At the thought, Yukinoshita shivered all over.
She looked at Hoshimi, her eyes hiding an imperceptible fear.
"Well, don't look at me like that. I really am a good person," Hoshimi shrugged helplessly.
He really was a law-abiding citizen.
With such an interesting ability in dreams, yet not doing anything to break the boundaries, he considered himself a good person.
As for how he knew how to regulate dopamine?
Actually, that flop writer asked him to try it out, and unexpectedly, it worked.
Oh yes, at that time, he treated the girls appearing in his dreams as virtual characters.
So, when the hypothesis proposed by that flop writer succeeded, she became the first and only experimental subject for dopamine regulation.
At that time, the setting he gave to the flop writer was, "The closer you (Hoshimi Kiyokawa) are to me, the greater the pleasure."
Later, as soon as the flop writer entered the dream, she pestered him, causing him headaches.
Then one day, the flop writer stopped entering the dream, and instead became another new girl.
At that time, he thought the conquest was complete, so the dream actively provided him with a new target.
Looking back now, there might be some issues with this. Why did the flop writer, who liked to pester him so much, suddenly stop coming? What exactly was the reason behind it?
"Hoshimi..."
"Hmm?"
Yukinoshita's voice interrupted Hoshimi's thoughts, and he turned his head in puzzlement to Yukinoshita.
"...," Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment, then asked directly, "Hoshimi, how many people have entered your dreams before me?"
Hoshimi blinked and smiled, "That's confidential."
Yukinoshita had no response. After staring at Hoshimi for a while, she asked again, "Have you ever forced them? Or used them to explore your dream abilities?"
Yukinoshita placed great importance on this question, so she stared at Hoshimi closely, trying to discern something from his facial expression.
"Oh no," Hoshimi said calmly, "Just like with you, Yukinoshita, I was just playing a 'game' with them."
"...," Yukinoshita stared fixedly at Hoshimi's crimson eyes.
From Hoshimi's face, she couldn't read any information at all; she had no idea if he was lying or not.
But from her own experience in Hoshimi's dreams, he indeed never forced her or used her for any experiments.
He was just playing some unfair 'games' with her all along, and before each game, Hoshimi would honestly explain the consequences of winning or losing.
Just from this perspective, Hoshimi did as he claimed, "Although a bit mischievous, he didn't do anything morally wrong, just made himself a bit happier within limits."
If that's really the case...
"Hoo~~"
Yukinoshita suddenly sighed with relief.
What should she say? Was she lucky? Indeed, she was very lucky that Hoshimi was a rational man with boundaries.
Otherwise, she might have already...
"Huh?"
Hoshimi seemed to suddenly notice something. He looked out the window.
Seeing Hoshimi's actions, Yukinoshita, still relieved, also looked out the window, "Hmm? Is it raining?"
Outside the window, there seemed to be a fine drizzle.
"It seems so. I'll go check." Hoshimi got up and walked to the window to open it.
"Splash~~~"
As soon as the window opened, a cool sea breeze rushed in.
At the same time, small raindrops slid into the room on the wind.
Feeling the slight chill on her face, Hoshimi turned back and said, "It's indeed raining, but not heavily. It can barely be considered drizzling, though the wind is quite strong."
..." Yukinoshita stared silently at Hoshimi.
She already knew the wind was strong, so couldn't he just close the window? She was still recovering from her illness and needed rest.
Hoshimi paid no attention to the meaning in Yukinoshita's eyes. He looked up at the dark sky outside the window and asked Yukinoshita, "Do you have an umbrella?"
"I do, it's in my backpack."
"Alright, wait here. I'll go to the classroom to get your backpack and umbrella, and then we'll head home."
With that, Hoshimi strode towards the door of the health room.
"Huh? Go home now?" Yukinoshita frowned slightly, looking at her ankle wrapped in a white towel.
"Yes, the sky outside is thick with clouds. I think it's going to rain heavily soon. It's better to go home early."
With a single sentence, Hoshimi was already at the door.
He opened the door, leaving behind a statement before leaving effortlessly.
"Wait for me here."
"Splash--"
Listening to the sound of the closing door, Yukinoshita pondered how likely it was that Hoshimi had taken her umbrella and left her here to return home alone.
Probably thirty percent... maybe even thirty-five percent...
Thinking of this possibility, Yukinoshita decided to rely on herself.
She removed the towel from her ankle used for cooling, carefully examined the swollen area, and found that the swelling had indeed subsided somewhat.
She tried to move her ankle.
"Ugh~~"
It still hurt a lot. Walking would definitely be difficult, and forcing herself to walk now would affect her ankle's recovery.
The sports festival was this Thursday, and if she didn't recover well before then, it would be a bit troublesome.
So...
Yukinoshita re-applied the white towel to her ankle and continued to wait for Hoshimi to return while leaning against the bed.
Hoshimi wouldn't do something so unethical, right? She was still a patient now...
"Hoo~~~ hoo~~~~"
The sound of the wind grew louder, sounding like some unknown wild beast wailing.
The rain, which couldn't be heard just now, began to appear, confirming that Hoshimi was right; it was indeed starting to rain heavily.
Watching her hair blown around, Yukinoshita felt a bit annoyed.
That jerk Hoshimi didn't close the window when he left. Now the wind was blowing into the health room.
It made her feel cold... especially her bare feet and lower legs exposed to the air...
"Hoo~~~ hoo~~~"
The sound of the wind was becoming more like a wild beast's wail...
Yukinoshita's annoyance grew along with the wind's sound.
Does it really take that long to go from the health room to the classroom of the 2nd year J class? According to Hoshimi's walking speed, he should have been back long ago.
Could it be that the jerk Hoshimi really took her umbrella and ran off?
If Hoshimi really did that, then he really wasn't a decent person...
"Splash---"
Just as Yukinoshita was thinking, the door of the health room opened, and Hoshimi, holding her backpack, walked quickly to the bedside.
"Hurry up, let's go. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to go back once the rain gets heavier."
"Um..." Looking at Hoshimi, Yukinoshita's eyes avoided his gaze and reluctantly put on her shoes.
Shortly after, Yukinoshita, now wearing shoes, sat on the edge of the bed and tried to stand up.
"I'll carry you on my back, you hold the umbrella. Now you walk on your own; it'll affect your recovery if you walk with the sprain, and then we'll both have to forfeit the sports festival."
After tossing Yukinoshita's backpack to her, Hoshimi stood by the bed, waiting for her to climb onto his back.
"..." Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment, then silently climbed onto Hoshimi's back.
Although she accepted being carried by Hoshimi, she kept her hands on his shoulders and her waist straight, as if afraid he might take advantage of her.
Feeling Yukinoshita's reserved movements, Hoshimi couldn't help but comment.
"Yukinoshita, we've wrestled, practiced Aikido together, and you've even held onto me while jumping off a building. You clung to me tightly during free fall. After all that, do you think I don't know you? Hurry up and lie down properly; don't be difficult."
Listening to Hoshimi's words, Yukinoshita's expression gradually cooled down, and by the end, her expression was so cold it seemed like ice crystals were about to fall out.
===
Enjoying the novel? If you'd like to read additional chapters, visit my Patreon page at - patreon.com/cherryblooming.
There are already 30 extra chapters available.