My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 287

By then I had curled up in bed and was pretending to be asleep.

I opened my eyes a crack to check on Mizuto's reaction. Mizuto glanced at me and whispered, "Don't sleep in someone else's room." Good, mission accomplished. Next, I just need to catch him before he sits down at his desk with his back to me—

"……Um……"

I pretended to turn over in my sleep, and at the same time—I slipped my hand under the hem of my shirt.

I acted like someone sleeping with the heating on too high, pushing my shirt up.

In that case…! That's intense enough! We absolutely can't ignore it!

Going too far will seem indecent. Just let him see your lower abdomen and ribs—for now, stop at just enough to barely show your bra.

See? A girl who doesn't have those feelings for you wouldn't let her guard down like that!

I slightly opened my eyelids, which had been tightly closed due to nervousness.

Let's see how it goes. What kind of expression will Mizuto make when he sees my lewd and shameful behavior?

"........."

I slightly opened my eyes and saw Shuidou's back.

Shuidou didn't even glance at me, his back to the computer.

"........."

why?

It seemed to be quite effective last time—

His reaction reminded me of the time when we supported Dongtou's classmates in chasing Shuidou.

At that time, he noticed that his classmate Dongtou's underwear was showing, and he casually reminded her, "Your underwear is showing."

The way he's acting now is like he's turned off the switch that treats me like a girl—

--The only solution is to take off his clothes and push him down.

Senior Sister Ya Shuang's voice played repeatedly in my mind.

Irito Mizuto ◆ Killer Move

I have successfully tamed my sexual desire.

Or it would be more accurate to say that they have adapted to a state of excitement—through training, they no longer show their desire in their eyes or other behaviors even when aroused.

The main method is to search for pictures online, essentially getting the eyes used to women's bodies. The goal isn't to become celibate, but to familiarize oneself with one's own arousal responses and learn how to control them.

Although it felt like just a comforting exercise, it seemed to at least have a self-suggestive effect. As a result, now no matter how much the girl tries to seduce me, I can keep her out of my sight.

...After all that, the most direct effect was probably that moment when I couldn't take responsibility but still had fantasies about Jie Nu, which made me utterly disgusted with myself.

The side effect is that I've become much more discerning when it comes to sexy illustrations.

"In this kind of situation, wouldn't a little more humidity be better? For example, with people sweating and radiating heat."

"Oh, you mean just getting wet isn't enough, right? Mizuto-kun's got some serious skills now."

When I meet Isana, I am no longer distracted by other thoughts.

Aunt Nagi went even further and came to look at the trash can in Isana's room, saying:

"How long are you going to drag this out before you sleep with her? How disgusting."

Although she told me this, it's probably not very healthy for a producer to have a romantic relationship with the person they're in charge of, by general standards.

I withstood the onslaught of the Jade Maiden and finally welcomed this day—December 24th.

"Wow... Mom, what kind of cake is this?"

Aunt Yu-ren placed the cake she had bought on the table to show everyone, and Yu-nv, full of curiosity, leaned over to examine it. Upon hearing this, Aunt Yu-ren revealed a smug, mischievous smile and said:

"It's a cake that's a bit too mature for adults."

"An adult-oriented cake?"

"They added alcohol to it."

Huh! The girl was shocked and kept a slight distance from the yellow sponge cake.

"Won't it cause any harm if we eat it...?"

"It's okay, it's okay! I didn't break the law! Besides, the blood alcohol level wasn't very high!"

Really...? I checked on my phone and found that the Japanese legal definition of "alcoholic beverages" seems to only include "beverages" containing alcohol. That means foods like cakes or chocolates don't count. It feels like they're exploiting a loophole...

"You have to try everything to know, just be careful not to eat too much. We also buy regular cakes."

Hearing her father say the same thing, Jieju agreed, saying, "Hmm—I'll just have a little bit then..." Well, it's safer to try it under the supervision of a guardian than to wait until a university drinking party or something to drink for the first time.

"Merry Christmas!"

And so, the Irihu family's Christmas Eve passed peacefully.

During the process, Aunt Yujin, who still thinks Isana is my girlfriend, teased me: "Mizuto, are you okay? You're leaving Higashi-kun alone~" But I'm used to it, so I casually replied: "It's okay, that guy isn't celebrating the holiday." and brushed it off.

After finishing the cake and dinner, I moved from the dining table to the kotatsu (heated table) by myself and read a book while listening to the Christmas special on TV.

Perhaps it was because of the cake with added liquor, but I felt warm all over, and my mood brightened up a bit. It's nice to temporarily immerse myself in this comfortable state of mind and body.

Yui was at the dining table, chatting with her father and Aunt Yui about something. It's a good thing that a top student has so much to talk about with her family.

However, not long after, Dad went to clean the bathroom, while Aunt Yui went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Only Yui was left alone—

"how do you feel?"

She came over to me and put her legs into the kotatsu (heated table).

I became a little more vigilant, but Aunt Ren was in the kitchen, so I figured she wouldn't dare to do anything reckless.

"How does it feel?"

"A wine-flavored cake. Didn't you eat quite a bit?"

"Nothing's different, except it's a bit hot."

"Is that so..."

I always felt that her voice had become inexplicably soft and weak.

No sooner had I thought that than the situation arose.

Jie lay down completely, resting her head on my lap like a playful cat.

"You... hey...!"

"Mmm...it really is! It's so warm..."

The kotatsu (heated table) formed a partition, preventing Aunt Yuhito in the kitchen from seeing how Yui lay down.

But her behavior is utterly lawless.

Normally, Yui wouldn't take such a risk. Just who is she—

"...Hehehe..."

I noticed that the girl's face was a little flushed.

Could it be that she was drunk? Or did she just eat the wine cake?

He was speaking so clearly just now, but as soon as he came to my side, he seemed to completely relax—

"...Hey, don't sleep here. Go back to your room."

"Um...no. I want to take a shower..."

"Yes, go take a shower and clear your head."

"...I'm telling you, Mizuta."

"Um?"

"Shall we go back to our room?"

Her coquettish remark left me speechless.

"I...have something...that I want to give you...it's a Christmas...present...I can't give it to you...in front of Mom and the others, so..."

...Christmas gifts.

I just can't stop the feather necklace I received two years ago from popping into my mind.

"...I didn't prepare anything."

"It's okay... I wanted to send it myself."

The girl gripped my pants tightly, as if begging me.

"It's such a small thing...you won't refuse, will you...?"

I can't say "no".

I like her so much that I can't bring myself to reject her so coldly.

"Okay... but you need to take a shower first to sober up."

"Hmm...that's true, that's better..."

Just then, Dad came home and said, "The bathroom is all cleaned up—"

Jie stood up unsteadily and told her father, "I'm going to take a shower." Then she hurriedly left the living room and went upstairs to prepare.

"……call."

I never expected that such a small amount of alcohol would make her drunk. Is it a family trait that she can't drink? No, but I've never seen Aunt Yu-ren drunk before. Besides—

"........."

Is that how it is?

Mizuto Irito ◆ Loves someone so much that he can't confess his feelings

After the whole family had taken a shower, my father and Aunt Yu-ren went into the bedroom before I came to my room.

"……Thanks."

As the woman in her pajamas walked in, she no longer seemed as smug as before.

"Are you sober now?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You were faking it just now, weren't you?"

My unexpected remark caused Jie Nu to freeze for a moment.

"Isn't it said that whether you can drink alcohol depends on genetics? In this respect, Aunt Yu-in can drink with her relatives in the countryside without changing her expression, and Uncle Kei-kwang's face doesn't change when he drinks red wine—you are their child, you can't get drunk so easily."

Of course, I wasn't entirely sure, but her reaction right now confirmed it.

Jie was pretending to be drunk—most likely to bring up the matter of giving a gift.

"...What a dense person. The girl could have just pretended to be drunk and acted like she didn't know anything."

"Sorry, I'm just being more vigilant because I'm afraid of being scammed in the future."

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the girl with a resentful expression.

"So? What gift is it that you're going to such lengths to give me?"

Who wants to create any atmosphere for you? I asked, trying to be as rude as possible.

Jie nodded and said, "Hmm..." She quickly walked over to me and sat down right next to me.

"Hello……"

I tried to create some distance, but Jie grabbed my arm first.

"No...you're not allowed to escape."

She looked at me with her big, affectionate eyes and said:

"Don't let my appearance fool you... I mustered up all my courage."

It seems that the opponent has won the battle of creating atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I'm not frivolous enough to mock someone who is serious and earnest.