Chapter 131


    The candy apple fell to the ground, its sugary coating shattering into countless tiny shards that sparkled under the light.


    Reina Nakajima buried her face in Yuuki Minami’s shoulder, the red of the candy apple staining her cheeks.


    Yuuki Minami let go of the girl’s fingers, turning to look at her face nestled against his shoulder. The girl raised her head to nce at him briefly before hastily lowering it again.


    “Why did you bite me?” Reina whispered.


    “What, are you the only one allowed to bite me?” Yuuki crouched down, picking up the fallen candy apple and cing it into a stic bag in his hand. “Besides, didn’t we already bite each otherst night? Why are you making a big deal about it?”


    “You’re not allowed to mentionst night!” The blush that Reina had tried to suppress surged back to her cheeks.


    She tightly covered Yuuki’s mouth with her pale fingers. The boy chuckled, then yfully nibbled on her fingers.


    —


    [The bright red, tender interior of the candy apple reminds you of the girl on your back. You nibble her fingers and tease her yfully.][The candy apple shattered. Ahead, there’s a stall selling taiyaki. You buy some for the girl.]


    [She takes a bite and offers you one, but you deliberately avoid biting where she has, watching her puff up her cheeks in mock anger.]


    [Passing by a game stall, you set her down and y alongside her.]


    [By the time you reach the mountain shrine, the stic bag in your hand is filled with food wrappers. The girl on your back is holding a stuffed toy in one hand and a stic bag with three goldfish swimming inside in the other.]


    [The stuffed toy was won by you at a dart game; the goldfish were caught by you at a scooping game. The girl also tried both games but barely hit any dartboard and broke her paper scoops almost instantly.]


    [This left her quite frustrated. Later, at a shooting gallery stall, she refused to y and only let you take part. Unfamiliar with shooting, you only managed to win a constion prize. Sheughed at your failure, and you nibbled her fingers in retaliation.]


    [As the time for the fireworks disy approached, you discarded the trash and stood by the shrine with the girl, gazing at the sky by the mountainside.]


    [The sky above the mountain and the town below was faintly gray, illuminated by bright lights,cking the pure darkness of night. The organizers had taken this into ount and set the fireworks off from the mountainside, near the river by the town.]


    [The mountain was a bit far from theunch site. Many visitors had gone to the riverside to watch, but you didn’t have time to make it there. You also didn’t want the girl to struggle for a spot in the crowd. So, you stayed in the woods nearby, watching as fiery reds pierced through the night sky.]


    [The first firework climbed unsteadily, dragging a long tail behind it, before abruptly extinguishing in the night sky. Only the faint glow of its tail lingered as it slowly faded. Your heart tightened instinctively.]


    [Just as the glow was about to disappear, a sudden burst of light exploded. For a fleeting moment, you couldn’t locate the origin of the brilliant light; the first thing to light up was the clouds around the sky. Then, a dazzling red flower bloomed in the sky, its petals spreading like a vibrant chrysanthemum. The smoky remnants of its tail glowed faintly, forming its stem.]


    [You and Reina Nakajima were both captivated by the enormous, radiant red chrysanthemum. Holding each other’s hands tightly, you both stared fixedly at the distant sky.]


    [The chrysanthemum’s petals spread further, covering a portion of the sky. After its swift bloom came an equally swift withering, the firework scattering into countless red sparks that slowly fell through the sky, vanishing into the dark earth below.]


    [With one firework ending, more trails of light ascended into the sky, faint sounds of dyed explosions reaching your ears from afar.]


    [The subsequent fireworks were even more dazzling and grand, but they couldn’t evoke the same emotions as the first one did.]


    [You captured a photo of Reina Nakajima. In it, the girl was smiling sweetly, with the brilliant fireworks blooming behind her. Dressed in a red yukata, she seemed to blend seamlessly with the crimson fireworks.]


    [After the fireworks ended, the two of you continued to stare at the now-silent night sky for a while, feeling a tinge of mncholy as you returned to the inn.]


    [The girl’s use of her props was bing increasingly adept.]


    The sudden twist in the simtion caught Yuuki Minami off guard.


    He thought to himself, Let’s see if you can borate on this part!


    Pausing the simtion, he took a moment to rest, recalling the images in his mind. When the simtion mentioned fireworks, a memory of watching them surfaced in his thoughts. Fireworks were indeed beautiful, but he would dly trade their beauty for a scene like the previous one.


    Uncertain whether this simtion would seed, he wondered how well Reina Nakajima’s use of props would turn out.


    Pulling himself out of the simted world temporarily, he sighed inwardly. In the simtion, he was always surrounded by beautiful girls, but in reality, he was still sleeping alone in a small studio apartment.


    Wait, wasn’t there someone else behind him?


    Yuuki Minami had been so engrossed in the simtion that he had forgotten about Yuko Ibuki.


    Why was this petite senior still here? He had been simting for quite a while now.


    Sitting up and pretending to wake from a dream, he nced to his side. Yuko Ibukiy motionless, her eyes closed as if she were sound asleep.


    Checking his phone, he saw it was already past nine in the evening.


    Is this girl nning to stay the night here?


    “Wake up!” He reached out and nudged her shoulder.


    Yuko Ibuki turned over but showed no sign of opening her eyes.


    Yuuki Minami felt a headacheing on. He recalled the series of events that led up to this: first, she forgot her keys and waited at his ce, then fell asleep on his bed, pretending to be deeply asleep no matter how much he called her. Wasn’t this starting to feel like a carefullyid-out n?


    But then, Yuuki thought again: she could only be sharing the bed with him because he had fallen asleep as soon as he got home, something she couldn’t have predicted. Quickly dismissing his doubts, he reasoned that all she needed to do was say she was tired and climb into his bed—it was just taking advantage of the moment.


    This sly girl—how cunning of her!


    If he let her stay the night, their rtionship would undoubtedly change. Even if he didn’t give in to temptation, she could use the fact that they’d “slept together” as leverage to push her advances further!


    He had to get rid of her!


    Yuuki nudged her again, muttering to himself, “Are you really asleep? What do I do now? There’s only one bed here…”


    His suspicions were spot-on. Everything was going exactly ording to Yuko Ibuki’s n.


    As long as she spent the night here, she could im to be the girl who’d spent the night with Yuuki Minami!


    With this bond established, that Nao Asano wouldn’t stand a chance!


    Hearing Yuuki’s muttered words, a small sense of triumph swelled in her heart.


    “There’s no helping it. I’ll let her sleep,” came the boy’s second sentence.


    Before Yuko could silently celebrate, Yuuki’s third sentence shattered her joy.


    “I’ll just borrow a room at Nao-nee’s ce.”


    “…!?”<hr>


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