Ch 272. Could it Be that Hoshimi Has Someone in His Dreams?

When they entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, just as Hoshimi was preparing to help her undress, Kasumigaoka suddenly snapped back to her senses.

She grabbed her collar with one hand, warily looking at Hoshimi beside her.

"..."

"..."

The two remained silent, both waiting for the other to speak first.

After a short while, Kasumigaoka, whose composure wavered slightly, spoke softly, "Hoshimi, I remember you agreed that I would sleep in the guest room, right?"

"Hm?" Hoshimi tilted his head, blinking twice with a look of confusion.

"..." Kasumigaoka said nothing further, silently locking eyes with Hoshimi.

As their gazes met, a mysterious glimmer gradually appeared in Hoshimi's crimson eyes and Kasumigaoka's wine-red eyes, and the atmosphere between them grew quieter.

So quiet, it felt as if they could hear each other's heartbeats...

Buzz—Buzz—!

At that moment, Hoshimi's phone vibrated twice in his pocket.

Normally, such a small vibration would hardly be noticed, but in this quiet atmosphere, even the slightest disturbance was like a discordant note.

"A message?" A subtle gleam flashed in Kasumigaoka's eyes.

"Probably..." Hoshimi took out his phone and subtly adjusted the screen so that Kasumigaoka couldn't see it.

Calmly, he unlocked the phone to check the message.

Sure enough, it was an email from Yukino.

"Hoshimi, why aren't you sleeping yet? Are you playing games again?" — Yukino

He glanced at the time: 11:32 PM. It was half an hour later than his usual bedtime, no wonder Yukino sent a message to check on him.

After reading the email, Hoshimi casually replied in front of Kasumigaoka.

"I'll go to bed after this round, no more than 10 minutes, I promise." — Hoshimi

After replying, Hoshimi naturally put his phone away and smiled as he explained to Kasumigaoka, "It was a message from my aunt, reminding me to get some rest."

In situations like this, you must not panic. The more you panic, the more likely you are to give yourself away!

You have to stay calm and composed, so the other person will believe what you're saying!

"Well, Utaha, we..." Hoshimi suppressed his smile, his eyes filled with unmistakable desire as he looked at Kasumigaoka.

Step two of staying composed: Don't over-explain! Casually give a brief explanation, then return to the previous topic. Don't dwell on the lie or the potential cracks in it!

"Hmph~" Kasumigaoka snorted lightly. She stood up, swaying her hips as she walked toward the bedroom door with a cat-like stride.

When she reached the door, Kasumigaoka glanced back slightly, looking at Hoshimi out of the corner of her eye. "Your aunt told you to rest early, so be obedient and go to bed. Stop filling your head with all sorts of nonsense."

With that, Kasumigaoka closed the bedroom door and left.

Tap—Tap—!

Click—!

After hearing Kasumigaoka enter the guest room next door, Hoshimi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Luckily, Kasumigaoka was the kind of girl who understood boundaries and etiquette. She didn't make a scene by demanding to see his phone. Otherwise, no matter how good his acting skills were, it wouldn't have helped.

But did Utaha sense something?

Hoshimi rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

After a while, he decided this was something he didn't need to worry about for now. As long as Kasumigaoka didn't explicitly say, "I know," he could continue pretending to be ignorant. When the time came and he truly couldn't hide it anymore, he'd deal with it then.

"Phew~"

Hoshimi exhaled softly and climbed into bed.

"Time to sleep..." He casually turned off the bedside lamp and quickly drifted off to sleep.

…

Dream.

Yukino: "Playing games again?"

Hoshimi: "Uh... just for a little bit..."

Yukino: "A little bit? You left my house at ten, and now it's midnight! You call that a little bit?"

"Well..." Seeing Yukino frowning with a hint of anger in her eyes, Hoshimi raised his hand and reminded her, "To be precise, it's 11:35, so there are still 25 minutes until midnight."

"..." Yukino stared at Hoshimi for a moment, then softly said, "Does it make a difference? Being late by half an hour or by an hour—it's still late. The nature of it is the same."

"..." The corner of Hoshimi's eye twitched. For some reason, that statement sounded oddly familiar, as if he had said the same thing to Yukino before.

He couldn't quite recall the exact situation... but the conversation definitely involved him and Yukino.

"Hoshimi, what are you thinking about?" Yukino stepped in front of him, looked up, and stared blankly into his eyes.

Hoshimi: "Umm..."

Isn't this a golden opportunity?

Without thinking, Hoshimi suddenly pulled Yukino into his arms.

And then...

Before Yukino could start struggling, Hoshimi took her sky-high, engaging in free-fall from miles above.

"Hoshimi, you..."

The roaring wind rushed into Yukino's mouth, swallowing all the words she was about to say.

In the weightlessness, Yukino could no longer focus on scolding Hoshimi for being late. She could only cling tightly to him, burying her face deep in his chest to quell the surge of fear rising within her.

"Yukino, say you love me, and we'll go back and read."

Through the whistling wind, Hoshimi's voice rang clearly in Yukino's ears.

"Not a chance!" Yukino, her heart racing like a wild horse, squeezed her answer out through clenched teeth.

"No? Then let's keep going!" With a thought, Hoshimi took Yukino to his next attraction: the 'Wild Rapids.'

Earlier, at Disneyland, they hadn't played to their hearts' content.

Now, he had created his own version—3,000 meters high, a 75-degree slope, with water flowing twice as fast as gravitational acceleration.

He'd been eager to try it with Yukino ever since he built it, but never found the right moment. Now, he couldn't be bothered to wait; he'd take her on the ride first, explanations later.

Besides, he wondered if he'd been too gentle lately. Or was Yukino going through a rebellious phase? She actually dared to throw a tantrum at him, even in a dream?

"Hoshimi! Kiyokawa! You heartless bastard! Just wait till tomorrow!" Yukino's indignant, gritted shout made Hoshimi feel oddly satisfied.

Indeed, embracing your true nature feels the best...

But how should he deal with tomorrow?

...

Meanwhile, in the guest room next door, Kasumigaoka lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Why hadn't Hoshimi pulled her into the dream? Could it be that he hadn't fallen asleep yet? That didn't make sense!

When she left Hoshimi's bedroom earlier, she had purposely swayed her hips and walked out with exaggerated steps to ignite some fire in him.

She was only wearing a white shirt that barely covered her thighs at the time. Swaying her hips twice like that, showing off her graceful figure, there was no way someone like Hoshimi, with his lecherous nature, could resist.

So why hadn't Hoshimi pulled her into the dream?

Could it be... that there's already someone else in his dream?

"..."

Whoosh--!

Kasumigaoka threw off her blanket and, barefoot, headed straight for Hoshimi's bedroom.

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