allendalepharm Page 157
Page 157
Eriri's face flushed bright red instantly. She abruptly turned her head away, muttering softly, "I...I didn't cry!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha gently tossed her black hair. "I just happened to be passing by and happened to be discussing the rationality of life scripts with my junior, who is also an author."
Yuto's head drooped even lower.
Kato Megumi's opening remarks were practically an enhanced version of public execution.
“None of that matters.” Kato Megumi ignored their explanations and changed the subject, her tone becoming serious.
"The important thing is that the atmosphere in this home is now seriously affecting our lives, and even starting to affect our shared career."
She looked at Yuto, her tone still calm, but her words were piercing: "Itsuka-kun, we all know you are very gentle."
"You don't want to hurt anyone, so you choose no one and reject no one, but what's the result?"
"Your gentleness makes Eriri spend every day in unease and jealousy, and her inspiration as an artist is consumed by negative emotions."
"Your gentleness forces Kasumigaoka-senpai to expend extra energy supervising you, wasting your talent, which should be used for creation, on pointless emotional competition."
"Your gentleness also makes Qi feel lost. She doesn't understand why everyone always seems unhappy, and she can only rely on you more cautiously. Is that fair to her?"
This series of analyses, without a single accusation, made Yuto feel more ashamed than any accusation.
“Most importantly,” Kato Megumi emphasized, “this chaos has already exhausted you, hasn’t it, Itsuka-kun?”
"How can someone who can't even handle himself write a story that touches people's hearts? How can he lead us to complete the next phase of 'Farming King'?"
Yuto's body jolted violently.
Seeing Yuto's reaction, Kato Megumi knew the time had come.
She took out several printed A4 sheets of paper from her bag and placed them on the coffee table.
"Therefore, I propose that in order to ensure that this home can continue to operate as an efficient creative team, we need to establish some rules."
The title, "New Guidelines for Co-living in Apartments," was printed clearly in Song typeface on the paper.
Yuto picked up a document, glanced at the terms and conditions, and felt a wave of helplessness.
1. Schedule: Everyone must return to their rooms before midnight and may not leave until after 7:00 AM.
II. Household chores: Weekly rotation system, see appendix for detailed schedule.
Note: Yuzuriha Inori is prohibited from touching the kitchen and related appliances in any way.
III. Use of public spaces: The right to use the living room TV must be reserved one day in advance, on a first-come, first-served basis.
IV. Private Space Regulations: No one may enter another person's room without the room owner's permission.
Fifthly, regarding the allocation of Itsuka Yuto's "private time"...
Upon seeing the last message, Yuto's temples began to throb.
Sure enough, this regulation instantly ignited a powder keg.
"Private time allocation? What does that mean?" Eriri was the first to slam her hand on the table and stand up, her golden twin tails swaying with excitement.
"Why should Yuto's time be allocated? As his childhood friend and personal illustrator, isn't it only natural that I can discuss artwork with him anytime?"
"Heh, Sawamura-kun really knows how to flatter himself." Kasumigaoka Utaha slowly picked up her teacup, blew on the steam, and spoke with a tone full of sarcasm.
"Let's not bring up the childhood sweetheart relationship, that's an outdated concept."
"As a script collaborator for 'Farming King,' it's most important for the work that Yuto-kun and I have soul-level creative communication. Do you really want to delay our discussion of the core of the story because of your childish sketches?"
"Who are you calling a simple drawing! Kasumigaoka Utaha, you scheming old woman!"
"It's at least much bigger than the brain capacity of some blond loser, Sawamura-kun."
As the argument erupted again, Yuto's head throbbed with pain.
He instinctively tried to ease the tension by saying, "Um, everyone, calm down, actually my time..."
"you shut up!"
Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha shouted back almost in unison.
Eriri glared at him: "You're probably thinking that the script for Kasumigaoka is more important, aren't you?"
Shi Yu looked at him coldly: "So you're still biased towards your childhood sweetheart, planning to spend all your time playing house with her, junior?"
Yuto fell silent instantly. He felt that whatever he said was wrong, and whatever he did was just adding fuel to the fire.
This feeling of powerlessness made him extremely irritable.
Yuzuriha Inori, who had been silent all along, seemed to have understood something from their argument.
She tugged at Yuto's sleeve and whispered, "From now on... can't I just go into Yuto's room whenever I want?"
Her words carried a hint of disappointment and grievance, and her innocent eyes were full of confusion.
For her, Yuto's study was the most comforting place in the house. She liked to stay there, even if it was just quietly watching Yuto's back as he worked.
Looking at Yuzuriha Inori's expression, Yuto felt as if his heart had been pricked by a needle, and it hurt terribly.
"Of course not..." He was about to comfort her when Kato Megumi interrupted him.
"Alright, arguing won't solve anything." Kato Megumi's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable power that instantly lowered the temperature in the living room.
"What we need to discuss now is not whether the rules are reasonable, but how to make the rules be implemented more effectively."
She looked at Eriri and Utaha: "Since you both believe that your communication with Itsuka is crucial to your creative work, then let's turn our private time into work communication time."
"Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening from 8 PM to 10 PM belongs to Kasumigaoka-senpai for script discussions. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday belong to Eriri for key animation communication."
"Is it fair that we all have our regular meeting together on Sundays?"
Eriri and Utaha exchanged a glance, both seeing resentment in each other's eyes, but for a moment they couldn't find a reason to refute it.
“I have no objection.” Kasumigaoka Utaha was the first to speak up, knowing that there was no point in arguing any further.
Eriri bit her lip, and although she was a hundred times unwilling, she could only nod reluctantly: "...Hmph, then let's leave it at that for now."
And so, in a strange atmosphere, the "New House Rules," strongly promoted by Megumi Kato, were initially drafted.
Everyone knew the unspoken agreement.
After the meeting ended, Eriri and Utaha went back to their rooms, leaving only Yuto, Kato Megumi, and Yuzuriha Inori still hugging her body pillow in the living room.
Looking at the list of family rules on the coffee table, filled with regulations, Yuto felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
He knew that this was only a temporary solution.
Kato Megumi only helped him extend the fuse of the bomb a little, but the bomb itself was still in his hand.
Kato Megumi stood up and began tidying up the teacups.
As she passed Yuto, she stopped and said calmly in a voice only the two of them could hear, "This is just the first step, Itsuka-kun."
Yuto looked up.
Are you ready to truly make a choice?
……
On the first day of the implementation of the new family rules, Itsuka Yuto deeply experienced what it means to have "lofty ideals but harsh reality".
The battle in the living room had already begun early in the morning.
"Hey! You golden retriever! Can you turn the TV volume down a bit? Watching those horribly noisy morning variety shows first thing in the morning is seriously affecting my creative mood!" Kasumigaoka Utaha, wearing a silk nightgown, walked out of the room with a coffee cup in her hand and a frown.
"Huh? I got up and turned on the TV first, why should I listen to you? Besides, who says you can't watch variety shows in the morning? Do you expect me to watch those boring documentaries you recommend? That would make me unable to draw all day!" Eriri, wearing cute bunny pajamas, sat cross-legged on the sofa, clutching the remote control tightly, refusing to budge.
"At least documentaries can improve intelligence, unlike some programs that only make people as simple-minded as the comedians in them."
"Who are you calling a simple-minded person! You sharp-tongued, scheming woman!"
Yuto, sporting dark circles under his eyes, came out of the kitchen carrying his simple breakfast, just in time to see the two of them looking tense.
He opened his mouth, wanting to bring up the house rules that Kato Megumi had set up yesterday, but when he saw the rule that "advance reservations are required for the use of public spaces," he silently shut his mouth.
Who would book a TV program a day in advance for the next morning?
He tried to intervene: "Um... how about we watch the news?"
"No!" the two of them refused again in unison.
Yuto sighed and could only choose to stay away from the battlefield, silently eating his sandwich at a corner of the table.
But the two of them weren't the only ones responsible for the chaos.
Yuzuriha Inori seems to be trying her best to follow the new rules.
According to the division of household chores, it was her turn to clean the living room today.
So, she took a rag and very carefully... began wiping the TV screen.
"Ah! Inori! Stop! You can't wipe the screen with a wet cloth!" Yuuto, with his sharp eyes, rushed over to stop him.
Just as he pulled Yuzuriha Inori away and frantically tried to wipe the water stains off the screen with dry tissues, a strange, loud "clattering" noise came from the direction of the laundry room.
Yuto's heart skipped a beat; he had a bad feeling.
He rushed into the laundry room and saw the washing machine shaking violently, as if it were about to take off at any moment.
He quickly pressed the pause button, opened the hatch, and then froze completely.
The strange noise came from a metal badge that Eriri had somehow fallen into the washing machine, which had already scratched several lines on the inside of the machine.
"What...what's going on?" Yuto felt dizzy.
Yuzuriha Inori followed, peeked out, and then whispered, "Inori... saw some clothes, so she washed them too."
She remembered that one of the family rules was "wash your own clothes," and she just wanted to help by taking care of all the dirty clothes she saw.
Yuto looked at the scratches on the inside of the washing machine and was speechless.
Ultimately, the chaos ended with Kasumigaoka Utaha's cold laugh and Eriri's scream.
Yuto was responsible for comforting Yuzuriha Inori, who was standing by helplessly and on the verge of tears.
He rubbed his aching temples, feeling a profound exhaustion for the first time.
As evening approached, Yuto finally found a moment of peace.
He stood alone on the balcony, the evening breeze blowing, trying to sort out his chaotic thoughts.
The chaos of the day left him physically and mentally exhausted, but what confused him even more was that he didn't know what to do next.
"Are you thinking about something, Itsuka-kun?"
Kato Megumi's voice rang out behind her without warning.
She also carried a cup of barley tea and walked to Yuto's side, leaning against the railing, her gaze mirroring his as she looked at the distant city lights.
“Kato-kun…look, these family rules seem pretty useless.” Yuto Riku said bitterly.
"Is that so?" Kato Megumi's reaction was calm, as if she had expected this.
"I think it at least helped you see some things more clearly, didn't it?"
Yuto was taken aback, but then he understood what she meant.
“True change doesn’t come from restricting others with rules, but from making choices from within.” Kato Megumi turned her head, looked into Yuto’s eyes, and repeated what she had told him privately yesterday.
There was no reproach or urging in her eyes.
But this calmness made Yuto feel that she understood his inner struggle better than anyone else.
She took something out of her pocket and handed it to her.
It was a plain, blank diary with a simple cover, and a fountain pen.
“Write down your true feelings,” Kato Megumi said softly.
"You don't need to write it for anyone else, just write it for yourself."
"Write down your guilt towards Eriri, your helplessness towards Kasumigaoka-senpai, your feelings for Sakurajima-senpai, your sense of responsibility towards Inori, and... your anger at your own cowardice."
"Perhaps, when you can honestly face all of this, you will find the answer."
Yuto took the diary and pen, feeling their heavy weight.
He looked at Kato Megumi and suddenly realized that she had been using her own methods to drive the situation forward, guiding him to confront the most crucial core issue.
She wasn't giving him answers, but teaching him how to find them.
This undisguised expectation illuminated Yuto's previously confused heart.