Chapter 144

She said to Liang in a cute way.

"I... I came back to see how Ryo played with everyone..."

Ishikawa Hayato wasn't surprised by Ryo's appearance; he had sensed Ryo's approach long ago, and they had basically been back to back separated by a wall.

He sized up Liang Wen.

"Liang, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"My stomach hurts," Liang said, rubbing her stomach.

"It's probably because you ate too much tonight. Do you have any digestive aids or anything like that here?"

He naturally changed the subject, greeted Ryo's mother with a smile, and then walked behind Liang and pushed her to walk outside.

Ryo turned to look at Ishikawa Hayato, and seeing his slight smile, realized that he could handle it himself and didn't need her to interfere.

Feeling a little more at ease, she yawned and pointed the way.

"Storage room."

After getting Liang her medicine and giving her some warm water, the two of them headed back.

The two remained silent the entire way until they escorted Ryo to the room where she and the other three were staying. Ryo glanced at Ishikawa Hayato's room and saw that the light was still on.

She asked.

Is it troublesome?

"I guess I got what I deserved."

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and shrugged.

Liang chuckled, turned around, and put her hand on the doorknob. She suddenly asked...

"You won't do anything stupid, will you?"

"Hmm... that depends on whether Sister Ryo likes me or not."

"Ishikawa Hayato said, half-whining."

You know perfectly well.

Liang pushed open the door and entered the room, then quickly closed it.

Outside the door, Ishikawa Hayato sighed. Ryo had positioned himself perfectly; he hadn't even seen the view inside.

When Ishikawa Hayato returned to his room, he found Ryo's mother still there, and he smiled helplessly.

Ryo's mother saw him come in, and seeing that Liang wasn't following behind, she asked guiltily.

Is it cold?

"Going back to sleep."

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato say this, and recalling their tacit understanding, she sighed.

Are you two really not dating?

Ishikawa Hayato didn't answer.

Seeing his appearance, Ryo's mother roughly understood the situation. They didn't need a superficial boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, not even in the future.

She thought about it again as the two of them were leaving.

Judging from Liang's reaction, her words cannot be understood in the same way she had before; she meant...

As long as the five of them can maintain this atmosphere, she has no objections.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh, realizing that her daughter was truly difficult to understand.

"I understand Hayato-kun's thoughts, and I will discuss it with my husband later."

As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face, which resembled Liang's.

"Of course, I have no objection if Ryo is happy to accept it, and besides being a womanizer, Hayato-kun seems to have no other flaws."

After she finished speaking, she saw Ishikawa Hayato standing there, seemingly wanting to run away but not quite daring to.

"Thank you so much for your recognition..."

She smiled, but the smile vanished the next moment.

Liang walked in again from the doorway, looking tired and annoyed. He quickly walked to her side, took her arm, and led her outside.

"I'm sleepy, go to sleep."

Watching Ryo's mother being happily pulled away by Ryo, Ishikawa Hayato breathed a long sigh of relief.

124. Aches and pains

After a night, Nijika woke up early in the morning and sat up directly from the bed.

Although she still felt a bit heavy, her habit of waking up early was ingrained in her very being.

She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room.

The morning light, still dim from before sunrise, streamed in through the window. Its cool rays diffused throughout the room, making it appear quiet and desolate.

She lay on her left side, her usually expressionless face taking on a cute quality while asleep.

On the right, Bocchi was half-hugging the blanket, sleeping soundly.

On the far right, Kita, quite mischievously, stretched out her hand, reaching all the way to Bocchi's sheet. Even in her sleep, she seemed to be smiling.

Seeing that the other three were still sleeping peacefully, she felt a little better.

She was worried about something going wrong during this trip, such as whether there was an extra person or a missing person in their room in the morning.

Thankfully, that didn't happen.

There's nothing to worry about today. They plan to only come out for two days, and Liang's mother will come to pick them up this evening.

She tiptoed to her feet, preparing to wash up and make breakfast for the group.

She walked out of the room, closed the door, stretched, moved her arms, and sighed.

"Ouch, that really hurts! Haven't I been exercising enough...?"

As she turned around, she subconsciously glanced at Ishikawa Hayato's room, blinked in surprise, and then turned back around.

The door to Ishikawa Hayato's room was wide open.

She hurried over.

There was no one inside, and the bed was neatly made. If it weren't for the unusual way the blankets were folded, she would have suspected that he hadn't slept in the bed last night.

Where did they go?

Nijika went downstairs and looked around but couldn't find him.

Upon reaching the entryway, she noticed that Ishikawa Hayato's shoes were missing.

After a moment's hesitation, she put on her shoes and went outside.

She wasn't in a hurry to make breakfast. When they stayed at her house together before, apart from Bocchi sleeping in a little earlier, Kita also slept in very late, and Ryo even more so. Ryo wouldn't get up unless she was called to eat breakfast.

Stepping out of the villa, the sky was still a bluish-white, and the wind was cool and cold.

It was surprisingly cold; it's unbelievable that there was such a biting wind in the summer.

Nijika looked reluctant, but still glanced around before turning and walking towards the beach.

Upon reaching the beach, amidst the sound of the waves, she saw a figure bobbing in the water, his arms paddling the waves as he swam at an astonishing speed.

It's here.

She exhaled, smiled slightly, and at the same time felt a shiver run down her spine.

Although she knew the water wouldn't be much colder than the shore, she still instinctively felt a chill.

She didn't call out to Ishikawa Hayato, but stood on the shore, letting the cool sea breeze blow through her clothes, quietly waiting for him.

Before long, Ishikawa Hayato spotted Nijika standing on the shore.

He quickly swam to the shore, emerged from the water, and strode towards Nijika.

"Good morning..."

Nijika was about to greet him, but when she saw Ishikawa Hayato looking at her with a surprised expression and extending his hand, she knew that he was about to play a trick on her, so she didn't want to greet him anymore.

She looked at him with disdain as he tried to pull off this charade.

Ishikawa Hayato reached out and tapped Nijika's cheek.

"Oh, this 'Waiting-for-Husband Rock' is still soft."

"Who is the 'waiting-for-husband stone'?"

Nijika slapped his hand away, but seeing the smile on his face, she couldn't help but smile too.

"Looks like they're calling me home for dinner."

Ishikawa Hayato walked to the side, picked up the clothes that were weighed down by a stone, put on his pants, and then took the clothes to Nijika and draped them over her shoulders.

"I'm soaked, Nijika, can you help me put these on?"

"Put your own clothes on. You didn't bring a towel for swimming; what if you catch a cold?"

Nijika ignored him and instead started scolding him, then took his clothes and put them on him.

Ishikawa Hayato obediently accepted Nijika's help in dressing him, watching her quickly button it up, and said...

"A cold? That's an unfamiliar word."

Nijika looked up at him with disdain, noticing that water was still dripping from his hair, and then said...

"Don't shake your head."

"Looks like you've been tricked by Liang before," Ishikawa Hayato chuckled.

"Yes, it's really tough."

Nijika laughed and patted Ishikawa Hayato's arm, saying, "Running into the two of you was really the worst thing that ever happened to me. Let's go back now."

"I will remember Nijika's great kindness for the rest of my life."

As the two walked back, upon hearing the phrase "a lifetime," Nijika glanced sideways at Ishikawa Hayato, who, realizing his intentions had been discovered, feigned ignorance and smiled.

On the way, the two of them suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Nijika: Thank goodness this pervert was wearing underwear.

Ishikawa Hayato: Luckily, I was wearing my underwear while swimming.

Back at the villa, Ishikawa Hayato went to take a shower, Nijika went to prepare breakfast.

Ishikawa Hayato quickly finished showering, washed and hung his clothes to dry, glanced at the beginning of dawn, and headed to the kitchen.

Seeing Nijika busy at work, he naturally went over to help.

"I'll help with the preparations."

Nijika didn't refuse and made room for her.

The two worked together very well and quickly prepared several breakfasts in the kitchen.

However, as she was adding seasoning to the last portion of breakfast, Ishikawa Hayato took out a jar of white sugar and sprinkled it onto the food still in the pot right in front of Nijika.

Nijika grabbed his hand to stop him from pouring any more sugar after he had only poured a little bit, and forcefully placed the sugar jar on the table.

She turned around, put her hands on her hips, and asked Ishikawa Hayato with a smile.

"Hayato-kun, do you know that seasoning is a very important part of cooking? Are you dissatisfied with my cooking, or are you trying to make me angry?"

Ishikawa Hayato, who thought he could enjoy some sweet and cloying food after leaving home, shrugged pitifully.

"Putting on a pitiful act won't help; you've already been allowed to add enough."

Seeing that his scheme had been discovered, Ishikawa Hayato stopped pretending and said with a bright smile.

"Nijika is the best."

Nijika stared at him blankly; she wasn't buying it.

Ishikawa Hayato quickly backed down and took out the breakfast that Nijika had prepared.