Under Shirakawa Natsu’s persistent questioning, Mino Shiki, without any psychological pressure, recounted everything that happened on the day he received the lunchbox.

She learned that Kimura Hama had successfully divorced, so she asked Hashimoto Arina out tonight to ask for her opinion.

Shirakawa Natsu wasn’t angry that she hadn’t told her the matter immediately.

This childhood sweetheart has really gone to great lengths for him.

“Thank you.” Shirakawa Natsu’s voice was sincere. He began to wonder if his childhood friend really did secretly like him.

“I’m leaving.” Miyuki licked her lips. “She should be waking up soon.”

“Who?” Shirakawa Natsu asked, “The woman you were massaging just now?”

“The girl who sat next to me while we ate.” Miyuki smirked. “She looks quite innocent, but her obedience and acceptance are surprisingly high.”

“…” Shirakawa Natsu extinguished the thought that Mino Shiki secretly liked him.

This guy is a total player; he doesn’t have any hobbies other than grinding tofu.

And as a good brother, he has never invited him to join.

Another bold idea popped into his mind: what if a man really dated Miyuki?

Isn’t that equivalent to having countless girlfriends?

On his way back to the Japanese-style room, he kept thinking about this serious question, and ran into Hashimoto Arina at the door.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Shirakawa Natsu return, and pouted, “Where did you go?”

“Oh, I woke up at night and found that Sister Cai wasn’t there, so I wandered around the neighborhood.” Shirakawa Natsumi immediately steered the conversation to the topic of her leaving quietly at night.

Hashimoto Arina didn’t press the matter further. She quickly took his hand and tucked him into the blanket, saying, “It’s so late, go to sleep early.”

“Oh.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded, her goal achieved, and obediently lay back down in bed.

After all this commotion, he quickly fell asleep.

He had another dream. In the dream, he successfully restored his body and married Hashimoto Arina.

She was wearing a doctor’s uniform, squatting in front of Shirakawa Natsu, her hands cupping her chest, her face flushed, so that he could be direct with her.

Just then, his phone rang. It was his mother-in-law calling: “I’m sorry, Xia, but actually you are my son, you are Hashimoto Arina’s younger brother.”

Shirakawa Natsu lowered her head, while Hashimoto Arina, her eyes filled with spring water, fell into deep thought.

It was already morning. Hashimoto Arina slightly opened her eyes and saw that the room was not familiar. She remembered that she had come to the hot spring inn with Natsu today.

Her face flushed slightly as she turned her head and saw the bed beside her, where Shirakawa Natsu was lying quietly.

She came to Shirakawa Natsu’s side and called out, “Natsu, get up…”

She stopped halfway through calling out, gently squatted down, and looked at his sleeping face, which was delicate yet still had a touch of childishness. Even in his sleep, there was still a smile in the corner of his eyes.

“He must be having a beautiful dream.” Hashimoto Arina’s eyes softened, and she couldn’t help but reach out and place her hand next to his cheek, but she didn’t touch him.

Her face flushed as she recalled Miyuki’s analogy about S and M from yesterday.

She looked at Shirakawa Natsumi, who was sleeping. She thought, “If I kiss him, no one will know, right? Maybe if I kiss him, I’ll know whether I really like him.”

If you don’t kiss him, you’ll never know if you truly resist dating your younger brother.

At this moment, her feelings were like those in Miyuki’s analogy: how would she know if she was a pervert if she didn’t try?

“No.” Hashimoto Arina quickly shook her head: “I said he was my younger brother. As an adult, I shouldn’t be so willful.”

Shirakawa Natsu suddenly called out in her sleep, “Arina-nee~”

Hashimoto Arina, like a fertilized rabbit, leaped up and scrambled to a corner.

When Shirakawa Natsu opened his eyes, he saw Hashimoto Arina sitting upright a meter away, staring at him with wide eyes.

Seeing that he was awake, he roared sternly, “Idiot, why did you wake up so late!”

“?” A question mark appeared on Shirakawa Natsumi’s face: “Arina-nee, what’s with your stern old father tone?”

“Don’t talk back to your elders!” Hashimoto Arina continued to get into character.

Shirakawa Natsumi scratched her head, deciding it was best not to argue with her; women’s minds were unfathomable.

Anyway, I talked back quite a bit in my dream just now.

The two arrived at the meeting point, where the slightly chubby editor was already waiting. He didn’t complain about Shirakawa Natsu’s lateness at all, and still addressed him as “teacher” affectionately, which made him unconsciously keep his distance from his editor.

Miyuki and the pure-looking girl with glasses stood together, arm in arm, their faces glowing, showing no signs of the exhaustion from grinding tofu until dawn the night before.

Shirakawa Natsu even wondered if, unlike men, women could generate energy through friction, similar to generating electricity; otherwise, it was impossible to explain why the two of them were so energetic.

The atmosphere at the second day’s gathering was still great, and the slightly chubby editor was good at creating a lively atmosphere.

After several rounds of games, everyone got to know each other quite well, and Shirakawa Natsumi made some new friends in this world.

Hashimoto Arina remained by his side, and to outsiders, she still appeared as a gentle older sister taking care of her younger brother.

Shirakawa Natsuya couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, and didn’t know if the seeds she planted yesterday had sprouted.

The hot spring gathering came to a successful conclusion, and Shirakawa Natsu returned to the hospital. Everything was as usual, and she resumed painting.

Hashimoto Arina returned to work after her vacation, and she was still the ray of sunshine at the hospital.

A week passed just like that.

As usual, Mikoto came to the hospital to pick up her manuscript. After checking it, she skillfully put it into an envelope.

“Any progress with that cow lately?”

“Don’t give people weird nicknames so casually!” Shirakawa Natsumi pouted. “Just like usual, we’re a little closer, but it’s only from a familial perspective. She seems to have completely taken on the role of the older sister.”

“Isn’t that even more exciting?” Miyuki grinned mischievously.

“Damn it, I told you reality isn’t a novel.” Shirakawa Natsumi covered her head. “Once this kind of character setting is established, it’s very difficult to change.”

He turned to look at Miyuki: “Has she been trying to chat with you lately?”

“Yes, once.” Miyuki nodded: “Just like you said, she consulted me about relationship issues.”

“You really are a friend of women.” Shirakawa Natsumi pouted. The title of “King of the Sea” for Minobi was truly well-deserved.

Miyuki shrugged: “You’re just going to do nothing?”

Shirakawa Natsu shook her head: “I’ve done all I can. Acting recklessly will only lead to confusion and failure.”

“Kimura Hama signed the divorce agreement yesterday and is now officially single again.” Miyuki looked at Shirakawa Natsu with great interest in her eyes: “Just as he said, he left with nothing and will give his wife a monthly allowance before she remarries.”

“That means I finally won’t be able to see that damn Porsche anymore.” Shirakawa Natsu looked out the window.

Although he had never seen that Porsche, he admired Kimura Hama somewhat upon hearing the result, at least he had put his knowledge into practice.

He disliked Hama Kimura for no reason.

He had Miyuki investigate his reputation at school.

Hama Kimura seems to wear a mask called morality, which makes his behavior highly predictable.

He was a truly perfect person, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a moral exemplar in the eyes of the ancients.

This feeling is unpleasant, like another creature imitating human behavior, because there are no selfless saints among humans, otherwise high moral character would not be praised.

“You don’t seem to be in a hurry.” Mikoto asked curiously, “He should take the initiative to contact Hashimoto Arina soon, right? Your first love is finally going to have a result. Or are you confident that Hashimoto Arina will reject him?”

“Who knows?” Shirakawa shrugged. “It’s not a novel. Emotions are the most unpredictable thing. That’s just how humans are.”

Miyuki licked her lips: “If Hashimoto Arina agrees to Kimura Hama’s request, I will NTR Kimura Hama to avenge you.”

Shirakawa Natsu was stunned for a moment before she realized that after they got together, NTRing Kimura Hama meant she was dating Hashimoto Arina.

“You bastard, you actually tried to touch my brother’s woman!” Shirakawa Natsu was so angry that he picked up the manuscript and threw it at her.

Shirakawa Natsu had originally planned to find an excuse to go on a date with Hashimoto Arina, but this time she took the initiative to suggest it.

“Going to the shrine for the eve of the festival?” Shirakawa Natsu asked, holding a bento box.

The ritual of paying respects to him is all too familiar; it’s often seen in comics where childhood sweethearts often get separated at memorial services.

The female protagonist will disappear for a period of time. When the male protagonist finds her, she is walking with his cheerful blond friend.

Then, amidst a sky full of fireworks, the male protagonist confesses his love to the female protagonist, who is walking strangely.

In the end, the two lived happily ever after.

“No.” Shirakawa Natsu immediately wanted to refuse, but quickly came to her senses. It seemed that she was the one who had inserted herself into the childhood friend relationship, so it was fine: “There’s Nai-nee, I’ve never been to the pre-festival, and I don’t have a yukata.”

“It’s okay. Until three years ago, I had been with…” Hashimoto Arina stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence because she used to be with Kimura Hama, and saying it in front of Shirakawa Natsu would easily lead to associations.

She quickly glanced at Shirakawa Natsu out of the corner of her eye, and seeing that there was nothing unusual on his face, she coughed twice and said, “I will arrange it for Natsu.”

“Hmm.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded, pretending not to have noticed.

“Did you like today’s bento?” Hashimoto Arina asked, changing the subject at the opportune moment.

Shirakawa Natsu looked at the bento box, which had changed from being a mushy mess to one where the ingredients were clearly distinguishable. Hashimoto Arina’s cooking skills had improved significantly.

But when it came to taste, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s cooked.”

When the weekend arrived, Hashimoto Arina brought a yukata to the hospital.

He didn’t know how to wear a yukata, so Hashimoto Arina carefully helped him change into one.

Hashimoto Arina showed no emotion at his naked body, whether because she was a doctor or because she truly regarded Shirakawa Natsu as a younger brother.

“There are so many people.” As soon as Shirakawa Natsu got off the train, she felt herself being pushed forward by the crowd from behind.

He turned his head and found Hashimoto Arina smiling at him. He asked curiously, “Is there something strange about me?”

“No.” Hashimoto Arina shook her head: “Summer looks really cool today.”

“Because the bathrobe fits Cai-jie perfectly.” Shirakawa Natsu scratched his head and looked around. In terms of looks, he was quite handsome, but he was just rather thin.

At least among the men he’s met, only Kimura Hama is more handsome than him.

So he really might be the most handsome guy on this street.

Shirakawa Natsu’s expression was strange. Not far ahead, Kimura Hama, dressed in a yukata, stood there with a smile on his face.