My roommate turns out to be the heiress of a triad!

"Do you know him?"

Ryoichi Sugawara stood next to Mayu Kujo, each holding a schoolbag in one hand.

Earlier, the cirrus clouds, which had been tinged with warm colors by the afterglow of the setting sun, began to accumulate layer by layer, gradually obscuring the sky.

This stirred up gentle breezes, causing the ginkgo leaves to rustle softly.

He glanced at the baseball boy across from him, then at Mayu Kujo in front of him.

Both of them had long faces, and even the angle at which their eyebrows were raised was almost the same.

"snort."

Kujo Mayu, like a spoiled young lady, snorted lightly and stomped her standard round-toed leather shoes hard on the asphalt road as she continued walking forward.

After walking a few steps, she realized that Sugawara Ryoichi hadn't followed, so she angrily turned back, grabbed his wrist tightly, and dragged him away.

The sudden change left Sugawara Ryoichi somewhat bewildered.

Although she wasn't in a good mood at the beginning, seeing the boy clearly worsened her mood.

Did they have some kind of history before?

Ex-boyfriend?

Oh. So Kujo Mayu likes this sporty type.

Following his own train of thought, Sugawara Ryoichi began to examine the boy's appearance with great interest.

He is slightly shorter than Ryoichi Sugawara, at about 175 centimeters tall.

Wearing a baseball uniform from Kitasakano High School, with a large Arabic numeral 5 printed on it.

He was tall and thin with sharp eyes.

Due to long hours of training under the sun, his skin has a healthy tan, giving him a strong and fit appearance, making him a handsome athletic type.

Sugawara Ryoichi suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen this person yesterday.

Oh right, it's the boy I met at the entrance when I returned to the teaching building from the cafeteria yesterday at noon.

Just as the two were about to pass by him, one after the other, a sentence from the boy made Kujo Mayu stop in her tracks.

"You'd better not bother, the lady won't come to see you about something like this."

Too much information, which he had not yet grasped, flooded his mind in a fragmented form, causing Sugawara Ryoichi's brain to work at high speed.

First, who is the "Madam"?

Secondly, what kind of thing does "this kind of thing" refer to?

Finally, why do we see situations in school stories where people genuinely use honorifics when speaking to their peers, and why do we see terms like "夫人" (okusama), which are usually only seen in period dramas?

Seeing that his words had an effect, the baseball boy continued.

"You want me to tell Madam about your situation at school, don't you?"

To be honest, my wife also instructed me to report your actions at school to her.

Including yesterday when you went to the shopping mall with this person to buy women's underwear. I not only took photos, but also gave them to you, madam.

Ryoichi Sugawara outwardly wore a poker face, but inwardly he was utterly shocked.

Huh? This kid has been following us all day?

Does he also know that Mai Kujo is living in my house?

Ugh, more weird rumors are coming.

Just as Sugawara Ryoichi was still pondering some trivial matters, Kujo Mayu seized on the key point of his statement, immediately showing displeasure and questioning him.

"Kenji, have you been following me?"

"Not always. I went home after leaving the shopping mall last night."

"After seeing the photo of you and this person, your wife sent me a message telling me I no longer need to follow you."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you referring to that statement? Or to your wife's behavior?"

Kujo Mayu's face was pale, and she bit her thin lips tightly, without answering.

Seeing Kujo Mayu in such a disheveled state, Kenji Koyama felt a pang of unease.

He sighed, walked up to her, and slowly began to speak.

"If you mean this sentence, I can only say it means exactly what it says."

After seeing the photos I sent to your mother of you and this person at the shopping mall last night, your mother sent me new instructions: "Starting today, you don't need to follow Moyu anymore. Thank you for your hard work, go home and rest."

As for why the lady did this, I don't understand. You need to ask her directly.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always feel that this person named Kenji is very hostile towards me.

In particular, the word "this" in that sentence was not only emphasized, but the speaker even turned their head and glared at themselves fiercely.

Although he allowed Kujo Mayu to live in his house, he was an accomplice in her running away from home and an accomplice in her fight against her parents.

But the reason she ran away from home was definitely not because of me. So please don't misunderstand.

However, the question I had just asked now has been answered.

First of all, "Madam" should refer to Mayu Kujo's mother.

Judging from the respect and titles Kenji showed to Kujo Mayu and her mother, their family is probably a large, traditional family with a strong sense of tradition.

Moreover, the Kujo Mayu family holds a higher status than the Kenji family.

Secondly, "this kind of thing" should refer to the incident of Kujo Mayu running away from home.

In fact, this sentence can be interpreted as: Kujo Mayu wanted to attract the attention of "Madam", that is, her mother, by running away from home, so that her mother would come to find her.

However, her mother was as stubborn as a mule.

Even though his daughter had run away from home, he only sent people to keep an eye on her. He never thought about searching for her, nor was he afraid that his daughter would encounter any bad people or suffer any misfortune.

They were clearly worried to death, but pretended not to care.

What about stubborn parents, and troubled girls who lacked parental love from a young age and then rebelled during puberty to attract attention?

It's true what they say, birds of a feather flock together.

Upon further reflection, Sugawara Ryoichi realized that there seemed to be something wrong with his guess.

It felt like a complete airplane had been assembled using airplane parts, but when I turned around, I found that there were still airplane parts on the ground that hadn't been used.

Before Sugawara Ryoichi could continue thinking, Kujo Mayu, standing beside him, choked up with a sob in her voice before slowly speaking.

"Kenji, whose side are you on?"

If you're helping your mother monitor my actions, why are you revealing these things to me in the first place?

"I……"

The words that were already in his mouth were turned back and swallowed whole by Kenji Koyama.

When the words were finally spoken again, they were no longer eloquent enough.

"You've been out for three days now, haven't you had enough of causing trouble? Hurry home, your wife and the others are worried about you."

Even Sugawara Ryoichi noticed that something was amiss.

Kenji said and did so much, all with the goal of getting Kujo Mayu home. His intentions were good.

Unfortunately, she encountered Kujo Mayu, who was going through a rebellious phase, and at that time she probably wouldn't listen to any advice to go home.

Unless her parents come to find her in person.

"This has nothing to do with Kenji."

The girl's words deeply wounded the boy's heart, rendering him unable to utter another word.

For a moment, the atmosphere froze awkwardly.

Ryoichi Sugawara, who was standing to the side, didn't know what to say.

From their conversation, it can be seen that they knew each other before and were familiar with each other; even their parents were acquainted.

Compared to Ryoichi Sugawara, an outsider who had only been in Tokyo for two months, their relationship was completely incomparable.

It's certain that Kujo Mayu's runaway state won't last long.

But we'll have to wait until she figures things out herself and goes home on her own initiative.

This is the conclusion reached by Ryoichi Sugawara.

Just as he was thinking about how to end the awkward atmosphere, a girl wearing a Kitasaka women's baseball uniform came running up to him.

"Koyama, why haven't you gone home yet? Everyone's waiting for you."

Kenji Koyama bit his lip, a pained expression on his face.

Because he was facing away from everyone else, no one noticed his current state.

After mentally preparing himself, he took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"Okay, senior, I'll go back right away."

He then jogged towards the baseball field without looking back.

The girl who came to him had a pair of big, watery eyes, and her infectious, energetic smile seemed to have the magic to clear up a gloomy sky.

She bowed deeply to Sugawara Ryoichi and Kujo Mayu.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoshan, for making you late to get home."

Also, my name is Chinatsu Goto, and I'm the manager of the baseball team.

If you and Xiaoshan are good friends, we might run into each other again.

Please take care of me from now on.