Seeing that Yukino had marked a perfect 100 on the last English test, the smile on Hoshimi's face grew even wider.
Leaning against the bookshelf, with his arms crossed, he glanced at Yukino's profile and asked meaningfully, "Yukino, how are the grades?"
"..." Yukino turned her head away, and a flush of rosy pink instantly rose to her earlobes.
Looking toward the corner of the study, she murmured, almost inaudibly, "Except for Literature... It's full marks on everything..."
Hoshimi grinned, showing his pearly white teeth. He stepped silently behind Yukino and leaned down to whisper a warm breath into her ear.
"My adorable Yukino-chan, it's time for you to deliver on that reward~"
"Mm~" Yukino bit her lower lip, her ice-blue eyes flickering like a startled rabbit, looking unusually shaken.
Noticing the change in Yukino's expression, Hoshimi teased in her ear, "Oh~~ could it be that the upright Second Miss Yukinoshita is thinking of breaking her promise?"
"Hoshimi!" The upright Miss Yukinoshita was both angry and embarrassed.
She jumped up and started pushing Hoshimi toward the living room.
"Huh? Yukino, what are you doing? Not only are you breaking your promise, but you're also kicking me out?" Hoshimi's voice was exaggerated as he was being pushed along.
"Hoshimi! Do you think everyone is like you?!" Flustered and furious, Yukino shoved Hoshimi all the way to the entrance.
Looking at Hoshimi standing by the shoe cabinet, she stepped back a couple of steps, turned her head away, and said evasively, "Since I promised, I won't go back on my word. I'm not like you... And... it's already late. Hoshimi, you should go home now..."
Yukino's voice grew softer and softer, and by the last few words, her lips were trembling, barely making any sound.
"Hehe~~" Hoshimi didn't need to hear; he could guess exactly what Yukino meant.
With a mischievous smile, he casually took out his shoes from the shoe cabinet and put them on, right in front of Yukino.
After that, he adjusted his collar and cleared his throat as if preparing for some important speech.
Clap---clap---clap!
He clapped his hands and said with a bright smile, "Yukino, how wonderful! The skills you've just learned can be immediately put into practice. How delightful."
Without saying another word, Hoshimi turned, opened the door, and dashed out.
If he didn't leave now, he'd surely get to witness Miss Yukinoshita's impressive Aikido skills once again.
Bang---!
"Ho-shi-mi! Kiyo-kawa!"
Staring at the closed door, Yukino belatedly ground her teeth, pronouncing Hoshimi's name one syllable at a time.
Those few simple syllables were laced with an untold amount of wind, snow, and embarrassment.
"Hu~~"
After a moment, Yukino took a deep breath, suppressing her irritation and anger.
"Sigh~" She sighed helplessly.
There was no helping it. After all, she'd fallen into Hoshimi's trap. Since she had already made a promise, she had no choice but to keep her word.
Besides, as long as she continued dating Hoshimi, they would eventually reach this stage anyway. Doing a practice run in a dream wasn't a bad idea.
Yes, it's just a dream, no big deal...
Making excuses for herself in her mind, Yukino clenched her fists and headed toward the bedroom, her steps heavy.
...
Meanwhile, in the apartment elevator.
Hoshimi stood leaning against the elevator wall with his arms crossed, a faint smile on his lips.
He rhythmically tapped his index finger on his arm, and his gaze grew deeper.
Today had been filled with good things, so he should have been feeling happy. But strangely, he wasn't feeling as joyful as he should have.
In the morning, learning that his talent for cultivation was high had made him happy.
During the afternoon and evening, while inputting books into the library's system, his mood remained neutral.
Late at night, after scoring perfectly on the pre-exam test and anticipating Yukino's reward, his mood had again been cheerful.
If those had been the only things that happened today, he would certainly be in a good mood now. But, unfortunately, something else occurred in the late afternoon...
In the afternoon, when Kotoko suggested visiting Yukino's house, he already had an idea of what would happen.
He hadn't expected Yukino's secret training, though—he never thought she'd go to such lengths...
Anyway, back to the main issue.
Even though he had anticipated what would happen, he still agreed to bring Kotoko to Yukino's house.
The result? Exactly as he had expected—Kotoko provocatively confronted Yukino, while Yukino, with her icy demeanor, accepted all of Kotoko's challenges.
At that point, things went as expected, and he used the opportunity to gauge both of their attitudes...
Kotoko's taunts, though fierce, were not aimed at him, the central figure in the three-way relationship...
Yukino, however, was a bit different. Yukino had a compassionate sympathy for 'the weak' like Kotoko, and while she didn't direct her hostility toward Kotoko, she directed it at him instead...
But Yukino's stance wasn't firm. As soon as he raised his hands in surrender, Yukino naïvely let her guard down and welcomed him with open arms.
Faced with Kotoko and Yukino's contrasting yet similar attitudes, he felt a mixture of emotions—nostalgia, wistfulness, and a hint of heaviness...
Feelings, or perhaps love, were much heavier than he had ever imagined...
Ding---!
The elevator arrived at the 27th floor, interrupting Hoshimi's thoughts.
He sighed softly, his hands naturally dropping to his sides as he slowly walked out of the elevator.
Ding---!
The elevator door slowly closed, and the reflection of Hoshimi's back in the elevator mirror was sealed within as the door shut.
...
At Hoshimi's home.
Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, Hoshimi soaked in the steaming water while chatting with Kasumigaoka on his phone.
These past few days had been busy, and he hadn't had time to meet Kasumigaoka in the dream world. He could only respond to her 'thoughts' through social media.
Yes, her 'thoughts' - at least a hundred messages a day filled with them.
Having been 'abandoned' by him once, Kasumigaoka Utaha had developed an unusually deep obsession...
"Still awake so late, Hoshimi?" - Kasumigaoka
"Just finished a set of practice questions, about to take a bath and head to bed." - Hoshimi
"Hmm?! A bath? Hoshimi, don't tell me your next line is 'I'm going to take a bath, so let's stop chatting'?" - Kasumigaoka
"Nope~ I'm already in the bath, chatting with you while risking my phone getting wet~" - Hoshimi
After sending the message, Hoshimi took a selfie and sent it to Kasumigaoka.
'Photo' - Hoshimi
===
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