My love index is at its maximum.

"Did I disturb you?" Kana Shimamoto pushed up her glasses and slowly walked down.

She wore a simple blue short-sleeved dress with a cream-colored sweater draped over her shoulders. Her hair was neatly pulled back on top of her head, and she wore small earrings, white high heels, and carried a white handbag.

"What are you looking at?" she asked Tsukasa Tazaki.

"Clothes," Tsukasa Tazaki replied.

Why are you looking at clothes?

"Shimamoto-sensei's clothes are always so elegant and appropriate, I never get tired of looking at them."

"You're so glib." Shimamoto Kana habitually reached out and tapped his forehead a few times with her fingertips. "You need to be more careful in the future. I'm an old auntie who can let things slide, and I don't care if you're being silly. But Shiori is still young. Since you've gotten involved in her life, you have to take on the responsibility of protecting and caring for her."

The little cutie nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, yes."

Tsukasa Tazaki patted his chest and assured him, "I have been deeply reflecting on myself!"

“If he doesn’t listen, then please, Shimamoto-sensei, secretly…” As she spoke, Ninomiya Shiori made a scissor gesture, “just snip him off, so that Shiori-chan won’t be sad.”

"Good idea." Shimamoto Kana turned her head and patted her head. "Let's go, let's go shopping together today."

"Should we call Sakura?"

"Okay, teacher would also like to chat with Kuriyama."

"Let's invite Shikami too."

"what?"

"Lu Jian is so clumsy, I'm afraid she'll get lost."

"Should we invite Hoshino-sensei along too?"

"..." Shiori Ninomiya froze, instinctively looking at Tsukasa Tazaki with pleading eyes, "Kiki, will Hoshino-sensei hit me?"

Before Tsukasa Tazaki could answer, Kana Shimamoto affectionately put her arm around her shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't worry. Your Kiki has already been beaten up countless times because of this. Even if she's angry, Hoshino-sensei won't take it out on you."

"Then I can rest assured." Shiori Ninomiya breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled slyly: "I'll talk to Hoshino-sensei later and ask her to be stricter with Kiki, preferably by locking him up."

Tsukasa Tazaki objected: "Wouldn't that make me a criminal?"

The two women, one tall and one short, nodded simultaneously, sped up to shake him off, and disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

Back in my dorm room, the three boys inside were playing a card game called "Joker".

They are Murakami Mizuiro, the burly sports committee member Tang Ze, and a bespectacled man who barely spoke a few words.

"Hey, Tazaki," Murakami Mizuiro said listlessly, looking at the single Ace she had just drawn, "What's our group activity today?"

"You can figure it out yourselves." Tsukasa Tazaki changed into his school uniform shirt and trousers in front of the mirror.

"Why don't we go to Gion together?"

"The three of you can go, I'll stay in the dorm and study."

"Amazing! As expected of Tazaki-san!" The bespectacled boy's eyes shone with admiration. "He even studied hard during the school trip. No wonder he got first place. I want to learn from that spirit. Today, I'll..."

“I’m keeping Kikawa company. She’s not feeling well and hasn’t gotten up yet,” Tsukasa Tazaki interrupted him, explaining, “I’m reading to pass the time while I’m with her.”

"..."

There was a few seconds of silence in the room.

The other three boys' mood immediately soured.

"Tazaki, I'm talking to you," Murakami Mizuiro said, taking out her phone and opening a video, "Last night, Kikawa-kun was meowing like a cat in the middle of the night. Could it be related to you?"

"There's one more thing," the burly Tang Ze clenched his fist, "You didn't come back to sleep with us last night, were you with Qichuan-kun?"

"Damn it!" The bespectacled man clutched his chest. "I'm heartbroken that Kichikawa-kun is unwell and can't even get out of bed!"

"It's not as complicated as you think, I just..."

Because the specifics of last night were complicated and difficult to explain, Tsukasa Tazaki joked to gloss over it.

I can't exactly tell the three of them the truth, that I was punished by two beautiful girls last night by having to do frog jumps for most of the night.

"I don't believe it." Tang Ze had a look on his face that said, "Don't lie to me. It must be related to you that Qichuan can't get out of bed."

"..."

"See, you can't speak now!"

Tsukasa Tazaki nodded helplessly: "It is indeed related to me..."

"Ugh—" Murakami Mizuiro lay on the tatami mat, clutching her chest as if she had been seriously injured. "Tazaki, I'm so disappointed in you. I never thought you wouldn't even remember me during the school trip."

Tsukasa Tazaki squatted down and patted him on the shoulder: "The truth is always cruel, you have to learn to accept it. Also, stop thinking about hanging out with me all the time. If you don't find a girlfriend soon, you'll be engaged to a 100-kilogram woman."

"Don't change the subject," Tang Ze pounced on Tazaki Tsukasa from behind, pinning him to the ground. "Let's judge your crimes. First, let's start with Kikawa-kun."

Male on top of male.

“And Kuriyama-kun!” The bespectacled boy pounced on Tang Ze’s back.

"And Hoshino... no, I mean Ninomiya-kun!"

Murakami Mizuiro jumped up and lunged forward with outstretched arms: "For justice, let the three of us righteous knights work together to destroy him!"

They made a fuss for quite a while.

The four boys, their faces flushed, finally scattered into a group.

The price Tsukasa Tazaki paid was that he had to buy each of the three of them a drink every night for the rest of the school trip.

Smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes, Tsukasa Tazaki left the dormitory and walked down the corridor.

Most of the students had already left, and the wide corridor was deserted.

It was quiet and clean everywhere.

As expected of a prestigious school, the hotel they chose was also very upscale, with waiters frequently smiling and approaching to ask if they needed any help.

Considering that my older brother hadn't eaten anything.

Tsukasa Tazaki had a waiter lead him to the kitchen, where he made some breakfast himself.

I chopped some chicken into fried rice, mixed pickled olives into lettuce to make a side salad, and made a simple new salad dressing with vinegar, pepper and olive oil.

I carried it up to the third floor, greeted the waiter, and got the key.

I opened the door and went inside; the room was empty.

Green curtains hang in front of large floor-to-ceiling windows, and sunlight casts shimmering pale green light on the floor, making the room seem as if it were underwater.

"Big brother?" Tsukasa Tazaki called out.

no respond.

Listen closely, and you can hear the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom.

He placed the breakfast on the table, then walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door: "Brother, are you in there?"

Still no response.

Tazaki Tsukasa's heart jumped, and he turned the doorknob.

The door opened.

The lights were off inside, and it was gloomy.

Water from the showerhead flowed down, hitting the neatly dressed girl who was curled up, and splashing water droplets in all directions.

Tazaki walked inside, a few water droplets hitting his hands; they were cold water.

"Why do you do this?" He walked up to her and squatted down beside her.

Kikawa Yui curled up, hugged her legs tightly, and buried her face in her knees.

The cold water washed over my body, and the chill seeped into my heart.

Tsukasa Tazaki turned off the shower and gritted his teeth.

I tried my best to control myself, but the turbulent emotions inside me still surged forth.

"Say something!" He clenched his fists, his tone unusually angry.

She kept her face buried in her knees.

Her wet hair covered her face, water droplets kept falling from the ends of her hair, and her soaked clothes pitifully highlighted the lines of her back.

The dampness, mixed with the faint scent of her cologne, permeated every corner of the dimly lit bathroom. She remained curled up silently, like a piece of luggage that had been misplaced.

"What kind of skill is it to pretend to be mute!" Tazaki Tsukasa felt like a hundred claws were scratching at his chest. He reached out and pried her shoulders, forcing her to lift her head. "What does this mean? What is the point of playing this trick? Who are you trying to fool!"

Kikawa Yui looked at him indifferently.

Two tears streamed down his almost expressionless face.

Not knowing for whom he was shedding tears, Tsukasa Tazaki couldn't imagine. At this moment, foolish jealousy and helpless anxiety surrounded him, enveloping his entire body like a thin film.

"Just say what's on your mind!" he roared. "How are we supposed to know what you're thinking if you don't say a word? You're always so long-faced, who can stand your temper?!"

Yui Kichikawa shook her head, as if trying to wipe away the tears on her face.

"You won't even say it outright, is that it?" Tsukasa Tazaki roared at himself, feeling more distressed than ever before. "...Just live like this for the rest of your life, keep all the important things bottled up inside!"

Kikawa Yui tremblingly extended her clenched fist.

"You're like a robot!"

With tears in his eyes, Tsukasa Tazaki lashed out, "Like a human robot, may you grow old alone forever!"

"I just..." Yui Kikawa slowly opened her hand, revealing what was hidden inside, "I just... wanted to know, to know how much pain... he was in before he left..."

A small bottle of sleeping pills drained all of Tsukasa Tazaki's strength.

A soreness welled up deep in his nose, his throat felt congested, and his chest felt heavy. To suppress this unprecedented discomfort, he pressed his eyes shut and knelt dejectedly before her.

"Sorry……"

"I can't give it back to you..."

"Let's go to the hospital first, then I'll leave..."

“No need.” Qichuan interrupted him, her voice choked with sobs. “I’m controlling the amount, nothing will happen… You haven’t done anything to wrong me. I was the one who pushed him away; it was my fault, don’t blame me…”

"I……"