“I told you not to come for a reason, but you still didn’t understand. If the landlady had seen us together this late at night, what answer would you have given her? What would you say we are to each other? Or what we are doing here at this hour? Or why we’re even renting this house? Tell me, would you have been able to answer any of those questions?”

  Hearing Mayoki’s words, I fell silent and just stood there. Her tone and expression changed in an instant. Without any warning, the smile vanished from her face, the light in her eyes faded. Her gaze turned hard, and the words leaving her mouth felt cold as ice. It was as if she had suddenly lost all her emotions.

  “No, I mean…” I said in surprise, “You’re right. If that woman had seen us together, it would’ve caused trouble. Yes, you did the right thing by renting the house on your own. And since you’re a girl, she even agreed to rent it to you at this hour. If I were in your place, she probably wouldn’t have.”

  “Hm. Then listen carefully,” Mayoki said in a cold voice, her face completely expressionless. “There are two rooms here, one bathroom, and a kitchen. One of the rooms is filled with stuff, and the other is the bedroom. I’ll stay in that room. Understood?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Hearing this, I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak for a moment. It felt like my brain couldn’t process what she had just said.

  “What do you mean?” I finally said. “There are two rooms, right? And you’ll stay in one, while the other is full of stuff and can’t be used. Then where will I stay? There’s no room left for me.”

  “There’s a small room on the rooftop,” Mayoki replied, curling her lips slightly. “You’ll stay there.”

  Her words made anger surge inside me, and I shouted, “What? I’ll stay on the rooftop? Why? We both paid equally, so we should both get equal rooms.”

  “Alright then,” Mayoki said slowly with a strange smile. “If you don’t want the rooftop room and want the bedroom instead, then I’ll stay on the rooftop, and you can stay downstairs. But when one day the landlady comes and sees you here with me, or somehow realizes that a boy is living here… what will you do then?”

  Hearing this, I lost all words. I didn’t know what to say. The truth was, Mayoki was right. If I stayed downstairs and the landlady saw me someday, what excuse would I give?

  “No, I mean…” I said nervously, “You do have a point. But the thought of staying on the rooftop feels… strange.”

  “Be grateful for what you got,” she replied with a hint of attitude. “Otherwise, you would’ve had to spend the night in the jungle.”

  With that, Mayoki started walking toward her room. But after taking a few steps, she stopped again and spoke without turning her head

  “Just because we live in the same house doesn’t mean we’ll eat together, walk together, or do everything together. No. Maybe we live under the same roof, but our dreams are different. So from now on, you focus on fulfilling your dreams, and I’ll walk toward mine.”

  Saying this, Mayoki went inside her room and closed the door.