There was only one class left in the morning. During the break, Xuehui sat in her seat, thinking about taking Xiaojing to a hospital in Tokyo for a check-up tomorrow. She was going to be busy again.

"Perfect timing, let's go see the teacher. I can also ask the teacher about some things I've been investigating recently."

Just then, a girl with two bright golden pigtails appeared at the classroom door—it was Eriri. She was standing there, waving frantically at him.

"Hey, Sawamura's calling you." Hachiman, who was standing nearby, also saw it and called out to Yukiteru, who was in a daze.

"I saw it, I was just a little surprised."

With that, Xuehui stood up and walked towards the door.

Eriri breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Yukiteru had finally noticed her actions. She could feel her face burning hot as soon as she appeared and was being stared at by the students in the class.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking for me at this hour?"

Outside the classroom, Yukiteru looked at Eriri, who seemed a little uneasy.

"Um, are you free this weekend?" Eriri asked nervously, glancing at her toes.

"Huh? The weekend? You want to ask me out?"

"Shut up! This isn't a date!" Eriri blushed and glared at Yukiteru. Suddenly noticing the faint gazes coming from the corridor, she immediately lowered her voice, "It's important, two things?"

"Why are there so many things happening?" Xuehui looked at Eriri, thinking that there couldn't possibly be so many things happening.

"Here's the thing, the first thing is, when are you going to give me the next part of the comic's story? The part I received before is almost finished."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll finish writing it tonight and then I'll send it to your email. But you're progressing really fast, isn't that too much work?"

Eriri puffed out her chest nonchalantly and said confidently, "Hmph, I got two female artists from my family's doujin circle to help me, so of course it's faster! And there's a second thing, a commercial doujin circle contacted me and wants to commission me for a job, but I can't decide, so I'm asking you for advice."

"Advisor? What kind of advisor?"

"They asked me to meet them, and I'd like you to come with me. I'm a little nervous going alone." Eriri's fair face was flushed red as she looked at Yukiteru with pleading eyes.

There was no other way; my own mother didn't have time, and the only person I could find to help was Yukiteru. Otherwise, Eriri wouldn't have come to me so directly. There really wasn't a suitable candidate.

Chapter 209 Pure as I Am

As Eriri spoke, her cheeks puffed out, clearly indicating that she was in a bad mood.

"Mom is really something. She said something like, 'Eri is all grown up now, you don't need me to help with such a small thing. If you're really nervous, find a friend to go with you.' After saying that, she went back to her room to play games. What kind of person is she! Has she forgotten that not many people know my hobbies?"

"Hmm~~ So you came to me?" Yukiteru pointed to himself, not knowing what to say. Indeed, it wasn't that Eriri was shy. She was the same when she went to the animation company last time. It seemed that she would unconsciously become nervous because of her admiration for those professionals.

She also mentioned that it's a commercial doujin circle, so it seems to be quite professional. Eriri's own family's circle, on the other hand, was initially founded purely out of hobby and didn't aim for commercial success, because the Sawamura family is financially secure and can easily cover the circle's expenses. Not to mention that Eriri later brought in a significant amount of income for the circle as a doujin artist.

Therefore, this should be Eriri's first time officially engaging with a commercial doujin circle, so it's understandable that she's nervous.

“Yeah, I need your help.” Eriri nodded and said, “There are only a few people around who know my hobby. You’re not suggesting I ask Kasumigaoka Utaha for help, are you? That girl has too many bad ideas. I’m afraid she’ll sell me out.”

So you knew you couldn't beat Shiyu in a 1v1...

Scratching his head, Xuehui could only say, "Helping you is no problem, but when are we going to meet?"

"The other party communicated with me via email, saying that I could decide the specific time, preferably this weekend."

"This weekend, but I'm not free tomorrow, I have to go to the hospital."

"Oh! The hospital? Are you sick?" Eriri immediately asked with concern.

Yukiteru was quite pleased with Eriri's reaction and waved his hand to explain, "I'm not likely to get sick, it's just a routine check-up."

To outsiders, you should say it's a medical check-up. You can't exactly say you took someone for a pre-pregnancy check-up; that would sound strange.

"Oh, okay... then how about Sunday? You should be free, right?" Eriri was nervous. If Yukiteru didn't agree, she would really have to go alone.

You mean ask someone else? Kasumigaoka Utaha would never ask for help; the other party would definitely mock her. Even if she asked Yukiteru for help, Kasumigaoka Utaha would definitely find out.

As for others, Aki Tomoya? Hmph, absolutely impossible!

Fortunately, Eriri's wish was not in vain, and Yukiteru readily agreed: "Sunday is fine, I'll go with you to see what the so-called manager of the business association is like."

"Yay! That's great! It's a deal then. I'll send you the address tomorrow. Class is about to start, I have to go now, see you this afternoon."

"Okay, see you this afternoon." Watching Eriri leave with a relaxed smile, Yukiteru smiled as well and returned to the classroom.

After sitting down, Hachiman looked at him and asked, "You and Sawamura have been getting along very well lately."

"What, are you jealous of my popularity with girls?" Yukiteru smiled and glanced at Hachiman, then took out the books he would need for the next class. "It's just that we get along well, and we're business partners, so it's normal for us to have a good relationship, isn't it?"

"Hmm~ I see." Hachiman nodded, then looked away and sighed almost imperceptibly.

These are pills, huh? It turns out that not only Sawamura, but even Hiratsuka himself didn't realize it? Preconceived notions are truly terrifying.

By the afternoon, Yukino and Utaha naturally learned about Eriri's request to Yukiteru in the Service Club.

"Oh dear, Sawamura-kun, shouldn't this kind of thing be done by a girl like me?" Utaha looked at Eriri with a kind smile after she found out.

Upon hearing this, Eriri put down her pen and looked at Utaha, saying, "Am I that stupid to ask you for help? If it weren't for Yukino's lack of knowledge about doujinshi circles, I would definitely ask Yukino for help. But Yukiteru-kun is fine too. Wouldn't it be better if I had more confidence if I asked a boy?"

As she spoke, Eriri looked at Yukino and said with a bright smile, "Yukino, you won't mind, will you? Don't worry, it won't take up too much of Yukiteru's time."

Seeing Eriri's innocent smile, Yukino didn't think of causing trouble like Utaha did, since it was a serious matter.

"It's okay, we're all classmates, it's only right to help each other out."

"Hehe, I knew Yukino wouldn't say anything, thanks. By the way, I'll get my classmates to vote for you during the student council election! Those guys actually want me to participate, but I'm not going. It's better for them to vote for the more reliable Yukino."

Watching Eriri paint with a smile on her face, Yukino shook her head, then glared at Yukiteru beside her, leaving the latter completely bewildered.

"So what blame have I been taken for this time?"

That evening, looking at the silent Yukino and the disgruntled Utaha, Yukiteru was completely at a loss and could only turn to Shizuka for help. However, Shizuka could only shrug and indicate that she couldn't help.

"You really don't know?"

"What do you know? I don't think I did anything wrong." Xuehui truly felt wronged this time.

"Going out with Sawamura on Sunday was so nice, especially with a blonde mixed-race beauty." Utaha said without looking up, flipping through her light novel. However, her tone was tinged with a hint of resentment.

"Emmm~~ Just because of this? I didn't hide anything from you guys, okay?"

"Really? But you seem a bit too calm, don't you? The other person is the very popular Sawamura-san at school, aren't you tempted?" Shiyu, who had originally planned to slowly find an opportunity to stop him, didn't expect this to happen today, so she decided to speak directly.

After a moment of silence, Xuehui stood up, squatted down in front of Shiyu's seat, pointed to his cheek and said, "Look at me, how could someone as innocent as me do such a thing?"

Upon hearing this, not only Utaha, but also Yukino and Shizuka stopped what they were doing.

Then, Yukiteru saw Utaha point to herself expressionlessly, and then point to Yukino and Shizuka sitting on the other side.

"Even after all this, you still have the nerve to talk about purity? Yukiteru-kun, you must have lost your mind. The only word that doesn't suit you is 'pure'."

These words were a direct hit to my heart.

Clutching his chest, Xuehui said in shock, "I...I actually got used to it and didn't notice? Never mind, I won't say anything more. But don't worry, I'm just going to help out. I won't do anything unnecessary. I guarantee it with my meager integrity."

As he spoke, Xuehui stood up and walked upstairs.

What are you going to do?

"Leave me alone, I want to be alone."

"You called me?" Little Jing, with a Pocky stick in her mouth, pointed to herself in confusion. "Aren't I right here?"

"I just want some peace and quiet, I'm not looking for you."

"..."

--------

Today is Saturday, and I still have another day to accompany Eriri to meet that doujinshi circle, so there's no rush.

Early in the morning, because we had already made an appointment, all four of us got up early, had breakfast, and then went out together by car.

Originally, it was planned that only Yukiteru and Shizuka would go, but Yukino and Utaha later said they wanted to join in. It's good to have a physical examination regularly so you can understand your physical condition.

Well, although Yukiteru knows that these people are all in good health.

So the original two people became four, and Xuehui was also required to undergo a medical examination.

Nishikino Private General Hospital is considered one of the best private hospitals in the Tokyo area, with a pleasant environment, complete facilities, and highly skilled doctors.

Of course, the corresponding fees have also increased significantly.

The appointment wasn't made under any special name; it was just a regular appointment, so there wasn't the scene from some urban novels where the dean leads a large group of people to welcome you.

The physical examination for girls involves more items, so after Xuehui finished her examination, she came to the gynecology department, sat on a chair, and waited while scrolling through her phone.

As for the physical examination results, just as Xuehui himself expected, he was in excellent health, with every indicator being at the top level.

As Xuehui was looking at the comments on his Twitter account, he heard a flurry of footsteps and several familiar voices coming from one side of the corridor. There was no way he could forget them; some of them were just too distinctive.

Looking up, Xuehui saw a group of girls in casual clothes walking out of a consultation room. Accompanying them was a mature woman in a white coat with shoulder-length red hair, who kept giving instructions to the girls beside her as they walked.

"You guys, don't push yourselves too hard during training. You're all 16 or 7 years old, still growing. It's not good to have any hidden injuries. You need to come in for a check-up every two weeks, understand?"

"Yes~" the girls all agreed. They certainly couldn't miss the opportunity to get a free medical check-up at the Ji family's hospital.

As they walked forward, the group saw Xuehui sitting on a chair in the aisle.

As usual, Nozomi Tojo was the first to speak: "Oh my, Yukiteru-kun, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't expect to see you either." Standing up, Xuehui looked at the members of Muse and said, "Hello everyone, it's nice to see you again."

Seeing Yukiteru greeting the girl from Muse, Mrs. Nishikino thought for a moment and then said with some surprise, "Hiratsuka Yukiteru... Ah, you're the one who booked a pre-pregnancy checkup today!"

"......" x10

"Pregnancy...pregnancy?" Hoshizora Rin stared wide-eyed, filled with curiosity.

"Ha...Hara-shoo!"

"How...how shameless! They're high school students just like us!"

Seeing everyone's expressions, Xuehui, sweating profusely, explained, "Well, I'm just here for a routine physical exam. The so-called pre-pregnancy checkup is for someone else; it's my cousin who's here."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized that, as long as Tojo Nozomi knew, there was actually no difference.

At that moment, Xiaojing and her two friends, who had just finished their physical examinations, came out and happened to see Xuehui and Muse's group.

------------

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Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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