I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 26
Episode 26: A Squabble Before Shower Time
“I went through quite a bit, you know? If I go home without doing it today, it would be a waste! Besides, it’s a rare sleepover at your place, let’s enjoy it, right?”
Aoba grinned shyly, mixed with a touch of innocence.
“Uh, yeah. Okay, let’s do it.”
In response to that, I inadvertently felt a strange imagination creeping in and ended up getting flustered.
“…Isn’t your reaction a bit weird?”
“There’s nothing weird about it. Let’s do it; I’m opening it.”
Deciding to push forward regardless, I opened the box, took out the board, and flipped just the center four pieces to black and white to set up the game.
“Huh, in the end, you’re really enthusiastic about this. Alright then, I’ll take white.”
“I’ll be black.”
Both Aoba and the board leaned forward eagerly, and with that, we managed to smoothly divert the situation.
As the game progressed, I found myself gradually cornered into a difficult situation. No matter what I did, it backfired, and in the end, almost the entire board turned completely white.
I was allowed to play another game out of pity, but I ended up losing that one too.
“Hey, Nogami-kun, aren’t you a bit weak…?”
“There’s no excuse for this, even by my standards.”
I’ve always been bad at this type of game. It’s not that I’m not smart, but when it comes to thinking several moves ahead, I just can’t seem to do it.
“What went wrong?”
“Hmm, maybe around here earlier. If I had been taken on the edge here, the whole board would have been flipped, but you took it instead.”
Aoba’s commentary began. I had enough humility to listen properly since I knew I was weak.
While we were doing that, time melted away quickly.
Before we knew it, it was almost three o’clock.
At this point, even Aoba seemed to realize that things were getting tight.
“Hey, what about tomorrow…?”
With her shoulders hunched, she timidly raised a slender index finger.
It was probably because she had just realized the urgency of the situation.
“Oh, it’s the first period. And it’s a mandatory class.”
“Ugh, that’s bad, isn’t it?!”
“That’s why I said let’s sleep already. Even if we sleep now, we’ll still get five hours. I’ll lay out the futon, so go ahead and take a bath first. The pajamas might not fit, so feel free to use any clothes from the first shelf of the cupboard.”
“I-I’m sorry, please!! And I might need a few other things too!”
Aoba jumped up as if propelled by a spring.
Then, in a flurry, she rushed into the changing room.
This house was located in a residential area. By this time, almost everyone was fast asleep, and it was surprisingly quiet.
And in such an environment, even the sound of clothes rustling off and short breaths could be heard clearly through the semi-transparent door from the changing room.
Suddenly, I felt like I was in a ridiculously awkward situation.
Just beyond the door, Aoba Hikari, whom everyone admired in middle school, was changing, and she was about to take a shower.
…This wasn’t good. My imagination might run wild on its own.
I immediately got up and opened the storage door, deciding to start preparing the futon.
Although I had brought the futon in for occasions like when parents visited, I hadn’t expected to use it so soon. Therefore, it was stored deep inside, making it quite a task to retrieve.
Normally, I would find this bothersome, but at the moment, it was just the right distraction.
As I was at it, Aoba called out to me.
“W-What is it?”
“S-Sorry, could you take that plastic bag? But please, don’t look inside.”
…All my efforts to avoid thinking about it went down the drain. How clumsy of me.
There was probably underwear for changing inside that bag.
I temporarily left the storage space and picked up the plastic bag.
Then all I had to do was place it in front of the changing room door and have her take it while I faced away.
That was what I thought, but as soon as the door opened a crack, a slender, trembling arm extended from it.
Since it was visible up to the shoulder, there was definitely nothing on the upper half.
“What are you doing…?! You could have just taken it while I wasn’t looking!”
I couldn’t help but retort.
In response to my plea, Aoba quickly withdrew her arm and closed the door.
“…Right, that’s it, I’m such an idiot~ Ahaha~”
How terrifying Aoba Hikari was.
She probably didn’t even realize how much I might be affected by this.
Her lack of understanding of her own charm made her a natural bombshell.
I sighed in exasperation and embarrassment, then stepped out into the hallway.
After confirming that Aoba had retrieved her underwear, I returned to the living room once again.