My love index is at its maximum.

She had just finished showering, and her hair was still wet. The light made the hair that was scattered on her shoulders shine like seaweed.

Kuriyama Sakura felt like laughing.

"Minister," Tsukasa Tazaki asked casually, "have you calmed down yet?"

Kuriyama Sakura bit her lip for a moment, then shook her head pleadingly: "...How about we just forget about it?"

"Don't worry too much, just tell me what's wrong." Hoshino Hanami gently patted her head. "Silly girl, tonight will be over soon, and you'll be bouncing around again by tomorrow. It's really nothing serious."

With a "click," the water in the kettle boiled.

Tsukasa Tazaki released the two of them and turned to make coffee.

The continuous winter rain showed no signs of letting up, and the windowpanes were washed clean by the rain.

Kuriyama Sakura stared at Tazaki Tsukasa as he poured water from the kettle. The kettle made a strange sound and emitted wisps of steam as he poured.

Perhaps the heat made the air in the room a little stuffy, so Hoshino Hanami opened the window a crack again. The January breeze that blew in lifted the white steam, making it swirl around in the room a few times before disappearing outside.

The older sister standing by the window was wearing only a thin set of gauze underwear.

Those vibrant limbs were indeed gorgeous, well-proportioned and slender, with firm buttocks, no different from a work of art, making Kuriyama Sakura's heart pound.

Hoshino Hanami returned to the bedside and gently shook her shoulder: "If you don't tell me, I'll be worried so much that I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"I'm sorry for making my sister worry."

Before I met you, I only had to worry about Lu Jian. Now it's different, I have to worry about someone else too.

Kuriyama Sakura's face was pressed against her chest, and she said in a weak voice, "Me too. Before I met my sister and Tazaki, I only needed to take care of my own affairs. But now..."

"So, we're both really unlucky," Hoshino Hanami said, trying to lighten the mood. "Having to worry about two people's problems is just too much. It's better to be a jerk, you can just focus on your own happiness..."

Influenced by her, Kuriyama Sakura laughed: "Why don't you and I leave, and leave this scumbag here for psychological treatment?"

"good idea!"

"Leave now?"

"I'm leaving right away!" With that, Hoshino Hanami hurriedly stood up and ran to open her suitcase to pack, seemingly intending to leave the scumbag here.

She brought a lot of luggage from Kyoto. Inside the opened suitcase, Kuriyama Sakura saw a set of cosmetics, 5 books, a teacher's uniform and high heels, a paper bag full of various styles of stockings and sexy lingerie, as well as a travel alarm clock, a small first aid kit, a hair dryer, and cotton swabs.

"Why bring a uniform and high heels?"

Kuriyama Sakura looked at her suitcase with suspicion, along with various sexy clothes that made people blush.

“Tazaki likes these,” Hoshino Hanami said without turning her head.

Kuriyama Sakura turned and glared angrily at Tazaki Tsukasa: "...Pervert!"

“That’s right, it’s him!” Hoshino Hanami nodded in agreement. “This perverted teacher-obsessed guy always likes to play role-playing games with me, making me show him the authority I have as a homeroom teacher.”

“That wasn’t role-playing,” Tsukasa Tazaki couldn’t help but interject, “it was just being yourself, okay?”

Hoshino Hanami pressed on with this question: "Tell me quickly, are you a teacher fetishist?"

"I'm a sister complex!" Tsukasa Tazaki smiled beautifully.

Kuriyama Sakura questioned, "Then what about Shimamoto-sensei?"

"...Fine, I'm a teacher-obsessed person."

"And what's going on with the store manager?"

"...I'm into older men, okay?"

"Where is Ninomiya?"

"Oh right, and what about Yui Kichikawa?"

The two women took turns saying something, making Tsukiyaki feel extremely guilty. She quickly brought over the freshly brewed coffee, clasped her hands together, and said, "Please have some coffee, ladies."

Hoshino Hanami put down her half-packed luggage, ran over with a big smile, and sat down on the floor next to him to drink coffee.

Kuriyama Sakura shrank into the blankets and remained silent for a long time.

Rather than searching for the words to be spoken, it's more like immersing oneself in distant personal memories.

Compared to those with poor memories.

"Take your time, it's alright." Tsukasa Tazaki gently took her hand.

The minister's hands were soft and small; they started sweating after being under the covers for less than ten seconds.

"Eh, Tazaki," Kuriyama Sakura said softly, "can you tell me something?"

"Anything is fine."

"If I mustered up the courage to confess my feelings to you and say I want to be with you, I would disappear. What would you do?"

"How could you say such a silly thing?" Tsukasa Tazaki pulled her close and gently hugged her. "What do you mean by 'if we're together, we'll disappear'? Is this some kind of low-level provocation? If so, then I'll accept it. After all, I consider myself a proud person."

Kuriyama Sakura rubbed her eyes, then smiled, as if to say to him, "You're really so self-important."

Hoshino Hanami watched the two of them with a smile, her fingers occasionally touching her delicate lips, unconsciously stroking them gently.

“I’m so scared, I can’t explain why,” Kuriyama Sakura gently pounded Tazaki Tsukasa’s chest, looking up at him with tears welling up in her eyes. “Every time I feel happy with you, it’s like something is pulling my body away, like I’m about to fly somewhere.”

Under the light, she could see Tsukasa Tazaki's face very clearly.

You could see a hint of fatigue and worry in him.

His face appeared translucent at this moment, and his skin shone with a smooth luster. Beside his slightly parted lips, etched with tension, were several deep wrinkles that seemed out of place for his age.

"Hold me tighter," Kuriyama Sakura whispered.

Tsukasa Tazaki did as instructed.

"Hold me tighter," Kuriyama Sakura said again.

He did as instructed.

Kuriyama Sakura curled up completely, feeling as if she had turned into a white rabbit.

"You two, just get straight to the point!" Hoshino Hanami sighed anxiously, resting her chin on her hand.

"Hana-nee is always so impatient, she's never changed." Kuriyama Sakura smiled faintly, snuggling into Tazaki Tsukasa's arms, opening up her heart and trying to express her truest feelings.

“These past few days, I’ve often noticed what my sister and Tazaki are doing together, which is something I’ve always wanted to know. I wanted to observe you and Tazaki from the sidelines, seeing how much you need each other, and I often enjoyed imagining that scene when I was alone. To put it bluntly, Hanami-nee’s happiness is, in my opinion, a reflection of my own happiness.”

"Why?" Hoshino Hanami Itaru asked, her fingertips tenderly touching her cheek.

“In the end, I really am just a child.” Kuriyama Sakura bit her lip, pondered for a while, and then said, “My thoughts are very naive. I don’t really want to be with Tazaki. Although I have fantasies about him, I hope to be closely connected with him on a spiritual level. As for the rest… I’ll leave it to you, sister.”

"Fool." Hoshino Hanami shook her head and smiled bitterly.

"I'm not stupid. My wish can be fulfilled through my sister." Kuriyama Sakura forced a smile. "Although the idea isn't very healthy, through Tazaki and my sister's lives, I was able to glimpse that abyss and also unlock the taboos hidden in my heart. At only sixteen years old, I saw things I shouldn't have seen, and then I began to walk towards that moment of being possessed..."

"The moment you were possessed?" Tsukasa Tazaki held her small body, feeling the warmth of her hands against his chest.

"I know I can't be with you..." Kuriyama Sakura whispered, her warm, moist breath brushing against Tazaki Tsukasa's ear, "Because no matter how happy I am during the day, I'll always see Mom at night. And hear her whisper in my ear: 'Why can you still laugh—'"

Tazaki Tsukasa felt a lump in his throat and couldn't speak, but he just hugged her even tighter.

Hoshino Hanami stopped there, adjusting her breathing, as if hesitating to say a few words or silently waiting for what would happen next.

The two hugged for a long time.

The wind blowing in from outside irregularly lifted a corner of the white curtains. Kuriyama Sakura's cheeks were slightly wet with tears, and her body was trembling slightly, a tremor that could not be seen with the eyes but could only be felt with the hands.

Time flowed by relentlessly, with no gap between their bodies. Listening to Tsukasa Tazaki's heartbeat, Sakura Kuriyama smiled with great difficulty: "I really don't understand why you can be so gentle, calm, and composed, and most importantly, so pleasing to my eye. Of course, there might be something wrong with my brain, but at least for a young girl, you have an exaggerated charm."

“Even if you praise me at a time like this,” Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head, “I won’t feel happy or anything. Instead, it will make me feel terrible.”

Kuriyama Sakura smiled faintly: "Anyway, you're already bad enough. No one would say anything if you were any worse."

“That won’t do,” Hoshino Hanami chimed in, kicking Tazaki Tsukasa as she did so. “My patience with him has reached its limit. If things get any worse, even just a little bit, I’ll be unable to resist stabbing him to death.”

Kuriyama Sakura looked at Tazaki Tsukasa and said, "Your luck in meeting someone like my sister is truly enviable."

“I think so too.” Tsukasa Tazaki nodded.

She added, "You're so unlucky to have met someone like me."

“I don’t think so,” Tsukasa Tazaki said. “I won’t brush you off on this. I truly believe that you and I will spend happy days together.”

Kuriyama Sakura shook her head, turned her profile to him, and looked out the window.

The wind blowing in through the cracks in the window swayed her bangs. Time passed, and the curtains swayed silently a few times. The wind carried the scent of rain.

"Let's rest first," said Hoshino Hanami. "That's all for tonight. As for the rest, I'll have your mother come over tomorrow to discuss it with Kobayashi."

Her voice was somewhat dry, as if she were struggling to utter the words.

"Ah."

Kuriyama Sakura responded in a low voice.

Hoshino Hanami snuggled into the covers, took her from Tazaki Tsukasa's arms, and softly hummed a lullaby.

The girl slowly closed her eyes and gradually fell asleep.

The silence in the room seemed to grow even deeper.

After she fell asleep, Hoshino Hanami and Tazaki Tsukasa left the room and talked about the information they had received from Dr. Kobayashi in the hallway.

"ghost?"

"Yes, it's probably because of the trauma she suffered when she was young, which has left her with psychological scars that she can't shake off even now. As you know, she has a lot of emotions, but for a long time she had no one to talk to, so she could only keep them bottled up inside."

“She has a rich inner life, but what she expresses is a lack of emotion,” Hoshino Hanami said to herself. “If emotions are suppressed for a long time, they will eventually explode.”

Tsukasa Tazaki let out a deep sigh: "Now I understand why she always seemed so melancholic whenever I tried to persuade her to enjoy life like a normal person. Now I understand why she said she would commit suicide at 25..."

“The ghost of my imagined biological mother, what should I do?” Hoshino Hanami rubbed her temples, resting her head on his shoulder as she gazed at the sleeping girl in the room. “Sakura’s deepest feelings are for you and me, but the closer you get to her, the more mental torment she suffers. No wonder she said she didn’t want to be with you…”

Tsukasa Tazaki nodded silently.

Sakura's mental health issues were far more serious than he had imagined, and for a time he seemed helpless.

……

Chapter 334 Emotions are never easily expressed.

When it got light, the rain was still falling.