Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

When the two arrived home, it was already past dinner time.

As Sumire Kikawa opened the door, the entryway light immediately turned on. Satoru Gojo stood at the door, head bowed, changing his shoes, still carefully protecting the little bear-shaped certificate in his hand.

This wasn't his first time here.

But this time when I entered, it felt a little different.

It's probably because Sumi Kichikawa said "stay overnight".

It's just a single word, yet it has changed so many things imperceptibly.

When Gojo Satoru walked into the living room, the first thing he did was take the certificate of merit to the refrigerator and point out its position.

"Wash your hands first." Sumi Kichikawa closed the door behind him and casually placed the file bag and keys on the low cabinet in the entryway.

Gojo Satoru turned his head, still gesturing with his hand to indicate the height of the nameplate: "I haven't finished pasting it yet."

"You've been at the hospital all afternoon, there are a lot of germs." Sumi Kichikawa walked over, her tone gentle, but her eyes remained fixed on Satoru Gojo's hands, which were holding the cardstock. "Wash your hands before you do it."

Gojo Satoru paused in his action of holding the paper.

He looked down at his hands, which blocked everything without any barrier. Not to mention the germs in the hospital, even the smallest dust particles in the air couldn't touch him.

He instinctively wanted to argue, but when his gaze met the gentle, dark eyes of Susumu Kazuki staring intently at him, he suddenly stopped.

For this ordinary person who gets sick, cold, and tired, these hands had indeed been playing around outside all afternoon.

Gojo Satoru swallowed the thought of explaining, obediently withdrew his hand from the refrigerator door, and shuffled towards the bathroom.

Soon after, the sound of rushing water came from inside.

Kikawa Sumi stood in the center of the living room, her gaze lingering for a moment on two pairs of shoes placed very close together in the entryway, before she looked away, hooking her fingers around the collar of her coat and smoothing it out to hang it on the back of the chair.

The bathroom door opened again. Gojo Satoru, wiping the water droplets from his hands, walked quickly back to the refrigerator.

Seeing him come out, Sumi Kichikawa also went in to wash her hands. When he came out, she saw Gojo Satoru move the sticky note and discount coupon that were originally stuck in the center of the refrigerator to the side to make room, and then use a black round magnet to firmly hold the certificate in place.

[Excellent Temporary Helper: Gojo Satoru]

The hand-drawn bear's head is tilted to one side, with crooked and childish lines.

Gojo Satoru took a half step back, crossed his arms, and tilted his head to admire: "Perfect."

Sumi Kichikawa walked over and took a look.

"It's a little crooked."

Gojo Satoru immediately said, "It looks better when it's a little crooked."

Thinking of the crooked bear stamp from that afternoon, Sumi Kichikawa's ears burned a little more.

Gojo Satoru had obviously thought of that as well.

He looked at him with a smile: "Xiao Cheng seems to have a special affinity for things related to bears today."

Sumi Kichikawa didn't say anything, but simply turned and went to the kitchen: "Is curry okay for dinner?"

Gojo Satoru chuckled and dragged his feet to catch up, leaning against the kitchen door frame and blocking most of the light: "Sure, but I want it a little sweeter."

"I know." Sumire Kichikawa took the ingredients out of the plastic bag.

"Do you really know?" The conspicuous white head peered into the doorway and drawled.

"I'll add three spoonfuls of honey to your portion." Kikawa Sumi washed the potatoes, her tone like she was soothing a picky eater. "Is this okay?"

Gojo Satoru relaxed from leaning against the doorframe, a smile playing on his lips, and didn't reply.

He tilted his head, watching Sumi Kichikawa roll up her shirt sleeves to reveal her forearms, skillfully washing and chopping vegetables. The metal blade made a dull, rhythmic sound on the cutting board.

It wasn't a particularly special scene, but Gojo Satoru never got tired of watching it.

The curry sauce thickened tonight.

The dish by Gojo Satoru was a darker color, and when poured over the rice, it emitted a warm aroma mixed with sweetness.

The crispy crust of the fried shrimp gleamed golden under the light, with only a very slight sheen of oil.

"Mmm, delicious." Gojo Satoru stuffed his mouth full, his cheeks bulging, and mumbled indistinctly with his eyes squinted.

Kikawa Sumi sat opposite him, her movements unhurried as she held her spoon: "Eat slowly."

Gojo Satoru swallowed his rice and pointed at the plate with the handle of his spoon: "Can I order this again next time?"

"Can."

"I also want a strawberry parfait."

"it is good."

"And a cheese tart too."

"That depends on what's in the refrigerator."

Gojo Satoru put the spoon in his mouth and blinked: "It's not like I'm used to Sumiko agreeing so readily."

"Weren't you ordering?" Sumi Kichikawa asked without changing her expression, peeling a shrimp and putting it on his plate.

Looking at the steaming shrimp, Gojo Satoru suddenly raised his voice and said in a sticky tone, "Sumi seems to have been a little too nice to me from the very beginning. Why is that? Satoru-chan really wants to know the reason~"

He always has a habit of using these ambiguous words to test other people's bottom line, yet he always acts nonchalantly.

Kikawa Sumi could always sense the sincerity in his question beneath his flippant words, so he looked up and stared directly into Gojo Satoru's eyes, those calm and deep eyes showing no evasion.

"I'm willing to be good to you," he said.

Gojo Satoru looked at him through the thin layer of water vapor.

For a moment, his heart seemed to stop beating. Some unusual emotions flashed through his mind, but he quickly masked them with a playful tone.

He twirled the cutlery in his hand half-jokingly, raising an exaggerated eyebrow: "Is Xiao Cheng trying to trap me by saying things like that?"

Sumi Kichikawa simply stared at him silently.

I guess so.

Gojo Satoru's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

He swallowed nervously, his spoon slipping from his grasp and making a clear "clink" sound as it hit the edge of the porcelain plate.

The sound was especially clear in the quiet living room.

Gojo Satoru quickly lowered his head, poking at the rice in the plate with his spoon, and mumbled indistinctly, "...Seriously, the curry is too sweet today."

Kikawa Sumi looked at his slightly reddened ear tips and silently curved her eyes in the night.

After dinner, Gojo Satoru happily ate the pudding made by Kikkawa Sumi.

After that, he sat on the sofa with his legs stretched out diagonally over the coffee table, casually adjusting the TV remote.

Occasionally, the sound of Sumi Kichikawa clearing the dishes could be heard from the kitchen.

His gaze swept aimlessly across the living room, finally settling on a plastic storage box under the coffee table.

"Xiao Cheng, what is this?"

He bent down and dragged the box out, pulling out an old cassette tape with severely worn edges.

Kikawa Sumi dried her hands and walked over, then sat down next to her.

"Mr. Fujii gave it to me before."

"Can it be played?"

"uncertain."

Sumi Kichikawa reached out and took the cassette tape, placing it under the light to examine it.

Gojo Satoru leaned closer: "It looks old."

"Hmm." Sumi Kikawa flipped over the cassette cartridge slot. "Mr. Fujii said that inserting it would cause the screen to distort."

"Isn't that broken?"

"may be."

Kikawa Sumi paused for a moment, then said, "But he said he saw it flash by itself once."

Gojo Satoru blinked: "Did it flash by itself?"

"Yes, it flashed by itself even when no machine was plugged in."

Sumi Kichikawa recalled, "Actually, I saw it once later, it just suddenly lit up inside the box."

Gojo Satoru's gaze fell on the cassette tape, his expression remaining unchanged.

"It sounds like an urban legend."

"It could also be due to material aging and reflection."

Sumire Kikawa said.

Gojo Satoru held out his hand: "Let me see?"

Sumi Kawakawa handed him the cassette tape.

Gojo Satoru took it and looked at it over and over again.

With its old plastic casing, worn edges, and oxidation marks on the metal connectors, it looked exactly like an old, nearly unusable cassette tape, with no other grime or debris.

Gojo Satoru gently rubbed the damaged part of the label with his fingertips.

"No name?"

"The label is missing."

"Mr. Fujii doesn't know what game it is either?"

He said it might have gotten mixed in when he was collecting secondhand goods.

Gojo Satoru jokingly said, "Maybe it's a hidden game that only a selected player can unlock."

Sumi Kichikawa glanced at him.

Gojo Satoru laughed: "I think this setting is pretty good."

"We still need to confirm whether there are any security issues first."

"Would you like to try it now?"

Sumi Kichikawa checked the time.

"It's too late today. The machine at home is still usable, and I don't want to take any risks."

Gojo Satoru handed the cartridge back to him: "Shall we use Mr. Fujii's old machine next time?"

"Or borrow one that's about to break down."

Gojo Satoru immediately said, "I want to come too."

Kikawa Sumi turned her head away.

Gojo Satoru leaned back on the sofa, waved the cartridge, and said matter-of-factly, "It's a glowing game cartridge. How could you play something like this behind my back?"

Seeing his enthusiastic expression, Sumi Kichikawa swallowed back the "it might be a malfunction" he was about to say. He took the cartridge and put it back in the case.

"Okay, let's try it together next time."

"If there really is a hidden game, I'll play the first round."

"OK."

Gojo Satoru smiled with satisfaction, leaning to the side until his shoulder almost touched the hem of Kikkawa Sumi's clothes.

"Then it's settled, Cheng."

"Yes, it's a deal." Sumi Kichikawa turned her head to look at his white hair so close to hers, and replied in a very soft voice.