Chapter 367: Itsuki's Call
Inside the apartment.
Sakurai Saki was preparing teaching materials for the five Nakano sisters. He didn't find this work boring at all.
Every time he saw them struggling over problems with furrowed brows, he felt an inexplicable sense of joy — that was one of his motivations to keep teaching.
"Hey, boyfriend-kun~ it's getting late, you know." Hayasaka Ai, wearing glasses, was lying on the bed reading a book. Her lazy posture was irresistibly seductive, especially with her fair legs slightly peeking out from under the blanket.
She sat up and lightly poked her foot at Sakurai Saki's waist.
Her voice carried a teasing tone: "Darling~ time to go to bed."
"Umu, got it."
Sakurai Saki closed the file on his computer, then grabbed Hayasaka Ai's mischievous foot.
Right after that, he gently tickled the sole of her foot.
"Aah~ what are you doing?" Ai-chan put down her book, using her legs to try to pull away from his grip.
That naughty guy.
"Weren't you the one who started it?" Sakurai Saki's hand slid slowly from her sole, tracing along the arch covered by the black stocking, then stopped at her calf. "Wearing socks even in bed, huh?"
Ai-chan pressed her other leg lightly against his face, rubbing it softly without saying a word.
Everything fell into silence.
Just as the two were getting absorbed in the moment, the phone suddenly rang.
Sakurai Saki sighed inwardly, wondering who was so tactless to call at a time like this, then picked up the phone to check.
'Itsuki? Why is she calling at this hour?'
Hayasaka Ai adjusted her stockings, which he had half pulled down, her face slightly flushed as she asked softly, "Who's calling?"
There was a trace of sulkiness in her tone.
Getting interrupted halfway like that — who could possibly be in a good mood?
"Itsuki. Not sure what it's about." Sakurai Saki was about to hang up.
But Hayasaka Ai said, "Answer it, what if it's something important?"
Sakurai Saki nodded, then stepped out of the bedroom.
"Itsuki, what's the matter?"
On the other end, hearing Sakurai Saki's voice, Itsuki was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Sakurai-san, why didn't you tell me?"
Tell her what?
Seeing he didn't answer, Itsuki grew agitated and continued, "You're clearly no longer our tutor, my dad won't pay you anymore, yet you're still teaching us! That doesn't do you any good! Every day you have to prepare so much material, it must take a lot of time, but you're not even getting paid — that's not right!"
"Ah… so it's about that? I thought it was something serious." Sakurai Saki's tone remained calm, as if it were nothing at all.
He had already predicted this would happen.
Nakano Maruo was bound to find out he was still teaching, and eventually, the five sisters would learn that he had stopped being their tutor since the start of the semester.
Still, having Itsuki call so seriously to confront him was a bit unexpected.
Itsuki's personality was quite similar to Miko's — she valued correctness and believed everything must have a clear, proper explanation.
Good was good, bad was bad, with no gray areas in between — the kind of person who drew sharp lines.
"This is serious!" Hearing his indifferent tone, for some reason, a quiet anger flared in Itsuki's chest.
"Itsuki, what do you think the relationship between me and you girls is?" Sakurai Saki sat down on the sofa in the living room and opened a can of coffee.
There was no way he'd be sleeping early tonight — might as well stay alert.
"Relationship? I guess… friends?"
Itsuki wasn't very sure.
"Why do you sound uncertain? I've been with you girls for a whole year, and you can't even confidently call me a friend?" Sakurai Saki said with mock disappointment.
"Sorry." Itsuki reflexively apologized, then quickly realized — wait a second, wasn't she the one questioning him just now? How had the roles suddenly been reversed?
"If you admit we're friends, then as a friend, me helping you study — what's so strange about that?"
"..." Itsuki was at a loss for words.
Sakurai Saki was clearly twisting logic — this had nothing to do with being friends or not.
"Sakurai-san, even between friends, you can't just keep accepting help like that forever."
After a short silence, Sakurai Saki spoke: "About the first month of tutoring, don't worry about it. I don't like quitting halfway; I'm doing this completely voluntarily."
"If you already know I'm no longer being paid, you must've talked to Nakano-san. What did he say?"
"Father said he'd have someone else take over for you…"
Sakurai Saki chuckled lightly. "Sounds fine to me. You girls won't be short on tutors, and I get to rest a bit."
Hearing that, Itsuki couldn't tell what he was really thinking.
Was he unwilling to let go?
Or did he truly feel relieved, just as he said?
If it was the latter… then wasn't she just overthinking everything?
Itsuki's heart was in turmoil, a storm of mixed feelings.
"Sakurai-san, what about you? What do you think of us?" Itsuki didn't believe the lighthearted tone he'd used earlier.
"I really like you all."
"L-like!?!!! EH!?" Itsuki yelped, making Sakurai Saki almost drop his phone.
She lowered her voice, asking nervously, "You mean… like as in friends, right?"
"No, I mean the kind of like between a man and a woman," Sakurai Saki teased, then laughed. "Though honestly, it's probably more like a teacher's fondness for his students."
As for romantic feelings — that was only a very small part of it.
After all, among the five sisters, the only one Sakurai Saki truly had feelings for was Nino.
"Phew~ you scared me for a second there." Itsuki let out a sigh of relief and gently patted her chest.
She was sitting on the edge of her bed and had almost slipped off just now.
If Sakurai-san were really interested in all five of them… that would be terrifying.
Five girls serving one man? That would be insane — Itsuki couldn't even bring herself to imagine such a thing.
When they were little, she and her sisters once joked about marrying the same man, but that had only been a childish fantasy.
"This matter… you haven't told the others yet, have you?" Sakurai Saki's voice sounded like he was simply asking, but there was an oddly certain tone beneath his words.
"Umu. I'm afraid everyone will start arguing."
Besides, there was also the issue of Ichika wanting to take a break from school — Itsuki had no idea what to do about that either.
"After Golden Week, I'll explain it to them."
"Alright." Itsuki answered softly, then mumbled, "But when that time comes, there might be a little surprise, Sakurai-san, don't get mad, okay~"
She was referring to Ichika's decision to take a break.
Sakurai Saki had once said that if possible, he wanted to help all five sisters get into college together.
"No, I won't…" Sakurai Saki's voice grew quieter, but Itsuki could still hear him clearly: "Honey, I'm still on the phone…"
Immediately after, affectionate words echoed through the receiver, making Itsuki's face flush scarlet.
Half a minute later —
The call was cut off.
Inside the girlishly decorated bedroom,Nakano Itsuki set her phone down, covered her burning face with both hands, and muttered, "I can't believe he was doing that…"
In her mind, several images she definitely shouldn't be thinking of began to appear.
"No, no, no!"
Itsuki quickly shook her head, trying to clear the "trash" from her mind.
She stood up, picked up the meat bun on her desk — her late-night snack — and took a small bite, hoping to distract herself with food.
But the more she ate, the redder her cheeks became.
Tonight, it seemed this innocent girl wouldn't be getting much sleep.
(⸝⸝⸝> ▵ <⸝⸝⸝)
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