My love index is at its maximum.

Five minutes later, the two, both still feeling the effects of their intense exercise, walked out of the room.

Hoshino Hanami straightened her disheveled clothes, put her sunglasses back on, and left the gymnasium.

Before leaving, the older sister, having vented her anger, gave her naughty younger brother a delightful and captivating smile, a perfect smile that was sure to leave a lasting impression.

Tazaki Tsukasa watched her leave with a dumbfounded look on his face.

He's perfectly fine.

His gums were bleeding, half of his face was swollen, and there was a bruise around his left eye.

He was completely fine, and it didn't hurt at all. He was even able to limp back to table 10 for the Group A match all by himself.

Inside the gymnasium, Kuriyama Sakura sat on the edge of the Kitagawa students' seats, with Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro" on her lap and two cups of iced lemon tea beside her bent legs.

"I'm back." Tsukasa Tazaki covered his face and sat down next to her.

Kuriyama Sakura looked up in surprise and said, "You actually managed to come back alive?"

Tsukasa Tazaki slightly opened his hand, allowing her to see his face clearly.

"Pfft..."

Kuriyama Sakura quickly covered her face with a book, laughing heartily.

"Ignorant." Tsukasa Tazaki rolled his eyes at her and said contemptuously, "The fact that she's willing to hit me means she still cares about me, which gives me a chance to win her back! How could someone like you, who's never been in a relationship, understand this!"

Kuriyama Sakura casually flicked her ponytail, revealing a bright smile: "I understand, I'll make Hanami-nee pay more attention to you."

?

Tsukasa Tazaki: "..."

“I’m your only member…” he said, struggling to speak.

Unfortunately, the minister didn't care about him at all.

……

Under the single-elimination format of the Yulongqi Tournament, the entire competition proceeds very quickly, with half of the teams being eliminated in a single round.

That afternoon, the third and fourth rounds of the competition were held one after another.

The men's table number 10 and the women's table number 8 continued to be the focus of the entire arena. The two genius swordsmen from Kitagawa Private Academy in Tokyo successively completed the feat of defeating twenty opponents in one go, drawing wave after wave of cheers from the audience that did not subside for a long time.

Especially the young swordsman named Tsukasa Tazaki on men's number 10.

His attacks were decisive, and his swordplay was unpredictable.

Since the start of the competition, he has not conceded a single point to his opponents, and he has scored every point by slapping their faces, earning him the nickname "Face-Slapping Warrior" online.

What puzzled the audience was that he hadn't taken off his mask since the afternoon, and he had completely ignored the feelings of his classmate, Kikawa, who came from the same school, which was somewhat regrettable.

Tazaki Tsukasa didn't bother with these crazy bystanders.

Back at his inn, he didn't even bother to treat the bruises on his face; he immediately took out his phone and contacted the idiot Shikami.

[Tazaki: Has Onee-sama returned to the inn?]

[Lu Jian: I'm back.]

[Tazaki: I'm coming right now.]

[Tazaki: By the way, she didn't realize it was me who contacted you, did she?]

[Lu Jian: Don't worry, Lu Jian is so smart, how could my sister find out!]

[Tazaki: Judging by Shikami's intelligence, I have a very bad feeling right now.]

[Lu Jian: Hurry up, I'm so hungry I'm about to throw a tantrum.]

[Lu Jian: Also, you can't insult Lu Jian's intelligence!]

You...

My dear sister, do you think Lu Jian has any intelligence left that I could insult?

As Tazaki Tsukasa took a taxi to the hotel where Hoshino Hanami was staying, he mentally cursed his stupid sister-in-law.

Chapter 203 National Competition (4)

Putting down her phone, Hoshino Hanami covered her mouth and yawned.

The afternoon sun streamed in through the glass window, warmly bathing me, while the wind rustled the leaves.

On the other bed in the room, the younger sister knelt upright, her hands pinching her ears. On the cabinet between the two beds was a small vase with red tulips in it.

Hoshino Hanami glanced at the menu in her hand, then looked up at her younger sister, her eyes revealing an unprecedented sharpness: "Aren't you going to confess? Are you waiting for your older sister to ask?"

The voice was cold and sharp, like a mountain stream in the warm spring weather.

"elder sister……"

Seeing this, the little deer panicked and tremblingly begged for mercy: "This has nothing to do with Shikami. It was all that bastard Tazaki who threatened Shikami."

Hoshino Hanami looked at her face: "When did this happen?"

"It was the night my sister came back from Kamakura. She seemed so energetic and smiling then. But who knew that you would clean up the room that afternoon and put everything related to that bastard Tazaki into a gasoline drum and burn it, including her diary, clothes, and so on. Shikami found it strange at the time, but seeing that my sister was in a bad mood, Shikami didn't dare to ask. So that night, she went to ask Tazaki."

At this point, Hoshino Shikami cautiously raised her gaze and weakly continued, "That bastard Tazaki said he did something wrong and was dumped by his sister, begging Shikami to help him win his sister back."

Hoshino Hanami looked utterly bewildered: "Weren't you always trying to get rid of him from my sister's side? Why would you help him with something like this?"

"These are two different things..."

Hoshino Shikami bit her little hand, looking quite conflicted, and said, "The thought of him taking away such a beautiful and charming older sister makes me very unhappy! But I can't bear to see my sister looking so down. After thinking it over, I can only agree to cooperate with him for now, and then kick him away once my sister's mood has improved!"

“You two…” Hoshino Hanami rubbed her temples, looking both amused and exasperated.

"Don't be angry, sister~" Hoshino Shikami smiled cutely, climbed over the other bed on all fours, and pounced on her sister: "Shikami wants a hug."

Hoshino Hanami smiled indulgently: "Alright, be quiet."

"No, Shikami must take this opportunity to strengthen her relationship with her sister!"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Hoshino Shikami muttered, "Take my sister back from that bastard Tazaki!"

"What kind of strange statement is that..." Hoshino Hanami chuckled and ruffled her hair. The two sisters had maintained this close relationship for many years, and the older sister didn't feel uncomfortable about her younger sister always taking advantage of her.

"What would you like to eat later, sister?" Hoshino Shikami reached out and hugged her sister's neck, her voice soft and sweet, with a sticky, moist quality.

Hoshino Hanami rolled her eyes at her, then reached out and cupped her sister's face to keep her still: "Tell me honestly, what's his plan?"

"It's nothing," the younger sister said, her eyes darting around. "He just said his cooking skills have improved by leaps and bounds, and he wanted to secretly come and cook for you."

"secretly?"

“That’s right…” Hoshino Shikami pouted, frowning in confusion: “Even if the food he secretly cooks is delicious, it only makes my sister think that the chefs at the restaurant are skilled. If he wants to express his apology, why doesn’t he just come out openly? Shikami doesn’t understand.”

Hoshino Hanami smiled wryly: "That guy knows that you hate being bothered, so he doesn't dare to show his face in front of you."

"Do you still want to eat his cooking?"

"Why aren't you eating?" Hoshino Hanami cracked her knuckles and grinned menacingly. "It's a pleasure to cook well, and if it's not, you'll have another reason to beat him up later. Isn't that great?"

How terrifying...

Hoshino Shikami shrank her neck and buried her face in her sister's arms.

Both the fierce older sister and the scoundrel Tazaki, who anticipated all of the older sister's reactions, are terrifying.

……

After getting out of the taxi, Tsukasa Tazaki walked along the shopping street towards the hotel. The August evening was still muggy, and the ground was dry. Whenever a car sped by, the dust it kicked up made him frown and rub his eyes.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were deserted. Posters on the telephone poles fluttered in the wind, looking as if they might fall at any moment. There was a flower shop not far away, and a cat was sunbathing on a plastic bucket in front of the shop. Nearby, four or five children had lined up empty plastic bottles and were throwing stones at them.

I turned past a 7-Eleven and saw my sister-in-law squatting under a telephone pole in front of the store eating ice cream.

Tazaki Tsukasa was immediately delighted.

The silly Shikami has almost identical facial features to her older sister, but her face is a little chubby. Her shoulder-length hair is slightly brown, and in the sunset, it seems as if a thin film is wrapped around its surface, radiating a dazzling luster.

Her still-developing figure appeared somewhat slender, but the curves of her chest and waist already exuded femininity. Hearing footsteps, she naturally brushed aside the hair that fell to the side of her face, her brown eyes glancing towards Tsukasa Tazaki. Upon seeing the bruises on his face, the girl's cream-covered lips revealed a cute, slightly gloating smile.

Judging from her appearance alone, the younger sister-in-law inherited the older sister's good qualities.

Unfortunately, she probably doesn't have half the intelligence of her sister. Tazaki Tsukasa felt that if he put in a little effort, he could trick her into leaving and selling her within three days.

"Why are you so slow!" Hoshino Shikami stood up and said angrily.

Tsukasa Tazaki came to her side: "I'm thinking about how to thank Shikami."

"Tch, let's talk about it after my sister calms down!" Hoshino Shika gave him a dismissive look, then turned and slipped into the back door of the inn.

Tsukasa Tazaki followed her into the kitchen.

"My sister said she wants to eat king crab," said Hoshino Shikami, looking at the Alaskan crab on the stainless steel cabinet.

How would you like to eat it?

"Do whatever you want."

"okay."

Tazaki Tsukasa rubbed his hands together, picked up a knife, and walked toward the nearly 4-kilogram king crab.

After purchasing the [Cooking (Master)] skill, this was his first time cooking, and he was a little excited, even more so than when tens of thousands of people were watching during a kendo competition.

He gripped the knife handle and used the tip to pry open the crab shell from the mouth area. Inside the shell was crab roe. He placed the entire shell and roe into the steamer and set the timer for eight minutes. Then he split the crab in half and separated the legs.

Hoshino Shikami watched him prepare the crabs, biting her hand as she observed; each movement was remarkably graceful and agile. She watched, secretly admiring him.

This bastard may be a bit of a bad person, but when he gets serious, he's actually kind of handsome.

"Is there anything I can do for Shikami to help with?" she asked.

"Please slice some ginger, diced bell peppers, and winter melon for me."

After dissecting the whole crab, Tsukasa Tazaki soaked it in ice water. He looked back at his sister-in-law, who was chopping bell peppers into very fine pieces, while neatly stacked slices of ginger were laid out on the cutting board.

Her long hair was tied into a ponytail at some point and swayed behind her, with two cute little pink ears hanging on the back of her head.

After chopping the bell peppers, Hoshino Shikami turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?"