Hearing Mai's obviously panicked voice in the bathroom, Futaba tilted her head, seeming not to understand why Senpai would be so flustered.
She just knocked to use the bathroom, that's all.
"Senpai, are you okay?" Futaba Rio asked worriedly.
"I'm fine."
In the bathroom, Sakurajima Mai, who had calmed down, tried to make her voice sound as normal as possible.
"Rio, do you want to use the bathroom? Wait a moment; I'll be done soon."
"If Senpai needs to use it, please go ahead. I'm not in a hurry."
Seeing Sakurajima Mai was indeed fine, Futaba spoke very tactfully.
After all, her current status was a guest, living under someone else's roof. Although Futaba knew Mai wouldn't mind this, she felt it was better not to cause trouble for others.
"It's okay, I'm done." Mai was stunned after speaking, feeling something was weird.
She wiped her face cooled by cold water with a towel, then looked in the mirror and found the blush on her face had almost dissipated before moving to the door.
At the door, Mai remembered there was still the changed underwear to deal with. She hurriedly stuffed the underwear into the washing machine to hide it, planning to wash it tomorrow morning.
Although Mai did many things, in reality, less than half a minute passed. Mai opened the door, turned sideways to let Futaba Rio in, then walked out of the bathroom herself, and thoughtfully closed the door for Futaba.
"Good night."
Before leaving, Mai said to Futaba Rio.
"Mm, good night, Senpai."
Futaba Rio returned the greeting, then began to solve her physiological needs.
Mm, this is a real physiological need.
Listening to the footsteps fading away outside the door, Futaba Rio revealed a puzzled expression.
Did Mai-senpai splash water on her pants when washing her face just now? Why does it feel like the color of one patch is wrong?
And where did Shinra in the living room go?
Previously worried about disturbing Shinra sleeping in the living room when going to the bathroom, Futaba Rio deliberately waited until now to come out of the room, thinking Shinra should be asleep by now.
But after coming out, she found that Shinra, who should be in the living room, was missing...
Sitting on the toilet, Futaba Rio fell into contemplation. The abnormal Mai-senpai late at night, the missing Shinra—connecting various abnormal performances, the final answer should be only this one, right?
—Shinra went to Mai's room.
Futaba Rio wasn't a fool. So late at night, Shinra wasn't in the living room or her room, so he could only be in Mai-senpai's bedroom.
Moreover, they were boyfriend and girlfriend; sleeping together was normal. Maybe she was the one hindering them.
However, although the logic is sound... why does she feel a bit sour?
On the other side, after leaving the bathroom, Mai walked towards the room without stopping.
Although Shinra was in the room, Rio was outside.
It was fine for Shinra to see her embarrassing side; he was her man, one of her own. But Futaba Rio was just her friend; strictly speaking, she couldn't be considered one of her own.
Although the fact that Shinra wasn't in the living room had probably been discovered by Futaba Rio, as long as it wasn't brought to the surface, it meant not knowing.
Saying this might mean burying one's head in the sand, but reality is like this. Some things, as long as not stated explicitly, then hello, me hello, everyone hello (everyone is happy).
Of course, saying this didn't mean Mai forgave Shinra. This guy took advantage of her trust to do... do such things to her. The lesson due must be given; otherwise, what if he thought she was a particularly frivolous girl?
Thinking of this, Mai's expression became solemn. She opened the door prepared to let Shinra know her power.
As a result, as soon as the door opened, she found Shinra lying flat on the bed, covered by the quilt properly, breathing evenly as if he had fallen into deep sleep.
...Ghost believes it!
Who leaves a quilt on the side when sleeping?
Seeing Shinra 'asleep' while still holding a corner of the quilt, Mai laughed angrily.
She didn't expose him, just walked to the bedside, didn't lie down, but undid a button on her chest.
When she looked down again, sure enough, this guy's left eye had opened at some point, while the right eye was still closed.
True · Turning a blind eye (Closing one eye).
Mai immediately buttoned up, then leaned over to pinch Shinra's nose and whispered: "What did I tell you before coming in?"
"What?" Shinra was good at playing dumb.
"If you don't behave, go sleep on the sofa!"
"Eh!!!"
Shinra's 'Eh' was particularly loud, scaring Mai directly. She hurriedly let go of the hand pinching Shinra's nose and covered his mouth instead.
At the same time, she looked towards the door guiltily, afraid the noise would be heard by Futaba Rio who was using the bathroom outside.
"Do you want to die? So loud so late at night!"
"But, if you make me sleep in the living room, the noise won't be small either."
Threat, this is a naked threat!
Almost saying directly 'Mai, you don't want what just happened to be known by Futaba, right?'.
"You have a point. Making too much noise in the middle of the night is indeed bad." Mai nodded, looking like she surrendered.
Seeing this, Shinra patted the empty space beside him and said: "It's getting late; Madam should sleep."
"Who is your Madam." Mai rolled her eyes, but still obediently lay down.
Lights out.
Mai's eyes, which had already closed, suddenly opened. Then, under the guise of turning over, her small hand shot out, aiming straight for the soft flesh at Shinra's waist!
Whatever happened happened fast. Just as Mai was about to succeed, unexpectedly, Shinra seemed prepared and captured Mai's extended small hand with one hand.
Mai was startled, not understanding how Shinra reacted. Subconsciously, she wanted to withdraw her hand.
But how could Shinra let Mai go back so easily? Since you came, don't leave!
"Let go." Mai whispered sternly but weakly inside.
"What?" Shinra pretended not to hear.
You started the war first.
If Mai didn't sneak attack, tonight would have passed like this. But since she sneak attacked, it couldn't end so simply.
It must be known that Mai felt good tonight, but his fire was still very big.
Plus Mai lighting the fire like this, was it appropriate not to help extinguish it?
How does the saying go? Whoever lights the fire is responsible.
Seeming to sense Shinra's overly obvious intention, Mai was obviously a bit panicked.
Because Shinra was obviously not satisfied with handling her anymore, but wanted to go a step further—letting her handle him.
But the problem was there were many ways to handle: hand, leg, chest, mouth, and...
In short, although Mai hadn't eaten 'pork', hadn't she seen a 'pig' run?
In the country of Japan, isn't it simple to see a 'pig'?
Not to mention Mai herself was a practitioner in the film and television industry; the resources she could access were only more than ordinary people. Although she didn't like watching such things, but... curiosity is common to all.
"Wh-What are you doing?" Mai asked in a low voice, her eyes showing warning.
Don't go too far, be careful, be careful she...
Honestly, Mai really didn't have any good countermeasures against Shinra. The reason she appeared so vigilant was partly due to a girl's reserve, but mostly because she was wary of Futaba Rio next door.
If Shinra made too much noise, how could she face Futaba Rio tomorrow?
Shinra, who possessed Emotion Perception, naturally understood Mai's worries. He took Mai's hand, then whispered a few words in her ear.
Mai's expression changed for a while. Finally, as if resigned to fate, she bit her lip and said resentfully: "On-Only this once..."
...
...
The next morning, Shinra opened the curtains feeling refreshed.
Although with his physique, he usually woke up refreshed, today was different.
Today he was exceptionally refreshed.
Not that kind of physiological refreshment, but refreshment on a spiritual level!
In comparison, although Mai also appeared radiant, she was somewhat unnatural when facing Futaba Rio, looking quite guilty.
A bit of role reversal flavor.
However, the reason Mai behaved like this was entirely based on her ignorance of Futaba Rio's coveting of Shinra. In Mai's mind, Futaba Rio was still her good junior.
And last night was mostly because of this, plus Mai had no experience, so she surrendered so quickly.
Mm, strange to say, obviously Shinra and Mai hadn't kissed yet, but things further than kissing were done in advance.
It could be said that except for the last step and kissing, Shinra was basically the person who knew Mai best in this world besides her parents.
Whether body or soul.
"Are you free to come to Minegahara High School after school today?"
During breakfast, Mai suddenly spoke.
Futaba Rio and Shinra looked up at Sakurajima Mai simultaneously. She took a sip of hot milk, then explained: "I want to meet the other Rio."
Hearing this, Futaba Rio immediately became nervous. She looked at Shinra beside her involuntarily, very entangled in her heart, hoping Shinra would agree, yet hoping Shinra would refuse.
Hoping Shinra would agree because after Mai met the other self, the progress of solving her Adolescence Syndrome would likely have a breakthrough. Hoping Shinra would refuse because she was worried that after seeing the other self, Mai would notice the abnormality, causing her to lose Mai as a friend.
Let's put it this way: compared to Inner Futaba's 'wanting the man more than the friend', Surface Futaba appeared greedier; she wanted both.
A staunch supporter of monogamy (one husband one wife), so to speak.
"I know. I'll find you after school." Shinra didn't think much and nodded directly in agreement.
Through Emotion Perception, he clearly knew Futaba's concerns beside him, but he knew even better that even if Inner Futaba met Mai, nothing would happen.
Surface Futaba's worry about exposure was baseless anxiety. In fact, Inner Futaba was even more worried about exposure than Surface Futaba.
Concern for Mai was one aspect. Another aspect was because Inner Futaba knew that once exposed, she would lose all possibilities completely.
After all, for the current Shinra, if asked to choose between Inner Futaba and Sakurajima Mai, Shinra would inevitably choose the latter. This was a no-brainer.
After all, Shinra and Mai had been dating for more than three months, while the actual time spent with Futaba was only a few days.
Whether from the perspective of time or emotion, the two were completely incomparable.
Not to mention that Inner Futaba, in a sense, should be the girl around Shinra who currently understood his 'essence' best.
She was currently the only person who knew the existence of both the Yukinoshita sisters and Mai.
Also the only person who insisted on squeezing in knowing there were two parties involved.
Simply more giving (easy) than Miura Yumiko.
At least Miura Yumiko launched an offensive knowing Yukino hadn't succeeded yet and she still had a chance, while Futaba Rio launched an offensive brazenly knowing Shinra had a girlfriend.
Of course, Futaba Rio only dared to launch an offensive after knowing Shinra's 'dishonest' side.
If Shinra were truly faithful, even with Adolescence Syndrome, Futaba probably wouldn't dare to attack him so blatantly.
Mai also noticed Futaba Rio's strangeness, but not knowing the inside story, she only thought Futaba was worried she would turn to help the other Futaba.
Mai had heard from Shinra that although the two Futabas were essentially one person, unless they reached a reconciliation, one would inevitably disappear in the end.
And for the disappearing Futaba, that would really be disappearing, no different from death.
After understanding this, Mai naturally comforted her: "Don't worry, Rio, I'm on your side."
"Ah, um... I'm fine." Futaba Rio shook her head, signaling Mai not to worry about her.
Because the more Mai cared about her like this, the deeper the guilt in her heart.
So much so that now she dared not look directly into Mai's eyes. After all, no one knew the other self's thoughts better than she did.
At this time, Surface Futaba also somewhat envied Inner Futaba. Because of different philosophies, Inner Futaba appeared more 'real', without as strong a moral sense as Surface Futaba, so she felt less guilt when facing Mai.
However, envy aside, if Surface Futaba were really asked to do so, she still couldn't do it.
After all, if Surface Futaba could really be like Inner Futaba, then Adolescence Syndrome wouldn't be a problem.
Thus, the three people with their own thoughts started their new day. On the other side, Inner Futaba also received a text message from the 'mole' Shinra.
Shinra: [After school today, Mai and I will go to your house to find you.]
Seeing this message, Inner Futaba's eyes flashed, thoughts unknown, but finally, she only typed one word.
Futaba Rio: [Okay.]