Chapter 105: The Annoying Senpai

"Is Senpai feeling better now?" Megumi Kato's voice was as calm and unruffled as ever, transmitting through the phone like a serene river.

"Yeah… looks like she's doing fine," Kanade Natsukawa replied, glancing at Utaha Kasumigaoka. He thought to himself, Fine? More like bursting with energy—enough to pin me down effortlessly.

"Would you like to speak with her directly?" Kanade offered, figuring that Megumi's concern might be better addressed if she spoke with Utaha herself.

"Ah… sure," came Megumi's casual response.

Kanade handed the phone to Utaha and, sensing this would take a while, got back to cleaning. He headed toward the kitchen, where he inspected the fridge in hopes of finding ingredients to prepare a light meal for her.

Recently recovered patients needed nutritious, simple meals to regain their strength. Knowing Utaha's personality, she likely hadn't cooked a single thing for herself since moving in.

"..."

The fridge was barren. Completely empty.

Kanade stared at its contents—or lack thereof—feeling a pang of disbelief. It wasn't just that the fridge was poorly stocked; it was as if it had never been used.

The only exception was an unopened bag of rice, sitting like a lone relic in an otherwise abandoned temple. But rice alone wouldn't cut it, so he called out to Utaha to inform her he was stepping out to buy groceries.

By the time Kanade returned, loaded with ingredients, the phone call had ended. Yet, Utaha was still clutching his phone tightly, treating it like a prized possession.

"Don't you have your own phone? Play with that instead," Kanade said, exasperated.

"It's out of battery!" Utaha declared, her tone brimming with smug righteousness.

"Then charge it."

"Can't. Too tired. My body's completely drained. Even lifting a finger feels impossible," Utaha sighed dramatically, sprawling across the sofa like an exhausted actress in a melodrama.

"You're unbelievable," Kanade muttered, though his actions betrayed him as he set about finding a charger for her phone. "Senpai, you're planning to go to college, right? If you can't take care of yourself now, how will you manage then?"

"Easy! I'll just pick a university near your place. Or better yet, I could move in with you," Utaha said without missing a beat, her tone as casual as if she were suggesting the weather had turned sunny.

"You don't even have the slightest intention of learning basic life skills, do you?"

"Why bother? I've been doing fine so far, haven't I?" Utaha retorted, flashing him a grin full of misplaced pride.

"And if I lived with you, Kouhai-kun, you'd get to see a cute girl every day. Win-win, right?"

"If that cute girl takes care of all the chores, I might waive her rent," Kanade deadpanned.

Utaha pouted, but her playful nature quickly took over again.

"Oh, by the way, the neighbor dropped off some umeshu earlier. I couldn't turn her down, so I accepted it," Kanade said as he started preparing food.

"You're seriously the face of this apartment complex now, huh? She probably thinks you're the new tenant."

"Well, you didn't bother introducing yourself to your neighbors. Honestly, Senpai, you're hopeless," Kanade chided, shaking his head.

"That just makes things easier! You should move in here and make it official," Utaha teased, giggling as she lounged on the sofa, scrolling through his phone.

"Not a chance!" Kanade snapped.

Living with Utaha? Absolutely not. Compared to the angelic Shiina Mahiru, who was both nurturing and gentle, Utaha was nothing but a mischievous devil bent on exploiting him. The choice was obvious.

"Senpai, stop messing with my phone and get your own," Kanade said, glancing over nervously. While there wasn't anything particularly incriminating on his device, the idea of her snooping through it still made him uneasy.

"I know, I know. I'm almost done!" Utaha replied, her fingers moving a bit faster over the screen.

Unbeknownst to Kanade, she wasn't just idly scrolling. She had sneakily changed her contact name in his phone and even added a few selfies to his photo gallery.

Her lips curled into a sly smile. Let's see what kind of expression Kouhai-kun makes when he finds these. Better yet, she thought, if some other girl sees them, I'll have all the more reason to gloat.

"Wow, you're really eager to snatch this back, huh, Kouhai-kun?" Utaha purred, her teasing voice thick with implication as she handed him his phone. She leaned forward slightly, her posture suggestive, her gaze mischievous.

"What, hiding something naughty on here?"

For a moment, she contemplated tucking the phone between her chest, forcing him to retrieve it from her. But the thought alone made her face flush, and she quickly abandoned the idea.

"Sorry to disappoint, but there's nothing of the sort," Kanade said, his tone flat. He took the phone back without hesitation, sparing only a brief glance at the pale skin visible beneath her unbuttoned shirt.

Not that he'd tell her, but his more… private files were safely hidden away on his computer, buried under layers of encrypted folders.

"Oh? Could it be you're the type who prefers magazines?" Utaha mused, her eyes narrowing.

"Stop using lame excuses to snoop around other people's homes!" Kanade shot back.

He wasn't worried about Utaha finding anything incriminating. His real concern was her stumbling upon evidence of Mahiru's frequent visits, which would no doubt ignite a wildfire of rumors.

"Instead of scheming, why not eat this?" Kanade placed a plate of freshly cut fruit on the coffee table.

"Recovering patients should rest and eat healthy. Not prance around in skimpy clothes while blasting the air conditioning."

Utaha poked at a piece of fruit with a fork, smirking. "Kouhai-kun, you really are like a househusband sometimes."

Kanade sighed. Why does dealing with her always feel like a full-time job?

Notes-Read advances chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, a total of 274 chapters you can find it in the collections, thanks for supporting me and special thanks to all the patrons for joining