Ah, finally she had brought it up. ‘Did you hear that from her?’

‘No,’ she said. ‘I did ask, and she denied it.’

‘Because there’s really nothing romantic between us.’

Eri glanced at Shoji. ‘Are you sure?’

He shifted. ‘We’re just friends.’ Were they just friends, though? It had started to feel like something more, although not exactly a romantic relationship. ‘I’m helping her because she’s having a rough time finding a job. I can’t just leave her on her own. She’s all alone in Japan with no family.’

She sighed. ‘Tokyo is a huge city. If you’re not picky, you can find a job. She’s young and likeable, and she’s a good cook. She probably has her reasons.’

‘What kind of reasons?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Eri said. ‘It could be anything. We can’t speculate.’

That was true, but … ‘What do you think I should do?’

‘You’ll have to decide that yourself.’

She stopped walking. They were about to reach the main street.

‘Romantic feelings, unresolved trauma, plain laziness, or whatever it is — we won’t know for sure,’ Eri said. ‘But this arrangement isn’t good for either of you, and you know it.’

He said nothing, but his silence could only be interpreted as an admission.

‘Talk to her, ask her if there’s anything you can do for her.’ Her tone was firm. ‘As a good friend, you shouldn’t encourage this dependency.’

A black cat came out from the shadows, startling them both. It wound between Shoji and Eri. The cat curled up around his feet, and he crouched down to pet it. He rubbed its shiny fur as the cat purred.

‘Liyun is like a wandering cat,’ Shoji said, ‘turning up in front of your door on a rainy day. Seeing it so small, alone and shivering, you can’t help but look after it.’

‘Fair enough,’ Eri said. ‘But the rain stopped long ago and you’re still feeding her every day. Unless you plan to take care of her foever, you should let her go. The longer the cat stays at your place, the more difficult it will be for her to return to her previous life. Trust me, she has been doing well fending for herself for years, but now you’re stripping her of her ability to live as a stray.’

Shoji couldn’t say a word. What she had said made sense, but it wasn’t that simple.

‘Or is there something more to this?’ she asked.

He looked at her. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Is it about the woman you dated before?’ She patted his shoulder. ‘Shoji, don’t use other people to heal yourself. You need to be able to love yourself and thrive on your own first before extending that to others.’

‘You’re reading too much into it,’ he said.