"Yui~"
Walking into the classroom, Shirai Mio spotted Yuigahama Yui with her back turned. Without hesitation, she moved in close and hugged her from behind, greeting her affectionately.
"Mio!?"
Feeling the faint fragrance coming from Mio's body and that soft sensation pressing against her, Yui's face predictably turned red.
The other students in the classroom were already used to this scene—some even found it pleasant to watch.
Two beautiful girls being close was definitely better than watching a beautiful girl get close with some guy.
"Hmm? Yui, I feel like you didn't get enough sleep. You even have dark circles under your eyes." Mio said with concern.
"I-I just got a bit too into watching TV last night and stayed up late. It's nothing." Yui said nervously, not even daring to meet Mio's eyes at this moment.
Last night, driven by curiosity, she'd searched online for quite a lot of 'study materials.'
Originally, she thought she was just satisfying her curiosity, but by the time she snapped out of it, it was already late into the night.
Being up late was one thing, but the problem was that after getting into bed, she couldn't fall asleep no matter what. Her mind was full of images of girls being intimate with each other.
When she finally managed to fall asleep, she had a strange dream where she and Mio were intimately close, and they even...
Thinking about something, the blush that had just faded from Yui's face climbed back up her cheeks once again.
Fortunately, this was her usual state when Mio hugged her like this, so Mio didn't notice anything strange.
She simply assumed Yui was embarrassed because of the hug.
Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang in Mio's ear: "Because of the host, Yuigahama Yui is feeling shy. I know the considerate host definitely wouldn't choose to press the advantage at a time like this. As the host's black-hear—I mean, thoughtful companion, this system will naturally look out for you."
"Please find a way to make your own heart race three times or more through Yuigahama Yui before morning classes end. Success will potentially reward you with cards or items from the Yuigahama Yui series. Failure will result in drawing a punishment card set."
"Do your best, host!"
After hearing the task description, Mio couldn't help but frown. The difficulty of this task was that she had to make her own heart race through Yuigahama Yui to complete it.
She had no idea what heart rate would count as accelerated.
How was she supposed to do this?
Mio looked at Yuigahama Yui, falling into thought.
Noticing Mio's gaze, Yui blinked. Despite not having done anything, she suddenly felt a little panicked for some reason and even started overthinking, wondering if something was wrong with her.
Just as Yui was lost in wild thoughts, Mio suddenly moved close to her face. Their cheeks were now less than a fist's width apart.
Faced with Mio's sudden approach, Yui got so nervous she forgot how to speak.
Mio looked seriously into Yui's eyes, but her heart didn't race. Instead, it was Yui whose heart started racing from being stared at.
Instinctively avoiding Mio's gaze, Yui asked quietly, "Mio, is something wrong with my face?"
"Nothing. I just think Yui is really pretty, so I wanted to look at you more."
"Eh?"
Yui stared at Mio blankly, momentarily unable to tell whether she was joking or seriously complimenting her.
Just as Mio was about to try another method, the class bell suddenly rang, and she could only watch as Yui returned to her seat.
Watching Hiratsuka-sensei walk into the classroom, Mio began seriously thinking about how to complete this task.
If Yuigahama Yui kissed her, her heart should race, right?
But this was school—getting Yui to do something like that seemed pretty much impossible.
Yui, having adjusted her mood and prepared to focus on class, habitually glanced back at Mio, only to find Mio staring at her with a dazed expression.
Yui didn't quite understand why Mio kept staring at her.
And that look in her eyes felt somehow different from usual—like she was struggling with something.
Though what exactly she was struggling with, Yui had no idea.
However, Yui suddenly remembered one of those study materials she'd watched last night. It was about a girl having a crush on another girl, and the way that girl looked at her crush felt oddly similar to how Mio was looking at her now.
No, no, no—she must be overthinking this.
But... what if?
What if Mio actually liked her?
Though it was just a strange thought born from overthinking, Yui's heart began racing uncontrollably.
She even found herself thinking that if she could date Mio, it might actually be pretty nice.
Setting aside how attractive Mio was, she was also great at cooking, had a wonderful personality, and though she liked to tease people sometimes...
Thinking about something, Yui's tense expression suddenly softened, and a faint smile unconsciously curved her lips.
"Yuigahama, was what I just said that funny?"
Hearing Hiratsuka-sensei's voice, Yui jumped to her feet, saying nervously, "N-No!"
"Then what are you smiling about? Pay attention in my class!"
"Yes, ma'am."
Yui meekly agreed, then instinctively glanced back at Mio. She could see Mio still looking her way, and after noticing her gaze, Mio gave her a sweet smile.
Feeling like she was about to start overthinking again, Yui quickly took two deep breaths and forced her attention back to the blackboard.
She was afraid if she kept going down this mental rabbit hole, she wouldn't be able to focus on class at all.
The class period passed quickly. As the bell rang, before Yui could even stand up, Mio had already moved to her side and sat directly in her lap.
Yui, who'd just barely managed to relax, instantly tensed up again.
"Mio?"
"Don't mind me, I just wanted to see if sitting in your lap would make my heart race."
"Eh!?"
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