Hoshimi, chewing gum, looked at Yukino. "Yukino..."
"Don't ask, and don't say anything. Just keep chewing your gum," Yukino interrupted Hoshimi with a blank expression.
"..." Hoshimi raised an eyebrow, faintly aware of what was about to happen.
Sure enough, the development that followed was completely within Hoshimi's expectations.
Three minutes later, Yukino coldly said, "Hoshimi, spit out the gum."
Hoshimi picked up the wrapper he hadn't thrown away, spat the gum into it, and wrapped it up.
"Hoshimi, look up."
Hoshimi looked up, and Yukino leaned down, holding his face, expressionless as she said, "Hoshimi, there should only be the scent of one person on you, and that person is me!"
After saying this, Yukino bit Hoshimi's lip hard.
Yes, she bit down, and quite hard. Just as Hoshimi's lip was about to break, Yukino released her grip and switched back to a normal French kiss.
This kiss was very long...
So long that Hoshimi felt his lips going numb when Yukino finally gasped for breath and released him.
"Hoshimi, there should only be one person's scent on you! Who could that be?" Yukino, with a flushed face, asked breathlessly.
"..." Yukino's unprecedented initiative left Hoshimi momentarily stunned. He looked at Yukino, whose eyes were filled with intense possessiveness, and for a moment forgot how to speak.
"Hoshimi! Who could that person be?!" Yukino cupped Hoshimi's face and asked again, intensifying her tone.
Coming back to his senses, Hoshimi raised his hand to cover Yukino's pale hand and gave a very affirmative answer, "It's you, Yukinoshita Yukino."
"Ah~" The tension in Yukino's body relaxed. She looked at Hoshimi, who was so close, and never expected that she would act so 'unreservedly.'
Her face burned, her gaze began to waver, and her body trembled slightly, unable to control itself.
"Yukino?" Seeing something strange in Yukino's demeanor, Hoshimi called out cautiously.
But that gentle call caused Yukino to completely lose her composure. The courage and initiative she had just shown evaporated into thin air. She released her hands, retreating several steps until she was three meters away from Hoshimi, stopping there.
Her left hand hung limply by her side while her right hand instinctively gripped her left elbow.
"..." Watching Yukino's strange actions, Hoshimi couldn't help but complain internally.
It was clearly Yukino who kissed him first, yet after getting an answer, she retreated far away, making it seem like he had forced her just now.
"Hoshimi..." Standing three meters away, Yukino turned her head slightly, murmuring, "Hoshimi... nothing happened just now, right?"
"Ha?" Hoshimi stood up and asked loudly, "What are you talking about, Yukino? I didn't hear you. Say it again."
"..." Yukino opened and closed her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
"Yukino, speak up. Did you forget to eat?" Hoshimi walked toward Yukino, not hearing anything.
"...Let's go home..." After leaving that line, Yukino could no longer suppress the embarrassment surging within her. She turned and fled, seemingly escaping.
"..." At a loss for words, Hoshimi quickened his pace to catch up with Yukino.
But the faster he went, the faster Yukino moved ahead.
After a brief competition of speed-walking, Hoshimi's eyelids twitched, prompting him to slow down.
It wasn't that he couldn't catch up with Yukino, but he worried that if he ran, and Yukino also ran, passersby might see them and mistake him for a criminal and call the police.
He definitely didn't want to end up in the police station just for flirting.
Besides, Yukino's sense of shame was a bit too strange, wasn't it? She had given him full marks reward, yet now she felt embarrassed after taking the initiative?
He really couldn't figure out where Yukino's growth points had gone during this time.
Could it be 'a woman's heart'? If that's the case, then it made sense; after all, a woman's heart is like a needle in the ocean—hard to find and even harder to grasp, and if you do grasp it, it pricks you.
"Sigh~" Watching Yukino, who also slowed down in front of him, Hoshimi sighed lightly and helplessly followed behind her.
Yukino's earlier actions in the park were actually easy to understand. She must have been provoked by Kotoko, leading her to take such a definitive stance.
Yukino's subsequent reaction was even easier to understand; it was simply that she didn't want to face the foolish things she had done after coming back to her senses.
After a while, Yukino would probably figure it out herself or 'delete' the memory, and then it would be fine.
"Sigh~" Hoshimi sighed inwardly.
Competition is a good thing, but excessive competition is not.
That strong possessiveness in Yukino's eyes just now made him slightly uneasy... It felt like continuing this way would lead to trouble...
Fortunately, Kotoko had left for now. As long as no one provoked Yukino, there wouldn't be a problem for a while.
But what would happen when Kotoko returned? How could he make Kotoko and Yukino coexist peacefully?
Hoshimi fell into deep thought...
Time passed, and before long, Hoshimi had followed Yukino back to the apartment building.
In the elevator, Hoshimi glanced at Yukino, who had calmed down beside him.
At this moment, he was pondering a question: if he replaced Kotoko with Yuigahama, how would Yukino react?
Would she turn a blind eye, ignore it, or respond as intensely as she did now?
Hoshimi found it hard to predict. As his relationship with Yukino grew closer, he found it increasingly difficult to grasp Yukino's thoughts as easily as before.
Maybe this is what it means to be caught up in it?
Hoshimi furrowed his brow slightly; no, it wasn't being caught up in it. It was that he had softened and could no longer treat Yukino recklessly as he had before...
"..." Hoshimi remained silent.
Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing?
"Ding---"
The elevator reached the 15th floor.
As the elevator doors opened, Yukino walked out calmly. After a moment of contemplation, Hoshimi followed her out.
Yukino slightly curled her index finger, pretending to be nonchalant as she walked toward her home.
Hoshimi said nothing, silently keeping pace with Yukino.
"Click--"
In apartment 1507, Yukino, her breath slightly erratic, opened the door.
She walked inside, and then...
"Bang---"
Hoshimi followed her in, wrapping his arms around her from behind while shutting the door with a kick.
Hoshimi embraced Yukino and, breathing heavily, said, "Yukino, let's be dyed with each other's colors..."
Yukino grasped Hoshimi's hand, her expression struggling as she said, "No, at least we have to wait until..."
Yukino's lips kept moving, but no sound came out.
"..." Seeing Yukino's refusal, Hoshimi remained silent for a moment before softly saying, "Yukino, let's take a shower together..."
"Uh~~" After hesitating for a long time, Yukino blushed and nodded, "Yeah~~"
This is the punishment for impulsiveness; who told her to ask that question...
===
[30 Bonus Chapters: https://www.patreon.com/cherryblooming]