There are so many geniuses in crossover anime! What's wrong with adding me?

"It's precisely because I've never cooked before that I wanted to give it a try!" Hoshino Ai raised an eyebrow, eagerly defending herself. "Let me make it clear, I'm not lazy! It's just that I'm too busy with training!"

Even when you have time to rest, don't you feel like you don't want to move at all?

"Even if I learn it, I probably won't be able to reach Mr. Talent's level... I'm confident in myself!"

"I don't need this kind of confidence." He started eating, but to him, there wasn't much difference between the food he made and the food others made; he had no interest in enjoying the taste.

The pathogens and pain in his body had long since numbed him to these sensory experiences.

I practice cooking simply because I'm bored and want to do it well, just like any other skill; it's not something I do to satisfy myself.

If Hoshino Ai is said to be not picky about food and can eat anything because she often went hungry as a child and never had good food;

That's because his senses were numbed from childhood, so no matter what delicacies he eats, they all taste the same. Simple stimulation of taste can no longer impress him.

Although I can distinguish the taste, I cannot feel the satisfaction or "emotion" amidst the constant, lingering pain.

"you're not eating?"

While he was thinking, he noticed that there was still plenty of glistening rice in her bowl, and he casually asked her about it.

"Ah, of course I'll eat it..." Hoshino Ai's lips, which had been curved into a smile, froze, and her star-like pupils contracted slightly, but she quickly recovered and responded with a light laugh.

She looked down at the lovely, translucent white rice, swallowed hard, and moved her lips a few times as if to encourage herself. Then, she picked up a piece of rice with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth.

Seeing her somewhat abrupt action, Sakura Koji paused, his mind clearing as he suddenly remembered something. His crimson pupils contracted, his brows furrowed, and he bit his lower lip, wanting nothing more than to slap himself!

I'm so damn stupid!

But what's done is done, and all he can do is take a few deep breaths and try to salvage the situation.

"Don't worry."

"Huh?" Hoshino Ai looked up at him, puzzled.

“I… I mean, you don’t need to be so careful when you eat it,” Sakurakoji explained with a raised eyebrow, her words unusually hesitant, her face embarrassed. “I’ve washed the rice many times, and I guarantee there isn’t a single grain of sand in it, so you can eat it without worry!”

Hoshino Ai froze in her eating, not even noticing the rice grains stuck to her soft, pink lips, and stared at him in surprise.

After a long while, she finally looked away, silently lowering her head. Her chest felt as hot as if it were next to a furnace, and her delicate cheeks were flushed. For some reason, her eyes were a little moist.

"Ok!"

After that, Hoshino Ai's actions when eating rice became bolder, almost identical to when she ate vegetables.

Sensing her change, Sakurakoji felt relieved, and his guilt lessened slightly.

Her fear of rice stemmed from a childhood incident where shards of a glass her mother threw into her rice. Since then, although she still eats rice and finishes it all, she always mentally prepares herself before eating.

If she unfortunately ingests small pebbles, it will instantly trigger her psychological trauma.

Of all the people he has met so far, Hoshino Ai's background is probably the most tragic. Thinking of her experiences, he looks at her with a sense of pity.

If it weren't for her mother's theft that led to her being sent to an orphanage, who knows what else she might have encountered later.

But what's even more tragic is that her mother never contacted her again after she was released, and she was never loved during her life in the orphanage, which made her feel completely unloved...

Every time he saw her, he felt as if he saw the shadow of Shiina Mahiru, with the same broken family and the same sensible and strong spirit that made people feel sorry for her.

However, compared to her, Shiina Mahiru seemed insignificant. After all, Shiina Mahiru's mother only dared to vent her anger verbally, not to the point of physical domestic violence. Moreover, Shiina Mahiru lacked nothing materially, which already put her ahead of many others.

If Shiina Mahiru silently endures her grief and sheds tears alone in secret, then Hoshino Ai has even forgotten how to cry and shed tears.

In front of anyone, she always maintains that calm and composed mask, a perfect and kind mask that shows no negative emotions.

He didn't say anything more, but simply ate the meal with her in silence.

……

After dinner,

"Mmm~ I suddenly feel like taking a nap after eating!" Hoshino Ai stretched and said lazily after they finished cleaning up the dishes together.

"Then you should go to sleep. We'll go to the amusement park after you wake up, okay?" Sakura Koji, who was slumped on the floor next to him, replied casually while scrolling through his phone.

Hoshino Ai stared intently at him, then nodded happily: "Yes! Let's do it this way!"

"Mr. Talent, would you like to come up and join me?" she asked, feigning shyness as she gestured towards the bed.

"I'd better not, I'm afraid I'll go to jail for rape."

"Hey~ No way!"

“That’s hard to say, this is Japan after all.” Sakurakoji turned off the screen and sighed into the air. “I think it’s better to stay alert and be ready for a Bushido duel at any time.”

"Boys must take good care of themselves when they're out and about! Especially a handsome and outstanding boy like me!"

His expression was quite serious. This might just be a joke to others, but for him, it was really necessary to stay vigilant at all times!

He could never know whether the person interested in him the next second would be male or female, or whether they would be the dominant or submissive one!

"Haha~ Hmm! You're right, then I'll go to sleep first, goodnight!" Seeing that he was talking in a very reasonable way, Hoshino Ai covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled, then climbed down onto her fairly soft bed.

"Good night~"

Hoshino Ai stopped talking. Perhaps because her blanket was so comfortable, or perhaps because she felt very safe in this space, she soon fell asleep.

While she was sleeping, he couldn't continue playing games with sound or watching videos, and reading articles was too boring... so he chose to secretly peek at her sleeping face.

Normally a lively, cheerful, and confident person who seems to never be idle, now has a very quiet expression, with slightly furrowed eyebrows, concealing a kind of unease.

"..."

He watched silently for a while, then unconsciously opened his mouth.

He quickly covered his face and shook his head vigorously, trying to stay awake, but he didn't know if it was the effect of the cheap aromatherapy in the room or the excessive carbohydrates he ate at noon. In any case, once his nerves relaxed, he couldn't hold on any longer.

"Just a short nap, it should be fine, right?" He glanced at the sunlight outside, making the most of his time.

Three minutes later, he also fell asleep by the bedside.

……

An hour after lying down, Hoshino Ai woke up groggily, sat up abruptly, looked around sleepily for a while, and her thinking gradually returned.

Upon seeing the silvery-white object on my left, I was startled, and my vision cleared instantly!

"Tai, Mr. Cai?" She looked at Sakurakoji Cai, who was lying there peacefully, and her eyes showed curiosity.

He rested his head on his arms, which were placed on the bed. He didn't know how long he had been lying there or whether his arms had gone numb.

She carefully got up from the bed, tiptoed around to his side, and sat on the floor like him, supporting her chin with her hands on the bed, observing his sleeping face.

Even when he was asleep, he was still so elegant and beautiful, with slightly different white fur and skin, making him look like a transparent elf.

The long eyelashes fluttered and trembled like butterfly wings.

The person who was so decisive, handsome, and carefree when awake now seems like a fragile crystal. It's truly impossible to tell what kind of person you are, Hoshino Ai thought, her brow furrowed in confusion.

She couldn't help but laugh when she thought of what he had said before she went to sleep. He was so narcissistic, but... she glanced at his profile again—he really had the right to be narcissistic.

Remembering what Ms. Kyoko and the others had told her, she instantly averted her gaze.

"..."

What exactly are my feelings for Mr. Caihua?

Do you like it? Yes.

Are you comfortable with him? Yes.

Is she the type I like, the type who won't get angry or upset about my clumsiness? Yes.

So, do you want him to become your family, to give and receive love?

"..."

Her mind went blank; she didn't know, she knew absolutely nothing.

Although he was the only one who was unconditionally kind to her from the very first time they met; the only one who would patiently listen to her complaints in private; her only friend; the only one who would go on dates with her; and the only one who could notice details that others missed and care about her…

But she didn't know, she just didn't know, about this feeling. She pressed her hands to her heart, her fingertips turning white.

Although she didn't know, she looked up at his profile, which was probably even more handsome than her own, and pursed her delicate, moist pink lips.

Looking at the same spot as her own, she suddenly felt a surge of emotion, unable to look away. She couldn't help but gently press her fingertips against that warmth and swallow.

If it's just for a moment, it should be fine, right?

Once the thought arises, it grows wildly like weeds that have gone mad.

She slowly rose, centimeter by centimeter, and gradually approached.

A large amount of shadow obscured Sakurakoji Takashi's upper body, gradually thinning and shrinking until—it could only cover his face.

Image: "Baby's Woman!", Location: "Images/1760713152-100446961-113982224.jpg"

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 179 - Progress Surges! May it be called love.

hmm~

Countless eyelashes, like the transparent fur of a polar bear, gently fluttered as Sakurakoji slowly opened his eyes.

He groaned and stretched his limbs; his arms and face were a little sore from lying down for so long.

But he doesn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he feels surprisingly comfortable.

This seems to have two reasons,

On the one hand, the dream he just had was very light and airy. The soft, warm roasted marshmallows were not only sweet, but they also made his body temperature rise a little. Now he felt warm all over, just like being snuggled in a warm blanket on a winter's day.

He wondered if that was the reason, but he felt a slight stickiness on his face and forehead. Could it be from sweating?

He frowned, and unconsciously touched his cheek. To stay clean, he'd better use the restroom here later.

another reason is,

"Huh? Huh?!!" Sakurakoji Sai shouted in astonishment, his expression one of disbelief.

He was completely oblivious to his surroundings, which was quite different from his usual self.

The reason for this is that he discovered a huge change had occurred within his body!

Simply put, the treatment progress suddenly increased by about five percent!

This is the fundamental reason why he feels much more comfortable now than before he fell asleep.

His eyes were wide open, and he looked as shocked as if he had seen an alien!

Heavens above! What has happened?! He just took a nap, how did he suddenly receive so much progress as a reward?!

You have to understand that even though he worked so hard before, the rewards were given at a snail's pace, only one percent or even one-thousandth each time. To accumulate even one percent, he didn't know how much effort and how much work he would have to do!

It was only recently, with the surge in affection towards Shiina Mahiru and others, that his progress had accelerated so much. And now, he could increase it this much just by sleeping.

—Is he still dreaming?

Sakurakoji pinched the skin on the back of his hand hard—it was hilarious, because it was completely mixed with his original body sensation and he couldn't feel anything at all.

But since I can still feel the original pain, it can't be a dream, right?

To find out the reason, he looked at the only living person in the room besides himself, Hoshino Ai, who was standing to the side in fright.

"Um, Ai, did anything unusual happen while I was asleep?"

Hoshino Ai was startled by his shout, thinking that what she had done had been discovered, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

But faced with his words, she stood awkwardly in place, blushing and fanning herself with her palm, replying nonchalantly, "I don't know, I just woke up! What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing serious... but are you hot?"

"Huh? Hmm, hmm! The afternoon sun seems even stronger, and the temperature feels like it's risen a few degrees! It's a bit hot, hahaha..."

"I see. Come to think of it, I feel the same way. I think I was sweating when I was sleeping just now." Sakurakoji Saiyuu rested his chin on his hand and nodded in agreement.

"..." Hoshino Ai remained silent, but the color on her face brightened even more, thankfully the other party did not notice.

"Hmm...you really don't have any clues? If you know anything, please tell me." He was still unwilling to give up. This was a rare clue that could help him pass the game quickly, and he wanted to know the reason no matter what.

"Oh my god, this is really important to me!"