When Suiren woke up, her body was still aching uncontrollably.
Especially the muscles in her legs, as if she had been forced to run several hundred kilometers last night, sore and painful.
The corners of her eyes felt dry. If you looked closely, you could still see two tear marks left there. Some parts of her skin were also slightly swollen and tender.
But what made Suiren most uncomfortable was the feeling inside the bedding, that kind of completely soaked, then dried again, yet not fully dried damp stickiness.
She really couldn't stand that wet and sticky feeling wrapping around her. Suiren immediately endured the numb soreness and moved her legs.
After moving her body a little, her originally hazy consciousness gradually returned.
Only then did she realize she was being tightly held in someone's arms, and she was also hugging a firm, strong waist.
"I…", Suiren lifted her head and looked at Hikari holding her. She then saw her younger sister Aoi not far away. At the same time, she noticed her lips felt dry and swollen, her voice hoarse, and faint pain still coming in waves. Very quickly, she remembered everything that had happened last night.
"I actually… with Hikari-kun?", After understanding it, Suiren's delicate body trembled. The hand that had been wrapped around Hikari hurriedly pulled back, and the leg resting on him quickly withdrew as well.
Sensing the movement from the person beside him, Hikari naturally woke up too.
Seeing Suiren, who had just woken up, staring at him wide-eyed in shock, quick to react, Hikari instantly understood what she was thinking.
"Suiren-nee, good morning," Hikari smiled and reached out to wipe away the tear marks at the corner of her eyes. Looking at her increasingly charming and radiant expression, he greeted her naturally.
"G-good morning!", Still being held by him, Suiren felt unaccustomed and stammered as she greeted him back.
As she spoke, she subconsciously tried to struggle out of his arms.
But Hikari did not let go. After receiving his favor for the first time and being busy most of the night, her body was still soft and weak. She moved a few times, yet couldn't break free at all.
"Hikari-kun, let… let go of me!", Feeling the scorching warmth coming from his hard chest pressed tightly against her, Suiren said, both shy and annoyed.
Seeing her twisting awkwardly, Hikari asked, "Suiren-nee, aren't you still sore? Why not rest a bit more? If you get up in such a hurry, you'll feel worse, right?"
Suiren said a little angrily, "H-how can I rest! Aoi is still sleeping right next to us! If we don't get up quickly now, what if she sees… if she sees us like this, what will we do?"
So that was what she was worried about.
Hikari turned his head and looked at Aoi, who had both hands completely under the blanket. Her sleeping face looked pure and beautiful, yet there was a faint smile at the corner of her lips, and even a few strands of clear drool flowing out. He shook his head helplessly.
Hikari reached behind himself and could vaguely still feel some sticky, slick dampness like sweat.
It was probably certain someone taking advantage of the chaos last night, while he was busy being heart to heart with Suiren, quietly smearing it onto him.
But that kind of thing was hard to explain to Suiren.
So Hikari nodded, "Alright, then let's get up first."
As he spoke, he released her.
After leaving his warm embrace, Suiren suddenly felt a trace of reluctance in her heart and subconsciously wanted to burrow back in.
But seeing her younger sister Aoi still lying quietly asleep on the other side, she endured that impulse and, bearing the soreness in her thighs, slowly climbed up.
Propping herself up, Suiren first adjusted the strap of her nightdress, which had nearly been torn off and had slipped down to her waist, quickly pulling it back into place.
Then she lowered her head for a look, and her pretty face flushed red again.
Because the hem of her knee-length nightdress had been soaked by sweat and other fluids last night and was now still sticking to her back.
From any angle, it would definitely look embarrassing.
Suiren quickly smoothed out the wrinkles of the skirt.
After tidying herself up, she then virtuously began arranging the bedding and blankets.
After all, it had rained a lot last night, and the room still felt a bit stuffy.
The moment she lowered her head, she could smell a fairly strong scent.
To avoid Aoi, whose nose was quite sensitive, from smelling anything strange, she had to tidy things up quickly.
She reached out and touched the mattress and quilt a few times.
Feeling the damp, sticky, slippery texture stained by filth, Suiren hurriedly folded them up, preparing to take them to be washed.
Since it was a thin summer quilt, it was light and easier to carry.
But the mattress pad was much heavier.
After all, it was laid on the floor. To avoid sleeping on something hard and to be comfortable, it had to be quite thick.
And because it had rained yesterday and been soaked with a lot of water, the water mixed with the cotton stuffing made it even heavier.
On top of that, Suiren had been busy all night. Her limbs were still sore and weak. She couldn't even lift the mattress by herself.
"Suiren-nee, let me help you," Seeing her difficulty, Hikari got up and spoke.
"Okay!", Suiren nodded gratefully, picking up the pillows and quilt first.
Hikari went to handle the mattress.
After she stood up with the pillows and quilt in her arms, Hikari reached out and rolled up the mattress she had slept on last night to tidy it up.
But while cleaning, he caught many strange smells.
Perhaps because it had been soaked by rainwater yesterday, he could clearly smell something like clothes that had dried indoors, a musty odor.
And besides that, there were also smells similar to urine stains, or like the scent of lotus and photinia flowers.
After all, it was a mattress that had been wet all night. Having those smells wasn't too strange.
Hikari looked down calmly.
On the already soaked mattress, there were several embroidered bright red plum blossom patterns.
Those vivid red plum blossoms combined together looked like a gorgeous and enchanting crimson water lotus, making Hikari click his tongue in amazement
Then he stood up and walked with Suiren toward the bathroom.
After throwing the dirty sheets and mattress pad into the washing machine, Suiren finally let out a sigh of relief.
Walking out of the bathroom, she looked at Hikari with complicated eyes.
Hikari raised his head and met her gaze.
Suiren shyly looked away.
The emotions in her beautiful eyes were complicated. There was some embarrassment, some happiness, some conflict, and some relief.
Thinking about how she had given her first time to Hikari last night, her delicate body trembled. It felt unbelievable.
She was clearly engaged to someone else. Her younger sister Aoi had also said she liked Hikari.
But last night, she hadn't even had the slightest thought of resisting.
Even now, when she thought back, the pleasure Hikari had brought her seemed to far outweigh the guilt.
'This is bad, I feel like I'm going to break.'
For the first time, Suiren, who had always been gentle, considerate, and dutiful, felt unable to understand her own heart.
With her emotions in turmoil, she didn't dare look at him anymore and hurriedly said, "Um… I-I'll go make breakfast!"
As she spoke, she turned to leave.
Seeing her unsteady steps, Hikari grabbed her arm.
"Suiren-nee, you're still not feeling well, right? I'll make breakfast today," he said.
Hearing that, Suiren instinctively wanted to refuse.
But after being tossed around most of the night, certain places still ached faintly.
Facing his concerned gaze, her heart warmed slightly. In the end, she nodded, "Mm, then I'll trouble you, Hikari-kun."
After helping her sit on the sofa to rest, Hikari went into the kitchen alone.
Watching him busy in the kitchen, Suiren, leaning back on the sofa, felt her mood inexplicably improve. A faint smile even appeared on her face, and the pain below seemed to lessen a bit.
But just as she was secretly watching him work for her, Aoi, who had been sleeping on the floor, slowly opened her eyes.
She first stretched her body out of habit. After feeling the wet and sticky sensation inside the bedding, she frowned.
Quickly getting up, she tidied her clothes, lifted her nightdress, then packed up the damp mattress and quilt and carried them to the bathroom.
Seeing the washing machine already running, Aoi didn't mind.
She directly pressed pause, stopping the drum, then opened the door.
Seeing the slightly reddish sheets and fabrics inside, she casually threw in the wet mattress and quilt in her hands, which were covered in various sticky fluids, then started the machine again.
After a simple wash-up, Aoi changed into a dry skirt and a set of dry underwear, then returned to the living room.
"Suiren-nee, good morning~", As soon as she saw her sister sitting on the sofa, she greeted her with a smile.
Hearing the sudden greeting, Suiren, who had been staring toward the kitchen, snapped back to her senses. Turning her head and seeing Aoi smiling at her, her heart suddenly tightened for no reason.
"Aoi, g-good morning!", On the surface she remained calm, but inside she was inexplicably nervous.
It felt a bit like a cheating couple being caught red-handed by the husband who had just returned home.
"What's wrong, sis? You seem a little uncomfortable today," Aoi stared at her, asking with concern.
"It rained yesterday. I… I might have caught a little cold. Cough! Cough!", Knowing her sister had sharp observation skills, and with her voice hoarse and a bit of sweat on her forehead, Suiren quickly made up an excuse and even coughed twice.
"I see. Then sis, you have to take care of yourself," Aoi walked over, held her hand with concern, and thoughtfully poured her a cup of hot water.
"Mm, thank you, Aoi," Suiren took the water and sipped it. Even though her lips were slightly scalded by the heat, she didn't say anything.
Instead, she felt relieved that she had managed to hide her abnormality from Aoi.
"Oh right, didn't you make breakfast today? Should I go make it?", Aoi asked thoughtfully.
"Hikari-kun is making it," Suiren quickly reminded her.
"Oh? It's Hikari-kun making breakfast today? That's rare," Aoi widened her eyes in surprise.
"Sis isn't feeling well today. You weren't awake either, so we had to trouble Hikari-kun," Suiren explained.
"Oh~ I see~", Aoi nodded with a smile.
"The udon is ready. Come eat," Hikari came out of the kitchen carrying several bowls of noodles, interrupting their conversation.
"Wow! It smells so good!", Aoi quickly walked to the table.
Suiren followed behind, though she moved a bit slower because her legs were still sore.
"I've served the soup for you. Be careful, it's hot. The seasonings are on the side. Add as much as you like," Hikari placed the three bowls in front of them and said.
"Okay, thank you, Hikari-kun~", Aoi thanked him.
"Mm, thank you for the trouble, Hikari-kun," Suiren also expressed her thanks.
"It's nothing. Eat," Hikari waved his hand with a smile and glanced at Suiren.
Considering that she had worked hard all night and needed nutrition and fluids, he had given her a bit more soup and meat.
Suiren seemed to notice her bowl was more generous. She lowered her head slightly, her face faintly red, as if afraid Aoi might notice.
But Aoi seemed completely unaware of the silent exchange between them and was simply focusing on tasting the noodles seriously.
After taking several bites in a row without speaking,
she finally praised, "Hikari-kun's noodles are really delicious!"
Hikari smiled, "They're alright. The noodles Suiren-nee made before were also pretty good."
Hearing that, Aoi raised her brows slightly and suddenly asked with a smile, "I remember I also made noodles for Hikari-kun before."
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