Restricted Death

Chapter 139 Hinamori's Panic

Hinamori returned to the living room in a daze. Everyone was still chatting there, and no one noticed that she seemed a little off, except for Rukia.

"What's wrong? Did you throw up just now?" Rukia asked.

Hinamori shook her head, her gaze lingering on Hitsugaya for a long time.

Toshiro Hitsugaya has a very bright silver hair color, which makes him stand out in a crowd.

The strand of hair that Hinamori saw on the towel in the bathroom was a darker silver-gray.

Among the people Hinamori knew, the only one who matched that hair color was the fourth division's vice-captain, Kotetsu Isane.

It has been two years since Shin graduated, and Hinamori has not seen him many times in the past two years. Although she believes that her feelings for the president have never faded in the slightest, what about the president?

He was able to spend every day with that Vice Captain Kotetsu, who was also a gentle and beautiful woman...

Once this thought appeared, it lingered in Hinamori's mind for a long time, causing her to pay no attention to the content of everyone's conversation.

"peach?"

"Huh?" Hinamori snapped back to reality, only to realize that everyone's eyes were on her.

"What...what happened?"

"Looks like you're really drunk," Xiu Bing said with a smile.

"..."

Hinamori simply pursed her lips and remained silent. She looked at the letter and unconsciously clenched her fists.

"It's about time," Hitsugaya said. "We should go."

Seeing Hinamori's appearance, he wanted her to go back and rest as soon as possible.

Everyone got up one after another, intending to leave.

"You guys eat and drink, then just pack your bags and leave. Is there no one going to help me clean up?" Xin said with a helpless expression.

"Who makes guests do the work?" Xiu Bing said bluntly. "Just ignore him."

The rest of the people also walked out of the room with smiles on their faces.

"Goodbye, President."

"Goodbye, Brother Xin."

Xin had originally planned to grab Qinglu to help him clean up the mess, but the guy slipped away faster than anyone else.

The once lively atmosphere quickly quieted down, but Hinamori didn't leave and remained sitting on the sofa.

Seeing her thoughtful expression, Xin poured her a glass of water: "Are you feeling unwell?"

"...It's alright." Hinamori took the water glass and responded with her eyes downcast.

"Why don't you rest on the sofa for a while?"

Xin began tidying up the room. First, she went to the bathroom, carefully observed the room, and finally picked up a towel hanging on the wall, letting out a sigh.

There were no personal belongings of Yongyin in the house, but even so, Yongyin still left some traces of having lived there.

They've been discovered...

Hinamori's affection level hasn't changed yet, probably because she herself isn't sure.

However, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

On the street, after Rukia and Renji parted ways, Rukia glanced one last time in the direction of Shin's house.

Why haven't the peaches come out yet...?

She hesitated for a moment, walked around a corner, but then suddenly turned back.

When she pushed open the door to the chairman's house again, she saw Hinamori sitting alone on the sofa, and the sound of washing dishes came from the kitchen.

"Why are you back?" Hinamori asked, her eyes flickering slightly as she saw Rukia.

Rukia sat down beside her, looked at her and said, "I was worried about you."

Hinamori grinned: "Worried about me? You're worried about what I might do to the student council president, aren't you?"

Rukia pursed her lips and remained silent.

Hinamori sighed and said softly, "People really can't fully trust each other... nor should they trust each other completely."

A voice came from the kitchen: "Is that Rukia?" "Ah, it's me, President."

Rukia looked at Hinamori again and asked, "What's wrong with you? You're not usually like this when you're drunk."

"..."

Rukia suddenly raised an eyebrow: "Did you confess to the president?"

She thought to herself, "That doesn't seem right either. Whether the president accepts or rejects, Momoko shouldn't be like this."

Hinamori asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Rukia, between you and me, who do you think will end up with the president?"

Rukia was taken aback. She hadn't expected Hinamori to suddenly ask such a direct question, one that left her speechless.

Hinamori continued, "Just now, I suddenly thought about a lot of things, about the chairman. No matter what we do, it's a matter between the two of us, but the chairman must know our feelings. If that's the case, why hasn't the chairman made any statement?"

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"If the president really likes you, or likes me... why won't he say it? It's already so obvious to us..."

Rukia frowned slightly. She recalled that she seemed to have asked the president a similar question during the fireworks festival. Now that she thought about it, the president's answer at the time was not clear enough. She had given the president enough trust. She always felt that two people should trust each other, unlike what Momo had just said.

Hinamori stared intently at Rukia in front of her.

"Rukia, you and the president..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, gripping her cup tightly with both hands, and fell silent.

“What do you want to ask?” Rukia asked.

"I don't know..." Hinamori patted her forehead, "I have a bit of a headache, I probably really drank too much."

What she wanted to ask was how far things had progressed between Rukia and the president, and whether they had engaged in any intimate acts.

Hinamori had always believed that the student council president liked her, and that the two had already kissed.

But at the last fireworks festival, the president held her hand, and also Rukia's hand.

If the student council president likes me, why does she hold Rukia's hand? Doesn't she know what it means to hold a girl's hand?

But if she actually asked that question, she was afraid of getting a bad answer.

The hair on that towel might not be what I thought. Maybe it was just that Vice Captain Kotetsu was visiting the chairman's house and accidentally left it there.

Rukia felt a mix of emotions as she looked at Hinamori's unusually listless appearance.

"Why are you overthinking things? If you want to know something, just ask directly," she said.

"..."

Hinamori didn't speak, sitting there with her eyes down, just holding the cup tightly in both hands.

Rukia took her hand.

"I'll go ask."

Hinamori panicked and asked, "What are you asking?"

Rukia looked at her calmly: "I want to know the same thing as you. You've always been very confident about this matter, and I'm pretty much the same. But confidence doesn't guarantee the final result. Let's put this matter to rest today."

The living room still reeked of alcohol, and the sound of water could be heard coming from the kitchen.

Hinamori was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "No."

Rukia retorted, "What are you afraid of? You should be the one who's least afraid."

"I……"

"Are you afraid the president will choose me, or are you afraid that if he chooses you, we won't be able to be friends in the end?" Rukia kept asking. "The idea of ​​fair competition happening between the two of us is absurd enough. Have you considered that the president might have already guessed this? What would the president think if he thought we were fighting over him like an object?"

Hinamori listened to Rukia's words, feeling her thoughts in turmoil. She hadn't originally thought about these things, but now Rukia's words were all things that made her feel upset and anxious.

It was just a simple liking for someone, so why did it turn out like this?

The sound of water in the kitchen stopped abruptly, and Xin slowly walked out of the kitchen. He smiled when he saw the two people on the sofa.

"feel better now?"

The caring words, accompanied by a gentle smile, made Hinamori feel as if her heart had been gripped tightly in someone's hand for a moment.

(End of this chapter)