Ch 14. Yukino is Flat
"Are you okay?" Hoshimi asked with concern after Yukinoshita stood up.
Yukinoshita remained silent, not even looking at Hoshimi. She took out her handkerchief without saying a word and wiped the dew from her pretty face.
"Hiss~ Why are you so stubborn? I really didn't mean for that to happen. Do you think I have such great powers to predict when my classmates will pass by?"
Facing Yukinoshita's indifferent treatment of him, Hoshimi couldn't help but complain.
Yukinoshita paused while wiping her face with the handkerchief, then continued indifferently, wondering if she had heard Hoshimi's explanation.
"Forget it. Think for yourself; what happened was just a coincidence."
Seeing Yukinoshita starting to move, Hoshimi didn't say anything more. He raised his hand to help Yukinoshita remove grass leaves from her school uniform.
The fall had been quite hard, and grass leaves covered her school uniform from the tie to the chest, lower abdomen, and even a few on her skirt.
Feeling sorry for Yukinoshita, Hoshimi patiently helped her with the grass leaves.
He untied the tie and threw it away.
After brushing off the chest a couple of times with his hands, he picked up the stubborn wet grass blades and tossed them aside.
After a few brushes on the lower abdomen, they all fell off.
Finally, he gently brushed down the school uniform skirt from top to bottom, but two stubborn wet grass blades required him to stroke back and forth a few times before they fell off.
"All done."
After finishing, Hoshimi clapped his hands, stood up straight, and looked at Yukinoshita.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Looking at Yukinoshita's cold, murderous gaze, Hoshimi was puzzled.
What was wrong with this woman? He helped her, and yet she looked at him like this.
"Hmm?"
Wait, Hoshimi suddenly realized something.
He raised his hands to check and then glanced at Yukinoshita's flat chest and slender legs, suddenly understanding.
His eyelids twitched as he explained seriously, "Yukinoshita, I really didn't notice this issue earlier. I just wanted to help you sincerely."
Hoshimi wasn't lying; Yukinoshita's chest was so flat that he genuinely hadn't noticed when he helped her with the grass blades on her school uniform.
"You know what's really going on in your heart!" Yukinoshita stared coldly at Hoshimi, not hiding her disdain.
Hoshimi's eyes twitched, and he decided not to bother explaining further.
Yukinoshita was on high alert against him now; whatever he did, she always expected the worst.
Fortunately, he was used to this; it was nothing new.
"Yukinoshita, shall we go to school together?" Hoshimi gestured with his right hand.
After glancing at Hoshimi's right hand, Yukinoshita walked past him as if nothing had happened and continued toward the school.
However, the lingering effects of the roller coaster hadn't completely faded, making Yukinoshita's steps a bit unsteady, as if she might fall at any moment.
Hoshimi curled his lips, caught up with Yukinoshita, and firmly grabbed her left hand with his right.
"What's the matter? Are you planning to keep falling?" Yukinoshita didn't resist but gave Hoshimi a cold look.
"Do you want to keep falling?" Hoshimi shot back, then looked ahead and said flatly, "Besides, I need a support to make sure I won't fall like you."
"Got it? You're quite the clever Miss Yukinoshita."
Yukinoshita frowned slightly and said coldly, "Don't call me Miss."
"Oh, sorry. You're the second lady. By the way..." Hoshimi glanced at Yukinoshita's profile and asked with interest, "What's your sister like? Can you tell me?"
Yukinoshita's face visibly paled, and she squinted at Hoshimi, saying in an emotionless voice, "If you want to know, go find her yourself."
Observing Yukinoshita's reaction, Hoshimi thoughtfully stroked his chin.
He had known from his dreams that Yukinoshita didn't have a good relationship with her sister.
Now he was curious: was Yukinoshita's older sister as flat as her, or did she have a perfect figure?
If it was the latter, that would be interesting.
Hoshimi discreetly glanced at Yukinoshita's flat chest and a subtle smile played on his lips.
"What are you looking at?"
Feeling a malicious gaze, Yukinoshita turned to Hoshimi, her icy blue eyes cold and daunting.
"Nothing. Just thinking about how long it'll take to get to school," Hoshimi smiled, casually changing the subject.
Yukinoshita knew Hoshimi was diverting, so she gave him a deep look, then turned and replied coldly, "Usually, it takes 15 minutes from the apartment to Sobu High School. Today might take a bit longer, but it shouldn't exceed 20 minutes."
"Even at its slowest?" Hoshimi checked his phone; it was 8:10 in the morning.
"When does morning class start?" Hoshimi continued.
"At 8:45. It's preceded by a Short Class Meeting (SCM) at 8:05, lasting half an hour, or as we call it, early self-study."
Yukinoshita suddenly stopped, frowning slightly as she recalled two girls from their class who often arrived late for early self-study. They probably passed by her apartment downstairs.
It did seem like a coincidence...
"Early self-study?" Hoshimi raised an eyebrow, surprised. He hadn't expected Japan, which prided itself on a relaxed educational approach, to have such a strict schedule.
"But what else?" Yukinoshita snorted coldly, pinching Hoshimi's right hand hard.
"So, why were you late?" Hoshimi rubbed his chin with interest. "Yukinoshita, if you knew about early self-study, why leave so late? Were you waiting for me?"