area51novel Page 135
Page 135
Some young ladies, who had changed into their swimsuits in advance, were showing off their enviable figures without any restraint.
Yu Mukai's expression changed several times. He looked at Ryoko Ayashima beside him and hurriedly said, "Um, I didn't bring a swimsuit."
“I’ve already bought it for Yu-kun.” Ryoko Arishima picked up her backpack. “I always remember Yu’s size.”
“But, I…” Yu Mukai tried to find an excuse to decline, as his admired senior, Maki Hojo, was at home.
He wasn't stupid; he could sense that Hojo Maki-senpai also had some affection for him.
"Yu, don't misunderstand, I don't mean to get back together or anything like that." A hint of disappointment appeared on Ryoko Arishima's face. "After all, there are some places you can't go to alone. My female friends all have boyfriends and can't go with me, and my male friends can't go to certain places with me... So, Yu is the only one left. Have I caused you any trouble?"
After she finished speaking, she looked up at Yu Mukai, holding two tickets she had already bought in her hand.
When Mukai Yu felt her gaze fixed on him, he quickly turned his head away and said, "No...no."
"That's great." Ryoko Arishima patted her chest. "I thought it would cause trouble for Yutaka Mukai."
With a complicated expression, Yu Mukai was passively pulled into the water park, watching Ryoko Arishima change into her swimsuit and come out of the changing room.
She was wearing a coat, and when she walked up to Yu Mukai, she gently pulled it open to reveal the style underneath.
That was a slightly sexier style than regular swimwear.
Ryoko Arishima blushed and twirled in front of him: "Does it look good?"
"Hmm." Yu Mukai lowered his head slightly, not daring to look directly at him.
Few men can resist the idea of their ex-girlfriend suddenly becoming sexy.
"Let's go." Ryoko Arishima took his hand.
Yu Mukai felt that their behavior had gone beyond that of ordinary friends, but he couldn't refuse.
The two played many activities together, including combination slides, rafting, water trampolines, surfing, and water polo. One activity after another gradually drew them in, making them forget their worries and fully enjoy the fun.
The two of them had smiles on their faces when they came out of the water park.
Ryoko Arishima clasped her hands together restlessly, her glistening skin still damp with water, her long hair clinging to her skin, exuding a pure yet alluring charm: "I'm so happy. Coming to the water park in the summer was definitely the right decision. It's like having a wonderful date."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Yu Mukai and asked, "Yu, do we look like we're on a date?"
"Ah..." Yu Mukai was taken aback and quickly said, "This isn't a date."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize he had been too direct and lowered his head slightly.
Disappointment flashed in Ryoko Arishima's eyes, but she quickly looked up at Yu Mukai and said, "Yu, I love you, so please consider dating me."
Chapter 169 Is it because of me?
Upon hearing Ryoko Arishima's sudden confession, Yu Mukai was completely stunned, standing there at a loss for words.
“I’ve been waiting for Yu Mukai to say these words to me.” Ryoko Arishima put her hands behind her back. “I haven’t heard it for three years, so today I’m going to say it myself. I don’t want to miss out again.”
"I..." Yu Mukai opened his mouth, wanting to refuse, but he was currently admiring his senior, Maki Hojo.
Ryoko Arishima suddenly reached out and touched his lips: "No need to rush to answer, can you think about it carefully? Yu knows, right? It takes courage for a girl to say something like that."
Yu Mukai's words of refusal were choked back down his throat.
"Thank you." Ryoko Arishima bowed deeply to him. "You don't need to see me off."
She said she quickly flagged down a taxi, waved to Jing Yu, and got in.
As Yu Mukai watched the taxi disappear down the street, he pondered between his admired senior and his ex-girlfriend. Who should he choose?
On the other side, Shirakawa Natsu was sitting in the jeep, fiddling with a pair of listening headphones.
Thanks to Huang Mao's photography skills, he gained a basic understanding of covert photography and knew where to hide cameras without being detected.
But because he was only at the beginner level and his target was the experienced Hojo Maki, he didn't dare to hide the camera at all.
They had no choice but to settle for second best and use easier-to-conceal listening devices.
Once I have enough points, I definitely want to upgrade my Huang Mao photography skills to intermediate level so I can become a qualified Huang Mao.
Intelligence gathering capabilities are extremely important.
I parked the Jeep on the side of the road, put on my listening headphones, and listened to the footsteps coming through them.
It was Hojo Maki walking around in the living room. The listening effect was very good; as long as she was within the living room range, it could be heard.
It's truly astonishing how fast technology is advancing these days.
"Ring ring ring!" Suddenly, a cell phone rang, startling Shirakawa Natsu almost causing her to drop her earphones.
Calm down, take out your phone, and you'll see it's Ryoko Shima calling.
"Hey, how did the date go?" Shirakawa Natsu asked after the call connected.
“His reaction was just as you expected.” Ryoko Arishima’s voice carried a hint of bitterness: “Mukai-kun was very gentle. Because I had bought a ticket, he didn’t refuse me. Because he didn’t want me to be sad, he let me hold his hand. Because he brought up our past relationship, he didn’t immediately refuse. I felt like I was taking advantage of Mukai-kun’s gentleness.”
Shirakawa Natsumi pouted. What could he say? He felt that this was not gentleness at all, but rather the typical indecisiveness of a Japanese male protagonist.
He can't let go of anyone; on one hand, he's unwilling to give up on the senior he admires, and on the other hand, he's unwilling to reject his ex-girlfriend who comes looking for him.
Using the excuse of not wanting to hurt the other person, he enjoys the girls' jealousy and rivalry for his affections.
That's definitely the behavior of a scumbag.
"Are you planning to give up?" Shirakawa Natsumi asked over the phone. "If I'm not mistaken, Mukai-kun probably prefers the senior he admires."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before Ryoko Arishima's voice came through: "I respect his choice."
“I understand.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded. “Then let’s do it the day after tomorrow. I think he’ll have an answer by then.”
Hojo Maki's birthday is the 16th, and her flight is on the 17th, so there must be a result the day after tomorrow.
"Th...thank you." Ryoko Arishima's voice was slightly choked with emotion. "If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have had the courage."
"Don't rush to thank me. Perhaps you'll be happier if you just slowly forget him." Shirakawa Natsu sighed softly, suddenly feeling a little envious of Mukai Yu. He had a senior who liked him and a girlfriend who loved him—a typical harem manga protagonist.
Unfortunately, he was destined never to achieve a harem ending.
“I have never regretted it.” Ryoko Arishima’s voice was free and easy: “If I had ended it like that, I would have had regrets for the rest of my life. Now I can say to myself, Ryoko Arishima, you have tried your best, you are the best.”
"Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease," Shirakawa Natsu said with a smile. He was quite afraid that his relationship with the innocent girl, Arishima Ryoko, would turn out to be strange.
In typical storylines, helping a girl pursue a boy usually leads to them ending up in a sexual relationship.
Then, while doing it, he helped her plan how to win over the male lead.
After hanging up the phone, Shirakawa Natsu put on her earphones. She heard footsteps on the other end; it was Mukai Yu returning.
Shirakawa Natsu immediately put on her headphones and began to listen attentively.
Hojo Maki sat on the living room sofa, wearing her daytime clothes, holding a half-empty glass of wine in her hand.
"Sister Maki," Yu Mukai greeted her awkwardly.
"Hmm," Hojo Maki responded, then began drinking her sake, showing no intention of continuing the conversation.
Feeling rebuffed, Mukai Yu turned and went back to his room.
Sitting in the jeep, Shirakawa Natsu listened to the sounds coming from inside the room and nodded to herself, confirming that it was just as she had planned.
After learning about his ambiguous relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Hojo Maki stopped bothering him.
Shirakawa Natsu spent a long afternoon chatting with Hojo Maki about random things, subtly revealing his desire to get closer to Aunt Maki.
He wanted to cultivate an image of himself as someone who admired her; after all, if Mukai Yu could do it, why couldn't he?
However, Hojo Maki cleverly avoided them all.
Shirakawa Natsu was also helpless; his little schemes were no match for the police officer's level of skill.
Celebrating her birthday tomorrow is my last chance.
Just as he was about to put down his headphones, he suddenly frowned, and heard the sound of Yu Mukai's footsteps coming through the headphones.
He had already gone into the room, but he came out again.
Hojo Maki put down her wine glass and turned to look at Mukai Yu.
“I… I received a call from my ex-girlfriend today, and we went to the water park together.” Yu Mukai took a deep breath and said quickly, “She confessed her feelings to me. I didn’t reject her because I felt that rejecting her immediately would hurt her. However, I will reject her at the right time because I cannot give her happiness.”
Inside the jeep.
"?" Shirakawa Natsu, wearing headphones, looked completely bewildered. What was Mukai Yu doing? Was this some kind of self-destruction scene from an anime?
This kind of thing would be incredibly awkward in real life. And so far, there hasn't been any ambiguous interaction between him and Hojo Maki. Is he just overthinking things, or am I just out of touch with these guys' thinking?
On the other end of the earpiece, Hojo Maki didn't speak either, but frowned slightly as she looked at Mukai Yu, seemingly wondering why he was saying such strange things.
Yuya Mukai was caught off guard and quickly lowered his head: "I...I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, I said strange things, please don't mind."
After saying that, he turned and ran away quickly; if there had been a crack in the ground, he would have crawled into it.
Hojo Maki frowned as she watched his retreating figure, seemingly deep in thought.
Time comes on the 15th.
Shirakawa Natsu came to increase her friendship level very early, citing her schedule as the reason.
"Thank you, Xia." Hojo Maki looked at the densely packed itinerary in her hand. It included detailed plans for everything from which bus to take to the hotel after she got off the bus to recommendations for snacks. Almost everything that might happen had been planned in detail.
A complex expression flashed in her eyes.
Shirakawa Natsu smiled shyly, scratched the back of her head, and said apologetically, "After all, Aunt Maki is in a foreign country, and this is all I can do. I'll think about it again tonight to make sure I haven't forgotten anything."
He had faint dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze looked somewhat tired.
Of course, most people wouldn't notice these small details, but none of them escaped Hojo Maki's eyes.
Hojo Maki smiled, then suddenly reached out and patted his head, saying, "It's already very detailed. Besides, if you plan everything too meticulously when traveling, you lose the joy of the trip."
"Mmm." Shirakawa Natsumi was patted on the head and seemed a little shy, lowering her head slightly in embarrassment.
"Besides, you're my daughter's friend," Hojo Maki said with a smile. "I see you just like I see my son. Although I only have two daughters, if I had children, they would definitely be as well-behaved as you."
Shirakawa Natsumi's lips twitched; he knew Hojo Maki would suddenly say something like that.
It means that he is treated like a son, so there will be no romantic feelings involved, implying that he should give up this unrealistic idea as soon as possible.
He suddenly thought of taking the opportunity to recognize her as his godmother, since such a mature and beautiful godmother seemed even more exciting.
Of course, these are just thoughts.
Hojo Maki was just making up an excuse; if he actually asked to acknowledge her as his mother, she would immediately turn hostile.
Shirakawa Natsu chuckled dryly. He couldn't possibly give up just because of a few words, especially since tomorrow was the last day.
Shirakawa Natsu didn't see Mukai Yu today; he seemed to have been hiding in his room the whole time.
I don't know if he's thinking about Ryoko Arishima, or if he's too ashamed to show his face because Taisha died yesterday.
That evening, Shirakawa Natsu reluctantly left Hojo Maki's house.
The difficulty of winning over a mature married woman is simply outrageous. After two days of trying, Hojo Maki still doesn't show him any interest and maintains a very stable distance, like a friend's mother.
"Am I really not as handsome as Yuu Mukai?" Shirakawa Natsu took out her phone to look at herself, not out of narcissism.
In terms of looks, he's not the kind of handsome that's unparalleled throughout history, but he's no less handsome than those good-looking celebrities. Even without dressing up, he's still a pretty and clean-cut guy.
If the fox spirit's looks are 100 points and Mikoto's handsomeness is 95 points, then his looks are at least 85 points or higher.
He drove to a roadside tea restaurant, had dinner, and then got back into his jeep to continue listening through his headphones.
If you try to play tricks, you can't fool Hojo Maki at all.
Therefore, the information gap is his only advantage.
Hojo Maki has a habit of drinking in the evenings. She poured herself half a glass of wine and sat back down on the sofa.
Not long after, Yu Mukai came out of the room to get the sweeping tools. When he saw her, he bowed to greet her and then went back.
"Would you like to have a drink?" Hojo Maki suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Xiang Jingyu was taken aback. Holding the broom, he stood there hesitating for a few seconds before carefully sitting down on the sofa. He only sat on the bottom halfway, and his hands were nowhere to go, all of which showed that he was very nervous at the moment.
"Have you thought about how to treat your ex-girlfriend?" Hojo Maki poured him a quarter glass of wine.
“I…I will refuse her,” Yu Mukai said hastily.
Hojo Maki glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, picked up her wine glass and took a sip, then rested one hand on the sofa, her long, beautiful legs crossed: "Because of me?"