Inside the cramped, confined space, sweat continuously beaded on Hayashi Shuichi's forehead, mixing with the lingering rainwater and sliding down his cheeks.
Left with no other choice in the dark, he reached out and grabbed a soft piece of fabric at random to wipe the moisture from his brow.
Just as he thought he could breathe a sigh of relief now that the floor was finally mopped, he didn't expect Mrs. Fujimine to start tidying up the clothes.
"This child is getting lazier as she grows up, leaving her discarded clothes scattered everywhere," Mrs. Fujimine muttered to herself as she walked toward the wardrobe.
Crap!
Hayashi Shuichi's heart instantly leaped into his throat. He hurriedly moved to the innermost corner of the wardrobe, hiding himself behind a row of hanging clothes.
With a soft creak, the wardrobe door was pulled open, and light flooded in.
"That's strange. Why is it so damp inside the wardrobe?" Mrs. Fujimine's puzzled voice sounded inches away. "What on earth has that girl been doing?"
As she spoke, she began removing the damp clothes one by one.
With every garment she took away, Hayashi Shuichi's cover grew thinner. His back was pressed tightly against the wooden panel of the wardrobe; he could clearly hear his heart thumping like a drum.
Just as Mrs. Fujimine's hand was about to touch the "barrier" in front of him, Yukiko's voice finally rang out just in time, sounding like a literal godsend: "Mom, I'm done wash—! W-What are you doing opening my wardrobe?!"
Having just finished her shower, Yukiko's hair was still dripping wet, with a few stray strands clinging to her cheeks, adding a touch of charm to her appearance. However, the moment she saw the open wardrobe door, her originally rosy cheeks turned deathly pale, and even her lips lost their color.
"So many clothes in your closet are wet! How can I not tidy them up?" Mrs. Fujimine looked at her daughter's overreaction with surprise. "Didn't I use to help you organize your clothes all the time?"
"That was then! I'm grown up now!"
Yukiko rushed over in three steps, pushing her mother out of the room without letting her get another word in. "From now on, I'll clean my own bedroom!"
After Mrs. Fujimine left with a face full of confusion, Yukiko immediately double-locked the door and rushed to the wardrobe, whispering urgently, "Shuichi?"
"I'm here..." Hayashi Shuichi pushed aside the clothes in front of him, gasping for air. "That nearly scared the life out of me just now."
Feeling more sweat sliding down his temple, he subconsciously took the small piece of cloth in his hand and wiped it away.
Watching this scene, Yukiko's expression instantly froze. "What... what are you holding in your hand?"
"Sorry, I couldn't get out just now, so I grabbed one of your garments to wipe the sweat..." Hayashi Shuichi looked down, and he was instantly dumbfounded.
Clutched in his hand was a pair of pure cotton panties printed with a cartoon bear pattern!
No wonder the absorption was so good... Hayashi Shuichi thought at a highly inappropriate moment.
He looked up stiffly, meeting Yukiko's gaze, which was now filled with murderous intent.
"Drop dead!"
Like a cat with its fur standing on end, the girl lunged at him in a mix of shame and anger.
Caught off guard, Hayashi Shuichi was shoved back into the wardrobe. With a dull thud, the back of his head slammed hard against the wardrobe shelf, causing him to hiss in pain.
Seeing him grimace in agony, Yukiko forgot all about the panties and hurriedly reached out to help him out. Hayashi Shuichi stumbled and sat down on the edge of the bed, clutching the back of his head and drawing sharp breaths.
"...Are you okay?" Yukiko asked guiltily.
"Do I look okay to you?" Hayashi Shuichi managed a bitter smile.
Seeing that he was sweating from the pain, Yukiko quickly took the fabric from his hand to carefully wipe the sweat from his forehead. It was only after two wipes that the girl realized she was still holding the exact same pair of panties.
Her hand froze instantly. Her face flushed a deep crimson, all the way down to her neck.
"W-Why were you still holding onto this!" Yukiko nearly jumped as if she had been burned.
"You're blaming the wrong person here," Hayashi Shuichi spread his hands innocently. "You're the one holding it now."
"You!" Infuriated, Yukiko raised a small fist to strike him.
Hayashi Shuichi laughed, and with quick reflexes, he reached out and wrapped his arm around the girl's slender waist. Together, they tumbled onto the soft bed.
Yukiko struggled for a few moments before eventually relenting, lying half-pressed against him.
Smelling the faint scent of shampoo in her hair and feeling the soft curves of the young girl, Hayashi Shuichi couldn't help but feel his mind wander. The atmosphere gradually became intimate.
If the girl were the only one at the Fujimine household tonight, what happened next would be self-evident. But unfortunately, her parents were home!
Hayashi Shuichi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He wasn't thick-skinned enough to take advantage of Yukiko at a time like this.
"What do we do now?" Hayashi Shuichi asked in a low voice. "When do your parents go to sleep?"
"How should I know!" Yukiko lay on him, looking equally distressed. "My mom is a night owl. She loves dragging Dad into watching movies in the middle of the night to 'study acting' together."
"Watching movies in the middle of the night? They should just go back to the bedroom and..." Hayashi Shuichi stopped halfway through the sentence, realizing he was talking about the girl's parents, and quickly shut his mouth.
Yukiko wasn't stupid; she immediately caught his drift.
"You're terrible!" The girl glared at him in embarrassment, punctuating it with a light punch to his chest.
"Well, we still need to figure out how to get through tonight."
Hayashi Shuichi sat up, tugging at the damp clothes clinging to his body. "My clothes are still soaking wet."
"There are towels in the bedroom, but I don't have any clothes for you to change into."
Yukiko bit her lower lip, looking around the room in frustration. Suddenly, her gaze landed on her wardrobe. "How about... you wear my pajamas for now?"
I'm not a cross-dresser!
Hayashi Shuichi instinctively wanted to refuse, but looking down at his wet clothes, he could only nod helplessly. Yukiko was only half a head shorter than him, and since pajamas were naturally loose, Hayashi Shuichi sized them up and realized they might actually fit.
"Here, use this towel!" Yukiko took a fluffy pink towel from a drawer. "And don't pick up the wrong thing again."
The girl's eyes pointedly flicked toward the bear panties lying discarded on the side.
"Got it." Hayashi Shuichi took the towel, but seeing the girl still standing motionless in front of him, he raised an eyebrow. "You want to watch?"
"Watch what?" Yukiko didn't react for a moment, blinking her innocent, large eyes.
"Watch me take off my clothes," Hayashi Shuichi said as he pulled off his short-sleeved shirt, revealing a lean, toned chest. "Since I saw everything of yours just now, if you see everything of mine, we'll be even, right?"
"You rogue!"
Yukiko let out a startled cry. Seeing him make a move to unbuckle his belt, she immediately turned around with a flushed face, covering her eyes with both hands.
However, Hayashi Shuichi noticed that she had quietly left a gap between her fingers.
"What, do you want to peep through the mirror too?" Hayashi Shuichi smirked, pointing at the full-length mirror standing right in front of Yukiko...
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