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

Even with sunscreen on her hands, Fanxia could still feel the wonderful texture of Nozomi's skin and couldn't help but marvel at it.

"How about you take off those cumbersome swim trunks too? I've already seen over there, okay, Mio?"

Seeing that sunscreen had already been applied to his back, Fanxia, ​​still feeling a bit unsatisfied, turned her attention to another area that she hadn't yet touched.

Before Nozomi could answer, Arisa, who had been watching the situation closely since earlier, couldn't sit still any longer and suddenly stood up and shouted.

"Hey! You two, that's enough! Don't go too far!"

With her beautiful, wine-red eyes glaring angrily at the two who had repeatedly challenged her bottom line, Arisa wished she could teach them a lesson.

After hearing what Arisa said, Nozomi and Honoka exchanged a glance and then couldn't help but let out a sneer.

Then, Mio slowly stood up, supporting herself on the towels spread on the wooden board. Right in front of Arisa, she reached her hand down to the swim trunks she was wearing, which were clinging tightly to her skin.

Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted his foot and took off his swimming trunks, standing in the courtyard completely unprotected and exposed.

This left Arisa completely dumbfounded. She hadn't expected that even after she had successfully broken down and given in, Nozomi still showed no sign of stopping.

After he finished doing that, he lay back down on the clean towel, indicating to Fanxia to continue applying sunscreen to his body.

As those delicate hands pressed against the few soft spots on Hiyo's body, Arisa felt her blood pressure rise sharply.

Fortunately, it was still within my acceptable range. It was just that my boyfriend let another woman apply sunscreen.

So what if someone touched my butt?

She could totally accept this level of provocation, as long as it wasn't done to her face. Arisa said she didn't care...

however.

When she saw Arisa clenching her teeth and suppressing her anger, Nozomi's lips curled up slightly.

"Now that the back has finished applying sunscreen, shouldn't it be the front's turn now, Honoka-nee?"

"Eh?"

Not only was Arisa stunned, but even Honoka, who was responsible for coordinating Nozomi's actions, froze on the spot after hearing what he said.

No, this is completely different from what she and Ximiao had agreed on beforehand!

What happened before? Even if Ximiao said that, she still couldn't bring herself to do it.

Doing something bad in the dark in a room is one thing, but doing it in front of Arisa, who is also Nozomi's official girlfriend, is another matter entirely.

Thinking of this, Fanxia subconsciously glanced at Arisa's expression and found that the girl's pretty face was as cold as ice, as if she might suddenly start hitting someone at any moment.

But Nozomi ignored it, sat up, left the clean towel, and went straight to sit in Honoka's lap.

"Come on, let's let Arisa take a closer look and learn how you apply sunscreen for me, Honoka-nee~ This girl only ever makes me apply it for her; she can't even do this simple thing right. I don't know who she takes after~"

When Hiyo uttered these sarcastic remarks, she stared directly into Arisa's beautiful, wine-red eyes without blinking, as if trying to see something in them.

Urged on by the boy in front of her, she was still hesitant to make a move, but the little hand that Xi Ling had placed on her leg kept pinching her hard, signaling her to hurry up.

Fanxia had no choice but to bite the bullet and start applying the cool sunscreen cream to the safest spot: Nozomi's flat stomach, trying her best not to touch Arisa's nerves, which were about to snap.

While the three of them were doing something in the courtyard, Aunt Ashi, who was alone in the living room, seemed to notice something happening in the courtyard and looked over curiously.

However, all he found was that Fanxia was sitting by the glass sliding door, seemingly busy with something, and that was all.

Seeing this, she assumed that the group was playing some strange game and didn't pay much attention, turning her attention back to the program playing on the television.

Outside the sliding door, in the courtyard, the situation of the three people was completely different from what Ashi had imagined—a harmonious and friendly game that had nothing to do with what she had envisioned.

Under Arisa's murderous gaze, Nozomi's upper body had already been evenly coated with sunscreen, leaving only the areas she dared not touch.

It seemed that Xi Ling had made up her mind to let Fan Xia narrow the path, and she kept urging her to continue.

Just as she was about to brazenly reach her hand towards Mio's thigh.

"enough!"

Unsurprisingly, her actions were stopped by Arisa.

Because of Arisa's shout, both Nozomi and Honoka's attention was drawn to her, and the ambiguous atmosphere that had been there before was gone.

"You just want me to admit defeat! I'll do as you wish, Mio! I was wrong, okay?!"

"Not yet."

"Eh?"

Arisa was stunned. At this moment, even Honoka, who was behind Nozomi, didn't quite understand what Nozomi wanted to do.

No, Arisa has already apologized, what else do you want to do?

Under the somewhat puzzled gazes of the two, Ximiao slowly spoke.

"Although you forgive me for going too far with the game yesterday, I haven't forgiven you for being unreasonable and giving me the silent treatment all day!"

"..."

After hearing what Hio said, Arisa looked deeply at the boy in front of her with her beautiful wine-red eyes.

Just like herself, she was the kind of person who would seek revenge. After spending so much time with Mio, Arisa naturally knew that Mio would be the first to object to her trying to get away with it so easily.

Therefore, what Hio said was within Arisa's expectations, but she didn't expect him to say it so readily.

Seeing this, and since he had already said so, Arisa had no choice but to show some sincerity in order to reconcile with Himo.

All I heard her say was...

"What do I have to do for you to forgive me, Mio?"

"Come to my room tonight. If you don't come, I won't speak to you, Arisa, until the end of this summer vacation."

Having said that, Nozomi saw no need to continue standing in front of the two in that state. She reached out and took the two barely-there swimsuits she had taken off and placed aside.

Although wearing the swimsuit made him feel extremely ashamed, it was better than running naked in his own yard, so it served a purpose that was better than nothing.

Soon after putting on her swimsuit, Nozomi realized there was no need for her to stay any longer. She had lost interest in swimming, but since she had already applied sunscreen, she decided to reluctantly move a chair to the yard to sunbathe.

Nozomi couldn't help but think that.

Just as Hiyo left to find a chair, Arisa looked helplessly at Honoka, who was there as Hiyo's accomplice.

Then she said quietly, "Tell me, what benefits did Xiaoling promise you that made you help him like this?"

"Huh? Why would you say that, Arisa?"

Fanxia tilted her head, staring innocently at the girl opposite her, pretending to be harmless, which was quite annoying.

"Is that even a question? Do you look like the kind of person who would help others for no reason?"

"...You're slandering me?!"

Fanxia's eyes widened involuntarily, unsure whether she was praising her or what.

Although she did receive the benefits promised by Hiyo... a place that only Arisa had tried up to now was now open to her.

How could she possibly refuse?

Meanwhile, Ximiao, who had run off to fetch a chair from who-knows-where, walked barefoot on the overgrown grass.

To his surprise, there were so many weeds that even without shoes, not a single speck of sand would get on his feet.

However, he didn't forget why he came here. After looking around and glancing at the clutter around him, Ximiao easily found the recliner hidden in the corner.

Then, with some difficulty, he dragged the chair toward where the inflatable swimming pool was located.

What bothered Himo a little, besides the chair's heavy weight, was the reward he had promised her last night during his battle with Fanxia after the task was completed.

Thinking about this gave him a headache, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't think of any other reward that would move Fanxia to risk being beaten up by Arisa to help him.

"If I had known, I would have thought more carefully about what benefits I could offer Fanxia. Even if it was just empty promises, I doubt she would have cared."

Nozomi muttered to herself, then dragged the heavy recliner toward Arisa and Honoka.

Meanwhile, Aunt Ashi, who was still in the living room watching TV with nothing to do, was munching on an orange while muttering to herself.

"How about I go out and play in the water for a while?"

Chapter Forty-Five: Punishment and Benefits

That night.

After dinner, Ximiao took the initiative to invite Hachiko-nee, who had been busy all day, to take a bath together in the bathroom.

Because of the issues with Arisa and Honoka, he hasn't had much time to talk to Hachiko lately. They can only chat for a minute or two during breakfast.

Even though Hachiko didn't say anything, Himiko still felt a little guilty, which is why, after dinner, in front of the others, she invited Hachiko to take a hot bath together.

Inside the bathroom, Xi Ling slowly took off his clothes. Because he had taken a shower in the afternoon, he didn't have any strange smells, and his clothes were relatively clean.

On the contrary, Sister Ba, who had been busy all day, had clothes that were constantly soaked with sweat, only to be dried again by the air conditioning, in a continuous cycle.

So much so that when she gently sniffed her own shirt, she couldn't help but show a look of disgust.

Are you still busy today?

Ximiao put her hands on her hips and looked at the Hachiko-nee in front of her, who hadn't taken off her clothes yet, and asked with some curiosity.

"It's really busy... After all, it's a holiday, and this is the busiest time of the year. I don't know how many cart noodles and fish balls I make every day, it's exhausting."

As she spoke to Himo, she unbuttoned her shirt, thus freeing herself from the constraints of her first outer garment.

That incredibly soft, oppressive mass suddenly appeared before Ximiao's eyes. Its fair skin was as tempting as cream, making Ximiao unable to resist taking a few more glances.

As if completely oblivious to Nozomi's gaze, Yashiro reached behind her back, seemingly trying to unbutton her bra.

Seeing this, Ximiao silently turned her head to the side, no longer rudely staring at Hachiko-nee.

Soon, the two of them walked from the place where they were changing clothes into the bathroom further inside.

As expected, Xi Ling sat down on the small stool, while Ya Yu sat behind her. The two of them had to wash themselves clean before taking a bath in the bathtub.

As warm water flowed from the showerhead and sprayed onto the two of them, a pair of warm, delicate hands squeezed a little shampoo into their palms and pressed it onto Xi Ling's light golden hair.

"By the way, since you promised to have Aunt Ya Shi find some helpers to go to the shop to help you, why haven't we heard a single word about it yet?"

Ximiao asked curiously, "If there were a few helpers going to help, Sister Yashi wouldn't be so tired every day."

Upon hearing Xi Ling's question, Hachiko, who was rubbing his head, was first taken aback, then realized that Xi Ling was worried about him.