Page 14
Page 14
Hashimoto Arina did not notice him following behind her, and walked ahead through the activity room to the hotel lobby.
There were cotton quilts laid out, and men and women sat around chatting, creating a lively scene.
He spotted the familiar figure immediately; Miyuki's height and appearance were exceptionally striking.
Hashimoto Arina walked straight over and sat down next to her.
Shirakawa Natsuto was horrified; how did these two end up together?
She just met with Miyuki not long ago, and now she's with Arina Hashimoto. She even went to give a massage in between. This guy is a master of time management.
The hall was crowded with people. Shirakawa Natsu mingled at the back of the crowd and quietly slipped behind the two of them to sit down.
However, he could only fool Hashimoto Arina. He sensed that Miyuki had seen him, but he pretended not to notice.
"He's already asleep." Hashimoto Arina sat down next to Minobu. "Did you need something from me?"
Miyuki glanced at Shirakawa Natsu behind him and said, "Kimura Hama has already gotten a divorce. What are you planning to do next?"
Hashimoto Arina's expression froze for a moment, first showing surprise, then slowly becoming complicated: "So he wasn't lying after all."
"You didn't know?" Miyuki asked suspiciously. "It's not a secret among the professors at Tokyo University. Anyone who pays a little attention will know."
Hashimoto Arina lowered her head and said softly, "I haven't contacted him since he came to the hospital to see me last time."
"Why is that?" Miyuki asked.
“Because of… Xia.” Hashimoto Arina shook her head: “I agreed to date Xia, and I didn’t want him to know that Kimura Hama existed. Also… that day he said that divorce would take time.”
Upon hearing this, Shirakawa Natsu immediately recalled that last month, he and Hashimoto Arina had taken a walk in the hospital in the evening.
The nurse ran over and said that a handsome guy was waiting for him outside. Hashimoto Arina went out and came back, looking visibly flustered. It was then that he realized there was a man there and asked Miyuki to help investigate.
"Are you planning to keep it from him?" Mikoto's eyes were sharp: "Treat him like a child, just like you used to."
"I don't know." Hashimoto Arina held her head in her hands. "I don't know how to start."
"Do you like him? From a woman's perspective, how do you like a man?" Miyuki asked.
“He… is still a child.” Hashimoto Arina shook her head: “He’s like my younger brother.”
Shirakawa Natsu sat in the back, listening to everything. She shook her head, took out her phone, and sent a message to Mino Shiki.
“In that case, you’d better hurry up and go find Kimura Hama.” Mikoto’s lips curled into a sly smile: “That guy is very popular at school, you’ll miss him if you’re too late.”
After she finished speaking, she turned to stare at Hashimoto Arina: "Then talk to Natsu about it, and you won't have to worry about it anymore."
“I…” Hashimoto Arina lowered her head and remained silent.
“That’s the most reasonable thing to do, isn’t it?” Miki said. “What’s your position now? His attending physician, his sister, his friend—whichever of you is the most reasonable person to do it is to tell him the truth and then pursue his own happiness. So what are you still hesitating about?”
Hashimoto Arina remained silent, her head bowed.
“You’re hesitating because you like him,” Mikoto suddenly said.
“No.” Hashimoto Arina shook her head: “He’s only 18, and I’m already 26. He’s still just a child.”
“In a sense, you and Kimura Hama are quite a good match,” Miyuki said. “Your concerns are what he considers reasonable. He will always put himself in a reasonable position, which is what you call age and status. From any perspective, you should choose him.”
Hashimoto Arina remained silent.
“But humans are irrational creatures.” Mikoto shrugged. “A newlywed wife will definitely want to grow old with her husband, but after marriage, she may encounter some temptations, and then be photographed by a blond guy. After a long period of editing, it will become something that is shown in front of her husband…”
"People change. Someone who has never tried being a bottom will never know they are actually a bottom, nor can they be sure if it's because of immorality..."
"Stop." Hashimoto Arina stopped her, blushing. "Please don't use such strange metaphors."
"Give me some time." Hashimoto Arina waved her hand. "I don't want to hurt Natsu."
"And why do you know so much about the things between the faculty at the University of Tokyo?"
“I have a good relationship with a female teacher.” Mikoto licked his lips.
"You must be the same age as Xia," Hashimoto Arina said with a helpless expression.
“I’m nineteen.” Mi Zhi Shi shrugged.
"You're nineteen?" Hashimoto Arina covered her head. "Seriously, I've been lectured by so many younger girls. I'll consider it."
After realizing her age advantage, she finally regained some confidence.
She adopted the same demeanor as her older sister, got up, and left.
After she left, Miyuki turned to Shirakawa Natsu and said, "What disgusting lines."
"Hey." Shirakawa Natsumi's lips twitched. "You added those weird metaphors, didn't you?"
"Never mind." Shirakawa Natsu waved her hand, not wanting to argue with her. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the seed had already been planted in Hashimoto Arina's heart. Now it was just a matter of seeing if it could blossom and bear fruit.
Hama Kimura is right; he is on the side of reason.
Hashimoto Arina sees him more as a younger brother, and the only way to surpass him is to make her realize that there is such a path as being a pervert.
So what if it's immoral? It's just psychological, it doesn't affect physical intimacy.
Chapter 18 The Man I Hate
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 Kimura Hama 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?”
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