Hoshimi glanced over and leisurely ran to hit a high ball to ensure it went over the net.
"Ha~"
Seeing the ball soar, Yukinoshita sneered.
She quickly ran forward and made a powerful jump smash, sending the ball back into Hoshimi's court.
"..."
Watching the lightning-fast smash, Hoshimi flinched, not intending to catch it. He stepped back to avoid getting hurt.
"Bang!"
Hearing the tennis ball bounce and hit the wire fence, Hoshimi winced.
Just how much does this little girl hate him? She has been smashing the ball at him quite often, and it always seems to be aimed directly at him.
Hoshimi shook his head and looked at Yukinoshita, ready to say something.
"Yukino... Huh?!"
The moment his eyes met the other side of the court, Hoshimi saw Yukinoshita clutching her ankle, sitting on the ground with a pained expression.
Seeing this, Hoshimi hurried over, squatting in front of Yukinoshita with a furrowed brow, looking at her hand covering her right ankle.
"Did you twist your ankle?"
"Yeah..." Yukinoshita's brows knitted in pain, her voice trembling slightly, clearly trying to endure the pain.
"Let go, let me see." Hoshimi bent down, rolling up the right leg of Yukinoshita's sports pants, revealing her pale, slender calf.
He patted Yukinoshita's hand, signaling her to release it.
"..." Yukinoshita hesitated, glancing at Hoshimi.
She was a bit suspicious that this jerk might take the opportunity to poke her injured ankle.
But seeing Hoshimi's concerned expression, Yukinoshita decided to trust him this once and let go, exposing her sprained ankle.
Hoshimi saw the slight swelling on the outside of her ankle and relaxed a bit.
It didn't look too serious, probably just a mild ankle sprain. With proper care, it would heal in a few days.
"Let's go, Yukinoshita. I'll take you to the school nurse's office for treatment." Hoshimi stood up and asked, "Should I carry you or just support you?"
"...Just support me." Yukinoshita raised her right arm, signaling Hoshimi to help her up.
"Wait, let me gather the tennis equipment first." Hoshimi was about to assist her but then remembered the tennis balls and rackets were still on the court.
He quickly got up, collected all the tennis equipment, and put them in the tennis bag.
He slung the bag over his right shoulder, ran back to Yukinoshita, and helped her up by placing his left arm around her back.
"Use your right hand to hold onto my shoulder, why are you hesitating?"
Seeing Yukinoshita standing still like a puppet, Hoshimi urged her.
"..." Yukinoshita glanced at Hoshimi and silently hooked her arm around his shoulder.
Hoshimi supported Yukinoshita as they walked to the nurse's office.
At first, Yukinoshita tried to walk on her own, but after a few steps, she leaned heavily on Hoshimi.
Along the way, Yukinoshita looked at Hoshimi's hand resting on her ribs. Her lips moved as if to say something but ultimately remained silent.
Hoshimi probably didn't mean it, right?
Since that's the case, it's better not to mention it, lest he mocks her for having a flat chest again...
Soon, they reached the nurse's office.
"Clatter—"
Hoshimi opened the door and helped Yukinoshita to a bed.
Looking around the empty nurse's office, he said, "The nurse isn't here. Should I treat it for you?"
"...No need, just bring me the medicine and I'll do it myself." Yukinoshita kept her head down, looking at her injured ankle.
"Stubborn girl..." Hoshimi muttered as he turned to find supplies for treating a sprained ankle.
As he searched, he said, "Alright, don't be stubborn. Let me handle it."
"Your sprain isn't severe. It's better not to use medication unless necessary to avoid dependency."
"I'll apply a cold compress first to reduce the swelling. If it doesn't go down, we can consider medication."
"Is there no ice? Never mind, cold water will do."
Saying this, Hoshimi came back with a towel soaked in cold water.
He handed the towel to Yukinoshita, "Hold this for now while I get a stool."
He found a stool that was level with the bed and brought it over.
Sitting on the stool, he took back the towel from Yukinoshita.
"Lie down and keep your right foot off the bed to avoid getting the sheets wet."
"..." Yukinoshita silently looked at Hoshimi, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
Was it her imagination, or did Hoshimi seem quite adept at handling this?
But how could a rich kid like Hoshimi be so skilled at dealing with such situations?
"Hmm? Why are you staring at me? Lie down," Hoshimi said, raising an eyebrow.
Was the little girl suspecting his intentions?
Though his actions earlier might have been a bit inappropriate, now he genuinely wanted to help her.
"...Alright," Yukinoshita replied.
She struggled to take off her shoe and moved to sit with her right foot dangling over the bed.
Seeing this, Hoshimi adjusted the stool closer to the bed.
He then removed Yukinoshita's white sock, held her delicate foot, and placed the damp towel over the sprain.
After a while, when Yukinoshita got used to the cold, he gently pressed the area through the towel.
"Ah~"
The sudden pain made Yukinoshita gasp.
She glared at Hoshimi, both angry and confused.
"This is for compression, it helps reduce the pain. But judging by your reaction, you probably don't need it," Hoshimi explained nonchalantly.
"..." Yukinoshita remained silent, staring at Hoshimi's profile.
This Hoshimi seemed different from the vile person she knew.
She thought he might take advantage of her injury, but he brought her to the nurse's office and treated her sprain.
Moreover, Hoshimi was handling it with such skill, as if he had done it many times before.
This wasn't the Hoshimi she knew...
The Hoshimi she knew was more vile... more shameless... more heartless...
"Hoshimi..." Yukinoshita spoke up, full of doubts. She wanted to understand something...
"Yes? What is it?" Hoshimi asked, pressing the towel with one hand and playing with his phone with the other.
===
Enjoying the novel? If you'd like to read additional chapters, visit my Patreon page at - patreon.com/cherryblooming.
There are already 30 extra chapters available.
From Yukinoshita's perspective, Hoshimi seems to be playing a pay-to-win card mobile game.
"Have you done this kind of thing before?" Yukinoshita asked.
Hoshimi paused his fingers, turned his head to look at Yukinoshita, and thought for a moment before saying, "No, I've only encountered such situations and know how to deal with them."
In fact, in his previous life, Hoshimi often dealt with minor injuries like sprains.
The boss's daughter was too wild, often running around and spraining herself frequently. Over time, he became quite skilled at handling such situations.
At a glance, he could roughly assess the severity of the injury, whether it was a simple sprain or a more serious bone injury. For the former, he could handle it himself; for the latter, he would quickly send them to the hospital to avoid delaying treatment.
Of course, these were experiences from his previous life. Considering his current family background and status, he shouldn't encounter such things often...
"Is that so?"
Listening to Hoshimi's reply, Yukinoshita's eyes flashed with a hint of contemplation.
Based on her judgment and intuition, Hoshimi was probably lying... This man was as usual, full of lies, not a single word of truth.
But because of this, Yukinoshita realized something.
She seemed to know almost nothing about Hoshimi, except for superficial things that could be seen. Deep down, she knew nothing.
Even the dreams she entered frequently; she didn't know about their mysterious learning functions.
What kind of person was Hoshimi, upon careful consideration, she really knew very little.
Apart from the reckless arrogance in dreams, she had never actively observed or speculated deeply about Hoshimi's true personality.
Today was the 15th day since Hoshimi transferred to Sobu High School. For a whole half month, she had been in constant conflict with Hoshimi, completely forgetting to carefully observe and speculate on other aspects of him.
Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy can ensure victory in a hundred battles. In the future, perhaps she would need to carefully examine every aspect of Hoshimi to find his weaknesses and see through him!
Yukinoshita looked at Hoshimi, who had returned to playing games.
"Hoshimi, what game are you playing?" Yukinoshita asked casually.
"A pay-to-win mobile game." Hoshimi replied without lifting his head, still focusing on the guild battle.
Yukinoshita's mind moved on, continuing, "Is it fun?"
"It's alright for killing time."
"Do you like playing games?"
Hoshimi glanced at Yukinoshita from the corner of his eye, thought for a moment, and replied casually, "Can't say I like it. It's just something to do when bored. If there's something important, I wouldn't bother playing games."
Yukinoshita seemed to think of something and continued, "So you spent a year at home just killing time playing games?"
"Yeah, besides that, I read light novels, watch anime, and occasionally watch movies when bored."
"You're an Otaku?" Yukinoshita asked directly, thinking of a certain concept.
"Sort of, but not really. From the things I do, it looks like I'm an Otaku, but I just do it for fun and to pass the time. I can do other things too, like..."
Hoshimi put his phone down, reached out, and grabbed Yukinoshita's lower right leg, slowly moving upwards.
"What are you doing?!" Yukinoshita's pupils shrank, her expression instantly turning cold.
"Hehe~" Hoshimi chuckled, releasing her and picking up his phone again. "Just teasing you. Your reaction was quite interesting."
Yukinoshita remained silent.
After a while, she said coldly, "Hoshimi, you have a really evil mind."
"I think it's okay. Although I have a bit of mischief, I haven't done anything outrageous. It's just within a certain limit to make myself happier."
Hoshimi glanced sideways at Yukinoshita and continued, "Yukinoshita, you've appeared in my dreams quite a few times. You should know that in my dreams, if I want to do something, you have no room to resist."
Yukinoshita fell silent.
"Oh right, Yukinoshita, do you remember the time when I deprived you of your sight in the dream?"
Yukinoshita nodded. That time when she lost her sight, she felt helpless and panicked, and the memory was still fresh.
It was the only time she truly wanted to surrender to Hoshimi...
If Hoshimi hadn't been holding her hand all along, her mentality might have been in trouble long ago.
"Yukinoshita, let me tell you a little secret." Hoshimi looked at Yukinoshita, his smile gentle as he said, "In dreams, I can arbitrarily manipulate your senses."
"For example, I can increase the pain sensation tenfold, or even completely eliminate it."
"Most interestingly..."
Hoshimi's lips curled up, showing his sharp white teeth, looking somewhat sinister and evil.
"I can adjust the dopamine secretion in your body. Simply put, I can control your sense of happiness and pleasure, making you sink into a specific behavior or thing I designate."
"Long-term adjustment like this could completely affect your real self."
"Hey, Yukinoshita, do you think I'm a good person for restraining myself from using such interesting abilities?"
At this moment, Hoshimi's smile was bright, sunny, and at the same time sickly and evil...
Looking at Hoshimi like this, Yukinoshita suddenly felt cold all over.
She suddenly had a feeling that the Hoshimi sitting in front of her had turned into a bottomless abyss, always thinking about how to drag people down.
"Hey, Yukinoshita, why aren't you saying anything?" Hoshimi's smile faded, replaced by a polite smile as he looked at Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita silently stared back at Hoshimi for a while before saying softly, "Hoshimi, why do you have this ability?"
"Are you talking about the dream ability? I don't know either. It just suddenly appeared."
"... Suddenly appeared?" Yukinoshita asked tentatively, "Was it a year ago?"
"Yes."
On the first night he crossed over, he entered his own dream.
At the same time, he confirmed from the memories of the original owner of the body that 'he' had never entered the dream.
In other words, the dream ability was his own.
"Hoshimi, is this the reason you stayed home?"
"Yes."
Actually, it wasn't.
The real reason was that he didn't want to go out and reveal any flaws, and he was really tired of socializing, wanting to be quiet and peaceful by himself.
"..."
Yukinoshita pondered quietly with a wealth of information.
Suddenly, she thought of a question: how did Hoshimi know that he could adjust dopamine levels in his dreams?
Did he experiment?
Did he experiment with someone else? Himself? Or someone else?
Wait a minute! Hoshimi's dream had appeared a year ago, which meant that someone else had definitely entered Hoshimi's dream before her.
Did Hoshimi use the person who entered his dream before as an experiment?
===
Enjoying the novel? If you'd like to read additional chapters, visit my Patreon page at - patreon.com/cherryblooming.
There are already 30 extra chapters available.
ความคิดเห็นย่อย
คุณลักษณะความคิดเห็นย่อหน้าอยู่ในขณะนี้บนเว็บ! เลื่อนเมาส์ไปที่ย่อหน้าใดก็ได้แล้วคลิกไอคอนเพื่อเพิ่มความคิดเห็นของคุณ
นอกจากนี้คุณสามารถปิด / เปิดได้ตลอดเวลาในการตั้งค่า
เข้าใจแล้ว