Tokyo: Am I the only male tenant?

It’s great! Even before I saw the real body from a distance, I knew it was sweet osmanthus as soon as I smelled the fragrance.

In early October, under a cloudless sky, tiny orange petals bloomed and fell to the ground.

Matsumoto Tomoko was more impressed by the strong smell of the osmanthus tree than its appearance.

The sweet osmanthus in autumn and the white flowers of early spring - Daphne osmanthus - are probably the "two most fragrant flowers" that you can often see in residential areas.

But at the beginning, she often got the flowering seasons of these two flowers wrong.

Yes, sweet osmanthus is an autumn flower.

My wife always forgets about it immediately after checking it, and I don’t know why.

The calendar says Kanna Tsuki, and he was often wearing short sleeves until last month, so it seems like his time on the stage is almost over.

The second half of the semester has begun at Muen University, where Ginjo has been attending since the spring, and clothing stores around the school have recently started selling long-sleeved shirts.

The weather is perfect for taking a walk before sunset while admiring the flowers and trees blooming in the nearby gardens.

Ah, roses and daphne flowers are blooming over there. The townhouse is really different.

If I continue to hang around, Sosuke-kun will probably finish his club activities and go home soon.

Thinking of this, Matsumoto Tomoko couldn't help but quicken her pace a little. After walking through the prosperous street in front of the tram station, she turned into the quiet residential area and continued all the way.

In her opinion, although this is not a fashionable area that everyone envies, its location makes it a town where people can live a leisurely life.

Come to think of it, she has lived in this suburb far away from the city center for more than twenty years.

Although there have been various problems, big and small, here, but overall she still likes this area.

The wife now walked to the front of "Matsumoto Apartment". As the owner of this house, she poured all her efforts into this house.

It is an old three-story building with no elevator and no modern design with many functions, but it does have a real breath of life.

It's on the third floor, the first room from the right.

Almost all the other tenants' balconies were equipped with satellite antennas or had washed clothes swaying in the breeze, but only that balcony had a color tone that was very different from the others.

How to describe it? It's as if the words "simple and capable" were printed on it.

If there weren't some cold fitness equipment there, people would probably mistakenly think that no one lives there.

As the only male tenant in this apartment, Yincheng's room is so eye-catching in his wife's eyes.

Every time I pass by the door, my wife will habitually look up. Humans only want to see what they admire, no matter if it is a person or a balcony. That's probably it.

Tomoko Matsumoto took out the key and opened the door.

"Sousuke-kun, I'm back."

When she saw the shoes at the entrance, she knew that Yincheng had arrived home before her.

"I bought the small cubes of butter you like because they were sold out at the convenience store, so I went to the supermarket in front of the station to buy them."

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Tomoko."

Ginjo Sousuke replied from the kitchen.

The wife walked into the house with the cream she had bought and looked towards the kitchen. A young man in a black sports suit was opening the refrigerator.

He must have just finished exercising and is looking for a drink.

Although he is a very handsome man, his casual home clothes make his natural beauty soar.

He originally had a tall figure that could touch the kitchen ceiling, and his handsome appearance was not inferior to that of a model. He looked like a man who should walk on the catwalk.

That’s right, when she first saw Ginjo, Matsumoto Tomoko was attracted to him.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Tomoko-san?"

Seeing his wife looking a little absent-minded, Ginjo asked curiously.

"Ah, no, it's just that I saw a lot of newly bloomed flowers on the way back today, so I was delayed a little."

Matsumoto Tomoko smiled gently, put the cream in the refrigerator, and gave Ginjo a light kiss on the side of his face.

I was actually living with someone who was almost 20 years older than me. No matter how I thought about it, it was unbelievable.

I originally thought that he was just another ordinary college student tenant, but who would have thought that he would gradually become the de facto "male owner" of the house.

The past few months have been so dreamy for the wife that she has to check from time to time whether she is in reality or a dream.

"By the way, Sousuke-kun, what kind of food would you like to eat today?"

"I like everything that Tomoko-san makes."

"How about we make pasta? I seem to be eating rice lately, so I wanted to make pasta for a change today."

"Oh, it's good. It feels like Western food."

Ginjo had always felt that as long as he lived with his wife, there was absolutely no need to go to restaurants anymore.

Not only is this woman skilled, but she also excels in a variety of different flavors.

But more importantly, her performance in the bedroom is just as impressive as her cooking skills.

"Before we process the meat, we should pick some vegetables first. Sosuke-kun, come with me to the balcony and pick some eggplants and green onions, right?"

"Of course, no problem. Are you going to use them as pasta ingredients after picking them?"

"Yes, freshly picked vegetables taste the freshest."

Matsumoto Tomoko nodded as she took out a whole box of shredded pork from the refrigerator and threw it into the mixing bowl.

Next, she took out the metal sieve and cooking scissors that had always been placed in a fixed position in the kitchen.

Just add a helmet light and it becomes the “three-piece set for picking balcony vegetables”, but it’s not dark yet, so there’s no need to wear it.

Considering that most apartments are occupied by single people, the balcony space in my wife's room, which is located opposite the living room, can be said to be very spacious, not to mention that it is located in a south-facing building with good sunlight.

In addition to his wife's hobby of growing vegetables, this outdoor area has become the couple's favorite outdoor sports venue in recent times.

Most of the students and office workers in the apartment go out early and come back late, so Yincheng and his wife often come here to have fun when no one is around.

Ginjo Sosuke looked at the clock on the wall. He still had plenty of time today, enough to spend some time with his wife before dinner...

Chapter 577 Madam's Balcony

"Oh, and we can pick some more for the salad, since I bought avocados and corn."

As Matsumoto Tomoko spoke, she handed the basin for collecting vegetables to Ginjo Sosuke.

"Okay, it would be perfect with some refreshing salad."

After Ginjo Sousuke answered casually, the two of them walked towards the key area of ​​today - the balcony.

Lush green plants flood the spacious space of the balcony. Specifically, those plants are all potted vegetables and fruits.

These are the true face of the strange "green" seen from outside the apartment.

“I want to grow something that can help with everyday cooking.”

With this belief, Tomoko Matsumoto built this large balcony vegetable garden.

Very good, then let’s start picking today.

The wife rolled up the cuffs of her long-sleeved shirt, looking like she was about to do something big.

It seemed that she had initially opened up this vegetable garden on the balcony just to grow some ingredients for her own cooking, because the open space in the yard had already been planted with other flowers and plants.

However, the expansion of the planting area also brought her some troubles. For example, the most important point is whether this balcony vegetable garden can comply with fire regulations.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that it is still sticking to the "safe range very close to the gray area".

This is the only thing I can believe until someone comes to my door again.

After a summer, the bitter melon and corn with lush vines in this balcony vegetable garden have been harvested. The space looks a little wider than before, but there are still many summer vegetables growing.

What exactly is summer? Tomoko Matsumoto has been thinking deeply about this recently.

For example, the universities that Yincheng and his daughter attend extend their summer vacation all the way to beyond the end of August, and school does not start until early September.

Among summer vegetables, there are also some slow-moving ones.

Unfortunately, I can’t wear short sleeves anymore as autumn is already here.

The solar terms written on the calendar, the times when vegetables are considered in season, the times when they actually bear fruit, and the big fall sales at stores—none of these seasons overlap.

The wife picked the fruits while thinking, starting with the shallots planted in small pots.

Only about thirty centimeters tall, these green onions, as thin as straws, grow densely together.

"I remember that you can't pull out all the shallots like you can carrots. You can't pull them out, but you have to cut them, leaving two or three centimeters in the soil, right, Sister Tomoko?"

Yincheng waited with a basin in his hand, remembering some key points about picking shallots that his wife had told him before.

"Thank goodness you remembered, Sosuke-kun. I thought you wouldn't take such a boring conversation like this to heart."

Tomoko Matsumoto smiled gently and cut the green onions a few centimeters above the soil.

After cutting, new onion sprouts will continue to grow from the cut.

She was a little worried if she'd cut too much, but it looked like it should be fine.

In principle, the growth of shallots is the same as the regeneration of "fingernails".

There is a place in the whole plant that can grow continuously. This place seems to be called the growth point, where active cell division occurs.

Most plant growth points are at the tip of the stem, and if they are cut off, they will not be able to grow further.

However, the growth point of shallots is very close to the roots, so they are very practical and important plants.

No matter how you cut it, as long as the growth point is left, new shoots will continue to emerge.

She still remembered that when she first started chatting about these things with Ginjo, he was the first to use the fingernails as an analogy.

So until now, my wife can't help but mistake the green onions used as a condiment for miso soup for human fingernails.

Although it sounds a bit awkward, fortunately I'm almost used to it now.

"How could that be? I remember every word Sister Tomoko said."

As Yincheng spoke, he handed over the basin in his hand and placed the cut green onions neatly to one side.

He has long been an excellent listener and pays close attention to the seemingly insignificant details in life.