My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 138

I hesitated, unsure whether to call her by name. There was no particular reason; I just felt it wasn't appropriate to do so in front of others.

"She ignores me when we make eye contact, and she yells at me when I talk to her. It feels like my rebellious phase has come too late."

"Oh, I see—"

"...I don't think you're interested, are you?"

"I'm so sorry, I was the one who asked the question."

"At least learn how to pretend to listen attentively..."

"If I could do that, I wouldn't have to work so hard..."

"Tell us your thoughts."

"Huh? Hmm... Could it be my period?"

"This answer is absolutely terrible!"

"Even if she's not better, Yui is a bit emotionally unstable. While you guys were back in the countryside, she called me on her cell phone. She was talking about how Mizuto's first love was."

"What? First love? Is she talking about Cousin Yuanxiang...? That girl is prone to misunderstandings, and she even goes around spreading rumors..."

"Was it all a misunderstanding?"

"yes."

"What a pity... Suito-kun is so cute when he's in love..."

"Don't talk like you've seen it all. You're just imagining things."

"Mizuto-kun, nervous and shy, taking a bath with her older sister..."

"When I was still a boy, she was just a little girl. We're not that much older than each other."

"That's pretty evil too!"

I'll ignore the loud, snorting breath from the east for now and get back to the main topic.

"Your emotions are unstable... You're absolutely right."

"Really? Her emotions are very volatile—"

"I think anyone would become very excited compared to you."

"Hmm... but I don't think I'm the calm type either."

"Understanding oneself is not easy for anyone."

"Really? But I can be really bad at getting depressed."

"When I dumped you, you weren't that upset at all..."

"It's just that you recovered quickly. Anyway, what I mean is, I think you'll calm down in a few days, right? Until then, I'll use my supplementary therapy to heal you~"

After Dongtou finished speaking, he started poking my cheek. Enough already, this is annoying!

I activated my automatic counterattack function, using both hands to pinch Dongtou's cheeks and squeeze his soft cheeks until they were deformed.

"No! I'm going to be disfigured!"

"How could that be? It's so cute... as cute as an octopus."

"I heard you! You want to toy with a young girl's innocent feelings, don't you!"

"It would sound awful if word got out. Aren't we friends?"

"If you talk about me like that, I'm not friends with you anymore!"

I used the flailing arms and legs of the struggling Dongtou as a toy to release some of the pressure.

◆ Irito Yume ◆

"How could that be? She's so cute—"

"You want to play with me?"

"We are not friends."

"I'm not going to be your friend anymore."

……………………！ ！ ？ ？

The faint sounds coming from the next room startled me.

Huh? Huh? That voice just now... was that Dongtou's, right?

Mizuto said she was cute? Mizuto? Mizuto would say something like that? What does "playing with" mean? Why aren't they friends anymore? Could it be—

The image of Dongtou, completely naked, flashed through my mind, along with the image of her gently pushing over the water bucket.

Finally—the two of them finally…!

Why, why, why! Is it because we haven't seen each other for a while? Or is it because I messed up just now, and he's had enough of me and turned to the classmate on the east side—

Wait a moment.

Calm down. I panicked, I was so panicked. I can't keep making wild guesses like this. I have no evidence. And the voices earlier—I didn't really hear what they were saying. It's very likely I just misunderstood or misheard.

I've grown up.

I won't make the same foolish mistakes I did when I had a falling out with Shui Dou in the past.

"……good……!"

Go check it out.

Making judgments based solely on sounds through a wall is the only way to have such wild thoughts. I need to see the truth for myself…though I'm a little scared…but I don't think either of them can do anything good. I'm definitely overthinking it. Yes, that's right. We'll see I'm mistaken soon enough…

Let's go.

I quietly left my room and tiptoed down the hallway. Mizuta's room was right next to mine, so it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

I'll just crack the door open a little and quietly check. This isn't peeping. I'm just trying to keep an eye on them, as that man's sister and a friend of Dongtou's classmate, to see if they're doing anything inappropriate...

I reached for the doorknob. My heart was pounding so hard I couldn't hear anything else. I applied pressure to my hand. I felt a heavy jolt, making me hesitate for a moment.

Then──

I saw Shuidou push over the student at the east end.

(Illustration 005)

Through the slightly ajar door...

I saw Dongtou lying on the floor with his eyes closed.

And then there was Mizuto, gazing lovingly at her face, pressing down on her.

My vision became unpredictable, flickering between light and darkness...

"Ouch~"

Just when I thought I was about to faint, a voice suddenly came from behind me, which startled me.

Shuidou and Dongtou were startled and looked in our direction. I also turned to look behind me.

My mother stood behind me, holding a tray.

She peeked into the room from behind me, giving me a sly, gossipy smile.

"I was going to bring you some snacks, but it seems the timing isn't right. I'll come back later, take your time~"

"Ah...wait a minute...! Aunt Yuhito!"

Ignoring Shuidou's attempts to stop her, Mom happily hummed a song as she walked down the steps, saying, "I saw it, I saw it~♪".

And so, I was the only one left behind.

"........."

"........."

My eyes met those of Mizuto.

All I can say is one sentence:

"...Take your time..."

"Hey, you stop right there!"

Never!

The opposite happened; I fled back to my room, my footsteps echoing loudly.

"...Waaaaah...waaaah..."

Hi everyone, I'm a loser.

The war ended very quickly. The outcome was decided in less than two days.

To be honest, I didn't originally consider Dongtou a rival.

I initially thought that after talking for so long, they had actually lost sight of the point.

I never expected this to happen... I was just a little shy and treated him a bit rudely, and it was so easy for him to... Waaaaah~!

That guy is awful. That kind of thing just happened the day before yesterday, and today he's bringing a girl into his room to do lewd things…! What's he thinking? Why did he back down when he was with me?! Why did he dare to make a move on Dongtou so quickly?! Idiot! Hypocrite! In heat! Big-breast fetishist!

I simply cannot bear this surge of pain in my heart.

Without realizing it, I picked up my phone.

I called the friend I've talked to the longest since I started high school.

"Hey! Yume, you're back! I missed you so much!!!"

"...Bite A-classmate..."

"Huh? What's going on? Who are you? A zombie is calling me?"

◆ Irito Mizuto ◆

"Wow~ We've been misunderstood!"

"Don't talk about it so happily."

This was the loudest I'd ever heard her voice since I met her. I never knew you could make a sound like that.

Dongtou, on my bed, excitedly swung his legs and said:

"They completely think we've reached base! Starting tomorrow, they'll be looking at us with those 'those two were... yesterday' looks!"

"I'm troubled here, and you're getting all excited over there! You might not care, but I live in the same house as both of them! Can you understand the feeling of family members treating you carefully, even if they don't say it?"

"It's okay, we can explain it later. For now, let's just enjoy this false sense of superiority."

"I know it's fake..."

"I think it wouldn't matter if it turned out to be real?"

After saying that, Dongtou lay on his back on the bed.

The full breasts turned upwards, but perhaps due to the support of the bra, they did not succumb to gravity and deform.

Dongtou stared at me with a pleading look in his eyes—

"—Don't you think this action is a bit erotic? Lying back and staring at the other person like that, without any defenses."

"Yes, yes, very erotic, very erotic."

"Hmm—! What's wrong with occasionally satisfying a girl's pride?"

You've got that kind of pride again.

Just as I was chatting with Dongtou about some incredibly lame jokes, my phone started vibrating.

A phone call? ...Is it from Nan?

Hello.

"You're really enjoying yourself now, aren't you!"

Huh? This way of greeting is so novel!

"I really admire how quickly you answered the phone! Taking a break? Intermission? Are you eager to hang up and move on to the second round? Are you itching to rub Dongtou's huge breasts? No wonder I wasn't interested in you even when I was chasing after you!"

"I don't understand what you're saying, just calm down—"