manynovel Page 33
Page 33
So it really is formed after birth?
It's most likely due to family factors.
A gambling father, a sick mother, a younger brother in school, a broken home, and the like.
In this situation, it's necessary to proceed gradually; he needs to get the other party to accept the "guardian" role step by step.
Thinking about it, Yuto Itsuka felt something was off.
Is this really something that would happen in a normal romantic relationship?
Volume 1: Chapter 41: The Frail Boy Itsuka Yuto
Early the next morning.
Yuto Itsuka was awakened by a series of alternating chills and fever.
"Cough cough... Is this a fever?"
I feel a little dizzy, weak and hot all over, and have no energy.
He stretched out his arm and groped around for a while before finally reaching the phone on the bedside table.
Open LINE, find Mai Sakurajima, type and send.
"Who's more handsome than me: Senior, the Five Rivers are in danger, return immediately!"
After thinking for a moment, he added another sentence.
"Who's more handsome than me? With a fever of 40 degrees Celsius, if you don't come, remember to burn incense for me next year on this day. Oh, and the key's under the door."
After sending the message, he felt completely drained. His phone slipped from his hand and fell onto his pillow, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
……
After an unknown amount of time, Yuto Itsuka regained some consciousness from his dazed state.
He felt as if he were floating in warm seawater, surrounded by silence with only the sound of his own heavy breathing.
His eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and it took him a great deal of effort to barely open them a crack.
The room was dark, with heavy curtains blocking out most of the light.
He slowly turned his eyes to adjust to the dim light, and then he saw a figure quietly leaning against his bedside.
The person leaned against the edge of the bed, legs together and knees bent, long, smooth black hair spread over their shoulders.
To be honest, it was really weird to wake up and find a figure sitting next to your bed. Anyone else would probably be screaming by now.
Mai Sakurajima noticed that he had woken up and slowly turned her head.
"woke up?"
"Ah."
Mai Sakurajima stood up and went to the kitchen to bring back a cup of hot water.
Instead of handing it to him directly, she first helped him up a little from the bed and then placed a pillow behind his back so that he could lean back comfortably.
Only after she had done all this did she bring the water glass to his lips.
Yuto Itsuki obediently drank a few sips of water, the hot water soothing his parched throat and making him feel much better.
"Thank you."
Mai Sakurajima did not respond; she simply took the cup back and placed it back on the table.
He leaned against the pillow, sizing her up.
She was still wearing her Mineohara High School uniform, with the skirt neatly hanging down to her knees, suggesting she had come directly from the school.
"Senior...you've been here all this time?"
"Ah."
"Since when?"
"After the second period in the morning."
Yuto Itsuka mentally calculated the time; it was around 9:30.
Looking at the sky outside the window now, it's probably already afternoon.
In other words, she stayed there for at least four or five hours.
This was the kindest person to him after his parents and Aunt Sayuri. Although she herself might not have felt it, Yuto Itsuka was very moved.
He felt that he was no human being to have devised such an evil strategy to win over Mai Sakurajima.
I will definitely not do that again next time.
He made a silent vow in his heart.
After regaining his senses, Yuto Itsuka felt a sticky feeling on his forehead, indicating that he had sweated a lot. His T-shirt was also soaked and clung tightly to his skin, which was very uncomfortable.
Just then, Mai Sakurajima came over again, this time with a thermometer in her hand.
"Let me take your temperature," she said, and started to lift the thin blanket off him.
"Ah, I can do this myself." Itsuka Yuto subconsciously reached out to take it.
However, Mai Sakurajima completely ignored his words and slipped her fair arm under the covers.
Yuto Itsuka felt a delicate, slightly cool hand touch his burning skin, reaching up from the hem of his T-shirt.
The hand traveled up his side abdomen, causing all the muscles in his body to tense up involuntarily.
The girl's soft arms caressed his skin and gently traced his ribs.
He felt his body temperature had quietly risen a little.
"do not move."
Seemingly noticing his stiffness, Mai Sakurajima said something in a low voice.
Her hand had already reached under his armpit, skillfully inserting the thermometer, and then gently pressing down on his arm to prevent it from falling out.
The coolness under her arm made Itsuka Yuto instinctively grab her arm.
The surface was indescribably soft and smooth to the touch, and he even unconsciously pinched it twice.
"..."
Yuto Itsuka snapped out of his daze, realized what he had done, and quickly looked up at Mai Sakurajima's face.
That exquisitely beautiful face, like a doll's, still held that calm, expressionless look. Her dark blue eyes gazed back at him serenely, as if nothing had happened.
Yuto Itsuka finally let go of her hand.
A few minutes later, Mai Sakurajima bent down, reached under the covers again, and took out the thermometer.
"37.4 degrees, almost done."
Yuto Itsuki breathed a sigh of relief; his fever had finally subsided. He now felt sticky all over, his clothes soaked with sweat clinging to his body, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"I'm going to take a shower first," he said.
Upon hearing this, Mai Sakurajima nodded slightly, then turned and walked out of the bedroom.
Yuto Itsuka was a little confused, wondering what she was going to do.
He climbed out of bed, and his feet felt weak as they touched the ground. He staggered a bit before regaining his balance.
As he leaned against the wall and slowly made his way to the living room, he saw Mai Sakurajima standing in the kitchen.
She scooped a small bag of rice from the rice container and was pouring it into the inner pot of the rice cooker.
When she saw him come out, she only glanced at him briefly before continuing what she was doing: rinsing the rice, adding water, and pressing the porridge button.
It seems this has nothing to do with him.
Yuto Itsuka left silently and went into the bathroom.
He turned on the shower, and the warm water flowed down from above, washing away the fatigue and stickiness from his body, making him feel much more refreshed.
He stopped halfway through his shower and called out towards the bathroom door.
"Senior!"
"What is it?" Mai Sakurajima's voice came through the door.
"Um... I forgot to bring a change of clothes, could you get them for me?" said the sickly boy, Yuto Itsuka.
Where are the clothes?
"There's a set of blue loungewear in the closet."
The footsteps fade away.
A minute later, the bathroom door was gently pushed open a crack, and Mai Sakurajima brought in the clothes and placed them on the small shelf by the door.
"Senior, could you... do me another favor?"
There was no immediate response from outside the door.
"Senior, could you rub my back for me? I have a fever and I'm too weak to reach it myself." The sickly boy, Itsuka Yuto, naturally made this request.
"Do not."
got rejected!
No, it's normal to be rejected.
Yuto Itsuka deliberately let out a sigh, "Ah, I heard that in Aomori Prefecture there's a guy named Murakami who, after being refused a back scrub, became distracted while getting dressed, slipped, and hit his head on the bathtub..."
"He's just gone like that, sob sob sob..."
"Senior, do you think Murakami wouldn't have died if the person who asked him to scrub his back hadn't refused?"
Wuhe, you are despicable now.
……
Book 1: Chapter 42: Back Scrub, Back Scrub
"crunch-"
The bathroom door handle made a slight turning sound.
The door was slowly pushed open.
Yuto Itsuka turned around and saw Mai Sakurajima standing at the door, wearing her somewhat comical Shiba Inu-patterned apron.
In the steamy bathroom, her figure seemed somewhat unreal, a few strands of hair damp with water clung to her cheeks, and her dark blue eyes gazed calmly at him through the hazy mist.
The air in the bathroom seemed to become thick and hot because of Mai Sakurajima's arrival.
She walked up to Yuto Itsuka, stopped, and slowly lowered her gaze from his face to the bath sponge in his hand.
She didn't say anything, she just extended her hand.
Yuto Itsuka paused for a moment before realizing what she meant, and instinctively handed her the bath sponge covered in foam.
“Turn around,” she said.
Yuto Itsuka felt his throat go dry. He silently turned around, revealing his bare back to her.
The next second, a soft yet slightly rough touch landed on his shoulder blade.
Yuto Itsuka instantly clenched his sphincter muscles.
Mai Sakurajima began to work, her movements very gentle, using a bath sponge covered in foam to slowly rub his back, from his shoulders to his spine and then to his waist.
Yuto Itsuka smelled the refreshing scent of the shower gel mixed with a faint body odor. The two scents fermented and blended in the humid air, turning into a catalyst that could make one's mind wander.
Yuto Itsuka forced himself to calm down, but his senses became sharper than ever before.
He could feel her slightly cool fingertips occasionally brushing against his skin through the bath sponge.
He could feel her even breathing, right behind his ear.
He could even feel the subtle rustling of the fabric of her uniform as she moved her arms.
"Senior, hit harder."