They all have hidden attributes!

Makoto Takahashi switched to a half-joking tone, completely extinguishing the flames of the chaotic situation: "Now, still want to kiss? To be honest, I'd be quite happy to take advantage, like when I watched other guys pursue girls—"

Before he could finish speaking, Uesugi Maya turned around in his arms and glared at him with a fierce expression that was hard to describe.

Based on Makoto Takahashi's experience and understanding of Maya Uesugi, he had to give her a way out. A cat who couldn't save face could only hiss and be stubborn.

"Then, as you wish."

He breathed with a smile as he slowly leaned down and kissed her tightly closed pink lips, his movements as gentle as possible so as not to upset Uesugi Maya.

Her entire body was soft and tender, including her beautifully shaped pink lips, which were soft, elastic, and moist.

A slightly sweet flavor seeped out, and Makoto Takahashi took a light sip, savoring it slowly and carefully.

Whenever his lips brushed against hers or he sucked on her lips, Hakiye in his arms would tremble, but she didn't run away or show any disgust.

That's a little too cute.

Wanting more sensations to emerge from his slowly loosening rationality, before the desire in his heart became uncontrollable, Makoto Takahashi fully savored the experience, then grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.

"Why did you stop halfway?" Uesugi Maya asked coldly, maintaining her faltering composure.

The kiss she wanted was a deeper connection than mere touching, one that wouldn't elicit pity from Kashima Reiko.

The thumping of a heartbeat echoed in the quiet studio.

Makoto Takahashi looked down at the lips he had just tasted, and then naturally hugged her tightly. Maya Uesugi swayed slightly and let out a soft moan.

In a daze, Uesugi Maya was at a loss under Takahashi Makoto's teasing, unable to stop his restless hands, and could only put on an act of complete trust.

The last snowflake slowly fell to the ground, leaving only a slender, bright moon hanging in the bluish-purple night sky.

Makoto Takahashi lowered his head and looked down at Maya Uesugi, who was breathing rapidly and repeatedly. She looked at him blankly, her sweet, melting caramel-colored eyes filled with confusion.

"Calm down before going out, don't let them laugh at us."

Makoto Takahashi slowly released his grip, and Maya Uesugi closed her eyes, forcing herself to take a deep breath and calm down: "Get out."

"Don't make it sound like I forced you, clearly... ouch—"

After being stomped on hard, Makoto Takahashi pretended to wince in pain, gasped for breath, raised his hands in surrender, and backed away toward the door.

"Terrible man." Uesugi Maya raised her face, flicked her black hair, and shot a blatant look of disdain.

Whether it was the questioning when she stopped midway or the mess she made of her school uniform and black stockings, Makoto Takahashi could only accept her disdain and could not refute it.

Under Maya Uesugi's gaze, he pushed open the door, which had been slightly ajar. Hanakawa Kaori and Nekoya Hina were playing "rock, paper, scissors" in the hallway.

"Is it fun?" Makoto Takahashi raised his hand and lightly tapped Hanakawa Kaori's head with a chop.

"Brother, you can't do this!"

Hanakawa Kaori put her hands on her hips angrily and raised her head righteously: "I didn't bother you. Besides, Maya-nee is too cunning."

"That's right, too cunning!"

Hina Nekoya nodded vigorously in agreement, then leaned close to his ear and asked, "Sei, I heard that only girls find kissing enjoyable, and boys don't really care. Is that true?"

"I don't know about this kind of thing."

Makoto Takahashi strode seriously toward the living room, with Kaori Hanakawa following behind him, asking, "So, what does my brother know?"

"I've thought a lot of things through. First of all, the captain can't get seasick along with the crew."

"Wow, big brother is all set."

"Let's talk about other things later."

Makoto Takahashi tapped Hanakawa Kaori on the head again, and she gave a mischievous smile.

"What kind of resolve? I don't understand." Nekoya Hina looked completely bewildered, but no one explained it to her.

Upon entering the living room, the area around the coffee table has been rearranged.

The sofa was pushed against the wall, cushions were placed around the coffee table, and snacks, drinks, beer and gift boxes were piled around it to maximize the use of space.

The coffee table was filled with all kinds of fresh vegetables and meats, and an electric grill was placed in the center. A group of people gathered around to eat barbecue, creating a festive atmosphere.

Yukimatsu was sitting on the cushion, slowly sipping her black tea, when Makoto Takahashi sat cross-legged beside her, unwrapped a newly bought white chocolate, and popped it into her mouth.

"Makoto, we've already exchanged Christmas gifts."

Shiraishi Junka got up and sat down next to him, extending her hand: "My Christmas present."

Makoto Takahashi took his apartment key out of his pocket and placed it in her hand: "Here's my key. I'll go to the building manager's office tomorrow to get the spare key."

"Ah."

Shiraishi Junka smiled and took out the Christmas gifts on the surface: "These are gifts for me and Reiko. We don't know much about electronic products, so we bought the whole set."

Makoto Takahashi glanced down at her white dress, recalling the feel of the ribbon.

Merry Christmas, Acheng!

Hina Nekoya's lively voice interrupted his thoughts, and a large gift box was stuffed into his arms.

"What is this?" Makoto Takahashi asked as he untied the ribbon.

"This is very popular lately. People give away their unwanted items as blind boxes to friends and family."

Hanakawa Kaori started eating ice cream at some point, staring intently at the TV screen as she explained, "It's probably just some useless stuff, and mine's in it too."

"I want one too," Shiraishi Junka said, her eyes shining.

"After you finish dinner, you can go to my bedroom and get it yourself."

Makoto Takahashi took a hairdryer out of the gift box given to him by Haruna Nekoya. There was no hairdryer in his apartment, only towels.

"what is this?"

Below the hair dryer is a red box with the number "001" in white.

"Oh, I'm not quite sure where this came from. It was in the pocket of my down jacket. You might find it useful." Nekoya Hina's eyes darted around.

It was probably when she was leaving Hokkaido that the cat-house mother reminded her to be careful and stuffed it directly into her clothes pocket.

“Cheng-kun and I never use this kind of thing.” Tatsumi Yuki smiled and swallowed a sip of black tea.

A chill swept in from the end of the corridor, and the temperature in the living room suddenly dropped several degrees.

Makoto Takahashi put the hairdryer and red box back into the gift box, looked up at the art studio, and said to Yuki Tatemi, "So, my bass is pretty useless too."

"Stop telling those boring bass jokes." Uesugi Maya crossed her arms and walked into the living room with a cold face, showing none of the soft, cuddly expression she had when she was in his arms.

"Hakiyo has such good mental fortitude," Takahashi Makoto thought to himself.

He put the gift box aside and said seriously, "Sit down, everyone. I have something to announce before dinner."

"Is it an announcement?" Tachikami Yuki's eyes were unfathomable.

"Is there something wrong?" Takahashi Makoto turned to her with a serious look, and Tachibana Yuki gave a gentle smile, decisively giving up the right to speak.

Maya Uesugi sat down across the coffee table from Yuki Tachimi, while Kaori Hanakawa got up with her ice cream and squeezed next to Junka Shiraishi, giving her seat to Reiko Kashima.

Hina Nekoya sat down on the other side of Maya Uesugi, pulled the tab on a can of beer, and asked with a cheerful laugh, "Can we start eating now?"

"of course."

Makoto Takahashi picked up the tongs and placed the beef ribs on the electric grill: "No undercooked food tonight. You can only eat it after it's fully cooked."

“The black Wagyu beef tonight is very high-class,” Uesugi Maya retorted.

“But you can’t eat it raw either,” Takahashi Makoto said firmly.

He opened a can of Coke, took a sip, and seeing the colorful spread on the baking tray, continued, "I've had a wrong idea for a long time, but I've just figured it out."

All eyes turned to her, but Shiraishi Junka was still putting thinly sliced ​​corn onto the baking tray.

“Fairness is not about equality, but about being seen. I don’t want to be the referee and have you all revolve around me; I want us all to work together.”

Makoto Takahashi spoke calmly, and the aroma of grilled meat slowly filled the air.

"I will take responsibility and never give up. As for the rest, I hope we can manage it together."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to cover the hand of Li Jianxing beside him.

It's impossible to avoid arguments; the key is to prevent internal collapse. Only by not running away or compromising can we help them find the most reasonable way to get along.

For example, Maya Uesugi and Reiko Kashima now work well together, can work in the student council together, and can quickly resolve any minor conflicts.

"You mean, you want everyone to feel favored?" Maya Uesugi asked.

These words were actually only spoken to her and Tatsumi Yuki; they were Uesugi Maya's answer to the question of "ideals."

“Giving a fish diving gear is useless,” Makoto Takahashi explained.

Uesugi Maya fell silent, while Hanakawa Kaori, who was still eating ice cream, raised her hand holding the spoon high, seizing the opportunity to liven up the atmosphere:

"I believe my brother can do it!"

Makoto Takahashi turned to look at her, and Hanakawa Kaori met his gaze, saying righteously, "A family can't be happy forever, but it can be together today and tomorrow too."

I really don't like chocolate.

Maya Uesugi picked up the tongs and flipped the vegetables and meat on the baking tray, then took out cream puffs from the paper bag as a pre-dinner dessert.

The topic ended there, and Nekoya Hina and Hanakawa Kaori exchanged glances and began to lighten the mood.

"I brought new board games today: The Liar's Tavern, The Witch's Poison, and Sparkling Gems."

Hanakawa Kaori pulled out a cardboard box from behind her back and asked excitedly, "Which one does Maya-nee want to play?"

"I'm not playing." Uesugi Maya refused without any politeness.

"Don't be like that. Didn't you beat Sachi-nee last time you played board games?" Hanakawa Kaori's simple words piqued her interest.

"Cheng-kun, you can eat now."

Tachibana Yuki used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef tongue and held it to Takahashi Makoto's lips: "Ah~"

Hina Nekoya seized the opportunity to deepen her relationship with Junka Shiraishi, whom she had met during the school trip, and handed her a beer: "Want to try it? I'll definitely be staying overnight anyway."

“…Okay.” Shiraishi Junko glanced at Takahashi Makoto and nodded slightly.

While she was trying out the beer, Nekoya Haruna reached for the beef ribs on the grill with her chopsticks: "This should be edible now, right?"

Kashima Reiko blocked her with chopsticks, and with her other hand, she used tongs to turn over the side that was seeping blood: "Eating raw meat and drinking blood is forbidden."

"What about the corn?" Shiraishi Junka asked.