Chapter 134 - 134: Yukino: Stop Interrupting, I’m Thinking

In the afternoon, Megumi woke up first. Seeing that Yukino was still curled up in the blanket, she moved carefully, getting up and washing her face. When someone wakes up from a nap, their brain is sluggish, accompanied by intense drowsiness. Megumi was no exception. She splashed a few handfuls of cold water on her face before finally feeling comfortable enough to close her eyes for a moment. Last night, she had been thinking about going to the fireworks festival with everyone, which had disturbed her sleep. This nap had finally restored her energy. Before leaving, Megumi checked the time. She had slept for 33 minutes. She remembered Yukino saying in the photography club that naps should not exceed an hour, or they would have the opposite effect. As she was about to call out to Yukino to wake up, the sound of an alarm clock rang from inside the room. It was clearly set by Yukino. With that, Megumi felt relieved and left. Originally, she had planned to take some photos nearby, as she had noticed the surrounding trees were lush and beautiful earlier. Just as she came downstairs, Megumi saw a familiar figure. "Senpai Utaha?" Megumi walked over to greet her, curious as she observed Utaha, who was leaning against a large tree. Her expression looked strange, almost as if she was uncomfortable or perhaps a little embarrassed. "Oh, it's you. Did you wake up already?" Utaha quickly snapped back to reality and responded with her usual tone, no different from how she normally spoke. This was a clear indicator of her strong mental composure. But unfortunately, none of the four people who came here for the fireworks festival today were fools. Megumi immediately sensed something was off, but didn't rush to ask. Instead, she casually inquired, "Isn't Amamiya-kun with you?" "He should be in the room. I rested for a while in the lobby, and then I decided to come out and enjoy the surroundings, maybe take some photos." Utaha raised her hand and pulled out the phone she had prepared earlier. Megumi's gaze suddenly shifted down and her eyes fixed on Utaha's long, beautiful legs. "Senpai, did you injure your leg?" "No." Utaha responded flatly, without offering an explanation. Megumi lightly nodded. "From the way you're standing, it seems like your leg is numb, and you're trying to relieve it, right?" Utaha's expression remained unchanged, and she didn't speak. Megumi seemed to sigh as if musing, "Senpai, if you lie often, you'll eventually get used to it." "Megumi." Utaha called her name softly. Realizing she had gone too far, Megumi Kato didn't continue and said quietly, "I'll go take some photos now." "Mm, I'll come over later." After watching Megumi walk away, Utaha reached up to touch her face, and as expected, it was burning hot. Damn you, Haru, I just reminded him that time was running out, and he got so worked up. Her face was red, and all she could think about were the images of herself supporting the wall in his room. Afterward, she only rested for a few minutes before rushing outside to pretend she was going shopping. But what she didn't expect was that not only was she terribly weak in the legs, but they were also numb... This incident made her realize two things. First, never stand for too long. Second, successfully sneaking really did make her feel deeply satisfied. At this moment, Haru was upstairs taking a shower, and Yukino was also washing up. Only Utaha and Megumi, who was taking photos, were downstairs. A few minutes later, Megumi returned, holding a balloon supported by a plastic tube. Seeing Utaha's confused gaze, she explained, "I saw a few kids buying balloons earlier, and I wanted one too." "Oh... this rabbit is pretty cute." "It is cute, but the vendor didn't notice me, so in the end, I had to pay for it myself and choose one." "???" Utaha had a puzzled expression on her face. Though she could tell Megumi's voice held a hint of disappointment, the whole situation seemed a bit absurd. Just then, Megumi approached her with the balloon. "How's your leg?" "It's almost better now," Utaha instinctively replied. Megumi said nothing. She took the balloon and bent over, using the plastic tube to poke Utaha's thigh. "What are you doing?!" Utaha shuddered, a frustrated and embarrassed sound escaping her lips. Megumi looked serious. "Just adjust yourself. Yukino will be here soon. Her alarm went off when I was downstairs." After speaking, she stood up and walked to the other side to continue taking photos. Utaha wanted to complain but couldn't decide where to start. She understood that Megumi was just trying to remind her. She appreciated the gesture, but using a balloon to poke her was a bit much, wasn't it? After all, her leg was the most sensitive right now... Fortunately, the situation didn't get exposed, and the four of them walked around the forest for a while in the afternoon, taking quite a few photos. At six o'clock in the evening, after dinner, Haru and the others set out for their outing. "Actually, this weather is perfect for a hot spring bath." Haru thought about the classic sights of the area—the hot spring pools. "That's a good suggestion, but it's a pity we didn't make a reservation," Utaha said, showing interest. Megumi nodded as well. Only Yukino remained silent. He found this strange and leaned over to ask, "What's wrong?" "Don't disturb me, I'm thinking." Yukino's serious expression interrupted him. Thinking? The word immediately caught the attention of the three of them. Yukino crossed her arms and fell into a thoughtful pose. "I suddenly remembered, when I saw you in the afternoon after I woke up, wasn't your walking posture a bit off?" Utaha and Haru both froze in place. Megumi quietly turned her head, thinking to herself, Yukino is so sharp, she really noticed after all. She had warned Utaha earlier, but the other insisted on being stubborn, refusing to do even the smallest movement to relieve the numbness in her leg. Megumi thought, With her knowledge, there's no way she wouldn't know the stretching exercises to alleviate leg numbness. It was probably just a mix of feeling guilty and excited, that's all. As Megumi continued to think, her face turned a little red. The more she thought about it, the more she imagined Utaha's posture... "So, what did you do this afternoon, senpai?" Yukino turned to Utaha and interrogated her with a sharp gaze. Just then, a group of young people passed by, grumbling in Chinese, "You guys are too abstract. You keep saying how familiar you are with this place, but now you're lost." Yukino's attention was immediately diverted. Utaha seized the opportunity and asked the group, "Are you lost?" She spoke in Chinese as well. As she had mentioned before, because Haru and Yukino were "encrypted" in their conversations, she decided to learn Chinese herself in order to gain microphone privileges. "Damn? Chinese!" one of the young women with a ponytail exclaimed. Haru suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. It had been a while since he'd heard such a standard "Damn" in Chinese. Because of that exclamation, Yukino's attention was completely diverted. "That's a curse word, right?" While Utaha was chatting with the group, Yukino glanced at Haru. "Strictly speaking, those two words are just mood particles in Chinese, usually used to express surprise or anger," Haru explained. Yukino nodded slightly. "That's a new piece of knowledge for me, I've never learned that before." Haru's expression stiffened. "Hey, hey, don't start learning that. I really don't want to see you, Yukino, casually saying 'Damn'." Yukino seemed momentarily choked, took a deep breath, then said in an annoyed tone, "Do you think I would say such a thing?" "No, no, I was just reminding you out of goodwill." "Oh? Then let me remind you of something too." Yukino suddenly took a step forward, closing the distance between them. A pleasant fragrance wafted from her. But the next second, her cold tone contrasted with her fragrance, "You better explain to me properly tonight, what exactly happened between you and senpai earlier?" He opened his mouth but found himself unable to respond. Yukino glared at him coldly and lowered her voice, "Don't think I don't know. Senpai is just as lecherous as you." Haru: Is this a thing? At this point, Utaha had already finished talking with the young group and helped them find the correct route. Yukino, satisfied that she had left Haru speechless, finally cracked a small smile. "There's still some time. You can take your time to prepare." He sighed. "I understand. I'll give you my final ripple of energy." Yukino chuckled, "Joking around with me is ineffective."