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

Really not? He continued to stare at his sister suspiciously; Hachiman had suffered countless losses at her hands.

Komachi may be a very lovable younger sister on ordinary days, but when it comes to certain important matters, you could say that Komachi is ruthless and heartless.

After all these years, Komachi only felt gratitude towards her parents for raising her, and didn't have any deeper thoughts about them.

Apart from her brother, with whom she had always depended on each other, it seemed that no one else could enter Komachi's inner world and understand what was going on in this woman's mind.

No, not at all. After all these years, do you think my brother wouldn't know what kind of person Komachi is? Komachi has always been responsible for her actions and never makes excuses for what she does.

Brother, think about it carefully. In the past, after I tricked you, did you ever come and question me for not admitting it? I'm not afraid of your punishment even for things that are worse than this. It's just that this kind of thing might not even achieve its purpose, so there's absolutely no need for me to stubbornly lie.

With a pout, Komachi grumbled unhappily. After three years as siblings, their bond should have been stronger than ever, but Hachiman was still doubting Komachi over this kind of thing, which made her somewhat annoyed.

After thinking about it carefully, Hachiman suddenly realized that things were indeed as Komachi said, and that there was no need for her to hide these things. Hachiman calmed down after that.

Has this child never been exposed to alcoholic beverages before?

That doesn't make sense. He's been eating this for so long, hasn't he felt anything slightly wrong with his body?

Frowning, Hachiman was in a dilemma. The original plan was for Rumi to have dinner here, so that her clothes would be washed and dried by then. She could eat and drink her fill, go home with clean clothes and a good mood. It seemed like a very good thing.

But now, it's absolutely impossible for Liu Mei to go home alone.

It would be somewhat illogical for Hachiman to escort them back.

After all, it's a man in his twenties helping a drunk girl of sixteen or seventeen home.

Putting aside what his parents, who might not even be home if he were to go to America, would think, the neighbors living nearby who might see the Hachiman Send-Off Association would be extremely annoying.

Even if Hachiman explains it perfectly, there will likely be all sorts of bad rumors circulating, and Rumi's personal reputation may be affected. Gossiping is arguably the least costly and least convicted crime.

However, it is also a very terrifying thing.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, still a minor, is already being labeled as someone who gets drunk late at night and needs a man to take her home. Even if she has never done such a thing, after the rumors have spread wildly a few times, it will become true.

Language has always been the most deadly weapon, especially in a distorted country like Japan.

For someone who doesn't care at all, this might be irrelevant.

However, the Tsurumi family seemed to be living a peaceful and uneventful life. Once such rumors started to spread and were not stopped in time, they would soon become a Damocles' sword of despair, ready to fall and take away the good reputation of the Tsurumi family's only daughter.

Hachiman never believed that people were all good. As a pessimist, he usually thought that things could only get as bad as they could possibly be, using this as motivation to move forward. However, in today's situation, it was undoubtedly appropriate to assume the worst possible outcome.

From an objective point of view, Liu Mei was not a perfect woman.

She has all sorts of flaws, some of which are obvious at a glance, but if you only consider her appearance, Liu Mei is certainly very likable.

There are some morbid people in this world who take pleasure in destroying the beauty that already exists in the world. It seems that the more beautiful things are destroyed, the more they are pleased.

Hachiman wasn't sure if Rumi had someone like that around her, but he didn't dare to try it easily.

Just a few months later, Hachiman had already begun to settle down in Hirakata.

If it's something minor, then Hachiman would be happy to try it out and use it as material for his writing.

But when it comes to people they care about, almost everyone is selfish. Those who would sacrifice their own family for the greater good mostly only exist in fictional stories.

Hachiman, of course, could not escape the ranks of ordinary people. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Rumi had already taken a place in Hachiman's heart. He was certain of this, and perhaps she was also very aware of her body's sensitivity to alcohol.

Whether she expresses her feelings or not is her own business.

Xiao Ding said with a smile that studying in the US was a perfect fit for her taste.

You people are really annoying.

Hachiman suddenly became somewhat unhappy. The women around him seemed to never consider whether their actions were appropriate; they only cared about themselves.

Komachi really doesn't know what to say about her brother, who is so blessed yet doesn't appreciate it.

She sighed softly. From Komachi's perspective, Rumi was the most suitable girl for him right now.

Moreover, Rumi's feelings were so intense that even Kodama, who was also a woman and Hachiman's sister, felt that Rumi's emotions were a bit too terrifying.

Maybe I'm just the kind of person who doesn't appreciate what I have. Studying in the US is great, that's true, but I'm still not mentally prepared.

Accepting someone without any emotional foundation will only lead to an unhappy ending.

The situation calmed down again, and Hachiman found that no matter what, he couldn't feel any aversion towards Rumi, and was even filled with joy every time he saw her.

if line

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Spring Comes and Goes

In the end, Hachiman softened and settled Rumi on the bed in the bedroom, while he himself went to the living room with his full gear.

Although spring nights aren't too cold, away from a warm and soft bed, with only a thin sofa, a slightly thicker blanket is still quite necessary.

In addition, since the Hachiman family's house is quite large overall, the living room, which is used to entertain guests, seems a bit too spacious compared to the bedrooms.

A small room not only provides a great sense of security, but more importantly, the sound insulation of a small room, once it is enclosed, is better than that of a living room.

I don’t know if it’s because of my psychological issues, but Hachiman is always particularly sensitive to sound. So for the past year or so, every time he goes to sleep, he always puts earplugs in his ears. Later, after his eye strain caused by prolonged use of his eyes broke out, Hachiman started using the steam eye mask that Komachi bought for him to relieve eye fatigue.

Therefore, whenever Hachiman falls asleep, he must be shutting down his vision and hearing, allowing his mind to completely relax and enter a blank state where he doesn't think about anything.

When he couldn't see or hear anything from the outside world, all Hachiman could feel was the faint burning and moist sensation of water vapor coming from his eyes.

When Hachiman removed his blindfold and earplugs and regained his sight and hearing, it seemed that a long time had passed since he usually woke up.

After all, when he usually got up to wash up, Komachi was still sound asleep.

So when Hachiman saw his sister lounging on the sofa with an unusually relaxed air, holding a small bowl of ice cream and indulging in it without any regard for her approaching period, Hachiman knew it was getting late.

"What time is it?" Hachiman asked casually, but a greater question lingered in his mind.

Perhaps because he slept much longer than usual, Hachiman felt very refreshed when he woke up today, as if he had drunk a sweet, ice-cold drink to cool him down on a hot summer day. However, after gaining mental satisfaction from his ample rest, Hachiman felt inexplicably weak.

Did I sleepwalk last night? That shouldn't be the case.

Hachiman pondered for a moment, but still couldn't figure out the root cause of his fatigue.

It's past ten o'clock, and my brother is still sleeping in. That's really rare for him.

Smiling at her older brother, Komachi was generally happy today.

Without Hachiman watching over her from early morning, preventing her from doing this or that, Xiao Ding naturally wouldn't feel restricted.

I guess I was really tired yesterday. After all, that kid who's been in the US weighs about 100 pounds, and carrying him all the way home like that is really asking too much of an old man like me who's not very active.

Therefore, it's necessary for my brother to consider putting exercise on the agenda.

After all, there are quite a few writers these days who suddenly die while writing articles.

Seemingly realizing that her words sounded like a curse on her brother, Komachi immediately covered her delicate cherry lips and looked at Hachiman with a face full of apology.

So what if someone dies suddenly? As long as they don't die in their house for months before being discovered, and their body decomposes to the point of being a nuisance.

However, I have one more task to complete before that.

Hachiman stroked his chin, a habitual smile returning to his face. He only showed such tenderness when facing people he cared about.

what?

Enjoying ice cream that had been frozen for a long time in the not-so-warm weather, Komachi felt thoroughly refreshed, both physically and mentally.

Earn enough money, at least enough for yourself to live on in the future.

Hachiman said with a smile, "If it weren't for Komachi, I basically wouldn't have been able to hold on until now."

After Hachiman finished speaking, the Hikigaya family fell into an eerie silence, as if the two siblings had suddenly run out of things to talk about after this topic.

Rumi? Has she already left? Hachiman quickly sensed the heavy atmosphere in the living room and hurriedly changed the subject, saying that things like birth, aging, sickness, and death were not things that should be discussed at his age.

She's gone, and judging from her expression, she seems quite content. She licked her lips, and when she mentioned Rumi, Komachi's face was full of a mysterious smile, as if the woman had done something extraordinary before leaving. Hachiman pondered this word and immediately tried to deduce in his mind why Rumi would leave so content.

Who knows? Maybe she stayed in the US because she slept so well.

Shrugging, Xiao Ding seemed indifferent to everything. After all, she already knew why Rumi was in a better mood, so she wasn't as bothered by curiosity as Hachiman.

Ignoring all that—it was giving him a headache—Hachiman simply stopped thinking about these brain-taxing things and snatched the ice cream from Komachi's hand. Ignoring whether his sister's saliva was still on it, he used the cool sweet treat to ease the pain in his head. "Hey, brother, are you just going to take your sister's food like that?" Komachi protested, clearly unhappy. However, Komachi's face was full of smiles. She particularly enjoyed this kind of uninhibited interaction between siblings; after all, not everyone gets to experience this kind of interaction.

What do you mean by "robbery"? I bought them all myself. Wait until you make money from them, then we can talk about robbery.

When it comes to bullying their younger sister, older brothers have all sorts of ways to do it, and the satisfaction they get from this behavior is something that many other things can't provide.

I was going to heat up your breakfast, but you'll have to do it yourself now.

With a cold snort, Xiao Ding awkwardly turned her face away, her expression turning icy and stern.

This is enough. We're going to have lunch soon anyway, so skipping a meal won't make a difference.

Hachiman didn't care about Komachi's threats. It was nice to have breakfast made by his sister, but he wouldn't insist if she didn't.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hachiman watched as Komachi walked away with her cheeks puffed out, as if Hachiman's direct and blatant act of stealing from her had indeed made her very unhappy.

But Hachiman, who knew his sister very well, naturally knew that Kodama was going to make lunch for the two of them.

He shook his head, but as Hachiman inadvertently withdrew his gaze from Komachi's back, he suddenly caught sight of a long, black object lying on his blanket.

By picking it up with two fingers, Hachiman only needed a quick glance to know what the thread-like object was.

Human hair is a very distinctive feature, and differences in individual physical conditions and living environments can lead to differences in individual hair quality.

Therefore, Hachiman easily recognized that the hair belonged to Rumi.

After all, there are only two women who can come to the Hikigaya family now: Rumi and Isshiki.

Putting aside the color of Isshiki's long, flowing hair, she couldn't even meet the standard for that length.

Moreover, it had been more than two months since Isshiki last visited the Kokiya family. Even if this strand of hair belonged to Isshiki, it was impossible for it to still have such squinting eyes. Hachiman suddenly felt a little afraid of how sensitive his body was to the environment.

Last night, or this morning, I likely had very close physical contact with him, but he slept soundly without any reaction until now.

Does this mean my body has already come to regard Liu Mei as someone I don't need to worry about, so I can do whatever I want without any warning signs?

He pondered with great confusion, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out what Rumi had done to him.

Since that day, spring has come and autumn has gone, time has passed, and the days of April have flown by in the blink of an eye. The cherry blossoms of April seem to have not yet faded, revealing their small and lovely buds.

Hachiman cut his hair back to the style he had in high school, or even shorter than before—it seemed as if he intended to shave his head as a sign of determination.

Unfortunately, both Hachiman and Komachi knew that this was simply because Hachiman had an unusually troubled summer the previous year, which is why he suddenly cut off his extra long hair.

Wearing a loose bathrobe, Hachiman, whose face was covered in stubble and looked like he hadn't groomed himself for several days, casually leaned against the sofa.

Although outwardly Hachiman appears to be wandering in the world of the book, he actually can't concentrate on reading even a single sentence, glancing at his watch every five minutes or so.