Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 100 An Overwhelmed Heart

Today, Shiina Maki still couldn't leave work on time. She kept cleaning until 7 p.m., and her stomach was so hungry that she almost felt nauseous.

She barely rested all day, constantly busy in the kitchen, and didn't even have time to eat.

At most, when I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore, I would take a break and eat some bread that was about to expire to fill my stomach.

But bread can only fill your stomach temporarily, and you'll get hungry again soon.

Maki Shiina completed her day's work in this state, earning a salary of 5600 yen.

Her working hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven hours a day.

But after get off work, she still has to spend nearly two hours, free of charge, cleaning the store inside and out and tidying everything up before she can go home.

"When we get back, we still need to cook..."

Shiina Maki closed the shop door, looked at the sky which had become completely dark, and thought to herself.

Even though she was in good physical condition, she was exhausted after a long day of intense work.

She dragged her tired body and walked heavily on the road home, taking a tram.

Only when she was on the tram on her way back could she rest a little, but she had to be careful not to fall asleep, otherwise she might miss her stop.

Feeling drowsy, she returned to Adachi Ward, walked to a supermarket near her home, carefully selected some discounted vegetables, and went home.

"I'm back."

Pushing open the door, the house was dimly lit, with the faint smell of alcohol emanating from it.

She fumbled in the dark and turned on the living room light, only to be met with a scene of utter chaos.

Many bottles were on the ground, and leftover food was scattered on the table. Her mother was slumped over the table, her hair disheveled, clearly drunk, and had fallen asleep.

This wasn't just her mother's doing; it was also caused by the men she brought home while working as a hostess.

The man was nowhere to be seen, but he casually left several thousand-yen bills next to Shiina's mother.

"..."

Seeing this scene, Shiina Maki suddenly felt a deeper sense of exhaustion, but she just pursed her lips and silently cleaned up the mess.

First, he put away the wine bottle, then he poured the leftover food on the table into the trash can, and finally he picked up the six thousand-yuan bills and stacked them on the table.

After doing all that, she went into the kitchen to cook. She made a simple kelp miso soup, fried chicken nuggets, and a side dish.

Once everything was finished, Shiina Maki woke up her mother, who was sleeping by the table.

"Mother, wake up, it's time to eat."

Even though her stomach would cramp from hunger from time to time, she still insisted on waking her mother up so they could eat together.

"Um……"

At her call, Shiina's mother moved her body, looked up and opened her eyes to look at Shiina Maki.

"Where's the money?"

Just as Shiina Maki had predicted, her mother's first words were to ask her for money.

This was also a "promise" between her and her mother.

Previously, she told Akizuki Makoto that she had mustered up the courage to rebel against her mother, but that was only half true.

There was resistance, but it was nothing more than compromise.

She promised her mother that she would earn money and then make her mother stop hitting her.

“…This is today’s.”

Shiina Maki took out the banknotes she had prepared beforehand and handed them over; they were five thousand-yen banknotes.

She told her mother that she earned 5,000 yen a day, but in reality, she only earned that much on weekends.

Moreover, she paid for it herself, and she hasn't received her salary yet. Fortunately, she has secretly saved several hundred thousand yen, which is enough to tide her over for now.

"Hmph, that's all it's good for."

Shiina's mother snatched the money, snorted coldly, and then started eating.

Only then was Shiina Maki able to sit down and eat her first hot meal of the day.

Even when she was starving, she ate mindfully, taking small bites, her heart filled with exhaustion, numbness, and an indescribable sense of oppression.

After finishing her meal, she quietly cleared away the dishes and put them in the water tank before going upstairs back to her dark and damp attic.

The attic was very narrow, only about five or six square meters. Besides a bed, there was only room for a few stools. Her clothes were placed on the stools, while other things were squeezed into the corner.

There were only a few things that she carefully kept, placing them in boxes to prevent damage.

She took a page of manuscript paper from a wooden box and lay down on the bed.

Under the dim bedside lamp, she looked at the neat and upright characters on the paper, and the emotions she had suppressed all day burst forth instantly.

Her tears could no longer be held back and streamed down her face; the overwhelming grief almost crushed her.

At that moment, she finally realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could never be worthy of Akizuki Makoto.

Akizuki Makoto lives in the light, while she lives in the dark mire.

They were from completely different worlds. No matter how hard she tried, Akizuki Makoto remained an unattainable figure for her.

The overwhelming sense of inferiority crushed the mental fortitude she had been holding together.

She kept deceiving herself with the excuse that as long as she worked hard, one day Akizuki Makoto would notice her.

In reality, Akizuki Makoto wouldn't even notice her, nor would he care about her.

Even someone as outstanding as Ji Yexue wasn't particularly special in Akizuki Makoto's eyes.

"Woo..."

She bit her lip tightly, trying desperately to suppress her tears and the sadness in her heart, but when she thought about the gap between herself and Akizuki Makoto, and the girls around him, a sense of despair welled up in her heart.

No matter what, her love will probably never blossom into anything.

People can suddenly become timid when faced with happiness; it takes more courage to grasp happiness than to endure pain.

She has mustered her courage and is desperately trying to grasp happiness.

But for her, happiness was like trying to catch the moon's reflection in the sea.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not find happiness and ultimately fell into an abyss of unhappiness.

She was happy during the time she spent with Akizuki Makoto, but it was an illusory and empty happiness.

As soon as she parted ways with Akizuki Makoto and returned home, this blissful dream would shatter immediately, just like Cinderella's magic.

She tried very hard not to feel inferior, but she just couldn't.

Everything in her life made her feel suffocated and oppressed.

Tonight, Shiina Maki had these thoughts in mind, and with her head on a damp pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.

She didn't know how long she had been crying, only that her tear ducts seemed to be broken, and tears kept flowing out, soaking most of her pillow.

Even when she was asleep, her expression remained uneasy, shrouded in an indescribable sadness and repression.

"Akizuki-kun..."

"What... should I do?"

"I wish... I wish you were here with me... to save me from this wretched state..."

She mumbled unconsciously, tears welling up again in her closed eyes and sliding down her cheeks.

(End of this chapter)