"Then I'll go back to my room first."
Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't force it, and turned to say:
"If you're too hot to sleep, you can come over anytime."
"Phew..."
Ijichi Nijika lightly exhaled:
"It's already very late, Ryo, let's go to sleep."
Yamada Ryo lay on the bed, face up, with her arms spread open:
"I can't sleep. I can't sleep at all without air conditioning."
"We still have a fan..."
"Such a small fan definitely won't be enough, right?"
"Let's try it first. It's actually not that hot today."
...
When Ijichi Nijika said this, she herself didn't have much confidence.
It was already early July, the hottest time of the year. The rainy season still had a bit of a tail end, and it had just rained during the day, making the weather humid and muggy.
"When I was little at grandma's house, one electric fan was enough. But now..."
Ijichi Nijika pursed her pink lips and lay down beside Ryo.
The room quickly fell silent, with only the faint sounds of the two occasionally turning over and the whirring of the electric fan.
Time quietly slipped by, minute by minute.
Ijichi Nijika lay with her eyes open, completely without any sleepiness.
Couldn't sleep.
Absolutely couldn't sleep.
Although the fan hadn't stopped for a moment, the air it blew was scorching hot. Before long, her body was already sticky.
"This is my limit."
Yamada Ryo suddenly sat up.
"If I stay here any longer, I'll definitely get heatstroke. I'm going to Kitahara's room to sleep."
Ijichi Nijika got up with her, her tone hesitant:
"Going to a boy's room in the middle of the night, isn't that dangerous?"
"A room without air conditioning is even more dangerous," Yamada Ryo said faintly. "I feel like I'm about to get heatstroke. In a little while, I might even get heatstroke and then just die."
"Ryo is exaggerating too much!"
Yamada Ryo got up as she spoke, put on her slippers, and tilted her head to look over:
"Nijika, are you coming with me?"
"I..."
Ijichi Nijika's face showed hesitation upon hearing this.
Going to a boy's room to sleep in the middle of the night, and they weren't even dating, it just felt very inappropriate.
"Then I'll go by myself, Nijika, you stay in the room." Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly. "I just wanted to try it."
"Eh, try what?"
Ijichi Nijika looked up in confusion.
Yamada Ryo tilted her head and said:
"In that R-rated movie just now, the actress's expression looked very comfortable. I'm curious if it's really comfortable..."
"Don't be curious about things like that!"
Ijichi Nijika's face quickly flushed, and she swiftly got up from the bed:
"Ryo and I will go together!"
If she let Ryo go alone... no matter how she thought about it, it was too dangerous!
Yamada Ryo's personality was independent and very much her own way. Although it was likely she was just joking, it was better to be safe than sorry. If she wasn't there to watch... she might really try forbidden fruit.
That kind of thing was absolutely not allowed!
The two girls took Hana out of the room and knocked on Kitahara Makoto's door.
"One fan really isn't enough, is it?"
Kitahara Makoto opened the door and saw Nijika and Ryo standing outside. He immediately understood and let them in.
"I almost melted from the heat just now." Yamada Ryo eagerly walked in, felt the cool air hit her, and immediately spread her arms contentedly, throwing herself onto the bed. "Ah, I'm alive again."
Ijichi Nijika followed her in, smoothly closed the door, and said with a slight blush:
"Just using a fan really is too hot. I'm sorry, we could only come and bother Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow:
"Senpai actually said 'bother'?"
"Eh?"
Ijichi Nijika looked up in confusion.
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"It's clearly a much-desired surprise."
"Go away." Ijichi Nijika's pretty face was slightly red, and she couldn't help but glare at him. "Ryo and I will sleep on the floor, we won't disturb Kitahara-kun's rest."
"The floor hasn't been mopped in several days, you can't sleep there," Kitahara Makoto said truthfully. "It's been raining continuously lately, so I haven't mopped the floor."
Ijichi Nijika raised a hand to her forehead, saying helplessly:
"I'll go downstairs and get a mop now."
"It's almost eleven o'clock," Kitahara Makoto advised. "If Nijika-senpai mops the floor now, it definitely won't dry anytime soon, and you'll get all sweaty from moving around. By the time you're done and lie down, it'll probably be dawn."
"So?"
Ijichi Nijika put her hands on her hips, already knowing Kitahara Makoto's intentions.
Sure enough.
She heard Kitahara Makoto continue:
"Why don't we squeeze in tonight? The bed is big enough anyway, sleeping three people is completely fine."
"I refuse."
Ijichi Nijika flatly refused.
At this moment, a weak voice sounded:
"I agree."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika looked over in surprise. "What is Ryo saying?!"
"So sleepy, I can't hold on anymore." Yamada Ryo raised her hand to cover her mouth, yawning. "Classes during the day, part-time work at night, and then being forced to study by Nijika. My stamina is exhausted today, and I don't want to move a single finger right now."
Kitahara Makoto said from the side:
"How about Nijika-senpai sleeps on the floor, and Ryo-senpai sleeps on the bed?"
"No!"
Ijichi Nijika didn't even think about it, rejecting it outright.
If I sleep on the floor and you two sleep on the bed, I have no idea what you two might do!
Kitahara Makoto spread his hands:
"This won't work, that won't work. Nijika-senpai, what do you say we do?"
...
She looked at the time; it was almost eleven o'clock at night. Mopping the floor now really wasn't appropriate. There was no other way, Ijichi Nijika could only choose for all three of them to sleep in the bed.
Fortunately, the bed was large enough, and sleeping three people was indeed not a problem, but how to arrange themselves was an issue.
"I'll sleep on the very inside."
Kitahara Makoto simply moved to the innermost side.
"Then I'll sleep on the very outside." Yamada Ryo yawned. "Nijika, you sleep in the middle."
"Eh?"
Ijichi Nijika's eyes widened at the words, and she subconsciously wanted to refuse.
Yamada Ryo tilted her head and looked over:
"Then I'll sleep in the middle?"
Ijichi Nijika fell silent.
If Ryo slept in the middle, wouldn't she be right next to Kitahara-kun?
She felt unsafe...
Blushing, Ijichi Nijika hesitated for a while, then bit her lower lip lightly, finally making a decision:
"Then I'll sleep in the middle."
Before going to sleep, Ijichi Nijika looked left and right, took a pillow from the closet, placed it horizontally between herself and Kitahara Makoto, and warned in a low voice:
"You're not allowed to cross this pillow tonight!"
Kitahara Makoto retorted:
"What if Nijika-senpai herself crosses the pillow and comes over to my side?"
"I sleep very honestly, I wouldn't do something like that."
Ijichi Nijika's tone was confident.
Just then, Yamada Ryo's faint voice sounded from the side:
"Nijika doesn't sleep honestly at all; she always likes to put her leg on me."
Ijichi Nijika parted her pink lips, speechless to retort, and could only urge:
"Lights out, lights out, time to sleep quickly."
Clap.
Kitahara Makoto reached out and turned off the light.
The room was immediately enveloped in darkness.
"Hoo..."
Ijichi Nijika secretly let out a sigh of relief.
The darkness inexplicably brought a sense of peace, allowing them to forget the awkwardness of three people lying on one bed.
"Sleep, sleep..."
Ijichi Nijika closed her eyes, preparing to drift off to sleep.
However, not long after, Ijichi Nijika suddenly opened her eyes, clearly feeling a hand reaching out from the darkness...