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

"I'll wait for you downstairs. I'll tell you when you come over."

As soon as she finished speaking, Arisa didn't give Nozomi any chance to stay. She got up, turned around, and left the balcony.

Only Hiyo, still sitting in her chair, was left, staring blankly at the empty bench, not understanding why Arisa had asked her out.

After thinking for a moment, Xi Ling suddenly stood up, wrapped his coat around himself, told Fan Xia that he was going downstairs, and then went out.

In the brightly lit corridor.

As if anticipating that Nozomi would come out for a secret rendezvous with her, Arisa was smiling as she looked at the boy from the doorway of the room.

"So, what are we supposed to do?"

"I asked with some curiosity," Hio asked.

Arisa didn't say anything explicitly, but simply had Himo follow her to the restaurant downstairs, where they found a relatively quiet corner to sit down.

Unlike when we were having dinner earlier, the restaurant has now transformed into an izakaya (Japanese pub). There are only a few customers there, drinking and eating snacks, looking quite relaxed.

With the gaze that had made her feel so uncomfortable gone, Xi Ling felt much more relaxed.

Arisa, who was flipping through the menu, ordered a karaage chicken dish and two large glasses of beer...

"what?"

When Nozomi heard what Arisa had ordered, she was stunned. But seeing his surprised expression, she smiled slightly.

"What? Mio, you've never secretly drunk alcohol before?"

"……No."

A short while later, the shop assistant slammed the wine glass, which was almost as tall as his head, in front of Himio.

Seeing this, Ximiao began to regret following Arisa out earlier, but to be honest, a guy his age would indeed be curious about what alcohol tastes like.

then.

At Arisa's urging, Nozomi raised her glass with some skepticism and took a small sip.

"so bitter!"

"Pfft~"

Chapter Five: Getting Drunk

"You're already done with just half a cup? Mio, you're not... a total pushover, are you?"

Looking at Nozomi across the table, whose cute face was flushed, Arisa couldn't help but tease her.

Half an hour had passed, and the beer glass in his hand was still more than half full, but Xi Ling looked completely drunk.

This made Arisa somewhat curious about what would happen after the boy got drunk.

Upon hearing Arisa's provocation, Nozomi acted impulsively, slammed her hand on the table, and shouted at the girl opposite her.

"It's just wheat juice! What's the big deal!"

After saying that, he picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp of wine. Immediately afterwards, Xi Ling's face visibly turned red.

Even though the indoor temperature was quite cool, a few beads of sweat appeared on his fair forehead, making him look a bit hot.

"That's impressive!"

"Of course! Don't you know who I am? I'm the devil's boyfriend!"

Seeing that Hiyo had started talking nonsense, Arisa took the opportunity to ask him about the confession they had just finished.

"Yes, yes, yes~ So, Mio, do you like me?"

The girl picked up a piece of karaage chicken with her chopsticks, dipped it in some dried chili powder, and put it in her mouth, pretending to be nonchalant.

Then, she saw Xi Ling opposite her, who seemed to be thinking about the answer. When Xi Ling did not give her answer immediately, she couldn't help but panic.

But after a short while, upon hearing his answer, the girl breathed a sigh of relief.

"like!"

"How much do you like it?"

"I can... I'd do anything for Arisa, I like it..."

"Then prove it to me!"

……

In the guest room.

Fanxia, ​​still lying in bed, silently turned off her tablet, looked around, and realized that Xiling hadn't returned yet.

"That's strange... Didn't Xiaoling go downstairs to buy something? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

She waited for a while longer, but still no Xiling returned, and she couldn't help but start to worry.

then.

A rustling sound came from the room. Fanxia struggled to get out of bed, wearing only her bathrobe, and grabbed her room key and phone before leaving the room.

She wandered around downstairs, checking the restaurant and the rest area next to the bathhouse, but couldn't find Xi Ling, which inevitably made her a little discouraged.

"Could it be that they're playing in the snow outside?"

With these doubts in mind and concerns for the boy's safety, Fanxia also went outside the hotel. The biting cold wind was nothing to her.

The idea that Yuki-onna is afraid of the cold is simply not true!

Just as Fanxia was searching everywhere for Ximiao, in the grove of trees not far away...

Even against the backdrop of snow, Nozomi's skin appeared exceptionally fair, and her neck, chest, waist, and even thighs were covered in hickeys.

The disheveled clothes and the strange marks on the snow all spoke volumes about what had just happened.

"Honestly, you need to wear your clothes properly, or you'll catch a cold later, that would be terrible."

Arisa, who was already dressed, thoughtfully tidied up the bathrobe for the tipsy Nozomi.

"I...I can still do it, two more times."

Nozomi leaned weakly against Arisa, muttering softly, seemingly dissatisfied with her performance just now.

"Alright, if we don't go back soon, Fanxia will start to suspect both of us."

As she said this, she glanced at her phone subconsciously. It was much later than she had planned. She hoped nothing unexpected had happened...

Arisa prayed silently.

As she helped the unsteady Ximiao walk back towards the hotel, her wine-red eyes narrowed slightly.

Standing in front of her was none other than Fan Xia, who had come out to look for someone.

Looking at the two people in front of her, Fanxia didn't know what to say for a moment...

But when she saw Xi Ling's appearance, which seemed a bit off, she swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

After glaring fiercely at Arisa, who had gotten Hio drunk, she reached out and took Hio in her arms, leading him back into the hotel.

Only Arisa, with a slightly complicated look in her eyes, remained, gazing at the two men's somewhat unsteady figures, lost in thought.

In the guest room.

After settling Nozomi on the bed, Fanxia took a towel and wiped the cold sweat from Nozomi's forehead.

The hickeys Arisa left on his body could be clearly seen under the light in the hotel room.

"Sigh~ You just passed out from soaking in the hot spring this afternoon, and now you're drunk and unconscious again. Why do you always do things that make people worry?"

Sitting helplessly next to Himo, Honoka muttered to herself, feeling quite resentful.

Looking at his slightly parted, pink lips that still carried a hint of alcohol, Fanxia subconsciously swallowed, and then slowly leaned her head closer.

Just as their pink lips were about to touch, Xi Ling suddenly opened her eyes, her light blue eyes looking very captivating.

Even though it wasn't the first time she had looked directly into the boy's eyes, she still couldn't help but admire how beautiful and clear his eyes were.

"Fanxia... Sister? What are you doing?"

Although her head was still a little dizzy, seeing Honoka's pretty face so close to her instantly sobered her up.

Then, feeling a bit uncomfortable, I asked that question.

"It's nothing... I just wanted to see if you were feeling better, Mio. Did you go drinking with Arisa just now?"

“…Hmm.” Ximiao nodded silently, admitting the matter without any hesitation.

After all, he was already this drunk, so it would be impossible to hide it from Fanxia.

"Sorry……"

Knowing that she had done something wrong, Xi Ling could only lie in her bed and quietly apologize to Fan Xia.

however.

Before Xi Ling could continue speaking, he felt something soft and without warning press against his lips.

a long time.

Completely satisfied, Fanxia raised her head, licked her pink lips, and said...

"If you really want to apologize, Mio, you'd better do your best tomorrow~"

"tomorrow?"

Seeing Fanxia slowly crawl back into her bed, Ximiao couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Since we're in Hokkaido, we naturally have to go skiing in the mountains!"

"Eh?"