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

Asahi couldn't help but tease him.

"No, it should be said the other way around. It's Mio who often massages me like this. When I was in tutoring class, I always asked Mio to help me relax."

Alisa, sitting on Ashi's lower back, didn't care much about these things. She was just a little unhappy that her plans had been disrupted by her mother.

Upon hearing what Arisa said, Aya, who was lying on the bed, smiled. Her beautiful wine-red eyes were still gleaming as she looked towards the next room.

She was starting to lose sight of the relationship between Hiyo, her daughter, and Honoka. However, to avoid any bloodshed...

Kind-hearted Ami still chose to hold off Arisa for Hiyo, giving the two of them some time to be affectionate.

Chapter Nineteen: The Well-Known Secret

early morning.

Because of the heavy snow outside, some guests who originally planned to go skiing were forced to cancel their plans and instead spend their time soaking in the hot springs in the restaurant downstairs at the hotel.

So much so that now, the restaurant is full of girls who have just finished soaking in the hot springs and are wearing cool bathrobes to have breakfast.

Listening to the chattering all around her, Xi Ling just kept her head down, silently eating the milk cereal in front of her with a spoon, with a cheese and ham sandwich next to her.

For Himio, who loves drinking milk and eating cheese, this would be the perfect breakfast, but he just can't feel happy at all.

Underneath his bathrobe were marks left by Fanxia earlier. If he wasn't careful and the collar of his bathrobe loosened even slightly, there was a risk that Arisa and Aunt Ami, who were sitting opposite him, would discover this.

As for Fanxia sitting next to him, she was just like a quail, shrinking her head as if she had done something wrong.

But her beautiful eyes always unconsciously glanced at Xi Ling, aiming at his thin lips.

Seeing the two of them looking like this, and Ami enjoying her breakfast with relish, the scene before her eyes, for some reason, made her feel unusually hungry.

Although she knew what the two of them had been doing in the room, Ashi didn't intend to expose them.

Driven by her demonic nature, she watched to see what amusing things would happen next, even though it involved her own daughter…

however--

"Mio, you don't look well. Did something happen?"

Arisa smiled as she looked at the boy in front of her. Even though she already had the answer in her heart, she just wanted to see Mio's troubled expression.

This could be considered a girl's perverse sense of humor.

Upon hearing her say that, Ximiao quickly mustered her spirits and pretended that nothing had happened, responding perfunctorily.

"No! I'm perfectly fine. My fever has gone down, and I even saw the fireworks. I just feel like I haven't had enough sleep."

"Yeah~"

Looking at Arisa's meaningful smile, Nozomi always subconsciously wanted to find a piece of cream cake and smear it on the girl's pretty face.

Every time he sees Arisa's expression, nothing good ever happens; it's almost giving him a stress reaction.

Fortunately, she was able to perfectly position Xi Ling on the edge of wanting red warmth but not quite getting it, which made him very uncomfortable.

After the group had breakfast at the restaurant, Ashi suggested that they go for a soak in a hot spring.

"Um... I'd like to go back and catch up on some sleep, is that alright?"

She was genuinely worried that the marks on her body would be discovered by others, so Ximiao made up an excuse that was easy for them to accept and said it weakly.

Before Ami could answer, Honoka, who was sitting next to Nozomi, also took the opportunity to speak.

"Then I'll accompany Mio back to her room and won't disturb you two any longer~"

then.

Back in their room, after closing the door completely, Fanxia, ​​just in case, bolted it shut.

The next second, Ximiao leaped onto her soft, warm bed, and after turning around, she looked at Fanxia, ​​who was still standing by the door, with a resentful expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Mio?"

Although that's what she said, Fanxia, ​​who actually understood everything in her heart, avoided eye contact and didn't dare to look directly into those light blue eyes.

All that could be heard was Ximiao speaking softly.

"It was just a simple kiss, so why did your hand slip under the covers, Honoka-nee? And I remember wearing pajamas to bed last night..."

As Ximiao listed her crimes one by one, Fanxia lowered her head further and further until she looked completely absorbed in her own thoughts.

Seeing this, Hiyo didn't continue speaking, but just sighed silently, "I think we need to let Arisa know about this..."

"no!"

Without a second thought, Fanxia rejected Nozomi's terrible idea and quickly stepped forward, grabbing Nozomi's shoulder as she sat on the bed.

"Absolutely not! We can't let Arisa know about this!"

Just as she was looking at Himiko with a serious expression, trying to dissuade him from his idea, Himiko was recalling Arisa's expression at the restaurant earlier.

It's likely that Arisa already knew something was wrong with Honoka, but she just hadn't brought it up.

But he just couldn't understand why Arisa would do that.

Just as Ximiao was pondering the answer to this question, Fanxia suddenly exerted force with both hands and pushed him down onto the bed.

Those pale blue eyes stared blankly at the monotonous ceiling, genuinely puzzled by the current situation.

Fanxia's pretty face came close to his, their eyes met, and Ximiao's fair face couldn't help but blush.

"Sister Fanxia?"

"Since I'm already here listening to you complain about all this, why don't we just make it a done deal and get it all done?"

"Eh?"

……

The hot spring bath downstairs.

Sitting on a small stool, her plump, soft, and mature body was the envy of even the young girls soaking in the hot spring.

"Push harder~ I remember you ate quite a lot for breakfast, my sweet daughter~"

"How about I go to the kitchen and borrow a steel wool pad, so I can scrub you to death here and inherit the family fortune?"

Sitting behind her, Arisa also retorted without hesitation, showing no fear of her mother.

While bickering with Arisa, she was also thinking about how to resolve the situation between the three of them, including Nozomi.

No matter how many soap operas she watched, when it came to actually putting her own strategist's advice into practice, she always struggled to find a starting point.

When the two of them soaked in the still steaming hot spring, they both let out a comfortable sigh.

"Phew~ I have to say, Mom, the best decision you made recently was bringing us to Hokkaido for hot springs."

"Of course! Don't you even know who I am?"

Ashi straightened her back with some pride, before she could continue to boast to her daughter about her glorious deeds.

The female college students who were already eager to chat with the two girls swarmed around them, chattering incessantly.

Asa was forced to deal with this group of energetic girls, and even Arisa felt a little dizzy, as she was overwhelmed by their topics about cosmetics and the like.

"Hiss... Mom, I take back what I just said."

"late!"

Chapter Twenty: A Few People Under the Snow

"We're going back tomorrow. Are there any Hokkaido specialties you'd like to buy to take back with you, Mio?" Honoka asked while drinking her juice.

"That's all. I've bought everything I needed, and I've even eaten ramen and other things. I don't even know what other Hokkaido specialties I haven't bought yet."

In the hotel restaurant, a fully recovered Mio was holding her phone, seemingly searching for Hokkaido's specialties.

Meanwhile, the mother and daughter, Arisa and Ami, who were sitting opposite him, kept saying goodbye to the female college students who were leaving that day.

This left Nozomi and Honoka completely bewildered, having no idea when they had become friends.

However, this doesn't stop them from going to the city center today to take a stroll and take some photos to commemorate the occasion.

Just as Nozomi was taking small bites of breakfast, Ami finally managed to see off the group of chattering female college students who had been chattering in her ear, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"My goodness... how do they have so much gossip to share?"

"That's normal, Mom. Girls are like that nowadays. You can't be so old-fashioned!"

Although Arisa was saying this to Ami, she was actually rubbing her ears as well, as if the sounds from earlier were causing her some tinnitus.

"By the way, why haven't I seen you going to play with Hiyo lately?"

Suddenly becoming concerned about her daughter's love life, Ami asked Arisa in a low voice.

When Ami asked her that question, the girl was taken aback. Then she remembered that she had been vaguely hearing some strange noises from the next room recently.

It's hard not to imagine what strange things Nozomi and Honoka were doing, but this situation was something she herself had orchestrated.

This left Arisa in a dilemma, unsure of how to face Nozomi.

After having breakfast there, the group went back to their rooms, changed into clothes for going out, got in the car, and headed towards the city.

In the back row, sandwiched between the two, Xi Ling leaned her head against the back of the seat, looking a little carsick.

"You can lean on my shoulder, that should make you feel better, Mio?"

Noticing that the boy's face looked a little pale, Fanxia leaned close to his ear and whispered something.

Before Nozomi could respond, Arisa, sitting on the other side, spoke up first, "Of course~ you can also lean on my shoulder, it's up to you which side you choose."

With a smile on her face that seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold, what was originally a perfectly normal matter was instantly turned into a life-or-death situation for Ximiao by her instigation.

"Um...can't you two both come closer and use your shoulders to hold my head between your legs?"

Ximiao tried to find an opening, but was tacitly rejected by the two, who were determined to make him choose one of them to lean on for rest.