"Um, listen to me explain. It's actually a misunderstanding on my sister's part. I've explained it to her plenty of times already, but she just refuses to listen. There's nothing I can do."
"Besides, it's only a matter of time before you become my girlfriend, right? So there's nothing wrong with my sister saying that."
Miura Yumiko had been a little nervous at first, but the more she talked, the more justified she sounded. By the end, she was even puffing out her chest proudly.
Shirai Mio gave Miura Yumiko a helpless glance. It was only a label anyway, so she could call her whatever she wanted.
Besides, Miura Yumiko was not wrong. There was still a chance Shirai Mio really would become her girlfriend.
Miura Yumiko had originally thought Shirai Mio would say something to refute her. She had even prepared her arguments in advance.
But Shirai Mio merely gave her a half-smiling look and said nothing else.
The feeling was like having the perfect retort stuck in her throat with nowhere to use it.
Miura Yumiko took a deep breath, then once again leaned closer to Shirai Mio of her own accord. "By the way, I really meant what I said. You can do whatever you want with me tonight. Aren't you really going to do anything?"
"Actually, I don't really like taking the initiative. I prefer being passive."
Before transmigrating, Shirai Mio had already been a relatively passive person. After transmigrating, the System kept putting her in situations where she had to react passively, so by now she had become used to that feeling.
"Is it really okay to just say something like that outright?"
"It's fine. With Yumiko's intelligence, figuring it out was only a matter of time."
Hearing Shirai Mio's words, Miura Yumiko smiled smugly. "Naturally."
Shirai Mio's compliment sounded so nice that it almost made her feel lightheaded, but Yumiko had gone on so many practice dates with Mio that she had already built up a certain amount of resistance.
So she quickly came back to her senses and started thinking about what Shirai Mio had just said.
She wondered whether that line was a hint that she could be a little more proactive and do something to Shirai Mio.
To be honest, Miura Yumiko was tempted, but she also hesitated, worried that she might be reading too much into it.
Just then, she suddenly remembered something Shirai Mio had once told her.
When you do not know whether you should make a move, do not hesitate. Just go for it.
While Shirai Mio was looking down and typing a message, she suddenly felt Miura Yumiko tap her shoulder. She instinctively turned her head, and before she could react, her lips were sealed by a kiss.
Miura Yumiko had kissed her.
Seeing the surprise in Shirai Mio's eyes, Miura Yumiko did not stop.
The love hotel room was already filled with an intimate atmosphere, and the tension only deepened.
However, just as Miura Yumiko was about to take the next step, Shirai Mio's phone suddenly rang.
If it had been Miura Yumiko's own phone, she definitely would have ignored it. But it was Shirai Mio's, so she had no choice but to break off her advances for the moment.
After working to steady her breathing, Shirai Mio picked up her phone and looked at the screen. Rita Ainsworth was calling.
Once Mio answered, it was more or less what she had expected: Rita was asking whether she was coming home tonight.
After telling Rita that she was spending the night at a friend's place, Shirai Mio ended the call and turned to Miura Yumiko. "Actually, when you kissed me just now, I was in the middle of sending a message home to say I wouldn't be back tonight. I didn't expect you to interrupt me so suddenly."
"???"
Miura Yumiko blinked. She had heard Shirai Mio's call with that girl just now, and there really was nothing wrong with what Mio said.
If she had waited just a little longer, until Shirai Mio finished sending the message, before making her move, then by now they probably would have already...
The thought filled Miura Yumiko with an inexplicable sense of frustration.
She said irritably, "Who was it that taught me that when I don't know whether I should make a move, I shouldn't hesitate and should just go for it?"
"I'm pretty sure I also taught you to pay attention to the timing when you make a move."
"Is it too late for me to start over now?"
"What do you think?"
Seeing that Shirai Mio had already put some distance between them, Miura Yumiko pouted. To be fair, the room was only so big. Even if Shirai Mio wanted to hide, there was nowhere she could really go.
Still, the mood was gone now. And judging from Shirai Mio's reaction just now, Mio had not rejected her. That meant Shirai Mio did have feelings for her.
For Miura Yumiko at this stage, gaining that much was already pretty good.
Next time, she would not make the same mistake again.
Since it was still relatively early, Miura Yumiko scrolled through her phone for a while, then casually set it on the bedside table and picked up the remote to turn on the television.
Those sounds that made people blush immediately rang out again.
A faint blush instantly spread across Miura Yumiko's fair cheeks.
What surprised Shirai Mio was that Yumiko did not turn the television off. She actually just kept watching.
"Don't you have any sense of modesty?"
"It's fine. There's no one here except us anyway."
What Miura Yumiko was actually more curious about were the items in the vending machine, but that was better left unsaid.
Shirai Mio glanced at Miura Yumiko, who was pretending to be calm, then slipped under the blankets herself and started watching too.
After watching for a while, however, Miura Yumiko lost interest. She had no interest in anything involving a guy and a girl at this point. If it had been two girls, she might have been willing to study it a little more.
"Why'd you stop watching?"
"It's boring. I'm going to sleep." As Miura Yumiko spoke, she yawned.
"Now that you mention it, I'm getting sleepy too."
The rain was still falling outside, and it really was getting late.
Shirai Mio gave a lazy yawn, then lay down beside Miura Yumiko.
Looking at Miura Yumiko, who still seemed a little conflicted, Shirai Mio said calmly, "If you don't want to spend the whole night unable to sleep, stop thinking so much and go to sleep."
"I know."
Honestly, sleeping beside Shirai Mio again after so long still made Miura Yumiko a little excited, especially since she had almost succeeded earlier.
But perhaps because she had not slept well the night before and had spent the whole day out having fun, Miura Yumiko did not last long before falling into a deep sleep.
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