Chapter 104 – Sprouting feelings

"Hey, I'm in the elevator now." Yukio called Karuizawa's phone, informing her of his situation and asking her to open the door for him.

"That quick?!" Karuizawa's surprised voice immediately came through the phone.

"If it took longer, you might end up catching a cold in the bathroom." Yukio casually explained, instructing her to go open the door.

Hearing this, Karuizawa paused, her eyes widening with an indescribable sense of comfort. The words "worried about you catching a cold" were like a warm sun in winter, shining into her heart.

It felt as if a warm bud, buried deep within the soil of her heart, was slowly sprouting.

Was he really that quick because he was worried about her? Checking the time, it seemed it had only been about ten minutes in total.

Thinking this, Karuizawa's expression softened, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. The sense of helplessness from being trapped in the bathroom due to the water outage completely vanished, replaced by total reassurance: "I'll go open the door for you now, you can push it open when you arrive."

After hanging up, Karuizawa immediately dashed out, almost stumbling in her hurry, barely managing to maintain her balance by flailing her arms in the air. She nearly fell but also almost slammed her head against the door!

Karuizawa inwardly cursed herself for being so flustered and clumsy.

But now wasn't the time to berate herself. She knew Yukio was taking a significant risk by coming directly to her; if any girls from other dorms saw him, it might reveal the relationship between him and her.

Quickly steadying her emotions, she unlocked the door to ensure it could be opened from the outside, then hurried back to the bathroom.

Returning to the stark white bathroom, Karuizawa finally allowed herself a moment to relax. Instantly feeling weak, as if she had drunk alcohol, she slumped against the bathroom door, sliding down to sit on the tiled floor, gasping for breath, her face as red as if she had just run an 800-meter race.

On the other side, the elevator "dinged" softly as the doors slid open. Seeing no one else in the corridor, Yukio felt somewhat relieved.

It would be troublesome if a girl from D class saw him, but luckily it was dinner time, and most people wouldn't be around.

He had already thought of an excuse in case he was seen: he would say he was coming to see Kushida, who was good at socializing. Visiting her could somewhat be justified.

When no one was around, there was no need for the contingency plan. Yukio immediately jogged to Karuizawa's dorm, effortlessly pushing the door open and walking in with his eyes closed, not hearing any noise or screams from girls. Only then did he reopen his eyes and close the door behind him.

However, as soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed some shampoo foam on the floor inside, indicating Karuizawa had rushed back to the bathroom in a hurry after opening the door for him.

Perhaps hearing the noise, the bathroom door cracked open slightly, and Karuizawa's anxious voice came from inside: "Are you here? How, how did it go?"

"I've got it for you." This time, Yukio brought the entire bucket that Ishizaki had prepared, which indeed proved to be quite convenient.

"That's great, I'm saved~!" Karuizawa sounded relieved: "I was worried because the shampoo foam in my hair was about to dry and harden. Thank you so much!"

"Stop thanking me and just wash your hair." Yukio walked up to the bathroom door, separated from Karuizawa by only a door, and set the bucket down.

Hearing his voice so close behind her, Karuizawa instinctively shivered!

She then realized she had made a huge mistake! She had contacted Yukio to conceal the secret of her scar. 

While this request indeed covered the secret of her scar, it had brought a greater danger! She was in a vulnerable position now! Alone in her dorm with the door closed, what would she do if Yukio aggressively made a move on her?

She would be doomed, as her slender limbs couldn't possibly resist Yukio. Men were like bad wolfs, possibly driven by desire to do something unthinkable.

"What are you thinking about?" Another remark from Yukio finally brought Karuizawa back to her senses.

Karuizawa could only curl up inside, nervously laughing: "No, I, I wasn't thinking about anything…"

"Then hurry up and take the stuff inside." Yukio turned away, annoyed, understanding why Karuizawa had been silent: "I've prepared a large plastic bag for you."

"I even poked many holes in it with a toothpick. You can tie the bag to the showerhead, pour water from the water bottles into it, and it will serve as a makeshift showerhead for washing your hair."

"Otherwise, pouring from the bottles directly, you might use up all the water without properly washing your hair."

Karuizawa's first thought was to marvel at Yukio's attentiveness and to feel ashamed for being so wary of him.

Despite his helpfulness, she had been consumed with suspicion and caution, which was unjust. Thus, mustering her courage, Karuizawa slightly opened the bathroom door, saw the red bucket with several water bottles inside, and a large plastic bag on top.

In passing, she also saw Yukio's back to her, like a delicate paper umbrella shielding against the storm, quietly guarding here.

Thump, thump, thump.

It's the sound of a heartbeat.

Karuizawa was awakened by the thumping heartbeat, realizing what she was doing at this moment. She should hurry and take the bucket back instead of staring like this! If he turns his head, he wouldn't know who was staring at whom!

With her face flushed, Karuizawa immediately picked up the water bucket—it was so heavy! Perhaps due to a burst of potential, Karuizawa felt it was a bit heavy but managed to carry it back to the bathroom with one hand.

Then she took out the plastic bag, tied it to the showerhead, and prepared to pour water from the kettle into it. But upon closer inspection, Karuizawa softly "ah" in surprise. Something was wrong. Why were there so many water kettles?

She had received the school's text message and knew that each person could only receive two standard water kettles from the cafeteria.

Karuizawa looked at her phone, the screen displaying the call log, the two recent calls with Yukio, just over ten minutes apart.

This means, in such a short time after she asked for help, Yukio had already found several people to help, went together to collect, and managed to get so many kettles of water.

And then he brought them all back to her alone? Was she worth so much attention from Yukio?

Karuizawa, who once sought to avoid being bullied again in high school and not repeat her middle school experiences, found Hirata, a popular boy in Class D. She earnestly shared her past troubles and asked to pretend to be a couple.

Hirata helped her and agreed to the pretense, which initially gave her a higher status in Class D. However, Hirata treated everyone with equal care, including her.

So, Karuizawa didn't feel anything special until now, being so cared for by Yukio, she realized that someone in the world could value her so much!

During the bullying, the laughter of her classmates, the indifference of teachers who only made things worse by telling them not to bully, going home to complain only to be told by her busy parents to be obedient and not cause trouble at school, that environment filled with darkness was now pierced by a ray of sunlight, making her feel so strange.

A strange emotion, as if singing high in her heart chamber, this very unfamiliar sentiment to Karuizawa, made her feel an urge to cry.

She didn't understand why, why she felt like crying out of nowhere? Supposedly, after Yukio helped her take revenge on those who bullied her in middle school, seeing those swollen faces of her bullies, she should have been reborn, become stronger, not easily cry anymore, but why...

In her heart, the sprouting seedling growing branches, breaking through the soil, seemed at this moment to have found its belonging.

***

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