking care of him, otherwise, I would’ve visited you during this break.”
Ichin shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it. I’m doing perfectly well.”
“Do you have enough living expenses?”
“I do. More than enough.”
His parents had always given him ample allowance, enough to cover his expenses comfortably.
Ichin hadn’t mentioned his game development plans to his parents just yet. He intended to wait until Slay the Spire had been on the market for a full month before reporting its sales figures to them.
“As long as it’s enough,” his mom said with a smile. “Spend what you need to, there’s no need to scrimp. If you run short, just tell me. We’ve got plenty of funds saved up for your studies abroad.”
Just as they were about to end the call, the bedroom door opened, and Kasumigaoka Utaha came out, rubbing her eyes. “Ichin-kun, aren’t you working?” she asked sleepily.
Hearing the sudden voice of a young girl, Ichin’s mother was stunned. Her eyes widened as she stared at her son through the phone. “Son, did I just hear a girl’s voice?”
Oh no!
Ichin glanced at the still-groggy Utaha and quickly said to his mother, “I have something urgent to take care of, I’ll call you back later!” He hurriedly ended the video call and turned off his phone.
Back in China, Ichin’s mother sat in her living room, staring at the now-ended video call. She pondered for a moment before saying, “That definitely wasn’t the TV… I didn’t hear anything earlier. Could it be that Ichin has a girlfriend?”
With that thought in mind, she quickly stood up, grabbed her things, and headed out the door. She was planning to go to her husband’s office to tell him about this. It seemed she had a trip to Japan in her future.
Switching back to Ichin’s perspective, Utaha, now fully awake, saw Ichin coming out of the kitchen and asked curiously, “What were you doing in the kitchen? I thought I heard you talking earlier.”
“Yeah, my mom called to check up on me,” Ichin replied, feeling relieved. It was fortunate Utaha didn’t understand Chinese, or that would’ve been a real mess.
Utaha didn’t think much of it and nodded, “Ah, so that’s why you weren’t in the room.”
“Well, you were hogging my bed. I couldn’t keep working in there, could I? What if I woke you up?” Ichin remarked with a chuckle. “So, what’s your plan now? Going to do some writing, or heading home?”
Utaha smiled and replied, “My parents won’t be back until after dinner, so I’ll be imposing on you a bit longer, Ichin-kun.”
“Your parents sound pretty romantic. Are they off having a candlelight dinner?” Ichin laughed.
“Anyway,” he continued, “you’ve already mooched lunch. I suppose dinner won’t hurt either. It’s the afternoon—want some milk tea?”
“Really?” Utaha’s eyes lit up. “I’d love that!”
“It’s no trouble. It’ll just take about ten minutes,” Ichin said, heading back to the kitchen to start preparing the milk tea, with Utaha naturally following along.
After watching him work for a while, Utaha suddenly said, “I’m going to pop back quickly to get something.”
Without overthinking it, Ichin nodded and continued to brew the black tea.
In just two minutes, Utaha returned, holding a small notebook and a pen. She went back to the kitchen and began writing while glancing at Ichin from time to time.
Seeing her actions, Ichin couldn’t help but ask, “What are you writing? The steps for making milk tea? You know you can find that online, right?”
“Nope,” Utaha denied with a smile. She continued scribbling as she explained, “It’s for the second male lead in my novel. I think I can flesh out his character better. Seeing you, Ichin-kun, I’ve decided to use you as a template for him.”
Huh?
Wait a minute—wasn’t that character supposed to be…?
Ichin felt his worldview shatter in an instant.
…
