The fever had finally subsided.
The thermometer showed 37.8 degrees Celsius, and Eriri no longer looked as uncomfortable as before.
Before Eriri fell asleep, he learned that her family members all seemed to be away on business trips for work.
Originally, considering her family's concerns, he had wanted to send her home or contact her father to come pick her up by car. Now it seemed unnecessary.
The rain outside was still falling, just not as heavily as before.
Rest well here tonight, Eriri.
After covering her with a blanket and listening to her now-steady breathing, Murakami Yuu crouched by the bed and gently touched her head.
Soft hair with a very special texture.
This action seemed to register with the sleeping Eriri, as she made a muffled whimper and moved her head slightly.
Like a little puppy.
Murakami Yuu didn't continue any actions that would disturb her. He got up, went to the kitchen to boil water, and placed it along with a thermal pot on the desk in his room. He also poured half a cup of water into a glass to cool in advance, then left, leaving the door slightly ajar.
This way, if anything happened while he slept in the adjacent guest room, he could still notice through sound.
Nothing eventful happened through the night.
...
The next morning, gentle sunlight shone through the gaps in the drawn curtains into the room.
Eriri opened her sleepy eyes. Her body still felt weak, but most of the complete powerlessness and head congestion from last night's fever had dissipated.
Supporting herself to sit up and looking around, this wasn't her own messy room full of artwork drafts.
Yesterday she had a fever and rested for a night at Yuu's house...
Eriri's face reddened somewhat. This was truly her first time spending the night alone at a member of the opposite sex's house.
It felt... not bad?
Eriri unconsciously smiled, but as her hand supporting her on the bed touched something hard.
Picking it up, it was medicine...
Eriri's smile froze, then her cheeks turned red at an unnaturally fast speed.
She remembered—yesterday she seemed to have vaguely asked Yuu to help her with the medication, and when applying the medicine, Yuu's hand, his hand...
Thinking about what happened afterward, Eriri pressed her legs tightly together.
Although it was only for an instant, she could clearly feel that unfamiliar, warm fingertip...
No, no, no! That was just an accident! It was for medical treatment! Don't think about it anymore, you idiot!!!
Eriri shut her eyes tightly, shook her head, and patted her cheeks forcefully, her golden hair scattered messily over her shoulders.
It's fine, it's fine.
The other party was Yuu, not someone else. Besides, what era is this? Many middle schoolers have even gone that far, haven't they?
So it's fine! Completely fine!
Forcing herself to forget last night's embarrassing accident, Eriri took several deep breaths to calm her emotions.
She picked up her phone from the bedside table and checked the time—6:20.
Because she had rested very early yesterday, she woke up much earlier today than her body's normal biological clock would wake her.
Yuu probably isn't up yet...
Thinking this, she slowly got out of bed and opened the door.
She could hear the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board coming from the kitchen area.
The moment she walked to the living room and looked over, Eriri froze.
In front of the kitchen counter, Murakami Yuu was standing with his back to her, wearing an apron and cutting some vegetables.
Eriri unconsciously walked over in a daze. As the distance closed, she could gradually see his profile clearly. Even in this kitchen scene full of domestic atmosphere, he was still gentle and elegant, so handsome that her heart fluttered.
She thought of her two playful parents at home. Occasionally she could see her father seriously cooking in the kitchen while her mother would sneak attack from behind, hugging his waist.
The sickeningly sweet scene and her mother's unbecoming coquettish behavior made the tsundere Eriri somewhat unable to watch directly, having expressed "you two are really enough" more than once.
But today, for the first time, she empathized with her mother's action and somewhat wanted to put this behavior she had once considered improper into practice.
"Good morning, Eriri. You can go back to sleep for a while. Breakfast will take a bit longer."
Murakami Yuu noticed the movement behind him, turned around, and greeted the somewhat dazed Eriri with a smile.
Eriri stepped back two steps while lowering her head and covering her chest with both hands.
She felt as if something substantial had just hit her, making her feel momentarily short of breath and her heart race.
It must be because she was still weak from just recovering from illness, right?
Eriri comforted herself this way in her heart.
"Good morning, Yuu. It's fine, I slept plenty."
Slowly raising her head, trying to keep her facial expression at a relatively normal level:
"Yuu, thank you for last night, for taking... taking care of me..."
She had originally planned to properly express her gratitude in words, but when it came to her lips, it only shrank to this sentence.
Eriri felt somewhat deflated.
"That's not right."
Murakami Yuu shook his head and corrected her statement:
"If it weren't for coming to visit me, Eriri wouldn't have encountered the rainy day and wouldn't have fallen.
Ultimately, the culprit who caused Eriri's illness was me, so helping Eriri recover her health is my inescapable duty.
So you don't need to keep saying thanks. This is something I must do."
"Something you must do..."
Eriri felt somewhat flustered for some reason, because this way of putting it gave her a sense of distance.
"Yes."
Murakami Yuu nodded affirmatively, then turned around to stir the food in the pot with a spoon, slowly adding:
"And also something I want to do."
Eriri was stunned. Looking at his serious cooking movements, the corners of her mouth gradually turned up.
"By the way, how does your body feel?"
"I'm fine. I'm completely better."
"That's good."
Murakami Yuu felt relieved.
"I prepared a new toothbrush and towel for you. They're on the bathroom sink counter. You can use them directly.
I also folded your clean school uniform and put it at the foot of the bed where you slept. You can change into it later."
"Yes, thank you."
In just one short night, Eriri had become much more honest.
At the foot of the bed... I didn't pay attention when I just woke up...
Wait!
Eriri suddenly thought of something.
"Yuu!"
Eriri's cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.
"What's wrong?"
Murakami Yuu was somewhat confused.
"You... you saw it, didn't you!"
"..."
Murakami Yuu hesitated for a while but still nodded. Looking at Eriri's extremely embarrassed face, mischief rose from his heart, and he added quite seriously:
"It's a very cute style. I think Eriri doesn't need to feel so embarrassed."
"Mm..."
She tried to speak several times but held back at the moment she was about to speak.
"Yuu is an idiot!"
Under Murakami Yuu's half-smiling gaze, Eriri finally blurted out this sentence, turned around, and ran back to her room.
With her back against the door, her heart was racing.
In this environment with only herself, Eriri's originally embarrassed and angry emotions receded, gradually transforming into shy joy.
Murakami Yuu continued preparing breakfast in a good mood.
Tsunderes are really too fun.
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