Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 81 12. "Gift"

The sound of the metal reed vibrating shook the air around it.

Kurokawa Mio walked into the room, closed the door casually, and threw the shark doll in her arms onto the bed. The cotton-filled dorsal fin trembled softly.

The face hiding behind the doll showed fatigue.

...So tired.

If it weren't for Masumi, I wouldn't wear shoes like this...

She leaned gently against the door, massaging her sore ankles with her fingertips, then slowly slid down her heels. When she lowered her head, her falling hair brushed across her collarbone.

The way the leather straps slide down the arch of the foot is like slow motion film.

pat-

The sound of high-heeled sandals hitting the ground was unusually loud in the quiet room.

As if she had unloaded some heavy burden, Kurokawa Mio sighed softly, kicked her shoes aside casually, and stepped on the floor barefoot. The slightly cool temperature made her toes curl up slightly.

The room was small, and after a few steps she fell on the bed, the doll pressing her eyeballs through her eyelids and her cheek against the shark.

Just when I was about to succumb to the temptation of sleep, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Just come in—"

A lazy voice came muffled through the doll.

After he finished speaking, the door hinge turned, and the light and shadow from the corridor slipped into the room through the gradually opening gap.

Masumi pushed the door halfway and walked in, closing it behind him. The room was shrouded in darkness and silence.

"Why don't you even turn on the lights?"

In the dark and quiet environment, his voice unconsciously became softer, creating a crack in the silence.

My fingers traced the wall and flipped the light switch. Perhaps because the bulb was old, it flickered for a moment before emitting a cheap glow.

The light flowed over the girl's toes curled up in the shadows, and the curved arc of her toes seemed to grasp the last ray of darkness.

"...Masumi?!"

The three simple and short sounds, from the drowsy tone of the first "ma", to the gradually clear-headed tone of the second "su", to the rising tone at the end of the last "mi", took less than a second.

The transformation of her voice from chaos to clarity is like the sea surface at sunrise.

"It's really Masumi, it's not a dream."

The next moment, Kurokawa Mio's messy hair and wide-open eyes suddenly moved closer, her long honey-gold hair scattered in front of her face, with a half-covered beauty.

"Ma~Cheng~ I'm so tired~"

With a weak voice, Kurokawa Mio said "I'm so tired" like a spoiled child and was about to hug Masumi, but Masumi dodged her easily.

"Since you're tired, just rest in bed and don't jump on me."

"Yeah." Kurokawa Mio nodded obediently, sat back on the edge of the bed, tilted her head and smiled: "Are you concerned about me?"

"That's it."

"Hey, thank you, Masumi. I'm so happy."

Almost at the moment when Masumi confirmed it, Kurokawa Mio expressed her joy frankly.

Her blonde hair had grown longer than when she was in Tokyo, and the ends of her hair sparkled in the light of the incandescent lamp. The night was as dark as ink, making her profile look even whiter.

No matter how many times he saw her, Masumi couldn't help but sigh that she was really beautiful.

However, the more this happened, the less he could feel at ease with their current relationship and maintain the status quo indefinitely.

In a daze, Kurokawa Mio suddenly raised her foot and touched Masumi's left knee through a thin layer of home clothes.

The round toes lightly touched the skin, and the nail polish was like a faded rose, spreading a translucent vermilion on the toes.

"Kurokawa..." Masumi hesitated and was about to protest when that snow-white, delicate foot suddenly rubbed towards the upper right...

Before touching the dangerous position, he quickly grabbed Kurokawa's slender ankle and moved it away, while changing the subject:

"I came to see you because I have something to give you."

"Give it to me?"

Kurokawa Mio opened her beautiful eyes wide with curiosity, and her feet, which were originally making teasing movements, suddenly stopped and were held in Masumi's hands, with her fingertips touching her delicate and soft soles.

Because I haven't touched the guitar strings for a long time, the calluses on my left fingertips have slowly faded away, leaving only the softness and warmth against my skin.

She couldn't help but half-close her eyes. Even if it was just the touch of skin, the rubbing of fingerprints and the warmth, it could still awaken the romantic feelings between the opposite sex.

"it is this."

Masumi loosened his grip and handed over the item in his other hand: "This is a souvenir I bought at the aquarium during the day."

"Masumi's gift..."

Kurokawa Mio took it with bright eyes, opened the package, and inside was a set of coral fleece blankets.

It's sea blue in color and has a cartoon shark pattern painted on it.

"Didn't you say something like... 'skin hunger' before?"

This blanket feels skin-friendly to the touch and because of the material, it will never be too cold.

And compared to shark dolls, it can be easily molded into the shape you like.

"When you need something to cuddle with, try this blanket."

The subtext is "So don't rush up and hug me all the time."

The reason why he didn't say it directly was that even if he said it, Kurokawa would probably selectively ignore it.

The only thing that is not within the scope of the promise "If it's Masumi, I'm willing to do anything for you" is the breakup, and the final right of interpretation belongs to Kurokawa Mio.

"There are rope buckles on the edge of the blanket, so you can wrap it up and use it as pajamas. It's better not to wear the black pajamas you wore before, it's too... easy to catch a cold." Masumi sighed.

"Yeah." Kurokawa Mio nodded vigorously, "I'll listen to Masumi."

"But it's summer now, it should be very hot if I put on a blanket..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a rustling sound.

Kurokawa Mio put down the coral fleece blanket, and with her slender hands, she grasped the collar of her dress on her shoulders. After losing her support, her pure white dress slid down her curvaceous figure.

Masumi immediately lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the tall shadow cast on the floor.

"Don't look down, Masumi. If you want to look, go ahead. And I'm wearing underwear underneath. Guess what color it is?"

"Just look up and you'll see the answer."

Ignoring the blatant teasing, Masumi shook his head and sighed, "Now that the gifts are delivered, I'll be leaving first."

"Hey - wait a minute." She anxiously pleaded, "I've changed. At least take a look before you leave."

After taking a look at the shadow, Masumi raised his head again, and Kurokawa Mio, wearing coral fleece pajamas, was reflected in his eyes.

Her figure is wrapped in a blanket, and her curves cannot be seen. The shark pattern is also a cute style, but paired with her cold face, even the cute style will be filtered into a high-end style.

But the next moment, she put on a cold face and acted gentle and gullible.

"How's it going? Does it look good?"

The blanket wrapped around her body was like the velvet shawl in "Othello", drawing an elegant arc in the air. Kurokawa Mio turned around on the spot as if to show off, and her slender toes danced lightly on the floor.

Masumi answered honestly, "It makes me feel more at ease than the pajamas I wore before."

"That's it."

Kurokawa Mio tilted her head slightly, smiling brightly. The coldness she showed towards outsiders disappeared completely, and her moist eyes looked obedient and soft.

If you disturb this smile, you will probably be called unromantic and heartless.

So Masumi just gave a wry smile and said, "Why are you so happy? It's not the first time I give you a gift."

"Happy! I'm always equally happy every time Masumi gives me a gift."

She reached her fingers out from under the blanket and lifted the hem. The length of the blanket was just enough to reveal her straight and slender calves and half of her plump thighs.

"I've been using the water bottle that Masumi gave me the first time."

"is it?"

Masumi looked away from her legs and saw an empty glass with a shark pattern on it sitting on the bedside table.

It was not a pair of cups, nor was it a customized gift. It was just bought from a convenience store. However, Kurokawa Mio kept it with great care and brought it from Tokyo to Kobe.

This made him feel that both she and the cup belonged to him.

Realizing that such a thought was dangerous, Masumi immediately suppressed the emotion. He shouldn't have tied Kurokawa to him and let her talent go to waste. This had always been his intention.

It is now and it will be in the future.

"Then I'll go back to the room first."

"OK, good night."

"Good night."

After closing the door to Kurokawa's room, Masumi went back to his own room, but only to grab a few things before stopping in front of Hanekawa's door again.

Before he could knock on the door, the girl's voice floated out from inside.

"Enter."

Pushing open the door, Haiyue sat on the bed leaning against the wall, her fingers sliding quickly across the screen, completely immersed in the world of mobile games. Even Masumi's arrival did not make her raise her focused gaze.

"how do you know?"

“Footsteps…”

"Really? Are your ears so sensitive?"

He was wearing soft, sound-absorbing slippers, and his footsteps were so light and thin as he walked along the wooden corridor that Masumi himself couldn't even notice them through the door.

"Not only... ears..."

Haiyue's lips curved up, revealing a faint smile: "My entire body... is very sensitive..."

"Don't say such weird things." Masumi sighed, even though he was the one who started talking weirdly in the first place, he felt sorry for that.

"it is true."

"For example, the nose... has a very sensitive sense of smell."

"Yeah." He nodded as if to add insult to injury, and remembered the way she sniffed around when they first met.

"And...and..."

The voice stopped abruptly and he didn't say anything further.

Seeing Haiyue's fair cheeks flushed slightly, Masumi put the plastic bag he was carrying on the bed: "This is for you."

"Huh?" Haiyue put down her phone, tilted her head slightly in confusion, and opened the bag. "Ah... It's the aquarium's... blind box..."

"Well, if you don't get what you want, you'll always feel regretful."

After all, the aquarium is not a place you go to often. Looking at Haiyue who had a lonely expression because of her unfulfilled expectations, Masumi thought about it and bought a few blind boxes as gifts for her.

But there is no guarantee that these blind boxes will contain jellyfish.

"Thank you... Masumi..."

Haiyue first thanked him, then slowly got out of bed and walked to the closet, rummaging through it, as if looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" Masumi asked.

"wallet."

"These blind boxes are my gifts to you, you don't have to pay." Masumi shook his head: "And didn't you only bring 400,000 yuan with you?"

"I recently bought a few more summer clothes. How much money do I have left? I need to go home before I spend it all, or my family will..."

"Me! I have money!"

Haiyue rarely raised her voice to interrupt him, turned around, and suddenly approached, saying anxiously: "Don't, don't chase me away!"

These two sentences seemed to have exhausted all her strength, and she then staggered over.

The stress response is like a jellyfish encountering its natural enemy, first retracting its tentacles and then extending them out in one breath.

The jellyfish girl spread out her long limbs and entangled Masumi tightly.

"Okay, okay." Masumi was shocked by her reaction and agreed repeatedly: "I understand, I won't chase you away! Let me go first."

"ensure……"

"What guarantee?"

"Mami's comics... the kind... where girls live in boys' rooms... promises..."

She spoke hesitantly and incoherently.

Her fair cheeks became no longer as translucent as a jellyfish, but as red as a cooked octopus.

Masumi reacted immediately, pressing her temples with a headache. Suddenly, she caught sight of the blind boxes scattered on the bed. As if grabbing a life-saving straw, she changed the subject and said, "Let's open the blind boxes."

“…Blind box?”

Haiyue was stunned when she heard this, then nodded vigorously at him and finally calmed down.

"Well, let's tear it down together."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, the two poured all the blind boxes in the plastic bag onto the bedding, a total of 10 boxes.

Masumi pulled a blind box out of the bag and opened it. "Mine was... Garden Eel, I didn't win."

I took a look at Haiyue and found that it was Anemone.

The third box is a seahorse, and then a seal, huh? Is a seal also considered a sea creature?

"I can swim...even if..."

Haiyue nodded firmly. It turned out that this was how she classified marine life.

She opened the blind box in her hand nimbly with both hands and frowned in distress.

"Another hidden dolphin." Masumi sighed, "I'm really lucky."

However, because my luck was too good, I could only draw the hidden version, but not the regular version I wanted. Can this still be considered good luck?

"Is this a jellyfish?" Masumi opened the seventh box and saw a cute marine creature on his fingertips, with a round outline, white color, and tentacles.

Haiyue's eyes lit up when she heard that, but when she saw the doll in his hand, they dimmed again. She shook her head and said, "That's... a squid..."

"No wonder the head is pointed."

Masumi put the squid aside. By this time, Haiyue had already opened two boxes, but there was no jellyfish.

Then there is only one box left.

Haiyue seemed to be deeply shocked. She handed the blind box in her hand to him listlessly and said listlessly: "Masumi... come and open it..."

"Oh."

Taking the blind box from her hand, Masumi inexplicably felt a heavy weight despite it being light. Perhaps it was because of the girl's last expectation, the sight of Haiyue piercing her hand felt a little painful.

"I opened?"

"Well……"

Haiyue frowned and said nothing.

Masumi closed his eyes as if making a resolution, and opened the blind box with determination——

"Well!"

He opened his eyes again when he heard the girl's voice.

Those blue eyes sparkled, and Haiyue couldn't help but get excited. Masumi looked down and understood why.

"Finally it's here, jellyfish."

Masumi handed the doll in his hand to Haiyue, who carefully took it with both hands, held it in his palms, and stared at it intently.

It was about the same size as the squid, but because it was a jellyfish, it was made translucent and shimmered slightly under the incandescent light.

The workmanship is visibly rough, and it is completely incomparable to the hidden dolphin with a smooth and round appearance and pearlescent luster.

"Congratulations, you finally got what you wanted."

"Um……"

Haiyue's originally relaxed eyebrows were slightly frowned again, as if she was struggling with something. She looked up at his face again, then gently placed it on Masumi's palm.

"To Masumi."

"Eh? For me?"

Masumi was stunned. Was the reason he frowned just now because he was worried about the painful parting?

"Yeah." Haiyue nodded nonchalantly.

"..."

"Thank you, I will keep it well." Masumi said softly.

Haiyue dodged his gaze and murmured, "... You don't have to keep it safe... It doesn't matter..."

"Ok?"

"nothing."

"That's it." Masumi nodded nonchalantly: "Then I'll go first. Go to bed early and don't stay up late playing with your phone."

"Good night."

He stood up from the bed and left, closing the door behind him.

"……Good night."

The door of the room was gently closed.

Haiyue exhaled quietly, opened her palms, and picked up the nine plastic dolls on the bed.

"..."

That jellyfish was so ugly. Although I wanted it very much before I got it, I felt it was boring after I got it.

Masumi seems to like it very much, so I'll give it to him.

"..."

There was silence for a long while, and the expression of Masumi with a frown on his face as he helped her open the blind box appeared in her mind.

Haiyue thought about it, lay down on the bed with her head tilted back, and raised her cell phone.

She turned on the front camera, pursed her lips, and forced out a very deliberate and charming smile.

Click!

This scene was frozen, and Haiyue looked at herself in the photo: her smile was stiff, her eyelids and lips twitched slightly, and her flattering expression was too unnatural.

Her cheeks flushed slightly with shyness.

Suddenly, an idea struck her.

I remember in Mami's comics...

Roll up the whites of my eyes a little bit... Well, I can't, my eyes feel dizzy.

As soon as he stuck out his tongue, he remembered the scene in the aquarium restaurant where Masumi clamped it with his fingers and he couldn't move, so he subconsciously retracted it.

Damn, that's such a hard expression to make.

Only the last move looks simple, stretching out both hands and making a "V" sign -

"Ugh!"

The phone lost its support and fell from mid-air, hitting her forehead hard, causing Haiyue to scream in pain.

While rubbing her forehead, she picked up her phone and saw the sent photos displayed on the chat interface.

——The girl's long flaxen hair spread out in graceful arcs on the sheets. Her face was panic-stricken, as if she had seen something terrible. She stretched out her hands at the same time... and made a "yeah" gesture?

The phone vibrated briefly and showed that it had been read.

Masumi: "What are you doing?"

Masumi: "Go to bed early."

Kurage: "Oh."

Kurage: "(A wilted jellyfish.jpg)"

Putting down the phone, Masumi sighed deeply.

He held the jellyfish between his fingers and held it up to the incandescent light above his head. The cheap plastic reflected a blue-green color in the light.
-
The innermost room on the third floor.

There were rustling sounds, suppressed breathing, and the sound of bodies rubbing against the mattress.

Kurokawa Mio rubbed the coral fleece blanket repeatedly.

No...

The blanket wasn't big enough, so I couldn't arrange it to look like Masumi.

Then... just show your head.

She roughly crumpled the blanket into a ball and immediately hugged it against her chest. She could hear the thumping of her own heartbeat and huddled up tightly to hide the high pressure on her chest.

　Thanks to Orange OMG for the tip to Kamiyo Rin, thanks to 17th's Black Cat for the tip, thanks for the subscription, monthly ticket and recommendation ticket, happy Lantern Festival
　　
　
(End of this chapter)