Tokyo: Oreimo

Ryosuke knew Saori very well; the more composed she was, the more she was observing.

"What's wrong?" Saori noticed his hesitation, turned her head to look at him, and a playful smile appeared on her lips. "Is it inconvenient?"

"Convenient." Ryosuke put his phone back in his pocket. "Let's go, the activity room is in the building behind."

There's no other way; refusing here would only make me seem guilty.

"By the way, isn't today Ling Nai's first day of school? Where is she?"

Linking arms with Ryosuke, Saori leaned on his shoulder and asked a question.

Chapter 274 Even "normies" have different levels.

The same as always, this brother and sister.

Seeing Ryosuke's slightly embarrassed expression, Hououin Saori sighed inwardly.

As her girlfriend, she could clearly sense that her boyfriend harbored special feelings for his stepsister.

Over the past six months, Ling Nai has been making her advances, and recently, she started living with Ryosuke, which has made her feel a sense of crisis.

Although she trusted Ryosuke and knew he wouldn't do anything out of line, the distance that had unconsciously grown between them made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Perhaps it's time to shift the focus and, before fulfilling the promise I made to my father, further develop the relationship between us.

Thinking of this, Saori blushed slightly.

"Shi Yuze, can I ask for a day off from school tomorrow?"

On the way to the manga club, Saori suddenly mentioned it.

"Ok?"

"Because we're moving."

"You moved apartments? So suddenly?"

Ryosuke glanced at his girlfriend with some surprise. She was currently living in a luxury apartment just two streets away from the company, and he thought her living environment was quite comfortable overall.

It's also very convenient to commute to and from get off work, which allows for more rest time.

Saori glanced at him, offering no explanation, but her expression was rather ambiguous.

"Ah."

"Have you decided where you plan to move to?"

"Yes, it's right downstairs from you."

"what?"

Ryosuke coughed, completely unprepared for this answer.

Saori winked at him, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Because I want to be closer to you, so we can see each other every night."

After saying that, she took a small step back, took his arm again, and looked like a cat that had stolen a fish.

Ryosuke's ears were already bright red.

"Move downstairs from me... are you serious?"

"When have I ever joked about something like this?"

Saori chuckled softly, "Anyway, the company's rental contract is about to expire. Instead of renewing it, why not move to a place closer to you? Even though the commute will be longer, we'll have more time to spend together."

Her argument was so logical and well-founded that Ryosuke couldn't find a way to refute it.

Saori turned her head and looked at him, who was trying hard to remain calm but couldn't hide the redness in his ears. The corners of her mouth curved even deeper.

"And," she said, slowing her pace and lowering her voice so that only the two of them could hear, "living closer together makes some things much more convenient."

“…”

Ryosuke's heart suddenly started beating much faster.

Saori, her face flushed, winked at him.

What are some things?

He couldn't help but start thinking in strange directions.

"Hehe." Saori suddenly laughed out loud. "What are you thinking about, Shigaze?"

“…”

It seems like I've been tricked?

Ryosuke cooled down immediately.

“It’s about what we talked about at Winter COMI last time.” Saori looked at him with a teasing expression. “Didn’t you want to see me in that Medusa outfit?”

"If you help me move well..." she leaned closer, "I'll reward you by dressing up in this outfit just for you in my room."

The image of that outfit instantly flashed into Ryosuke's mind: a black, tight-fitting dress that outlined extremely daring lines, paired with Saori's already tall figure; just imagining it was enough to make him restless.

Saori looked at him and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Your reaction is more interesting than I expected."

"You're teasing me again." Ryosuke finally realized.

"How could that be?" Saori's smile faded, but the smile in her eyes didn't completely disappear. "I'm serious. I will keep my promise to you."

She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, "As for the rest, that depends on your performance."

Saori looked at his bright red ears, and the unpleasantness she felt because of living with Ling Nai faded a little.

Teasing him occasionally is a kind of fun in a relationship.

“Your face is still red.” Saori reached out and gently tapped his cheek with her fingertips. “Why don’t you find a place to sit before you leave? If you go into the club room like this, your club president will probably think you did something bad.”

"That's all because of you." Ryosuke smiled bitterly.

"Okay, it's my fault." Saori withdrew her hand, took his arm again, and said with a hint of satisfaction, "Then let's go rest on the bench in the courtyard for a while. Anyway, your club activities aren't in a hurry."

……

Meanwhile, at the other end of the central avenue, two furtive figures were creeping towards them, close to the ginkgo trees.

Tian Zhongxue was hunched over, his glasses reflecting the afternoon sunlight, looking like an overexcited large dog.

Shota Okubo followed behind him, holding up his phone, the screen displaying the forum post about the "mysterious beauty" from earlier.

"Where? Where? Didn't you say the photo was taken at the main gate?" Tian Zhongxue asked, looking around as he walked.

"Those posts are from over ten minutes ago, how could she still be standing at the main entrance!" Okubo said, refreshing his phone. "I just checked that post again, and someone replied saying they saw that beautiful woman walking towards the courtyard..."

Halfway through his sentence, Okubo abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"Why did you stop?" Tian Zhongxue turned around and looked at him.

Okubo did not answer, but simply raised one finger forward, his lips trembling slightly.

Tian Zhongxue looked in the direction he was pointing.

Two people were sitting on a bench in the courtyard.

One was a back view that they were all too familiar with.

Takagi Ryosuke.

The person sitting next to him was none other than the stunning beauty who was being discussed in the forum photos.

No, it's even prettier than in the photos.

Her long hair reached her waist, and the contours of her profile were clearly defined in the afternoon sunlight. Even just sitting on a bench, you could tell that she was tall and slender. When she sat next to Ryosuke, the two were so close that there was almost no gap between them.

Her hand was resting very naturally on the back of Ryosuke's hand.

Tian Zhongxue's glasses slipped off his nose.

"That...is that Takashiro?" His voice sounded like a duck being choked.

"Yes, it's him." Okubo's voice was even weaker than his.

"That girl next to me... she's the gorgeous beauty from the forum..."

"Absolutely."

The two remained silent for a full five seconds.

Then Okubo let out a suppressed howl, like someone had stepped on their tail.

"No...he said it! He said it!"

Okubo grabbed Tanaka's shoulders and shook him violently. "He said his girlfriend is an otaku girl he met at a doujinshi convention! I thought... I thought his girlfriend was at most a..."

He gestured with his hand to his forehead, making the outline of thick-bangs glasses. "She's that type of homebody!"

"That's what I think too!"

Tian Zhongxue's glasses nearly flew off from his gaze, but the shock on his face was no less than Tian's.

"And you're telling me she's a beauty of this caliber?!"

The two turned their gazes toward the central courtyard once again.

Saori was tilting her head to say something to Ryosuke, a slight smile on her lips, while Ryosuke turned his head slightly to the side. The two were very close.

"A romantic life on par with a gal game male protagonist." Okubo murmured, repeating what he had once said, his tone like a eulogy. "I just said it casually... and he actually did it?!"

Tian Zhongxue pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a ghastly white light. "A blonde tsundere younger sister, a stunningly beautiful girlfriend he met at a doujinshi convention, and the talent to write light novels that have been published... What kind of script did this guy have in his life?"

“No, I have to ask him.” Okubo lifted his foot and was about to walk over.

"Stop messing around!" Tian Zhongxue slapped him to stop. "If we rush in now, they'll know we're following them!"

"But President, I'm so unwilling to accept this!" Okubo's expression was as if he were looking at a beautiful dream that could never be had. "Think about it, Takashiro not only surpasses us in writing novels, but he's also at the pinnacle of dating talent. Is this reasonable? Is this fair?"

Tian Zhongxue was silent for two seconds, then patted him on the shoulder, his tone heavy.

"Accept it, Okubo. Some people are just born to play the lead role."

"President, when you say things like that, can you please not smile more awfully than I do?"

"I didn't laugh."