Caught on the Spot / Good Thing You Didn't Wake Up

"Hotaru will definitely grow up to be a beautiful young woman, Allure of the Masses."

"Yes, this is it."

"So, is my brother currently infatuated with me?"

I need to rest for two days

Since my surgery last month, my health has been quite poor, and I've been constantly suffering from dressing changes and follow-up examinations. However, the website's 618 promotion requires me to keep updating before and during the promotion period, otherwise I won't get any more recommendations. So, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and keep writing. I planned to take a couple of days off after the promotion ended, but I received a lot of support and encouragement from wonderful readers. I really couldn't afford to stop updating while receiving donations like treasure chests and other "blade" rewards, so I continued trying to see if I could keep going until I fully recovered. But today, I really feel like I can't go on. I'm dizzy and my head is spinning, so I really can't write anything that will satisfy everyone.

Therefore, I have decided to take a two-day break and resume normal updates next Monday.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend filled with happiness and, most importantly, good health.

Chapter 377: Detained on the Spot

Faced with his sister's sudden and smooth combo, the battle-hardened Kitagawa Ryo, who was well-prepared, casually smoothed the completely dried and silky hair strand by strand while lightly tapping her fair and smooth forehead twice:

"What do you mean by 'now' or 'now'? If I didn't like Hotaru, I would have gotten rid of you, this little burden, years ago."

"Ugh... I can't refute it at all."

"Right? It's not like I suddenly wanted to seduce Hotaru because of what she's become now. To be honest, I knew about her when she was just a little kid..."

"What do you know? Do you know I'm going to be stuck with you for life?"

Hotaru interrupted Kitagawa Ryo with a slight smile, her hair completely dry. She stood up from the sofa, spun around, and then clung to him, pressing Kitagawa Ryo back against the sofa cushions.

"Just now outside, it felt like a down jacket hugging another down jacket. This is definitely more like it."

Because he had just finished showering, Kitagawa Ryo felt a blur before his eyes, and a warm and soft touch covered his limbs and chest and abdomen, just like the verb "become attached" from the sentence he had just said. In just a moment, he was being hugged tightly by his sister who was using both her hands and feet.

"Phew... so satisfying."

After letting his younger sister thoroughly ravage his pajamas, Kitagawa Ryo calmly reached out and neatly pulled back the hem of his shirt and the legs of his pajama bottoms, which had been pulled up slightly by the actions.

"You'll definitely feel warm after a shower, but you need to be extra careful not to catch a cold."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo patted his glowing ankles again:

"Put your socks on."

"Oh."

Perhaps it was because Kitagawa Ryo's tone was too practiced, but Hotaru seemed to subconsciously revert to their past interactions. She bent her knees and put on two pure white ankle socks before belatedly realizing what was happening. She then stubbornly stuck out her foot and poked Kitagawa Ryo's side twice in a protesting manner.

"Hey, if you're going to keep treating me like a child, then go all the way. Come to my bed right now and warm the blankets for me, and don't leave until I'm completely asleep."

As if in defiance, Hotaru rolled up her trouser legs, which Kitagawa Ryo had just pulled back, all the way up to her knees, revealing her fair, slender, and beautifully curved calves to Kitagawa Ryo:

"If I get a cramp, you'll have to massage it in like you used to until it's completely healed... even though I haven't had one in ages."

"Isn't this a good thing? I don't think anyone would like the experience of being woken up in the middle of the night by a muscle cramp, right?"

Because of the many hardships he had suffered in the past, before the words even left his mouth, Kitagawa Ryo instinctively reached out and pulled the other person's trouser leg down again, making sure it was completely flush with the socks, trying not to leave any gaps that would allow the cold air from outside to get in.

In response, Hotaru even lost the strength to complain:

"That's too much of an overprotective attitude. And even if my brother doesn't believe me, the hospital report should make it quite clear, right? I still need to interact with society, learn, and work. Can my brother just support me like he used to for the rest of my life?"

"It's not impossible."

"Wow, my brother just casually said something incredibly wrong! Can we sue him on the spot for infringing on his personal freedom or imprisonment?"

Showing a speechless expression of utter defeat, Hotaru put on her slippers again and walked up to Kitagawa Ryo. Then, she suddenly stretched out both hands, cupping Kitagawa Ryo's face from either side, and said earnestly with a burning gaze:

"Alright, let's put aside the topic of whether or not to dump it, and start with the initial question."

"You contacted and decided on the hospital and treatment plan yourself, and you also earned the money to pay for my medical expenses. That's why I was willing to leave you and go abroad alone for treatment until now. You wanted me to be healthy, and I wanted to be healthy too. Now that wish has been fulfilled. If you still can't believe it or adapt to it, then come and see for yourself."

As she spoke, Hotaru's right hand slowly slid down Kitagawa Ryo's cheek, until it reached his left wrist before she gripped it tightly again, pressing Kitagawa Ryo's left hand against her face.

"Hmm, I already confirmed this on the way, so let's fast forward."

Nodding in agreement, Hotaru then placed Kitagawa Ryo's hand down to her shoulder and arm, mimicking the strongmen she'd seen on TV, bending her forearm and trying to bulge out her non-existent muscles, while still speaking with a smug grin:

"How is it? You're not skinny anymore, are you? Can you feel it swelling up a little bit? I've never slacked off during my daily recovery training over there."

To be honest, Kitagawa Ryo initially thought Hotaru was serious about doing something big for him, but by this point, he couldn't help but chuckle. He pretended to pinch his sister's little arm a couple of times—which, while certainly no longer skin and bones, was definitely not muscular—and nodded vigorously, trying hard to suppress a smile.

"Indeed, indeed."

However, fearing that Hotaru might get carried away by his praise and continue to take him to check the development of other parts below the shoulders, Kitagawa Ryo casually pulled his hand away from his sister's grasp. Using the Sakayanagi Arisu, he slipped both hands under Hotaru's armpits, lifted her up like a kitten being grabbed by the scruff of its neck, and then gently placed her back on the sofa beside him.

"Alright, I believe Hotaru is indeed a healthy child now, otherwise I would have filed a complaint against that hospital. As for whether it's overprotective, Hotaru, just consider it that I can't change my various little habits from the past anytime soon."

"Of course, if Hotaru doesn't like it, I'll try to tone it down a bit. After all, like you said, we've all grown up, and some things that were taken for granted in the past are no longer appropriate."

Faced with Kitagawa Ryo's words, Hotaru looked away dejectedly, hugging her knees and muttering softly:

"That's right. After all, Liang is now the young master of a famous conglomerate. Speaking of which, maybe I should change my surname in the future to avoid being misunderstood."

Despite the obvious angry words spoken in a fit of pique, Kitagawa Ryo, as the older brother, maintained considerable patience, and he could genuinely understand the other's anxiety and unease.

To reiterate, if we're discussing its impact on his real life, the talent he acquired by completing the Horikita Suzune simulation in one life and manifesting it in reality must be among the top three of all his established talents. Besides ensuring his re-entry into Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, the changes in the thinking of Ichinose Honami, Karuizawa Kei, Sakayanagi Arisu, and many other girls were all more or less influenced by this sudden halo of the zaibatsu.

This is precisely why the three years of high school life at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School are so cherished and valued by everyone, because when they graduate and enter society, their feelings for each other will inevitably be affected by many objective realities.

"But for me, this is all dispensable. After all, as Hotaru just said, they didn't come knocking on our door when we were in our most difficult time. Even without them, I managed to raise Hotaru's medical expenses myself. This is not even icing on the cake."

"Besides, the bond between Ying and me wasn't entirely based on so-called blood ties. If blood ties were really that important, Father and Mother wouldn't have abandoned us in the first place, right?"

It was just like the Matoba from a few years ago when they had just taken over a house that was in complete disarray and only the two of them remained. Kitagawa Ryo's tone and expression overlapped with his appearance back then, both clearly and vaguely, in Hotaru's eyes.

Indeed, for Hotaru, as long as the man in front of her was still her brother, she could say that her family was perfectly happy.

Everyone else is irrelevant and superfluous; even if they were deleted, they wouldn't leave behind any memorable fragments.

"... Will my brother think I'm acting strange today, or that I'll be annoying?"

"No, having a lot of random thoughts means you're healthy, have plenty of energy, and your mind is free. That's much better than waking up every day and thinking about the most pressing issues of life and death without ever changing your mind."

Kitagawa Ryo could certainly sense that the Hotaru of today was a completely different person from the more obedient and sensible younger sister he remembered. However, he also knew that the latter's personality was entirely shaped by a number of real-life problems that were not appropriate for her age.

Therefore, he preferred the younger sister in front of him, whose thoughts seemed to change every second, and who childishly wanted to prove to him that she had grown up, rather than the younger sister who would secretly take the final photos of him in advance without his knowledge.

However, Kitagawa Ryo also admitted it.

He truly looked forward to seeing Ying grow up healthy and strong.

However, I really have absolutely no experience in this area.

To be honest, since reuniting with his sister this afternoon, Kitagawa Ryo has been under more pressure than he ever experienced in any Special Exam at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. He was almost completely at a loss when Hotaru clung to him and rubbed against him.

A fifteen-year-old girl who has already experienced two physiological developments cannot be compared to a ten-year-old child. Moreover, Kitagawa Ryo is no longer in the situation where she only dabbled in simulations a few times; her skills have already been fully developed.

Here, Kitagawa Ryo also had to comment on and criticize a certain outstanding graduate of the White Room who, ever since he learned that his eye color was also the same fluorescent yellow as someone else's, devoted himself to playing various role-playing games, making him a little distracted when he heard Hotaru calling him "brother" this and "brother" that.

"Oh, I see. That puts my mind at ease."

Like a soft-bodied creature, Hotaru arched her back and rested her upper body on Kitagawa Ryo's legs. A smile returned to Hotaru's face as she reached up and gently stroked the contours of his eyebrows and eyes.

"Now I think I can understand a little why so many girls are willing to send me gifts."

"However, I should have been the first to discover it. All of my brother's good qualities, all the reasons why others would like him, before anyone else... hehehe, I had already realized and felt them."

"Actually, when I first found out I had this congenital genetic disease, and my brother said he would become a theater Actor to earn money for my medical expenses, I didn't really believe it at the time. After all, my brother had never shown any talent in this area before."

"I remember back then, well, how should I put it, sometimes I thought it was good that my brother could find a goal to strive for, and it would be even better if he could support himself through it. But sometimes I thought that instead of wasting his time on this, pinning his hopes on his vague plan to earn medical expenses through drama, it would be better for him to spend more time with me and take me to free temple fairs. After all, I always felt that my brother was more likely to succeed in those little games like goldfish scooping and ring toss, and I was happy to go out with him."

"And then, when that day finally comes, I'll become a star in the sky, just like in the story, watching over my brother day and night, wishing him a world of absolute happiness. I won't just give him those simple three talents; I'll give him so much more, everything, everything, until we achieve our goal."

"Completely a child's thought process, right?"

As if she felt too ashamed of the thoughts she had once held, Hotaru blushed as she spoke, and simply covered Kitagawa Ryo's eyes to prevent him from seeing, even trying to make a louder noise to cover it up:

"But guess what! My brother actually succeeded! He became a super famous theater Actor! That's amazing! Let's give him a clap-clap sound with our mouths, clap clap clap!"

"Finally, my brother won't have to dress up as Santa Claus and slip birthday presents under my pillow while I'm asleep this year, like he always does."

"Otherwise, hmph—I'll just treat you like a present from Santa Claus and dump you right on my pillow."

Chapter 378: Thank goodness you didn't wake up

As it turns out, Ying isn't a child who's good at staying up late.

Perhaps it was because she had developed a fairly healthy and reasonable routine during the years she had been receiving treatment, or perhaps it was simply because she had been immersed in a warm and relaxing environment for the first time in a long time. When the hour hand of the clock on the wall had just reached eleven, Hotaru, overcome with drowsiness, had already dozed off in Kitagawa Ryo's arms, her little head bobbing up and down.

Under these circumstances, Kitagawa Ryo naturally didn't intend to insist on the plan of saying "Happy Birthday" at exactly 12:00. He quickly and quietly carried his sister back to her bed, carefully covered her with the blanket, and meticulously arranged all the corners of the blanket before turning off the room light, gently closing the door and leaving.

Although Hotaru's day had come to an end as she smiled and drifted into her sweetest dream, Kitagawa Ryo's day was far from over.

Kitagawa Ryo checked the time on his phone, then drew back the curtains to look at the streets outside where a light snow was still falling. He quickly rummaged through his wardrobe and pulled out a complete set of cotton-padded clothes, sweater, and down jacket, changing into them as if he were about to head out.

But considering that Hotaru used to wake up suddenly once or twice at night, Kitagawa Ryo felt a little uneasy, so he decided to leave her a note with instructions on the living room table.

So, after finding paper and pen at home, Kitagawa Ryo casually wrote it down.

The message read, "There's a match tomorrow, so I'm going back to the hotel to prepare." After writing this, he seemed to ponder it for a while before carefully adding the specific time and location of the match, and finally adding, "I hope Hotaru can come to the venue to cheer me on."

After writing all of the above, Kitagawa Ryo nodded with satisfaction. Knowing his sister as he did, he knew that even if she woke up groggily in the middle of the night, she would only be drawn to the latter part of the note and ignore the slight incongruity of him going out in the middle of the night.

There was no other way. Ever since the last Cultural Festival, as Time Management Master, he knew he had to take all the unexpected variables into account, otherwise a domino effect could occur, destroying all subsequent plans in one fell swoop.

After doing all this, Kitagawa Ryo went to the entrance to change his shoes, preparing to rush to the second invitation of the evening.

Based on past experience, Xue should already be waiting at his hotel. Hopefully, she won't run into Ichika head-on, since the latter's mood is definitely not pleasant right now.

While silently making this subtle complaint in his mind, Kitagawa Ryo put his shoes on tightly, then took a deep breath, intending to step from the warm indoors into the cold outdoors.

But as soon as he pushed open the door, what rushed into his eyes was not only the cold wind and fine snow outside, but also the snow that seemed to have just found its way here, standing gracefully against this night scene.

The faint light from inside the room illuminated the small area where she stood. Snowflakes hidden in the night reflected the light with exquisite detail, landing in wisps on the hood and eyebrows of the girl who shared the same name as them. Then, as she looked up and took off her hood, they were brushed aside.

Kitagawa Ryo saw the spirit of the winter night smirking at him, a hint of slyness and smugness in its eyes.

"My sister just fell asleep, so please keep your voice down."

After welcoming Xue into the house, Kitagawa Ryo had taken off his somewhat bulky cotton-padded coat again, poured a cup of hot water for her, who was curiously looking around at the surroundings. He then pointed to the closed door not far away and made a shushing gesture by putting his right index finger to his lips.

"Okay, I understand."

Yuki took the hot water from Kitagawa Ryo with both hands, but didn't drink it immediately. Instead, she held the cup in her hands, enjoying the comforting warmth from her palms.

I thought Xue would be waiting for me at the hotel.

"That was indeed the case at first, but when I didn't see Liang check in around noon, I asked the front desk and found out that Liang had just run away. Naturally, I assumed that Liang must have returned to her home here."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't even bother to care how Yuki knew his home address; he just smiled. But he was still a little nervous inside. Every few seconds, his gaze would unconsciously drift towards his sister's door. He had the feeling that she was about to rub her sleepy eyes, yawn, and push open the door, then wake up in disbelief and stare wide-eyed at him, asking who this girl he had brought back was.

"Although it did snow these past two days, it was a real shame that it was such a light snowfall that it turned into water as soon as it fell and didn't pile up at all... It felt more like freezing rain than snow."

As if completely oblivious to Kitagawa Ryo's odd behavior, Yuki simply held the hot water cup in her hands, turned her head slightly to gaze absently at the swirling snowflakes outside the window, and uttered a somewhat regretful sigh.

"Yeah, but if the temperature gets a bit colder, it should snow a lot, enough to pile up on the ground."

The girl's expression in profile was so captivating that even Kitagawa Ryo, whose mind was half on Hotaru, was drawn back to her. However, his gaze didn't turn to the snow outside the window like Hotaru's; instead, he looked at Yuki, who was watching the snow.

"Hmm, let it cool down a bit."

Seemingly noticing Kitagawa Ryo's gaze, Yuki also turned her gaze away from the snow scene outside the window, called his name softly, and then carefully placed the hot water cup in her hand back on the coffee table in front of her.

When Kitagawa Ryo walked up to her, Yuki tentatively pressed her hands, which had been warmed by the sun, against his face, tilted her head slightly, and asked:

"It's not cold anymore, is it?"

"Mmm, it's warm."

"Good."

After receiving Kitagawa Ryo's affirmative answer, Yuki nodded in relief. Then, quite skillfully, she lay down on his back and deftly slipped her right hand inside the opening of his collar. The momentary stimulation made Kitagawa Ryo tremble involuntarily and let out a muffled groan.

Just as he subconsciously intended to look up at the door to Ying's room, Xue's other hand gently covered his eyes from above, forcibly depriving him of all his vision.

Perhaps she found it too tiring to speak in a situation where she had to lower her voice, or perhaps she simply had experienced a certain addictive pleasure after that Cultural Festival, after just a few brief pleasantries, Xue began to express all her emotions with the most straightforward and direct actions.

However, just like the joke circulating on the internet about stripping your partner of seven, eight, or even ten layers of clothing and underwear before going to bed, winter is always such an annoying time of year. There wasn't much snow coming from outside, and Kitagawa Ryo, who had just prepared to go out, was also dressed very warmly.

It was precisely because of this situation that Kitagawa Ryo finally found a suitable opportunity to successfully turn the tables. He pinned Yuki, who had just finished rummaging through her sweater, to the sofa with both hands. After managing to calm her down a bit, he helplessly pointed to Hotaru's room, indicating that if the two of them made any more noise, he probably wouldn't be able to get a second glance from his sister for the rest of his life.

"... Ryo's departure from school this time was definitely not just for his promise to me."

After being stopped by Kitagawa Ryo, Yuki also grumbled and showed a slightly resentful look. For the first time in her life, she felt a little disgusted with this cold, snowy season.

After all, it's summer now, and the time they spent just now was enough for the two of them to burn with passion for several rounds. It's not like they haven't even seen each other's final armor yet.

"It's one thing for you to be jealous of Ichika and Arisu, but why are you getting so hung up on Hotaru, who doesn't understand anything? Besides, I only came back to celebrate my sister's birthday. I was just about to go out and look for you, wasn't I?"