"Let me see..." Hoshimi began reading aloud with a headache, "he inquired about the weather, and then about gems which the jeweller..."
After many years without touching English since starting work, his level had somewhat declined, but simply reading an English book wasn't too difficult for him since he had a solid foundation.
"..." Listening to Hoshimi's fluent and standard English, Yukino's eyes widened slightly.
She stared at Hoshimi's profile, completely surprised that his English was so good.
This guy... doesn't seem so unambitious after all...
"Not reading anymore, Yukino, you read it yourself." Hoshimi rubbed his forehead, feeling uncomfortable as he pushed the book back to Yukino.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Weren't you reading well?"
"Headache, don't want to read." Hoshimi slumped over the table like a salted fish basking in the sun.
"Hmm? Why do you have a headache?" Yukino bent down to meet his eyes.
"Consider it PTSD."
"...Someone forced you to study, and it left a psychological shadow, is that what you mean?" Yukino asked uncertainly.
"Something like that..."
"Who forced you to study? Your parents?"
Hoshimi didn't respond, turning his head away.
It was his parents, expectations, the environment, dissatisfaction, ideals, reality... he had many reasons to study.
Just none that made him happy.
Seeing Hoshimi not responding and even avoiding her gaze, Yukino roughly understood.
It was probably his parents who forced him to study...
Hoshimi must have a deep conflict with his parents. Whenever they were mentioned, his reaction was always odd, completely unlike him...
Yukino thought for a moment and then pushed the book aside, patting Hoshimi's shoulder, "Hoshimi, get me another book, anything random."
"Okay..." Hoshimi thought for a moment, and a book fell in front of Yukino.
Yukino opened the book. A Chinese book?
She looked at Hoshimi, her gaze tinged with a bit of pity.
Hoshimi's parents were harsh, making him read English originals, Chinese originals, trying to turn him into a multilingual talent...
"Hoshimi, this is a Chinese book. I can't read it, get me another one." Yukino patted Hoshimi's shoulder again.
"Hmm? Chinese?" Hoshimi suddenly got excited, sitting up to look at the book in Yukino's hands.
Shen Congwen's "Border Town."
Hoshimi got interested. He moved closer to Yukino, smiling, "Yukino, want to learn Chinese? I can teach you."
"Hmm? You don't dislike Chinese?" Yukino asked suspiciously.
Strange, he's so averse to English that it causes PTSD, but he's interested in the more complex Chinese?
"Chinese is interesting, and the stories are fun." Hoshimi casually made up a reason.
"...Really?" Yukino was still suspicious, wondering if Hoshimi was up to something.
"Yes, so do you want to learn?"
"..." Yukino nodded, wanting to see what trick Hoshimi was playing.
"Okay, let's start with a simple character." Hoshimi flipped through the book to find a simple syllable.
He pressed his index finger against the page, looking sideways at Yukino, "This character '啊,' is pronounced 'a,' repeat after me, a."
Yukino blinked, opened her mouth, "a~~~"
"Not quite right, your mouth shape is a bit off. Face me and watch my mouth." Hoshimi moved his chair to face Yukino and opened his mouth, "a~~"
Yukino didn't suspect anything, turning to face Hoshimi and opening her mouth, "a~~~ um~~"
Midway through, Hoshimi suddenly kissed her.
Her hands pressed against Hoshimi's chest, pushing a few times symbolically before stopping.
So it's like this... Hoshimi really was up to no good...
Oh well, it's just a dream, it doesn't matter.
Besides, struggling wouldn't escape Hoshimi's grasp, better to save the energy...
After some time, the slightly breathless two finally separated.
Yukino sat up straight, giving Hoshimi a sidelong glance, "You're really boring."
"This is the library usage fee." Hoshimi, now feeling comfortable, said with a laugh.
Now he felt better, no headache, no back pain, ready to have more fun.
"Get me a Japanese book. I want to read without being disturbed." Yukino asked for a book, too lazy to argue with Hoshimi.
"A Japanese book, huh..." Hoshimi scratched his head and found one from his sparse Japanese book collection for Yukino.
He had plenty of Chinese and English books, but very few Japanese books, only about a hundred, and all of them were light novels.
"Hmm? A light novel?" Yukino frowned at the flashy cover.
"Yeah, only light novels in Japanese. Yukino, make do, it's good to relax occasionally."
"Sigh~" Yukino sighed softly, opening the light novel, "Hoshimi, I'm going to read now, don't disturb me."
"Sure, no problem." Hoshimi nodded.
Yukino said no more and quietly started reading.
After a while, she glanced surreptitiously at Hoshimi, who was basking in the sun on the table.
He really wasn't disturbing her... Why so obedient this time? Was he up to something again?
Yukino's eyes sparkled, waiting for Hoshimi's next move.
Ten minutes...
Twenty minutes...
Half an hour...
Yukino's face turned cold, her sparkling eyes freezing over again.
"Hmph!" She snorted coldly, lowering her head to read seriously.
"..." Hoshimi, basking in the sun, glanced back at Yukino.
This woman, waiting for him to make a move? Addicted to kissing?
That's unlikely, probably the book... he remembered it had some risque scenes, she must be upset about those.
Hoshimi thought it over and figured that was the truth.
He didn't mind, continuing to bask in the sun.
I'll accompany Yukino for a while longer...
Later, I'll try Kotoko's method. Maybe I'll see Kotoko tonight...
But I need to avoid Yukino. If she finds out, her favorability will drop...
After more than an hour, Hoshimi stretched, yawned, sat dazed for a while, then got up and wandered out, seemingly to get some fresh air alone.
"Hoshimi, where are you going?" Yukino closed her book, asking with a faint smile.
Hoshimi turned back casually, "Taking a walk, I don't like the library."
"Really? Then I'll go with you." Yukino stood up, walking over to hold his arm.
Hoshimi was stunned, looking at Yukino beside him. Suddenly, he realized she might not be as naive as he thought.
"Yukino, you figured it out?"
"You think I'm that stupid? Let's go, aren't we meeting that junior Kotoko?"
"..." Hoshimi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Yukino, how did you guess?"
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