Not long after the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, Mai, with a towel wrapped around her head, walked out holding her changed clothes.
Because she had just bathed, her small face was flushed, and steam was rising from her body. Her already fair skin, now moisturized by the water, was as smooth and delicate as warm jade.
She held her changed clothes in her arms. Other than the temporary change of underwear she had bought from the convenience store, she was only wearing a single white long-sleeved shirt. A pair of fair, slender legs were exposed to the air, without a trace of excess fat. Her joints were a tender pink, and a few un-wiped water droplets slid down her calves. Her ankles were slender and bony, her toes small and exquisite like distinct pearls. On the thin tops of her feet, a few faint bluish veins were vaguely visible...
"Ahem!" Mai coughed, signaling for a certain someone not to go too far. Looking was fine, but touching was a bit much.
After coming out, the girl quickly slipped under the covers and pointed a finger at the bathroom, signaling that it was his turn to take a shower.
Boys shower quickly. Even with body wash, shampoo, and drying his hair, the whole process took no more than ten minutes.
After coming out of the bathroom, Mori Shinra opened the closet.
"What are you looking for?"
"A clean bath towel."
"Didn't you just take a shower?" Mai was puzzled. Why would he need a towel after already showering?
"To sleep on the floor," he answered concisely.
As he spoke, he took out the last clean bath towel from the closet and measured it with his eyes. If he were to sleep on the floor, the area seemed a bit insufficient. At his height, he would need at least two towels of the same length to lie flat.
"Why don't you sleep on the bed?" she asked.
"Why... Don't you mind, Mai-san?"
"Well, as long as you swear..."
"I swear," he said, immediately raising three fingers and answering with the fastest speed of his life.
"You answered too quickly. It's obviously not sincere."
She began to question the reliability of his oath.
"But you paid for the room. It would be too pitiful for you to sleep on the floor."
"I paid for the underwear too."
"I'll pay you back for that later."
"Actually, you don't have to..."
He wanted to say she didn't have to pay him back with money; he would be fine with seeing the buyer's show.
However, Mai instantly saw through his thoughts. Her sharp gaze forced him to swallow the second half of his sentence.
"If it's just sleeping next to me, I'll allow you on the bed," she said.
"Really?"
"Do you want to sleep on the floor?"
"I want to sleep with you, Mai-san," he said, expressing his feelings directly, though his words were a bit suggestive.
A wary expression immediately appeared on her face, but she quickly scooted over to the edge of the bed, freeing up almost half of it. "...Get in."
Shinra slipped in. Half the bed was warm from where she had been sitting, while the other half was a bit cool, but still acceptable.
But just as he got under the covers, he saw her get out of bed.
"Are you going to sleep on the floor?" his voice sounded indescribably disappointed.
"To dry my hair, you idiot!" she scolded him unceremoniously, though it sounded more like she was pouting.
She had come out without drying her hair earlier to let him shower sooner. Now that he was done, she naturally had to go back in and dry it.
About ten minutes later, the sound of the hairdryer in the bathroom gradually stopped. The time had already reached one in the morning.
Mai, walking out of the bathroom, saw Mori Shinra sitting on the bed with a solemn expression, holding a square plastic package in his hand, as if deep in thought.
She walked closer and saw the word 'コンドーム' (Condom) printed on the package. Her body instantly stiffened, and she said with shame and anger:
"Absolutely not!"
"Eh?" Startled by her sudden shout, the baby-eliminator in his hand almost flew out.
Looking at her blushing face, he hurriedly explained, "No, this was just on the bedside table. I was just curious and took a look."
"Maybe you should just sleep on the floor after all."
"Please give me one more chance!"
In the end, she didn't make him sleep on the floor. However, after getting into bed, she kept a considerable distance from him, her body almost pressed against the very edge.
Fortunately, the business king bed was large enough, a full two meters long, with more than enough space for three people to lie down.
The lights were turned off, and the room fell silent.
Shinra lay in bed, smelling the faint fragrance coming from beside him, preparing to obediently close his eyes and sleep.
"Shinra."
Mai suddenly called his first name.
"What is it?"
"There's a bit of a draft."
That was to be expected. There was only one blanket, and she was practically on the edge of the bed. With a gap of 1.5 person-widths in the middle, how could there not be a draft?
"How about I sleep with my jacket on?" he thought for a moment and decided to give her the blanket.
She didn't reply but moved her body towards him, stopping only when the dip in the blanket between them was filled.
Now, the distance between them had changed from 1.5 person-widths to only a single fist's distance.
"Don't get any funny ideas, and don't make any funny moves," she warned.
"Not moving is one thing, but I can't even think? I can't control it, Mai-san," he felt she was being a bit too tyrannical. She should take a look at how charming she was.
As a physically and mentally healthy high school boy, at the hardest and most suppressed moment of his life, to be able to control himself from making any moves while sharing a bed with a female peer was already top-tier gun control. As for his thoughts, that was the brain's department; he couldn't control that!
"Forget it," she said with a sigh, as if she knew she was being a bit unreasonable.
"Anyway, Mai-san wouldn't mind a boy a year younger than her having fantasies about her, right?" he added on her behalf.
The result of this was a slightly cold hand quietly slipping into his side of the covers, followed by a leftward twist.
And guess what? It twisted into empty air!
As the saying goes, third time's the charm. Shinra, who had long expected this move, had twisted his waist to the side in advance and then caught the invading enemy with a backhand grip.
"You've crossed the line, woman." (in a super deep, bubbly voice)
Mai had wanted to say 'let go,' but was immediately amused by his strange pronunciation.
"What on earth are you doing?"
"Hmph, you've made a mistake and still won't admit it? Woman, you've successfully caught my attention." (in a super sexy male bass voice)
"Be normal!" Mai couldn't hold it together anymore. The hand that was caught stopped struggling, only begging him to return to normal.
"Alright." (returns to normal)
Then the topic was dropped, but their hands were still held, once again with fingers interlaced.
In the dark room, only the faint hum of the air conditioner could be heard. Outside the window, there were no bird calls or chirping insects, nor the sound of passing cars. It was extremely quiet.
Mai shifted, turning from her back to lie on her side, facing him.
As for him, he was like a sleeping husband, remaining still on his back even when he felt the movement beside him, until her index finger poked his cheek.
He opened his eyes, turned his head, and said helplessly, "What is it now, Mai-san?"
She replied, "Say something."
He knew that the girl was worried about being forgotten by the world and couldn't sleep right now, wanting someone to talk to.
To this, he could only sacrifice his sleep to accompany the beauty.
"What should I say?"
"An interesting topic."
"The way you reacted when you saw that thing was extremely cute. It's a pity I didn't get it on camera."
After he spoke, he felt a slight pain in his hand. It was her, squeezing his hand.
"This topic is not interesting at all," she commented.
"Then how about you suggest an interesting topic?"
"I don't know."
"You're a bit boring, Mai-san."
"Shut up."
You were the one who started the topic, and now you're telling me I'm noisy.
Hah, women!
The conversation stalled again, but this time, neither of them closed their eyes.
In the dim room, only a faint moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains. But with this sliver of light, the young man and woman could clearly see each other's eyes.
Time suddenly became both short and long.
The room was so quiet that even their breathing was clearly audible.
Her lips moved without warning, making an almost inaudible sound.
"Let's kiss?"
Faced with the girl's invitation, he replied crisply, "No."
"Oh?"
Her face did not show the shame of being rejected, but rather some confusion. In her impression, this guy had never hidden his covetousness for her.
Now that she had offered herself up, why did he refuse?
"Because I can't guarantee that I can maintain my reason after we kiss," he said, his reasoning sound. He felt that she had overestimated his self-control.
"...You're quite honest," she said, her pretty face slightly red. After his reminder, she only then realized just how 'dangerous' her actions just now had been.
"Thank you for the compliment," he said, also proud of his control.
Of course, the bigger reason was that he wanted to wait until her problem was solved before slowly enjoying his reward.
He knew very well that her invitation just now was purely on impulse. After she said it, it was highly likely she already regretted it.
If he went for it now, although she wouldn't hold it against him afterward, it would inevitably leave a rift between them.
It seemed like it was speeding up the progress, but it was actually a step back.
In a relationship between a man and a woman, the biggest taboo is taking shortcuts. This will lead to an unstable foundation and cause many problems in the future.
He would rather go a little slower and make sure every step was solid. Only then could they withstand the storms of the future.
Mai let go of his hand, then turned her body, her back to him. Her smooth hair slid, revealing her long neck, which looked extremely delicious.
"I'm going to sleep. Good night," she announced.
"Good night," he said, remaining on his back without moving. After all, sleeping on his back was his habit; it was easier for him to fall asleep this way.
Then, not long after he closed his eyes, he heard the girl's voice again.
"Shinra."
"..."
He didn't speak, but just sat up on his own.
"Shinra?"
The movement was so large that she called out again in confusion. Then she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.
He pressed down on her shoulders with both hands and turned her over to face him.
"W-wait..."
Their eyes met. As if realizing something, her voice trembled a little.
Unfortunately, this had no effect on him. Seeing him get closer and closer, she finally closed her beautiful eyes as if resigned to her fate. But even with her eyes closed, her long eyelashes still fluttered restlessly.
After a while, she found that the expected touch did not come. She tentatively opened her eyes, and then felt a light flick on her forehead.
"All talk and no game."
He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a playful smile on his face.
She was suddenly a little angry, but she didn't dare say anything. She could only turn her body over in a huff, then pull the blanket up to cover her burning cheeks.
"Angry?" he asked, tentatively poking the blanket.
"No!" a muffled voice came from under the blanket.
"That's good," he said, as if relieved, and lay back down.
After waiting for a long time without hearing any other movement, she poked her head out from under the blanket. Looking at him, who had already closed his eyes, she muttered under her breath, "Idiot."
"Idiots need to sleep too."
"!"
Startled, she immediately clamped her mouth shut and warily watched his every move.
Seeing that he was not making any strange moves, she slowly let out a breath of relief, then asked, "If I was trembling and crying right now, saying 'I don't want to disappear,' what would you do?"
He helplessly opened his eyes once again and let out a long sigh.
"Sigh..."
"What does 'sigh' mean?"
In the darkness, Mai raised an eyebrow, her tone a little dissatisfied.
Then, she felt a pair of hands under the covers pass through her armpits and hug her from behind.
Sakurajima Mai: o(////_////)q
Her whole body stiffened, unable to move.
"Are you satisfied now?"
His voice came from behind her. She could even feel his breath as he spoke.
"You're not going to take the opportunity to touch my chest, are you?" she asked.
"Can I?"
"Of course not."
"Then I won't."
With that, he obediently placed his hands on her stomach.
Feeling the warmth on her stomach, although the girl was still a little shy, she seemed to have tacitly accepted it and did not ask him to remove his hands.
"Will I disappear?"
"No. I've already made arrangements."
"What do you mean, you've made arrangements?"
"You'll know when you get back to school tomorrow morning."
"So mysterious?"
"Hmph, I've sacrificed a lot for you. Of course, I'll be sure to get my compensation from you later!"
"Be careful you don't end up with nothing after bragging so much."
"I will win."
Listening to his voice, her uneasy heart gradually calmed down, and an irresistible sleepiness washed over her.
With the sound of even breathing, the two drifted off to sleep.