“Alright, sorry!” Hiroshi replied, rubbing his cheek after Miyu’s latest slap. “But you should really let me finish talking instead of cutting me off and saying it’s hard, you know?”

Miyu’s face flushed a deep red as she stammered, “Y-Yeah, yeah, sorry… Let’s hurry up. It’s getting la—”

Suddenly, the skies opened up, and an unrelenting downpour crashed against the windows. It wasn’t just rain—it looked like a full-blown hurricane. Hiroshi glanced toward the window, his mouth slightly open in disbelief.

“Oh my god, it’s raining so much… I hope it calms down so I can go home…”

Miyu crossed her arms and tilted her head dismissively. “I’m sure it’ll calm down soon. T-There’s no way I’m letting you stay here, okay?!”

Despite her protests, the storm showed no signs of letting up as the two studied. Two hours passed, and the pounding rain outside only seemed to intensify. The occasional crack of thunder made the atmosphere even tenser.

Suddenly, a loud knock echoed from the front door.

“I’ll get it!” Miyu said, standing abruptly.

She hurried to the door and opened it, revealing a tall, confident woman with loose, slightly messy hair.

“Barisa?!” Miyu gasped, immediately turning red. “W-Wait, don’t come in!”

Barisa smirked, brushing past her sister anyway. “Why not?” she asked, taking a look around. Her expression shifted to one of utter disbelief. “Wait… oh my god, did you clean the house?!”

Hiroshi, sitting frozen in the living room, quickly ducked out of sight behind the couch.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“U-Uh, yeah! I cleaned it!” Miyu replied nervously, desperately trying to shield the rest of the house from Barisa’s prying eyes.

“And… were you studying?!” Barisa’s teasing tone only made Miyu’s embarrassment worse. “Oh my god, sweetie, I’m proud of you! You’re finally taking things seriously!”

“Y-Yeah, yeah…” Miyu mumbled, forcing an awkward smile.

Barisa let out a laugh and casually waved as she walked toward the bathroom. “Well, I gotta use the bathroom. Later, sis!”

As soon as Barisa disappeared into the hallway, Miyu whipped her head around, glaring at Hiroshi.

“Get to my room. Now!” she hissed.

Hiroshi scrambled to his feet and shuffled quickly into Miyu’s room. Once inside, he wrinkled his nose at the state of it.

“Augh! It stinks in here!” he exclaimed, waving a hand in front of his face. “I didn’t clean your room, only the living room, kitchen, and bathroom!”

Miyu’s face turned scarlet. “S-Shut up, Hiroshi!”

Hiroshi blinked, his mouth slightly agape. “You called me by my second name… no way, you finally didn’t call me a nerd! Thank you!”

“S-Shut up!” Miyu snapped, her flustered tone betraying her usual bravado.

Hiroshi sighed and got to work, tidying up enough to make the room bearable. Once finished, he plopped down in a small cleared space and stared at her expectantly.

“So, why did you bring me here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Miyu’s cheeks flushed again as she stumbled over her words. “L-Listen, nerd… It’s raining really hard, a-and I think you should s-stay… I-I mean, we don’t have an umbrella, and it’s not like I care or anything! I’m just doing this for my own benefit! Y-Yeah, so we can study more! That’s all!”

Hiroshi’s face turned bright red as he nervously adjusted his glasses. “I… Y-Yeah, that’s reasonable…”

To break the tension, Hiroshi laid his notebook and textbook on the bed and tried to continue their study session.

“Alright, let’s try this again. Do you understand now?” he asked, pointing to a diagram in the textbook.

When he didn’t hear a reply, Hiroshi glanced up at Miyu and froze.

She had fallen asleep.

“It’s freezing in here, and she fell asleep that fast?” Hiroshi muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. He hesitated for a moment before grabbing a blanket and carefully draping it over her.

As he stood there, he realized he hadn’t thought this far ahead.

“Wait… where am I gonna sleep?” he whispered, his gaze drifting to the bed. Could he really… sleep in the same bed as her?

Hiroshi’s face turned beet red as he mulled over his options, his heart pounding in his chest.