Chapter 101: Matsuda Yumi’s Happiness

"Senpai, such a wonderful house... did you really give it to me?"

Matsuda Yumi asked Kitahara, her big, watery eyes wide with wonder.

She still couldn’t quite believe it.

One had to realize that in a metropolis like Tokyo, housing was extremely scarce and precious.

An ordinary person might work hard for an entire lifetime and still never get to live in a house like this.

Just like herself—all along, she had lived in a tiny room measuring only a few square meters. Yet even so, she had still felt very happy.

Because at least she had an independent space of her own.

By contrast, many other people couldn’t even enjoy such a tiny little corner of the world and had no choice but to share a place with others.

Not only did they have zero privacy to speak of, but they also had to endure astonishingly exorbitant rent.

The fact that she could find her own warmth and serenity inside a tiny, few-square-meter room had already made her deeply satisfied and joyful.

And a house like the one before her eyes was, so to speak, the residence of her dreams.

Spacious, bright, comfortable, and convenient.

At the mere thought that she would get to live here from now on, her body trembled slightly.

"Haha, of course. Haven’t the procedures already been completed? Yumi-chan, are you satisfied with this house? From now on, this place will be our love nest."

Kitahara said with a beaming smile.

"Satisfied, of course I couldn’t be more satisfied! I have no objections to using this as our love nest either, but Senpai... we’ve only been dating for a short while, and yet you’re giving me such an expensive house. I feel like it’s... a bit inappropriate?" Matsuda Yumi said, a troubled look on her face.

Although she loved it immensely, her simple-minded nature made her feel that something wasn’t quite right, and that she didn’t deserve such a gift.

She felt she hadn’t given anything in return, yet she had received something so valuable in this romance.

It really made Senpai spend far too much money.

Senpai was just way too good to her!

"There’s nothing inappropriate about it. I love Yumi-chan, and I’ve already decided to spend the rest of my life with you! Yumi-chan, are you willing to be my lifelong companion? If you are, then you can serenely accept any gift from me," Kitahara said sincerely.

"I am! I’m willing to accompany Senpai for a lifetime! Senpai, I feel so happy right now!"

Tears fell from Matsuda Yumi’s eyes—tears of pure happiness.

She threw herself into Kitahara’s arms, hugging him tightly, as if wanting to melt her entire self into his body.

Immediately following that, she raised her head, closed her eyes, and offered her sweet lips without the slightest hesitation.

With this, she expressed the endless love and deep attachment to Kitahara from the bottom of her heart, as well as the unspeakable excitement and satisfaction at this very moment.

After a long while, their lips parted.

Kitahara spoke with deep sincerity once more:

"Yumi-chan, my love for you is steadfast, unquestionable, and unshakable!

However, I must confess something to you. I suffer from gamophobia—a fear of marriage—and I might never be able to walk down the wedding aisle with you in this lifetime. Can you accept this?"

Hearing this, Matsuda Yumi couldn’t help but widen her eyes, her face filled with surprise: "Ah? Senpai, you actually suffer from such a strange condition? Not being able to get married... that really is a bit of a shame!"

Her voice trembled slightly; clearly, this news had dealt her quite a shock.

Kitahara let out a gentle sigh, a trace of helplessness and pain showing in his eyes: "Yeah, even I myself don’t quite understand why it turned out like this.

Whenever I think about marriage, an inexplicable surge of panic and unease wells up in my heart. I know this is extremely unfair to you, but I really can’t control my feelings.

For this reason, I am willing to do everything I can to make it up to you in other areas. I hope these can somewhat offset the regret brought to you by my personal problem."

"This..." Matsuda Yumi lapsed into a brief silence.

Marrying Kitahara was her dream. Now that the dream could not come true, she felt somewhat crestfallen.

However, Senpai wasn’t doing it out of choice—he had contracted such a disease, which belonged to force majeure. It was something no one wanted to see, yet everyone was powerless against.

She could only accept it.

After pondering for a long time, she looked up at Kitahara with expectant eyes:

"In that case, then Senpai, can you give me a wedding ceremony? I want to wear a wedding dress once and present my most beautiful self before you."

Matsuda Yumi had compromised for love.

Seeing this, Kitahara nodded hurriedly and gave a firm reply:

"Of course I can! At the right time, I will hold an incomparably grand and splendid wedding for Yumi-chan, making Yumi-chan the most beautiful woman in the world on that day.

Yumi-chan, thank you for understanding me, and thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I will definitely make you happy. From now on, I will give you five million yen in allowance every month—you can spend this money freely on anything you like!"

"Sugoi! That’s too much, Senpai..."

"It’s not too much! My most beloved Yumi-chan deserves all of this! Also, your family’s bookstore looks far too outdated; I plan to take out a sum of money to fund your father so he can renovate it completely. After all, it hasn’t been easy for your father to raise you all these years..."

"Senpai, love me!"

...

In front of the window, Kitahara Chiki hugged Matsuda Yumi from behind, admiring the boundless beautiful scenery outside.

At some point, raindrops began falling from the sky, splashing onto the windowsill in all directions.

Looking so much like the marks of love.

In this world, some people might believe that the water stored in rivers and oceans is the most abundant.

After all, when we stand on the banks of a river, watching the surging waters roll endlessly eastward, or gaze at the vast and boundless ocean, sensing its depth and vastness, it is hard not to be awed by the majestic power of the water before us.

And so, in the subconscious minds of many, rivers and oceans are taken for granted as the largest reservoirs on Earth, believing the amount of water they contain to be truly oceanic.

But in reality?

It is actually not so.

The human body hides a spring!

The place that truly holds the most moisture is actually right within each of our own bodies!

That’s right—it is this seemingly ordinary and unremarkable body that actually harbors an endless source of water—the "spring" of the human body.

However, discovering and unlocking this treasure trove is no easy task; it requires our unremitting effort and exploration.

Regrettably, not everyone is able to perceive this hidden spring within themselves.

Most people spend their entire lives failing to unveil this mysterious veil, unable to appreciate the wonder and power contained within.

Only those very few fortunate souls—whether relying on painstaking, persistent cultivation later in life, or benefiting from innate, extraordinary talent—manage to successfully excavate this precious resource and wield it with ease.

As a poem goes:

All men claim that seas and rivers hold the most water,

Yet fail to notice the spring hidden within the human form.

Sixty, seventy, eighty percent is fluid in motion,

A symphony of life, set in tune by water’s lead!