"I can, but you have to agree to one condition."
A condition? What condition?
...Why does this sound like a scene from some R-rated material? I froze for a moment. Was it the meaning I understood, or was she talking about something else, and I misunderstood? Using her position as a professor to pressure a student into agreeing to certain conditions, like...
I stammered, "W-what?"
Seeing my guarded expression, she couldn't help but laugh, then pulled out a very expensive-looking jewelry box from her bag.
"Take this. In exchange, I'll approve your leave."
I opened it. Inside was a beautiful necklace, set with over a dozen glittering, silver-tinged diamonds. It felt substantial in my hand.
Such an expensive gift? Besides, one shouldn't accept rewards without merit. Giving such a big gift on only the second meeting was too strange. What did she mean by this?
...Pursuing me? I could feel my face turning pale then flushed. Impossible, absolutely impossible, and absolutely not allowed!
Before I could refuse, she explained first: "Don't misunderstand. This is a birthday gift from Alex for you. I'm entrusted by someone, and it's also a way for me to do a favor. I hope you'll accept it."
Oh, I remember now. That day, right before I hurriedly left, I did catch a glimpse of a brick-red small box in his hand. So that's it. This woman is here as a mediator, no wonder she kept me back today.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief, my mood instantly becoming very calm. "Please thank him for me." I gently put down the necklace and carefully repackaged it as it was. "But I really can't accept it."
"Just take it. Don't feel burdened. Always rejecting someone's goodwill isn't necessarily a good thing, especially since he specifically prepared this for you."
"I can't accept gifts from someone I don't like. That's my principle." My attitude was somewhat firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
Seeing my persistent refusal, the woman was slightly surprised.
That was a Bvlgari worth over ten thousand. Most girls would be overjoyed to receive it, but here it was met with a closed door.
"Then how about this: you keep it safe for me for a while, and I'll take it back later." She proposed a compromise, her tone a bit helplessly conceding. "Let me at least have something to report back, okay?"
She said the words 'report back' in a way that was both tactful and pleading, unexpectedly a bit childish.
I hesitated for a moment and finally didn't refuse again. "...It's okay to keep it temporarily."
"Good." She smiled.
I carefully wrapped the jewelry box and placed it in the innermost compartment of my backpack. Such a valuable thing couldn't be allowed to get damaged.
"It was you asking me for a favor, yet it ended up being the other way around." The woman shook her head repeatedly, looking quite helpless.
That's true. I felt a bit embarrassed and could only say, "Thank you for approving the leave."
"No need to thank me. I'm also taking advantage of my position for personal reasons." She teased.
Even knowing this phrase, Mori Reiko's Chinese as a Japanese person was truly masterful.
Helping Li Shijia successfully get her leave approved was now done. I felt relieved. After thanking her, I had one foot already out the office door when I suddenly heard Mori Reiko's leisurely voice from behind: "When we were talking about the condition earlier, why were you so nervous?"
"..." Could I say it was because I knew she liked the same sex and subconsciously thought of strange scenarios? No, I couldn't.
"I wasn't nervous, Professor."
"You didn't think it was from me, did you?" The woman's tone suddenly turned sly.
"..." Having my thoughts exposed, I blushed in embarrassment. Wouldn't anyone think that? And what's with her teasing tone? Is a young female professor supposed to be this unserious?
"I still have self-awareness, Professor." I threw down this sentence and turned to leave.
"Would you accept it if it were from me?"
"..." If only I had walked a bit faster, I wouldn't have heard the woman's faint, almost imperceptible laughter before the door closed.
A few minutes later, I belatedly stopped in my tracks. I forgot to ask her where to buy the hot beverage dispenser...
This week's schedule was packed. I allocated Saturday and Sunday to the bookstore and devoted the remaining time entirely to the emergency department.
The emergency department was even busier than imagined. People here usually worked solo, requiring independent judgment and problem-solving skills, the ability to quickly diagnose the cause, and race against time to provide treatment. So, it was very quiet when idle, but when busy, it was all-consuming.
After arriving, I discovered the emergency department also had teaching responsibilities, simultaneously responsible for training specialists, rotating doctors, advanced study doctors, interns, and nurses of all levels. The emergency department had strong time sensitivity and significant randomness, covered a wide range of diseases with heavy workloads. Affiliated university hospitals placed great importance on the emergency department's development, and the salary and bonus models also attracted many people.
I diligently observed and learned, quickly finding a suitable role for myself: training record keeper. It allowed me to properly record each training session and also reinforce the content.
Alex wasn't in the department. Upon asking, I learned he was sent to a neighboring school for a month of study and wouldn't be coming for a while.
Not having to run into him spared me that awkwardness. That necklace was placed in a very hidden corner of my bedroom drawer. Since I agreed, I'd keep it safe and find an opportunity to return it to him personally later.
At this time, I never would have imagined that this quietly sleeping necklace would become a fuse, stirring up a storm in my originally peaceful life.
"Just leave it at the door is fine, okay, thank you." I hung up the phone. The electric blanket bought from Amazon had arrived, and so had the hot beverage dispenser, which I found at Tokyo's largest electronics market. I specifically asked if it could heat milk, both cartons and cans.
After unpacking the deliveries, I wiped them with warm water and placed the dispenser in the most conspicuous spot in the kitchen. Then I put all the fresh milk bought from the supermarket inside, satisfied to see them automatically heating up.
Perfect. Tested the temperature. Hmm, very hot. This money was well spent.
The noise from unpacking was too loud. Kusanagi, wrapped in a thin fleece blanket, came downstairs rubbing her eyes. "You're back?"
"Is your cold better?"
"Better." She stretched lazily with a soft hum.
Hearing her lazy, casual voice, my heart skipped a beat. Because last night, when she fell asleep in my arms, it was also with this kind of languid nasal tone—that was an indescribable, lingering night, a night no words could capture.
I suppressed the urge to reminisce.
"Still coughing?" I looked at her face. She looked much more energetic than last night; that sickly, delicate demeanor had faded.
"Almost completely better, thanks to Miss Nozawa being my sleeping bag." She tightened the blanket around herself, only revealing a section of amber-like, lustrous, moist eyes.
It seems I'm not only the young lady's nanny but also her hot water bottle.
"Felt nice to hold." She did another small stretching motion.
I looked up at her. Feel? The blanket couldn't wrap around the girl's slender, resilient, pale shoulders, nor could it contain her teasing tone... Was she deliberately retaliating for when I said holding her felt nice?
"Well, thank you for your high regard." I felt slightly embarrassed. This girl actually remembered until now.
"You're welcome." She leisurely moved her wrists. "Personal body pillow, I like it."
If I were a body pillow, I'd be the extra-large kind. Slender girls generally like large ones; they feel substantial to hold. My ears inexplicably felt weak. If she likes it, then she likes it.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Being the young lady's body pillow, I am deeply honored." The corners of my eyes helplessly curved a little.
The girl tugged at the blanket, the corner of her mouth lifting. "Of course it's your honor."
"Yes, yes. I must have done many good deeds in my past life to be reincarnated as the young lady's body pillow in this one." I wiped the water off my hands, turned on the heater and the kotatsu, so she wouldn't feel cold even wearing less.
The gradual warm breeze was a bit stuffy. The girl grew unrestrained. She curled up like a cat into the warm kotatsu, tossed the blanket aside, revealing the pale, smooth lines of her shoulders and neck. She was still wearing that delicate camisole underneath. After sitting down, she brushed her hair; her forehead was covered by soft hair, vaguely obscuring her eyes.
I simply stopped looking at her. "Wear more clothes at home. What if you catch another cold?"
"Then I'll just have to let you be my body pillow again." Kusanagi was nonchalant. The kotatsu's thick quilt covered her hands and feet, revealing the slender curve of her back.
I shot her a glance, took off my own white cotton jacket, and forcibly put it on her.
"Mm." After being maneuvered by me for a bit, she obediently draped the jacket on, instantly puffing up like a cute doll.
"Miss Kusanagi, you are not allowed to wear this camisole anymore. It's not suitable for a 16-year-old." This camisole, the culprit that nearly caused insomnia, must not appear on her again.
"Why can't I wear it? What is Miss Nozawa worried about? Could it be..." She thought for a moment, then suddenly her tone took a subtlely rising inflection. "Afraid you might see something you shouldn't?"
As she said this, the strap on the girl's shoulder very fittingly slipped down a section, revealing a swath of snow-white skin with her triumphant laughter.
...We're both the same sex, what's there to be afraid of seeing? I said stubbornly, "...I'm just worried you'll catch another cold."
"So that's it." She seemed thoughtful, then suddenly leaned over, pressing close.
Her creamy, luminous chest suddenly flashed before my eyes. I immediately averted my gaze, my In a panic like protesting one's innocence too much.
"Hahahahaha." She laughed so hard her slender waist bent.
The one who didn't dare look before was her, but now it's completely reversed, using this move on me. I was speechless for a few seconds, my cheeks suddenly burning. I simply couldn't outtalk this sharp-tongued girl, so I had to drop the topic.
"Stop messing around! Have you washed your hands? Get ready for dinner!"
The girl laughed wantonly for a while, wearing an 'I knew it' expression. I felt ashamed and depressed from her laughter and didn't want to explain either, burying myself in preparing dinner.
I bought shrimp before coming back today, perfect for steaming now. I also prepared udon noodles—thick noodles with some green onions and leafy greens. Thinking it had been a long time since we ate dinner together, I even hid an egg at the very bottom.
"What's that?" She noticed the new gadget in the kitchen.
"It's a hot beverage dispenser, specifically for heating and keeping drinks warm. Press this button to keep it at room temperature, this one is for heating. From now on, if you want a hot drink, you can put it in here. It's very convenient."
The girl took the milk, tore open a small corner, and took a small sip. Her jade-white, slender fingers rested on it, blending with the milky white.
"The temperature is just right."
"And these flavors, you can have a different one every morning." I opened the small door of the dispenser, showing it off to her like a treasure. Inside were filled with Meiji milk—chocolate flavor, original, and vanilla. Last month, the bookstore paid my salary, and because I really liked watching her drink milk, I inadvertently bought a lot.
This belonged to my secret little thought.
The girl paid no heed to her image, nor did she put on any affected attitude. She just focused on moving her slender, white throat, gulping down the milk in large mouthfuls. After finishing, she would always Sipping with lingering satisfaction her red lips, then He wiped it haphazardly with a piece of paper..
One bottle wasn't enough sometimes, and she'd drink a second, but would often be unable to finish half. She wouldn't clean up either, just left the half-finished bottle of milk there, naturally acting like a spoiled young lady.
But watching her finish the milk I bought gave me a strange sense of satisfaction, like successful feeding.
"Miss Kusanagi, do you want to try the chocolate flavor?" Since she likes black, she should probably like chocolate flavor too, right?
"Are we still eating dinner later?" Kusanagi A single sentence reveals the truth my overly enthusiastic move, her tone frivolous. "Are you trying to fill me up?"
Japanese is a very Euphemism, where expressions often contain another layer of meaning or Implicit meaning. The phrase she just used is a Metaphorical statement from male-female interactions meaning "Are you trying to get me drunk?", just with the word "drunk" replaced by "full." This expression usually appears during Ambiguous stage, or when something is about to happen.
I was speechless again... Where did a kid her age learn these words! Did she think I wouldn't understand?
Seeing me glare at her, she not only didn't convergence, but instead laughed, putting on an expression that said 'I mean exactly that.'
No respect for elders!
I He touched his earlobe as a cover-up.. "Then let's not drink for now, let's eat." I did have a bit of a show-off intention—buying the hot beverage dispenser, hoping she'd like it, hoping she'd care about my Heartfelt wishes.
Why? Realizing this, I could only bite into a few pieces of bright red shrimp meat. The sauce was thick, salty, and fragrant, temporarily dispelling the embarrassment and confusion inside.
The girl picked up her chopsticks, scooped up the steaming thick udon noodles, and slowly blew on them. "Bought it specially for me?"
This was a very ordinary sentence, but the girl said it with a hint of A subtle, almost imperceptible teasing., complementing her A clear and beautiful face, creating an indescribable flavor.
"And the electric blanket." I pointed at the still-unopened box. "I'll lay it out for you later; you can use it tonight."
Kusanagi's movements paused. She was silent for a moment.
"So thoughtful." She suddenly laughed, her eyelashes curving into a black crescent, like pearls adorning amber.
"No need to thank me. This electric blanket has three adjustable levels and a timer. Turn it on a bit before bed, and it'll be very warm." I couldn't help adding one last thing: "Remember to use the lowest setting, otherwise it's easy to get dry mouth and Get a sore throat."
"Sounds really good." The girl laughed while poking at the udon noodles in her bowl, with precise, Brute force, He suddenly pulled up a large lump..
Why did the noodles suddenly seem... not to her taste? It wasn't an illusion. The noodles in the bowl were being Lingchi like by a knife, breaking apart into pitiful little segments.
I watched helplessly as the Poor noodles were flipped over and Fold over under her hands, enduring torment.
...What did I say wrong just now?
She This action was stopped quickly., raised her rosy lips, her expression Very calm and composed. "Can't wait to try it."
Can't wait to kill the udon noodles, more like.
"I wonder, between the electric blanket and Miss Nozawa, who would come out on top?" Her tone was Light and airy.
"It would definitely be the electric blanket. Constant high temperature."
The girl clenched her fist, bit her tooth root, very Light clouds and gentle breeze: "Let's not talk about this. Eat the shrimp." Her The fair, slender hands pinched the Shrimp tails, very Skillfully peeling open the shell, revealing Shrimp meat that is white and smooth, then placed this piece of Shrimp meat in my In the bowl.
I was I was stunned for a long time.. Had the sun risen from the west? Kusanagi peeling shrimp for me? The haughty young lady, Kuroki Kusanagi, was peeling shrimp for me?
Kusanagi also knew this Her behavior was so unlike her.. She Clear your throat, He said in a low, calm voice: "Eat it all."
After saying that, she peeled another one, getting her hands all covered in sauce. She didn't seem to mind, just wiped them casual with paper and continued Pretending to be indifferent, peeling.
Watching the Shrimp meat in my More and more in the bowl, I had to stop her: "Okay, that's enough. I won't be able to eat more if you keep going. Have some yourself too."
"I won't eat. You eat." She was determined to finish peeling this plate of shrimp. Her fingertips were turning red from peeling. Finally, after piling up this small bowl into a mountain, she pursed lips, Exhale. "Next time, I'll pick out the fish bones."
Something gradually Emerging in my mind.
Shrimp meat and Fish meat, meticulously cleaned of Redundant part, Pure white and crystal clear, placed in the bowl., waiting to be tasted, but were Rudely turned away by the girl that time—the time I specifically peeled and tried to feed her.
Apologizing for my unreasonable back then, in this way. So she remembered all along. Actually, she's a particularly gentle person, in every aspect.
My heart softened, A small section sank in.
"From now on, I'll peel all your shrimp." The girl's tone was strong.
I calmed my Heartbeat. In the end, I couldn't bear to let these hands that played the guitar do this kind of work. So I Feigning a bitter face and spit out a piece of Shrimp shells: "There's shell in this."
She opened her eyes wide. "I peeled it clean."
"Look, shell here, and shell here."
She was I can't figure it out.. "How could that be? I peeled them very carefully!"
I shrugged, turning around to hide the Pleasure of my His little scheme succeeded.
"I'll do it from now on."