Kasumigaoka was well aware of her relationship with Hoshimi. While there was no doubt that they were physically attracted to each other, there was something missing on a deeper, more emotional level.
The reason for this was simple—it all stemmed from their unusual way of getting closer, which began with that experiment in the dream world. This had fundamentally changed how they interacted, bringing them closer in a rather unconventional way. Over time, this led to the current situation.
In short, their physical connection was already more than adequate, but there was a glaring lack of emotional depth and soul-level connection.
Now that they had met in reality, Kasumigaoka was determined to make up for this missing aspect. She decided to take the initiative, catch Hoshimi off guard, and do everything in her power to firmly grasp Hoshimi's heart.
"Heh~" Kasumigaoka chuckled softly, closing the map on her desk with confidence.
In the dream world, Hoshimi was invincible, and she had to admit defeat. But in reality, Hoshimi had no such advantages. Through their interactions today, she could see clearly that Hoshimi, like any other teenager, had his own desires and flaws. With his laid-back personality, it wouldn't be too hard to outmaneuver him.
As long as she found the right approach, Hoshimi wouldn't be able to escape her grasp.
Leaning against her desk, Kasumigaoka slowly clenched her right hand, as if she were grabbing hold of something. A satisfied smile appeared on her lips as she withdrew her hand.
With her self-encouragement done, and the day nearly over, it was time for bed. After spending the whole day on a date with Hoshimi, this homebody was feeling a bit tired.
She turned off the light in her bedroom, crawled into bed, and comfortably drifted off to sleep. Before falling asleep, she couldn't resist checking her phone to see if there were any new messages.
To her slight disappointment, there were none. Hoshimi had already gone to sleep, so there were no new replies.
As she stared at the LINE interface, her gaze unintentionally shifted to the friend below Hoshimi's name.
[Artist Eriri (Tsundere Golden Retriever)]
She opened her chat with Eriri and realized she hadn't replied to Eriri's earlier message.
At 9:19 PM, Eriri had sent her a message: "Kasumigaoka Utaha, from today onwards, you're free."
When Kasumigaoka first saw this good news, she immediately shared it with Hoshimi but forgot to reply to Eriri.
Raising an eyebrow, Kasumigaoka replied with a slightly amused expression: "Thanks, Eriri."
She didn't say much else, just a simple thank you. After all, she and Eriri weren't particularly close. She admired Eriri's talent in illustration, but that didn't stop them from being at odds with each other.
If it weren't for the illustrations in "The Strange Dream Chronicles," they might not have had much interaction at all, and that troublesome game club incident might not have happened.
Now, things were back on track. As for what might happen with that troublesome game club in the future, it wasn't her concern anymore—she had already quit.
Kasumigaoka put away her phone, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep, snuggled up in her blanket.
As she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly remembered that she wouldn't be able to enter Hoshimi's dream world for the next week…
Ah~~ what a pity…
But it's fine; she had already endured six months without it. One more week wouldn't hurt.
Next week, when they reunite, maybe something nice will happen.
With that thought in mind, Kasumigaoka fell into a deep sleep, filled with anticipation.
...
In the dream world, inside a library.
The moment Yukino appeared, Hoshimi stared at her and said, "Yukino, you're in trouble."
"???" Yukino looked at him, completely puzzled.
She walked up to him, tilted her head slightly, and asked, "Hoshimi, what are you up to now?"
Hoshimi gazed into Yukino's eyes and said, word by word, "Yukino, my guardian came to see me tonight."
Yukino raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"..." Hoshimi didn't say anything but tilted his neck upward, making his point clear.
"Hm?" At first, Yukino didn't understand. She stared at Hoshimi's flawless neck, and after a full two seconds, she realized what had happened.
Her breath caught, her pupils shrank, and her heart skipped a beat.
She stood frozen, stiff as an old wooden puppet, her mind struggling to process.
After a long pause, Yukino finally lifted her head, her face pale as she whispered, "Hoshimi, explain what happened."
"Okay." Hoshimi nodded, his voice serious. "Yukino, after I left your place, I took the elevator back home. When the elevator doors opened on the 27th floor, I ran into my guardian—my aunt."
"My aunt had come to visit me. When I went out to see the doctor this afternoon, she hadn't arrived yet, so I only found out when I ran into her that evening."
"After that, I went home with my aunt. She asked me about a few things, including..."
Hoshimi tilted his head again, showing his neck as he continued, "Including how I got these marks on my neck."
"!!" Yukino's breath caught, and she stared at Hoshimi, her mouth dry as she stammered, "Hoshimi, did you tell her?"
Hoshimi sighed with a wry smile. "My aunt is very sharp—I had no choice but to tell her."
"..." Yukino fell silent, lowering her head as a flush of crimson spread across her face.
She twisted her fingers together, nervously asking in a low voice, "So...what happened after that? Did your aunt...say anything?"
Yukino's heartbeat was a bit disordered. She was more nervous than ever before. Even when facing her mother, she had never been so nervous. Her body was trembling with a mix of anxiety, fear, anticipation...and a bit of dread...
Yes, dread—dread of being discovered by Hoshimi's aunt in such a compromising way...
She worried that his aunt might think she was the type of girl who was frivolous and easy... If she were labeled as such...
Yukino's face turned pale as a sense of despair settled deep in her eyes.
Putting herself in Hoshimi's aunt's shoes, she knew that if she had a child in the future, she would never allow them to date someone who seemed frivolous...
So how did Hoshimi's aunt perceive her? This was crucial!
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