The Hikigaya couple's youthful love story is definitely not a problem.

How can you compare to me? The thickness alone is different, not to mention the ears, which can't be compared in terms of sensitivity.

Rumi pouted but didn't refute i, after all, what she said was true.

However, even without refuting it, Liu Mei still needs to protest—to show that her liking to shout out loud is a genuine expression of her personality.

and. .

Having come up with a reason, Liu Mei didn't rush to explain.

He slowly exhaled all the air from his lungs into Hachiman's ear, making his waist involuntarily soften, before continuing: "Don't you like it? Or do you prefer the kind of guy who just rolls over, doesn't react at all after a round, like a dead frog? If you like that kind, I can try my best, but sometimes it's too comfortable and I really can't help it. At that time, just pretend you didn't hear me."

Rumi whispered very quietly in Hachiman's ear.

What's the point of that? He rolled his eyes. In Hachiman's opinion, this kind of thing is only interesting when the husband and wife cooperate. Otherwise, how could humans have developed so many positions?

If studying in the US really is like a dead frog, only ever turning belly up.

Hachiman might as well just buy something online and do it himself. After all, Rumi is a person who weighs over 100 pounds, so how could she possibly have something as convenient as a small cup that can be controlled with one hand?

If you don't find it interesting, then behave yourself and shut up with that disgusting voice. Otherwise, go play by yourself and stop bothering me.

He keeps pressing his head on my lap every day, doesn't my leg go numb? I'm used to arguing with Hachiman, and since we got married, all sorts of little conflicts have never stopped.

However, it is precisely because of this that the relationship between the people seems very good. Otherwise, if they continued to argue at this frequency, couples who are not very loving would have already started a cold war.

Once he calmed down, Hachiman not only shut his mouth but even closed his eyes.

Silently, Hachiman pressed his head against the angle formed by Rumi's warm abdomen and thighs, burying his entire face in the girl's soft flesh. Hachiman instantly became a dead man.

Feeling the scorching breath spraying on her body from time to time, Rumi didn't have any good solutions. She could only frown slightly and endure it, continuing to use cotton swabs and her poor hair to care for Hachiman's ears. Rumi also had to offer her little mouth from time to time. After patiently playing like this for about twenty minutes, Rumi finally couldn't stand the cold atmosphere anymore.

I have something I want to tell you, but you don't need to respond, just listen.

Rumi was somewhat annoyed because Hachiman really didn't say anything, but in the end, she had no choice but to take the initiative to speak.

Who told her she couldn't stand that desolate atmosphere? Hachiman, that despicable guy, always targets her weaknesses, making the girl defeat herself in the end so he can reap the benefits.

He gave a soft "hmm" in response, but Hachiman kept his face buried in Rumi's belly, as if nothing else could attract his attention except for the warm, white skin in front of him.

Suddenly, I really wanted to bite Hachiman's ear hard and see if he could still be as calm as he is now when his ear bleeds.

However, no action was ultimately taken because Rumi felt sorry for Hachiman.

Biting his ear until it bleeds might allow Hachiman to recover quickly and forget the pain, but Rumi doesn't know how long she'll be tormented by self-blame and guilt.

Not intending to give Hachiman any more reason to order her around, Rumi could only suppress this impulse and keep it to herself, considering it as revenge against Hachiman.

Self-deception can sometimes be effective. Thinking about Hachiman's reaction after he was in pain, Rumi's mood improved a lot, and even her tone became lighter.

And just thinking about what was about to be said made the little devil inside Liu Mei's heart cheer with excitement.

She was going to talk about Yukino, and originally planned to tell Hachiman the news of Yukino's return to Japan, but after being provoked like this, Rumi felt it was better to keep Hachiman in suspense.

Since he likes to bully people every day, and now that he finally has something that makes Hachiman uneasy, Rumi is naturally going to cherish it.

Moreover, Yukino's feelings for Hachiman are still there, and she might tell him the truth at any time.

If we don't use up this opportunity to tease Hachiman soon, we might not be able to use it again after a while.

Ok.

Dragging out the last syllable, Rumi deliberately acted as if she was deep in thought, and after a long while, she said in an unusually conflicted tone, "Yukino told me that she'll be back soon, and she might take me out for a meal, so I'm thinking about whether I should take a short break."

It's true that Yukino is coming back, and it's also true that she wants to take a break.

I've been spending more and more time studying in the US lately, and I really need a chance to relax.

Taking Yukino back to give herself a break is undoubtedly a great choice, because she is really good at relieving stress.

If you let someone studying in the US do it on their own, they'll just be wasting time and not relaxing at all, and sometimes they'll even exhaust themselves both physically and mentally.

Therefore, Yukino is extremely important. Compared to what Rumi has experienced, what Yukino has experienced is nothing. It is conceivable that if she uses Yukino's relaxation method, she will probably release all the pressure and fatigue from studying for more than ten hours a day for the past month.

To face the rest of my studies with a better mental state.

However, Hachiman was unaware of Rumi's intentions. The moment he heard Yukino's name, he reacted and sprang off Rumi's lap, almost causing Rumi, who was carefully cleaning his ears, to accidentally pierce them with a tremor.

You said Yukino is coming back soon? That means you've known her whereabouts all along, ever since she disappeared after our wedding day—until today, you've known exactly where she is. Hachiman stared intently at Rumi, and Hachiman's appearance inexplicably frightened Rumi, as if she were being watched by some strange wild beast.

Ah, she's been talking to me from the very beginning.

I assumed you knew that too.

She stammered her explanation, but Rumi's pitiful appearance was so weak that even she couldn't convince herself, let alone the shrewd Hachiman.

...He didn't show any intention of blaming Rumi. Hachiman just clicked his tongue for no reason and then calmly lay back down on Rumi's lap. Hachiman knew very well that this was not actually Rumi's fault.

Although the girl had her own selfish reasons and didn't want to tell Hachiman about Yukino, that's only natural and there's no need to dwell on it.

Ultimately, this matter will come down to Yukino. If she is willing to tell him her whereabouts, then no matter how Rumi tries to hide it, it will all be in vain.

But in the end, Hachiman was unaware of this, which means that Yukino had no intention of revealing her whereabouts to Hachiman.

Even the person involved isn't saying anything, so blaming Liu Mei for not speaking out now seems far-fetched.

The rational Hachiman didn't want to make Rumi unhappy because of Yukino's situation. He believed that the two of them should resolve their own issues, just as Yukino and Rumi resolved their own issues.

Moreover, Hachiman wasn't in a hurry. Since Shinki and Yuumi were both there, Yukino was destined not to escape.

Instead of rushing to ask, it's better to let Yukino come to us herself.

Hachiman can ask her what's been going on lately, isn't that better than asking Rumi? As for Rumi saying she and Yukino are going out to play, that's fine too.

Hachiman was actually hoping to go out to America more often, otherwise, staying at home studying like crazy every day would eventually ruin his health.

It's good that she's willing to be proactive and ambitious while studying in the US, but that doesn't mean she has to spend that much time every day.

Hachiman has never advocated fighting a war of attrition. Back then, whether it was him or Kotobuki, they actually studied when they were supposed to study and played when they were supposed to play. In fact, since neither of them had any great ambitions—they just wanted to get into any university—they spent much more time playing than studying.

Seeing how hard she'd been working during her month-long stay in America, Hachiman had long wanted to kick her out and send her to play in Yizhou.

It's just that this matter has been delayed because there hasn't been a good opportunity or a good reason. Now that Yukino is back and Rumi is also interested in going out, it would be great to give her this opportunity to have some fun.

He immediately expressed his encouragement, and Hachiman's kind and gentle expression even made Rumi instinctively suspect that she had fallen into some of Hachiman's schemes again.

However, after asking indirectly for a long time, Rumi discovered that Hachiman really just wanted her to go out and relax, and had even prepared the necessary money. She was immediately moved and gave Hachiman a solid kiss.

Chapter 2

Hachiman undoubtedly supports Rumi's idea of ​​going on a trip with Yukino for a while.

But while support and understanding are important, Hachiman still has his own ideas.

For example, he's been thinking about Yukino lately. Is he really missing Yukino? Of course not entirely. There's no doubt that Hachiman can never sever his feelings for Yukino. However, Hachiman can choose to suppress his emotions to the limit, bringing them to a state close to zero.

The reason why Hachiman often thought about Yukino during this period was because he understood the possible changes that might occur in Yukino.

Has the girl truly let go of everything? Hachiman doesn't think so.

If she has truly let go, there's absolutely no need for her to live like a completely different person.

She could have continued living her life as usual, without caring about Hachiman or Rumi, and just focusing on her own life.

However, Yukino did not do that. Instead, she chose a path that seemed very strange and went against all her previous habits.

In Hachiman's view, this represented something quite unusual, because Yukino's reaction was very much like the stress response after suffering a great trauma. Her body instinctively controlled herself not to follow the old path, and to avoid the negative emotions that would arise from it.

Rather than saying that Yukino's behavior was a change after seeing through things, it would be more accurate to say that it was a kind of indulgence after giving up.

Considering Yukino's physical condition, Hachiman believes that Yukino is numbing herself by experiencing things she has never done before to gain a sense of satisfaction.

This is exactly what Hachiman wanted to tell Rumi. He hoped that Rumi could keep an eye on Rumi while she was playing with Yukino, and that she absolutely could not be allowed to become self-destructive and indulgent. Otherwise, if Rumi developed such a mindset, it would probably be too late by the time Yukino regretted it.

The caregiver who stayed in the US might not be of much use, but at least it can give him a heads-up.

After all, Hachiman himself currently has no way to contact Yukino, and Yukino would never give him the opportunity to do so.

To understand why Hachiman was so certain, we need to go back to a month and a half ago.

That day, after the wedding, Yukino was so drunk that she needed someone to take her home.

With Haruno busy discussing business with Rumi's father and Rumi also drunk, Hachiman had no choice but to split up with his sister. One of them took the drunken bride home, while the other naturally had to safely take the equally drunk Yukino back home.

For Yukino's safety, Hachiman chose to take Yukino back himself, while Komachi took Rumi, the bride.

After all, Yukino's home was too far from the wedding venue, and Hachiman was really worried about letting his sister take Yukino back.

Komachi usually has a quirky and mischievous appearance, but she is also a weak woman who can't even kill a chicken. She also brought along Yukino, who has no ability to resist and just follows Hachiman slowly behind with just a few words.

Such a combination is too eye-catching, and the social environment in Japan is so bad. In order to prevent both the younger sister and Yukino from being in danger at the same time, it is better for Hachiman to escort Yukino.

In reality, these are all insignificant details. After all, what made Hachiman deliberately ignore Yukino's true intentions was that Hachiman stripped Yukino naked, gave her a bath, poured a cup of hot milk and placed it on Yukino's bedside table, and then turned around and left.

To be honest, Yukino didn't really react at first, since this kind of thing is really rare.

The woman was brought home drunk, appearing weak and helpless, but the man not only didn't reveal his bestial nature, he also allowed her to experience true gentlemanly conduct.

But Yukino didn't want that kind of gentlemanly behavior! She just wanted to experience what it felt like to be taken care of by Hachiman.

As a result, after Hachiman made such a move, Yukino herself became unhappy.

Hachiman couldn't do anything, so he could only sigh helplessly and silently share his thoughts with Rumi.

At once...

With her head tilted to the side, Rumi stared at Hachiman in a very cute way, as if to say, "What are you saying? I don't understand."

What? You mean just like that? Don't you think this suggestion is outrageous? Hachiman stared blankly at Rumi, completely baffled as to what she was thinking.

It's alright... After all, I'll need to trouble her a lot in the future, so keeping an eye on her for you during this period is fine.

After spending a little time thinking it over, Rumi didn't change her mood and sweetly spoke to Hachiman.

Chapter 2

So, Hachiman thinks my current state is the last act of indulgence, so he made you watch over me? Yukino asked Rumi curiously, while simultaneously pondering what Hachiman really meant.

The indulgence Hachiman speaks of is definitely not the kind of indulgence in matters of emotion or sex, but rather that her decisions are more capricious than before, which is why she seems somewhat indulgent.

They were even less concerned about the consequences.

Biting her straw with some distress, Yukino thought that if she and Hachiman were on good terms right now, she would probably be happy because of Hachiman's extremely meticulous observation.

Yes. For example, Hachiman can already take off her clothes, give her a bath, put a cup of hot milk on the bedside table, and then turn around and leave.