I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

In contrast, Shuya was younger than her, yet his stamina was far better.

Furthermore, he was also taller than Mai.

Shuya treated Mai's sweet, breathless gasps as background music, getting more and more pumped up as he exercised.

...Why does this description sound a bit lewd?

Mai collapsed after running for half an hour, and she had to rest for a while before continuing.

Shuya ran for an hour straight without stopping.

An hour later, Shuya was drenched in sweat, the results clearly showing.

"Shu, Shuya. Your stamina is just too incredible."

Mai had already finished more than half a bottle of water, and her legs were trembling as she gripped the treadmill.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?"

"No, no, I'm fine... just let me re, rest for a bit, and I'll be okay."

Mai tried to head toward the rest area, but as she moved, she suddenly felt her legs go weak and she started to fall forward.

"Ah!"

After letting out a short, sharp scream, she felt herself fall into a warm embrace.

Shuya, of course, wouldn't just watch her face-plant, so he came over and caught her.

Shuya held Mai's warm, soft body, his arms wrapped around her waist.

After an hour of exercise, Mai's sportswear was basically soaked.

Shuya didn't think much of it.

He didn't have such a high sex drive, and he wasn't interested in loli juices.

Instead, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

Because it was too hot.

Although Mai's small body felt soft and comfortable to hold, and she smelled good too... hmm?

Wait!

Shuya, don't let this little temptress bewitch you!

Think of Rena!

Ah, those breasts, those legs.

I'm good now.

Shuya pulled Mai away and noticed that her face and even her ears were completely red, though he didn't know if it was a reaction to the exercise or because of him.

"Mai?" Shuya asked with concern, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I, I'm fine!... Hmph, I'm not going to feel shy just because I was held by a boy younger than me!"

Mai reacted over-the-top.

"?"

Shuya tilted his head: "..."

He smiled and said, "Anyway, let me help you to the rest area first!"

"Ignored? I was ignored?!"

Mai was stunned.

"Alright, alright, be good, listen to me."

As an adult, Shuya naturally wouldn't have any thoughts about this little brat, even if he did think Mai's reaction just now was cute.

And rather than having any messy thoughts, Shuya felt it was more important to find someone to check on her.

With a focused mind, Shuya helped the soft little loli to the rest area and found a female coach to take a look at her.

It turned out nothing was wrong; it was just that Mai, who didn't usually exercise, had overexerted herself by running for so long.

Seeing that Mai had finished her water, Shuya considerately took her bottle to refill it.

"Here, back to you. Make sure to stay hydrated... what's wrong?"

When Shuya returned the bottle to Mai, he noticed her mood had shifted again, and she looked dejected.

The mind of this little girl is truly impossible to fathom.

Fortunately, Shuya had been trained to have extreme patience by the five huskies at home.

He sat down next to Mai and asked again, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Mai said sullenly, "I just feel like, even though I'm older than you, how come you seem more like the elder one?"

"I am your senior, after all. Isn't it only natural to take care of my junior?"

Shuya said.

"That's not what I meant. I just feel that your... mental state? It's far more mature than mine."

After saying this, Mai sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"It's a gift. You can't envy that."

Shuya said indifferently. If you were reborn, you could do it too.

"A gift, huh... What a cruel word."

"Yeah, it is."

Shuya and Mai stopped talking.

He made no attempt to comfort Mai.

Although he and Mai had only known each other for a few days, it was enough for him to figure out her personality; she was not a weak person.

Sure enough, after resting for a while, Mai pulled herself together.

She smiled and said, "Sorry, it seems my physical exhaustion affected my mood just now. I'm sorry for making you listen to such depressing talk."

"It doesn't matter. Aren't we friends?"

Shuya shook his head.

Mai teased, "Eh, didn't you say before that you and I were good friends? Why the demotion?"

"...Hm? Did I? I forgot."

Shuya scratched his hair, only then remembering he had said that when introducing her to Horiuchi Susumu. He hadn't expected Mai to remember.

"Of course I remember. I don't have any other friends in the entertainment industry."

Mai said those cruel words quite breezily.

Her heart was truly strong enough.

Mai suddenly poked Shuya in the waist and said, "Hey, hey, Shuya, Shuya."

Shuya replied offhandedly, "What is it, Mai-Mai?"

"I, for one, will absolutely not admit defeat. I will definitely become a better actor than you!"

Mai announced solemnly, her eyes sparkling.

Shuya raised an eyebrow and accepted the challenge: "Fine, I'll be waiting for you up ahead. But for now... you need to get some proper rest!"

He grabbed Mai, who was overexcited and wanted to go running again, and pressed her back into the chair.

Shuya said with a headache, "Seriously, do all kids have ADHD? Can't you sit still for a single moment? The Quintuplets are like this, and you're the same..."

"The Quintuplets..."

Mai murmured, repeating the name.

"Shuya, what is your relationship with those Quintuplets?"

Mai blurted out.

"I'm their dad!"

Shuya also blurted out.

"Eh..."

The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.

Mai's gaze turned cold for an instant.

Shuya coughed and defended himself: "No, what I meant was, in terms of feeling? Mentally? Because I'm always taking care of their meals, taking them out to play, and things like that... so, you know? You get it, right?"

"Hmph—" Mai let out a long nasal sound. "I'll believe you for now."

Her eyes still held a hint of suspicion.

"Shuya, you wouldn't happen to have feelings for them..."

"I don't, I haven't, don't talk nonsense! I don't have any thoughts about little girls!"

Shuya retorted fiercely.

"Is that so? No thoughts about little girls."

Mai was noncommittal, and Shuya couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Forget it, it has nothing to do with me anyway."

Mai said indifferently, turning the conversation to ask about the Quintuplets.

It was clear she was curious, and Shuya was happy to shift the focus, so he picked out some funny stories to tell her.

After satisfying Mai's curiosity, Shuya saw there was only half an hour left and said, "Mai-chan, it's about time. Let's go take a shower; you don't want to go back covered in sweat, do you?"

"Ah?... Pervert! Shuya, you idiot!"

Mai suddenly clutched her chest and sprang away.

"Guoguo, you were definitely enjoying it when you hugged me just now, weren't you?!"

"???"

Shuya looked at her, speechless, and said helplessly, "Mai-chan, why are you wearing Pinru's clothes?"

"Pin...ru? Who?"

Mai was left dumbfounded by Shuya's words.

Shuya muttered a phrase in Great Hua Language: "You're such a slut~" and went off to the bathroom to shower on his own.

"Hey!... Hmph. Ignoring me again."

Although Mai was dissatisfied, she didn't dare to follow him into the men's bathroom.

Shuya finished washing up quickly, his mood feeling refreshed along with his body. He stood in the lounge area outside the bathroom, drinking the complimentary iced milk provided by the gym, feeling completely at ease.

"Shu, Shuya..."

A low call came from the direction of the women's bathroom. Shuya turned his head to see Mai-chan leaning against the wall with a face full of shame, saying, "Can, can you give me a hand? I can't walk anymore..."

Because her small, animal-like behavior was so cute, Shuya couldn't help but laugh. He smiled and helped her out.

"Thank you..."

Mai-chan's voice was so soft that Shuya almost couldn't hear it.

As he helped Mai back to the lounge area, a female coach saw Mai's condition and very attentively began to massage her legs.

"..."

Shuya found it difficult to tear his gaze away from her straight legs and pearl-like toes.