My love index is at its maximum.

Tazaki Tsukasa casually turned on the living room light, picked up his sister, and sat down on the sofa.

“You guys…” Kuriyama Sakura sniffed and frowned instantly.

Her sense of touch was always very keen; this scent couldn't possibly have escaped her notice.

"Waaah, Sakura, you have to avenge your sister!" Hoshino Hanami, her face full of grievance, struggled out of Tazaki Tsukasa's arms and threw herself into Kuriyama Sakura's arms. "Tazaki bullied my sister just now!"

With her upper body in Sakura's arms and her lower body resting on her boyfriend's legs, she, the oldest of the three, was being held by the two younger ones.

"Hana-chan..."

Kuriyama Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples as if she had a headache.

At this moment, Hoshino Hanami was drenched in sweat, her body still hot, and the look of satisfaction on her face was a clear indication that she had been bullied like that.

"Hehe, did you hear anything just now, Sakura?" Hoshino Hanami looked at Kuriyama Sakura with a slightly teasing gaze, her face beaming.

Kuriyama Sakura blushed and looked away like a shy little girl.

Tsukasa Tazaki turned on the TV and hummed a tuneless song along with the New Year's program.

The faint sounds of wind, servants' footsteps, and birdsong drifted in from outside. The tables and chairs, the books piled in the corner, and the warm yellow light from the overhead lamp all created a feeling of immense comfort.

"Sakura, I love this so much." Hoshino Hanami rubbed her face against Kuriyama Sakura and said with a smile, "Doing the most intimate things with the person you love in the place where you grew up, isn't this the happiness that I've always been pursuing?"

Looking at the lingering blush on her face and the numerous hickeys covering her fair neck and collarbone, Kuriyama Sakura subconsciously asked, "How did it feel?"

"It feels so good," Hoshino Hanami whispered in her ear. "My head is buzzing, my whole body feels tingly and numb, and it's so hot it feels like I'm melting..."

"No, not this..."

Kuriyama Sakura covered her face in embarrassment and indignation, her voice shrill: "I was asking about my sister's feelings right now, not how her body feels!!!"

“Kuriyama-san is still a child,” Tsukasa Tazaki leaned closer. “Sister, please don’t corrupt her, okay?”

Kuriyama Sakura slapped his face to the side: "Shut up!"

"It's all your fault!" Hoshino Hanami chimed in, playfully kicking his face. "Who was it that was trying so hard to embarrass me just now? Now what are you pretending to be, you shameless scoundrel..."

Tsuzaki Shiraku was being bullied by two women.

During this process, he gained countless advantages, and even the minister couldn't escape them.

The three of them played around for a while. Hoshino Hanami put one arm around Tazaki Tsukasa and the other around Kuriyama Sakura, with her legs propped up on the coffee table. Her toes seemed to be showing off her happiness, sometimes curling up and sometimes relaxing.

Tsukasa Tazaki couldn't resist and stretched out his foot as well.

The two pairs of feet were sometimes side by side, and sometimes they were intertwined as if fighting.

Kuriyama Sakura watched the couple showing affection and gave them a warm smile.

The television, which was originally showing a program, suddenly broadcast a weather report: Yamanashi Prefecture was hit by a blizzard, and residents in the vicinity were advised to take precautions.

Tazaki Tsukasa tilted his head to look at Kuriyama Sakura's fair profile; her delicate nose was particularly endearing.

Hoshino Hanami glanced at him knowingly, then hooked her arm around Kuriyama Sakura's neck and said with a smile, "Sakura, let's go to Yamanashi Prefecture."

"Eh?"

Kuriyama Sakura looked at her, puzzled.

“Go find those six years you’ve lost.” Hoshino Hanami hugged her and whispered in her ear, “Tazaki and I will go with you.”

"you……"

“It’s been planned for a long time!” Tsukasa Tazaki smiled at her. “Even if you don’t go, my sister and I will tie you up, stuff you in the trunk, and forcibly drag you away.”

Kuriyama Sakura stared blankly at the two of them, her mouth agape but unable to utter a word.

In this warm and cozy little space, she could feel the close connection between the three of them, like blood flowing through every corner of her body.

Chapter 328 I'll bite you!

The next morning, Hoshino Hanami drove away from Kyoto.

The destination of this trip is Kokano Town, located deep in the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture, a hot spring and health resort.

The journey took about three hours, and Kuriyama Sakura was not interested at all, spending the whole time dozing off in the spacious back seat of the G-Class.

It was clear that she was somewhat resistant.

After exiting the highway in Yamanashi Prefecture, Hoshino Hanami drove onto a winding mountain road, with dark cedar forests on both sides.

The wind blowing into the car suddenly turned cold, and the dampness stung the skin.

Hoshino Hanami gripped the steering wheel with both hands, her gaze fixed on the snow-capped mountains on either side: "It's been a long time since I've been here. It's basically unchanged."

"Your sister came by?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked curiously.

"Yes, I visited Sakura here when I was a sophomore in college."

Imagining Hoshino Hanami in her second year of university, Tsukasa Tazaki said with a smile, "Back then, my older sister must have been a pretty and delicate young girl."

"Your older sister is still a beautiful girl!" Hoshino Hanami rolled her eyes at him, then glanced at Kuriyama Sakura in the rearview mirror. "Sakura, how are you feeling? Do you want to pull over and rest for a bit?"

"Let's stop at the village ahead."

Kuriyama Sakura answered weakly, her face somewhat pale.

"Are you carsick?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked, turning around.

"I drank too much coffee this morning and I feel like I need to go to the bathroom."

"Watch this, sister!" Hoshino Hanami slammed on the gas pedal, and the G-Wagon quickly emerged from the cedar forest and entered a valley basin.

Nestled in the basin was a small village, lined with restaurants and hotels, with a clear stream flowing gently beside it. Several dogs barked, and neatly stacked firewood reached all the way to the eaves of every house.

Tsukasa Tazaki got off the train, stretched, and gazed at the scenery before him.

Snowflakes drifted down with the wind, covering the farmland, the rooftops of farmhouses, and the branches of trees with snow, resembling a gray and white ink painting.

"It feels like I've arrived in a faraway world," Hoshino Hanami exclaimed.

After Kuriyama Sakura returned from using the restroom at the roadside shop, the G-Wagon started up together.

The towering peaks drew near, and the higher we climbed, the colder it became; the snowflakes slowly turned into granules. We drove into a pine forest, through the pine forest into a village, through the village and back into the pine forest, repeating this scene several times. Finally, the G-Class left the two-lane main road and drove on a single-lane gravel road.

Fifteen minutes later, a low, moss-covered stone gate appeared at the end of the gravel road; it was the entrance to the Little Deer Sanatorium.

After entering through the entrance, Tsukasa Tazaki kept his attention on observing the surroundings.

The buildings are mostly old Japanese-style wooden houses, surrounded by bare trees, which look very elegant. There are small rivers along the winding paths, and the smell of fertilizer occasionally drifts from the fields on the wind. The fields are surrounded by continuous forests.

Birdsong rose from the nearby treetops, and several large, unfamiliar birds took flight, their mournful cries and long tails lingering in the frozen air.

The G-Wagon stopped in front of a three-story concrete building, and Hoshino Hanami went in to check in.

Tazaki Tsukasa looked around the building. Although it occupied a large area, it was very old and simple.

The exterior walls are blue, while the window frames and curtains inside are white.

The walls are riddled with holes and have not been repaired, indicating the building's age.

"You've lived in a place like this for six years?" Tsukasa Tazaki turned around and looked at Sakura Kuriyama with curiosity.

Kuriyama Sakura chewed her gum, propped her cheek up with her hand, and looked out the window: "I never thought I'd come back here again."

"You never expected that Hanami-nee and I would come back with you, did you?" Tazaki Tsukasa climbed from the center console into the back seat, looking at her with a smile: "Aren't you touched?"

“…Not moved.” Kuriyama Sakura shifted her position, wanting to get away from him.

For some reason, Tsukasa Tazaki also wanted to tease her, so he moved closer to her and forced her into the corner of the back seat.

“I said,” Kuriyama Sakura said, arms crossed, head resting against the car window, “you can’t control your animalistic instincts anymore?”

"What do you like about me?" Tsukasa Tazaki suddenly asked.

"Clam?"

Kuriyama Sakura couldn't help but frown.

To avoid this difficult question, Tsukasa Tazaki wanted to tease her, so he spoke first: "Let me go first. Minister, you are always focused on your own things and even when you're daydreaming, you look like you're deep in thought. I was so worried about you that I wanted to get closer to you."

"And then?" Kuriyama Sakura asked curiously.

Tazaki Tsukasa inhaled the scent of her hair: "In the end, she's just a boring little girl."

"Then why are you still shamelessly coming to me?" Kuriyama Sakura couldn't help but punch him on the head.

"It's all your fault."

"What's it to blame me for?"

"It's because your legs are too beautiful."

"Is that all you like?"

"Okay, I'll tell you everything, but don't get angry. You're very persistent and strong-willed in everything you do. Sometimes you seem very strong, and sometimes you seem very weak. It seems a bit unbalanced..."

"This is the first time someone has told me I'm unfair." Kuriyama Sakura put a piece of chewing gum in her mouth.

Tsukasa Tazaki opened his mouth: "Ah~ I want one too."

"I can't do anything with you..."

Kuriyama Sakura had no choice but to stuff a piece of mint gum into his mouth as well.

"It's your turn to speak." Tsukasa Tazaki grabbed her hand and gently kissed it.

Kuriyama Sakura twitched, unable to pull her hand back, and could only say helplessly, "Besides you, this scoundrel, who else could I possibly like?"

"Hey, hey," Tsukasa Tazaki protested, disgruntled. "How did I become a scoundrel?"

"Don't interrupt me, listen carefully."

Kuriyama Sakura then used her other hand to stuff a handful of chewing gum into his mouth, effectively silencing him.

"When I first met you, you were a cool and lonely young man, which is why I felt you were different and wanted to know more about you. But who would have thought that you were actually a frivolous jerk? I was really too impulsive."

Tsukasa Tazaki chewed her gum and pressed her hand against her cheek.

"When I first saw how interesting you were, I let my guard down..." Kuriyama Sakura gently stroked his cheek, saying with a hint of frustration, "Then you said that because of my childhood wish, you wouldn't lie anymore. My God, do you know how devastating those words are to a young girl?"

Tsukasa Tazaki was speechless.

At that time, he was simply trying his best to be an honest person and had no intention of trying to win her over.