Evening, around 8 PM.
Having finished cleaning up the dishes, Shirai Mio stretched lazily, then prepared to head back to her room to write or finish that half-completed doujinshi.
However, just as she bid Shiina Mashiro farewell and was about to leave, Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly approached, asking curiously, "Kouhai, are you heading back already?"
"Mm, I'm going back to do homework and review tomorrow's lessons." Mio's response sounded like a model student.
"You know, I haven't even visited your place yet, kouhai. Mind if I come along and take a look?"
"Of course you can, but senpai, aren't you going to keep drinking with the two teachers?"
Though Mio said she welcomed it, she was actually a bit puzzled about what Yukinoshita Haruno wanted to do at her place.
Still, as long as there was no task involved, Haruno could do whatever she wanted. It's not like she'd eat her or anything, right?
"Compared to beer, I'm way more curious about what kouhai's home looks like~"
Yukinoshita Haruno leaned close to Shirai Mio's ear, speaking in a soft, gentle voice.
Although Yukinoshita Haruno wasn't drunk, her fair cheeks had taken on a faint blush from the alcohol, making her look even more bewitching and alluring than usual.
So beautiful that even Shirai Mio couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.
Yukinoshita Haruno really was gorgeous. If she'd had a girlfriend like this before her transmigration, she probably would've woken up laughing in her sleep.
But now... well, never mind that.
Shirai Mio led Yukinoshita Haruno back to her place.
Since it was her first time visiting Shirai Mio's home, Yukinoshita Haruno immediately began curiously surveying her surroundings upon entering.
However, after looking around, she didn't find anything unusual—if anything, it felt overly minimalist, lacking a lived-in atmosphere.
She'd actually asked Sengoku Chihiro about Shirai Mio's situation before. Both parents dead from an accident, living here alone to attend school, usually eating meals at Chihiro-sensei's place—so this feeling made sense.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for this white-haired kouhai.
Before long, Yukinoshita Haruno arrived at Shirai Mio's bedroom door.
Before she could say anything, Shirai Mio proactively offered, "Senpai, want to check out my room?"
"Sure. Should I wait outside while you tidy up?"
"No need. I don't keep anything in my room I can't let people see."
She'd already put away all the doujinshi Eriri had given her—for safety's sake, she'd even moved them to another room. If there was anything that couldn't be seen, it'd only be the study materials in her computer's E drive.
Compared to the living room, Shirai Mio's bedroom had a bit more of a lived-in feel.
Still, in Haruno's opinion, it was still too sparse—nothing like a girl's room.
After carefully observing the room, Yukinoshita Haruno casually sat down on Shirai Mio's bed. Then she spotted a single golden strand of hair on the bed—undoubtedly from Shiina Mashiro.
Looks like the two often sleep together.
Though two girls sleeping together wasn't anything unusual.
"Kouhai, do you live here all alone?"
"Mm. Mashiro sometimes comes over to sleep with me."
Actually, "sometimes" should be "every day" at this point. After all, nowadays either Shiina Mashiro came over to sleep, or she went over there.
"So the other rooms just stay empty?"
"Mm."
"Then how about I move in and live with you?" Yukinoshita Haruno said casually.
"If senpai likes, you can move in anytime." Shirai Mio's expression didn't change at all.
She didn't believe Yukinoshita Haruno would actually move in. After all, this place was quite a distance from the university Haruno attended—even driving would be inconvenient.
Hearing Shirai Mio's answer, Yukinoshita Haruno raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this white-haired kouhai afraid she'd actually move in? If she just agreed right now, Shirai Mio's expression would probably be pretty amusing.
Unfortunately, the conditions didn't allow for it.
Just as Shirai Mio was thinking about continuing the tour, Haruno suddenly moved closer.
Originally, Mio thought she was going to say something and had already prepared a response, but what came instead was a strawberry-flavored Pocky stick.
Though she didn't know where Haruno had pulled that from, Shirai Mio didn't stand on ceremony and bit down directly. The taste wasn't bad.
Perhaps finding it entertaining to watch Shirai Mio eat, Yukinoshita Haruno fed her several more sticks. Then, seeming to think of something, she smiled and asked, "Kouhai, want to play a game with me?"
"What game?"
"A game of who gives in first."
As Yukinoshita Haruno spoke, she pulled out a Pocky stick from the box and held it between her lips, her meaning crystal clear.
Hearing Yukinoshita Haruno's suggestion, Shirai Mio's brow furrowed slightly. She'd suspected this troublesome woman had designs on her before, and now her behavior only deepened that suspicion.
But thinking about it carefully, she and Yukinoshita Haruno hadn't actually met that many times, so it shouldn't be very likely.
Seeing no response from Shirai Mio, Yukinoshita Haruno tilted her head and asked, "Little kouhai, want to play?"
"Play!"
Though she didn't know what Yukinoshita Haruno was thinking, she didn't have any tasks active right now. Since Haruno wanted to play, she'd play along. After all, she wasn't planning to stop—she didn't believe Yukinoshita Haruno wouldn't pull away.
With that thought, Shirai Mio also leaned forward and bit the other end of the Pocky stick, then fixed her gaze on Yukinoshita Haruno and started eating.
Yukinoshita Haruno wasn't about to back down either. Though Shirai Mio looked quite aggressive, to Haruno it seemed more like an act. Whether it was an act or not, she wouldn't stop first.
She didn't believe Shirai Mio wouldn't break.
The Pocky stick was only so long, and soon the distance between them grew shorter and shorter, but neither showed any sign of wanting to stop.
The inevitable result was obvious—the two who never stopped ended up touching, and the atmosphere became subtly... charged.
In Yukinoshita Haruno's usually calm eyes, a rare flash of surprise crossed, along with another emotion that was hard to define.
Shirai Mio wasn't any better off. She hadn't expected this troublesome woman would actually not pull away!
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