The Hikigaya couple's youthful love story is definitely not a problem.

Hachiman, who was being changed for the better, also realized what kind of state Rumi was going through at this moment.

If he can't handle this matter well, then Hachiman may never see the happy smile on Rumi's incredibly cute face again.

Hachiman indifferently wiped his cheeks with absorbent paper, once again regaining his usual calm demeanor.

"My goddaughter is my own, of course I have to love her myself. What kind of person would I be if I relied on someone else?" Hachiman said with a self-deprecating tone. After thinking for a moment, he took a basin of water from the shelf next to him and nodded in satisfaction after finding that there was no strange smell or dirt in it.

Hachiman reached out and turned the tap back on, repeatedly testing the water temperature with his hand.

The boy had only washed his face with cold water to force himself to calm down; he wouldn't have used cold water to stimulate the little girl's tender cheeks if he were washing her face.

At this moment, Rumi, who was still lying on Yukino's bed, was very uneasy. Originally, she wanted to go out and look for Hachiman's whereabouts, but the little girl still hadn't lost her mind. As it was her first time visiting Yukino's house, she was completely unfamiliar with the environment.

Moreover, perhaps due to family genetics, she, like Yukino, is inevitably somewhat directionally challenged. If she wanders around in unfamiliar places, she might end up not even knowing where she is.

Furthermore, since Rumi's clothes today didn't have pockets, she could only put her phone in her handbag, and then casually placed it on the living room table while playing with Hachiman.

Therefore, Rumi has no way to call and ask about Hachiman's location right now. Even if her phone were with her, Rumi wouldn't dare to call Hachiman. The only thing she can do is open the software that links the locations of the entire Hikigaya family to each other to find Hachiman's location.

However... this kind of thing is just for show for Rumi and Yukino, because even with a map, these two can still get lost, which gives Hachiman a real headache.

Because of these two, Hachiman was considering what to do when traveling in the future. Since they got lost so easily, Hachiman would have no choice but to keep them by his side.

And even then, it might not be effective.

Because there are so many people at some tourist attractions, you could be swept away by the crowd at any time if you don't hold hands.

That stinky Hachiman, leaving me all alone at this time.

Rumi's voice trembled with a hint of a sob. At this moment, the little girl was no longer thinking about those unrealistic things. She just wanted to stay by Hachiman's side and enjoy the love that was uniquely hers.

However, Rumi, who had already suppressed her desires to this extent, was still uneasy, because the old Hachiman would never have left her alone in the room like this.

Rumi didn't believe that, based on Hachiman's understanding of her, he wouldn't be able to tell that she was pretending to be asleep.

In the past, Hachiman would not disturb Rumi at times like this. He would just sit quietly to the side and leave after Rumi had fallen asleep without him realizing it, because Hachiman knew how afraid Rumi was of sleeping alone.

Therefore, in order to give his girlfriend a sense of security, Hachiman would always stay with Rumi before she fell asleep, no matter what.

However, later on, when Hachiman was really busy, Komachi would take over the task.

Rumi was initially very unhappy. Although Komachi's scent was somewhat similar to Hachiman's, as a girl, Komachi still had her own light and elegant fragrance, which made Rumi very uncomfortable.

However, after a while, the little girl got used to it.

Biting her delicate lips very hard, Rumi didn't notice that a hint of scarlet had appeared on her pink lips.

However, even if the little girl found out, she probably wouldn't care. Right now, this is the only way she can forcefully hold back the tears that are about to spill out. Hachiman said that what he can't stand the most is a girl's tears, and this is also a girl's last weapon. When she cries, it means that she has no other means except hoping that the other party will change his mind.

However, no matter how much Rumi suppressed her emotions, she couldn't help but let the glistening pearls slide down her fair cheeks, making her already smudged makeup look like a mess, which was both comical and heartbreaking.

Rumi kept wiping her eyes with her delicate, fair hands, but she found that she couldn't dry all the tears. So the little girl simply put her hands down and pounced on Yukino's bed, trying to calm herself down by using the highly absorbent fabric.

However, Rumi never truly calmed down. During this time, she would often look towards the door, hoping that Hachiman would suddenly appear in front of her.

Just when the girl was about to despair, her extremely keen hearing allowed her to accurately detect the footsteps coming from outside the corridor. She was very familiar with both the frequency and the weight of the footsteps.

Rumi quickly pulled the cup over her head. Although she really wanted to see Hachiman, she didn't want him to see her disheveled state.

Except when she had just woken up, Rumi had always been an extremely perfect main character in Hachiman's mind, and she had never been as disheveled as she is now.

When Hachiman carried a basin of warm water into the room, what he saw was a large, trembling figure wrapped in a blanket, sleeping in front of her.

With a helpless sigh, Hachiman wasn't stupid. He didn't believe that Rumi, at her age, would still wet the bed, so the organ capable of secreting so much water was self-evident.

Chapter 298 The World Before My Eyes

He gently placed the basin of water on Yukino's bedside table, and Hachiman ruthlessly pulled back the blanket, revealing Rumi underneath.

The little guy was initially happy about Hachiman's return, but tears kept streaming down the girl's face, even wetting a patch of the once-dry bed sheet.

When the blanket was pulled back, Rumi was a little confused and looked innocently at Hachiman standing there. The expression on the little girl's face at that moment looked extremely funny.

Hachiman's lips twitched. He had already prepared himself emotionally, but when he saw this scene, he almost choked with anger.

She rolled her eyes and helplessly picked the little one up from the bed.

He placed her on his lap, and Hachiman took a tissue from the side and gently wiped Rumi's tears.

Why are you crying like this? Did I say I wouldn't want you anymore because of something so trivial? Holding Rumi's slender waist, Hachiman casually untangled the little one's disheveled hair and watched as Rumi's long, flowing hair cascaded down smoothly, like a black lotus blooming in the white night.

Rumi shook her head, feeling strangely at ease hearing Hachiman's words, which were filled with deep concern despite his reproach. "Then why are you crying? If I really didn't want you anymore, wouldn't you just kill me and then commit suicide?" Hachiman poked Rumi's forehead with his finger, speaking with great self-righteousness, as if it were all Rumi's responsibility and had nothing to do with him. However, that was Hachiman's purpose. Before the little girl could react, he would swiftly resolve everything today, so that Rumi would no longer have any wild thoughts and would instead obediently play the role of his daughter.

Although this might not be fair to Ryumei, since the little girl's feelings for Hachiman are no less than Yukino's, Hachiman has no choice.

At most, he could only treat Rumi a little better in his daily life—to give the little girl a better life experience. But in Hachiman's heart, Rumi was just a lovely daughter. As for anything else, Hachiman had never thought about it.

Although Hachiman is partly to blame for how things have turned out this way, he never really considered that he was just a little too kind to Rumi.

As a result, the unusually aloof and beautiful girl was transformed into this.

Sometimes, Hachiman wondered if his deadpan personality gave him some special advantage when dealing with cold beauties like Yukino and Rumi; otherwise, why would these two, one big and one small, become so passionate?

I.

Liu Mei murmured in her soft, sweet voice, unable to think of any other reason to explain the tears on her face at that moment.

Because her mother had applied a light layer of powder to the little one's face, tears had washed away the lines on her face, making her look quite disheveled.

Shh~ Don't talk. Clean your face first, otherwise Yukino will suspect that I did something bad to you when she comes in.

He pressed his index finger directly onto Rumi's delicate lips, the slightly moist yet elastic touch sending a surge of excitement through Hachiman's heart.

Only now did he realize that Rumi's lips were actually much more delicate than Yukino's.

When Hachiman removed his fingers, both he and Rumi involuntarily turned their heads away, too shy to look at each other.

However, Hachiman suddenly arrived, and the girl in his arms who offered no resistance... or perhaps didn't even want to resist, was his second wife.

I'm afraid of being shy.

Well... I don't have any dirty thoughts about studying in the US.

Thinking this, Hachiman immediately suppressed the thought in his mind, picked Rumi up by her armpits, and placed her on the bedside.

She turned around and wrung out the towel in the basin until it was slightly damp but not dripping. Then she walked up to Rumi and knelt down on one knee in front of the little girl without any hesitation.

Reaching out, Hachiman cupped Rumi's delicate cheeks and gently wiped away her smudged makeup with a towel, his care as meticulous as an archaeologist treating a prehistoric site, or a groom lifting the veil of his future wife on their wedding night.

So, the makeup your mother did for you didn't even last a morning.

Watching Rumi gradually return to her former self under his care, Hachiman felt that she was more real this way, more like a person with flesh and blood rather than an untouchable, flawless work of art. "Daddy can do my makeup later. Don't you always help Yukino?" Although her eyes were red and puffy, Rumi had a satisfied smile on her face. From Hachiman's behavior, the girl could tell that his way of treating her had never changed, and everything was just wishful thinking on her part.

If... I had been born before Yukino, I should be the happiest person now, right? Although she doesn't say it, Rumi really envies Yukino. The two of them are nine-tenths similar, but just because Yukino met Hachiman first, she became the way she is now.

It seems impossible... However, Rumi thought of another question, which was about what Hachiman and Yukino had told her before, that they had the same dream together.

No matter how you look at it, the tacit understanding between Hachiman and Yukino doesn't seem like they've only known each other for about a year. Moreover, the familiarity Hachiman inadvertently revealed about himself is one of the reasons why Rumi is certain that this incident really happened.

She never told Hachiman that she liked black, but whenever Hachiman bought her clothes or something, black was always his first choice. He would only consider pink or other colors that were more suitable for a little girl if black wasn't appropriate for her.

So, I didn't lose to people, but to the world.

As Rumi enjoyed Hachiman's services with her eyes closed, she thought to herself, "Somehow, when I felt Hachiman's warm fingers stroking my face, Rumi felt a sudden pang of sadness welling up inside her."

Hachiman's movements suddenly stopped because he inadvertently saw Rumi's open eyes, and there he saw a heat that even Yukino couldn't show, as if the person in front of him was her whole world.

Chapter 299 Differences

Yuki's mother and Mrs. Tsurumi were chatting happily at this moment. It seemed that the two sisters, who had not seen each other for more than ten years, wanted to finish saying everything they had to say. From the occasional light laughter between them, it could be seen that the two of them did not have any rift as rumored, but simply could not meet due to time constraints.

So, sister, you're still the same as always. You clearly enjoy these family interactions, but you still pretend to be indifferent.

Nayuki covered her mouth and chuckled softly. From the very beginning, she had been constantly trying to find topics to talk about, and even started chatting with Yukino.

The questions asked were nothing more than trivial matters of daily life, which Yukino answered with great confusion. Little did the girl know that Mrs. Tsurumi's actions were merely a delaying tactic to allow her daughter and Hachiman to explain everything clearly.

You know what I am like, there's no need to tell me. But I feel like you're talking more and more. It seems that you haven't grown up over the years, but have actually become more and more like a novice.

With her narrow phoenix eyes fixed on her younger sister, Xue Mu still hadn't discovered her sister's hidden purpose in the conversation. After all, her sister had always been this lively, leading Nai Xue Liu to believe that she was simply spoiled by her husband.

"There's nothing I can do about it~ Even if other people's husbands are busy, they still come home in the evening to chat with me~" Nai Xue Li's face was full of helplessness. Indeed, there was not a trace of resentment towards her husband in her tone. There was even a sense of smugness. After hearing this, Xue's mother's mouth twitched. With her intelligence, how could she not hear the sarcasm in her sister's words? What Nai Xue Li meant was that she and her husband could not see each other often, and because they had not received the nourishment of love for a long time, she had become like this.

Even after all these years, you still have a sharp tongue.

With a cold laugh, Xue's mother said dismissively, "How could my mood be affected by some words?" She seemed a little thirsty and reached for the cup of red tea in front of her, wanting to moisten her throat.

Raising an eyebrow and a strange smile appeared on her lips, how could Nai Xue Li, as her sister's most caring younger sister, let go of this opportunity to give her sister a sweet treat?

Yeah~ The elders really like it too, and even praised her for being sweet-talking~ With a hint of an unknown smile on her face, Nai Xue Li spoke lewdly in front of her juniors.

Yukino's face instantly turned red. She had never heard her mother say such things to her face before. Although she had learned a lot from Hachiman, Yukino still felt her face burning hot when her elders said such things in front of her.

cough cough cough.

When Xue's mother, who was drinking water, heard her sister's words, she almost spat out the scalding tea. Looking at her sister in disbelief, Xue's mother gently patted her chest, trying to calm herself down.

However, when Xue's mother caught a glimpse of her daughter out of the corner of her eye, she immediately felt uneasy.

She was able to understand her sister's words entirely because of long-term accumulation of knowledge. But what was with Yukino's shy expression? Yukino's mother felt a little regretful for some reason, because judging from Yukino's behavior, her daughter seemed to have been corrupted by Hachiman.

However, Yuki's mother had mixed feelings at this moment. She didn't want her daughter to be bullied by Hachiman, but she also hoped to hold her grandson as soon as possible to avoid the embarrassing situation of having no male heir in her family.

Um, I suddenly remembered that I have something to discuss with Hachiman, so I'll be going now, Mother.

Noticing that her mother's gaze was a little strange, Yukino immediately used Hachiman as an excuse, quickly stood up, and without waiting for her mother's reply, slunk away from the living room.

"Why are you so shy, my child?" Nayuki looked at her older sister with a teasing expression. She felt a little regretful because she wasn't sure what Hachiman and Rumi were up to right now. If the two of them hadn't resolved the matter yet, then Yukino running over now might ruin things.

Mrs. Tsurumi hoped that this matter would be resolved completely today, otherwise, it would leave a thorn in the hearts of the two children.

It's not that Yukino is too shy, but you've really gone too far, saying these things in front of a junior. You're getting more and more shameless as you get older.

Looking at her younger sister with utter disdain, Nayuki really wanted to slap her like she did when they were children.

So what? 9~ Anyway, they're bound to go through this kind of thing. We, as elders, should provide them with education on this topic. Otherwise, if they encounter some guys who are interested in hunting and they don't know anything about it, that would be really bad.

She spoke with great confidence, but Nayuki quickly realized a problem: Yukino and Haruno seemed to have no need for such a thing. Judging from Yukino's expression just now, she probably had already been intimate with her fiancé in various positions, otherwise, why would she have reacted as soon as Mrs. Tsurumi spoke?

As for Haruno, she was no longer within Mrs. Tsurumi's considerations. She didn't believe that Haruno, who was already in her twenties, had never had a boyfriend.

After all, when she was Yang Nai's age, she was having a very passionate relationship with her current husband. If it weren't for the good insurance coverage, she probably would have gotten herself killed long ago.

I'm very worried about your daughter. Not only does she have a mother like you, but she's also recognized that guy Hachiman as her godfather. I have a feeling that the child is going to become a very special person in the future.