A newbie's anime life diary

"Just to ask, what if I still refuse?"

"I will destroy your demonic eyes before letting you leave."

"Hmph, quite decisive indeed." Hiratsuka Shizuka snorted coldly, finally understanding the style of this head of a major family in the underworld.

Shrugging, Xuehui said with a hint of helplessness but more longing, "I see. But I had no reason to refuse anyway."

"Then tomorrow, I will hold an apprenticeship ceremony in front of several elders in the clan to accept you as my disciple. You should rest well tonight." As if a worry had been resolved, Ryougi Shiki's tone became slightly more relaxed.

"So, should I now address you as 'Teacher'?" Not having to be forced to marry into the family for the time being, Xuehui's face showed a bit more of a smile, and he felt much more relaxed when facing Ryougi Shiki.

"Of course you can. You have to call me that from now on."

After the conversation ended, Yukiteru and Hirazuka Shizuka left the study and walked towards the guest room, led by a servant at the door.

Yukiteru's room was no longer the one he had been lying in during the day, but a more luxurious guest room, with Hiratsuka Shizuka's room next to it.

Picking up the phone he'd taken from Hiratsuka Shizuka, Yukiteru slowly scrolled through it in the room. When he saw Yukinoshita Haruno's number on the screen, he looked somewhat troubled.

Although Hiratsuka Shizuka had already come up with an excuse to get away with it, Yukiteru will probably have a headache later.

After resting for a while, there was a knock on the door.

I went over and opened the door, and there stood Hiratsuka Shizuka, dressed in a yukata.

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The second update is on time.

P.S.: I suddenly realized that I get the same price for writing 2000 words and 2400 words per chapter. Well, I guess I'll just consider it a bonus. Anyway, I'm too lazy to limit the word count, so I'll just write as much as I can _(:з」∠)_.

PS2: Hmm... MG Justice is out, but I haven't bought Freedom 2.0 or Divine Will. I still have the Freedom Divine Will and a bunch of online exclusives unopened in my cabinet, about 10 boxes... I haven't even finished applying all the stickers on the VF31 Gale Machine, so I don't dare buy any more...

Chapter 19 What if I had agreed back then?

Hiratsuka Shizuka had clearly just finished showering; her long, loose hair still had a few water droplets that seeped into her clothes and onto her shoulders. Her fair cheeks were also flushed from the heat.

"Sister Jing, is there something you need?"

Smelling the mixture of shampoo and hot spring water, Xuehui felt a slight itch in his nose.

"What, am I not allowed to come?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka also sensed Yukiteru's gaze, but since they used to live together and often ran around in hot pants and sleeveless tops, she was already used to it. She asked him a question and then walked past him into the room.

"I had nothing to do after taking a shower, and since I wasn't at home where I could wander around, I came to chat with you."

Although the room was decorated in a Japanese style, there was still a chair. However, Hiratsuka Shizuka did not sit down, but instead sat on the bed that had already been made in the room.

She reached back to support her body, revealing a pair of long legs beneath her yukata, which swayed on the bedding.

Raising an eyebrow, Yukiteru walked over to Hiratsuka Shizuka and sat down directly on the tatami mat. Since it was July, there was no need to worry about catching a cold.

Before he could think of anything to say, Yukiteru met Hiratsuka Shizuka's strange gaze.

"Um...why are you looking at me like that?"

The way she looked at him like that, even though it was a grown woman in a yukata sitting in front of him, made Yukihiro feel uneasy.

I couldn't help but lean back a little.

"Why are you hiding? Are you feeling guilty?" Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Yukiteru's expression, snorted twice, and said, "You seemed to be enjoying yourself when you first woke up this afternoon."

"You still remember that..."

"I only believe what I see. Even if that little girl had something going on, all I saw was her sitting on you." Hiratsuka Shizuka fully displayed a woman's potential to be shameless, her face full of "No matter how you explain it, I won't listen."

Although Hiratsuka Shizuka was cute shaking her head, Yukiteru could only put on a serious face and ask her, "Shizuka-nee, do you really think I would be tempted by a little girl who hasn't even grown up yet?"

"Yukino Yukinoshita also has a face that's neither front nor back, and you like that too, don't you?"

"...Would you dare say that to her face? Teacher Jing, where is your professional ethics? Where is your integrity?" Jing Ke'ai really didn't mind making things worse, and directly brought up Yukino's figure.

"Teacher ethics? Integrity? What are those? Can you eat them?"

"...In short, there's absolutely no way I could have any feelings for that little girl, it has nothing to do with her figure or anything like that." What else could Xuehui do but explain again?

"Really?"

“More real than pearls.” Xuehui nodded, then, after a moment’s thought, looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka and asked, “Shizuka-nee.”

"Huh? What?"

"Are you jealous?"

"...Jealous?! How could that be?!" Instantly transforming into Jing'ai, her face flushed red as she waved her hands in denial, desperately trying to find an excuse, "I just don't want to step into the abyss of being a lolicon here, yeah, that's it!"

At this point, Jing Ke'ai added to her explanation: "Look, aren't you going to be taken as a disciple by that Ryougi Shiki tomorrow? You'll definitely have a lot of contact with that little girl Ryougi Mina in the future. I'm giving you a heads-up. Don't forget you already refused the marriage proposal!"

Okay, so it's definitely because she's jealous.

And the way she blushed and made excuses after being caught was also quite cute.

Watching Shizuka speak in a slightly flustered manner, Yukihiro recalled his conversation with Homura Akemi in his dream.

You still haven't said what you're going to do.

It's about truly facing yourself; constantly hiding things just doesn't seem right.

Looking at Hiratsuka Shizuka, Yukiteru couldn't help but smile.

"What...what are you laughing at?" Looking at Yukiteru's smile, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a little uncomfortable. This was the first time she had ever seen Yukiteru smile like this.

"nothing."

"Tch." Seeing that the other party was unwilling to talk about it, Hiratsuka Shizuka grinned and asked, "You...are you really going to set foot in that world? Although I don't know much about these things, I know that it is a very dangerous world."

"But it's also a very interesting world, isn't it? Since I gained this ability, I'm destined to be involved in these things. Last time, it was because I had this ability that I was able to save that person; otherwise, he would have suffered the same fate as his companions. Of course, I'm not saying I want to become a hero from an American comic book; I just saw it and happened to be able to save him, so I did it. Don't worry, I won't do anything that's thankless." Yukiteru knew that Hiratsuka Shizuka was worried about him, and as he explained, he felt a warmth in his heart.

At least in order not to worry Hiratsuka Shizuka in the future, Yukiteru felt that he had to work hard to improve himself.

"It's good that you know." Hiratsuka Shizumi Yukiteru wasn't joking; he was explaining to her very seriously, which put her at ease a little.

"You better remember this: I am your guardian. Don't think that just because you have power you can ignore me, understand?"

"How could that be! No matter how powerful I am, I'm still your younger brother!"

Moreover, Yukiteru had heard from Saeko Busujima that the girl in front of him, Shizuka, had unleashed extraordinary fighting power that afternoon, far exceeding his expectations. If those two rats had encountered Shizuka back then, their fate probably wouldn't have been much better.

Having finished expressing her concerns, Hiratsuka Shizuka relaxed and stood up to look around the room, touching everything in sight. She remarked, "I must say, this family is really rich. Even we wouldn't be willing to buy such a large house, or rather, we simply can't find anywhere to buy one."

"real or fake?"

"Of course, do you think land in Chiyoda is cheap? This is one of the most important areas in Tokyo. You know very well what kind of buildings are around here, right? The Imperial Palace, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Supreme Court, and some other important economic and political venues are all located here. Land here is incredibly expensive! The place you're in right now is one of the most desirable residential areas here. This isn't something you can buy just by having money." Hiratsuka Shizuka walked to the window, looking at the night view outside, and said with great seriousness, "So, you've really hit the jackpot this time, and you've found a powerful backer."

"Perhaps, but I don't really think it's a big deal. After all, we don't lack these things, do we?" Standing up and walking to Hiratsuka Shizuka's side, Yukiteru thought for a moment and said, "Shizuka-nee... what do you think you would have done if I had agreed earlier?"

"Do you really have such a plan in mind?" Hearing Xuehui's words, Hiratsuka Shizuka's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and she slowly raised her fist.

"Suppose, just suppose, you know what? I just want to know your thoughts. If I really agree, will you accept my decision?"

How could I possibly accept losing to some newcomer girl? This is even more shameful than losing to Yukino!

But she couldn't bring herself to say those words.

"...I don't know, I'm a little tired, I'm going back to rest." Hiratsuka Shizuka shook her head and turned to leave.

Now that things have come to this, Xuehui wouldn't let the other party slip away so easily. He grabbed Hiratsuka Shizuka's hand with ease and pulled her to the spot.

"Do you remember that time, Jing-jie, when you went out to a party and got drunk, I picked you up and brought you home?"

Suddenly, Xuehui felt his hand tremble slightly.

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I was originally planning to keep things quiet so soon, but these two know each other well enough and have feelings for each other, so dragging it out isn't a good idea. I might as well move it forward. (Torn up the outline again)

A chaotic scene... doesn't exist yet, at least not until the end of summer vacation, because Yukino's scenes only extend to the later part!

Senior? I guess I'll just have to postpone it again. Maybe I'll end up losing, maybe I'll turn things around—who knows? Anyway, I haven't decided yet.

What? The male lead is still missing the standard "little sister," though there's no guarantee she won't become the next troublemaker...

Chapter 20: Let Me Be Shameless Just This Once

Upon hearing Yukiteru's words, Hiratsuka Shizuka immediately stopped moving.

What does he mean by asking that? Could it be that...?

Turning around, Hiratsuka Shizuka forced herself to remain calm as she looked at Yukiteru and asked, "I remember, I was drunk that night."

"Oh~ are you really drunk?"

Looking into Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes, Yukiteru could tell from her earlier trembling that she was definitely not drunk, or rather, she must have been somewhat rational at the time.

There was no deliberate pursuit, nor any tale of a hero saving a damsel in distress or falling in love at first sight. Naturally, things developed to a point where they were somewhat out of control.

'I always feel like my thoughts are incredibly awful; wanting everyone to be happy is nothing but self-deception and a base desire to take more than my share. But I really don't want to give up, so let me be shameless for once. Whatever the outcome, I'll accept it.'

With these thoughts in mind, Yukiteru looked straight at Hiratsuka Shizuka, waiting for her answer.

"...Seven parts drunk, three parts sober." After a moment of silence, Hiratsuka Shizuka knew there was no escaping it, and sighed, "What's the point of asking now?"

"Of course we need to confirm it." Xuehui took Shizuka's hand, walked up to her, and said with a smile, "No matter what, that was my first kiss."

"Hmph, you're really shameless. I was drunk back then, so I don't remember anything clearly. Who knows if what you're saying is true? Besides, I was clearly the one who suffered the most in this situation..." Her voice trailed off towards the end.

Even at this point, Jing Ke'ai still wanted to act a little arrogant, which made Xue Hui sigh for a moment, wondering who was older between the two of them.

"Hey, Jing-jie, I told you that was my first kiss, what about yours?"

"I...I what?" After a moment of stunned silence, Jing Ke'ai realized what was happening. She used her free hand to tap Xue Hui's forehead without any politeness and said irritably, "Do you think I'm that kind of person? I've never even let a man touch my hand before."

After saying that, he looked down and noticed their hands were still clasped together, and the warmth emanating from them. He then thought about what he had said a moment ago...

"So, I'm the exception?"

Yukiteru grabbed Hiratsuka Shizuka's hand, raised it, and placed it in front of them. Seeing Shizuka's somewhat dazed expression, he spoke.

Realizing what was happening, Hiratsuka Shizuka quickly broke free and put her hands behind her back.