Futaba Rio disliked summer. Disliked it immensely.
The high temperatures of summer forced her to change into cooler, short-sleeved clothes. And this brought a problem: no matter how loose the short-sleeved T-shirt was, it couldn't hide the curve of her impressive chest.
Rather than saying Futaba Rio hated summer, it would be better to say she felt inferior about her own body.
This situation wasn't actually unique. After all, overly prominent adolescent features often attracted 'strange' looks from peers. Coupled with Futaba Rio's own personality issues, her superb figure brought her no benefits; on the contrary, it caused her quite a bit of trouble.
If she hadn't made an appointment with a friend in advance, Futaba Rio basically wouldn't go out if she could help it during the summer vacation.
After all, her house was quite large. Even without going out, the villa's garden provided enough space for her to relax.
Originally, Futaba Rio intended to wear her school uniform. But she worried that such attire would make Mai-senpai feel she didn't value this gathering between friends enough. After thinking it over, she took out a dress her parents had bought for her birthday from the closet.
Futaba had only worn this dress on her birthday, but her parents hadn't seen it. Because on her birthday, neither of her parents was present. The reason was the same old cliché: busy with work, no time to come back.
The dress was beautiful, and the price was also quite beautiful. It was a limited-edition luxury item released last year.
Because a designer had come to her home to take measurements personally, the fit was perfect.
Futaba Rio looked at the beautiful person in the mirror, her gaze lingering on her chest for a long time. After pondering for a moment, she subconsciously wanted to take her lab coat out of the closet beside her and put it on.
Just as her hand touched the lab coat, Futaba Rio suddenly realized the reason she was wearing this dress.
After hesitating for a moment, Futaba Rio finally gave up the idea of going out wrapped in a lab coat.
Picking up the prepared gift, Futaba Rio pushed open the door of the villa.
The moment the door opened, a surging heat wave hit her face. Upon contact, the thought inevitably rose in Futaba Rio's mind: Is going out really necessary?
But a promise was a promise. Fear and regret only lingered in Futaba Rio's mind for an instant before she pushed them out.
The Futaba residence wasn't far from Mai's home. Even just walking, it would take less than ten minutes.
But it was this short ten-minute journey that made Futaba Rio walk with exceptional difficulty.
The blazing sun overhead emitted thermal radiation constantly, turning this modern city of reinforced concrete into a huge steamer. Every step on the road felt like stepping on a red-hot iron plate. Even through the thick soles of her shoes, Futaba could feel the high temperature coming from the ground.
She hadn't been out for long, but Futaba already felt a bit sticky. The stickiest area was undoubtedly her chest region. Water vapor gathered in the valley between the two lofty peaks, seemingly about to converge into a river.
The disadvantage of having an overly large chest was demonstrated once again. The oversized peaks pressed against each other, creating an airtight, confined space. This made the amount of sweat here far exceed other parts. And because it wasn't breathable, the evaporation rate of sweat couldn't keep up with the production rate. Water vapor condensed into beads, began to flow downwards under the effect of gravity, and finally soaked her clothes.
Futaba Rio's mood became a bit terrible, but it was still bearable. After all, she had actually anticipated this result before leaving the house.
Maybe I should have brought a parasol when I went out. Futaba Rio thought with hindsight.
To get out of this predicament as soon as possible, Futaba quickened her pace, shortening the original ten-minute journey to seven minutes.
The moment she stepped into the apartment lobby, cool air hit her body. A sense of comfort from the inside out swept through the girl's whole body, making her unable to resist letting out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Rio, you're here." When Mai heard the automatic door of the lobby open, her gaze had already passed Shinra and locked onto Futaba Rio.
"Mai-senpai?" Seeing that Sakurajima Mai actually came downstairs personally to pick her up, Futaba Rio was immediately flattered.
"Since everyone is here, let's go." Mai pressed the switch for the apartment elevator.
Everyone is here?
Hearing this, Futaba Rio finally noticed the man standing beside Sakurajima Mai.
Mori Shinra!
Futaba Rio remembered him. In fact, the reason she agreed to become Mai-senpai's friend largely due to Shinra's existence.
This wasn't to say Futaba was the type of person who thought, 'Your boyfriend is great, so let's be besties.' Rather, because Mai was Shinra's girlfriend, and Futaba had a very good initial impression of Shinra, this gave Futaba the idea of wanting to interact with Mai.
So why is he here?
Just as this thought arose in Futaba, she immediately realized.
Given the relationship between Shinra and Mai-senpai, it was only natural for him to be here.
Just as Futaba Rio was hesitating whether to take the initiative to greet him, Shinra's greeting came first.
"Futaba-san, we meet again."
When saying this, Shinra didn't look at Futaba Rio's face, nor was he scumbag enough to stare straight at her bulging chest. Instead, he fixed his gaze firmly on the top of the girl's head.
It appeared! A wild wish-power commission!
And it wasn't an ordinary wish-power commission!
Seeing the exclamation mark constantly changing colors like a bugged graphic, Shinra immediately realized that Futaba Rio's wish-power commission was of the same series as Sakurajima Mai's earlier one.
In that case, did it mean some incredible supernatural phenomena would also occur around her?
After solving the problem, would he receive a related supernatural ability as a reward, just like when he solved Mai's wish-power commission before?
Also, why didn't this wish-power commission appear the last time he saw Futaba Rio?
In an instant, countless messy thoughts fell like snowflakes. When they settled, only one thought remained—Accept the wish-power commission first!
On the other side, hearing Shinra's words, only one thought remained in Futaba Rio's mind as well.
He remembers me!
At best, she and Shinra had met only once. Their conversation didn't even exceed ten sentences. And it had been almost two months since they last met.
Therefore, even if Shinra had forgotten her, it would have been excusable.
But it seemed he hadn't forgotten her, and even clearly remembered her name.
Futaba Rio subconsciously ignored the possibility that Mai might have introduced her to Shinra in advance. Consequently, her heart began to beat faster and faster, thumping as if it were about to leap out of her chest.
Of course, no matter how rich her inner thoughts were, on the surface, Futaba Rio maintained her usual calm demeanor. She habitually lowered her head and whispered in reply, "Hello."
This was Futaba Rio's usual way of greeting strangers. Although she and Shinra had met before, essentially, they were still strangers.
It was just that for Futaba Rio, this stranger, Shinra, was a bit special.
"This is my boyfriend, Mori Shinra. I mentioned him to you before... He said you two knew each other?"
Mai casually asked while declaring her sovereignty.
Futaba Rio nodded and answered without hiding anything, "Yes. Thanks to Mori-san's help that time, otherwise I would most likely have had to fill my stomach with coffee."
Hearing Futaba Rio's words, the suspicion in Mai's heart immediately dissipated. Her story matched what Shinra had just said. It seemed she really had been overthinking.
Then Mai felt a bit amused. Was she thinking too much?
It was all because of that person, saying something about Shinra definitely cheating in the future... making her suspicious too.
"Speaking of which, I haven't paid you back for the meal last time." As Futaba Rio spoke, she took out a leather wallet from the small shoulder bag she carried.
Shinra didn't accept Futaba's money back then, so it was even more impossible for him to accept it now.
"No need. Didn't I say back then? That meal card was given to me by someone else. I actually didn't have any expenses. Besides, it was just a bowl of ramen. You are Mai's friend, so naturally, you are my friend too. There's no need for friends to be so polite."
Shinra's words not only dispelled Futaba Rio's idea of paying but also successfully eliminated the last shred of suspicion in Sakurajima Mai.
Seeing how polite the two were to each other, Sakurajima Mai understood that there really wasn't likely anything between them.
After all, if there really was something, would Futaba Rio be thinking about paying Shinra back for a meal?
Of course, what satisfied Sakurajima Mai most wasn't their polite attitude, but Shinra's sentence, 'You are Mai's friend, so naturally, you are my friend too.'
This sentence could be interpreted as: Shinra considered Futaba Rio a friend because of her.
The causal relationship here was quite important.
"Ding~"
The elevator doors opened slowly. Sakurajima Mai stepped in first and said to her boyfriend and friend, "You two, if there's anything you want to say, let's wait until we get back to the apartment."
...
"Excuse me for disturbing you."
Futaba Rio called out somewhat reservedly toward the room. Since entering high school, this was her first time visiting a friend's house.
And this friend wasn't just any friend, but a genuine big star.
Before this, Futaba Rio never would have imagined that one day she would become friends with a well-known celebrity like Sakurajima Mai.
Compared to Futaba Rio's reservedness, Shinra seemed much more casual. As if returning to his own home, after taking off his shoes at the entrance, he walked straight into the room in his socks.
However, before he could go far, he was pulled back by Mai.
"Put on your slippers!" As Mai spoke, she bent down and took Shinra's exclusive slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them by his feet. The entire process was smooth and natural, like a virtuous wife.
Mai also didn't forget to consider Futaba Rio's feelings, taking out a pair of brand-new women's slippers from the shoe cabinet.
"Rio, these are your slippers."
"Th-Thank you."
After putting on the slippers, Futaba Rio froze in place again. She didn't know what to do next.
Ultimately, she suffered from having few friends.
Fortunately, after Shinra put on his slippers, he assumed the role of the male host and enthusiastically invited Futaba Rio to sit on the sofa in the living room.
Regarding this, Sakurajima Mai not only felt no dissatisfaction but was happy to see it happen.
Like a puppet, Futaba Rio walked to the sofa under Shinra's control. Just as she was about to sit down, she suddenly remembered the gift for Mai-senpai she was still holding.
"This is a gift." Futaba presented the gift box in her hand to Mai.
Mai also solemnly accepted the gift with both hands and replied, "Thank you. You shouldn't have spent so much."
It was indeed expensive.
This could be seen from the overly exquisite packaging.
Futaba Rio didn't think much of it. Her family had plenty of these things. To her, friendship with Mai was far more precious than cold money.
Mai went to make tea.
Shinra took this opportunity to inquire, "Futaba-san, how did you and Mai meet?"
"Just call me Futaba. Um... it should be through the scholarship," Futaba Rio replied.
After all, it was the first time she had seen someone like Mai rushing to give away money.
"Then before the scholarship, did you know about Mai?" Shinra continued to ask.
Futaba didn't understand why Shinra asked this, but she still gave an answer: "I knew her. There should be very few people in the school who don't know of Mai-senpai's existence, right?"
No, in fact, you all almost completely forgot there was a person named Sakurajima Mai in the world.
"Previously, I heard Mai say she was actually quite invisible at Minegahara High School."
Hearing this, a trace of confusion flashed in Futaba Rio's eyes.
Invisible? Sakurajima Mai?
"Perhaps... Senpai is just being modest?"
"I'm being modest?"
Sakurajima Mai, carrying the tea and snacks for hospitality, heard Futaba Rio's comment about her as soon as she walked into the living room.
"What are you guys talking about?"
"We are talking about how Miss Sakurajima Mai, a well-known Japanese artist, is actually a 'transparent' person on campus," Shinra replied.
"Is that so... There's nothing really to say about that, is there?" Sakurajima Mai didn't think this was something worth bringing up. After all, it wasn't a pleasant memory.
Besides, something like Adolescence Syndrome—even if she said it, normal people wouldn't believe it, let alone a calm science girl like Futaba Rio.
Speaking of which, why did Shinra suddenly bring this up?
Temporarily ignoring the questioning gaze of 'why are you bringing this up' projected by Sakurajima Mai, Shinra continued to speak to Futaba Rio:
"According to what you say, Futaba, then Mai should be quite famous in your school. But can you recall any famous deeds of hers during her first or second year of high school?"