Walking out of the hotel, Shin stood on the street corner and contemplated his next destination.
After thinking for a while, he realized he really didn't have anything else to do this afternoon, so he simply decided to head home.
It was the weekend anyway, so Gabriel should be playing games all day. Shin could also go online and have a long-awaited intense online gaming battle with Gabriel on the weekend.
If he still felt bored after playing online games for a while, Shin could also go to the Dragon Ball world to check on Garou's training progress and give him some writing guidance—or rather, bullying disguised as guidance.
Although it had only been one day since Shin last left the Dragon Ball world, given the chaotic time flow in the Dragon Ball world, Garou should have been training with the turtle shell for many days by now.
After making up his mind, Shin was about to leave—but just as he took a step, he heard a voice behind him:
"Oh my, isn't this Shin-kun? Why are you standing here looking lost like a confused little dog?"
Shin naturally recognized this voice. He turned around and looked at Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had appeared not far behind him, and said with a half-smile:
"Underestimating this little dog could result in a big loss. It might suddenly transform into a vicious dog."
He hadn't expected Utaha Kasumigaoka to appear here—this love hotel near the amusement park, he had thought he wouldn't run into any acquaintances here.
However, Utaha Kasumigaoka obviously hadn't gone to the amusement park, nor had she come for the love hotel—from her appearance, she seemed to have just returned from the publisher's editorial department.
As for why he could make such a judgment... of course, it was because Utaha Kasumigaoka was holding a transparent folder with her written manuscripts inside.
"Then I'd really like to see what Shin-kun looks like as a vicious dog."
Utaha Kasumigaoka wasn't frightened by Shin at all. Instead, she showed an interested expression and immediately picked up on Shin's words.
Although she had interacted with Shin several times, she actually still didn't know much about him.
While she really wanted to understand Shin better as a person, Shin usually ate lunch in the Paranormal Research Club with several other girls at noon, making it difficult for others to insert themselves.
Although Utaha Kasumigaoka could now bypass the "Black Bird Requiem" ability and enter the Paranormal Research Club during lunch time if she wanted to, she was very self-aware and knew the timing wasn't right—if she rashly inserted herself now, it might only cause resentment among the girls in the Paranormal Research Club.
So Utaha Kasumigaoka had been waiting for an opportunity, a chance to have deeper communication and understanding with Shin.
And now seemed to be that good opportunity.
"Shin-kun doesn't have anywhere to go right now, does he? I saw you hesitating here for a long time without taking action."
Utaha Kasumigaoka stroked her black long hair and smiled at Shin.
"How about coming to my place for a visit? You probably haven't read 'Love Sync' that I gave you last time, have you?"
Hearing this, Shin's face couldn't help but show a somewhat embarrassed expression—don't mention it, he really hadn't read the 'Love Sync' that Utaha Kasumigaoka had given him.
Although he had said last time that he would take it home and read it slowly, after getting home, he had just put the book on his desk and never thought about it again.
He vaguely remembered seeing Tohru flipping through that book... Maybe Tohru had read more of it than he had. Thinking about it this way was quite embarrassing.
"I knew it... But since it's Shin-kun, you probably have a lot of things to do usually."
Seeing Shin's expression, Utaha Kasumigaoka knew she had guessed right and said somewhat amusedly.
"But Shin-kun should be free now, right?"
In fact, Utaha Kasumigaoka had watched Shin walk out of the hotel entrance with her own eyes and had roughly guessed what had happened.
However, she had already mentally prepared for this kind of thing—after all, last time at the manga convention, Shin had acted quite intimately with Eriri.
And with so many girls in the Paranormal Research Club, Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't believe Shin had no relationship with any of them.
Although Shin seemed quite promiscuous, there were too many mysteries surrounding him, making Utaha Kasumigaoka unable to resist wanting to approach and understand him.
Perhaps for someone who writes novels, it's easy to be attracted to such mysterious existences…
...
"The apartment is rather small, please don't mind, Shin-kun."
Utaha Kasumigaoka opened the front door and smiled as she invited Shin inside.
Utaha Kasumigaoka lived in an apartment relatively close to Toyosaki Private School. The interior space wasn't large—obviously only she lived there alone.
"Do you live alone?"
Shin changed into slippers and walked in, looking around the apartment's interior space—not only did he not sense any other "ki" in the house, but there weren't even extra slippers at the entrance.
"Yes, my home is quite far from school, so for convenience in commuting, I rented this apartment close to school."
Utaha Kasumigaoka also walked behind Shin, then placed both hands on Shin's shoulders and said in a slightly teasing tone:
"So Shin-kun doesn't need to worry about my parents discovering anything you do here."
Hearing this, Shin didn't indulge her. He directly turned around, grabbed Utaha Kasumigaoka's arms, then smoothly pressed her against the entrance wall.
He brought his face close to Utaha Kasumigaoka's, watching her expression change from astonishment to shyness, and raised an eyebrow saying:
"It seems you really are prepared to see me turn into a vicious dog?"
"...Shin-kun still remembers what I said earlier. Are you that vindictive?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka blushed and smiled, then struggled out of Shin's embrace—of course, this was only because Shin didn't use force, otherwise how could Utaha Kasumigaoka have escaped from his grasp.
She walked toward the bedroom while saying without looking back:
"Anyway... come over first. I still want to hear your thoughts on my book."
Shin looked at Utaha Kasumigaoka's back—her steps were somewhat hurried, and her ears were completely red, showing that she was just barely maintaining her composure now.
Shin chuckled softly. She had been pressed against the wall by him, and Utaha Kasumigaoka hadn't shown much resistance, which already clearly indicated her attitude.
However, he was quite curious about what Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was already somewhat proactive in personality, would do next.
To be continued…