With his body strengthened by cursed energy, Xia Chuan naturally wasn’t bothered by the sudden changes in temperature.
So when he heard the invitation hidden behind Utaha’s words, he climbed beneath the blanket without the slightest hesitation.
The two of them lay on opposite sides of the bed, separated by less than ten centimeters.
“The blanket is really warm, Utaha-senpai.”
Seeing Xia Chuan looking so comfortable, Utaha became even more embarrassed.
Of course it was warm.
She had been wrapped in it the entire time.
But…
Utaha stared at the boy she had only met for the first time today.
From being a fan, to becoming a confidant, then to becoming the person who had saved her life, her feelings toward Xia Chuan had gradually changed.
And now, she could no longer suppress the possessiveness beginning to rise within her.
Utaha was a light-novel author, and more specifically, an author who specialized in romance.
She was naturally sensitive to emotions.
There was no doubt about it.
She had fallen for this junior who had brought her so many surprises and made her feel safe.
Now that she had recognized her own feelings, her personality wouldn’t allow her to hesitate.
She would use her advantages and take the initiative.
Thinking was no substitute for acting.
Utaha made her move.
She leaned closer to Xia Chuan and looked at his handsome face.
“Xia-kun…
you’re really good-looking.”
Utaha said it sincerely.
She wasn’t a shallow person.
She had always believed that an interesting soul was more important than an attractive appearance.
But if the person she liked possessed both qualities, then there was no reason to choose between them.
That was precisely what appealed to her.
“Utaha-senpai is beautiful too.”
Hearing this, a hint of charm appeared in Utaha’s wine-red eyes.
She smiled brightly.
“Is that the kind of girl you like?”
Xia Chuan answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Very good.”
Utaha smiled.
The two drew closer, and the atmosphere between them gradually changed.
Neither of them needed to say anything more.
For Utaha, this was the moment when she finally stopped treating her feelings as something she needed to analyze and simply accepted them.
For Xia Chuan, it was equally clear that their relationship had crossed an important boundary.
After a while, the two settled down beneath the blanket.
Utaha looked at him with a faintly dissatisfied expression.
“I didn’t expect you to be so composed, Xia-kun.”
Xia Chuan smiled and gently held her close.
“I won’t lie to you, Senpai.
This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this.”
Utaha raised herself slightly and looked at him suspiciously.
“Really?
Even second-year girls talk about how popular you are.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
Xia Chuan gave her a serious look.
Utaha studied his expression before finally believing him.
Perhaps he really was simply unusually talented in this regard.
Knowing that Xia Chuan had never been involved in a relationship before made her even happier.
She couldn’t help feeling that she had discovered a treasure before anyone else.
“This won’t do.”
Utaha placed her hands against Xia Chuan’s cheeks.
“As your senpai, I suppose I have an obligation to teach you how to become more mature.”
Xia Chuan laughed.
“Then please teach me properly.
I’ll be a diligent student.”
“That’s more like it.”
The two of them spent the rest of the night together, and their relationship became considerably closer.
The following morning, Utaha didn’t wake up until nearly noon.
She lay comfortably on the bed, feeling unusually refreshed.
For the first time in quite a while, she felt as though she had genuinely slept well.
Ever since the second volume of The Metronome in Love had run into problems, she hadn’t experienced this kind of complete relaxation.
Perhaps there really was a reason romantic relationships were so popular.
Thinking about it, Utaha turned toward Xia Chuan.
Her eyes were filled with warmth and happiness.
She had never been a frivolous person.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have earned the nickname of the “Flower of High Sobu Academy.”
She simply hadn’t expected that once she met someone she truly liked, so many of her usual reservations would disappear.
She was almost surprised to discover how much of a romantic she could be.
Yesterday, she had originally planned only to confirm their relationship.
Things had progressed much further than she expected.
But when she looked at Xia Chuan, she had no regrets.
She had been the first to claim this hidden treasure.
Just thinking about it made Utaha grin happily.
“You look pretty happy, Utaha.”
Xia Chuan’s voice pulled her back to reality.
Utaha smiled.
“Apparently, you’re not quite ready to get out of bed either, Xia-kun.”
She moved closer and rested comfortably against his chest.
“Are you planning to stay in bed all day?” Xia Chuan asked while gently stroking her hair.
“Why not?”
Utaha looked at him unhappily.
“It’s Sunday.
Surely I’m allowed to relax.”
“Or are you one of those men who stops caring once he gets what he wants?”
She lightly nudged him with her leg to emphasize her displeasure.
“Utaha-senpai underestimates me.”
Xia Chuan smiled.
“Once someone becomes important to me, I won’t let them easily slip away.”
Utaha gave a satisfied little snort.
“That sounds suspiciously like something a womanizer would say.”
“But I’ll overlook it for now.”
With that, Utaha pushed Xia Chuan away and slowly began getting ready.
Xia Chuan propped himself up and watched her.
Once again, he had to admit that this senpai was both bold and very good at making use of her own strengths.
And, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Utaha had influenced him.
Previously, he had considered himself fairly balanced in his preferences.
Now, however…
His tastes seemed to be leaning in a somewhat different direction.
After putting on her school-style outfit, Utaha noticed Xia Chuan still looking somewhat reluctant to leave the bed.
She gave a proud little snort.
“Are you planning to stay in bed all day too, Xia-kun?”
“Is this you putting what you learned into practice, Utaha?”
Xia Chuan looked at her helplessly.
Utaha had truly started showing her real personality.
He quickly got up and put on his clothes.
By the time he had finished, Utaha had already washed up.
Xia Chuan rubbed his face.
“What are you planning to do next, Utaha?”
“Obviously, I’m going home.”
“I still have plenty of things to sort out after everything that happened last night.”
“…”
Seeing Xia Chuan’s silence, Utaha smiled and picked up her bag.
“Oh, and don’t forget to send me your home address, Xia-kun.”
“Wait, Utaha.”
As Utaha prepared to open the door, Xia Chuan took the key from his pocket and handed it to her.
“This is the key to my house.”
Utaha’s eyes immediately lit up.
She accepted it and placed it carefully inside her bag.
To Utaha, the key represented far more than simple convenience.
It meant that Xia Chuan trusted her enough to give her access to his home.
In her mind, it was almost equivalent to acknowledging her position as the woman of the house.
She looked at him with satisfaction.
“So you’re living alone, huh?”
“Considering you’ve given me something this valuable, I’ll have to repay you properly next time.”
Leaving Xia Chuan with something to look forward to, Utaha opened the door and left.
Originally, Xia Chuan had planned to spend the Sunday with Utaha.
But since she still had things to take care of, he could only let the matter go.
As he thought about it, Xia Chuan took out the business card Suguru Geto had given him the previous day.
Perhaps this Sunday would be the perfect opportunity.
He could pay a visit to the Time Vessel Association.