'Then maybe play hard to get?'
'Pretend to resist a bit, then give in halfway!'
'But what if during the resistance phase, the president takes it seriously, won't I be lifting a rock only to drop it on my own foot?'
'Ugh, so hard to decide'
The girl was immersed in blissful troubles, but suddenly noticed something was off.
'How long has it been now? Why isn't it my turn yet?'
'Kissing Mutsumi's cheek, how long can it possibly take?'
She snapped out of it, only to realize that at some point, a certain familiar figure had already disappeared.
Mortis was muttering "Ugh, even guards against little sisters" as she unhappily headed back to her room.
In the living room, only Mutsumi was still quietly sitting beside her.
'Where's my president?'
"Onii-chan went to take a bath," Wakaba Mutsumi paused for a moment before swallowing the sentence "Sakiko's smile just now was weird," so as not to cause secondary damage to her childhood friend.
"How could this happen!"
Having been skipped like that, the blue-haired girl slumped in disappointment, as if her whole being turned grey.
Meanwhile
Lying in the bathtub, feeling the warm touch of hot water wrapping around his skin, Kaito let out a long sigh. It felt like being reborn.
Shopping for clothes with girls could be considered a 21st-century modern torture.
It might not be tiring, but it was absolutely exhausting.
The world is so cold, only the bathtub can offer some warmth to the soul.
Earlier, Mortis wanted to come along too, but Kaito had firmly rejected her.
Right now, he just wanted to enjoy some private space. If Mortis joined, Mutsumi would surely follow too.
Crowdedness aside, it would defeat the purpose of relaxation.
As for that certain Miss OB full-of-alphabet It wasn't like Kaito deliberately skipped her, just that their relationship was different.
Kissing a younger sister on the cheek could still be passed off as sibling affection.
But making a move on his secretary, what else could it be but "corporate harassment"?
Not to mention taking a bath together.
Unless, someday, their relationship takes a new step forward, then there'd be no need to worry about such details.
'As for now', Kaito shook his head and stopped thinking.
With a flick of his hand, the phone on the rack floated over to him.
He originally planned to scroll some game forums, to see if any new big titles were out, but accidentally noticed a notification.
[The streamer you follow "Alto Otogi Official" is now live! Go check it out!]
This was the only streamer Kaito followed, and also someone he knew in real life.
The sound technician at the STARRY Studio, PA-san.
He rarely watched livestreams. The only reason he followed "Alto Otogi Official" was because of Kumiko.
However, after he had probed her offline, PA-san hadn't streamed in a long time, probably feeling embarrassed to be outed by a junior she knew in real life.
Now suddenly going live, did she think the storm had passed?
Kaito thought for two seconds and still clicked into the stream room.
Though he browsed with his real name online, this was a blank alt account, never donated, totally inconspicuous, no need to worry about being found out.
The stream chat was lively.
Though PA-san had been slacking for a while, her follower count was still there. With this long-awaited stream, the scrolling comments didn't stop.
Most were asking what she'd been doing all this time. Some were pushing her to get on with the stream content.
The black-haired big sister behind the screen wasn't surprised by this at all. She skillfully made up an excuse about "being sick and hospitalized" and responded to the questions before starting the usual stream flow.
She mostly streamed games, occasionally moonlighting as a love advice guru.
Tonight maybe due to bad hands or poor connection, in just ten minutes of gaming she had a 1-17 record, causing the chat to flood with messages like "I'm a talent scout, this is a good horse."
["The mouse just ran out of battery, I'm in a bad mood, didn't wash my hair, got distracted, had poor signal, didn't remap the keys anyway I'm off tonight, next game I'll wipe the floor with them!"]
PA-san was full of righteous excuses, refusing to admit it was her own problem.
Seeing the chat filled with skepticism, right then someone sent an SC (paid comment), and she quickly coughed to change the subject, ["Alright, alright, wins and losses are normal for a soldier, let's first see what this sponsor has to say."]
[Streamer, streamer, I have a question. He's been living in my heart for a long time, but he's never paid rent. Can I report him to the police?]
'You simp, your message is actually kinda funny.'
As a love advisor, the black-haired big sister was long used to such things and remained emotionally unmoved, ["Sorry, dear sponsor. For cases involving more than 3,000 yen, you can report it. But unfortunately, your heart is worth nothing to him."]
[?]
[Reported!]
The precisely sniped sponsor sent two more SCs and then fell silent, perhaps already coming to terms with it.
Lies won't hurt people, truth is the sharp blade. [T/N: Truth is like poetry. And everyone fuc*ing hates poetry.]
PA-san didn't care. Breaking someone's fantasy was far better than letting them keep sinking into it. She was just about to see if there were any other interesting comments, when her eyes unintentionally caught a system message.
[User "Kaito" has entered the stream room.]
The black-haired big sister sitting cross-legged on her chair tilted her head, feeling that the name looked oddly familiar.
'Where have I seen this ID before?'
She suddenly froze, and shot up from her chair.
'Wait a second! Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-boyfriend-kun?'
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Chapter 243: We All Have a Bright Future
[The streamer you're following is slacking off. Go check out something else.]
Looking at the suddenly blacked-out livestream room, Kaito fell into silence.
'Is it a coincidence?'
'I had just come in, and PA-san ended the stream?'
'Or is it that I have been discovered?'
Such doubts did not last long.
Soon, his phone vibrated. A private message arrived on the site.
[Alto Otogi Official: Excuse me... is this Kaito, student of Class 1-A at Shuka Private Academy?]
Alright, now it could be confirmed. He was indeed exposed.
Using one's real name online had this downside, it was easy to be recognized by someone familiar.
But for someone like him, who was bad at naming, it was also hard to come up with a suitable username on the spot.
Might as well just use it for now. Kaito didn't deny it and simply responded politely.
[Kaito: Good evening, PA-san.]
'Not good at all!'
In a somewhat messy bedroom, a black-haired big sister wearing only a cool spaghetti-strap tank top and hot pants was on the verge of breakdown.
Ever since Kaito had called out her username offline, PA-san had spent many days in constant fear.
Afraid that one day he would let it slip and expose her true identity in front of Seika.
Even her streaming career had been put on hold.
When she streamed, for the sake of show effect, she sometimes inevitably did interesting acts to stir the viewers' emotions.
In the past, hidden behind a pseudonym, with no one knowing who was underneath, she didn't feel ashamed.
But now, her identity was exposed and recognized by a handsome junior offline under his real name, so PA-san found it hard to maintain her carefree streaming style.
She kept feeling that, during her streams, a certain familiar pair of eyes would be watching her.
She even thought about whether to simply give up her streaming career altogether, unfortunately, her empty wallet raised objections.
Though she worked as a sound engineer at the STARRY, the salary offered by Seika was barely enough to make ends meet.
Tokyo's cost of living was still quite high. After subtracting necessary food, clothing, and housing expenses, there wasn't much money left each month.
PA-san was an indoor girl. She had no obsession with pretty clothes or designer handbags.
But spending on gacha games was necessary.
Moreover, she wasn't an 18-year-old girl anymore. As someone who had stepped into society, just maintaining her skin each month cost over thirty thousand yen.
Relying solely on her sound engineer job obviously couldn't support her expenses.
In the past, the income from streaming under the account "Alto Otogi Official" had allowed her to maintain a balanced budget.
But after stopping the streams for a while, her already not-wealthy purse became even tighter.
When people are poor, they start hoping for luck.
'So much time has passed already...'
'Just a short stream, surely, it won't be that coincidental for someone to catch it, right?'
But Murphy's Law was still in effect.
Who could have thought, things really were just that coincidental.
That day, PA-san once again recalled the fear of being "unboxed" and the shame of being solo-killed offline.
The flustered, long-haired big sister subconsciously began awkward small talk.
[Alto Otogi Official: Ahahaha, what a coincidence, so you surf the internet too~]
[Kaito: ...]
[Kaito: I suppose I still count as a modern person.]
A young man living in a big city in the 21st-century modern society, not going online would be strange, wouldn't it?
PA-san also realized she had said something dumb. Her snowy white, glistening toes curled a little, and she quickly tried to make up for it.
[Alto Otogi Official: It's just a bit surprising that someone like Kaito-kun would watch virtual livestreams cough, cough. Speaking of which, last time I was sick, it was thanks to your help that I recovered so quickly. I haven't had the chance to thank you yet.]
[Alto Otogi Official: I wonder if Kaito-kun has any free time recently? I know a Japanese restaurant with amazing flavor. How about it? Interested in trying it? My treat!]
'Is this... hush money?', Kaito pondered for two seconds.
He actually understood PA-san's intentions, just worried that he might spill the beans.
Honestly, she didn't need to be so afraid. Kaito wasn't the kind of person who liked to talk too much and he respected PA-san's hobbies.
At the end of the day, being a virtual streamer was a legal, legitimate profession that didn't affect others. It was just a job. In essence, it wasn't much different from a corporate employee. There really was no need to feel ashamed.
However, everyone had their own thoughts.
If doing this could put PA-san at ease, Kaito wouldn't deliberately refuse. No need to let this long-haired big sister keep overthinking and even feel too embarrassed to look him in the eye when he occasionally went to STARRY.
The only issue was, his schedule had been quite full lately, and he couldn't spare the time for now.
As for this response, PA-san wasn't disappointed at all. She very generously said everything would follow his schedule. If this week didn't work, then next week. If next week didn't work, then the week after. She would be on call anytime.
Just like that, the two reached an agreement.
After exchanging a few polite words about their recent situations, Kaito took the initiative to end the chat.
Casually turning off the screen, he thought for a moment, but didn't use spiritual power to dry the water droplets. After changing into a bathrobe, he walked out of the bathroom while drying his damp hair with a towel.
Mortis had already gone back to her room and was now rolling around the bed wrapped in his blanket.
Kaito retracted his spiritual sense, continued drying his hair, and glanced at the two girls sitting on the sofa, casually asking, "The water's still warm, does anyone want to take a bath?"
In Japan, the whole family sharing the same tub of hot water was quite common. After all, the water bill wasn't cheap, so saving where you could was important.
With Kaito's level of cultivation, his body no longer attracted any dust. Bathing for him was simply mental relaxation. Even water he had already used wouldn't be dirty at all, so there were no hygiene concerns.
"Today, there wasn't much physical activity," Wakaba Mutsumi still had her usual cool and calm demeanor. The implication was that she hadn't really sweat, so no need for a bath.
If it were with her brother, she'd be very interested.
But going alone...
'Forget it, better leave the opportunity to others.'
The girl tilted her head and looked toward the childhood friend beside her.
"Sakiko, you just said you were tired and wanted to take a bath, aren't you going?"
'Eh? Did that happen?'
The blue-haired girl froze for a moment, but quickly realized. This was little Mutsumi helping her score points.
Although she didn't manage to get a kiss from the president just now, if she could share the same tub with the president, then roughly speaking, wouldn't that count as bathing together with him?
'Even such a rare opportunity is being given to me! Mutsumi, you're my superhero!'
The girl took her change of clothes and excitedly rushed into the bathroom.
Kaito also planned to go check on Mortis in the bedroom, at least to make her let go of the poor cup.
But just as he took a step, his sleeve was tugged.
"Onii-chan."
He turned around and met a pair of amber-clear eyes.
"Earlier, I didn't get the chance to really feel it", The girl with light green long hair blinked and pointed at her cheek.
"Can we do it one more time?"
"Phew"
'So comfortable.'
Feeling the sensation of hot water wrapping around her skin, Togawa Sakiko closed her eyes contentedly, like a well-fed kitten.
With the great wealth of the Togawa Group, there was naturally no need to save on water bills like ordinary people.
Growing up, this was her first time bathing in water someone else had used.
But she didn't hate it. Instead, it felt unusually warm, as if a pair of invisible hands was gently caressing her whole body.
It felt like the president was hugging her gently from behind.
The girl's delicate face flushed slightly, and she bit her lip softly.
'Ugh...'
'Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since I last rewarded myself.'
'So'
'Just this once should be okay, right?'
Someone was rolling on the bed in the bedroom.
