Chapter 275: Tonight Was Destined to Be a Sleepless Night
After exchanging presents, Christmas night still hadn't ended.
From 9 PM to 3 AM on Christmas night is the time when the most sex happens around the world, and nine months later the world's population increases sharply.
For many couples, Christmas was only just beginning.
Shijo Maki hid in her room and looked out the window.
'It's snowing.'
She glanced at the younger twin brother beside her, Shijo Mikado. In last July's academic exam, the national top scorer in Literature was actually her younger brother — truly hard to understand.
This year, he wasn't taking the exam. The last time Shijo Mikado tried to sit it, it was only because he wanted to go to an ordinary high school with his friends and then join the national high school soccer tournament.
"Sis, why do you keep staring at me like that?" Shijo Mikado had come to spend Christmas with his sister purely because he'd heard last time that her love life hadn't been going well and he was afraid she might do something foolish on Christmas.
"Nagisa is probably in a love hotel by now. You know, from 9 PM to 3 AM on Christmas night is the time when the most sex happens worldwide."
"Eh! What are you saying to your little brother!?" Shijo Mikado put down his handheld game.
"Ara, you're so innocent." Shijo Maki snickered.
"Well, it's good that you don't do stupid things."
"Stupid things?"
"Aren't there plots like that in so many novels? A heartbroken girl on Christmas night runs to a bar to drown her sorrows, has a one-night stand, ends up pregnant and doesn't remember who the father is."
Maki: (≖ - ≖)
"...Little brother, your sister is only sixteen this year — how could she do those stupid things?"
"..." Shijo Mikado glanced at the Buddhist sutra book placed nearby. Then he looked at the notebook beside it and could be sure his sister had once copied sutras by hand.
Do people really copy sutras when they're heartbroken? Sorry, they do! There are idiots like that!
"What are you staring at? I stopped copying sutras long ago."
Is that something to be proud of?
"In the last midterm I got second place. In this final exam I got first!" Shijo Maki puffed her chest out, the two short ponytails at the sides of her head twitching a little.
"Oh right, Father said he wants you to transfer to Shuchiin next year — is that true?"
"Umu." Shijo Mikado explained: "Originally I went to an ordinary high school just to play soccer with friends. Now that I've won the national championship twice, there's no need to continue."
"Eh, Mikado, when are you going to get a girlfriend? You're sixteen and still a high schooler who's a virgin — that's embarrassing."
"... Wait until Sister has a boyfriend, I'll probably find a girlfriend too."
Mikado: ( •᷄ᴗ•́)
Maki: (ꐦ ° 益 °)
As soon as Shijo Mikado finished speaking, he noticed his sister's expression turn terrifying.
In the next instant.
"Gahh!!!! It hurts it hurts it hurts!!! Sis!! Don't step on my waist, it really hurts! I'm really in pain!! I'm about to die! I'm seriously about to die!!!"
Today the Shijo household remained peaceful as usual; no lives were lost, except for Shijo Mikado's waist.
"Phew, that's better." Shijo Maki brushed her hands off and lifted her foot from her brother.
It was a bad habit, but she'd gotten used to hitting her younger brother since childhood and couldn't give it up now.
After all, that's probably how sister-brother relationships are, right?
In manga it's the lovey-dovey sister-brother type? Sorry! Not here!
'Actually my relationship with Mikado isn't that bad.' Shijo Maki nodded quietly.
Shijo Mikado, face contorted in pain, crawled up.
Why did he have to come celebrate Christmas with his sister?
"At first I planned to go to India to grasp Buddhist truth, but thinking about it now, nevermind." Shijo Maki mentioned the plan from a month ago.
"... It's really great that you can give that up." Shijo Mikado breathed a sigh of relief.
Maki: ʰᵘʰ (ꐦ○_○）✧
The next instant.
"Ah!! It hurts it hurts it hurts! Don't!"
"Huh, how dare you badmouth me."
"I didn't say anything."
"You said it in your heart."
Shijo Mikado lowered his head, taking a dogeza posture to apologize: "Sis, please forgive me, I was wrong."
"Anyway, not everyone's love life goes smoothly, right? Yuu and Koyasu Tsubame might not be so smooth either. Saki-chan and Ai-chan are having a party at Chika's house, they definitely can't be all lovey-dovey..."
She had known Ishigami Yuu for quite a while and was now rooting for his romance.
"You just dropped a bunch of names I don't even know." Shijo Mikado muttered.
"Next year when you transfer schools you'll know. I have a lot of friends," Shijo Maki said, then showed the typical heartbroken expression of someone whose mood swung erratically: "But… no boyfriend."
Maki: (இ﹏இ`｡)
Very quickly she cheered up again: "But it's fine, I'm now first place in my year at Shuchiin!!"
'Winning in exams, losing in life—how pitiful.' Shijo Mikado didn't dare say it aloud.
He was afraid of getting punished with his sister's "fist of love."
"Ara, speaking of Yuu, he just texted."
Shijo Maki took out her phone and read the message: "Tsundere-senpai, right now I'm in the same room with Tsubame-senpai, she's taking a bath… what should I do?"
Maki: Σ(°ロ°) ?!
Seeing his sister's face turn pale, Shijo Mikado immediately hid in the corner.
Shijo Maki tilted her head, unsure what to do.
So she decided to ask Sakurai Saki.
Maki: [Saki-chan!! Yuu just texted me.]
Ting ting.
Saki-chan: [He texted you too?]
Shijo Maki scratched her head—wait, "too"?
She yelled: "You can even group-text this kind of thing?!!"
...
At Fujiwara Chika's house.
Sakurai Saki sat under the Christmas tree, staring at his phone.
He really hadn't expected Ishigami Yuu's progress to be this fast.
Sakurai Saki replied: [Do it!!! Don't avoid it, absolutely don't avoid it!!!]
After replying, Sakurai Saki put the phone down.
Then he glanced at Shinomiya Kaguya and noticed she had also just picked up her phone.
Best kouhai—this Ishigami Yuu was casting his net wide, asking everyone.
But more likely, his mind was in chaos; when hungry you don't pick food, when panicked you don't pick a path—perfectly normal.
Back when he first went to a hotel with Hayasaka Ai, Sakurai Saki had also been very nervous; Ai-chan's gaze at that time looked as if she wanted to devour him alive.
Hayasaka & Sakurai: (˵ ✧ ✧˵) Σ(°△° ꪱꪱꪱ)
"What's wrong? What are you thinking?" Hayasaka Ai sat down next to Sakurai Saki.
"Thinking about you," Sakurai Saki answered.
"Not a lie, not just flattery—I was really thinking about you."
"I know. No need to explain so much." Ai-chan leaned against his shoulder.
In front of them, Fujiwara Chika and the others were playing a board game.
It seemed to be the thief-and-cop game. Fujiwara Chika was in charge of being the thief, the others were the pursuers; the game's name was "Scotland Yard."
"Today's Christmas Eve, and we're just spending it at Secretary-chan's house like this?"
"Boyfriend-kun, do you know? From 9 PM on Christmas night to 3 AM is the time when the most sex happens around the world."
"We'll talk when we're back."
"Tonight, can we use those handcuffs?"
"Who's using them?"
"Me."
Hayasaka & Sakurai again: (˵ ✧ ✧˵) Σ(°△° ꪱꪱꪱ)
Can I refuse this?