I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

............................................................

Two hours ago

After receiving the location from Kasumigaoka, Kiyoyori set off for the hotel.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the snow piled up on the road was enough to swallow Qinglai's sneakers. The snowflakes seeped in along the edges of the shoes, and her already cold feet felt even more painful from the cold. The snow melted into water and soaked her cotton socks, which were very uncomfortable to cling to her feet. With each step, it felt as if water was about to be squeezed out.

Kiyoshi's hair was also soaked. Even though she wrapped her clothes tightly around her neck, she couldn't stop the snow water from seeping in. It soaked the entire neckline of her clothes and then seeped into Kiyoshi's skin. The icy touch slid across Kiyoshi's skin, causing her to involuntarily shrink back. Her skeletal muscles trembled uncontrollably, and even her lips began to tremble.

This is terrible...

Kiyoshi suddenly regretted his reckless actions.

Perhaps it would have been better to have just accepted Haruno's room key.

Although she didn't like Yang Nai, there was no need for her to make things difficult for her own body.

Qinglai hunched his shoulders, put his hands in his pockets, and strode toward the nearest subway station.

Although it was some distance from the hotel, she wouldn't need to spend too much time getting there as long as the subway was on time. Qinglai hurriedly found the subway entrance, and the warmth inside immediately gave her a sense of relief, as if she had "come back to life," but it still couldn't change the fact that her clothes were soaked.

There were many people in the subway station who, like her, were soaked by the heavy snow and were huddled up, hoping the subway would arrive soon.

The subway station, which led out of the shopping street, was still a bit chilly. Kiyoshi wrapped his hands in his hands and blew on them. His hands were red from the cold, and even simple bending and straightening movements became stiff and difficult.

The alarm bell suddenly rang, and the sound of the approaching subway could be heard gradually in the passage. Although separated by the glass sliding door, Kiyotaka took a step back and stood behind the yellow warning line. Kiyotaka waited quietly for the subway to stop. She stomped her feet and shook the snow off her clothes.

The subway wasn't crowded. Kiyora casually found a seat and glanced at the time. Just then, Kasumigaoka sent him a message:

"The room number is 5507, I've already told the front desk."

Kiyoshi opened the keyboard to type, but her frozen hands were almost unresponsive. Kiyoshi could only type slowly, delete, and type again, but Kasumigaoka was fast and sent another message.

"It's snowing heavily outside. Did Shimizu-kun bring an umbrella? Are you getting wet?"

Kiyotomi felt a warm current flow into her chest. She deleted the previous message and replied simply:

"No, yes."

The other side sent an adorable panda emoji hitting someone with bamboo, seemingly blaming Kiyoshi for not taking care of his body.

"I'll have some ginger tea brought up."

Kiyotomi stared at the panda with a bamboo leaf in its mouth for a long while before slowly replying, "Thank you, teacher."

After waiting for a while, there was still no reply from the other end. Perhaps they had gone to take care of something. Qinglai put his phone into his clothes.

Kiyoyori left the subway station much earlier than expected, and rushed to the surface in one go. Then, while looking at the map, he searched for the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel he had booked in Kasumigaoka was quite high-end, and the orange spotlights were very eye-catching at night. Kiyoyori found it quickly.

As usual, he brushed the snow off his body, then walked into the hotel and found the front desk.

“Hello, I am the owner who booked room 5507,” Qinglai said, showing his ID. “Could you please check me in?”

The receptionist clicked the mouse a few times, then said, "Room 5507, are you sure? A lady just booked room 5507 and checked in."

Kiyoshi frowned, but then she thought that Shiwa-senpai probably already had the room key. She took out her phone and saw that, sure enough, in her recent messages, Shiwa-kun had sent a message saying, "When we get to the hotel, Shimizu-kun can just go upstairs."

Qinglai took back his ID and smiled apologetically at the receptionist.

"That must be my friend; I've already handed the room key to her?"

The receptionist thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, that lady has already received two room keys; it's for a double room."

Upon hearing this, Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow. "A double room?"

"Yes."

Kiyoyori opened his mouth, about to ask another question, when he received a call from Kasumigaoka.

"Senior Shiyu?"

"Shimizu-kun, have you arrived yet?"

Kasumigaoka's tone was slightly urgent, probably because he was worried that Kiyoyori might encounter some accident along the way.

“Just arrived,” Kiyoyori gestured to the front desk, then walked towards the elevator. “I’m at the elevator now, so don’t worry, Shiwa-senpai.”

The person on the other end of the phone breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

"Then I'll run you some hot water first."

Before Kiyoyori could answer, Kasumigaoka continued, "It's snowing so heavily outside, and you didn't bring an umbrella. You should take a shower quickly."

Without giving Kiyoyori a chance to refute, Kasumigaoka immediately hung up the phone.

Chiyorai:......

Why do I feel like I've been tricked?

As the numbers in the elevator continued to rise, a sense of foreboding inexplicably welled up in Qinglai's heart.

The snow water from her shoes and trouser legs left a small water stain on the carpet. Qinglai shifted uncomfortably. Various advertisements were still flashing on the advertising screen in the elevator, and the only sound in the quiet was the operation of the elevator.

"Ding--"

The elevator doors opened with a click, and Qinglai paused for a moment before walking towards room 5507.

Slightly uneasy, I rang the doorbell, and the person inside immediately opened the door, as if they had been waiting there for a while.

As soon as Kiyoshi entered the room, before he could even see what was inside, his coat was stripped off, a white bathrobe was stuffed into his hand, and he was then pushed into the steamy bathroom.

"Senior Shiyu?"

Qinglai called out towards the door, completely bewildered.

"I just finished running hot water, Shimizu-kun, hurry up and take a bath."

A muffled voice came from the other end of the door; it was Kasumigaoka Utaha.

After standing there for a moment, Kiyoshi decided to put aside everything else and take a relaxing bath first.

"call--"

Kiyoshi, immersing himself in the hot water, let out a long, comfortable sigh.

Utaha-senpai is surprisingly thoughtful!

I have a feeling there's some kind of conspiracy going on...

Chapter 53 He was pushed down

"Ms. Machida, thank you for your help."

Outside the room, Kasumigaoka leaned against the wall and spoke to the woman in business attire who was also leaning against her.

"It's okay, after all, it was Shi-chan's request."

Machida waved his hand dismissively.

She is an editor at Kasumigaoka Publishing House, affiliated with Shinazugawa Shoten. Her main purpose in coming to Kyoto was to discuss the anime adaptation of Kasumi Utako's novel "Love Metronome". Normally, these matters could be handled by the editorial department, but she wanted to respect Kasumigaoka's opinion, so she offered to bring her to Kyoto on this business trip.

Kasumigaoka agreed largely because it would be convenient for them to gather materials, and Kyoto is much closer to Uji than Chiba.

"It was my willfulness that caused trouble for Ms. Machida."

Kasumigaoka pressed her head against the wall, and what she was talking about wasn't just about changing rooms, but also about work-related issues.

Machida smiled understandingly upon hearing this, and glanced at room 5507. "Well, Shi-chan is getting to that age too."

Unsurprisingly, he received a glare from Kasumigaoka.

“I really didn’t expect her to take a liking to such a young girl,” Machida said teasingly, glancing at Kasumigaoka’s flushed cheeks. “But is it really okay to entrust such an important choice to her?”

"Shi-chan, do you really understand this girl named Tachibana Kiyori?"

Kasumigaoka bit her lower lip tightly. "I don't know."

Machida was about to say something more when Kasumigaoka interrupted him, saying, "But if you keep hesitating like this, I'll never know."

"As expected of Ms. Kasumi Shiko," Machida shrugged, no longer dwelling on the topic. "Then I wish you all the best."

"I'll take my leave now. If Shi-chan needs anything, please feel free to call me."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Ms. Machida."

Machida waved and disappeared around the corner.

"Ha—, it's about time..."

..................................................................

When Kiyotori came out of the bathroom, there was no one in the room, but Kasumigaoka's suitcase was left open in the aisle between the two beds. Bottles and jars of skin care products and cosmetics were placed on the bed near the bathroom, and a corner of underwear was peeking out from under a piece of clothing.

Kiyoshi looked away.

The door was suddenly opened, and Kasumigaoka walked in, carrying a cup of ginger tea.

"Hurry up and drink it."

She walked into Qinglai without changing her expression and handed the quilt she was holding to him.

Kiyotomi took the warm mug, took a sip, and the spicy ginger flavor hit her nostrils. She couldn't help but stick out her tongue. "Why is Shiyu-senpai in Kyoto?"

"It's just work-related stuff, basically a business trip," Kasumigaoka bent down to take out her change of clothes. "I'll go wash up first, Shimizu-kun can wait outside for a bit."

"Oh well."

Kiyoshi answered instinctively, but only realized what she meant when the other person went into the bathroom:

Are they going to be sharing a room tonight?!

The ginger tea flowed into his trachea, and Qinglai suddenly covered his mouth and coughed.

What kind of development is this?!

...............................................................

现在

"Shimizu-kun, what's wrong?"

Kiyoshi turned her head stiffly and saw Kasumigaoka standing barefoot at the bathroom door. Although it was a one-size-fits-all white bathrobe, it exuded a mature woman's aura on her. Her fair and slender neck, delicate and small collarbone, soft breasts that seemed about to burst out, and that intoxicatingly deep cleavage.

Qinglai suddenly felt thirsty.

Kasumigaoka was tall and slender, the hem of her bathrobe barely covering her knees, her long, thin legs exposed to the air, the bones at her ankles clearly visible, and her rounded toes wiggling casually on the carpet.