In the blink of an eye, Hikari had already become a tall, dependable man who gave people a strong sense of security.
That kind of contrast made Suiren sigh a little.
Seeing the trace of melancholy on Suiren's face, Hikari smiled and said, "Time won't stop for anyone. It's not just me who's grown up. Aoi and Suiren-nee have grown up too."
"But just like when we were kids, Suiren-nee is still very gentle and thoughtful, and even more charming now."
Hearing Hikari's praise, Suiren's pretty face flushed slightly, but the corners of her lips could not help but curve upward, "That's not true. Nee-san hasn't really gone anywhere all this time. I definitely can't compare to the girls Hikari-kun has seen in Tokyo. The girls in Tokyo must all be very refined, much more charming than me."
"Suiren-nee is already full of charm even without dressing up, and not every Tokyo girl has as good a figure as you," Seeing Suiren lacking confidence, Hikari smiled and praised her.
Noticing Hikari's gaze drifting toward her chest and hips, Suiren felt shy and blushed, but she was very happy inside.
Blushing, she said, "These… these don't really count as strong points. It's just that I didn't manage my figure well enough, that's why it's like this. Hikari-kun probably also thinks… thinks I'm a bit fat, right?"
Hikari shook his head and said honestly, "No. Suiren-nee really isn't fat. This can only be called full. If Suiren-nee weren't this 'fat', you probably wouldn't have been able to clamp down when helping me either. This is really a gift."
"S-s-stop!", Suiren interrupted Hikari with a red face.
"H-how did we end up talking about this. D-don't say it anymore, Hikari-kun!", Even though Hikari's praise made her very happy.
And his praise also felt extremely sincere. That kind of heartfelt praise, even giving examples, was really convincing.
But the example he mentioned was just too embarrassing.
That kind of thing, even though it was true and Suiren would recall it herself afterward, was still far too shameful to hear Hikari say it out loud.
So with her pretty face burning red, Suiren stopped him from continuing.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Let's hurry up and carry the mat downstairs," Seeing how embarrassed Suiren was, Hikari stopped talking.
"Mhm!", Suiren nodded hard, then, still a little shy, quickened her steps and walked ahead to avoid the awkwardness of making eye contact with Hikari.
Hikari understood clearly. Although Suiren was willing to help him with those things, she was still very shy by nature. Bringing it up would still make her blush and feel embarrassed.
But Suiren's personality was also genuinely gentle, almost never getting angry. Even though Hikari's words had embarrassed her to the point her neck turned red, she still didn't say a single bad word about him. Her tone didn't even become harsher at all. She was just a little flustered.
And at this moment, as Suiren walked downstairs in front of him, her inner thoughts were indeed much like what Hikari imagined. Mostly, she felt a bit ashamed.
But aside from the shame, there was also a faint sense of guilt and moral conflict in Suiren's heart.
Because those intimate interactions between her and Hikari, even though she felt she had reasons for them, were still wrong.
After all, she was already engaged to another man. She already had a fiance.
But as the older sister of Hikari and Aoi, she couldn't just watch the two of them cross the line early and go too far. She believed she had to stop them and had to do something about it.
So when it came to helping Hikari deal with those troubles that came with growing up, Suiren didn't actually regret it that much.
But when she thought of her identity, of how happy her mother Asakawa Toka had been after her engagement, and then thought of the things she was doing to help Hikari, her heart couldn't help but fill with guilt again.
And there was one thing that made Suiren feel even worse.
That was that compared to her fiancé, whom she had never even met, Hikari, her childhood friend, and her younger sister Aoi were far more important to her.
This was a fact that Suiren found hard to deny, didn't want to deny, and even fully accepted.
But no matter how important Hikari was to her, as a woman who was already engaged, she truly shouldn't be having deeper interactions with him.
Yet she also couldn't watch Hikari and Aoi, two young high school students, go astray. As the older sister, she had to guide them onto the right path.
So Suiren was extremely guilty and conflicted at this moment.
Lost in her complicated thoughts, Suiren unknowingly reached the living room.
Hikari followed behind her and also came into the living room.
"You finally came down. I was almost waiting myself to sleep," Aoi yawned as she took the pillows and mat.
"It didn't take that long. Let's move the table and sofa together," Hikari glanced at the layout of the living room and realized they needed to move the furniture to make enough space for three people to lie down side by side.
"Okay," Suiren, who temporarily put her worries aside, and Aoi, who looked sleepy, both answered.
Then the three of them worked together to rearrange the furniture in the living room, clearing out a larger space, before laying down the mat, pillows, and other things together.
"Haa! Finally done. Time to sleep~", Apparently already too sleepy to wait any longer, Aoi lay down as soon as the pillows were set.
"Aoi, aren't you sleeping in the middle?", Seeing Aoi roll over to the left side of the mat, Suiren asked.
"Yeah. Of course the middle should be for Hikari-kun, and you and I each sleep on one side," Aoi replied as if it were obvious.
"Eh… this isn't like when we were kids anymore. Sleeping like this, isn't it a bit," Letting Hikari, a boy, sleep between the two sisters made Suiren feel a bit too much.
Although she had agreed upstairs to consider helping Hikari deal with his needs when they slept, she was still very conflicted about it. She had even thought that if Aoi slept in the middle to keep an eye on her, that would also work.
But Aoi spoke clearly and logically, "Nee-san, the reason we're sleeping together in the living room like this is because we're scared, right."
"There's only one man in the house, Hikari-kun, and both of us have to rely on him. So letting Hikari-kun sleep in the middle is safer."
Hearing Aoi's words, Suiren blinked and felt that it didn't really sound wrong.
Before she could think more, Aoi had already pulled the blanket over herself and patted the mat beside her, signaling Hikari to sleep there.
Seeing Aoi's action, Hikari turned his head to look at Suiren.
Noticing his gaze, Suiren paused. Though she felt a little uncomfortable, as the older sister she still smiled and said, "Let's sleep the way Aoi said. After all, when we were kids, we slept together like this too. It should… should be fine. Hikari-kun, go ahead and lie down first."
"Okay."
Hearing Suiren say that as well, Hikari didn't hesitate and lay down beside Aoi.
"Mua!", Just as Hikari lay down, Aoi ignored the fact that Suiren was watching and hugged his neck, kissing him on the cheek.
"Eh! You're supposed to sleep properly. What are you doing?"
Suiren, who was just about to lie down, hurriedly stopped her when she saw Aoi kissing and hugging Hikari.
"Hikari-kun is too tempting. I can't help it," Aoi licked her red lips and said with a grin.
"Aoi, sleep properly!", Suiren scolded her.
Then, after lying down, she grabbed Hikari and pulled him much closer to her side, increasing the distance between him and Aoi, making the spacing between the three of them about the same, or even slightly closer to her.
"Hikari-kun, sleep properly in the middle too. No moving around!"
Suiren put on the air of a big sister and made arrangements for both of them.
Seeing the look Suiren gave him, Hikari remembered their agreement upstairs and didn't say anything.
Aoi also seemed to be intimidated by Suiren's words. She smiled and didn't make any more moves.
"Hikari-kun, Suiren-nee, do you think it's more comfortable for the three of us to sleep together now, or when we slept together as kids?", Lying side by side, Aoi suddenly asked.
"When we were kids, probably. Back then we didn't need such a big space," Suiren thought for a moment and said.
"About the same, I guess," Smelling two different rich fragrances at the tip of his nose, Hikari agreed with Suiren but still gave this answer.
"I see, I think it's more comfortable sleeping together after growing up. After all, there were many things we couldn't do when we were kids. Even though playing together back then was fun, some even happier things can only be experienced after growing up," Aoi said with a grin.
Both Hikari and Suiren felt that something about Aoi's words was clearly off, like a car had just driven by.
Hikari didn't make any extra moves, but Suiren became more guarded and pulled Hikari a bit more toward her.
"I still have one more question I want to ask Hikari-kun and Nee-san, which is..."
Hoo~ Hoo~
Although she barely spoke in front of outsiders, when she was together with Hikari and Suiren, Aoi often took the initiative to start conversations.
The topics about sleeping together were all brought up by Aoi first.
But perhaps she was too sleepy. After saying a few sentences, Aoi stopped talking and only let out a series of light snores.
Because the sound wasn't loud and was very regular, like steady breathing, it wasn't annoying to listen to. It even felt cute.
After Aoi fell asleep and stopped talking, Hikari and Suiren also didn't start any new topics.
They just listened to the light patter of rain that suddenly began falling outside the window, occasionally saying a few words.
The quiet atmosphere in the living room lasted for quite a while.
When Aoi seemed to have truly fallen asleep, not making any sound at all for dozens of minutes, as if she were sleeping deeply,
Hikari suddenly felt a slight movement under the blanket.
It was a small, fair foot extending from the right side, gently kicking his calf.
Hikari knew this was Suiren's signal.
He turned his head and indeed met Suiren's dark, beautiful eyes in the darkness.
"Come closer!", Hikari heard Suiren whisper.
"Okay," Hikari immediately shifted toward Suiren's side.
"Let's talk about things from when we were kids. Keep your voice down. Don't wake Aoi," Suiren leaned close to Hikari's ear and whispered.
To avoid waking Aoi, Suiren's mouth was very close to Hikari's ear. The warm breath from her fragrant lips brushed over his ear, dense with nerves, making Hikari feel a slight itch in his heart.
"Alright, we'll do as Suiren-nee says," Hikari leaned toward her small, delicate earlobe and softly replied.
"Mhm. If anything feels uncomfortable, tell Nee-san. Just don't wake Aoi up," Suiren's body trembled slightly as she spoke, and she propped herself up a little.
First, she carefully covered Hikari with the blanket, smoothing out the wrinkles and tucking it in at his shoulders.
Then she covered herself with the blanket and slipped her hand back inside.
———
The night was as quiet and dark as ink, silent and colorless, with only the sound of rain and the occasional flash of lightning adorning the stillness.
About dozens of minutes passed.
After quietly chatting with Hikari for a long time, Suiren was tired enough to start sweating. Her wrist was numb and sore, and feeling a little sleepy, she asked Hikari, "Hikari-kun, is it okay now?"
Unlike Suiren, Hikari wasn't sleepy at all. He shook his head, "Not yet. I can't fall asleep like this at all."
Suiren immediately asked with concern, "Does it still feel bad?"
Hikari nodded honestly, "Yeah, a bit."
Hearing that, Suiren lightly bit her teeth.
After hesitating for a while, without saying anything, she first lifted her head to glance at the night outside the window, then lowered her head to look at the sleeping Aoi.
Then she quietly burrowed into the blanket.
The Asakawa house was well renovated. Even with the rain, it wasn't affected at all, and the inside was very warm.
Combined with the thick blanket, Hikari felt a very comfortable warmth.
It was like when he was a child, being held tightly in the arms of Miss Mira, who was like a mother to him.
But outside, heavy rain was falling, droplets striking the eaves with nonstop crackling sounds. Hikari lay quietly with his hands behind his head, listening to the urgent rain, recalling that childhood feeling of being wrapped in warm, soft arms. His expression was calm. Whether the rain sounded noisy or gentle didn't affect his state of mind at all.
Looking at the scene outside, some philosophical thoughts suddenly surfaced in Hikari's mind. He thought of the philosophers and sages of ancient Greece, like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and so on.
His thoughts gradually merged with those sages, drawing nourishment from profound philosophical ideas about life, value, and meaning, as time quietly slipped by.
"Mmm…"
Before Hikari finished his contemplation, a soft sigh suddenly sounded beside his ear.
Turning his head, he saw Suiren poke her head out again.
Perhaps because of the muggy air after the rain, Suiren felt a bit thirsty. Her throat bobbed a few times as she picked up the water bottle beside her and took a big gulp.
"Hikari-kun, good night," Perhaps because it was already late and her biological clock had kicked in, or maybe because playing Ludo, watching a horror movie, and chatting had all tired her out today, Suiren, sweating heavily and clearly exhausted, said to Hikari.
"N-no… I still can't sleep, Suiren-nee," Hikari said helplessly.
"Ah? Hikari-kun, you're still not better and not sleepy?"
Hearing Hikari's words, Suiren, who was already tired from chatting and ready to sleep, found it hard to believe.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.