My Girlfriend Met My Landlady… And Something Felt Off

There’s nothing to feel guilty about. Nothing’s going on between Sister Ling and me… really, nothing.

The memory of the day Sister Ling “picked me up” flashed through my mind.

Yeah… that doesn’t count.

I wasn’t in a normal state back then either. My mind was hazy. I only have vague memories. So it doesn’t count.

And after that, Sister Ling never acted any differently. She probably just saw it as something like “bathing a stray cat she picked up.”

She likely just sees me as someone who needs looking after, like a younger brother. I don’t think she has any special feelings for me. Even though I can’t read her mind completely, I can tell from how she treats me.

And Yi Yi is my official girlfriend.

Bringing my girlfriend home is a perfectly normal thing to do.

Just as I finished convincing myself and snapped back to reality,

I saw that Sister Ling was already standing in front of us.

I was a bit startled, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at Yi Yi.

Her expression was subtle. Her eyes were half-closed, as if she were sizing Yi Yi up, or looking through her at something else.

Yi Yi didn’t flinch. She just quietly met her gaze. Out of politeness, she spoke first.

“Sorry, you are…?”

Sister Ling didn’t answer directly. Instead, the corners of her lips curled into a soft laugh.

“Hehe…”

Then she said something I didn’t quite understand.

“You’re the ‘same,’ aren’t you.”

“The same…?”

Yi Yi didn’t understand either. What did “same” refer to?

Same as who? Same in what way? Same in what regard? None of it was clear.

But then Sister Ling did something I didn’t expect. She reached out and patted Yi Yi’s head, her movements incredibly gentle.

“So beautiful. So pure white…”

“Thank you.”

Yi Yi politely thanked her for the compliment. She sensed that Sister Ling knew me. And after being complimented on her hair color by that high school student—what was his name? Zhao something?

Never mind. I’ll just call him “the kid.”

Because of my influence, Yi Yi had that experience of being complimented on her hair. She probably thought Sister Ling was also complimenting her because of me.

But no.

I knew Sister Ling wasn’t that type. She wasn’t a woman easily swayed by my influence.

If she said something like that, she meant it.

And the word she used was… “pure white”?

That was a subtle choice.

Yi Yi’s hair is white, but it’s not a pure, paper-like white. Not to that extent.

It’s somewhere between gray and white, leaning more toward white. Lighter than granny gray, but not yet snow-white.

You couldn’t really call it “pure white.” Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But was Sister Ling even talking about her hair?

I was still analyzing when Sister Ling asked Yi Yi,

“Is she the life partner you’ve chosen?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. This is Shen Kaori. My girlfriend.”

Phew. It was an abrupt question, but at least this confirmed there wouldn’t be a jealousy-fueled scene.

It also confirmed that Sister Ling really doesn’t have any special feelings for me. Maybe she doesn’t even see me as a man…

And this somehow felt like bringing my girlfriend home to meet the parents.

Sister Ling looks very mature, probably older than me, but definitely not over thirty.

“I see…”

Sister Ling nodded. Then she faced Yi Yi again.

“Being his girlfriend will be very hard.”

Huh?

What did she mean by that? Was she trying to break us up?

Yi Yi also looked confused.

“What do you mean by that…?”

Sister Ling didn’t answer directly. Instead, she turned and walked to the public trash can in the hallway and threw the breakfast she’d been carrying—tray and all—into it.

She must have seen the grocery bags in my hands and realized we were going to make our own breakfast. But still, throwing it away like that…

Then she walked back to Yi Yi. Yi Yi’s expression had turned serious. She looked at Sister Ling with intense resolve.

“No matter how hard it is, I will stay with him.”

Sister Ling kept her smile.

“My name is Ayane Hane. It seems we’ll get along well.”

She didn’t continue the previous topic. The sudden self-introduction caught Yi Yi off guard. But her upbringing as a lady meant she only hesitated for a moment before bowing.

“Ah, yes. I might be living here for a while. Please take care of me.”

She immediately switched to neighborly pleasantries.

But the phrase “living here for a while” was key. Sister Ling is the landlady. Whether Yi Yi can stay here is entirely up to her.

If she says no, I’ll have to leave this place with Yi Yi.

Honestly, like the idiot said, there’s no way I’ll find another rental as good as this one.

Yi Yi might offer to pay the rent herself, but my pride as a man won’t allow her to support me.

In that case, I might have to go to the idiot for help… The thought of asking someone for help makes my kidneys ache.

But circumstances might force it. I’ve prepared for the worst.

Fortunately, Sister Ling said—

“Okay. You can stay as long as you like.”

Phew—

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

I didn’t expect Sister Ling to accept Yi Yi. Does she also see Yi Yi as someone “without a home”?

Come to think of it, Yi Yi really is homeless now that she’s cut ties with her family.

But Sister Ling shouldn’t know any of that. She didn’t know Yi Yi before. And this just happened. There’s no way she could know.

So mysterious.

Sister Ling didn’t say anything more. She waved at us and went back into her room.

Watching her go, Yi Yi turned to me.

“Darling, who was that?”

“That’s my landlady, Ayane Hane.”

“I see. Miss Landlady. She looks very young, she’s beautiful, and her voice is lovely.”

So it’s common knowledge that Sister Ling’s voice is amazing.

“Yeah. But honestly, running into her like that made me a bit nervous.”

“Why? Darling, did you fall behind on rent? I can…”

“No. I mean, bringing you back here. Even if you’re staying with me, without her permission, you couldn’t live here.”

“Ah, is that so? Then I’ll have to thank Sister Ling properly another day.”

It seems Yi Yi doesn’t realize just how lucky this is.

In the three months I’ve lived here, I haven’t seen any other residents.

But judging from the signs of life I noticed when I first moved in, there were definitely others before me.

I just don’t know if they were kicked out or what…

Oh, right. I need to tell Yi Yi about the one rule.

“Yi Yi, remember this. There’s only one thing you need to be careful about with Sister Ling. You must never refuse her.”

“Never refuse? Does Sister Ling make demands?”

“Not demands. She won’t ask you to do anything or restrict you. But sometimes she might do something for you. And when that happens, you absolutely cannot refuse.”

“Do something for me…” Yi Yi’s gaze shifted to the trash can. Sister Ling had just thrown her entire breakfast into it.

Seeming to understand something, Yi Yi said, “Okay. Don’t worry, Darling. I’m very confident in my ability to ‘accept’ things.”

“Oh. Ah, right.”

She meant that in her previous home, she was always asked to do things. And those things, she had to accept and accomplish.

But from now on, no one would ask anything of her.

I’ll take good care of Yi Yi.

“Let’s go home, Yi Yi.”

“Yes.”

Yi Yi and I exchanged a smile and walked toward my place. From now on, this would be “our” home.