"Who—who wants to look at you!" Yukiko stomped her foot, turning around in embarrassment and heading toward the door. "I'm going out to get something to drink. What do you want?"
"Is there any hot tea?" Hayashi Shuichi thought for a moment and reached up to rub his itchy nose. "I got caught in a heavy downpour and can't take a shower. If I don't drink something hot, my body is going to freeze through."
"Understood, my delicate Young Master Hayashi," Yukiko rolled her eyes at him playfully.
As she pushed the door open to leave, she couldn't help but steal one last glance back, catching sight of Hayashi Shuichi's firm arm lines and the faint outline of his abdominal muscles.
Yukiko's face instantly flushed crimson, and she hurriedly slammed the door shut with a loud thud.
The lighting in the hallway was somewhat dim, bathing Yukiko in a warm yellow glow. She took a deep breath, trying hard to cool down her burning cheeks to ensure her parents wouldn't notice anything unusual before heading toward the kitchen.
Inside the bedroom, taking advantage of the girl's absence, Hayashi Shuichi quickly shed his soaked trousers and used the towel to carefully wipe the moisture off his body.
As he wiped, he glanced around Yukiko's private sanctuary.
Dozens of plush dolls were scattered across the pink bedsheets, including a small brown bear that was tilting its head as if watching him. Scripts and cosmetics were neatly arranged on the desk, with a few lipsticks scattered haphazardly at the corner. Movie posters hung on the walls, one of which featured the Fujimine couple.
The entire room was filled with a faint scent of lavender, like bedding that had been dried in the sun, bringing a strange sense of peace to his mind.
After a few minutes of drying off, Hayashi Shuichi pulled on the girl's pajamas. Aside from being a bit tight around the shoulders, they were fairly loose everywhere else.
Just as he picked up the pajama pants to put them on, the bedroom door suddenly opened with a creak.
Hayashi Shuichi, facing the door, was startled. Once he saw it was only Yukiko standing at the entrance, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued putting on his pants as if nothing were wrong.
Unlike him, Yukiko stood frozen at the doorway holding a teacup, staring wide-eyed for a long time. Her eyes were perfectly round, her lips parted slightly, and the teacup in her hand tilted so much from the shock that a few drops of tea splashed onto the floor.
"Yukiko?" Mrs. Fujimine's voice drifted in from the living room, seemingly noticing her daughter's odd behavior. "What's wrong?"
"...N-nothing! I just remembered something!"
The girl snapped back to her senses and stammered an explanation. She hurried into the room, placed the teacup on the nightstand, and immediately double-locked the door—her movements as fast as a startled rabbit.
Once that was done, she glared at Hayashi Shuichi with reddened eyes and asked haltingly, "Y-you..."
"What about me?" Hayashi Shuichi ran a hand through his hair.
"You're actually not wearing any underwear!"
At the thought of the image she had just seen, Yukiko felt a wave of heat wash over her entire body, her face so red it looked ready to drip blood. She stomped her foot and said huffily, "Don't you have any sense of hygiene!"
"My lady! Who says I don't wear them?"
Hayashi Shuichi pointed aggrievedly at the wet underwear draped over the back of the chair; the fabric was crumpled and still dripping water. "Those are wet too. I had no choice but to take them off."
"Still... you can't just not wear anything!" Yukiko's face burned as her toes unconsciously traced circles on the floor. "If someone sees..."
"This isn't my house, where am I supposed to find a spare pair?" A mischievous smirk curled onto Hayashi Shuichi's lips. "I can't exactly wear your little bear panties, can I?"
"You are not allowed to mention those again!"
Yukiko rushed over to cover his mouth with her hand. Her palm brushed against the fine stubble on his chin, making her palm feel tingly and itchy.
"Eek!" The girl suddenly cried out, quickly pulling her hand back. "Are you a dog? Why did you lick me?"
"I said it on the way here, didn't I? If you're Pudding, then I'm Wang Cai," Hayashi Shuichi said, followed by two playful barks.
"I am not Pudding," Yukiko gave him two light, amused punches. "Wait, I'm not a dog either!"
After playing around for a bit, Hayashi Shuichi, now fully dressed in the pajamas, took his wet clothes and hung them on the window with hangers.
Yukiko quickly stopped him. "If you hang them there, what if Mom comes in? She'll see them immediately!"
"Then where should I hang them?" Hayashi Shuichi sighed helplessly. "They need to dry at least a little, otherwise I can't wear them later."
"Hang them behind the door." The girl took the clothes from him and hung the shirt and pants on the hooks behind the door, carefully smoothing them out to ensure they were neat.
"Oh, and this..." Hayashi Shuichi picked up his underwear and gave it a little shake.
"Hang that one yourself!" Yukiko bit her lip in embarrassment.
"I didn't even mind your panties, but now you're acting disgusted by me." Hayashi Shuichi shook his head, feigning a heartbroken expression. "And here I was thinking you were quite thoughtful."
"Mine were washed!" Yukiko countered, her eyes wide.
"Mine is 'original flavor' though." Hayashi Shuichi laughed as he hung the underwear by the door. "Want to give it a sniff?"
"Pervert!" Yukiko grabbed a plushie from the bed and hurled it at him. "Stop saying such weird things!"
With the clothing issue temporarily resolved, Hayashi Shuichi sat on the edge of the bed and took a sip of the hot tea. The warm liquid flowed into his stomach, quickly thawing his chilled body.
Hayashi Shuichi let out a comfortable sigh, a look of satisfaction on his face. "By the way, when you went out just now, did you ask your parents when they're going to sleep?"
"How am I supposed to ask a question like that!"
Yukiko rolled her eyes and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "However, I did see Mom holding several discs. They'll probably be watching movies all night again."
The girl pointed toward the living room, where the faint sound of the television could be heard. "Every time they watch movies, they stay up very late."
"Then I..."
Hayashi Shuichi instinctively turned his gaze toward the girl's bed. Yukiko's bed was large—big enough for two people—and sleeping two would clearly be more than enough.
"N-no way!" Yukiko immediately blocked his path, spreading her arms like a mother hen protecting her chick. "Don't even think about it!"
"You can't expect me to sit up all night, can you?"
As Hayashi Shuichi spoke, he let out a sneeze and his shoulders began to tremble slightly. "See? I'm already about to catch a cold. If I sit here doing nothing all night, I'll definitely end up with a fever."
Yukiko looked around the room. "...How about you sleep on the floor?"
"Sigh, a woman's heart is the most cruel. It's raining today, so the floor is naturally damp, and you just mopped it too..."
Hayashi Shuichi hunched his shoulders and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering theatrically. "Sleeping there for one night would definitely give me rheumatism by tomorrow!"
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