Chapter 52 Unconsciously Drawing Closer
After arriving at where Kaede had parked his bicycle, he unlocked it and looked at Eriri beside him.
Today, Eriri wasn't wearing a skirt as she had before, but dark capri pants, so sitting on the back of the bike wouldn't be a concern for accidental exposure.
"Get on. It's getting late, and I'm afraid your family might worry."
"It's fine, I told my parents I'd be back after dinner."
Eriri explained, then shyly sat on the back seat of the bicycle.
"Um... I remember bicycles aren't allowed to carry passengers, right?"
"It's fine, as long as we don't get caught, right?" Kaede said with a smile as he straddled the bicycle.
Eriri was amused by Kaede's words: "How can you say that? If we do get caught, don't you dare regret it."
"Don't worry, it's just a lecture from the police officer, right? Hold on tight, let's go!"
After thinking about the address Eriri had just told him, Kaede planned a route and pedaled the bicycle.
"Ah!"
Eriri was startled by the sudden forward movement of the bicycle and quickly grabbed Kaede's clothes to steady herself.
It was Kaede's first time carrying a passenger, but Eriri wasn't heavy at all, so carrying her forward wasn't a burden for Kaede.
In a direction Eriri couldn't see, Kaede said with a faint smile, "Although I'm quite confident in my skills, just in case there are sudden bumps in the road or something, you should hold on tighter. I'm afraid you might not be steady with just that little bit of clothing."
"Eh?"
Eriri looked at the small handful of clothes she was holding, her face red, and slowly placed her hands around Kaede's waist, though she didn't dare to exert force.
Feeling the movement around his waist and Eriri's body occasionally leaning against his back, Kaede thought that the decision he made today was indeed the right one.
After the initial nervousness and shyness, Eriri finally relaxed. On the somewhat monotonous road home, she started chatting with Kaede, and the distance between them unconsciously grew shorter.
Their luck was good today; they didn't encounter any patrolling police and smoothly arrived at the villa area where Eriri lived.
Slowly stopping the bike, Kaede looked at the brightly lit mansion in front of them, then turned to Eriri, who was still sitting on the back seat of the bicycle: "We're here."
"Mm."
Eriri nodded, got off the back seat, walked in front of Kaede, and said with a light smile, "Thank you for taking me home. Are you tired? Why don't you come in and sit for a bit?"
Although he was tempted by Eriri's invitation, Kaede still shook his head and said, "No, it's getting late today, and I'm empty-handed, so I really shouldn't impose. I'll visit another time when I have the chance."
Eriri's family was definitely home today, and he didn't want them to think he lacked manners. Perhaps they wouldn't mind such a small thing, but Kaede himself did.
Turning his bicycle around, Kaede said, "Alright, you should go home quickly too. You've been studying all day, so get some rest early. Don't stay up late playing games again."
"Ah! I was planning to play games to relax!"
However, what Kaede said was true. It was indeed tiring today, so Eriri gave up the idea of gaming and waved at Kaede, saying, "Bye-bye~"
"Mm, bye-bye. Chat on Line if anything."
After watching Kaede cycle away, Eriri hummed a song softly and returned home.
As soon as she opened the door, before she even changed her shoes, she saw her mother peeking out from behind the entrance, secretly watching her.
"Don't be so scary!"
"Hehehe~~~"
Sawamura Sayuri smiled slyly. After her daughter changed into her slippers and came in, she pulled her hand and sat down in the living room.
"Eriri, did you have fun today?"
"I told you, I wasn't going out to play, it was a study group! Everyone was studying very seriously!"
Saying that, she also took out her phone and showed her mother the photos of the study group taken today.
Sawamura Sayuri looked at the photos and didn't expect it to really be a study group.
"Oh~~ I'm a bit disappointed. I saw Asakura-kun cycling you home today, and I thought you two went out to play alone."
Seeing her mother's teasing gaze, Eriri's face flushed, and she said loudly, "That's not it!!!"
"Is that so? Mother saw it!"
Sawamura Sayuri recalled, "It's so nice, a young boy carrying a young girl under the moonlight. It makes Mother feel like she's back in her university days!"
"Ugh... I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to take a bath!"
Eriri really couldn't win against her mother, so she could only choose to quickly run away.
Watching her daughter go upstairs, Sawamura Sayuri sighed and smiled, "It's so good. This way, Eriri is no longer just burying herself in games and manga. But... that Asakura-kun seems to have the same hobbies as Eriri. Oh, isn't that just like me and my dear? Eriri, keep it up!"
On the other side, Kaede rode his bicycle unhurriedly and returned home.
Similar to Eriri, after Kaede entered the house, he was also greeted with concerned questions from his parents. And like Eriri, Kaede naturally didn't bother to say much. After briefly explaining the day's events, he went upstairs.
After her son went upstairs, Asakura Reiko looked at her husband and said, "My dear, I think our son is definitely hiding something."
"I think so too."
Asakura Kiichi nodded in agreement, "The expression on that kid's face when he first came in, you could tell nothing had happened, it was extremely joyful. You don't think it could be...?"
"It shouldn't be that serious." Shaking her head, Asakura Reiko picked up her phone and stood up, "I'm going back to my room to call Sayuri and ask her, to exchange information."
Both sides had restless mothers... During the seven-day Golden Week, as previously scheduled, there should have been two more study groups. However, after one session at the public library, Kaede had to be absent from the last study group due to a sudden call from the Bunko.
Eriri also had something to do and took a leave of absence, so only the remaining four gathered at the library.
"Seriously, it's one thing on regular weekends, but why do they have to call me in for this seven-day long holiday?"
Looking at the Bunko building in front of him, Kaede sighed and walked in.
Pushing open the door to the editorial department, Kaede was surprised to find that in addition to Editor Nakajima and Editor Machida, Eriri and Utaha were also there.
"Why are you two here too?"
"Good morning, Asakura-kun." Utaha smiled and greeted him, then picked up the novel in her hand. "The samples are out. After Editor Machida informed me, I couldn't resist coming over, and I also informed Sawamura-san."
Kaede listened and then looked at Eriri in realization, "So that's how it is. I was wondering why you suddenly took a leave from the study group."
Then, he also looked at Editor Nakajima.