I really don't want to be reborn.

My younger sister's muffled voice came from behind me: "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet, what about you?"

"Eating now, with friends."

Kyosuke's expression was strange: "With friends? At this hour? If you don't go home early tonight, you might run into bad people. Kirino, listen to me."

"Hmph, this place is full of bad people, isn't it lively?"

He listened carefully and said irritably, "Okay, I can confirm that you're squatting on the sofa watching TV."

"Ah, you saw right through me."

Kirino was in a bad mood, and even after being exposed, her tone remained unchanged. After ten seconds of silence, she slowly asked, "You... are you home alone?"

Kyosuke glanced at the busy figure in the kitchen, and mumbled a reply after a moment's thought: "Mm."

What are you planning to eat tonight?

"Instant noodles and bread."

The younger sister remained silent, neither confirming nor denying: "..."

"Hey, don't think of me as so miserable. I try to keep things simple when I'm out here alone. If all else fails, I can just eat out. Don't worry about me."

For some reason, he subconsciously concealed the fact that Kasumigaoka was going to stay there. An urgent feeling urged him to change the subject: "I'm so sorry, Kirino. I've caused Kuroneko trouble this time. I can't let her get away with it if I don't want to trouble her again."

"but……"

"It's okay, I can take care of my own breakfast and dinner. Now that I've finished writing the manuscript, I'll have some free time, so don't worry about it."

"Alright then, I'll talk to the black cat..."

Kirino was unwilling: "If I had known, I should have pestered Mom to let you come home. Why have you been living outside all this time?"

He listened to his sister's rambling, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Finally, Kirino asked softly, "Can I come to your place this weekend?"

Kyosuke's brow twitched. He felt that there was almost lust in her voice when she spoke, so he could only nod hesitantly: "No problem."

A face appeared before him.

"Well!"

Startled, Kyosuke hung up the phone and complained irritably, "Kasumigaoka, you almost scared me to death!"

The girl chuckled mischievously, too lazy to ask who he was talking to, and held the spatula with an air of authority: "Where's the salad dressing? And should I put vinegar in the ribs?"

"No, I'm basically not jealous."

"...I don't like it either."

She lowered her head, her heart filled with sorrow, yet she had to force a smile—a strange expression.

"Like a bright red flower suddenly flying onto a bare, leafless branch."

-

Xiao Hong's "The Mute Old Man"

------

The plot progresses a bit slowly, I think so too—actually, to be precise, there weren't many updates before the release, but it got better after the release.

I always write Kazaoka Mari as Kazaoka Asami—I have such a deep impression of that senior who lost her head, I'm really sorry.

Please give me your support, I'll appreciate anything you give me.

Let's go eat!

Chapter Sixteen is all done in the name of friendship...

"The ribs taste really good, great!"

Kyosuke Kosaka said it this way, without using any elegant or interesting metaphors; it was very straightforward, which made it much less sophisticated.

The girl did her best and received only a lukewarm compliment, which fell short of her high expectations, making her very unhappy: "I always feel like you're being so indifferent, are you trying to provoke me into becoming your cook for a long time?"

Yeah.

Kyosuke Kosaka made no secret of the fact that seeing her felt like seeing a ten-thousand-yen bill on the street—a wonderful feeling.

The ambiguity, which the deliciousness of food could not match, swung violently between the two like a pendulum.

"What kind of praise do you want? At my current level, I can only hold beautiful words in my mouth, sucking on them like candy, letting them circulate between my brain and heart, coursing through my veins, but I can't express them well."

Well, after all, in the field of novel writing, Kyosuke Kousaka hasn't reached the level of a master. Although he's a top student, he's not a genius in that area.

Not a genius, just a talented person is fine.

"Did Hrabal say that? I remember he also said that Jesus was a playboy and I was an old bachelor with incomplete glands."

Kyosuke looked at her with utmost seriousness and said with utmost seriousness, "I don't want to be a bachelor, and I especially don't want to be an old bachelor."

The girl got up to clear the dishes, her voice soft: "I understand..."

I have no idea what the two of them are talking about.

After eating, he went to take a shower. This time, he figured out the pattern of the water heater's ventilation and took a comfortable hot shower. While he was wiping himself down, he heard Kasumigaoka knocking on the glass door of the bathroom.

"Throw the clothes out; I remember there's a dry cleaner not far away."

Kyosuke Kosaka peeked out from under the door: "Dry cleaning shop? Isn't there a communal washing machine in the hallway?"

"Um……"

She rarely showed a look of shame: "I don't know how to use it, my mom usually washes it."

Kyosuke opened his mouth and sighed slowly, "Yes, I understand. Washing machines are indeed not easy to operate; they require a lot of technology."

She could easily tell he was mocking her, and glanced at him sideways: "Or should I help you wash them? I know how to hand wash, even underwear is no problem."

Lying again!

"Never mind then, leave the laundry to me."

As expected, she was rejected. Shi Yu's beautiful red eyes flickered, and her long eyelashes curled up triumphantly.

She sat to one side waiting for him to come out, stretched, and her whole body formed a perfect arc, a perfectly curved and alluring shape.

The voice seemed to have a hint of honey in it: "Okay, I'll learn tomorrow, can you let me off the hook for today?"

That's incredibly ambiguous.

Love is like playing basketball; you need to have offense and defense, and sometimes you even need to use feints.

"..."

The boy in the bathroom had a strange expression and didn't know what to say. After a comfortable shower, he came out and saw her with her back to him, bending over to pick up the sheets that had fallen on the floor.

"Does this need to be washed too?"

"Yes, I'm a little bit of a germaphobe."

Kyosuke didn't speak, his deep gaze fixed on her back. Her rounded figure was outlined by black pantyhose, which gleamed strangely under the light.

He was experiencing a tsunami inside him, but he kept it quiet and didn't let her know.

Only the bath towel wrapped around his waist could convey his feelings.

The girl turned around and was startled by him. A man's bare upper body always made a woman feel weak all over. The heat rising from the soles of her feet traveled through her lower abdomen to her face.

It was warm, and her fair and flawless cheeks had gained a touch of pink.

A teenager's body has clearly defined pectoral and abdominal muscles, but it's not as intimidating as an adult's. The cinched waist makes the shoulders appear wider and the waist slimmer, which is very attractive in her aesthetic sense.

He gestured with his biceps: "Not bad, right?"

"You pervert, go put your clothes on."

They began their uneventful nighttime lives, some doing homework, some writing, occasionally glancing up at each other.

I won't say anything, and neither will you.

Both far and near.

Now, please allow me to speak as a friend...

…………

He was lying on his desk.

Kirino Kousaka stared at the bottom of the blackboard. Although it was a newly established Sakura Academy, she felt lately that there were mottled marks everywhere.

There's a surreal feeling, like stepping into another world.

She lay there quietly, doing nothing, her mind filled with the things she had done to her brother in the hospital ward not long ago.

A kiss is a wonderful feeling.

She felt a lot, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She just felt as if time itself had frozen, until Kasumigaoka Utaha pushed the door open and came in.

The woman's expression at that moment...

It must be very painful, right?

Kirino wasn't feeling particularly joyful. As the morning sunlight streamed into the classroom through the window, she opened her fingers and gently touched her lips.

It's subtle, yet warm.

A faint smile played on her lips. Kirino felt very close to her brother; the two siblings were especially close, like ninety-nine being as close as one hundred.

That kind of relationship is like fire; when you put them together, it's warm, even a little scorching.

But it also feels like it's been drenched in water, all wet.

As for what's wet?

The girl, who had only a vague understanding of male-female sex, rubbed her legs together, her face gradually warming up in the sunlight.

Haven't seen him for a few days?

Three days, a week?

Or a long time?