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Putting down her phone, Miko walked to the wardrobe and began to choose clothes.
Sneaking out was easy, just next door, a quick dash, no need to worry about danger.
But there was a chance her mother might see her when she came back in the morning.
Better safe than sorry.
So, when she came back the next morning, she couldn't wear pajamas. That way, even if her mother saw her, she could say she was out for a morning run.
"Sports shirt… This one will do."
Miko took out a sports shirt from the wardrobe.
It wasn't a date, so she didn't need to worry about her attire.
"Should I bring underwear?"
Looking at the neatly folded underwear, Miko fell into a dilemma.
"Take it, just in case. If it gets dirty by accident, I can change… Should I take a set?"
Miko took out a black bra, her gaze then falling on another pair of black panties.
"Wait."
"If I take a set, wouldn't that be… winning underwear?"
Miko's eyes widened, a blush rising on her pretty face, then she quickly shook her head.
Stop it!
Don't overthink!
Winning underwear and all that, surely it won't be needed!
Taking a deep breath, Miko pursed her lips, deliberating for a while, but in the end, she still put the underwear into her backpack. In short… just in case.
10:30 PM.
Miko quietly pushed open her room door and looked out into the hallway, then her eye twitched slightly.
The hallway was naturally empty; it was already very late, and both her mother and Kyosuke were asleep, but that didn't mean there was nothing else.
A slender, pale female ghost was wandering in the hallway. Hearing Miko open the door, its head shot forward like a snake, extending in front of Miko, its hollow eye sockets staring directly into Miko's eyes.
"You… can see me?"
A chillingly hollow, ethereal voice entered Miko's ears.
Miko quietly pinched her thigh, resisting the urge to look away, and walked out of the room, biting her lip, saying as she went:
"I drank so much water, I really need to go to the bathroom…"
"You can see me?"
The slender female ghost followed behind Miko, going downstairs with her, occasionally stretching its head in front of Miko.
With tears in her eyes, Miko bit her lower lip, walked all the way out the door, arrived at Amamiya Natsuki's doorstep, and pressed the doorbell.
Amamiya Natsuki was playing a game. Hearing the doorbell, he got up to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, he saw a teary-eyed Miko standing outside.
"Why are you crying?"
Mid-sentence, Amamiya Natsuki saw the slender female ghost following Miko and immediately understood the cause and effect.
"You… can see me?!"
The slender female ghost came before Amamiya Natsuki.
Amamiya Natsuki's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Miko: "Miss Wraith's neck is so long, her cervical spondylosis must be very severe, right?"
"She's already a female ghost, how could she have cervical spondylosis?!"
Miko nervously hugged Amamiya Natsuki's arm, unable to help but retort.
"You… can see me!!"
Hearing their conversation, the slender female ghost's voice suddenly became sharp, its eyes turned red, and it lunged forward.
Evil Spirit Banishing.
The female ghost that stepped into the halo immediately ignited with transparent flames, turning into ashes little by little amidst its screams.
"It can't be cured, it's beyond saving, so I can only help it find an early release." Amamiya Natsuki looked at the teary-eyed Miko, "It's not the first time you've seen a female ghost, why are you crying?"
Miko wiped her eyes, her tone resentful: "It was just standing outside my room door, with no psychological preparation at all. It's already good that I didn't scream."
While the jump scare is old-fashioned, it must be said that it really can scare people.
"Come in and talk."
Amamiya Natsuki led Miko back to the living room.
"Miko-chan, good evening."
Mrs. Shimizu sat on the sofa, turned to look, and smiled, waving her hand.
Miko had already calmed down, after all, she was battle-hardened: "Shimizu-nee, good evening."
Mrs. Shimizu smiled and said:
"Miko-chan, you've worked hard. Hurry and let Natsuki scrub your back."
Miko was speechless: "Why scrub my back?"
"In a certain game, scrubbing someone's back can quickly restore their mood." Mrs. Shimizu extended a finger, "Miko-chan, if your mood is bad, it will affect your rest, you know."
"Makes sense." Amamiya Natsuki rested his right hand on his chin, nodding in agreement, "Let's go, we'll practice back scrubbing in the bathroom."
Miko glared at him: "I'm not going to the bathroom with you!"
"…"
After talking for a while, it was unconsciously eleven o'clock at night.
"How will you sleep tonight?" Amamiya Natsuki turned off the TV and looked at Miko, "In my room, or the living room?"
Miko pursed her pink lips, hesitated slightly, and quickly said:
"The living room, Marin and Chika-chan were in the living room before."
"Alright." Amamiya Natsuki nodded, "The bed in the room is a bit small after all."
Miko gave him a sidelong glance: "I'll go get the blankets."
The blankets were quickly laid out.
The lights were turned off.
The night was like water.
Miko held her phone and said softly: "The alarm is set for six o'clock tomorrow morning."
"I think seven o'clock isn't too late." Amamiya Natsuki offered his opinion.
"That's too late, Mom will already be up at seven." Miko lay down, pulled the blanket over her, "Six o'clock it is."
Miko turned her head to look at Amamiya Natsuki not far from her, feeling an immense sense of peace within.
Just now, she had been worried, wondering if Amamiya Natsuki would launch a night raid. Although they were childhood friends, they only had experience napping together.
Sneaking out at night like this to sleep with a boy was a first, so she was bound to be very nervous.
Miko thought it should be so.
However, at this moment, Miko realized that there was no tension or fear in her heart, only an inexpressible tranquility and peace.
Weariness surged like a tidal wave, and Miko felt her eyelids suddenly heavy, unable to open her eyes any longer.
As a muffled goodnight entered her ears, her consciousness completely plunged into chaos.
It wasn't until the alarm rang that Miko opened her eyes again.
The long-haired black-haired girl frowned slightly, reached for her phone, and after glancing at the time, her eyes widened:
"Eh, it's already six o'clock?"
It felt like just closing and opening her eyes, and then it was six in the morning, unbelievable.
Amamiya Natsuki was also woken by the alarm. He turned to Miko: "The sky isn't bright yet, let's sleep for another half an hour."
"No more sleeping, if I sleep another half an hour, Mom will be up." Miko sat up, feeling exceptionally refreshed and comfortable. She couldn't help but stretch, her lips curving slightly, a smile appearing on her face, "I'll head back first."
Packing her clothes, changing into casual wear, and changing shoes at the entrance, Miko moved quickly and soon pushed the door open to the yard.
In May, although the sun had not yet risen, the sky was already bright.
Miko looked up at the faintly lit early summer sky, took a deep breath, happily clenched her pink fists, and walked home with light steps:
"Finally, I can sleep well from now on!"
"…"
7:30 AM.
On the way to school.
"Stare—"
Yurikawa Hana widened her eyes and asked curiously, "Why does Miko seem so energetic today? Before, she always looked like…"
"A lazy salted fish?"
Amamiya Natsuki took over the conversation.
"Exactly." Yurikawa Hana nodded, "She was a salted fish girl."
"Even a salted fish has its moments of turning over." Miko was in a good mood and didn't mind at all. She glanced at Mrs. Shimizu next to Yurikawa, coughed twice, and said, "Hana, do you want to play a game later?"
"Eh?" Yurikawa Hana was startled, "What game?"
"Yesterday's board game…" Miko turned her face away. It was hard to betray her best friend. "Chika-chan said she didn't have enough fun yesterday and wants to play games again today."
"That's right, it's me."
Mrs. Shimizu happily made a V-sign.
Because she was a ghost, she couldn't perceive smells, scents, tastes, temperatures, etc. It was quite difficult.
Only from Yurikawa Hana could she feel 'warmth' again, which is why Mrs. Shimizu liked to stay by Yurikawa's side.
But now it was different.
As long as Amamiya Natsuki copied Yurikawa's ability, Mrs. Shimizu could regain warmth anytime, anywhere.
For example, it used to be fixed-point charging, with both location and time fixed. Now it was wireless charging.
So, Mrs. Shimizu sent a message to Fujiwara early in the morning, agreeing to continue playing 'Truman's game' today—
Except for Yurikawa Hana, who was a player, everyone else was an accompanying traitor.
"Okay." Yurikawa Hana's eyes lit up, and she happily agreed, "Yesterday's game was very interesting, and I still want to play a few more times."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Miko and whispered, "This is a win-win for three parties, so just play the game happily. Don't always feel bad for Yurikawa."
"Where is it a win-win for three parties?"
Miko looked over speechlessly.
Hana-chan is very happy.
Shimizu-nee is very happy.
Who else won?
"It's me." Amamiya Natsuki pointed to himself, calm and composed, "Holding a girl's hand openly, my life is already worth it."
Miko bit her lower lip and couldn't help but retort:
"...Shameless!"
"…"
The journey was silent.
The three quickly arrived at school.
"Miko, Hana-chan, good morning." Fujiwara Chika happily called out.
Entrusted by others, loyal to their task.
After receiving Mrs. Shimizu's message in the morning, Fujiwara Chika arrived at school one step ahead, no longer needing to wait like yesterday.
"Natsuki, good morning."
A blonde girl with her right hand on her hip smiled and looked over.
The girl had fair skin, a bright smile like sunshine, a black choker around her neck, and her school uniform was not neatly worn but tied around her waist, causing many passing students to secretly glance at her. She was indeed the Blonde Hot Girl.
"Morning." Amamiya Natsuki looked at Kitagawa, "How are you two together?"
"When I came to school this morning, I happened to meet Chika-chan, and Chika-chan invited me to play games together." Kitagawa Marin said, puffing out her pink cheeks, "You guys played games yesterday morning and didn't even call me."
Amamiya Natsuki narrowed his eyes: "You haven't even finished your homework, and you're still thinking about playing games?"
"Anyway, I'm free today." Kitagawa Marin lifted her chin, full of enthusiasm, "Watch me dominate."
As she spoke, Shinomiya Kaguya just arrived at school.
The group headed straight for the Game Club.
Except for Hayasaka Ai, who chose to remain hidden, the entire villain team was assembled, with the target of their strategy being:
The unsuspecting lamb girl, Yurikawa Hana.
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