After Work, I Brought Home a Devilish Beauty - Chapter 78

Yuichi paced anxiously back and forth in the hallway.

Nearly half an hour had passed, yet there was still no sound coming from inside the room.

Although Yuichi had already decided to trust Chiba, he couldn’t help feeling conflicted.

Several times, he nearly gave in to the urge to open the door and check on them.

But his rational side kept reminding him that barging into the room under these circumstances would be incredibly rude.

His intentions might be completely innocent, but doing so could easily offend both Chiba and Alice.

And knowing his luck, he might even end up being accused of something ridiculous.

It’s definitely not worth it.

So Yuichi could only wait patiently.

After some more time had passed…

“Come in.”

Hearing Chiba’s faint voice from inside, Yuichi opened the door without hesitation.

Creaaak.

He stepped into the room.

The first thing he saw was Alice sitting on the bed.

Unlike the clothes she’d been wearing earlier, she was now dressed in a pink pajama set decorated with little white rabbits.

Yuichi didn’t recognize the pajamas.

But Chiba and Alice had gone out together the previous day, so they had probably bought them during their trip.

…Looks like all my worries were completely unnecessary.

Chiba had apparently taken very good care of Alice.

The next thing Yuichi needed to do was check Alice’s condition.

Since she had previously been suffering from a high fever, he hadn’t expected her to recover so quickly.

At most, he had hoped that she would feel a little better.

Under normal circumstances, someone with Alice’s condition should probably have been taken to a hospital.

Yet, surprisingly, Alice had recovered considerably.

Her complexion had returned to normal, and she even had enough energy to speak.

With some continued rest and care, she should be able to make a full recovery soon.

It must be because Chiba took such good care of her.

The warm room probably helped, too.

Seeing Alice looking so much better, Yuichi finally let out a long sigh of relief.

“You’re finally feeling better… That’s great.”

Alice nodded.

“Yes. It’s all thanks to Chihiro.”

Yuichi froze.

…Chihiro?

He stared at Alice.

“Wait… what did you just call her?”

“Chihiro.”

Alice looked slightly confused.

“That’s Chiba’s nickname. Her mother calls her that, so it feels a little more personal.”

Yuichi’s jaw dropped.

“What?! That’s her nickname?! Why have I never heard that before?!”

He felt as though he’d just suffered a devastating blow.

How is this possible?

Yuichi had always thought his relationship with Chiba had become quite close.

He had even started thinking that he understood her better than most people.

And yet Alice knew something about Chiba that he’d never even heard of.

Her nickname.

It was embarrassing.

Seeing Yuichi’s gloomy expression, Alice hurriedly tried to comfort him.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I’m not really sure about that either. But I think Chiba might just be too embarrassed to tell you herself.”

Yuichi’s eyes lit up slightly.

Too embarrassed to tell me?

Perhaps Alice was right.

Maybe Chiba really was just too shy to tell him.

Thinking about it that way, Yuichi’s mood immediately improved.

“Yeah… That must be it.”

Yuichi looked around the room.

There was one question he’d wanted to ask ever since he entered.

“Where’s Chiba?”

Chiba wasn’t anywhere nearby.

There were only a few rooms in the house, so finding her wouldn’t exactly be difficult.

Still, Yuichi thought it would be better to ask Alice first.

Mostly because he didn’t want to accidentally walk in on Chiba doing something unexpected.

“She’s in the kitchen.”

The moment he heard that, Yuichi immediately headed toward the kitchen.

There, he found Chiba holding a spatula awkwardly and frantically stirring something in a pot.

At first glance, it was difficult to tell what she was actually making.

But Yuichi had enough experience with Chiba’s cooking to recognize it.

Soup.

A playful smile immediately appeared on his face.

I never thought I’d see the day when Chiba would willingly take the initiative to cook.

Usually so proud and aloof, she was now standing in the kitchen trying her best to prepare something for Alice.

It was such a rare sight that Yuichi couldn’t resist teasing her.

Chiba hadn’t noticed him yet.

Yuichi quietly walked up behind her.

Then, with a mischievous grin, he reached out and covered her eyes.

“Guess who I am—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Chiba reacted instantly.

She grabbed his arm and twisted it sharply behind him.

“Ugh!”

Yuichi’s body was sent flying before he could even understand what had happened.

He crashed away from the kitchen with absolutely no resistance.

That was a perfect elbow strike!

Yuichi lay there in stunned silence.

…Maybe I really was asking to get beaten up.