"Oh, no…!"
As her finger accidentally touched the video call invitation, Nagasaki Soyo's body suddenly tensed, and she frantically tried to close the interface.
But she was a step too late.
The screen flickered, and Togawa Sakiko had already appeared on the phone screen.
(It's over…)
(It's all over…)
An incredibly strong sense of shame and immorality surged into her heart. In her panic, Nagasaki Soyo couldn't even hold her phone steadily; it slipped directly from her hand and fell onto the bed with a soft thud.
(We agreed to face things together, but I couldn't help but sneak around behind Sakiko's back. Sakiko will definitely not forgive me now…)
In that instant, Nagasaki Soyo felt as if her entire life had become bleak.
However, the next second.
Togawa Sakiko's puzzled voice came from the phone:
"Eh, where's Soyo? Why can't I see anything?"
"What…?"
Nagasaki Soyo's fading consciousness quickly re-focused.
(Can't see… what does that mean?)
Looking down, Nagasaki Soyo unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that when her phone had slipped earlier, it had flipped in the air and landed screen-down on the bed, so nothing could be seen.
Plus, Sakiko's first words just now…
Nagasaki Soyo's spirits suddenly lifted:
"Does that mean that although Sakiko connected the video call, she didn't clearly see me and Kitahara-kun?"
"That's right!"
"It must be like this!"
"Otherwise, Sakiko would definitely hang up the video call without saying a word, right?"
"…"
Upon realizing she still had a chance, Nagasaki Soyo felt as if her entire world had brightened again, and she quickly said:
"Uh, that… I'm not sure what happened, my phone accidentally fell earlier, so the camera must be broken, right?"
"I see."
"What do you need me for, Sakiko?"
"It's about Mutsumi…"
"…"
At the same time.
Kitahara Makoto, behind Soyo, also breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that they weren't exposed.
Although Togawa had implicitly agreed to the harem situation, if she saw him and Soyo playing Tetris with her own eyes, she would definitely be angry.
And now… of course, they would continue playing the game.
"Mm… Mmm!"
Nagasaki Soyo's body trembled, and she quickly raised her hand to cover her lips, but unfortunately, caught off guard, a soft, delicate hum still overflowed from between her fingers.
"Soyo, what's wrong?"
Togawa Sakiko's voice was puzzled.
"N-nothing… I just stubbed my toe…"
Nagasaki Soyo's voice trembled slightly as she responded through gritted teeth, turning her head to glare at Kitahara Makoto behind her, both shy and angry.
(Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!)
(Stop it already!)
(Sakiko will find out!!!)
"Sorry, I don't understand what Soyo's gaze means."
Kitahara Makoto looked innocent and continued to slowly tease her.
He finally understood why, even knowing that if you don't court death, you won't die, many people still choose to court death… because it's truly addictive.
"Soyo, why is your breathing so heavy?"
Togawa Sakiko's puzzled voice came from the phone.
"Th-that…"
Nagasaki Soyo's eyes were teary, one hand supporting her body, the other covering her lips, feeling completely overwhelmed.
On one side was Kitahara Makoto, who was pushing his luck and repeatedly dancing on the edge of death, and on the other was the puzzled Sakiko in the video… Caught between the two, Nagasaki Soyo even had an impulse to give up and just let herself break down.
Fortunately, the little sanity she had left allowed Nagasaki Soyo to endure.
Pressing her lips tightly with the back of her hand, the cunning young lady said tearfully:
"I... I'm jogging..."
"Huh?" Togawa Sakiko asked, puzzled, "Why is Soyo jogging so diligently?"
"Ye-yesterday I weighed myself... Hmph... Hmph... I gained three pounds... So... So... I want to lose weight..."
"..."
A slight silence fell on the other end of the video call for a few seconds.
Just as Nagasaki Soyo's heart quietly tightened, Togawa Sakiko's voice rang out again, as if without any suspicion:
"I just messaged Soyo because I wanted to ask about Mutsumi's situation... Soyo said Mutsumi suffers from insomnia at night and occasionally runs to Kitahara-kun's house to ask Kitahara-kun for help with her insomnia?"
"Ye-yes..." Nagasaki Soyo pressed her lips tightly together, speaking in broken sentences to avoid making any suspicious sounds, "I... I already asked Mutsumi... Mutsumi said she only needs to hug Kitahara... to... to avoid insomnia..."
Togawa Sakiko's voice came from the phone:
"Mutsumi has never had contact with boys since she was little, and coupled with her emotional deficiencies, she's not guarded against boys at all, and she's also super cute... I'm a little worried if Kitahara-kun can maintain his composure."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
(Of course I can maintain my composure, you should be concerned about Mutsumi!)
(At first, she only hugged my arm, but now her whole body is pressing against me, and her hands keep reaching inside my clothes... If it weren't for her lack of knowledge, I might have been reverse-harem'd by Mutsumi!)
Togawa Sakiko said softly:
"So I want to know what the method is to cure Mutsumi's insomnia. If the method is too troublesome and can't be done quickly, then we'll just have to accompany Mutsumi together."
"No-no problem..." Nagasaki Soyo tried hard to remain stable, but her breathing was still very rapid, "Mutsumi really needs protection... Ugh... I'm going to continue jogging... My phone seems to be having issues... Sa... Sakiko, please hang up..."
"Okay."
Togawa Sakiko nodded gently, agreeing.
She wasn't stupid; of course, she wouldn't be easily fooled by Soyo.
Jogging for fitness?
Soyo was never someone who liked exercise, especially for a reason like losing weight.
If she wanted to lose weight, she could always ask Kitahara-kun; there was no need for strenuous exercise.
Besides, even if Soyo was really jogging, why didn't she stop while talking to her?
Not only that.
Togawa Sakiko always felt that Soyo's rapid breathing sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before...
"Where could it be?"
Togawa Sakiko pursed her lips, frowning in thought while cleaning, and because her hands were wet, she didn't immediately end the video call.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed her mind.
"I remember now."
It was that night at the beginning of summer vacation, when they accidentally watched that restricted video in the RV to make demon-like sensei surrender!
(Could it be that Soyo is doing that kind of thing with someone else?)
(Impossible.)
(I must be overthinking it...)
Togawa Sakiko shook her head, chasing the speculation out of her mind. After finishing the cleaning, she walked to her phone, just about to hang up the video call, when she suddenly heard Soyo's embarrassed and angry voice coming from the phone, which had been silent for a moment:
"Idiot! Idiot, idiot!"
"I-I was almost discovered by Sakiko just now..."
"If I'm exposed, Sakiko will definitely be super angry, right?!"
Immediately after, a male voice came from the phone:
"I don't think so."
Togawa Sakiko immediately bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth:
"It's Kitahara-kun's voice... So he's with Soyo after all?"
The phone was still placed face down on the bed, and Kitahara Makoto and Soyo both thought the video call had ended, so they had no qualms. Thus, in addition to their voices, various rustling sounds were transmitted through the phone.
"Su-sure enough..."
Togawa Sakiko's pretty face quickly flushed, and she couldn't help but clench her pink fists:
"This sound... they're really doing that kind of thing, aren't they?!"
"We clearly agreed to advance and retreat together, but Soyo actually ran off... How many times have you guys run off already?!"
"And I was clearly first...!"
"No wonder Kitahara hasn't said he wanted to come over for tea after the weight loss business these past few days... He must have gone to Soyo's side for tea!"
Kitahara Makoto's voice continued to come from the phone:
"If I secretly dated each of you behind everyone's backs, and then Sakiko found out the truth, that would be cheating."
"With Togawa-chan's personality, she might pick up a hatchet and then pickle me in formaldehyde."
"But I'm openly having a harem now; we're all dating together. Sakiko will be angry, but it definitely won't be as exaggerated as Soyo says."
"More of her emotions should be jealousy, feeling wronged, sadness, and then thinking, 'I was clearly first, why am I behind Soyo?'"
Togawa Sakiko: "..."
He's actually spot on, Kitahara-kun must be a psychic, right?
"Ev-even if you say that..." Nagasaki Soyo's voice was intermittent, "I still don't want Sakiko to find out..."
Kitahara Makoto: "Didn't Soyo say before that she wanted all three of us to be together?"
"Wh-what?!"
Hearing the conversation coming from the phone, Togawa Sakiko's pretty face burned, and she took half a step back, both embarrassed and angry.
(Soyo actually wants all three of us to do that kind of thing together?)
(Oh no!)
(This is too bad!)
(Soyo wouldn't have some special fetish, would she?!)
In any case, Togawa Sakiko could not accept it.
Even if she broke through her relationship with Kitahara Makoto someday, she would never agree to group activities.
Nagasaki Soyo whimpered:
"I'm really going to break down alone... I want... I want Sakiko to help... but it has to be gradual, right?"
Togawa Sakiko: "..."
So it wasn't Soyo who had a special fetish; it was Kitahara-kun's problem.
Listening to the various terrible sounds coming from the phone, Togawa Sakiko's pretty face flushed, and she bit her teeth as she stepped forward, wanting to end the video call. However, when her finger reached above the phone screen, it suddenly couldn't drop down no matter what.
Togawa's pretty face was flushed, her heart raced, her slender legs unconsciously pressed tightly together, and a sudden impulse arose in her heart:
(Just... just listen for a little longer... it shouldn't matter, right?)
Time passed.
The long afternoon quietly ended, and finally, it was evening.
Swoosh.
The bathroom door was pushed open, and Kitahara Makoto walked out, holding Soyo.
"Rest a little longer, and once Soyo-chan can walk, we can go back."
Kitahara Makoto put Soyo down, walked to the vending machine, and bought two drinks:
"Have some water."
"How dare you say that!" Nagasaki Soyo was both embarrassed and angry, and couldn't help but reach out and pinch Kitahara Makoto's waist, "You didn't let me rest for the entire afternoon!"
Kitahara Makoto's tone was innocent: "After all, it's our first time at a Love Hotel, and Soyo-chan clearly also enjoyed it..."
"Don't say it!"
Nagasaki Soyo glared at him, flushed with shame.
"Yes, yes." Kitahara Makoto handed her the drink, "Have some water to cool down."
Nagasaki Soyo snorted softly, reached out, took the drink, and gulped it down.
After drinking half a bottle of the drink in one go, Nagasaki Soyo let out a soft breath, only then remembering her phone.
"Huh, why is my phone screen black?"
Picking up her phone and finding that the screen didn't respond at all, Nagasaki Soyo asked, puzzled.
"Let me see." Kitahara Makoto took the phone, checked it briefly, and then mused, "Could it be that the phone is out of battery?"
"It shouldn't be, right?" Nagasaki Soyo tilted her head and said, "Although I took a lot of photos and videos at the aquarium in the morning, there was still nearly twenty percent battery life when we had lunch... Could it be that the phone is broken?"
"We'll know if we charge it." Kitahara Makoto opened his backpack, took out the charger, "If it charges, it's out of battery; if it doesn't, it's broken."
Plugging in the charging cable, a red battery icon quickly appeared on the screen.
Clearly.
The phone wasn't broken; it had simply run out of battery and shut down automatically.
"It really ran out of battery and shut down?" Nagasaki Soyo picked up her drink and continued to gulp down water, "It seems the battery is no good. Let's buy a new phone tomorrow."
Kitahara Makoto's heart suddenly stirred, and he said softly:
"Actually, there's another possibility..."
"Huh?" Nagasaki Soyo looked over curiously, "What possibility?"
"Nothing." Kitahara Makoto shook his head, "I must be overthinking it."
With Togawa's personality, she definitely wouldn't secretly eavesdrop, right?
After a short rest.
Once Soyo barely recovered her ability to move, the two packed their respective clothes and then left the Love Hotel together.
Before leaving, Kitahara Makoto didn't forget to take out his phone and take a few pictures of the swing set, planning to order one when he got back. He had to admit, it was super useful...
Walking out of the hotel, the sun had already quietly set in the west.
"Hmph..."
Nagasaki Soyo took a deep breath, feeling that the outside air was exceptionally fresh.
"Today I'm going to play with Ghost-senpai. Do you want to come along, Soyo?"
Kitahara Makoto looked at Soyo and asked softly.
"Of course not."
Nagasaki Soyo bit her teeth lightly, and hearing this, she glared at him, "My whole body feels like it's falling apart. Right now, I just want to go back and rest; I don't want to do anything else."
There was another reason: Nagasaki Soyo felt quite guilty at the moment and didn't want to face Sakiko at all.
"Then Soyo, go home and rest well." Kitahara Makoto nodded, "Go back and sleep. After you wake up, you'll be full of health and energy, and we can continue our date tomorrow..."
"No!"
Nagasaki Soyo quickly refused:
"I'm going shopping with friends tomorrow; I don't have time to date you."
Shopping was false; fear was true.
Nagasaki Soyo had recognized the reality: with her physical fitness, she couldn't sustain it alone and could break down at any time. No matter what, she had to rest well tomorrow and couldn't continue, otherwise, she would definitely fall into it.
"Alright then." Kitahara Makoto's tone was regretful, "Let's go."
"..."
Upon reaching the train station, Kitahara Makoto and Soyo parted ways.
Soyo chose to go straight home, while Kitahara Makoto headed to Tsukinomori Academy to be Ghost-senpai's playmate.
There was no conversation along the way.
Upon arriving at Tsukinomori Academy, Kitahara Makoto looked up and saw a blue-haired girl with a perfectly flawless profile standing at the academy entrance.
"Sakiko, good afternoon, I'm late."
Kitahara Makoto quickly walked up to Togawa.
"...Good afternoon."
Togawa Sakiko lightly bit her lower lip, looked up at Kitahara Makoto, and then her long eyelashes fell: "Let's go."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Something was off.
Togawa in front of him was very off.
Attitude, though invisible and intangible, could be clearly felt.
Kitahara Makoto was not someone with an extremely thick skin, so he could naturally sense that Togawa's attitude was quite strange at the moment.
"Everything was normal when we met yesterday... Why is it so strange today?"
"Could it be that my guess was right, and there's another hidden reason why Soyo's phone was dead?"
Thinking of this possibility, Kitahara Makoto felt a chill.
Fortunately, he had already confessed his intention to build a harem long ago, otherwise, his actions this afternoon would definitely be considered cheating, and with Togawa's personality, she might very well pull out a machete and stab him!
"Stay calm, don't panic."
"After all, it's just a guess, let's test it first..."
Kitahara Makoto secretly observed Sakiko's expression while calmly saying, "Why didn't Soyo come? Does Sakiko know the reason?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Togawa Sakiko's cheeks visibly puffed out for a moment.
(How dare he ask why Soyo didn't come?)
(You know perfectly well why!)
Togawa Sakiko tightened her pretty face and said, "I don't know, I haven't seen Soyo for a while. I was just about to ask Kitahara-kun if he knew anything."
Kitahara Makoto's expression was innocent: "I don't know either."
"Hmph."
Togawa Sakiko let out a soft snort and turned her pretty face away.
(Tsk~ Togawa indeed knows.)
The probing was complete.
After knowing the answer, Kitahara Makoto's heart instead settled down.
(Sakiko knows the truth, but she's pretending she doesn't know anything, so... is she unwilling to expose the fact that she was eavesdropping?)
(In that case, there's nothing to be afraid of...)
With their own thoughts, the two arrived at the music classroom.
"Kitahara-sama, Saki-chan, you're finally here!"
Ghost-senpai's happy voice immediately entered their ears.
With the collision and invasion of the Otherworld, Ghost-senpai had quietly grown stronger. Now she no longer needed Togawa Sakiko to summon her and could emerge from the piano, but as a Earthbound Spirit (Ji-ba-ling), she still couldn't leave the music classroom.
"I want to go see the fireworks festival today!"
Ghost-senpai's eyes sparkled, and her face showed great anticipation, clearly in a very good mood.
The demon-like sensei's case finally concluded its trial yesterday. Because he 'voluntarily surrendered,' the death penalty was not applicable, but he still received the maximum sentence and would spend twenty years in prison.
Upon learning this, the demon-like sensei's wife immediately chose to divorce, sold their house with her daughter, and disappeared without a trace. The school also terminated his employment contract immediately. It could be said that he was completely socially dead.
Not only that, Ghost-senpai's father even bribed prisoners in the jail to 'take good care' of the demon-like sensei... In short, it was a fate worse than death.
"fireworks festival?" Kitahara Makoto suddenly realized, "I completely forgot."
Speaking of Japan's summer, it's naturally about yukata, beaches, apple candy, and the fireworks festival.
Kitahara Makoto had been busy lately, running between the Otherworld and the real world, filming a short film, losing weight for business, and getting a motorcycle license. He really hadn't thought about the fireworks festival.
"I wonder if there's one today, let me check."
Togawa Sakiko pursed her lips, lowered her head to take out her phone, and soon said softly, "There's no fireworks festival in Tokyo today. There are some in Kamakura and Osaka, but they're too far... Misaki-senpai, please wait two more days."
"Alright then." Ghost-senpai was still full of anticipation, "Then I'm going to eat at a buffet tonight!"
"..."
After Ghost-senpai possessed her, Kitahara Makoto and Sakiko left Tsukinomori Academy together and began their playmate journey.
At 8:30 PM.
Ghost-senpai, full and satisfied, left contentedly:
"Let's go watch the fireworks festival together in a couple of days, don't forget it!"
"..."
After Ghost-senpai disappeared, Kitahara Makoto extended his right hand and held Togawa's soft hand, helping to remove negative energy:
"Sakiko, it's already August. When are we going to visit your dad?"
The summer vacation started in late July, and two weeks had passed unknowingly, officially bringing the time to August.
Togawa Sakiko pursed her lips and pondered, "Next week, perhaps. If it's too late, something else might affect the trip. Going early prevents unexpected incidents."
"Sakiko decides the time." Kitahara Makoto said softly, "But I suggest we wait for Hana-chan to evolve first. I've already asked Hana; after she evolves, the proliferating flowers will carry an aura. Just by carrying them, they'll be able to deter most monsters, thus ensuring your dad's safety."
Togawa Sakiko's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she whispered, "Thank you, Kitahara-kun."
"More than thanks, I want Togawa-chan's reward."
Kitahara Makoto leaned closer.
"No."
Togawa Sakiko turned her head to avoid him, refusing a kiss.
(You did that with Soyo this afternoon, and now you want to kiss me?)
(Don't even think about it!)
"Then can I at least hug you for a bit?"
Kitahara Makoto reached out, preparing to embrace Togawa.
"The weather is too hot." Togawa Sakiko quickly took half a step back, widening the distance, "Let's not."
Kitahara Makoto's face showed a dejected expression:
"Does Sakiko have someone else?"
Togawa Sakiko was so angry that she bit her teeth, then stepped directly on Kitahara Makoto's foot:
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Kitahara Makoto's voice was aggrieved: "Then why won't Sakiko let me kiss or hug her?"
Togawa Sakiko lightly snorted:
"You know yourself!"
"What about me?"
"You..."
Togawa Sakiko lightly bit her teeth, turned her head to look elsewhere. The words that rushed to her lips, she couldn't bring herself to say them no matter what.
Eavesdropping was too embarrassing to say out loud.
(Sure enough, Sakiko is too ashamed to admit to eavesdropping and will only sulk and throw a tantrum...)
After probing Sakiko's bottom line, Kitahara Makoto chose to push his luck:
"Silent treatment is also a form of domestic violence. Togawa-chan suddenly became so cold to me without reason; that's already domestic violence."
Togawa Sakiko: "..."
Me, domestic violence?
How dare this guy say that! You were the one who cheated first, okay!
☰