My love index is at its maximum.

"A little." Tsukasa Tazaki timidly placed his hand on her back.

Kana Shimamoto arched her body, rested her head on his right arm, and then remained motionless, like a little squirrel about to hibernate.

A mature woman's body is soft, warm, and gentle, as if she is defenseless.

"What would a teacher do if they were alone in a situation like this?"

"Hmm... drink, get drunk, and then sleep with a big plush toy, then you won't be afraid."

"She looked like a helpless young girl."

Kana Shimamoto looked up at his face as if she'd been electrocuted.

In that instant, a glint of light flashed in those deep-colored eyes, like a leaf falling into a calm lake, gently creating brief ripples.

Tazaki Tsukasa's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..." Shimamoto Kana lowered her head, her lips trembling slightly as if she were saying something. "I'm an adult, you're a child, don't ask me."

“I understand how you feel.” Tsukasa Tazaki stroked her soft hair and placed his other hand on her supple waist.

“I don’t understand.” Shimamoto Kana shook her head.

“A sense of weakness…” Tazaki Tsukasa said, smelling the fragrance of her hair, “A fear of certain symbols, like how I’m terrified of Boys’ Day every year, because before this year, no one raised the carp streamer for me.”

"perhaps."

"At that time, adults can drown their sorrows in alcohol, but children are in a terrible situation. They have no choice but to bury themselves under the covers."

“You…” Shimamoto Kana poked his chest and said helplessly, “Since you have such a sensitive mind, why don’t you use it on Kuriyama-kun?”

"Why are you so eager to set me up with her?" Tazaki Tsukasa felt something was off about the situation. You want to be a matchmaker, right? So, are you planning to test the waters yourself first?

"I like that child very much, just like I like you." Shimamoto Kana looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling, her eyes shrouded in a misty haze.

Could you be more specific?

“You two are the same kind of people, I’m absolutely certain of that.”

"Sigh, let's talk about when the teacher will get divorced."

"I won't let your lewd thoughts get away with it!" Shimamoto Kana turned to stare at Tazaki Tsukasa, her expression serious, her calm, warm breath rhythmically brushing against his neck.

The wooden building seemed to be shaken by the thunder, trembling slightly.

The dense raindrops pounded against the window like shotgun bullets.

Kana Shimamoto listened quietly to the thunder and said softly, "The reason I agreed to let her create the ATF club, which is against school rules, is that I hope she can learn how to communicate with others while observing them, so as to save her current blank youth."

"Teacher... there's nothing I can do to help."

"If you refuse again, I'll blacklist you from the library!"

Tazaki Tsukasa's eye twitched, and he said indignantly, "Where is your professional ethics?"

"There's no need to talk about teacher ethics with someone like you who has inappropriate thoughts about teachers."

Kana Shimamoto pouted and gave a soft hum, resting her head on his shoulder again and closing her eyes for a nap. Every now and then, her ear would brush against Tsukasa Tazaki's cheek, and her warm breath would caress him.

Tazaki Tsukasa stared at the ceiling, silently memorizing Italian words in his mind. It wasn't that he was truly diligent, but at times like this, he needed something to distract himself, otherwise he probably wouldn't be able to resist.

Regardless of the purpose, holding a charming, mature woman in your arms is an easy way to feel happy.

Moreover, his name is Tasaki Sukasa, written in kanji as 多崎司. Isn't it normal for him to like jockeys?

"Cough cough..."

Kuriyama Sakura stood at the doorway, holding a cardboard box in both hands, and coughed lightly twice.

Kana Shimamoto hurriedly picked up her glasses from the carpet and put them on.

Tazaki Tsukasa calmly picked up "The Dream Detective" and placed it on his lap to read it.

"Go pick it up quickly." Shimamoto Kana kicked his shin with her foot.

"No need." Kuriyama Sakura put the cardboard box on the ground, took off her flat shoes, and then carried the cardboard box in.

The box contained a bag of ground coffee, fine sugar, a kettle, a copy of "The Stranger," and three large mugs printed with cat cartoons.

She placed the cardboard box on the coffee table and poured the purified water that Shimamoto Kana had bought into the kettle to boil water.

The room was quiet except for the faint noise of the kettle boiling water.

Outside the window, raindrops wet the leaves of the trees and then fall onto the dark lawn.

"Sigh..." Shimamoto Kana rubbed her temples with a headache, picked up the cream bread on the table and took a few bites, then crossed her ten fingers neatly on the table, her crystal nails looking as delicate and lovely as works of art.

The kettle stopped boiling, and Kuriyama Sakura made three cups of coffee, each with an excessive amount of sugar. She picked up her own cup of coffee and a copy of "The Stranger," went to the corner by the window, and sat down with her legs bent.

The wisps of steam rising from the mug swirled in the air above the room.

Apart from the sound of raindrops hitting the eaves and the three people breathing, there was no other sound in the room. The light from the chandelier remained constant, soft and even, while fine dust particles floated gently in the air.

Tazaki Tsukasa took a sip of coffee and glanced at Kuriyama Sakura without realizing it.

Her bent legs still curved gently, her gaze fixed intently on the book spread out on her lap; the scene was as still as a realistic painting.

Occasionally, her slender fingers would twitch, pinching the foot of the page to turn the page.

I think I saw her reading "The Stranger" last time. Tsukasa Tazaki prefers Camus' "The Plague," but of course, he has also read "The Stranger," and what impressed him most was the first paragraph of the book.

Today, my mother died. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. I received a telegram from the nursing home saying, "Mother has died. Funeral tomorrow. Deepest condolences." This doesn't prove anything; she might have died yesterday.

After a moment of distraction, Tsukasa Tazaki finished his coffee and then put on his headphones to listen to music.

Chapter 66 As everyone knows, stories always happen on stormy nights (3)

The thunder continued, and the music could be heard clearly even through the headphones.

It was hard to concentrate on reading. Tazaki Tsukasa picked up a cream-filled bread roll from the table and ate it with mineral water. Listening to the thunder, he wondered if the thunder would keep rumbling for six months straight—would the sky be torn to shreds?

Heroic deeds like mending the sky are probably beyond my current capabilities.

Kana Shimamoto made herself another cup of coffee, sipping it while playing on her phone and occasionally taking a bite of her cream-filled bread. Before she knew it, a third of the food on the table was gone, all of it gone into her stomach.

Perhaps still wary of the thunder, she didn't even notice the smear of cream on her lips.

Teacher... here.

Tazaki Tsukasa pointed to the corner of his lips, and Shimamoto Kana swallowed the bread in her mouth with her coffee, then used her fingernails to scrape off the cream stuck to her lips.

The atmosphere in the room remained as still as water, with only the moisture that had seeped into the floor and walls over the years gently rippled in the air.

Kuriyama Sakura read for a while, then picked up her phone to look at it, a thoughtful expression on her face. As she pondered something, she felt for her mug on the carpet, only to find it empty when she picked it up to take a sip of coffee.

"Tasaki..." she called out as she turned her head.

Tazaki Tsukasa shifted her gaze from Shimamoto Kana's calves to hers: "What is it?"

"Put a bottle of water down for me."

"Okay." Just as Tazaki Tsukasa picked up a bottle of water, Shimamoto Kana kicked him: "Take it, why are you throwing it?"

"Yes, Miss Shimamoto!"

Kana Shimamoto burst out laughing. It was quite an accomplishment to see someone with such a cold personality showing such helplessness.

Tazaki Tsukasa sat down cross-legged next to Kuriyama Sakura and handed her the bottle.

"Thank you."

The voice was pleasant to the ear, but the emotion was as bland as a table of vegetarian food.

Kuriyama Sakura unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip of water, then stretched out her legs. She reached into the pocket of her pleated skirt and pulled out a packet of chewing gum. Her legs, clad in black stockings, were drawn together, forming a beautiful, folded shape.

"Here you go." She handed a piece to Tsukasa Tazaki. The soft light illuminated her delicate face, giving it an ethereal quality, as if it were reflected from underwater.

"Thank you."

Tazaki returned a table of vegetarian food to her, then popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth and chewed it a few times; it was mint flavored.

Kana Shimamoto covered her forehead, let out a long sigh, and began to doubt the possibility of her matchmaking efforts with the two of them—there was simply no chance that the two of them would end up together!

It was nine o'clock in the evening when the thunder outside gradually stopped and the rain began to subside.

The literature club activity room next door remained quiet all night, but the meowing of cats gradually increased. It seems that once the rain stops, they will begin to patrol their territory.

As Tazaki listened to the meows, he suddenly thought of the scratch marks on the calendar and the cat food scattered on the window. He smiled; things seemed much simpler than he had imagined.

Kuriyama Sakura stood up, tugged at her skirt, and said, "I'm going to the restroom." She then took a flashlight from the table by the door and walked into the dark corridor.

"Come here," Kana Shimamoto called out to Tsukasa Tazaki.

Tsukasa Tazaki obediently sat down next to him.

"What can I say to you?"

The married teacher poked his chest as if venting her resentment, "He's such a smart person, but he acts like a straight man."

There's no such thing as a "straight man with a steely exterior"; it's just a matter of whether you like it or not.

Tazaki Tsukasa picked up the beef jerky on the table, tore open the packaging, and ate a piece. "Mmm, delicious. Teacher, would you like some?"

"Don't eat!"

Kana Shimamoto raised her leg, which was clad in flesh-colored stockings, and kicked him in the stomach.

The force was very light.

"The stockings are beautiful," Tsukasa Tazaki exclaimed.

Kana Shimamoto rolled her eyes at him and kicked his shin. Tsukasa Tazaki's leg moved too. After their feet bumped together countless times, both of them blushed.

"Is the beef jerky tasty?" she asked, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"Very good."

Give me one.

"Open your mouth, I'll feed you."

Kana Shimamoto bit her lower lip slightly, then took a deep breath, half-closed her eyes, and slowly opened her mouth.

Her sexy, rosy lips shone beautifully under the light. I wonder what flavor her lipstick tasted like; I really want to try it.

Tazaki Tsukasa couldn't help but sigh inwardly—compared to the gentle and intellectual older sister, the flirting skills of high school girls were simply pathetic.