I endured the humiliation and humiliation while being besieged by the ghost story elder sister.

"Has it been too long since I let you... taste the sweetness? Why are you so energetic? Even back in Hokkaido, I was sneaking around..."

"secretly?"

Standing in front of the mirror, checking the location of the hickey on her body, Nozomi put her clothes back on and looked at Arisa with some confusion.

It seemed to be questioning her about what she had secretly done to him while they were in Hokkaido.

However, judging from her expression, she didn't seem to intend to answer Nozomi's question.

On the messy soft bed, Arisa lay sprawled on the bedding. Although she was a little tired, there was still a trace of fragrant sweat on her fair skin.

Judging from her rosy cheeks, you could tell that she was quite satisfied with this quick and tender encounter.

Nozomi didn't dwell too much on the previous question. After getting dressed, she spoke to Arisa.

"It's time to go out. If they don't see us later, they'll probably give us weird looks again."

After saying that, he walked out of the room first. Even though he was sure that no one would notice the hickey on his neck, Xi Ling still seemed a little unnatural and kept subconsciously touching her neck.

After Xi-Liao left, Arisa, who was still lying on the bed, slowly turned over and stretched, revealing her beautiful body. Unfortunately, Xi-Liao didn't get to see this.

"Ugh~ My back and waist are aching, Mio is getting better and better~"

After a moment of reflection, she suddenly sat up in bed, grabbed the clothes beside her, and put them on.

In the living room, as if nothing had happened, Xi Ling sat cross-legged on the sofa, watching TV and waiting for the people in the bedroom and bathroom.

At this moment, Berlusconi, who had finally finished his housework, strolled over leisurely with a bottle of ice-cold soda water that he had just taken out of the refrigerator.

When he discovered that Nozomi was the only one in the living room, he couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you the only one here? Where did the others go?"

"Arisa is changing clothes in her room, while Aunt Ami is taking a shower with Honoka in the bathroom."

"Eh--"

Looking at Himo, who was staring intently at the television, Beros, who hadn't interacted with her much before, was at a loss for words.

then.

So she could only sit quietly on the sofa with her soda water, imitating him, and watch TV.

I don’t know how long it took.

The two people in the living room heard the sound of a bathroom door opening and wet feet stomping on the wooden floor.

"Phew~ I took a shower and got rid of the hot pot smell and the smell of alcohol. It feels so good~"

As Fanxia stepped out of the bathroom, she was still drying her wet hair with a clean towel. That's what she said.

Judging from her happy appearance, her hangover has probably gotten much better, and she doesn't feel as bad as she did when she first woke up this morning.

"Huh? Where's Arisa?"

Asami, who followed behind Fanxia, ​​looked around and, not seeing her daughter, asked with some confusion.

Before Hiyo could answer, Arisa's bedroom door suddenly opened, and the girl, now dressed in dry clothes, strolled out of the room leisurely.

"Is there something you need, Mom?"

Arisa tilted her head, clearly having overheard Asami asking about her whereabouts, and instinctively shifted her gaze to her mother.

"Indeed, there are some things I'd like to discuss with you privately."

Seeing this, Fanxia quickly waved to signal Ximiao that it was time for the two of them to go back.

After saying goodbye to Arisa and Aunt Ashi, the two of them took the elevator back to their apartment upstairs.

"Then, I'll take the dirty clothes to wash first."

"Good~"

Seeing that Mio was carrying a large bag of dirty clothes and heading towards the washing machine, Honoka, who had nothing to do, sat down on the sofa in the living room.

She was holding her phone, wanting to organize the photos she had taken in Hokkaido and send them to her best friend.

Take this opportunity to have a proper chat and get some advice from her on how to best get along with Ximiao.

After all, they did everything they should and shouldn't have done in one go...

Even though Nozomi didn't care much about it, Honoka didn't think so.

then.

While Ximiao was busy doing housework, she opened the social media app on her phone, which she hadn't done in a long time, and easily tapped on one of the contacts.

This time, however, she didn't continue sending messages to the other party, but instead made a video call directly.

Although they haven't been in contact for a long time, their relationship is still quite good. Maintaining a certain distance helps their friendship last.

After a ringing sound, the video call was answered shortly afterward.

All I could see on the phone screen was complete darkness; I couldn't see anything on the other side at all.

Just as Fanxia was wondering if her phone was broken, a somewhat cold female voice suddenly rang out.

"Do you even know what the phrase 'night owl' means, Fanxia?"

Her best friend, upon meeting her, immediately launched into a tirade of complaints, lamenting that Fanxia completely failed to consider her night owl's sleep schedule.

but……

Although Fanxia couldn't see what was happening to the other person, her view was transmitted very clearly.

Fanxia explained apologetically, "Sorry, sorry~ But, don't you usually sleep until noon? Besides, this is an emergency~"

"Emergency situations?"

The other person immediately became interested. Even through the screen, Fanxia could feel her best friend's burning gossip spirit.

This suited her perfectly, and she quickly recounted to her everything that had happened in Hokkaido.

But the response was...

"Hey—you went to Hokkaido for two weeks and didn't send me a single photo! You're not a very good friend at all!"

Whether she was jealous or angry, Fanxia couldn't figure it out.

Before she could steer the conversation back to her relationship with Ximiao, her best friend continued.

"If he doesn't say anything, and his attitude towards you is no different from usual, then there are only two possibilities..."

"Eh?"

Fanxia was taken aback, not quite understanding what she meant.

"The first possibility is that Ximiao doesn't care about you, which is why he acted so calmly after doing that kind of thing with you; the second possibility is that he's putting on a brave face, which means that he's in the same situation as you, somewhat at a loss..."

Listening to her best friend's insightful analysis, she couldn't help but ask a question she had always wanted to ask.

"Why don't you have a boyfriend even though you know so much?"

"...If you want to break off our friendship, just say so."

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Ensuing Problems

"Fanxia-jie, who are you chatting with?"

Having finished what he was doing, Xi Ling changed into a warmer hoodie. Although he still wasn't wearing pants, he sat down on the sofa next to Fan Xia and asked curiously.

"Let's chat with my friend about what happened in Hokkaido, and I'll send her some photos. Who knows, maybe next winter break we'll travel together again with one more person?"

Hearing what Fanxia said, Ximiao was naturally a little skeptical. He subconsciously leaned forward. Since it was a video call, he should be able to see what Fanxia's friends looked like, right?

However, all he could see on the phone screen was a completely black screen, which made Xi Ling wonder if there was something wrong with Fan Xia's head.

"Oh my~ Is this Nozomi-kun? He really is cute~"

A cool, languid voice came from the phone, immediately dispelling Xi Ling's doubts and making him pause in surprise.

All I could hear was Fanxia speaking softly behind me.

"Mio, were you thinking about something rude just now, with that expression on your face?"

"..."

Oh no, could it be that Fanxia-nee has mind-reading abilities?!

Ke Ximiao would never admit to this. After greeting Fanxia's friend on the other end of the video call, he made an excuse and went back to his room.

For a moment, only Fanxia, ​​who was still video chatting with her best friend, was left in the living room, sitting on the sofa.

What's wrong with him?

The girl on the other end of the call was confused when she realized that Mio seemed to have run away, wondering if she had scared him.

However, Fanxia said...

"It's nothing, I'm just a little shy."

Although she said that, she was already thinking about how to punish Xi Ling, whose mind was full of strange things.

After a long time.

After finishing her casual chat with her best friend, Fanxia also received some dating advice from her own strategist.

After hanging up the video call, she stretched lazily on the sofa and then planned to go to Ximiao's room to sneak a peek at what the boy was doing.

She suddenly leaped off the soft sofa and headed towards Xi Ling's room. After confirming that the door was not locked, she gently pressed the doorknob.

As a crack opened, she heard the sounds of a video game coming from the room.

Wearing a hoodie, Xi Ling was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, her eyes glued to the game on the screen in front of her, completely absorbed in the game.

So much so that the boy was completely unaware that Sister Fanxia was quietly approaching him from behind.

He was startled when a pair of slightly cold, lotus-like arms wrapped around him from behind.

His hand movements paused, and then a violent scene appeared on the screen that he couldn't bear to look at.